Bonding With Your Baby
Greetings in the NAME of YAHWEH, my name is Kathy
and I am 30 years old.
I would like to encourage any sister who is considering breastfeeding to give it a try. My son was born here at Victory Community and will be one year old in October. As I prepared for delivery, I would read books on prenatal care and breastfeeding. I read how beneficial breastfeeding was for the baby and me .
Before I came to Victory, I always thought breastfeeding was old fashion, like sewing and knitting. A few sisters that had babies before me told me that you are able to bond more with your baby by breastfeeding than with bottle-feeding. As I thought about this I realized that YAHWEH gave us women the ability to produce milk for a reason. I could not wait to try.
Breastfeeding did hurt at first. Actually it took
six weeks for my nipples to get used to it. There were times that I cried, but I
pressed on knowing it was the best I could give my baby. I asked some sisters
how long their nipples hurt and what I could do to help with the soreness. Each
sister was different; their soreness lasted from two weeks to a month. Their
tips for the soreness were Epsom salt, also Aloe Vera and lanolin being rubbed
on the sore area. The best tip was to keep him from just nursing on the nipple.
One of the sisters told me to try to get the whole nipple and the dark skin around the nipple
(areola) in the baby's mouth. She said "If you feel him slip off unto just
the nipple, take the breast back out and try again". When I began to do
this relief came and I started to love
breastfeeding.
Nursing can be time-consuming in the beginning. I had to put him to my breast every half hour, until my milk came down, which it did on the evening of the second day after Josiah was born. Then I could nurse him whenever he cried. As I got familiar with nursing, I began to put him on a schedule and make him wait to eat. I started with feeding him every hour and two at night because breast milk is thinner and goes through the baby quicker. I made sure to eat a healthy diet, whole wheat bread, vegetables, greens and meats. As he got older I stretched it to every two hours. This lasted for about eight months.
My son and I enjoy the time we spend together. I like to sing to him, rub his hair and I like to see him smile while he is nursing. He likes to take his finger and touch my nose and put it to my mouth for me to kiss it. He also tries to play with my shirt and buttons on my shirt to stay awake. I will always cherish these times.