i just gave birth to a lovely baby boy last weekend... since hospital n baby formula encourage breastfeeding, i wanted to do the same... i tried breastfeeding from day one until today but baby seems not full wif the milk that i provided... yesterday i felt breast engorgement but when i pump there's only abt 20ml for abt 2 hrs of pumping... did i do anything wrong? i called up my SIL n she advised to use warm towel over the engorged breast n massage hard... how do u actually massage it? grope it like porn star?? since baby is not getting full from my milk MIL has given baby formula milk for 2 days liao... we would alternate breast milk n formula milk... experienced mummy n daddy pls advice me... thanks in advance

update : thanks to all the support, advice n encourage

here's a list of bf mummies:

nicKit - bf since oct 2010
phythia - bf since aug 2009
Mommy_2011 - bf since jan 2011
EnPoiNte - bf/pumping since apr 2011
Syd G - bf since sep 2010
qarezma - bf since aug 2011
mIssfROGY - bf since 17 Nov 2010
Snowee - bf since Apr 1, 2011
hellokitty82 - started bf on Sept 2010 and fully stopped on Aug 2011
kittybunny - bf since nov 2011
victoria_lucas - bf since nov 2010

here's a list of hb supporting bf mummies:

VaLeNrUdOn - supporting his wife since may 2011
coolmast3r - supporting his wife since march 2011
SurpriseZZZZZ - supporting his wife since jan 2011
gundamalpha - supporting his wife since nov 2010
nugget - supporting his wife since nov 2011
metaltooth - supporting his wife since nov 2011

The Breastfeeding Advocates in Facebook
The Breastfeeding Advocates

Malaysia Breastfeeding Peer Consultant
Malaysia Breastfeeding Peer Consultant

List of MBfPC in Malaysia
MBfPC Name List

lactating recipes n bf frenly confinement recipes
Breastmilk-Boosting Recipes- Fish Tail and Papaya Soup
Moms in Mind: Recipes for Lactating Mothers (Postnatal)
The Chinese Soup Lady & Chinese Soup Recipes » Blog Archive » Papaya Fish Soup
Table for 2.... or more - Confinement

if u ever get in arguments abt bf, here's some winning answers

The Alpha Parent: How to Win Any Breastfeeding Argument

This post has been edited by nicKit: Jan 20 2012, 10:47 PM

Hey

Welcome to motherhood.

1) To increase milk supply, feed on one breast and pump the other (not for too long, 10-15 mins will do, you'll get around 10-15ml of colostrum only)

2) Massage it like how you'd massage your tummy (swirl) or like how you flatten your playdoh (er. this one needs a video..)

3) Feed your baby every 1.5hr - 2hr. You'll lose sleep, you'll feel tired, you'll feel like feeding him formula so you can sleep longer. If you're really determined, you'll pull it off

4) Engorgement happens when your breasts are switching from colostrum (the yellow milk) to white milk. It's ok, keep feeding and try to take warm shower often

5) Your milk supply will turn whitish after 7 days or so. Then your breasts will not be so big but there will be a lot of milk as long as there are a lot of stimulation.

Good luck! It's not easy to breastfeed but it's gonna be worth it

I am a successful two babies bf daddy. I agreed with your point no.1,2,3 and 5 but not no. 4. You should never take shower during confinement and trust me if you go ask all those seasoned mothers, this is the thing that you going to regret at later life.

Your husband play a big role here like encouraging words and very important if you stay with your mother or in-laws, never tell them how difficult it is as they are the culprits to ask you stop. They will say all kind of things that the baby not enough eat, so small, and something like that. Your husband beside can help you clean up the bottle after every feed, he can also help you massage the breast whenever there is engorgement. Take it as a fun time like the movie "The ghost" enjoy the time you together and very important is strong mind that you sacrifice it for your beloved baby.

More frequent feed especially girl as she feed less everytime and less sucking power will help to release the engorgement. Alternate each breast per feed and if you don't do that the one that receive less simulation will be very painful. Don't worry about less milk for your baby as baby actually can survive for 7 days with very little milk - doctor told me that. So, just don't give up and if you can try avoid to mix with formula milk.

