We live in a flat

Breastfeeding is a journey, an exhausting one with some spilled milk and quite a bit of tears. It is a journey for mothers whose high needs baby needs to nurse constantly. It is also a journey for mothers w hose babies just can’t or refuse to latch, so that exclusive pumping becomes an unavoidable option.

I didn’t intend to belabour the topic, but my fingers ran away with me over a few sessions writing this. I haven’t finished but I can see this turning out to be a long article that likely will only be of interest to a very, very small group of people. But oh well. Moving on…

Object lesson #1 Have a clear, executable idea of how to breastfeed and what to do if baby fails to latch, don’t assume it just happens

I love the intimacy of the experience when the baby latches and then falls sleep, a tiny, warm bundle in your arms. But the tedious pumping part of the journey I abhorred. And so I had always planned to just exclusively latch if I could, and do without the pumping.

But it was not to be.

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Since pregnancy and giving birth is a once or twice a lifetime thing, I decided my suffering and stretch marks warranted a post. HAHA.

I didn’t have morning sickness, I had heartburn and stretch marks

TV dramas seem to stereotype pregnancy morning sickness to vomiting and refusing some food. I didn’t vomit throughout my whole pregnancy but I had the most awful heartburn, also called acid reflux. I had it 24/7. Awful is too simple a word to describe it.

• I felt that there was something stuck in my throat ALL the time
• I had difficulty breathing when I wear a bra
• I got breathless even when walking extremely slowly
• I had to sleep sitting up

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