The "milk milk" journey so far...

3 August 2014... 22 days to the day I go back to work. Took all 16 weeks of maternity leave and truth is with my mil at home to watch the other two kids, life is so great! I don't feel like returning to work... *ooops* 

Baby L is coming to three months old next week. I have latched him since day 1, an hour after his arrival. As with each baby, the breastfeeding journey is different yet equally fulfiling. 

My fear is still in relation to latching. Baby M had a better latch/suction, while baby L's latch was percieved (by me) as shallow and gentler (didn't need nipple cream this round!). For the record, he made lots of grunts, clicking sounds and pulling back of his head during the early days of latching. The above (based on internet research) were considered bad latch! Knowing my "flow", L was just unhappy about the forceful let downs - he would pull back and a proper latch will become shallow (just so he could control the milk volume). And of course, instead of gulping down the milk, he would let them flow out of his mouth (messy!!!). 

Baby L also presented a new set of challenge - milk spitting which suddenly started at 2 weeks old... The amount of milk that comes out can be quite unnerving (since my first two babies didn't have this problem. M's milk spits were due to over feeding during cluster latches and at 3 months old). After some  internet research (such as kellymom), baby L was held upright for 15 mins after feeds, burped whenever he unlatched during the feed and he slept in an elevated (at the bed head) baby cot... Oh yes, the best tip I learnt from the internet - burping him by rubbing in a circular motion on his left area below the shoulder (instead of patting). This brings up a burp quicker and more effectively. The other thing I learnt, never go anywhere without a burping cloth. 

As I was saying, the days where I can latch him in the day is dwindling... Am already thinking how I will miss latching him while lying down (yes, I will doze off too) and of course how I really hate to pump (after pumping 11 months straight on a daily basis for N)... Mother in law and hubby have (over the past 2-3 days) asked me when I would start pumping so baby L can practise bottle feeding. 

Well, I am going back to work so I better start... Keeping fingers crossed that he would take to the bottles just like baby M. ;) 

3 Aug 2014, the day I turn 33 years old is also the day I finally took out and sterilised his glass bottle (looks so nice right?) and my pump parts. 

Here's wishing myself a successful moo-moo career ahead! And a photo of the super relaxed boy sleeping on my bf-ing pillow (for some reason M also enjoyed her time as a baby on this pillow).

 

The almost sad post...

Was happily going about the usual routine and going to bed when I realised that I have not prepared sterilised bottles and pump parts for work the next day. Shot out of bed and suddenly remembered that my EBM were not in the fridge yet. 

Frantically looked for the black medela ice bag but could not find it at home. Ran down to the car and found the bag in the car. Luckily, the ice brick was still cold and the ebm safely chilled *phew!*

In fact after 5 hours, the blue ice brick was still doing a great job - I could see that the EBM was beginning to separate as they will when in the chiller... 

Here is a grim reminder that I wont be so lucky the next time I forget them... :( 

Longan Red Date Tea with a twist

This was an online recipe shared by Jinny when I was preggy and she just finished her confinement. She tells me that she is keeping the recipe in case she needs to boost her BM supply.

Being an active participant of an online forum, a few mummies shared about low BM supply. Having remembered the recipe shared by Jinny, I too shared the recipe with the mummies.

A handful of mummies actually tried out the tea and reported that their BM supply did increase. I guess it is due to 通草, (supposedly) commonly used in cooling teas (凉茶) - mainly to help 排小便。

I have not tried it myself but am keeping this recipe for future reference. ;)

Taken from: http://wendyinkk.blogspot.sg/2011/05/lactating-red-date-tea.html?m=1


Red Dates 红枣 : 90gm
Black Dates 黑枣 : 60gm
Dangshen 党参 : 30gm
Dried Longan flesh 龙眼肉 : 30gm
Wolfberry 枸杞子 : 20gm
Astragalus 北耆 : 10gm
Rice Paper Pith 通草 ：6gm

1. Remove seeds from red and black dates. Rinse dates.
2. Rinse dangshen in water to remove dirt.
3. Give wolfberry, rice paper pith and astragalus a quick rinse.
4. Put everything into a pot together with 4L of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 2 hours.
5. Consume this throughout the day.

And yes, there is another version of longan red date tea which i was told to make and drink which will help BF babies who are gassy. The ingredients to be boiled together are: red date, longan, black sugar and ginger (a few slices. If u love teh halia, you can afford more slices). I was also told that eating longan or having it in the tea is good in improving the baby's 胃(digestive system)... Time to get moving to drink the above and hopefully my little spitter will spit less.

