Communication and First Time Breastfeeders

"Welcome to the Milk Mama Diaries Carnival (August). For this month, we join the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action in it's "Talk to Me!" theme where participants will share personal experiences, insights or recommendations in communicating breastfeeding intentions and goals to their support system. Please scroll down to the end of this post and check out the other carnival participants."

While I was still pregnant, my first dilemma was can I breastfeed and work at the same time. I didn't have a support system at first (of course my husband is my number one supporter!) because we were living independently so I had to do research on everything from the breast pump, storage system, how to properly store breast milk, and the whole shebang. Kellymom, Chronicles of Nursing Mom, and forums were my source of information.

When I got back to work after my maternity leave, there were two things I had to discuss, one with my yaya and the other is with my our HR Department. I already had three yayas, I oriented all of them on their first day how to handle my expressed milk. I printed a guideline from Kellymom and posted in on our ref. It was easy breezy with my yayas.

At work, we don't have a breastfeeding room/station, only an "executive" bathroom which only the bosses are allowed to use, all of other employees use the common bathroom outside of our office. On my first day back, I talked to our HR manager that I'll be expressing milk for my baby and asked which room I can use to have my pumping sessions and that I needed an outlet because I'm using an electric pump. She told me I can use the executive bathroom, so that's where I pump until to this day. I actually had a problem the second day, one HR personnel locked that bathroom! I think she did that on purpose because well, I'm not a boss and she saw me using it. Tinarayan pa ako! I had to explain to her that I was breastfeeding and I'm pumping milk for my baby. She said she wasn't advised about me using the bathroom and I should ask permission from the HR manager. I told her that the HR already know. Grrr! That shut her mouth! It was smooth sailing after that.

 

With my family, I'm the first one to breastfeed, so I really need to explain why I'm doing it, why I'm exclusively breastfeeding, why is it important to breastfeed for the first six months and no supplementing of formula milk and water. I've got into arguments and debates with my mom and grandma on why I don't want Y to wean and just drink formula. She has the occasional formula milk when my supply is really really low and can't keep up with her demands. My husband is a breastfed baby, he was breastfed until he was four and he rarely gets sick!

In my case or in any case, communication is one of the keys to breastfeed successfully, at home or in the office. With my family, they don't know anything about breastfeeding, so I have to be the one to have all the knowledge and information. I have to be armed with answers to all their questions. I also made sure to tell my family that I intend to breastfeed for as long as I can. Even if my mom and my grandma had told me to wean now or wean when she reaches 1.5 years old, I made my stand. One thing I learned from my sister's failed breastfeeding experience is that she didn't really communicate her breastfeeding intentions to her husband and her MIL. She's living in the province and me being her only support system, I really can't do much but give advice and suggestions. In the end, she was not successful.

Communication, having an open minded support system, and having a supportive support system are important in breastfeeding successfully. I'm no expert on this so advice and insights from other breastfeeding moms would be welcome. :)


Happy Breastfeeding Month!

Check out other participant's entries:
DaintyMom's Creating a Pro-Breastfeeding Culture in the Family (Facebook and Twitter: @Dainty_Mom)
Wifely Steps' On Breastfeeding: Say It, Claim It, Get Support! (Facebook and Twitter: @macaronigirl)
Truly Rich Mom's How To Get Others to Support You in Breastfeeding (Facebook and Twitter: @tinasrodriguez)
EthanMama's My Best Breastfeeding Support System - My Husband (Twitter: @ethanmama)
Raising Baby Lia's A Shoutout to my Breastfeeding Buddies
Jen CC Tan's I'm Breastfeeding, and That's That! (Facebook and Twitter: @next9baby)
Project Blog by Kate's Talk and Make it Happen (Facebook and Twitter: @kate_demetrio)
My Mommy Kwentos' How I Recruited my Top Breastfeeding Buddies (Facebook)
Apples  & Dumplings Communicating and First Time Breastfeeders (Twitter: @apple_dumplings)
I'm a Newbie Wife's How I Taught My Family to Breastfeed
TouringKitty's Communication Through Breastfeeding (Twitter: @Touringkitty)
Mec as Mom's Pre-Natal Pediatric Consultations Are Necessary
Escie's World's Ready, Get Set, Go! for Breastfeeding (Twitter: @Escielicious)
Nanaystrip's BreasTALK : Text, Retweet, Share your Knowledge and Experiences (Twitter: @bunsonimaestro)
Superwomom's A-S-Ks (on breastfeeding questions, help, support)
Go Help Yourself's “6 persuasion tips for breastfeeding moms and advocates”
Legally Mom's Breastfeeding Talk Between Me and My Formula Fed Daughter (Facebook and Twitter: @legallymomPH
Handy Mommy's Couple's Communication and Decision: Key to Successful Breastfeeding
Chronicles of a Nursing Mom's Effective Communication Bucket List (Facebook and Twitter: @mamababylove)