You might not know your baby is very smart, because she or he can differentiate between easy milk or hard milk. What is that? It is alwasy easier to sulk bottle milk than breast milk so if you do that often, they will reject breast milk. Trust me, this is a big NO NO if you want your baby to continue taking breast milk else it will stop very soon. I am not here to scared you but just sharing the experience for those who failed and those who succeed.

Remember, strong mind that your baby can have enough milk and slowly whisper to her/his ears that they like mommy milk and will suck harder each time. There is another thing not all people can do it. If you feel really painful on your breast, you can ask your hubby to suck to release some milk. Yeah yeah i know what you are thinking but hey, I just warn you that not all people can take that but it will definitely help you!



Best,
escargo75
- mod edit : no blog linking -

This post has been edited by Syd G: Oct 28 2010, 05:39 PM

thanks for the advice... warm shower i took is wif the herbal bath... i'll take note... btw how often is the engorgement? coz i only feel it once since yesterday... can bb take water plus glucose? mil said bb should take water too...

No shower is a Chinese pantang ya?

As for engorgement, mine lasted for 2 days.

According to Ministry of Health Malaysia and WHO, first 6 months should be breastmilk only, no nid water.

let's c if i'm doing this rite...

yesterday abt 8pm breastfed alternate breast for 30 mins
baby slept until 10:30pm
breastfed alternate breast until 1am
baby slept until 5:00am
breastfed alternate breast until 6am (both fall asleep lying down coz i was sleepy)
baby slept until 9am
breastfed alternate breast for abt an hr

did i do anything wrong?

Every baby's different but yours look fine.

Lucky you get more sleep. My baby drinks for 30 mins every 2 hours

how do u soothe baby's crying? coz u know elders dun like baby crying... they'll think baby isn't full, mummy not taking care of baby... how u manage to ignore baby cry...sometimes i ignore baby cry coz i've already fed him for 1-2 hrs but then mil will say y u feed so long? baby cry then give him formula, he'll get full n go to sleep...

This post has been edited by nicKit: Oct 29 2010, 02:57 PM

yes, you got to get full support from ur husband to breastfeed your baby.

drinks lots of water or fluid - breastmilk main content is fluid


If you are in Penang, go to Adventis Hospital. They have dedicated & experienced nurse that actually breastfed her kids who will teach & coach you to breastfeed. they might even able to link u to other mom that produce too much milk who want to give away fresh breastmilk

This post has been edited by scoop7: Oct 30 2010, 12:46 AM

IMHO it's very hard when the grandmother try to intervene everything that the mother's doing. We can give you advices but are u willing to go against your MIL?

if i prove that i CAN provide enuf milk then i think she has nothing to say... rite now i try to breastfeed first then worse to worst formula... hb suggested to pump b4 his feeding so we know how much he takes... wat else can i do for improving breast milk quantity? my milk now looks like milk cair instead of pure white milk... i dun feel any engorgement anymore... btw how do u know that baby is sulking milk n not just sulking the nipple for soothing? coz he tends to fall asleep when sulking... i dunno if he's feeding or just playing wif the nipple... when i c him closing his eyes n looks like sleeping i would lay him down... but he'll open his eyes wide and ask for more milk... i dun feel anything (except the sulking nipple pain) when he latch on... i understand that he has to latch on the whole nipple n behind the nipple... he dun need to cover the whole breast rite?

come to think of it mayb i dun drink enuf fluids...

This post has been edited by nicKit: Oct 30 2010, 03:25 PM

breastfeed will give more benefit to 3 parties.

1. mother - get slim quick and save + reduce the cancer chances to attack woman
2.baby - got the best milk in the world

3. daddy - can save more...:-)

Congrats dear! I am also a new mother of a 1.5 month baby girl.

To increase your milk suppy, try fenugreek seeds. It guarantees an increase in milk supply. Put in a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds into a glass of warm water and then drink the water - twice daily. You can choose to chew on the seeds, even if you dont want it it's fine. You can google this method to see for yourself - I tried it twice and had an increase of milk flow.

