My EBF Story

Nothing is more true than, when someone tells you that holding your newborn in your arms is the most amazing feeling in the world, that when your baby smiles all the sleepless nights and hours of sitting are worth it and more, that the first time the baby latches on to you it’s a wonder!

And then begins the pulling, the tears and the backaches! And it leaves a lot of wondering where is that ‘magical’ feeling one gets when breastfeeding and I was thinking the same when I got a nipple tear in the first week of breastfeeding.  I had moments when I would hold something in my fist tight so that I can get through the pain when my baby starts feeding. Treating my nipple tear was hence my priority, because the only thing I wanted was to experience the magical feeling of your baby feeding. And I got these soon enough! What helped me? My mommies group that Rolly made for us all and the will power to ebf for 6months!

Make sure you keep reading and reminding yourself of the pros of breastfeeding cos there aren’t any cons to it! It’s good for you and it’s good for the baby. It’s convenient for you and it’s your baby’s favorite food!

This is where even our moms cannot help us because most of them started the “dal ka pani” at 3 months. So 6 months of ebf leaves them wondering. In the beginning I used to wonder how am I gonna go through 6 months and before I even realized, 6 months have gone by and I have to now start giving my baby food and both of us are wondering “what the hell!” Hahaha!

Nothing comes more naturally to the mother and the baby than latching on and breastfeeding, and nothing is more difficult to part ways with as well. Right after my C-sec I was sedated and most part of that my baby was sleeping J When we started to get on to our latching practice it wasn’t easy and right after surgery I did let the nurses give her top feed. it might not have been more than a spoon but that wasn’t what I had in mind for my little doll. Once back to my senses, and with encouragement from my doctor (who was quite surprised at his own nurses… guess that’s a different story) I made sure there was no more top feed. And not even a mention of it!

She cried and so did I, she struggled and so did I.  And in the end we both got through it !

She wouldn’t feed from my left side and I couldn’t understand why, but I knew what to do thanks to Rolly’s lectures! Come in football hold to my rescue - and my husband who helped me hold her so I could get her started on my left side as well J Then there was the tear, which was the most difficult part for me, cos while I had to correct her latch and feed her from both sides I was also making a lot of milk. It took me a few weeks to stabilize and bring in discipline of feeding, which is everything from alternating breasts, to expressing extra mik after every feed, warm compress, applying nipcare and the constant help from our mommies group! These 5 things and I smooth sailed through it and today I know its magical to breastfeed and its even more magical when your baby gives you this yummy smile after she is done feeding!   

Then there are the smaller difficulties of how do we go out shopping or dining, well you can do it best while you are breastfeeding, cos it is easiest now to carry your baby’s food along ;) . And as far as, “where do I feed when I am out”, is concerned you will always find a place and if you don’t – well, feed her right where you are J I have fed my baby at the airport sitting at the boarding gate, in the flight, in restaurants and when you do it once, you will realize you don’t care where you are when your baby wants to feed J And having said the one thing I wanna do before I wean her - is feed her sitting on the beach! Hopefully soon ;)

My birth story - 20th March 2015

Everything about baby making is a wonder, right from when you conceive, the little one taking shape inside your womb, the little and not so little kicks, the birth, the way they can communicate to you from day one, the fact that you make milk to feed your little one! I have gone through all the stages and I cannot help but wonder, and what a wonder! Truly.

The discovery of pregnancy was not a jump-with-joy feeling for my husband and me when we got to know. It grew on us with every passing day. The anticipation kept building up and so did the preparation for it, the list of do’s and don’t’s!

Pre natal yoga with Rolly was something I completely chanced upon , this wasn’t something I knew about except for the movies :P I was looking for yoga classes in Powai before I conceived and Rolly’s yoga came across in one of my google searches and it was backed with some real good reviews so I made a mental note of it “in case I needed it” Well it wasn’t long after that I found myself looking up her number and calling her in my 6^th week. I didn’t even know what EDD stood for then :P So when Rolly asked me my EDD I was like… ummmm? Well I am sure she had a good laugh when she heard this and that fact that I was calling her to join in my 6^th week :P  She told me to relax and that I should start only after 12 weeks. And that was the beginning of the learning of my dos and donts.