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. ;)

Chartering another breastfeeding journey...

Prior to the birth of #2, i told hubby "if baby cannot latch, I am not going to pump!". The nightmare of pumping 3hourly, the routine of being strapped to a pump, wash pump accessories, sterilise pump accessories, warm up milk for #1, feed her, wash and sterlise her bottles were fresh on my mind. Without help after my confinement lady left, I was totally exhausted and sleeping when #1 slept, skipping my breakfast and lunch...

The journey towards latching was not easy either. This time I made it a point not to pump unless absolutely necessary. Being a first timer at latching babies, I was put through the physical tests of sore, cracked and bleeding nipples and mental tests of waking every hour to 2hrly for milk feeds.

Day 1 to 3: Started bf-ing in hospital. Managed to latch and baby did suckle on the breast. There was a transparent honey textured discharge. Was quite worried as baby seem to have a sunken spot in the middle on top of the forehead. Asked nurses if she was dehydrated and they didn't answer me.

Day 3: Back home with baby. I continued to latch baby on when baby crys. Was quite worried about her hydration so sent hubby off to buy a tin of FM for baby. CL fed her 30ml using a spoon and I was super thankful for that gesture.

Transition milk came in. Unsure if baby had latched and drank, I pumped after the feed and manage to get 30ml. It was also during this pump, my aerola skin "tore". *pain* Unable to continue without knowing if I was latching right since my nipples hurt and the aerola skin tore, i sms-ed Betty Lee, a Lactation Consultant (LC) whom I met at the Avent BF-ing seminar for a 1 to 1 consultation...

Day 4: Continued to latch baby on despite the sore nipples and the pain fr the torn aerola skin. Jinny visited and passed me 2 tubes of her Medela Lanolin nipple creams. She told me that it was a lifesaver for sore and cracked nipples. Sure enough i needed them! She even bought a magazine n essense of chicken for me. ;)

During the entire day of latches, I was looking forward and waiting for my teacher (LC). During the session, she thought me the cross cradle and the football hold latch. She assured me that i was latching baby correctly and taught me how to massage the lumps while baby latched. It was such a "feel good" session, I felt encouraged to continue! Before leaving, she told my CL to cook papya fish soup to up my BM supply. :p

Day 5: As the day progressed, the engorgement got worst. It felt that two stones on my chest... Warm towels did soften the breast but there was no relief as my mum said they would. I could barely sleep and baby was not able to latch properly as she struggled on my breast. It was also during this period that my nipples became super sore and started to crack and bleed.

Day 6: Used warm towels again and did some massage. Suprsingly, it got comfortable. Baby's PD visit was my 1st venture out without formula milk/expressed breastmilk. TMC was great as there was a BF-ing room that I could use and the PD had a room where mummies can BF (wo privacy). Managed to latch the baby and survived! Was totally over the moon!

Day 7: Engorgement persists. I refused to use cold cabbage leaf but used cold compress instead just before the feed. Latch was definetely better and the engorgement finally backed off. *phew*

Day 8 to 9: The days where I routinely latch (yes it was so painful! I would tremble for the first few seconds of the latch), apply EBM, air dry and apply lanolin. The bleeding and cracked nipples began to heal... *double phew*

Day 10: Baby begins to have irregular latch time. From 2 hrly, she would wake up wanting milk hourly. Her latches were also shorter at 10 mins. This drove me insane because I was waking up every hour after midnight.

Day 12-14: Baby and I have learnt proper latch. She would spit out if she only got my nipple. I hope this means an eternal goodbye to sore/cracked /bleeding nipples. As the latching continues, I am faced with what fellow mothers say is a happy problem- fast flow. My LC, my cousin in law and internet recommends that the mother lies back or pump out some BM before the feed. Lying back did not really help much but pumping out does... so in the meantime, this is a problem that baby and I have to struggle with other than her milk intervals.

As the saying goes "no pain no gain". Several times along this 14 days, I was so tempted to put up a white flag and say "ok enough is enough". Crazy as it may sound, I feel encouraged enough to press on whenever baby wets her diapers, dirties them with mustard coloured poo and my CL tells me "有吃到". Thankfully, Hubby would also show his support by taking care of #1 and give me shoulder massage when I need it... ;p

The breastfeeding journey is tough and there would be challenges ahead. It is with hope that someday in the near future, I would model the image of a smiling mother looking lovingly at her baby latch.

