Al hamdulilah we have completed 18 months of breastfeeding successfully and in shaa Allah have plans to breastfeed as long as babyA wishes!! Being a first time mom we would obviously have few doubts if we can or not. But in my case al hamdulilah the moment babyA was in my womb with the help of research and guidances i was mentally prepared to bond myself with the baby. I was confident enough to nurse her whatever happens. Even during the labour as soon as the baby was out, the nurses started to convince me to get the formula milk in stock. To be frank i haven’t got a thought to get it even once. Al hamdulilah my sister is also breastfeeding her kiddo. The moment my baby needs me irrespective of place, time etc., I nurse her.Initially I was shy to nurse in public but now we don’t mind. I really don’t know about others but this breastfeeding has helped me a lot during our flight journey. The main thing in this journey is trusting ourselves and being confident and firm that we can do it!! To the new moms, here are my few tips regarding the breastfeeding
1. Trust yourself
Almighty has created everyone for a purpose and the science of body is made to perform the tasks assigned to each part of the body. So for instance heart pumps the blood, likewise the fingers are to hold an object. Similarly after the birth of the baby breast is to nurse the kid, calm down the crying baby, soothe him/her as a kid. So we will have to trust that we will have sufficient milk for our baby. To trust ourselves we will have to brush our basic education and understand the benefits of breastmilk and how the process works.
2. Supportive spouse
When nursing the baby the mind of the mom should be free from worries. This csn happen only when support arises from family members. Research says when there is support from the husband the wife enjoys the previlige of breastfeeding. Even if problem arises from the inlaws if husband helps in putting your foot down she will win the sky too. A supportive husband is a person who helps in daily activities and gets necessary items for the mom and the child.
3. Wear the dress which suits you
This is actually important. Practically a loose outfit will help us to pull up and nurse. It will help you to be confident enough to nurse no matter what who is nearby and where Re you. Try different options and fix which fits you no matter who taunts you. In the end of the day, your baby and you should be convenient and comfortable.
4. Make yourselves comfortable
Earlier when you have a newborn you would need a nursing pillow and it really helped in balancing the baby and to keep the baby in the 45 degree angle. Later find a comfort zone might be a favourite chair or sofa. I had an arm chair which helped me a lot to balance between the nursing pillow a d my body. You can even lie down and nurse the baby. There are many methods. FIND a suitable position and stay comfortable.
5. Seek guidance
When you are carrying your baby get educated regarding breastfeeding and if at all you feel you don’t get milk try to seek help. There are many facebook groups which are supporting breastfeeding. You can either contact a lactation counsellor or a lactation consultant to help you so that you can enjoy the breastfeeding relationships without any discomfort.
These are the tips which I personally experienced and it clicked for us. Now i would request you to share your experiences on breastfeeding.
Category: motherhood
Best of Alizehmysoul 2017-Hi5!! It’s time for Best 5!!
Its been around 6 months of active blogging and I had a wonderful journey in penning down my thoughts. This 2017 is a learning year for me. I have grown with my baby step by step and now we as a family are welcoming 2018. These 6 months with my blogging as a hobby I have gained wonderful followers and I do get encouragement to work on more on my niche. I just thought would you guys like to know the best of my work. Here I am linking up with some of the Best posts of ALIZEHMYSOUL.
1. Baby Alizeh’s Role in the Environment:
The best one of Alizehmysoul was the post where I wrote about Baby Alizeh’s role in the environment. Here we have discussed about the usage of Cloth diapers and nappies and how she made me to switch to the menstrual cup. We even have discussed about the food grade silicone teethers and why is it eco-friendly.Literally how my daughter is contributing towards the environment to make the place clean and healthy for the generations to come. This article was shared a few times then and I had people write to me to tell me how much it had helped them to realize how can we contribute towards the benefit of the world.
2. Attitude or Gratitude- A Simple note to Parents:
This post was also written on June 2017. I wrote this because a thought struck on me. “Will babyA think about the efforts I put on her growth?” Will she be thinking about me once she finds her responsibilities? Then a mind voice asked me the same questions! I have combined the things which I did earlier and planned stuffs for the future in this space. It too had a good reach and was happy that I was accepted as a blogger!! To know more about it have a look at here!
3.20th Century Vs 21st Century moms:
This post was written on July in the view of a bloggers marathon and it had a good reach! Many agreed my views on why I supported 21st Century moms are better. 21st century results are outcome based whereas 20th century is time based. To know what are the evidences I have given please do check my space.
4. Why and How should I register a carseat?:
This post was a sponsored post but still very important. Here I have discussed about the importance of registering the carseat and the steps to register the carseat. To know more about it please do check out here.