The other option is to put warm towel near your boobs for a few minutes.

You could always breastfeed your baby first for about 20 minutes, and if he's still hungry then you supplement him with formula - 3oz or less.

nicKit,
Hows your urine colour? If it's dark yellow then you need to drink more

---

Added on October 30, 2010, 4:14 pmBtw when baby breastfeed and drinks (instead of simply sucking), can hear gulp gulp gulp sound.

But some babies can become lazy may not want to breastfeed cause it takes more effort to suck from breast than from bottle. This is why bottlefeeding shouldnt be introduced so early.



This post has been edited by Syd G: Oct 30 2010, 04:14 PM

does breast size have anything to do with the amount of milk produced? a lot of asian girls especially chinese have very small breast, and i wonder where does all the milk come? or where is it stored?

1. No

2. Boobs will get bigger.

when i tot i could overcome giving breast milk to my boy things go awry again... yesterday we tried pumping n giving breast milk by bottle... no problem... breastfed him when he woke up midnite for abt 30 mins alternating breast... woke up every 2 hrs for 3 times... no prob... but then the 4th time (around 5am) no matter how much i breastfed him he would only slept a while (abt 30 mins) then cried again... it's going circles for the whole day... i tried pumping today but was taken back coz suddenly blood came out... but it's just a while coz when i tried to squeeze the breast, the milk came out normal (white)... i oso noticed that my boy may not b latching on well n not suck hard enuf... he tends to fall asleep abt 5 mins of breastfeeding n wakes up when i try to put him on his bed... imagine my agony... here's a few questions to anyone who can share ur experience n tried n tested method:

1. does enviroment affect the baby? coz midnite to 5am is quite quiet in my around compare wif day time...

2. how to make him suck harder n not fall asleep during breastfeeding?

3. does anyone have a pic of a properly latched on baby on breast?

Sorry to hear about your experience Sounds like he wasnt latching on properly. Is he still fed formula too?

Here's a really good latch on video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zln0LTkejIs

*hugs hugs* unfortunately ya... coz baby can't b left crying for hrs n hrs n i have to "entertain" him wif my breast n picking him up n down... i'm lucky it happens during my confinement where my mil is around... it won't b good if it happens after my confinement... i'll go bonkers... just when i'm prepared to wake up every 2 hrs to breastfeed him... formula or breast milk i think he dun mind... his prob is probably latching n sucking... latching coz lack of guidance? sucking coz of baby bottle... like escargo75 said, easier to suck on... coz even adults find it easy to drink from the bottle...

He prolly picked up bad habits from his formula bottle feeding . If still fails then the next best thing is to stop feeding on boobs directly and give him pumped breast milk in bottle instead.

Another thing that I always do with my baby is to put her on diapers only and put her on my chest for skin-to-skin contact. If she's slightly hungry then she'll crawl to the nipples and latch on herself It's called 'breast crawl'.

Here's a good video on it :



Dont give up yet

This post has been edited by Syd G: Nov 1 2010, 07:14 PM

no giving up... dun worry... at least my hubby wants me to breastfeed or give breast milk till at least 1 yr old... breast crawl... that's interesting... i'll try it... another discovery was it was easier to get more milk from one breast while baby is feeding on the other... i was like ...but after breastfeeding n breast milk he's still hungry coz his mouth keeps moving... not wanting to sleep... i wonder how much does he drinks? we tried to estimate by bottle for breast milk... silly? mayb i should just try other method... he hasn't slept much today... dunno whether he'll b real tired to stay awake tonite...

it's common for every new mama because previously they never got the chance to try breastfeeding before. I know it's hard especially to newborn babies, they are so soft and to the parents like us, we are always worried that we put too much hand force on them, worried the baby is actually pain but don't know how to tell us.

