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Saturday, September 02, 2006

Beating the breastfeeding game

I've been back to work for a week now. It's like a rollercoaster ride. Sometime I feel happy not trapped at home however more frequently I feel guilty to separate my baby from his food resource. Imagine that babies are very simple. He only needs basic survival kit: love,food and comfy environment. Unfortunately during the day, he can't enjoying his food totally.
On the first 3 days, I slept at 8 pm after nursing my baby. I think I'm physically and mentally drained after working for 8 hours, back and forth nursing and pumping milk and having broken sleep everynite. My dedication to work (wow!!) are reduced. I don't think I love my job as much as I thought before. I have other priority in life, nurturing my baby to be a 'positive' person.
On my first week of working, we still do trial and error to fit Arya's best schedule. I plan to either bath him or take him out for morning stroll before going to work. I'd prefer to take him out to get a fresh sea air and sunbath. We leave from home at 8.50am, go back at lunch time at 12.30-1.30 and back from the office at 6.30pm. I express my milk at 11am and 4pm. See...lots of distraction during work.
On my first day, I expressed my milk in shared restroom. Smelly. So I asked HR if there's a cleaner room. There's 2 option: sickbay (near the CFO) or executive restroom. I chose the second one and quite happy with that. It's private, big and clean.
In between catching up with tons of email, preparing next year planning, helping to do month end and adapting with working/parenting world, I have a pressure to provide enough milk for Arya. Arya is big baby, his weight is more than 5.5kg in his 7 weeks so it also reflect his needs of milk. On thursday, i sent sms to Fanny and Ocha and said that I need to top up with formula in order fulfilling Arya's need. The pressure to provide baby with exclusive breastfeed minimal until 6 months is high. I know the benefit of exclusive breastfeed but it's not easy, you know. Not every woman has luxury to get more than 200ml of milk in each pumping time. My milk supply is not abundant only enough. I'm still lucky to be 'enough'. Ari also support me as long as baby and the mummy are happy.
Today, I can proudly say that Arya is exclusively breastfeed in my first working week. Somehow we can pass friday without formula milk..hopefully we can continue this achievement =p

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Li... totally agree! It is hard trying to pump and work at the same time. I have just started pumping for 2 days and already feel that committing to give exclusive breastmilk for 6 months is not an easy task. Tapi kita sama2 berjuang ya...kejar2an sama our baby :P

Rani said...

Ayo teruskan kamu pasti bisa... tiga kali sehari mompa ayo..