Hi,
wonderful moms and daddies on the hive, it is with great pleasure that I share one of the most interesting experiences of being a mom so far. My breastfeeding method.
Exclusive breastfeeding is a process whereby a newborn is only fed breast milk by the mother for the first six months of his/her life. It means such a baby won't be given water or any other food aside from the mother's breast milk. This definition is just for the benefit of anyone not very familiar with the word.
Growing up, this type of breastfeeding was not common where I came from but I only heard tales of some city women who only fed their kid's breast milk without any other food for the first six months. And they were perceived as if they were punishing their kids. Like how only breast milk sustains their kids.
During our time, as soon as a few weeks after birth mothers will start giving their kids things like water, local herbs, baby milk, and pap. So exclusive breastfeeding was not a common practice.
During our first week of pregnancy, I remember hubby asking me one day if we should practice exclusive breastfeeding or not and I told him that I don't know yet but I will have to do research and we will do what is best for our baby. As I believe every kid deserves what is best from their parents.
And luckily some weeks later I happened to visit a cousin of mine who is a nurse and also a nursing mother. I had the chance to discuss with her extensively and I discovered she was practicing exclusive breastfeeding for her baby. I was impressed by how healthy her baby is, also she told me lots of benefits that come with doing such type of breastfeeding.
This includes your baby not being at risk of diarrhea during teething, helping them to build a strong immune system against diseases, and lots more.
Right there I resolved I will do exclusive breastfeeding when our son is born. On his first vaccination visit to the healthcare center we were again lectured on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding to our babies, we were told that if we do this couple with maintaining good hygiene at home and making sure they are given their tooth vaccine then they will not experience diarrhea during teething. As We might know what a nightmare diarrhea during teething can be.
To cut the long story short, it has been five months and every day I am so proud of my decision.
We haven't spent a dime buying any kind of medicine or having any cause to visit the hospital aside from going for his vaccines. No diarrhea so far, although he has not start bring out tooth yet. The baby paracetamol we were given during his circumcision is just sitting on his basket without us needing to use it.
His growth has been amazing without any issues.
People's reactions towards us
Some people still think that I was punishing him by not giving him water or food for the past five months and some are very proud of my decision and appreciate my handwork. A young lady even made a joke a week back by saying why am I punishing my innocent baby? Until I had to take my time to explain to her the benefits of my method before she could understand.
I'm proud I choose this method as I only just have to eat healthy for him to get enough milk from me. And it is not hard at all. I did not put him at risk of food or water contamination by giving him anything other than breast milk.
I love how healthy and strong he is growing. He will complete six months in three weeks and by then we can start introducing water and other baby food to him.
It is however very sad that I have met some women in the past months that refuse to give their babies only breast milk for the first six months even after I tried to convince them.
Most of them gave little excuses, and it hurt knowing they are depriving their babies of what is best for their growth and development.
Such mothers need to open their minds and be willing to learn a new strategy that is best for them and the development of their babies. If I'm to have kids again in the future this is a method I will use as it is the best practice for healthy growth and development of my baby.
That will be all for now, thank you a lot for your support and love❤️ take care of you.