Before I end this post, I would like to thank:
- Fellow mummies, Jinny, Sylvia and Jophia for being my breastfeeding hotlines, without you guys, I would have given up. ;)
- My LC Betty Lee who assured me that I could latch and breastfeed my baby. Without her, I would still be battling my inner demons of whether I was latching right.
- My CL for spoon feeding the baby so that she would not love teats over me.
- And of course, my supportive hubby! ;)

A tribute to breastfeeding...

Yes, I have officially bid farewell to breastfeeding. My little girl had her last feed of breast milk mixed with formula milk when she is 11 months and 2 weeks.

Why did I stop pumping? It was after a series of sickness - flu (due to the flu jab), then a big dose of headache and body aches (due to lack of rest) and then a ulcer that appeared suddenly. The ulcer was what made me dropped even the very last pump I had for the day. 3 days after the ulcer appeared, it became bigger and super painful when I ate, desperate I used the cream in the fridge. The cream had steroids so I decided to just not pump. Since the cream was applied in my mouth, I would have ingested some. Won't want to risk passing some of that to the little one.

So what made me give up on breastfeeding? The major reason is that I was mentally beaten. My little girl rejected EBM for 5 days in a row. I actually threw away 200ml of my EBM during those days. Yes, you could say I was heartbroken. I felt unappreciated and that my effort was all in vain. The little action of using the steroid cream for my ulcer just made way for me to stop breastfeeding. It was a bitter-sweet decision.

However, having breastfed for so long, I did see a lot of advantages. It was not only monetary (I saved a lot on formula milk after seeing how fast my little girl depletes the milk powder now). I did see benefits in terms of her health. It's something that I am proud of and never regretted doing for the last 11 and 1/2 months.

Goodbye to all the breastfeeding acessories (like breast pump, nursing bras, breast milk storage bottles and bags) for now! Till my next child will we meet again (hopefully next round I can feed direct instead...)! Live goes on... And I am looking foward to wearing those strapless underwired bras! *Yippie!*

Best for baby? Breastfeeding??

It's coming to the end of October 2009. Today, I took out a calander and began to mark down the weeks till my little girl is 1 years old... And it's less than the number of fingers on both my hands! 7 more weeks to go and it's going to be her first birthday!

Breastfeeding has became part and parcel of my life as I begin to live with expression of breastmilk and learning how to adjust my schedules around it (so that I still have a social life). I always remember the frustrations of a first time breastfeeding mother. From worrying about the painful engorged breast, blocked milk ducts and supply, quality of breastmilk, to battling with the washing and sterlising of pump bottles. All these "driving me up the wall" issues seem to go away one by one as I got myself into a routine of when to do what. When I look back at the breastfeeding days, it would not have been so tedious if I could feed via direct latching.   

From the crazy 3 hrly pumps during the initial 1.5 months ( i.e. i wake up at 3am to pump), to dropping my wee hours morning pump (so I could get un-interrupted sleep), to 4hrly pumps when I return to work (so that I only need to pump twice during working hours), to 6hrly pumps, to 12 hrly pumps (i only need to pump once during working hours).  

As I begin to drop the pumps, the economics theory of demand = supply kicked in really quickly. A lot of new mothers might not know but the dropping of pumps can seriously impact the supply of breastmilk. So if you intend to continue breastfeeding for long, do not drop the pumps so quickly! The largest and sharpest drop in my breast milk supply happened when I streched it to 12hrly. From a yield of 300ml per pump, I now only get about 6oz (which is 180-200ml). It's not too bad because it's just right/enough for one feed! :) Yeap, so now I do not need to stock up milk bags to store extra breast milk in the freezer.

I can attribute the success of my breastfeeding journey (so far) to 3 main factors: CONFIDENCE, DETERMINATION and SUPPORT ( what i term as CDs). 

CONFIDENCE: As I mentioned in my earlier post, I believe that breastfeeding is a confidence trick. Do not self doubt because nature made women the best nurturers of the little ones... (Then again, I also believe that not breastfeeding does not make you any less a nurturer/wonderful mother. Because if you think so, you'll be so stressed up/obsessed that it will negatively impact your breastmilk supply!) 

