(I am Prutha, this is about my Breastfeeding journey with my second baby boy Aadi. My elder one is Om, who was also EBF for six months and breastfed till 21 months.)
Aadi was born, as requested, the head nurse held him close to me for feeding in the golden hour (1st hour after birth) and he latched perfectly👩🏻🍼. Being a second time mom (STM), things were pretty easy for me.
Neither my gyenac, nor the nurses had any advice for me (perks of being a STM 😁).
We came home, Om was the happiest on seeing his younger brother of whom he had only heard since many months🤩. The 1st 2 weeks at home were tough because Om got viral fever and he was not supposed to come near me or Aadi😟. These were the worst 2 weeks of our life..My baby, who had never slept without me for 3.5 years was suddenly not allowed to even enter my room or touch me nor could he touch his brother for whom he had eagerly waited for 3 whole days😔. It was heart breaking to see all this. But one day, I decided to break all norms, wore a mask and hugged my little boy tight..both of us weeped and somehow Om's health improved that day😊. Meanwhile, waking up every 2 hours and feeding Aadi was happening on autopilot without any stress😇.
Neither my gyenac, nor the nurses had any advice for me (perks of being a STM 😁).
We came home, Om was the happiest on seeing his younger brother of whom he had only heard since many months🤩. The 1st 2 weeks at home were tough because Om got viral fever and he was not supposed to come near me or Aadi😟. These were the worst 2 weeks of our life..My baby, who had never slept without me for 3.5 years was suddenly not allowed to even enter my room or touch me nor could he touch his brother for whom he had eagerly waited for 3 whole days😔. It was heart breaking to see all this. But one day, I decided to break all norms, wore a mask and hugged my little boy tight..both of us weeped and somehow Om's health improved that day😊. Meanwhile, waking up every 2 hours and feeding Aadi was happening on autopilot without any stress😇.
All through paternity leave, my husband, Sandeep was completely taking care of Om. I don't think he ever slept during those days because he was busy playing the role of both mom and dad for Om. We had never thought that in the first 2 weeks, we will be dividing the responsibility of one kid each, it was supposed to be a joint venture. Anyways, the horrible 2 weeks passed. My companion for the night was my mom, who would stay awake with me if Aadi was up. She constantly reminded me that I should rest well in the first 40 days for which I'm very grateful to her🥰
Meanwhile, Aadi also got major infection in both the eyes which was so bad that one morning, his eyes were glued together because of the discharge. We rushed him to the doctor, he gave antibacterial eye drops for 10 days and warned me to not miss even a single dose as these infections in babies are supposed to be very stubborn. Thankfully he was cured by the 10th day. (The thing is, when you are a STM, nothing scares you and your brain is programmed to tackle various situations with ease. I wonder, why isn't this quality embedded in every woman since her first childbirth??🤔)
After the paternity leave ended, Sandeep went back and joined his office. For 2 months I stayed at my mom's place where my brother took complete care of Om's online school and all his other things like his own kid so that I could peacefully concentrate only on Aadi🤗. My bhabhi took responsibility of my diet which helped in Lactation. She made sure that I ate a protein rich diet which would not cause colic for Aadi. Bf was going on so smoothly that I never bothered to count the duration or number of feeds till date. Because of zero stress about feeding, Aadi's weight gain was on track(touchwood) and milestones were also achieved on or before time. Initially, Om had a lot of doubts about breastfeeding 🤔 so instead of making a taboo out of it, I explained it to him taking animals as example so that his 3 year old brain could understand. Once he understood, he always followed the rule that nobody enters the room when baby feeds😊.
Post 2 months, I moved back to my home. Sandeep was eagerly waiting to enjoy his life with both the kids. My mom stayed with us for those 2 months and she not only helped in household chores but also made sure that I ate healthy meals and got enough rest. She even did massage and bathing for Aadi which was a respite for me. Mom gave me really good tips on how to raise 2 kids without making the elder one feel left out, at the same time she even explained to Om on several occasions, how his Maa would have to attend to Aadi sometimes as he is a chhotu baby and then she would be able to come to Om. Little Om showed quite a matured behaviour for his tender age. Now again, Sandeep had resumed Om's complete responsibility including his bathing, pooping, meals and online school while managing wfh and many other household duties. At night, all of us would be like dead logs while looking after these 2. We had started a sleep routine and we were pleasantly surprised when Aadi started sleeping for 7 hours straight at night. But that happiness was short lived😐. Soon he started waking multiple times for feeds at night. But then again, this didn't cause any stress as I was mentally prepared to have sleepless nights for 2 years. So it made feeding easy😊.
Post 4th month mom went back and soon my in laws came to stay with us. It came as a huge help as I could hand over one kid to them while managing the other or would run and do some chores. Om was also very happy as he could 'get things done' his way with grand parents😁. My FIL is very good with kids and can handle them well and my MIL used to help in the kitchen whenever the cook decided to ditch us. Both of them showered their complete attention on Om so he felt like good old days were back where he was the only 'aankhon ka tara' in the house😂. Sandeep would not only manage Om but even helped in putting Aadi to sleep whenever needed. This way the next 2 months also passed smoothly.
