The worrisome breastfeeding mummy...

As quickly as little M came, she is now 2 months and 1 day old!

This is an update of the previous post on breastfeeding... Yes! I survived latching baby M for 2 months. And the truth is it is addictive and tiring at the same time.

Having pumped exclusively for N since birth, latching is such a breeze now and best part is I do not need to wash and sterilise bottles and pump parts or heat up EBM or freeze up extra EBM. Going out is also easier, just baby and me - the walking milk bottle.

The road to 2 months hasn't been easy as I began doubting if I was headed the right direction after baby M started to nurse with clicking sounds (read wrong/shallow latches), green poo (read took too much hind milk) and feeding almost every single hour. Unlike a bottle with measurements, nursing is totally unscientific. My biggest question: must baby latch 15 mins in order to get a full feed?

Based on my experience:
Nursing with clicking sound- it usually happens at the start of feed where there is more milk. Apparently, suction is broken (therefore the clicking sound) as baby needs to swallow a large amount of milk. Anyway it is easily solved when I tell M, why drink got so noisy one. Usually after 2-3 more suckles, the noise stops (makes me wonder if M did it on purpose)

Green poo poo - a result of taking too much fore milk. It happened during the full month celebration when M nursed for less than 5 mins each time. As I switched sides, she did not get to the hindmilk...

Frequent feedings - this remains unexplained as baby M has her sleepy spells. She would nurse for less than 5 mins and KO. After 1 hr, she cries again for milk!!! She "sleeps on the job" especially during the 9-10am feed. I have found the solution - a good bath does the trick. ;)

With all these, I called on my LC again. I needed a professional to tell me that I was doing right. I got it and since then I mever looked back.

With another 3 to 4 weeks before I return to work, I made hubby intro M the bottle and pump after the 10.30 feed... My yield for both sides after M nurses on one side is 140ml, but the next day I only managed 125ml! That got me pretty upset and worried as I was wondering if I will have enough for her after I return to work. A quick calculation shows that yes I do have enough as long as I pump 3 hourly.

Comparing with my previous breastfeeding journey, I have been storing very little packets of milk in my freezer. Anyway here are some pics of my frozen milk (check out how the colours changes from transition milk to regular breastmilk) and the seperated 3 tiers after the EBM is left in the chiller. ;)

The little BIG sister...

The question "how is ur #1 with the arrival of #2?" tops my list after M was born.

N's reaction towards the arrival of her little sis was better than I had expected. Is it because she is already 4YO when M arrived? Other than the always wanting attention from papa and nainai (to the extend of 撒娇 all the way), she has been a gem!

And for memory sake, I shall list them down:

She is my handy helper: if i forget something, I can count on her to help me... So far she has helped me fetch M's towel when I am already bathing M (yes I forgot), auto top up diapers in the basket, tell me when M cries (she says mei mei wants to drink milk) and counted diapers to put into the diaper bag while I latch M before an outing.

She loves M to the extend that she will run to my room to see M first thing she comes home from school, sayang M by stroking her head or jus standing by the cot and watching M sleep. When I told her to help me watch M, she sat next to the rocker and pulled the rattle for the music a few times. Then to entertain M further, she took a few photos to do "show and tell".

She likes to see me bathe and change M's diapers. And if she has the opportunity, she will hand over a clean diaper for me to wear it for M.

Deep down, I am thankful for the level of maturity and love/attitude she has displayed towards M.

The darkest moments are times when she throws her tantrums and insisting on getting her way. Everytime I react, i land up blaming myself for being too harsh on her. Because in the back of my mind, she seems mature and well behaved for her age...

With a new born to compare my not-too-long-ago baby N, N seem to have blossomed overnight to become an independent girl. She can wear her own uniform and button up, brush her own teeth, wear socks n school shoes all by herself. When I was 4, my aunt and grandma were helping me wear uniform and socks!

With this post, I hope I can be reminded to be less harsh and praise her a lot more for her "good" then frowning too much at her "bad".

Ending this with a photo of my two girls. N was particularly enthusiastic and excited to be able to sleep next to M on the same bed... ;)