DETERMINATION: I was very decided on breastfeeding and aim to give my girl breast milk for a year. Of course there were people who will say "Aiyah, more than 6 months, enough already lar. Can stop liao lor". But my answer to them is always the same "Haha... it's almost 1 year, so I give my girl breast milk until 1 year lor.". 

SUPPORT: The all important factor which comes to play when I just feel like giving up. My husband's support, my mother in law (who shared with me on the other uses of breastmilk - like curing sore eyes, etc). And not to mention, my work place (i.e. my bosses/superior were OK with me pumping during office hours and the office enviornment - i.e. meeting rooms without windows and doors where I could lock to express milk).

Seriously, if my little girl can feed directly, I would not have been marking the weeks to stop pumping. (Yes! To all those who told me to stop after 6 months, I would continue to breastfeed beyond a year!)

Breastfeeding Talk...

I was suppose to be a guest of a Philips Avent Breastfeeding Talk. However, I needed to bring my little girl to the clinic so I missed the talk. It's so sad I did not get to talk to mothers to be and encourage them to breastfeed.

Jessica from Philips Avent read the script which I prepared early. It was meant as a guide to scope up what I was to say. After going home, I re-scoped the script... So here it is:

Hi everyone, it’s great to see so many mothers with their husbands in tow today! I remember when I was pregnant, I also wanted to attend breastfeeding talks. When I asked my husband to go with me, he was reluctant and replied "Huh? Go for this kind of talk for what?". It’s this same sentiment that makes most hubbies think: “My wife has decided to breastfeed. I do not need to do anything isn’t it? I cannot help nor teach her how to do it!” This is not true. There are many things that husbands can help!

Thinking back, I would not have survived the breastfeeding journey without my husband's support and encouragement. Let me give you some examples.

About 3 weeks into breastfeeding, I came down with high fever and chills at about 11pm. My breast was painful to touch, there were rock hard and I could not express any milk out. My confinement lady was most ridiculous, she called my mother in law to complain about how naughty I was and see now I got “zhou yue feng”! And for that I will have to drink a glass of alcohol every meal to get rid of the wind! My husband spent the entire night doing his research online and called the lactation consultant for help. I woke up at about 4am to find a note on the toilet mirror with steps of what I should do to clear the blockage that was causing the breast infection. He also defended me and told my confinement lady and mother in law that I had breast infection and not ZHOU YUE FENG!

After my confinement lady left, I had to care for my baby on my own. About 2 months into breastfeeding, I told my hubby that I wanted to stop. He told me "You are doing so well breastfeeding. Your supply is also not a problem. You agree that breastfeeding is good for our daughter, don't you think it is a waste to stop now after struggling so hard?" These little words of encouragement and reminder were all it took for me to continue. And to show his support for me, he would help me wash the bottles used to store my expressed breast milk. To make sure I had adequate rest, he also started to take over the night shifts. Time just flew by and my girl is already close to 9mths old!

Just in case the hubby think there’s only hard work, there is one that’s not too hard! You can help your wife massage her breast just before breastfeeding. Is that good or what??? J
The breastfeeding journey is different for every new mother. For me, I believe in the power of Mother Nature. She will definitely equip women with the ability to provide for the child. So, to me breastfeeding is a confidence trick. I believe I can, SO I will be able to do it! Prepare yourself mentally and believe that you can! Other than confidence, garner and surround yourself with people who will support your decision to breastfeed.

Supporters will deflect the "Boo-s" that come along the way! During my confinement, I would practise how to latch my baby. While I was doing that, my confinement lady would always come over and say: “Aiyoh Baby ke lian lar, ni de nai tou duan nar li xi de dao”. It was true that I had short nipples but her constant chatter was a contributing factor to why I eventually gave up latching my girl. To prevent her from eroding my confidence, I decided to pump exclusively. My hubby supported the decision and I never look back since!
During the early days, an experienced breastfeeding friend became my hotline to burning questions about breastfeeding. Other telephone numbers that you can have on hand includes the BMSG hotline and lactation consultants’ numbers. Remember that you are never alone in this journey!

I used to joke to my friends that I am a worry wart when it came to breastfeeding. I first started off with: "Will I ever have milk?" then it went to "Will I have enough for my baby?". When my supply was stable, I had a new worry "Is my milk good enough for my baby and is there anything I should do to make my milk quality better?" When it was time to return to work, I worried whether I will be able to pump in office...

