Dear Readers,

Besides labour, one of the important aspects that I wish I learned beforehand is breastfeeding. Alhamdulillah, my eldest weaned off at 2 years old, as per recommended in the Quran (2:233). 

Mothers may nurse [i.e. breastfeed] their children two complete years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing [period]

Al-Baqarah: 233

If you are interested in reading papers on the medical perspective of this verse, please click this link. 

One of the practices that I did during my early days (right after I gave birth), is direct feeding or nursing of the baby. Some people say that is the golden time to stimulate milk production. However given the situation, my baby was having jaundice and she likes to sleep over milk, so the latching was not really effective. So what I did was that I did some lactation massage (the marmet technique) to clear milk ducts and increase milk flow and some manual expressing. On top of that, I also consumed a lot of water especially boiled water with Jujube or Red Dates and Fenugreek. To produce milk, it's really important to drink lots of water. Can't emphasize enough on that. 

When the baby is having jaundice, it's really important to wake the baby every 2 hrs to nurse. But when the latch is not effective, one may find expressing through pumping helps. The demand needs to be frequent for it to supply frequently. You might find the milk is quite thick in the early days, and it's yellow in color. This is called the colostrum phase. Colostrum also helps your baby's digestive system grow and work well. The next phase would be transitional milk (2-5 days after delivery) where the milk will slowly change to bluish-white color. Read more here. 

As a housewife, I only did pumping during the first and second months. Hence, I only bought a very affordable pump that works for me. I didn't want to overproduce the milk with a maniac pumping routine (which was very unnecessary) and caused me engorgement. Learned that through my first baby and never repeating it for the next baby. Yes, no engorgement issue during the second. 😁 Eventually, the jaundice issue resolve because of constant pooping by the healthy baby. Alhamdulillah.

On top of these tips on practice and a little bit of diet recommendations, the mother must be taken care of with utmost love and care by the people around her. Always make the mother happy and support her by attending to her needs giving her the space and facilitating for nursing. It will result in a happy baby and mother. 💝

If you are a new mother and you are reading this. Know this. You are not alone. It will be alright. It's hard to adjust new routine in having a baby but you can do it. Take your own sweet time and don't forget to ask for help. 😃 Indulge yourself with this Newborn phase. 

The days are long but the years are short. 

Love always.