5. Peek-a-P[boo]:
This is a memorable post and when I wrote about it I got weird look from my husband but now based on the reach we both are laughing out. Can you imagine an article with poops and poops! Here you get an adventure of poop and stages. Few mommies said they were able to rewind how their mommy dates were full of poop talks and the blowouts. To experience the wonders of poop please do click here!!
You can visit the most popular posts by other Muslimah Bloggers below. Each blogger has chosen their five most popular post from 2017. These are the best of the best posts from around the web!
BFF-BREASTFEEDING FELLAS; BREASTFEEDING FRIENDS FOREVER
We are going to complete our 18 months in a day and l am getting to hear from people around, She is No more a baby! Stop nursing her! If not now then never will she forget. To all the people who say this I just smile back and walk off from the place as I feel, nursing is my duty and almighty has mentioned in the holy Quran to nurse till 2 years comfortably and then wean naturally. Al hamdulilah I am able to nurse my daughter till date. Nursing her I get arrested at times but I feel it’s a good bonding we get to share with joy. The sweet cuddles, the naughty moments and the curvy wavy acrobats she performs since day 1 of her birth can never be tagged even with a million dollars. Who will wish to miss such priceless asset that easily? Isn’t it good to feel that she enjoys the benefits from me as long as she wants to? So when I said I’ll nurse till she self-weans people started to laugh! Did I say wrong? I spoke and convinced her to allow me to baby-wear her. When I say this people mock at me! I don’t care and l have asked her permission till date whether its babywearing or cloth diapering or the undies now. Only since she showed discomfort with the jacket mode ON in a carseat, I was given an opportunity to do my research to learn how to keep her warm. Even now she prefers to be on Undies at home and we are nowhere near potty training. When she can decide on this she can surely decide for herself when to stop nursing too. Through this post I am giving reply to the entire mob out there who keeps on asking why do l still nurse?
- It stops tantrums
- It makes their bad moment to a good one
- It prevents and shortens the illness
- A bond between mom and baby grows
- It improves their immunity
- It improves their quality of life
- It lowers cancer risk
- Peaceful sleep of the baby
This post is not to hurt anyone; it’s for those who tend to hurt me.
When a doctor said its time to stop nursing as extended breastfeeding doesn’t pass any energy to the kid I decided to change the doctor. When you get to hear this, it’s best to change the doctor. At whatever age you are nursing your kid, the kid knows to extract the energy from you and it’s the duty of a mom to eat healthy to gain and pass off the energy and make it a vicious cycle. Being in a research environment all my life; the instinct has made me to research and go with the flow. Al hamdulilah thanks to my mom for this. Glad that Faru supports me in all my baby decisions. It’s a real gift. During my initial struggles of breastfeeding my sisy helped me and gave me the confidence to get me to this level where I am right now. To the new moms out there, we have a post on the blog to get prepared on Breastfeeding. Please do have a look on it.
Since I have got to hear of negative stuffs on extended breastfeeding, I asked my mommy blogger friends about their views on Extended Breastfeeding. So here is a gist of what they said. Glad I am around the people who have supported my decision always! It’s good to get the positive energy always!!
I am a mother of 19 months old boy and Alhumdulilah still breastfeesing. For me, the no.1 factor is that Allah has ordered us in Quran to breastfeed for 2 years. It is his right. The second reason being it is great for immunity and brain development.
Alhamdulillah, I have nursed all my kids till the age of 2 years because its recommended in the Qura’n “hawlain kamilain’ – two complete lunar years. I didn’t want to wean them off before it was time as it was still their right.I began to wean them ever so gradually only when the time was near. For me what motivated me was the incomparable convenience of breastfeeding. Yes, its convenience. You wont’ be bothered with washing so many bottles, you can instantly comfort them when they are hurt, it’s much easier at bedtime and through the night (although this has to be controlled towards the end) and all this comes with the innumerable benefits of breastfeeding to both mother and child including nutritional, psychological and emotional.
Both of us sisters breastfed our kids till 2 years of age as Allah prescribed in the Qur’an (And we even nursed each other’s kids lol hence making us foster mums to them 💞) – although difficult in the start, it has been a breeze afterwards Alhamdulillah and the benefits of it all couldn’t have made us decide otherwise 💜
I breastfed my son until 3.5 years. After completing his Islamic birthright we continued until his need was fulfilled. Breastfeeding is so much more then just nursing. Here in Holland there are many misconceptions about breastfeeding in our ummah. One of the reasons I started writing about breastfeeding on my blog.