Pregnancy for me was wonderful, I was lucky to skip morning sickness, and sailed through the 9 months! I always wanted to have a normal delivery, somewhere however, I always feared I might end up with a C-sec. So you guys out there, NEVER let that thought come in. 

Week 30 check up showed baby was in perfect position, and when I went after two weeks, it was transverse! I panicked and got all stressed up and my first person to go for a solution was Rolly. She gave me 2 exercises I was to do religiously. The first two weeks I wasn’t regular with it and when in week 34 the baby hadn’t changed still I was losing hopes and my doc fixed 2^nd March as my delivery date if baby continues to stay in transverse. I spoke to Rolly again and she made sure I did my exercises. 27^th Feb I go for my last ultrasound – and lo! My baby was head down facing behind, just the was we liked it!

So 2^nd March was out of the window and we were now waiting for our due date and the baby to arrive. This was a difficult wait cos somewhere we had made peace with 2^nd March and a C-sec. I started my maternity leave on 1^st March and then it was about doing my yoga ( as I wasn’t coming to Powai for the classes anymore), my walks and eating well. As the due date was nearing we were flooded with calls about the baby’s arrival and our baby was in no hurry at all. The next doc visit confirmed she was a posterior baby and I was now holding my chances of a normal vs a C-sec delivery. Well, I told my doc that I want normal delivery and he agreed to give me a trial of labour. 16^th March, my due date was here and the little one wasn’t showing any signs of coming out. We did another ultrasound on 16^th to check if everything was ok and if we could wait. Report estimated her weight at 3.8 kgs! Not something my doctor was sure would come out normally given her posterior position. So he fixed 21^st march for us to be induced if she doesn’t come out on her own.  19^th we go for our check and I told my doc that I think my mucus plug was out this morning. Which usually doesn’t mean much and it could be hours or days before labour starts. We went back home preparing ourselves for pains to be induced day after.

I woke up to my water break at 3 am in the morning on 20^th which was just hours after I visited my doctor and finalizing 21^st as my delivery date J  We immediately called the doctor and he asked us to come over to the clinic right away. When he checked me at around 4:30 am, there was just 1 cm dilation and very mild contractions.  He explained to us our chances, of how the dilation should progress, possibility of dry labour and the time limit beyond which he will take us into a C-sec. Since the contractions didn’t come well enough and I was losing little water every now and then he induced labour at 6 am post which the contractions began to get stronger.  Since at the start they weren’t too strong I decided to get some sleep since we had been up since 3 in the morning.

By 7:30 – 8 they got stronger and I decided to stay up and walk a bit, sit and talk to remain distracted of the increasing pain. By 1 they were too strong for me to stand or sit or lie down! But they weren’t strong enough yet! And we waited and my mom kept rubbing my back and my husband kept making me walk a bit now and then.  By 2.30 and 9 hours of labour doc came in to check. I was dialted only 3.5 cms while I should have been 5 cms and the baby’s head was stuck diagonally which would make it impossible for her to come out unharmed. The doc hence took me in immediately for a C-sec.  

Soon after I went in, the family outside could hear the LOUD crying of my baby girl. She didn’t wait for the doctor to bring her out and “make” her cry, she came out crying from my womb all on her own! She seems to be having her own will and her own mind right from when she was inside. She was messing with us the whole time with her positions (where in one instance my doctor didn’t understand what position she was in and this is a doctor I have never seen having even the slightest of doubts and there he was looking confused!!)  and then not coming when she was due! And remains equally naughty today :D

I am glad to have had the support of Rolly all through the pregnancy, the yoga classes kept me super active, the constant encouragement we had for each other to ensure we did our walks and the panch pyaare everyday without fail! It was a fun ride and its only getting better and better each day.