I just feel a little sad kapag nakakabasa ako ng mga mommies na nag stop mag breastfeed sa umpisa pa lang dahil daw mahina or wala silang milk.
I'm not shaming mommies who preferred giving formula milk sa babies nila. It was also my case sa first born son ko. I thought mahina milk ko. Nagresearch pa ako, kesyo anemic ako, etc. Of course, inom ng mga milk boosters like malunggay juice, ate lactation treats, etc. I ended up mix feeding him for about a month. (After that, EBF na kahit bumalika ako sa work. ?) I felt bad kasi naka mind set ako nung buntis pa lang ako na mag breast feed ako hangga't gusto ni baby. But, no. I was just misguided.
I think most moms too, especially the new ones. ?
I believed in this until I saw an episode on Jane the Virgin (a good show btw?) last year. Same situation. Jane just gave birth and her baby latches to her every 20 or 30 minutes. Her family is puzzled on what's happening and what to do. Until, the baby daddy Rafael (so hot, btw??) told them that the baby is cluster feeding.
So, being the Type A that I am. I asked my friend, Google.
"What is cluster feeding?
What your hungry little one is doing is called cluster feeding, a smart way for him to boost your milk supply during growth spurts. There's nothing wrong with your milk or supply, but baby's instincts know that feeding every 20 minutes or so is the best way to trigger your body to produce more. Spacing out feedings would not be nearly as efficient." -whattoexpect.com
So, basically, during the first days pagkapanganak kay baby, akala natin mahina milk natin dahil latch ng latch si baby, yun pala our body is just preparing to produce more milk. Actually, alam ng katawan natin mga mommies yung demand ng milk ni baby. If you keep on breastfeeding your baby, then you won't have problems with your supply. Unless, of course, there's an underlying medical issue.
The strange thing, I guess, is whenever I mentioned cluster feeding to someone, even the nurses i spoke with in the hospital.. they don't say anything and just gave me this look ?. Maybe not many people know or use the term.
Now, I have my second born son who is 10 weeks old. I didn't have the same problem. Yes, we experienced cluster feeding but after a few days my milk supply has been abundant.
I'm not sharing this to shame on anyone. I just want to share information and lessen misguidedness. Let us empower women especially mommies who are struggling after giving birth. You can do it mommies!