Breastfeeding scares me. They said it hurts. I saw my mom wincing in pain before when manually pumping milk for my younger brother. I got into a fight with my younger brother once when we were kids and he bit me near the boob area, and it hurt. My breasts seem to grow bigger every week and I know that I better breastfeed or it will hurt because of the stored milk.
My problem is I haven’t been drinking milk. 
I have been taking my dairy products and calcium supplements. I am hoping that is enough for me to produce milk.
So as with anything that I am unsure of, I read up so I can figure out my next steps.
So far, there are two forums I have been scouring to know more or less what I am up for in the coming months. These are femalenetwork.com.ph and smartparenting.com.ph. Both forums were created by competing parenting magazines. Anyway, both forums (or is it fora?) attract middle-class moms, my age to around mid-30s, and working. So more or less, they are in the same position as I am.
Here are what I have confirmed so far:
As with everything else in life, breastfeeding experience varies from mommy to mommy. From what I read, volume of milk is the dependent variable. Physiological, emotional, and baby’s preference will determine the volume of milk produced.
I think the biggest factor is physiological. Some moms just do not produce a lot of milk. Some can produce before delivery, some produce after delivery. Apparently, breastfeeding should be done as early and as often as possible because the body will stop producing milk (or will produce less and less milk) if it looks like it is not needed.
To augment those whose bodies have not created enough milk, there are malunggay supplements for sale in the market. Should be taken a week or two before delivery.
Then there are the pre-natal and post-natal pregnancy massages that helps in increasing and easing flow of milk. I guess, there must be something about better blood circulation that will also contribute to increased milk volume. A mommy can also massage her breasts daily by doing circular motions as alternative to the post-natal massage.
Last, there is the tricky matter of choosing the right breast pump. Product reviews have been contradicting so I really couldn’t decide yet what I am supposed to buy. Nonetheless, the wrong pump will cause pain on the nipple, will lessen milk produced, will cause pain on the hands and wrists if it is manually done, and will take so much more time to produce the desired amount.
Then consider convenience as well because for those who are working, they will have to pump milk at work.
The most expensive one in the market is 34k PhP. The cheaper ones are 500 PhP. Then middle range is 3k-5k PhP. I contrast these figures to the fact that I only plan to breastfeed for six months maximum. A friend’s mom told me that breasfeeding is good for the child’s immune system, so it is good to ensure that the kid was breastfed for some time.
For 6 months use, 34k is too much. 3k-5k is a good range for me. I just have to figure out which features to use (more on that in the future). Questions I have to settle are:
- manual or electric? if electric, should it be battery operated or by electric cord?
- do I need the suckling technology that imitates baby’s motions?
- electric pumps are noisy, do I need another manual pump if I am at work?
- where to get replacement parts?
- which will help me produce the most milk at the least time and with the least pain?
Sigh, too many questions. I will have to settle this by late October. If I am due mid-November, these things should be prepared by then.
