My 2018 - This is my Hobby: Breastfeeding As my Passion

Since this contest by sir @anomadsould was posted and has been making it's noise in the community , i have been thinking what hobby would i have to share that is worth reading and sharing to the whole steemit. Now , if we define hobby , it's said that it is an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupationsource. There, so for the first 4 days the contest post has been running i was really hesitant if i'll join and make an entry because that's a hobby, and i can't even think if I still have a hobby since I started to become a mother of three kids, if we based it on hobby's definition. I might have other things i am doing to have pleasure or to enjoy, but it's not always the same. But then, that hesitation didn't stop me from joining , my heart really tells me ,"go ahead, participate in the contest, it might not be considered a hobby for other's perspective but it's you! it's your passion, just write and share about it" , and there myself has been talking to me , LOL, .Another reason i really wanted to join is because this would be my 2nd time, i have really enjoyed joining the first contest , and here's my entry before , my2018-A Tour on my Hometown. Anyway let's not make that long because that's something done already, i am just so proud to share that i have joined the previous contest of sir @anomadsoul.

Ok, here it goes, what hobby am i talking about? Some may consider this as not "a hobby" , but hey! this is my passion now, this is what i love doing now, what is it? BREASTFEEDING , Breastfeeding my kiddos had been my passion since i started to become a fulltime mom and that was way back 2015 . Though my first child hasn't experienced this because i became a solo parent with him so have to finish studies and work too.

Breastfeeding for me is sharing and giving an incomparable love to your kiddos , it is something you and only you can give justice to for your kids to be given this free precious food , a gift from God. This passion of mine didn't started as smooth as you think , there a lot of challenges i had experience on this . There are sleepless nights, sore nipples , messy clothes, for if i have lots of milk it will really overflow; there comes a time that you don't even know if your kid is already full or still needs milk , I had experienced my kiddos vomitted because i overfed them , thinking that whenever they cry they need breastmilk , but that's where I am wrong . So as time goes by, i got used to it , I am learning things more about it, more like breastfeeding is not just simply feeding your kid, but it is more of a determination and a big decision you have to make and embrace. At first , many people are advising me not to push through with breastfeeding since I am very skinny and this passion would really require me a lot of strength and nutrition to be able to continue . I got lots of discouragements saying i cant really do it for it's really a sacrifice and that it would make me look very ugly , like you know a very momma look , where you cant even comb your hair , Did it stopped me? no! no! and No! , those discouragements had given more motivation to just continue doing it , but the most important reason why I love to do this is because of my Love for my kids, whenever i breastfeed them , it makes me feel complete, it makes me feel like i am really a momma , that I am really fulfilling my job as a mother to them . It also makes me happy for it's a really big help for my partner, i mean financially, how much would a formula milk costs nowadays? a lot of money , so we can spend that money that was supposedly for milk for other neccessities we have, very helpful and convenient.

Aside from those facts above , having breastmilk and being able to breastfeed my kiddos makes me feel so lucky , not all mothers are given the chance to have breastmilk. Some might have it the first few months after giving birth , but some really dont have it at all since the child was born. Others got frustrated about it , but for me this is the reason why i consider breastfeeding as a passion , because having milk is a natural gift from God , but it would be still always up to a mother if she'll enrich it ,if she'll push through with it and if she'll be proud of it . Breastfeeding is always a working progress , I always Thank GOD for my milk supply, every second and every minute of my life . There are instances that i have read and encountered people who dont like breastfeeding, or is not into it. One example is breastfeeding in public , this has been an ongoing issue, there are people who consider it as a malicious thing ,if you are nursing your kid in a public place , but how do you compare it to a woman who's just showing half of her boobs just by simply wearing a top/shirt/sexy dresses. I mean I am not against any fashion people would want, but why consider breastfeeding un public a malicious thing? It is definitely not, for my own opinion , why would i mind what would other people say? what matters to me most is as long as I feed my kids and they will never be hungry , i will never be ashame feeding them in public , wherever and whenever. I'll be proud instead. very very proud.(Anyway, nowadays, there are a lot of breastfeeding station that has been provided for our convenience)

There are a lot more exciting things about breastfeeding .When i started doing it , i always wonder why whenever i nurse my kids , I always get sleepy , is it just because of the fact that i usually lay down or i sit down comfortably whenever i breastfeed them? No, not just that , there is a fun fact about that , whenever we breastfeed, our body releases oxytocin , and this hormone gives us relaxation , that's why it is normal to get sleepy or fall asleep when nursing a kid . Another good thing that breastfeeding had brought me is that i dont have a monthly period, yeah , it's a real thing too about some mothers who are breastfeeding exclusively, i mean no formula milk at all, we woudn't have to buy sanitary napkins and get irritated every month. One lovely experience i got, that i also wanna share, there is really a mother-kiddo connection , it is true that say for example, you are away from your kid, say like you just quickly had a bath or bought something outside, you'll have this "ouchy feeling" in your boobies, like it's really painful sometimes, like it would burst out because it's really full, but that's happening because one of your kiddo is already hungry, and that's for real, according to my experience. I also had a chance to join breastfeeding groups online , that had helped me a lot and give me learnings about it the time i was just starting . There are times as well when we are in public places like malls, dining place or in a public vehicle like bus, i can hear babies crying and i am definitely sure that ,that cry is because they are hungry for milk , you'll have this feeling that you wanted to share your breastmilk to those babies, but then again , their mommies will pull out a bottle with milk to feed them , of course i am not sure if that's a formula milk or breastmilk that has been pumped to bottle before they gone out. A good thing about breastmilk is , you can actually pumped it out from the breast and put it on storage bags for proper storage , So you can actually donate it or use it for future or if you want to bottle feed outside . Of course i am not going into detail about proper storage because i haven't tried that, i have always been doing the natural breastfeedung way. But nice thing about it is that , it can be restored for a long time as long as you do it properly.

Another great addition to my breastfeeding journey is the tandem breastfeeding or tandem nursing , meaning I got to nurse my almost 3 year old and almost 1 year old kid at the same time. Yeah! that's for real , since I have two boobies gifted with breastmilk i can feed them at the same time . Of course again, i got lots of discouragements , When i got pregnant with my youngest , they told me to stop breastfeeding my 2nd child . But nah! my ears were closed and my heart for my kids is the one opened. So i did continue , And i got no problems or complications with my youngest when she was born. all good.

That's me and my girls, Tandem-Nursing, photo was edited by me on Picsart, using Tree of life Art

Breastfeeding is also a work in progress , everyday you got to learn something new about the process, about the people around you , about yourself and most especially about your kids. Breastfeeding might have brought me a lot of physical changes , let's make it straightforward, i should say had made me more ugly. haha. But, I am beyond thankful to be gifted with this precious milk and had given a chance to nourish my kid with this very special food that comes from my body , aside from the fact that it's more of our bonding time and my kiddos are really close to me. Breastfeeding is making my motherhood more meaningful and fruitful because i am able to give love to my kiddos through this passion BREASTFEEDING

My second child, breastfeeding, photo was edited by me using picsart with tree of life art

My youngest child, breastfeeding, photo was edited by me using picsart with tree of life art

Thanks for reading!