Anyway, my wife's condition same like yours, earlier on, she did tried her best to breastfeed but my little prince somehow just don't feel full and keep on crying for milk, could be the position is wrong, ended up we decided to pump it out and feed him with bottle, yaya we do know that direct breastfeeding is the best but in our case, since he couldn't suck well, might as well pump it out, other than that we know how many Oz is enough for him, afterall, it's still breastmilk

My wife told me that she is feeling damn pain on her breast if she didn't pump out the milk, even the nipple is cracked all that, we asked the nurses and they adviced to use a bottle for example (bird nest bottle) filled in with hot water, put at the side of your breast, slowly roll it to the center to massage your breast when pain. It feels better and will help the milk flow better

To help generate more milk for the mother, maybe you can try the enfa mama A+ as MYFM also got advertist but my wife did not have the chance to try that because we planned to breastfeed for 2 months only and after that continue with formula milk.

Babies cried could be due to hungry, pee, sh!t and sick, other than these, most of the times they are sleeping, as for my baby, i would say first 2-3 months they will only wake up for milk, after that continue back to sleep, slowly on they will have longer awake time for us to play with him.. So no worries, just feed him and let him sleep.

wondering is the demand of milk of the baby depending on the size of the baby as well?
btw, do we have latching expert in malaysia? like this?


This post has been edited by hianz86: Nov 3 2010, 06:44 PM

Breastfeeding is really no easy job. All ppl keep on crying that breastmilk is the best, but all forgot to tell what kind of agony the mother have to go through. How good it is if there is a dedicated & experience person that could accompany new mom to go through this!

NeoXeroX, at least now i know i'm not alone i tot enfa mama a+ is for preggy...

i wish there's more support for breastfeeding from hospital... the day i gave birth the midwife just position baby against by breast n that's it... luckily my sil gave me pregnancy n parenting book to read... else i dunno wat to do... gov hospital should give more guidance to first time mummies... just across the causeway, the hospital over there shows mummies how to breastfeed, latching, bathing n even recommend which formula milk... the midwifes are gentle somemore... where to find such service here? private hospital??

Cas, wat n where to get fenugreek seeds?

is there any other way to boost milk supply??

someone told.. eat white carrot or lobak putih to increase breast milk.. and can also drink air longan.. that u can find in chineese medicine shop or sensehh..

or refer here lah heheh

http://www.susuibu.com/modules/newbb/viewt...id=4928&forum=7

got 2 types of enfa mama a+ if i am not wrong, you may need to check with those selling babies things shop to check it out or chinese medicine shop, about the midwife, actually my wife give birth at private hospital, its Adventist Hospital located at Penang, overall the nurses are friendly enough to guide us patiently on how to breastfeed, bath and etc.. things that new parenthood should learn about..

during my wife's confinement, i heard aunty aunty they all say if cook papaya + soup will produce more milk, of coz the papaya is belum masak de, normally those masak de papaya is orange in color, must buy those still in green color papaya then boil with soup, i am not sure about how to cook but my wife told me after had the papaya soup, it really boots up the breastmilk, maybe you can ask your mil or your mother for more details..

anyway good luck ya

hi..just saw ur thread here.. im a new mother too.. with my beautiful 6 months baby girl.. i think i know how u feel right now. coz i had the same/exact condition as urs. baby was crying in d middle of the night even after breastfeed. i think all babies are like that.. dont worry dear u only will experience this not for long.. not saying that u should ignore him! do what u are doing. n u r doing it right. coz u are his mother. i even cried together with my baby girl because i dont know what to do to stop her from crying *in d middle of d night*.

i have no problem with my milk.. my secret? during my confinement, i eat lots of cabbage. by putting 4-5 cabbage leaves in a newly cooked rice pot.. for 5-10 minutes.. let it warm n soft.. and eat it with warm rice.. can eat with some ikan bilis also. nyum2..i eat that on the first 2 weeks..with some other dishes.. not forget to drink lots of warm water.. or any milk will do.. cabbage is anti-oxidant. it will produce more milk dear.. plus.. baby boy usually drinks more milk than baby girl.. thats what my mom said. so u have to b strong! the more u breastfeed/pump out milk, the more milk will produce. so never stop breastfeed!

