Не мога да не се похваля :)

Май само аз не знам за какво става въпрос, но поздравления все пак!  

Е, герой си, не може да ти се отрече!  

Breastfeeding Information: I currently continue to nurse my baby. I nursed my baby exclusively for the first six months. I plan to nurse for at least one year (hopefully more).

The Story

When we decided to have a baby I knew it won’t be easy. My partner was unemployed by this time and I was the financial generator in the family. But nearly our thirties we were sure that the baby will make our lives more joyful and a life that’s worth. It happened after three months – I was pregnant! We were so happy… My mate even found a new job few months after we understood we’re expecting a baby. Everything was wonderful and I was sure that I want to stay at home and take care of my baby for at least first 8 months. His salary was a lot less than mine, but we were decided that we will manage it somehow for at least 6 months, hopefully for 7. It was clear that after that period I will have to go back to work.

Some background from my country’s laws will be helpful here. In Bulgaria the Labor Code permits mothers to have nearly 4 months pay leave for having a baby. In fact, 135 days are permitted, 45 of which are before the baby is born (it is called pregnancy leave), 45 after the baby is born (called leave for giving birth), and 45 for maternity leave. After these 135 days expire, the mother can go back to work or stay at home for unpaid leave until the baby is 2 years old. In both cases the government pays to the mother a monthly financial aid or a maternity benefit. The financial aid equals the minimum non-taxable income in the country, e.g. 120 lv (from 2005 this will be 130 lv), or around 60 Euro per month. In the first case when a mother goes back to work, she is entitled half of this sum or around 30 Euro. For 30 Euro in Bulgaria you can buy a couple of jumbo box packs of diapers.

Unfortunately, dreams not always come true! Just before our baby was born my partner lost his job and we were back where we started. Despite all we were so happy to have our baby boy born on 26 April 2004. He was born by a c-section for medical reasons.

It’s a pity, but here in Bulgaria in most hospitals nobody tells you what to do to successfully breastfeed your baby. Sometimes a midwife can show you how to put the baby on the breast. They don’t give you the baby to feed him right after the birth. I saw him for a while and kissed him and next time I saw my baby was the next day by noon. Then he was breastfed for first time. As I mentioned above, in the Bulgarian hospitals mothers don’t receive any information about how to breastfeed, the length of breastfeeding, and they even feed the baby with formula from the first day. I was seeing my boy every three hours (he was In a separate room) and the midwifes was giving me bottle with formula to feed him after he was breastfed. Fortunately, Georgi refused the bottle and also started to suck very easily and quickly without any problems.

I was so sure that I want to breastfeed my baby! This helped me a lot after that and is helping me now when I’m back to work. I had several problem periods with the baby and his GP was recommending formula as a top-up, but I never gave him anything different than breast-milk. I also had hard time to stand up against the pediatrician’s recommendations to introduce solids in the third month. She told me to give him water from birth and juice in second month! Thanks to the Internet, the http://www.bg-mamma.com and the other pediatrician that I found and was aware of all the newest research and WTO recommendations I was able to exclusively breastfeed my baby for the first six months. To overcome all the confusion and hesitation of the early months it was very helpful the support that I had from my husband and my mother who was and still is here to help me with the baby.

Georgi was 18 weeks old when I had to go back to work.

I was so afraid of this moment! I was thinking that going back to work will cause me to stop breastfeeding because of many reasons. First I wasn’t able to express more that 100 ml from one breast. Second, at work I was in one room with 2 other male colleagues and our office was small and didn’t have a room that I can use to express milk. We even didn’t have refrigerator at the office!

But it was possible and I continued to breastfeed. In my country under the Labor law a breastfeeding mother is permitted to take 2 hours each day pay leave to breastfeed until the baby is eight months old and one hour until baby’s first year. Even this is the law, most employers do not follow it and I even didn’t know that I have this right. I was searching for other information and while reading the law this paragraph came across. I spoke to my boss and he agreed that I take these two hours leave every day. This meant that I will have to go to work at 11 a.m. until 5.30 - .6.00 p.m. That was perfect because it allowed me to breastfeed Georgi at 10.30 a.m. and I will need to express only once a day for the feeding at 14.00 a.m. Until then I was breastfeeding my baby ob demand, but it was necessary to create some kind of a regime, so I started to put him on the breast in particular hours during the expected “work hours”. Our activities started to follow a particular order to become a structured routine.

One week before I go back to work I started to practice at home. I started to express each day at 2.00 pm and my husband or my mother who would take care of Georgi after I go back to work, gave the expressed breast-milk to Georgi. I was afraid that he won’t take the bottle or he may wean from the breast if he feels it easier to feed from a bottle. But we have the best baby in the world. He had no problem with the bottle and with the breast and mixed them both with no problem. This week allowed me to get comfortable with the breast pump too. The first few times I wasn’t able to express a lot but practicing few days it became easier and I started to express around 200 ml from both breasts and that was fare enough to Georgi to feed at lunch time. I also had a storage of breast milk of about 4-5 litres because I started to express every night before I go to bed a month ago.

