I have had the honour of having 3 maternity leaves...each one very different....
For my first one in 2006 I only had 60 days and no more...and anyways a very very major report was due end of the month that I was expected back so could not even think of extending the leave....I was not too sure about how to breastfeed....and assumption was that this was natural....well it wasnt for me....and I struggled with a hungry baby until we got the grip of how best to do it....Once that was in the bag, back to full relaxation mode! This break was my introduction to the world of DVD series...I used to watch TV a lot...but then someone gave me the House series and I was hooked!! waaaaa.....so long as baby was awake, I was seated in front of TV watching that series!! The house was very quiet most of the time....since it was just one housegal and me most of the time....60 days passed in a flash!! and before i knew it was back to work and consumed by the usual race. The first kid receives a lot of visitors!! I came to appreciate not extending a visit when you go see a new mother, not insisting on holding baby for long hours, NOT going near baby if you have a cold among other do's and donts...Meanwhile, I was doing my MBA and completed the course work before baby came; and the supermom in me, thought i would do the research paper during maternity!!! thats a story for another day #thestruggleisreal!!
For first one I didn't even attempt exclusive breastfeeding - boy was so hungry all the time he was on light uji as soon as he was three months old and off Naan by the time he was 9 months! Thankfully he enjoyed his milk so much that he used to drink 3 packets in a day!! All this ended when he joined preschool :(
Second one was during the month of December and was much easier to feed her...maybe its true about girls....but I didnt feel like a cow with her...hehehehehe...For this one, the holidays were around the corner and so by the time baby was barely 3 weeks old, the holidays had set in and so she was already making visits since Christmas time comes with a lot of visits to people...For second baby, I had 2 girls helping me with work and my sister in law was staying with us. So house was full at that time and I had company so I barely noticed the free time I had in between...this was 90 days and by the third month I was truly ready to get back to work.
I tried this exclusive thing since my friend also had a baby and really encouraged me to do it....I was on a roll till one day, I came home and found baby being given milk...on testing it, it was cold...the milk had hardly thawed from fridge and she was being given....ehh...I said, better to have warm naan milk than cold breastmilk!!!
I did one visit to Garissa when she was five months and when I came back, she looked at me like I was crazy when I offered to breastfeed her :)
Third one was during October and this I must say is a perfect time to be on maternity since by December, all have adjusted and you return to work mid January when the rush is over! The leave was uneventful...I had gotten the grips of taking care of a small baby so things were smooth...baby was not such a hungry one so even breastfeeding was a breeze. I didn't even bother with exclusive since the milk was kidogo and trying to pump it just left me a frustrated Mum!!
By this time I had a handy laptop and a good supply of movies and series. I stationed laptop near bed, and soon as baby woke up, I fed him while watching a movie/series...and once he was asleep, i pause it and sleep too!
Now there is talk of 6 months maternity leave so as to ensure babies are breastfed exclusively - whereas I support this 150%, wonder if private sector will be for this!! My own take is that better to have options where possible eg creches at work (Safaricom does it, dont they??)...working from home arrangements....flexihours....since baby doesnt feed whole day every time....and also Mummy needs a break!!!!....and truth be told, work can be a VERY welcome break....so a win-win for everyone!
http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/
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