the warm towel thing is to make the milk flow out easily. same as warm shower. anything to do with warm water on ur breast area will automatically make ur milk comes out easily.

u'll be fine if u can follow ur baby's "schedule". i promise! good luck dear! hope my opinion works on u.. have a nice day!

medical students nowadays are trained to give advice to first time mother...including correct technique, when and how to breastfeed, what to do if breast is engorged, how to increase milk, how to express milk...

yet i think, it's not easy giving breastfeed compared to being the mother itself...

but important point is...engorged or not..painful or not...the key is correct technique and frequent feeding...if nipple is sore, express it...but dont give with bottle to the baby...he might get "nipple confusion" causing him to refuse true nipple and prefer bottle fed...even though u're using breast milk, but touching and bonding is not there...

touching between babies and mothers are very important to transfer normal flora to the baby, also this will stimulate mother emotionally and cause oxytocin reflex...producing more milk

thanks for all the feedbacks...

neo, i think only can go surveying after confinement papaya soup... will try to find out

fateen, cabbage is consider as "cold" so kenot eat during confinement... mayb after confinement... btw i heard from my bro that cabbage can oso b use on the breast if u wanna wean off... it's said to reduce the pain...

yes, you are right on the above hospital nurse intro my wife so too

does the two hrs per feed stay long? i read from book that abt 3 mths they feed abt 5 times including nite feeds... then gradually less n less... true?

it depends on the baby itself i should say, case by case, like my baby he is now 5 months, we are feeding him 3-4 hours each according to his demand, if he is asleep, it can be longer like 4-5 hours but when he is awake, it could be less than 3 hours and he is for milk already.. but usually my baby sleep longer in the night, feed once before put him on the bed, be it 11pm+, he will sleep throughout the night until 4-5am then only awake for milk

I believe you can do it, it takes time

neo, i know formula fed baby can establish "schedule" faster... but wat abt breastfed baby?

been trying to breastfeed baby whole day wif just one or two glucose water n one formula at nite... but the catch is to put him into rocking baby bed after feed but if i dun, he'll still for milk...

i know i still have a mth plus to go but can't help worrying abt baby's feed when i start work later... how to breastfeed if i'm not around? my milk is still not enuf for pumping... even pump not enuf for whole day...

Babe, I know breast is best but I feel it's not practical for us working moms. My baby is mostly on formula/bottle (she's 1.5 months) because she demands a huge amount of milk and besides, I've heard alot of moms complain that although breast feeding has its benefit - the disadvange is the child becoming so used to it that they refuse bottle feeding. And in that sense, the mom has to be around always for that. 2 cousins of mine were like that, they refused to drink from the bottle coz they were so used with breastfeeding. So what happens when we go back to work? Obviously it's quite difficult to breast feed the child and even if you want to pump the milk out, I doubt there's enough to last the whole day. Right now I'm giving her formula about 90% of the time, I breastfeed her in-betwen feeds when she's hungry and at night just to soothe her so that she'll go to sleep. Sucks to be going back to work soon

When you feed baby glucose water n formula, pump.

Are you eating and drinking enough, sweetie?

One thing good to go for formula feed is we know the total of amount milk(Oz) that our baby needs, but we will not know via breastfeed, and also breastfeed baby usually will cry for milk much more faster than formula feed. probably breastfeed will need to feed them within 1-2 hours approximately

I'm totally agreed with Cas on the working moms nowadays, when you are back to work, it's very hard to perform the breastfeed unless you wake up early in the morning to pump once, lunch time once (in the toilet) and keep it in office's pantry <-- this will be awkward for you especially those male colleagues in and out pantry to open the fridge for drinks.

My advice will be, try to discuss with your hubby on this issue, might need to go more formula feed than breast feed, the ratio can be from 3-4 formula feed : 1-2 breast feed. You have no choice but to practice bottle feed frequently unless you decide to rest another few months more, otherwise when you are back to work, then the nightmare begins

We parents are always trying to give the best to our childrens without hoping for any returns

Btw if you're too embarrassed about putting the milk in fridge, put inside a tupperware.