When I went back to work I met with all my colleagues (I work in a small firm under 10 people) and told them that I continue to exclusively breastfeed my baby and I will have to express every day at lunch time. I wanted them to be aware of what I am doing and that this is because I am doing the best I can for my baby. All of them were very supportive. Every day around 2.00 p.m. I was going to my female colleagues’ office to express. They locked the door for me, arranged their meetings so that I don’t worry that somebody can interrupt me… I was a good experience for them too because they asked me a lot about the breastfeeding and I was explaining all its benefits. I still go every day to their room at 2.00 p.m. to express. It’s funny because if somebody from our colleagues calls the intercom to ask something and they answer: Silvia is nursing now so we’ll do it later!

My current work requires that I sit in front of the PC for 75-80% of the time. I also held often staff meetings to coordinate our activities. The entire schedule is coordinated with my “nursing” time. My colleagues made it very easy to me. Of course all this is possible because my boss is very decent person and he is so supportive. Our small office is like a second family and this made it easier to arrange the things this way.

Unfortunately we don’t have a refrigerator at the office, but I bought a thermos box and I keep the expressed milk there. I read that breast milk can be kept even at room temperature for 4-5 hours so I don’t worry. Of course I’m lucky to work at about 5 km distance from home and I also have a car, so I can go back home for 15-20 minutes in case of emergency.

I had one very depressing accident about two months after I went back to work. One day I went to the freezer to take the daily dose of breast milk for Georgi and I saw that it was left open and everything inside was defrosted, including all the breast milk. It was awful! I threw away around 7 litres of breast milk! My heart hurt! I sit down and cried for 10 minutes like a little baby. Then I found the decision. I called a friend of mine; her baby girl was born on the same day as Georgi. She was giving expressed breast milk to her baby from the first few weeks because she had problems with breastfeeding. I was very grateful to Sunny because when she heard the story she suggested that I take from her breast milk. I trusted her and of course I agreed. She gave me enough breast milk for a week to feed Georgi once a day. I stared to express two times a day instead of one for couple of weeks and I stored again some extra breast milk in case. This was the worst experience that I had with breastfeeding and working.

My family helped a lot for this to happen. My husband and my mother who take care of our baby are very supportive to breastfeeding and don’t ask nasty questions such as When do you think to wean the baby? Unfortunately in Bulgaria too few mothers breastfeed. And even fewer breastfeed exclusively for the first 4-6 months. Most of our pediatricians follow the old Russian scheme for introducing solids with fruit juice from second month, fruit puree from third month, vegetable puree in forth month, etc. They don’t support breastfeeding a lot or at least don’t do anything to assist nursing mothers and one of the advises a lot of nursing mothers with problems hear very often is to give a top up formula. Health providers don’t give information to mothers about WHO recommendations for exclusive breastfeeding and the benefits of nursing your baby and toddler. In most cases mothers follow pediatrician’s advises as they don’t know any alternative way to cope with problems and never hear about introducing solids at 6 months. The result is that many mothers, who have breast milk, can breastfeed, but give up because of poor advice or bad judgments. There is few that nurse exclusively for the first six months and even fewer that nurse after the first year. Grandmothers are not different from health care providers. They recommend weaning the baby with cow’s milk (yogurt) and giving fresh juices to baby in second month because of the vitamins, and so on...

I introduced solid foods when Georgi was 6 months and one week old. I started with squash. I still don’t give him gluten cereals, yolk, cow’s milk, citrus fruits, meat… I do it very carefully and slowly because I’; afraid of allergic reaction. My mother and my brother have some allergies although not food, but just In case. Now he is taking solid food 2 times a day after his breast milk, but still 80-85% of his daily portion is breast milk. I hope to continue breastfeeding my baby and working until Georgi weans himself.  

Now I’m in process of changing my job. I’m going to work for a big telecom here and one of my prerequisites to accept their offer was that they support breastfeeding and make it possible for me to express at work. The company is waiting since 3 months so I can start to work there, because I wasn’t able to start work at 9.00 a.m. every day. I was firm that I have to stay at home these few  hours each day for the past 3 months because my baby needs me.

The only thing that I can say to mothers who plan to work and breastfeed is: It won’t be easy, but it’s worth so don’t give up. Your child will return you the favour with less illness and more smiles!

I changed a lot for the past few months. I learnt that being a mother is a hard job, but being a working mother can make it even harder is you don’t believe that this is the best thing you can do about your child. But even being hard to work and nurse, all is worth just for the first smile that you receive after going back from work and baby sees you at the door. I have never been as happy as I am now while holding my baby in my arms and nurse him after a long day in work. This is the best anti-stress medication ever.

January 2005

Ей, браво, страхотен дух имаш!
Все така ли се кърмите?

офф: А други мами участваха ли с разказчета?

Поздравления!
А хонорарче изплатиха ли ти?

Ми не, то е на доброволни начала... като цялата им организация де

SZA, много хубава история! Обезателно искам после копие от книгата, да знаеш отсега  

Страшна история!!!Ама си ги наредила и педиатрите,и работодателите,и родилните домова,че и социалната политика в България...Хак да им е!!!    

Явно си голям инат!  

Знаех историята, разказвала си я тук на части, както си се случваше едно по едно , но така написана в цялост - нямам думи, невероятна е Просълзих се, честно!Гого много е случил на майка, да знаеш Като порасне, ще му кажа

Браво!!!
А на български тая книга няма ли да се отпечата. Все книги за това как да захраним по бг-схемата се намират по книжарниците.

SZA, Имам някои затруднения с английския обаче я попих цялат статия. Да знаеш четох я поне един час- голям зор- обаче се справих. Много хубаво си написала всичко. Поздравления.