I am also part of the board of the (Dutch) Islamic Breastfeeding Organisation Halimah. We are there for sisters who want to fulfill the birthright of their children by giving them all the physical, mental and spiritual islamic guidence, support and knowledge they need. Breastfeeding your child is a blessing given to us and it is so wonderful seeing sisters helping and supporting eachother, spreading proper knowledge about breastfeeding all for the same goal. Completing a part of our deen. Breastfeeding is hard work and every sister deserves true support when needed. The breastfeeding period only happens once in a child’s life and it is such a special way Allah subhana wa ta’aala gave us to bond with our children. I am still amazed every time new scientific research shows new benefits of breastfeeding. Even for toddlers and preschoolers the health benefits continue what was one of my reasons to proceed after the 2 years.
I breastfed my first son for only 8 months because I got pregnant with my second son. I had a bad morning sickness at the time so I couldn’t eat well. I decided to stop breastfeed him and it broke my heart. I promised to continue the breastfeed if he asked when his brother was born but he never asked for that. I then breastfed my second son for more than 2 years, about one or two months. Now I have my third son and I’m willing to breastfeed him until he’s 2 years. Why breastfeed them? Because it’s cheaper than giving formula for them. Cheap, healthy, practical. And breastfeeding is a great process to make a bonding between mom and baby. The second reason is breastfeeding is a natural way to birth control. I myself got my menstrual periode 4 months after giving birth. But ofcourse there are many challenges in breastfeeding from the lack quantity to the quality of breast milk. Weaning is also a challenge. I wean my first and second son without any difficulties alhamdulillaah. And I hope so with this third baby. I wrote something about breastfeeding in my blog as well so you are free to check my page.
I breastfed all 4 of my children and currently still breastfeeding the youngest. Although I experienced a lot of negativity for carrying on so long, I managed to continue until near the 2 year mark. Despite negativity, I found breastfeeding easy and the best way to give my babies the nutrition they needed. I think having a supportive husband really helped. There are so many health benefits, even for toddlers. It is also a great way to comfort them. It was a special bonding experience and I am proud I was able to do it.
These lovely mumma bloggers said I am a rockstar and I can nurse my baby until we can!! In shaa allah will nurse until she weans off naturally with almighty’s grace. As I have got support from my friends you will also get support from us all!! Say a hello to your breastfeeding friend from our gang of mommy bloggers!!
Jacket in a BabyCARSEAT? Yes or No
As winters are approaching I wanted to keep my baby warm but at the same time had to check if she is safe and comfortable with the jackets ON in the carseat. I had to check on this because whenever babyA is in carseat with her jackets ON she used to cry her lungs out and will be in peace if she is out from the jacket. But I had no option to keep her warm. So ended up researching and was shocked to learn that kids shouldn’t be with the Jackets in a carseat. Even the adults shouldn’t be with their jackets within the seat belt.
Now lets see why is it unsafe?
In a crash, the maximum protection for a child can be given only when the harness or seat belt is near the child. So its like the more close it is the more safe the baby is! The loose harness can fit the heavy coat but during a crash it won’t serve the purpose and the baby may even eject from the carseat. The principle is same for everyone so please donot use puffed jackets in your vehicle with the seatbelt mode ON.
How to check why is it unsafe?
1. Put the coat on and make your baby sit in the carseat and buckle the seat.
2.Tighten the harness to remove the slack.
3.Unbuckle the seat without loosing the harness.
4. Remove the coat and make the baby sit again.
Image and knowledge sharing @thecarseatlady
Now you can check yourself the gap between the child and harness. This empty air will harm the kid and it doesn’t allow us to fulfill the purpose of using a baby carseat.
So our next question lies to what will be the scenario if we are using layering technique. Will that not harm then?
It will require a little harness adjustment unlike the puffy winter jackets. The layering technique will compress the air whereas the puffy jackets have uncompressed air. So there lays an issue. The slack can checked with the help of Pinch test.
The baby doesn’t feel cold actually. This is what i have learnt from babyA and that too within a car i don’t think so they would need the puffy jackets. If at all if you feel you need an option to cover them you can cover them with a baby blanket and a hat. This has helped us till now. You can even get the Cozywoggle and Poncho which are suitable for the carseat where it doesn’t affect the harness. I started to research on this when a mommy friend of mine suggested to get a cozzgwoggle.
In fact there are many ways to use the car seat during winter. As a person who has moved recently from India, i felt spending dollars just for a cozzywoggle which she might outgrow soon wasn’t my take so i ended up using a blanket. There is no best option we will have to choose which is best for us. And I understood one point my baby is safe if i don’t introduce extra slack under the harness with almighty’s grace. Parenting is a never-ending learning process. I have learnt this part only through my daughter. Just because she cried I had to learn about the various options for warm and safe travel. She is my teacher, my guide right now. She has done her part to make me understand the safety measures and i have done my part to share with you guys! So what’s your take on this?
