Breastfeeding the second time

I breastfed my eldest girl for a year. To some that may be a long time. I personally wish I had breastfed her for at least two years. Either way, I thought I had it down. I thought I won't have any problems feeding my second. I didn't even prepare at all. I didn't read on it to refresh my memory nor did I take malunggay pills which my OB advised me to take. I just thought to myself "I got this".

The first few days went smoothly. My new born girl latched properly and things were going well. Then came the horrible horrible pains. I did remember it being extremely painful the first time and brushed the pain aside.
I would nurse in the hospital's breastfeeding lounge and right when she latched I'd curse inside. Despite that, I just kept on keeping on. I told myself that it would only last two weeks and then it would take its natural course.


I tried not to feel the pain but things changed for me when she spat up blood. I've heard from other moms how their babies looked like vampires but it never happened to me before. This scared me. I was told by my pedia to stop feeding first and do the bottle. Luckily my sister-in-law had an ample supply of breast milk and I was also able to pump. I bottle-fed her breastmilk instead. I didn't realize how hard it was to bottle-feed! I had to warm the milk, transfer it, pump and give it to a baby who does not know how to take it from a bottle. All that while she cries and screams. Giving her the boob was way easier! It was hella exhausting! This resulted to a crazy-tired mommy.

I finally decided to get help. I first saw Zeny Feliciano, a breastfeeding coach/therapist. She gave me a massage, which really calmed my nerves down. She also helped my milk flow and gave me some instructions on how to deal with my situation. I wanted to hug her after our session. I felt so relaxed and I was able to nurse again. I was expecting everything to be fine from then on.

The next morning, I had baby Dracula again.

I then saw Abbie Yabot. I was told that she was one of the only two licensed lactation consultants in the country. If I am not mistaken she is also the founder of La Leche League Philippines . Abbie assessed my situation and fixed my positions. And that's all there was to it!

This is what I learned:

1. After 4 years of NOT breastfeeding, one must brush up on it (same goes with handling a baby).
2. It will really hurt like like hell. Who ever said it didn't must have really high tolerance for pain or is being unreal!
3. Dracula babies are common. It will just be a matter of time (minimum 1 week, max 1 month) before pain subsides and nursing becomes a breeze.
4. As with most things, never ever give up. If you really want to breastfeed YOU CAN!

All in all I appreciated nursing even more now that I have experienced how hard it was to bottle feed. I'm glad those days are over. my youngest is now one month old and 11lbs heavy. That's all MY milk! weee!