My baby could not stop breastfeeding

My baby Jemimah Nantaba Kwagala is now 21 months old. She was born on 3rd October. I had planned that when my baby gets to one year and three months, I would conceive so that by the time she is two years, I could have another baby.

When I was breastfeeding her, l never got my periods so in a way breastfeeding worked for me as a family planning method. She loved breastfeeding so much that it almost became an obsession. The older she grew, the more attached she became to the breast.

I wanted to stop her from breastfeeding but I kept postponing; because she really loved the breast. I kept breastfeeding and my husband would ask when I would ever stop because he wanted another baby. When Jemimah was one year and five months- old, I thought I should seriously start thinking about weaning her, ” because, to the best of my knowledge, I could only get pregnant if she stopped breastfeeding.

At that time, I began feeling as if something was wrong with my tummy. I would feel a cramp which was somewhat hard. I sought my friends’ opinion about it but their suppositions and advice were. so divergent that I decided to see my gynaecologist. He asked me to give him a brief account of my lifestyle from the day my daughter was delivered till then. I had not visited my gynaecologist for almost a year and I asked him whether it was normal to stay for that long without menses. He asked me several questions and then ran some tests. He told me all seemed well with me but asked me to do a pregnancy test.  I was surprised and asked him if it was possible for one to get pregnant while still breastfeeding and without ever having periods. He told me he could not answer my question until the results of the pregnancy test were out. I went to the laboratory, did the test and the results were positive. I was pregnant!

It was a welcome result because I had wanted to get pregnant but faced difficulty in trying to get my daughter off the breast. I consulted a few women who told me that I could not breastfeed when I was pregnant. I sought my doctor’s advice and he told me not to stop Jemimah’s breastfeeding immediately, for I needed to prepare her as well as prepare myself.

I breastfed Jemimah for another one month and then I took her to my mum’s place. It was the most painful thing for me, but the only way out. I left her there and went back home crying. We were very close and that was the first time we were separated. It was horrible and even worse for my husband who took us there but could not wait for us because he did not want to see what would happen. A man seated next to me in a taxi kept asking me why I was crying.

A week later, I went to check on her. When she saw me, she hugged me and her hand went straight to the breast. I consulted with my mum and she told me to leave Jemimah with her for another week. I went back home alone. When I returned two weeks later, she still demanded the breast but this time I could not leave her. I decided to go with her because I was getting lonely. At home, she cried for three consecutive nights as I watched, torn between taking her back to the breast and leaving her to cry. I knew if I took her back to the breast, I would never be able to stop her. It is now two months since I completely stopped her from breastfeeding and she is getting used to it.

When I told my husband that I was pregnant, he asked me very many questions. He wanted to know how many months the pregnancy was but I had no idea as I did not know exactly when I conceived. I had to take an ultrasound scan after two weeks so as to determine for how long I had been pregnant-which the scan showed was two and a half months. The doctor told me I was due in November.

I think morning sickness is psychological because over those two months I had none of it, but only two days after I knew I was pregnant, morning nausea pounced on me!

I would want to have four children even though I began late. I don’t check the baby’s sex, I like surprises, but at the moment I would want a baby boy but am ready to accept whatever comes, because God has the best in store for me.

END: PG  9 / 60-61