Oops i forgot to mention that, if we keep the milk outside the fridge, make sure you use it within 24hours, my recommend will be within 6 hours to keep the milk fresh, the reason why we store it in the fridge is to keep it longer

cas, it sucks to go back to work n missing out baby development but wat to do? no money no milk

neo, for the last two days i've been trying to give breast milk only during the day n nite feeds... currently, only 50% successful... at nite my hubby will feed him kao kao formula (n oso to bond wif baby ) before sleep... last abt 3-4 hrs... unfortunately there's no fridge in my office... but office is near to home... will b trying anmum lacta to c if it works... another thing is i'll b resigning after i go back to work... so i can continue breastfeed after that...

syd, i eat a lot for confinement but i keep feeling thirsty eventhough i just drink... the thing is i kenot drink plain water for my confinement n that's keeping me thirsty... n ya... my urine is dark yellow... still 2 more weeks then i'm out of my confinement... currently i've stop pumping for a while coz i know i dun have enuf to pump... i'm waiting to c if anmum lacta n diminish thirstiness would help boost milk supply... if i had enuf sleep, heck no...

sometimes i would cry when baby cries coz i would blame myself for not providing enuf milk, dunno wat he's crying for, etc... being first timer sucks... but i'm lucky to have a caring hubby (coz he dun want me to become depress)

nice if the office is near your home, so during lunch time you can go back home to take lunch and also pump out the milk for your baby, bear in mind that you will be superb tired for the first week when you are back to office, unless your mil can help you during the midnight feed then is okay.. or else, it's gonna be nightmare

me and my wife choosed Anmum stage 1(1-6 months) for our baby, well, he loved it since the first try and soon changing to stage 2(6-12months) next month, some ppls will think that expensive milk powder = best, but actually to us all are the same, most importantly is depends on the baby's taste. i still remembered during my wife's confinement, her mum cooked one type of drink is called "Oh Zoh Teh" in hokkien, i don't know whether you know about it, it's the boild the "Oh Zoh" and then keep in a container to keep warm, when feel thirsty then can pour out to drink, remember during confinement period don't drink any cold water, warm plain water still okay but avoid if can

keep us update ya

No wonder you're not producing milk, you're not drinking enough. I drank at least 2L of plain water a day eventho Malay pantang also says cannot.

I'd rather langgar pantang than to see my baby starve.

i should track this thread since i'm also going to be father this near....
keep it up...
i see a lot ppl say that the father should be at side to encourage her wife here...
what actually father should do????
what kind of support that every wife need...??

To Do List for husband who is gonna be daddy soon :

1) Accompany wife to go for check up.
2) Remind wife to take medicine in time before delivery, because during delivery, the wife will lose tons of blood.
3) Be with her in the labour room to keep her support, it's very pain and only god knows how pain she is.
4) During confinement, maybe you can help wife to massage when she is pain at her back <--- for sure during breastfeeding.
5) Help to take care of your newborn baby whenever you are free, you wife will need a good rest after delivery and during confinement.
6) Standby anytime to help buy things which is needed for your wife and baby, because no one is free besides the husband.
7) Give more attentions & concerns your wife.

and many more

alright...
easy....

neo, baby will stay wif us at nite... so it won't b diff after my confinement... if my hb is willing to sleep wif me n baby despite baby cries at nite... i asked him to sleep in the other room coz i pity seeing him having panda eyes n less sleep but he insist to stay i think the teh is red date tea... i've got the instant one but only recently rajin put inside thermos (coz no cold water during confinement)... earlier i drink ginger tea n end up baby heaty i think coz lots of tiny transparent "bubble" on his forehead... anyway, baby now oso having S-26 coz mil used to give S-26 to hb... i agree that baby/toddler/child should like or suit the milk powder coz like my fen's case, she had to change powder again n again coz her son is allergic... the last i heard they're trying organic milk powder i've just started anmum lacta yesterday n let's c how it goes...

syd, sometimes it's to believe or not... i can't believe how many pantang during confinement but like they always say it's just for a mth... coz if we fall sick then who's going to take care of baby if baby is dependent on us?