My milk supply came on day 4. I thought this was slow until I heard that my neighbour's came only 10 days after the birth of her boy. My initial supply of milk was low (20ml), just enough for my little girl. I remember the theory of demand = Supply. So I pumped as often as my baby would drink. In your case, you should let my baby latch when she's hungry. The body will slowly but surely adjust till your baby has enough. I also did my research and found that nutrients in the breast milk are more or less constant. Hence there is no need to worry about quality! :)
I have returned to work for close to 5 months now and my little girl is still fully on breast milk. I was lucky to have bosses who were supportive of my decision to continue breastfeeding. However, a friend of mine was not so lucky. Like me, she did approach her bosses before Maternity Leave and the bosses were ok for her to express milk. After returning to work, the bosses became unhappy that she left her desk for about 1/2 hr to express milk and subsequently go for an hr's lunch break. She even got a warning email saying that she had gone against the company's HR practises! This is an important lesson!

Hence, you should discuss this with the bosses even before you go on maternity leave (e.g. during ur 3rd trimester). Discussion can include, when (e.g. is it during lunch, will 1/2 hr away from desk be acceptable?) and where will be a good time for you to express your breastmilk. Upon reaching an agreement, you can put it down in email so that there won't be disputes going forward.

How many times should I be pumping? From my personal experience, I arranged my pump times so I will only be pumping twice (once at 12 noon and at 3pm) during work hours. The 12 noon expression will coincide with lunch hour while the 3pm one would be during working hours. By pumping only once during official hours will seem more acceptable to most employers. There were of course occasions where I missed the 3pm expression! Remember that being held up by work is inevitable. The best you can do is to bear with the engorgement, finish up the work and quickly express out the milk!

And yes! Remember to inform your bosses on your first day back at work, what time you are expressing and whether you can be excused for 1/2 hr should meetings/discussions coincide with your expression time. :)

I remember frowning over which pump I should get. I would recommend one that is easy to operate and suits your needs. Some criteria which you would like to consider includes: size and weight of the pump (this is especially important if you are ferrying the pump to and fro), do you want manual or electric operation?, how comfortable would the breast pump be?,how easy is it to use?

Most of us may have heard of how difficult it is to use a manual breast pump. From my personal experience, I think a manual pump is not tedious and my yield can be higher than using an electric pump. Importantly, you will want to learn how to use the pump properly. Everyone is different so it is best if you can try or see how the breastpump works before making the purchase. Pumping exclusively is not an easy job. I would encourage you to latch as far as possible and only pump exclusively to feed your little ones if you are really left with no choice.

Remember that the key to successful breastfeeding is made up of 3 Ps and 1 S - persistence, perseverance, patience and Support. I hope all of you will decide to breastfeed and continue to breastfeed after returning to work!

Breastmilk is SWEET!

It's been such a long time since the last post! My little gal got sick (AGAIN!) and when she does, she will spread her virus to me by either coughing or sneezing into my face. My GP told me that I should avoid taking my multi-vitamins (Obimin) everyday as it will be too heaty! No wonder I have been falling sick so frequently...

Time flies and my girl is already 7months. It did not seem such a long time ago when I was struggling to maintain my breast milk supply and having to bear with engorgement pain. If I aim to breasfeed her till she is 12 months, I have about 4months and 3 weeks more to go. Taking the medication has caused my breastmilk supply to dip. My 6 hourly pumps can only yield about 240ml versus the previous 300ml. Despite the drop, I would still have enough to give my little one freshly expressed breast milk.

Many of us may not have tasted breastmilk before and some people may even say that breastmilk has no taste! My mother-in-law even told me that formula milk is more fragrant than breast milk. But who can deny the fact that breast milk is actually sweet! Here is the evidence...

The above was a result of my hubby spilling my breast milk. The whole bottle went onto the floor and both of us did not realise that some of the milk had actually manage to get into the cupboard. The milk dried up and the ants at my place were having a major party!!!

Milk Spa...

My little girl had her most expensive spa the weekend that just passed... Why did I say it's expensive? It's because she is bathing in my breast milk - which is like the most precious liquid any mother would ever dream of giving their babies! Seriously, I would not waste my milk like this if not for the fact that I was taking a cocktail of medication for my bad cough. Have to thank Christine from SMH for reminding me that I should not throw and instead keep the milk for my girl to have a milk spa.