Peek-a-P(b)oo
If a person talks about poop often he probably would be a doctor or a mother. If you speak about the poop without any shy then you are a mother ofcourse.
Discussion about poop may happen anywhere and infact everywhere. It might be on a dining table, date nights or even during hangouts.
We mothers wake up thinking about shit, if the baby hasn’t pooped a day anxiety arises and then we literally will be behind the baby to check if he/she has pooped.
Here we are going to check on the role of Poop from pregnancy till the end.
During Pregnancy
All forms starting from constipation to diarrhea will happen in this stage. Whatever it is poop topic won’t be a conversation topic here. The topic will be zipped one not even to husband or to the doctor due to hesitation fearing bully. But seriously she wouldn’t have a clue that a big list is in wait thereafter.
During Labour
It’s a default that when you push out the little human in you, you invariably push out the poop too. Its a very common embarrassment that every mother faces. Its science of nature and none can escape from this incident.
After Labour
After the baby is out, the last thing which will happen is the bowel movement. From now ON everyone will talk about the poop. Few will get constipated and the whole team will speak about the steps to stimulate the bowel. When you get your first poop after birth that’s where you will start thinking about poop. The word poop would have become a part and parcel of your life by then.
Newborn Poop
This is where you don’t care about embarrassing moments or comments regarding poop anymore . It becomes a norm. Starting from the meconium which is black tar sticky substance to the mustard coloured one. From now bum cleaning,becomes a skill and you would wait for the baby to poop. Poop becomes a point to track the jaundice level in baby and recording how often the baby poops. I still remember noting down the poop records in a book and eventhough i kept a track digitally i was asked to track down in a paper by my cousin who happened to be a doctor. Then the conversion of mustard colour poop and then comes the stages of poops where they will be frothy and not frothy. If its frothy how to overcome that. Its the relation between the foremilk and hindmilk. You will save the pictures of the poop to show to the doctor to know the reason. Thanks to the family with years of experience who will easily give thousands of poop clarifications stories. History of gas issues. Massage stories what not. I luckily had my sister who took care about the poop job where she also discussed about it to her doctor friends to find a solution and the phase definitely consists of innumerable sleepless nights. Your sleep will be lost until they don’t poop. Its very common for breastfed babies to not to poop in their initial days but luckily we were in this stage for a day or two and we were back in track but in those two days i would have gone mad.
Just like the days move out the shit stories also move out and then comes the next stage of poop.
Blowouts
This is what worried me a lot when i was conceived looking at the blowouts the other kiddos had and the face of mommies went strange looking at the condition the baby was!. Luckily i hadn’t faced this condition as babyA was either in a nappy or a cloth diaper during this stage. Where we safeguarded the cloth she wore during the poop blast. As it was cloth the blast didn’t happen like it occurs in disposables. In the meantime there will be tension about the diaper rashes. Luckily our diaper rash history was minor. Even Before her bum cheeks becomes bright red or severely erythematous on I would apply coconut oil or diaper cream to make her feel comfortable. Mommy anxiousness right! Luckily we crossed this stage and landed into the real poop phase.
Real Poop
Once my baby reached a stage where solids entered the real poop comes into picture. Since she eats cultural food her poop is going to be like adults. Since its a cloth diaper the smell is going to be natural without any fragrance. It will be so pungent. I din’t find it awkward because most of the time it’s only me and my kiddo. I myself at times feel nauseated due to the pungent smell but above all if i don’t sniff it a single day it becomes a matter of anxiety and stress. Luckily I am happy we don’t face this issue frequently .When speaking about it to other mommy friends i feel better as obviously the baby poops only when there is an intake. But a watch should be kept about the consistency as that conveys the status of baby’s health.
Though we are not in the process of potty training we make sure we are in cloth nappies or undies so we don’t have poop accidents soiling the floor, carpets, beds etc. Poop becomes a part of your life in your motherhood journey. You become obsessed more with the poop history where you will walk , speak, sleep with the poop. I went a step ahead and got a poopy print diaper from the Superbottoms. You will understand me only if you are a cloth diapering mom!!
As every phase goes on this phase will also move on. It’s afterall a small experience and every Mom would definitely go through this atleast once in their life !! After all life is all about finding happiness and cheer in every minute things happening dawn to dusk !! Happy peek-a-p(b)oo mommies !! 😉
AlizehmySoul 