The pantangs were around since the days of homebirth and lack of knowledge on basic sanitation, hygiene, antibiotics and antiseptics. I dont mind following pantangs, really as long as it doesnt have any ridiculous reason behind it.

E.g cant eat/drink so much cause you'll get fat and the husband will find another wife. Srsly wtf.

---

Added on November 14, 2010, 12:12 pmEasy to do once. Try doing it consistently, parenting is tiring

This post has been edited by Syd G: Nov 14 2010, 12:12 PM

syd, here i have to finish everything on the plate so can't eat/drink is not a pantang here... bathing is still acceptable but wif herbal packs... at first i dun really understand y kenot bath... but after i read the confinement recipe book q n a i understand y... just the water fluid thing... no cold water, no plain water... even i can plain water, the wine/DOM/alcohol will make me sweat n hot... so i still lack of water...

It's ok. Your confinement will end soon. Hopefully you'll go back to drinking lots of water and will have a lot of milk like I do

I delivered normally without epidural. Seriously I'd rather endure the pain of delivery again than to go through the pain of confinement.

nono, what i wanted to say is, whenever you are back to work + need to take care of baby in the midnight, there you go, you will be superb tired by then, glad that your husband is sleeping with you to take care of you and baby, about the red date tea, i don't know whether the cook one and the instant one brings the same result but you can monitor if it helps you to generate more milk for ya baby, on the ginger part, because what the mother eat/drink will produce out as milk, so if you are going to breastfeed ya little one, it's adviced by the nurses to drink (ginger, dom) after breastfeed, then only will not effect our baby, by that time the alcohol also digest already

about the bubbles on baby's face, maybe you can try to use a warm towel to help him clean the face each time after feed, was informed by nurse as well to keep baby's face keep so that it won't grow any dot dot on the face, if baby sweating also will result of growing dot dots too, always keep clear on the face gambateh and wish you and your baby stay healthy and most importantly a lovely & caring husband beside to support you

syd, me too... i would go thru a labor delivery than going thru confinement

neo, warm towel... will do that after confinement coz kenot touch water ma... but i do keep a hanky to wipe off excess milk n vomitted milk i din know ginger have to take after feeding... coz usually i would feed him after my meal which is always a coincident which i hate oso...

btw out of topic do ur babies sleep like having a nitemare? my boy recently make sounds like he's having nitemare...

you can always ask your husband or mil to help you with the warm towel, be it 2-3 hours wipe one time and maintain it should be alright, a dry hanky also can help but please only use one time only after that change a new hanky to prevent it, i was advised by my aunties not to let baby sleep openly, meaning face up and both hands put on top beside of the head, they will get scared.. try to put your baby for side sleeping, sleep on left / right side with the arm and leg hugging on a pillow, cover with blanket and try monitor it for awhile, another thing is you can go to chinese medical shop to ask for the "Bao Lin Dan" that one is help baby from getting scared, well, i bought mine at Yu Ren Sheng

neo, we've been adviced to swaddle (bungkus the baby wif lampin so the hands stay put beside the body) n been doing it since... but i dun swaddle tight so baby ends up wif hands outside mil said no need bao yin dan <.<

updates, i've started a time log to c how long he's stuck on my breast n sleep... from wat i c, he's on the breast (dunno feeding or sucking) for abt 15-30mins n sleep for abt 20+mins... it's just one day... dunno if it's the same for tomolo... oh ya, i only feel engorgement during nite... morning dun feel anything at all except milk leaking when baby starts to lacth on my breast... any opinions?

wear a nursing pad

washable ones are cheaper but they dont retain milk well. i use disposable when i'm outside and washable at night.

ahhhh, i also felt heartache to bungkus him with napkin though, see he so pity, just come to this world and get both hands tie up.. i will let his hands out and play with him while he is awake, but its good to swaddle it during sleeping time so that wont get scare easily.. ehhh about the engorgement part i not very sure about it, maybe can ask out ladies here

Actually, swaddling is actually more comforting to a baby. Google up Dr Harvey Karp and his 'fourth trimester' theory in his book 'Happiest Baby on the Block'.

