Samridhi Jamwal
Breastfeeding Journey

The day I got to know I was pregnant, I had mixed emotions. I was nervous, happy, scared , jumpy and felt like screaming with joy. Later though I had a lot of thoughts running in my mind. Questions on child birth, how the actual delivery will be, postpartum etc. etc. Like everyone else, I too read many articles and material on every trimester, the symptoms, things to look out for, and how my baby was growing inside the womb.

At each stage, there are thousands of questions a new mother has and thankfully, I had a cheerleader by my side, who not only motivated me, but gave me the real picture of how things would be after giving birth and while giving birth.

On 26th March, when I went for my final scan, we got to know the baby had two loops of cord around her neck. We immediately had to get me admitted for a c-section. While I was fully prepared for a natural birth, I believe god had different plans. My cheerleader, Dr Neha Dwivedi, who not only helped me with all the required knowledge on childbirth, also gave me full support on my D-day. She asked me to hold the baby close as soon as she was born. She also prepared me for how it will be after the surgery and that I should try to move around a little so my recovery could be smooth and faster. She also prepared me for another journey – the breastfeeding journey.

The biggest challenge and yet the most miraculous thing for a woman after giving birth is to be able to feed the new born. We don’t talk about Breastfeeding that often, and I’m surprised how I never heard anyone talk about it earlier until I became a mother.

Dr. Neha who is also my relative and a close friend gave me so much support right from the start. I was double minded about using formula because I always thought, breastfeeding was hard. Turns out, it is harder than I thought, but also so so fulfilling. Watching her get the nutrition she needs from me, makes me feel happy and emotional. I did not know how she would latch but I knew that if I don’t try, she will never. So I did what Dr Neha told me. I kept her close to me, and she was already trying to get milk. Newborns know how to suckle and they also know a mothers smell. My daughter just turned an year old and we continue to bond over breastfeeding. I’d say, there was never a more beautiful and natural way of bonding with a newborn. It does wonders to the baby and your own body.

At every stage during the last 12 months, breastfeeding has helped her. It was her comfort, her safe space, her food, her medicine for when she was sick and her soother when she was anxious or over tired.

I have had days when I was sick and my daughter would continue to feed through the night. It was hard, but I guess even I got better sooner with the love I received from her.
A lot of the times she would want to feed very frequently specially in the first six months. There were many relatives who’d say, that my baby was hungry and that she was not getting enough from me. I’ve been a lean person since teens and hence, nobody, absolutely NOBODY expected my baby to be chubby or even a bit on the healthy side. To give you some background, I’ve been a chubby baby myself. However, since I’m lean, for my baby to be a healthy one and only surviving on my milk was hard to digest for many people. I never felt bad about their thinking, but I did feel we need to bust this myth. Anyone can feed their baby and their baby will be healthy. Period.

I also always had near and dear ones ask, if I was able to feed her properly or I had any supply issues or I was topping it with formula. Most times I didn’t have an answer because I was just surprised by those questions. To be honest, I never gave in to their thoughts and continued to exclusively feed her. I knew she was getting what she had to and that it was a part of her individual behaviour and growing up. Yes, one can have issues and there are no two similar people, but all I can say is that, one needs to constantly be at it and let the baby be close so that body gets used to the demand.

Hence, to all the new moms and moms to be, breastfeeding is a gift you can give to your baby right from the start. It has immense benefits and to me what tops it all is the love and admiration we both share for each other. I am emotional as I share this story because it’s been an year to her birth, but this journey continues to be as fulfilling as it was since her birth. I owe all the knowledge and confidence I have today, to Dr Neha. She is a total rock star.

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