So what I did was I would park my car in a secluded part of the school compound and express over lunch hour. But it was such a slow process since I was hand expressing. A few times people would pass my car and wonder what was happening.

One time, a colleague offered me her office to use. However, whenever I needed to express, she would be using it, so that didn’t work. I tried the school nurse’s office, but that didn’t work either. Things were getting desperate as baby was consuming more and more milk every day. Finally, it dawned on me that using a car with tinted windows would work well. The two ladies I approached allowed me to use their cars. I was sorted. But the process of hand expressing was quite slow, which could at times be frustrating.

When I shared my woes with a friend, and when she heard I was hand expressing, she was shocked and quickly loaned me her breast pump -which she was no longer using but was still in super condition. That sorted me and I continued expressing until my son was 11 months old. I continued breastfeeding him until he was 2.2 years. Looking at him today, I’m glad I was able to give him the chance to start off on breast milk…not to mention the bonding time we enjoyed.

By the Way: When baby was around a month old, I used to ask my husband to bring me formula every week and he would refuse, and tell me to try and express instead. He was my biggest encourager in the exclusive breastfeeding journey.

Tips for Moms

My parting shot to mums is – you can do this. Exclusive breastfeeding is a challenge, yes, but not one that can’t be conquered. Stay positive and take one day at a time. If you don’t have a pump, hand express.  If your employer doesn’t give you a place to express, get creative. If you don’t have a fridge, use a clay pot or a sufuria with very cold water to store the milk. It is possible to make it through exclusive breastfeeding even with just a day’s stock in storage. Most of all, make sure those around you are supporting you in the breastfeeding journey. All the best to all breastfeeding moms!

And that is Alison’s story. Do you have a breastfeeding experience you’d like to share? Email it to: maryanne@mummytales.com 

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You may also like to read: “How I Managed to Exclusively Breastfeed my Daughter” -Doris Omani (pictured below).

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