The milk is pretty mosturising (after heating up the milk in the pot, it forms a yellow layer of what looks like oil!) but sticky (most probably due to the sugar content - yes, breast milk is sweet). This time I got more inspiration from Chantalle on how to warm up the milk. Previously, I had left the milk until room temperature and added boiling water to make the milk warm. So this time round, it was very much easier! : )

I warmed about 5 litres of milk and it did not even fill up half the tub! I had no choice but to dilute the milk with warm water so that my girl could have a decent dip in the tub... :) Maybe next time I will warm about 20 packs of milk for her instead (thanks Chantelle for the tip!). My hubby took a video of her and I have yet edited it (It's a super big file so have to cut it before posting... do look out for the video!)

Here are some pictures of my girl enjoying the milk spa...

Updated (13 June 09)! Here is the video!

Yummy!!!!

I promised an update on my dropping breastmilk supply? It's back to normal again! I can only guess that the two main contributing factors are: 1. I was not properly hydrated (losing most of my water to the fever and leaking nose) and 2. I took the medication which was suppose to dry up my mucous! (I guess it had a drying effect on my breast milk too).

I did not know when eating solids became a struggle... Maybe eating only cereal for 1 and a half months is making my little girl feel irritated! So today, I tried something different. I pureed some organic pumpkin last night and had them frozen into small ice cubes. Today she took her first ice cube size of pumpkin! I won't say that she loves it to bits but she did eat the amount which I warmed up for her. :) (I guess it beats eating rice cereal again!)

I mentioned in my earlier post that we went to Ikea to buy her high chair? Anyway here is a delayed post of photos we took of her while we were having our dinner. Her interest for adult food is apparent! She was practically grabbing at the plates of food when she could.

First it started off with staring at the plate of salmon...

Then it went on to the excited version of "Mama, I also want some of that salmon please!"

As her excited behavior became uncontrollable, i relented and let her touch the plates... My hubby's comment: Heng she likes the salmon and not the chicken wings!"

Should I *YEAH* or not???

Made a bee line for home immediately after work today! Me and hubby decided to bring our little girl to the PD after listening to her cough and sneeze so many times after the morning feed. The queue for the evening clinic is not as horrid as the Saturday clinic (but I almost wanted to strangle the cashier cos she made me wait for more than 40minutes!)... My little girl is now 6.05kg! (at 5 months 1 week and 5 days old) Okay it's not a major achievement but at least she gained the (as always miserable) 100grams despite her fever and flu... :P 

To make things even better, the PD gave us a good prognosis. My little girl is getting better, all she needs to do is to continue with the cough mixture and the nasal drops. :) 

Sad to say, I think the dragging of hours before pumping plus my high fever and super leaky nose episode did really take a toll on my breast milk supply (from the usual 240ml per 4hours, it's now only 200ml!). I cannot tell for sure if this is because I did not hydrate myself adequately. It's not the first time my supply dipped because I did not drink enough water...

That said, it's time to bottoms up on water! Will post again on whether drinking more water will have any positive effect on my supply. Then again, as long as the supply do not drop every other day, I will be happy for the little drop (it just makes stopping breastfeeding a little easier in future). 

It's all about milk... *again?*

My little girl is coming to six months! Some people have been asking me when I am going to stop pumping. Before I was pregnant, I actually thought of feeding her for more than a year if possible. But somehow, things do not always go the way you plan... Anyway, I intend to give her breastmilk as long as possible (as long as my work permits too).

Being tired have made me drag my first pump of the day... From the daily 6 to 6.30am, I pumped at close to 10am during the weekend that just passed. Close to 9 hours of not expressing milk! If this were to happen during my confinement, I can guess I would not have the kind of supply I have now and my milk factories would have felt like two heavy stones... :P

Anyhow, while discussing with a fellow mother about fattening up our daughters, she told me that her PD had actually asked her to seperate her milk and supplement each feed with extra hind milk. Well, supposedly every time we breast feed, the milk comes in 2 phases - the fore milk (thin thin one) and the hind milk (thick thick). Every pump's composition of the 2 types of milk will vary. According to my research (and my experience), the longer you take till your next feed/expression, the more foremilk there is... And that's where you'll notice that breastmilk expressed 6hrly will look more watery than breastmilk expressed 4hrly (4hrs since the last pump).