Meanwhile, Aadi also got major infection in both the eyes which was so bad that one morning, his eyes were glued together because of the discharge. We rushed him to the doctor, he gave antibacterial eye drops for 10 days and warned me to not miss even a single dose as these infections in babies are supposed to be very stubborn. Thankfully he was cured by the 10th day. (The thing is, when you are a STM, nothing scares you and your brain is programmed to tackle various situations with ease. I wonder, why isn't this quality embedded in every woman since her first childbirth??🤔)
After the paternity leave ended, Sandeep went back and joined his office. For 2 months I stayed at my mom's place where my brother took complete care of Om's online school and all his other things like his own kid so that I could peacefully concentrate only on Aadi🤗. My bhabhi took responsibility of my diet which helped in Lactation. She made sure that I ate a protein rich diet which would not cause colic for Aadi. Bf was going on so smoothly that I never bothered to count the duration or number of feeds till date. Because of zero stress about feeding, Aadi's weight gain was on track(touchwood) and milestones were also achieved on or before time. Initially, Om had a lot of doubts about breastfeeding 🤔 so instead of making a taboo out of it, I explained it to him taking animals as example so that his 3 year old brain could understand. Once he understood, he always followed the rule that nobody enters the room when baby feeds😊.
Post 2 months, I moved back to my home. Sandeep was eagerly waiting to enjoy his life with both the kids. My mom stayed with us for those 2 months and she not only helped in household chores but also made sure that I ate healthy meals and got enough rest. She even did massage and bathing for Aadi which was a respite for me. Mom gave me really good tips on how to raise 2 kids without making the elder one feel left out, at the same time she even explained to Om on several occasions, how his Maa would have to attend to Aadi sometimes as he is a chhotu baby and then she would be able to come to Om. Little Om showed quite a matured behaviour for his tender age. Now again, Sandeep had resumed Om's complete responsibility including his bathing, pooping, meals and online school while managing wfh and many other household duties. At night, all of us would be like dead logs while looking after these 2. We had started a sleep routine and we were pleasantly surprised when Aadi started sleeping for 7 hours straight at night. But that happiness was short lived😐. Soon he started waking multiple times for feeds at night. But then again, this didn't cause any stress as I was mentally prepared to have sleepless nights for 2 years. So it made feeding easy😊.
Post 4th month mom went back and soon my in laws came to stay with us. It came as a huge help as I could hand over one kid to them while managing the other or would run and do some chores. Om was also very happy as he could 'get things done' his way with grand parents😁. My FIL is very good with kids and can handle them well and my MIL used to help in the kitchen whenever the cook decided to ditch us. Both of them showered their complete attention on Om so he felt like good old days were back where he was the only 'aankhon ka tara' in the house😂. Sandeep would not only manage Om but even helped in putting Aadi to sleep whenever needed. This way the next 2 months also passed smoothly.
In the blink of an eye, our EBF journey had come to an end. My amazing family made sure that there was no stress in my life because everyone pitched in so well to help in every way possible.
My dad, who was away for work would send lots of dry fruits to make sure that I stayed healthy. My sister in law also got a baby just 3 weeks before Aadi and became my close friend in this journey as we would exchange every information we came across, be it fun facts, mom memes and other baby related stuff including firstcry coupon codes🤪
BTW, if you plan to have a second baby, don't have second thoughts about it even for a second. Just take the plunge, it may be chaotic and full of mayhem initially but once the kids start bonding, the journey becomes magical ✨😍
To tell you the truth, everyone assumes that being a STM you know it all 😎so nobody gives any advice and that actually reduces the anxiety🤪. You are less irritated which makes breastfeeding even more easy. Second time, you are less fussy and more trusting which puts your family at ease and it becomes a win win situation. This was an EBF journey which I could have only dreamt of at Om's time. There was no hurry, no worry, no pressure, no clocking the feeds, no chasing milestones because I knew, that eventually, everything will fall in place🤗.
I would like to thank my biggest pillar of support, Sandeep who made this phase enjoyable by shouldering most of the responsibilities. Whenever he would see me doing midnight feeding sessions, he would get me something to eat or gave at least a glass of water. Even now, every Saturday he makes dry fruits gond ke laddoo for me😍.
To all the parents who are readin this, I just want to say, that try and enjoy everyday of this phase because your baby is not going to be this small tomorrow. Its also very important to keep your sanity by doing things that you like. For me the real stress busters were cooking, baking, making desserts and creating monthly photoshoots for Aadi even if it came at the cost of sacrificing my sleep. 😄 I wish all of you, a lovely breastfeeding and parenting journey ahead.
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