Top Tips in Successful Breastfeeding while Working

"How did you manage to breastfeed successfully while working?"

This is the question that i have always been asked every time people learn that I have breastfeeding my little AJ who is going 6 months in two weeks. (yey!) You see, nobody from my circle of friends, neighbors, and relatives ever did this. Working full-time and managing to continue breastfeeding. So imagine how proud I am because of this achievement. And with this blog, I will share to you

I tell you it is not very easy. So here are some personal tips on how you can breastfeed successfully even if you are working:

• Arm yourself with a lot of information about breastfeeding. Ignorance is the number one hindrance why most women do not succeed in breastfeeding. Well, I myself have been attacked by this "ignoramus istupidus" bug when I gave birth to my first-born. I only have little knowledge - that breastfeeding is the best for babies. Other than that, nada.. So I was only able to breastfeed my ate Ichi for less than a month. Things were a lot different on my second pregnancy. Well, I am much wiser (I hope) and Internet was my best friend. So during the course of my pregnancy I have researched already on the many benefits of breastfeeding which made me more revved up to breastfeed my son. I also read on what I need to know and what I need to have to breastfeed successfully. Visit http://kellymom.com/ for a very nice and helpful website about breastfeeding.

• Hoard all the perseverance that you can get. If there are any "bottled perseverance" for sale, then hoard a truck-full, or maybe some more. You need all the perseverance that you can get to strive this challenge. Breastfeeding is not so very easy especially for the first few months. But when you get to manage those first months, well, you will feel like you're a master on your own right. (like me.. LOL)

• Get a support person/group. It always best when there is somebody who will supply you the good words and the best motivation that you can get to continue on your breastfeeding goal. It maybe your husband, your mom or your friends. But it is better if your support person or group have been on the same boat as you are so that aside from giving motivations, they have answers to your dilemmas. I am proud to be part of this breastfeeding moms online community from Girltalk which is actually a big part of my 6-month breastfeeding and working success.

• Set a little goal at a time. This worked very well for me. It is always easy to hit a smaller goal vs. a big time goal. When I was pregnant, my goal was just to be able to breastfeed my son exclusively while I am on my maternity leave. When I returned back to work, I told myself that I will be pumping until my little AJ turns six months. Today, barely 2 weeks for my 6-month goal, I still couldn't think of weaning my little AJ from my breast. I am still happy (and sometimes ranting) about my pumping and breastfeeding. So for now, I extended my goal indefinitely. Maybe 3 more months, or maybe on my little AJ's first year... I don't know. We will see.

• Accept it, you may or you may not breastfeed exclusively. In my case, I was able to breastfeed my son exclusively for the first 1.5 months, and I am proud of that. As I was going back to work, I learned that I couldn't pump enough milk that would match the milk requirements of my little takaw err little AJ. I was pumping around 9 oz and yet he consumes 12oz. Even today at 5.3 months, I am able to pump 15 to 17oz but he drinks 18 to 21oz. So I accepted that I had to supplement with formula. At first, I was so keen on getting more milk for him but then I tend to get less. Yes, stress is one of the many factors that could affect your milk production. From then on, I told myself that I will not pressure myself to produce more milk. The fact that I am trying my very best to provide him breast milk is enough for me. Until now, my little AJ is taking around 80 to 85% breast milk on work days and 100% breast milk whenever I am home. Isn't it a great?!

And the most important tip of all, if you are a cheapskate like me:

• GET YOURSELF AN EXPENSIVE BREASTPUMP! I am a self-confessed kuripot and my dear hubby is the master of all kuripots! LOL! So imagine his reaction when I told him that I will buy a 9,000pesos worth of breastpump! Yes, i heard all the negative words.. "It's a waste of money..." "What if you don't have any milk?" etc. I gave him the cost analysis but still he was not 100% supportive. I understand his reactions since this is a new thing to him and to all of us. But you see I was very determined and I just told him to just wait and see until we reap the benefits of this investment. I had my way and I asked my officemate to buy for me a Lansinoh in the US plus some breastfeeding accessories. After I gave birth, I was determined to breastfeed. There is always this reminder in my mind that I should not fail or else, lagot ako kay hubby. And now, I can say that if not for my lansinoh, then I will not be able to succeed breastfeeding and working during the course of my little AJ's 6 months. Right now, I am contemplating on buying a more expensive breast pump in order that I continue to breastfeed up to 2 years! Haha!