Okay, I digressed... I read up in various websites on the composition of the foremilk and hindmilk and I was shocked. This is because I had actually dumped the foremilk of a few of my pumps! Anyway according to the websites, the foremilk has actually the most nutrients and protein which is needed for the child's growth while the hindmilk has the most calorie (which makes the baby full). Some information I gathered also includes: drinking too much hindmilk will cause the baby to have poo-poo problems (this seems true because my girl actually could not poo after 2 days of drinking hindmilk only).

In my last post, I mentioned that my little girl was sick? I fell sick too (with high fever and flu) after she sneezed into my face... So the flu bug passed from my nephew to my girl then to me! *Argh!* Took some medication which were safe for breastfeeding but I realised that my breastmilk seem to be thinner than usual (even for the 4hrly pumps!). So today, my little girl survived on the frozen expressed breast milk... :P

Milk... Milk... Milk...

Milk... Milk... Milk... For me, it's a special sound that my girl makes when she had her night feed when she was one month plus. I am glad that she had stopped night feeds since one and a half months, but the "milk... milk... milk..." plays so clearly in my mind and that's what keeps me going - pumping for the sake of feeding her.

It's been four months and I am still breast feeding via pumping... While some people struggle with their breast milk supply, I have been lucky enough to have sufficient and extra to store since my milk supply was established.

More and more, breastfeeding has become more comfortable for me. This includes the softening of the breast. Most of the days, the breast milk engorgement does not result in very hard and uncomfortable breast. Gone are also the days where pain will shoot through my breast every now and then.

I realised that my supply has stabilised in recent days and I am grateful that my employer is allowing me to pump during working hours. After I returned work at 2.5 months after my girl was born, my pumping schedule is as follows 6.30am, 12noon, 4pm, 8pm, 12 midnight. For the six hourly pump, my yeild will be about 300ml (10oz) while the four hourly pump yeild will be between 200ml (6oz plus) to about 240ml (8oz).

My girl drinks about 125 to 130ml every 3hrly at the moment. As long as I pump religiously, my girl will have enough milk and will not even touch the store of EBM I have. Recently, I wanted to let my ger drink the Similac FM but my hubby told me this in Chinese "You pump until so hard got so much to store already then you let her drink formula for what? Not like you got not enough milk for her!". Well to some extend it's true, mothers spend money buying formula and I spend money buying milk bags to store. :P To prevent wastage, I have given about 2 batches of milk to different mothers.

The mother who took my 2nd batch of milk was so kind to give me things in return... Now, I have another batch to give away... Actually I am glad that I can provide milk for my girl (except that she drinks too little according to my PD). As you can see, this is how my fridge looks like when it's too full... 

Here's a reminder to all mothers not to give up breastfeeding from the start! The first time my milk came in, there was only a miserable 20ml but I was so excited, I took a photo of it. So do not be dissapointed if the initial supply is less than 1 oz. You need time to build up the supply! :)   

Parenthood is never easy...

Two months have passed in a blink of an eye and I have decided to go back to work soon. To some extend, I need a break from washing milk bottles, feeding/burping and changing diapers. But at the same time, I  want to be with my little princess for fear of missing her developmental milestones and her "first"s. Recently, my little princess "talk"s after her milk feeds and her expressions are more varied (from purs to "ur"s). Just awhile ago, she just used her right hand to grab the pacifier to push it back into her mouth. Though she failed, I just can't help but feel amazement for the little being!

I am still pumping milk exclusively. It's more tiring than latching on (because I have to wash and sterilise the pump accessories and bottles) and it disrupts your social life (needing to pump every 4 to 6 hourly else u feel super uncomfortable from the engorgement. And I need to do so to prevent the milk supply from dropping). I sure hope I have the determination to continue pumping for another 4 more months...

This is a little promise I made to a friend of mine whose wife just gave birth.

What I did for the milk factory:-

Before baby's birth: 
My mother in law served me soup (pork ribs with papaya and peanut) during my last trimester. [NB: I remember drinking papaya fish soup at Thomson Medical Centre during the false contraction day] 

After baby's birth (This works for me and may have helped with building milk supply):

DIET:

1) Drinking red dates+longan tea all the time (not cold, must be slightly warmer/warm). Having a warm drink before latching/pumping helps in the let down of milk.  

[NB: My MIL bought me peanut soup to drink at hospital immediately after delivery]

2) Drinking soup three times a day (excluding soupy meals like bee hoon soup for lunch. I only did this religiously during my confinement period.)

