I thought breastfeeding should have been a wonderful experience for mothers. The first month was easy, and i felt very confident in continueing. However, as the baby grew more alert and demanding, things starts to look gloomy.

I couldn’t pretict the baby’s feeding time anymore. She is not sleeping as much now, and once awaken, she will want to be fed, sometime hourly. Is my supply insufficient? “No”, said the lactation consultant, ” you didn’t let her suckle long enough to get the rich hindmilk, making her hungry easily, and probably the baby growth spurt makes her more demanding.” Alright, i will take that advice and make her eat longer….but it is a difficult task since the baby always falls asleep after ten minutes of nursing.
Thus, the nightmare begin to crush my wonderful experience. The constant feeding is exhuasting. I am not able to leave the baby, fearing that she might be hungry. I can’t leave the house or bring her out, i am afraid that she wants to feed often. I feel like a prisoner.

And the worst nightmare appears, engorgement! It is so painful! I had to engage a lactation consultant to help me. Betty is really experienced. She help me cleared the blockage. However, the engorgement came again. Last night, it was very bad, and i was in tears. The pain was torlerable, it was the thought of not being able to solve the problem that makes me broke down. It must be double stress for James too. A wailing baby, and a crying mother!

I am alright now. Thanks to my dear husband, who help me apply cold compress and encourge me to bear the pain and let the baby suckle. I am working hard now to adhere to specific feeding time and hopes that this will solve all the problems.