Breastfeeding has been so different for me second time around. It has been harder and more challenging.
I have been unlucky enough to get mastitis twice (and I'm praying I never get it again). I thought women were exaggerating when they said it felt like you were dying, but I can say that, yep it does feel like that. Moaning and crying in bed with so much pain, it truly is horrific. I have also had trouble with milk supply, at first when my milk came in, it was too much milk and now it is not being able to keep up with Baby Sophie some days. Oh the joys! But I am persevering and going to go as long as I can. Even if I need to supplement with formula some nights just to make sure Sophie is getting enough milk. So on this breastfeeding journey this time around, I want to share with you some of the products I am using to help keep breastfeeding healthy (including a delicious chocolate lactation smoothie recipe that I came up with). Please keep in mind that we are all different and our bodies need different things, so some of these products that I use may not work for you. But keep trying and work out what works best for your body and your needs.
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You may be thinking, "hang on a minute Kylie, you only have two kiddies". But I actually have three as I lost a baby to miscarriage in January 2017 (which you can read about here). I definitely count my angel baby as my baby number two. Which makes Sophie baby number three.
I was going to share this story with you in a video blog, but I have decided to share it with you in a couple of parts on my blog instead. And a little side note, if you prefer listening, I have done an audio recording of this blog post for you so you can listen on the go. Just scroll down below to listen to this blog post. ++ Where shall I begin with my third pregnancy...I found out I was pregnant with Sophie in early June 2017. I knew I was pregnant before I even did the test. I had that little niggle feeling; a knowing that I couldn't explain. The weeks before we conceived I had a vision in a mediation of a baby presenting itself to me. I reached out my hands to accept and placed my hands on my womb space. The following month, Sophie had entered our lives. Even before I peed on the stick, I wrote in my journal that I am going to have a baby girl and her name is Sophie. My little munckin not only presented herself to me, she told me what her name was. I was gobsmacked. From that moment on, her and I have been very much connected in this way, even during birth (which I will talk about in part two). Self-care is uber important for everyone, but I have to say especially for mums.
We are working 24/7. There are no sick days, public holidays, annual leave or mental health days available in this job. But we wouldn't have it any other way, would we? Saying all that, to help us get through in a good frame of mind, self-care time is a must and something that should be on your priority list every single day. Even 5-10 minutes a day is better than nothing - so schedule it into your day. If you have been following my work for a while, you may have noticed that I harp on about this topic a lot. I am passionate about it and really want to inspire other mum's to invest that time in themselves so they can be the best mum and woman they can be. Mothering is a tough gig, so if you can make it a little bit easier on yourself, why wouldn't you. I shared the above photo on Instagram a week ago, and it really resonated with some of you. It is a photo of me having some self-care time while Baby S plays on the floor. Tantrums, ignoring and just being rude is all part of the 2-3 year old life. And boy is it frustrating!
Miss A is very stubborn and very strong willed, so when I tell her not to do something. she just does it any way. I tried timeout, counting to three and at times yelling because I was seeing red with frustration all to no avail. "How am I going to get through to this child??!! "Was a constant thought going through my mind. I remember my husband telling me about a goal sheet he had as a child and how it worked really well for him. So after telling Miss A "stop doing that" for the hundredth time that day, I decided to give the goal sheet a try to see if that would stop her from jumping on the couch. And sure enough it did! She now doesn't jump on the couch, or if she goes to all I need to say is "you won't get a sticker" and she sits back down. It really has helped me not to get so frustrated with her doing the things she shouldn't be doing. Plus she is learning a life lesson that behaviour has consequences, positive or negative, and if she works hard she will get a reward at the end of it. During this pregnancy, like my first, I have had to slow it right down in my third trimester, which has meant no real exercise. I didn't realise how much I loved moving my body until I can't do it - not even a walk is on the cards because of my pelvic instability. So I did this little workout, mentioned it on Instagram and you asked for me to share it with you, so here it is.
Whether you are pregnant or not, my latest video blog is perfect to get your body moving in a really loving and low impact way. All you need is a little bit of space, a few minutes and off you go. |