Breast milk VS. a Formula

So, I began thinking about this battle when I got pregnant with my lovely daughter.

Should I breastfeed ?

What age should I breastfeed till?

What if I get no milk?

How long will the milk stay?

All of these questions were crossing my mind DAILY. And to some questions I got answers to while other questions I got no answers until…. I delivered!

Trust me, you will get the answers to all of your “baby” related questions and doubts when you see and hold your little angel in your arms. Let me tell you a little about my experience …

☕️tea time☕️

I delivered my daughter via c-section an unplanned one, so once I got to see her eyes and little nose the nurses took her away into an incubator since she has swallowed lots of fluid. After I was moved to my room at the hospital I began pumping since I wasn’t able to hold my baby and feed her. For around 3 days I kept on pumping until I got to see her hold her and feed her. The first milk that came in was colostrum and it is more than gold. (I’ll get to that later post). So after 3 days I began directly feeding her, but I struggled a lot, my husband had to get my a breast shield so that my daughter could latch on. I literally cried when she used to latch on and began to feed.

Once we got home, the pain continued and I continued to feed using a shield. One day about 3 months later I suddenly decided that I will remove the shield. And so I did and to my surprise she latched On perfectly and it didn’t hurt anymore.

I continued feeding until 8 months old and then I tried using various formulas but, she refused all of them. I even got back to just pumping but I got frustrated and got back to direct feeding.

I didn’t bother trying to make her drink formula until she turned 1 and a half. But then she also refused.. so to this day I continue feeding her in the morning after she wakes up (like a pre-breakfast) and the second feed during her nap and the last feed before sleeping at night.

So that is all my tea.. now let’s get to the battle.

Breast milk or formula?

Let’s see what is in the breast milk;

• Millions of live cells. These include immune-boosting white blood cells, as well as stem cells, which may help organs develop and heal.

• More than 1,000 proteins that help your baby grow and develop, activate her immune system, and develop and protect neurons in her brain.

• All that breast milk protein is made up of amino acids. There are more than 20 of these compounds in your milk. Some of them, called nucleotides, increase at night and scientists think they may induce sleep.

• Over 200 complex sugars called oligosaccharides that act as prebiotics, feeding ‘good bacteria’ in your baby’s gut. They also prevent infections entering her bloodstream and lower her risk of brain inflammation.

• More than 40 enzymes. Enzymes are catalysts that speed up chemical reactions in the body. The ones in your milk have jobs such as aiding your baby’s digestion and immune system, as well as helping her absorb iron.

• Growth factors that support healthy development.¹ These affect many parts of your baby’s body, including her intestines, blood vessels, nervous system, and her glands, which secrete hormones.

• Vitamins and minerals – nutrients that support healthy growth and organ function, as well as help build your baby’s teeth and bones.

• Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins. There are five basic forms of antibodies and all of them can be found in your milk. They protect your baby against illnesses and infections by neutralising bacteria and viruses.

• You may have heard of long-chain fatty acids because they play a pivotal part in building your baby’s nervous system, as well as aid healthy brain and eye development.

• 1,400 microRNAs, which are thought to regulate gene expression, as well as help prevent or halt disease development, support your baby’s immune system, and play a role in remodelling the breast.

Now about colostrum.. it contains the same as the latter milk but it tailored to your baby needs. It is also called a “natural vaccination” because its levels of antibodies and white blood cells are so high. Your first milk needs to contain these so it can protect your baby from infections and diseases after she leaves the safety of your womb.

Now formula milk only contains what is mentioned on the package. It cannot simply cannot be compared or even put close to the breast milk!

It is your choice on how long you plan to breastfeed or if you plan to breast feed at all. But trust me, it is something that you will never NEVER regret in your life. You are giving you baby so much more by just giving them Breast milk! Don’t be insecure, you might even be called a cow! I know I did! But that made me happier and didn’t stop me from providing milk for my baby.

You should always consult with you doctor regarding how you should breastfeed, for easier latching etc. don’t be shy, we are all once mothers and we all go through this. You are not alone !

apart from breastfeed being good for your little one, there are tons of benefits for YOU mama!