3) Having fish head/papaya soup soon after delivery. Have the soup every week during confinement

THINGS I DID:

4) At the hospital, I happily told the nurses "Total Breast Feed" (So my poor baby did not have any formula for supplement. Even when she cried in the wee hours of the morning, she only got glucose water!). During the stay, the baby was pushed to me every 3 hours for latching. She would have to latch on each side for 15minutes (to induce breast milk production). Also I massaged the breast before latching.

5) As I did not latch after my discharge from hospital, I pumped religiously every 3hrly even in the wee hours of the morning (even when there was no colustrum/milk)

6) MUST DO 1: Massage before every pump/latch. Remember to use the whole of the palm when massaging each side of the breast (top, sides and bottom) followed by a gentle massage to allow the let down of milk. If lump is detected, massage with slightly more pressure and pump/latch [NB: Massaging frequently will ensure that lumps do not form. Too many lumps will cause infection and fever]

7) MUST DO 2: Keep yourself properly hydrated! This affects the breastmilk supply. [This is also why it is recommended that mothers who want to start lactation drinks soup three times a day.] 

8) OPTIONAL (But very helpful): Use a warm towel/compress (this makes let down easier, so pumping will be quicker)

9) OPTIONAL (But great help): After you have pump all the milk from the breast, continue to pump for another 5 minutes. This should help up the supply.

MAINTAINENCE:

9) DO NOT use SOAP to wash the nipples as it will cause nipples to become dry and crack easily. This means more pain when pumping/latching

10) Clean the breast and nipples after every pump/latch using a warm towel

The Story of the Milk Factory...

After the birth of a child, what else would make a mother fret more? Perhaps, if I had not insisted on giving breast milk to my baby, I would not have been so stressed up. Perhaps a good reason why most mothers rather give formula milk to babies (I grew up drinking formula milk and I seem to grow up alright...).

Day 1 (Day of delivery): There was nothing - not even colostrum!

Day 2 (Following day of delivery): Still nothing!!! Was the milk factory even going to begin the production? 

I was beginning to fret and feel pity for the little one when she started to cry.

Day 3 (Discharge from hospital, Day 1 at home): If colostrum is yellow and curd-ish, the milk factory decided not to produce them! Instead, what was produced were some gooey - transparent looking (texture like honey) stuff. And I only saw after the parentcraft midwife inspected the milk factory.

I tried latching the baby and failed. All I could hear was my dad repeatedly saying "Why is baby crying? She did not get to drink anything? She must be hungry! Poor thing!!!!" from the living room. Anyway, I cried over dinner - 1st for not having even the miserable colostrum. 2nd- my CL and parents insisted on giving baby formula milk by the bottle and not by cup. (Note: Hubby was not around to stop my CL and parents, so I felt like I was being outnumbered in what I thought was best for me and baby.)  

Day 4: Finally, the thick and yellow milk flows.

I remember only a miserable 20ml for quite a few pumps from now onwards. The nightmare of operating the milk factory every 3 hrs including wee hrs of the morning started. However, this resulted in a all time high milk supply of 240ml per pumping session.

Day 10: Not able to take the operating hours (that were set by myself in the first place) of the milk factory, I only pumped the milk after more than 7 hrs of sleep...

Day 15: I went down with fever of 39.4 degrees and a headache. I felt pins and needles all over the milk factory and I was shivering from an invincible coldness. Even with the thick blanket, I was all curled up trying to get warmth. I only remember drifting in and out of sleep involuntarily. Each pump session yield was 50ml.

Day 18: Supply was still miserable and the milk factory workers seem to have gone on strike! (i.e. the milk ducts that were providing the milk seem to have stopped working) Went to TMC parentcraft and learnt that the milk factory was congested (i.e. materials were there but there was little yield). After much negotiation (damn painful massage), the milk factory workers decided to resume work. Each pump session yields about 120ml to 150ml.

Day 22 (Today): Managed to latch baby for a short while to feed (after the latch, she still need to drink expressed breast milk from bottle). I guess I will try to latch her as much as possible and see if I can get her to latch for a full feed.

In essence, maintaining and running the milk factory is not an easy job. It is however true that perseverance and lots of sacrifice on the mother's end and encouragement from your partner are essential for the milk factory to run smoothly. While this milk factory is still in its infant stage, it would not have made it this far without my hubby's encouragement. Then again, why do cows seem to have lesser problems than the human milk factory?