tough love

Before Yohann turned 2 months old, he already refused to drink milk from his bottle. I had to mix-feed him a few days after birth as my milk wasn't enough to satisfy his hunger then. When my milk supply increased, I did direct feeding, no more formula or bottle. Now that he's 3 months old, I'm teaching him again to drink from his bottle. I need to be away from home some days and would leave him milk, but he would refuse to drink from his bottle.

Last Friday after coming home from an errand, I was told he refused to take his bottle and had to be fed with a dropper. How tiring is that?! So I immediately got him a bottle of milk and started to pep talk him into drinking it. At first he would take it in his tiny mouth, lick a little, and then push it out with his tongue. So I would offer it to him again. And he would react in the same manner. Repeat this five times and he would end up in a crying fit. After that I gave up and just fed him.

This morning I needed to go out, so last night we did the same routine, trying to get him to feed from his bottle, with little success. Because of that, plus his early morning tantrums today, I wasn't able to leave. I decided that today we will practice some more until he gets used to his bottle.

The whole morning I refused to feed him. We tried having his grandma give him the bottle, but he refused it. Afterwards I tried too. Again, he refused, and turned toward my chest, but I also refused to give it to him. Much crying came after that. Whenever he would calm down and turn quiet I would give him the bottle again. He would play with it a little, then cry. When he got tired of it, he just slept without eating. Mon was already teasing us, saying we were both sticking to what we want and not letting the other get what he wants. Lol. I vowed I wouldn't give in to his crying, he'd better learn to do this or else go hungry whenever I need to go out without him. I had to teach him to do it no matter what; this was tough love, I told myself.

Six hours later Yohann had already downed 3 ounces, little by little, with many tears and fussing. I was satisfied enough with that and so I made him go to sleep and gave him my breast to feed on as a reward. After he woke up, I gave his bottle again and - lo and behold! He doesn't like it again! Hahaha!

No pain, No gain.

Months before giving birth, I already discussed with the hubby my plan to exclusively breastfeed Yohann. Two reasons: 1. It's economical; 2. It's beneficial. Like the ad says, breastfeeding is still best for babies. I'd want to give my baby only the best, right? So we decided, breastfeeding it is!

The first time I got to try it was 1.5 days after giving birth. Since I had undergone CS, the OBG advised me to rest for a few days until I'm able to stand up, sit on a wheelchair, and carry the baby for breastfeeding at the room next to the nursery. When I finally did that was also the first time I saw Yohann. When I held him close to feed, it took us quite a while to get the hang of it, though Yohann was a faster learner than mommy. He knew how to suckle right away, while I didn't know if he was latched on to me properly. Sabagay, it's basic instinct for babies to suckle nga pala :))

Anyway, I was quite sure then that Yohann couldn't get any milk from me yet, as my OB said it could take a few days for the milk to come in. So, I continued to breastfeed him anyway to stimulate milk production. The first few days were okay, though once I called the nursery to ask for formula as Yohann was constantly crying. I figured he couldn't get any milk from me and was hungry already. Instead of giving him formula, a neonatal nurse went to our room to check on our latching, and to encourage me to just continue feeding him. She even pinched my nipple to show me that I already had milk, and that I just needed to stimulate production by feeding Yohann consistently. It was clear at first, with only a few drops coming out.

A few days after we went home, my nipples began to feel sore. One was already cracked and bleeding! But I had no choice but to continue breastfeeding Yohann since we left his formula at the hospital (or they intentionally forgot to give it to us). A couple of times I would let out a cry while feeding him as it really hurt a lot. I did not want to give up, but I could not bear to see the little boy crying from hunger. He wasn't getting enough milk from me. It broke my heart, so we finally decided to buy formula and give him a bottle of milk.

That's when my sisters intervened. One by one, they visited me and cooked tinola with loads of malunggay, or shells with loads of malunggay also. They also advised me to take malunggay capsules.

To be continued ...