• When breast feeding your body releases prolactin which helps you relax and focus on your baby.
• Also oxytocin is released which creates a strong bond between you and your baby. Without even trying!
• also it helps you to recover from child birth more quickly as oxytocin aids in putting your uterus to its pre-pregnancy stage.

• Breastfeeding will help you even years and years after you stop breastfeeding. It will protect you from getting breast or ovarian cancer.
• It also prevents you from getting types 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, as well as high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.
• Exclusive day and night breastfeeding delays your menstruation which protects you from unwanted pregnancies.

All in all, breastfeeding should be your only option. Forget those nasty formulas, they are unreasonably pricey, useless and have very less health benefits.

Good luck mama’s and breastfeed away !

So you have a newborn now. now what!?

In this post I will be talking about having a newborn baby and getting the hang of it!!

So now you have finally met your little one, you’ve been waiting for him/her for so long. And finally the day has come!

Obviously you are exhausted but at the same time you’re so excited to teach your little one, to cuddle with, you’re so excited to spend the rest of your life with them. There is A LOT that a newborn baby needs, and you are the one who has to provide it all. Don’t scare yourself, and if your feel that you aren’t doing enough don’t beat yourself up for it either.

Let’s begin,

After giving birth, you’ll probably stay at the hospital for a few more days (I stayed for a week). This is just to ensure that you and your baby are totally fine and everything’s at norm before heading home and showing your little one their room! During your stay at the hospital your baby will be checked up continuously to ensure that baby is okay. If you had a c-section, you will be given medications, your stitches will be checked, and for the worst part (at least thats what happened to me) the nurses will come and push down on your stomach in order to get your blood flowing and get all the air out. They will also be asking you if you have “passed gas” !

A c-section recovery is really exhausting, the minutes after the anesthesia wears off you begin feeling everything, and by everything I mean EVERYTHING. after surgery you will be peeing through a pipe although you won’t be feeling anything and you won’t have the feels to rush to the bathroom. On the next day, that pipe is gone and you are on your own to go to the bathroom.. forget going to the bathroom , you can’t even get out of your bed! What happened to me was, I took 20 minutes to get out of bed and another 10 minutes to get to the bathroom which would take me 1 minute have I not had a c-section. Another part, is the “doing your business” part that is worse than giving birth!!! But thankfully my husband was there to help me through this stage.

I’m not trying to scare you but be prepared for this if your giving birth through c-section. All women handle pain differently and all pain levels are different, some women feel like they can fly after a c-section while some will feel like i did. I’m not going to write anything about vaginal birth since I never tried it, if you gave birth the normal way please share your story with us in the comments section.

okay, back to your newborn! The nurses will teach you and assist you in breastfeeding if you choose to (I highly recommend breastfeeding, I’ll be talking more about this in another post). The nurses will teach you how to bathe your little one, how to care for their belly button, how to properly dress baby, how and when to feed, sleeping timings etc. After you’re familiar with all of these details you’re going to spend a few more days at the hospital or maybe in your case go home sooner. It differs from the situations.

Once you get your baby home safe and sound, you’ll put your baby in their crib and then you’ll wonder “so what now?”. For me, I had a really hard time after I got back home, I was still waddling after my c-section and I couldn’t use the bathroom in my full comforts, I couldn’t take a bath for another week. (The bath situation was actually the worst for me since I love LOVE to take a bath in the morning and night) especially after the hospital. Breastfeeding was something I would cry for ! My baby didn’t latch on till her 3rd month, so I had to use a breast shield which would help her drink easier. It was painful oh so painful, that I used to cry and even scream at times. And then when things started getting a tad bit better, baby blues kicked in!

So as you can see, my situation was 100% bad but it wasn’t something anyone wants to go through after receiving their baby! Once again, all pain levels are different so you don’t have to be scared ! God will not give you something that you cannot handle.

Once all of these postpartum matters pass, you’ll look at your baby and thank God and say that it was all worth it!

Good luck with your little ones and keep them and yourself safe!