Cheers.

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Added on November 18, 2010, 6:10 amhttp://www.ninemonths.com.au/fourth-trimester/

This post has been edited by Syd G: Nov 18 2010, 06:10 AM

syd, interesting article but in my place it won't work... unless we move out... here we have lots of opinions from everywhere... so it's making it hard for us the parents to implement our own taking-care-of-baby... btw does baby sleeps after breastfeeding? coz my boy likes to fall asleep... no matter how we rock, play wif his finger, body or leg, or waking, he sleeps in my arms... like a log... then wakes up when i put him down... sometimes i hear him swallow hard sometimes nothing... now i got blamed for spoiling him in my cuddle n sleep wif sucking...

I'm so sorry, nicKit . I have the privilege of doing it to my own daughter.

At first I had to be so 'kurang ajar' to not listen to others' opinion on how to raise my own child. But right now she's very calm so people whom noticed actually asked me for advices

Btw my baby often sleeps after breastfeeding too. Not too long, though. She'll wake up after 15-30 mins unless it's at night.

When living with in law and etc, everyone will have their own version of taking care of the baby.

This is where the man role come into play. The man has to make a stand on what is to be done and not. Like my colleague, he make a stand and fight his parents and in law against all traditional / cultural practise and changed it to modern ones he learnt from the same ante-natal class we visited.

Wish you all the best.

syd, mine sleeps then wakes up abt the same time as urs but he'll always get hungry... is ur girl the same? he always seem hungry all the time... it always make me think if i actually have enuf milk for him... to provide milk every 30-60mins then doze off for 10-30mins... i dun even have the time to pump...

merchant9, thanks...

abt anmum lacta, i was told it was to improve the quality of the milk i still need to find ways to improve the quantity of the milk... but from wat i read, if baby is gaining weight then the milk flow should b fine rite? but i'm not sure if formula at nite is the one making baby gaining weight...

nicKit,
Do you burp your baby?

me n hubby tried burping but often there's no burp le... any other successful burping method other than patting on baby's back?

OK that's why your baby feeds every half an hour. He wasnt drinking much in 1 session.

The pattern I do with my daughter is :

Feed -> she'll stop feeding -> I'll burp her -> she'll continue feeding -> she'll stop feeding -> I'll burp her -> I'll give her boobies till she doesnt want anymore and fall to sleep.

Repeat again after 3 hours.

How I burp her - works everytime :




Hope that helps

syd, do u get a burp every single time without fail? i mean feed-stop-burp... will try burping n c wat will i get...

I'd say 95% of the time

Just want to share my experience of breastfeeding (bf).

i m SAHM w/ 4mth+ bbgal. I exclusively bf my bbgal for 3.5mths, no additional water, glucose water OR any chinese medicine. But i can really say, bf is very painful process but i still happy i have gone so far.

i delv at UMMC aka UH. 1st 2 wks, due to jaundice, i stayed at hospital w/ my bbgal for 4 nites then i transferred her to private hosp for another 3 nites. from 1st night, as UH runs room-in concept, mom will need to take care of bb all time. I took care of bbgal right after i exited labor room n settled down in the ward. As that was mid9, the nurse oso not gave me a DAMN ( I really unhappy with the nurses there), never taught me to bf as they supposed to. So, bbgal & i took 2 3 hrs to get 1st feeding ON.

I pumped my milk when bbgal at private hops for 3 nights, n i went to hosp twice daily just to handover my milk to ensure my bbgal was feeding on breastmilk instead of formula milk, oso, i wanted to ensure my milk supply was there as i couldn't feed her directly during her treatment stay. REMEMBER, that was my confinement time but i still in n out to hosp. My mom, who helped me for confinement, kept mentioning i shd combine breastmilk (bm) + formula milk (fm), n she said me very stubborn. But i just did what i felt right, so, she was so unhappy but i just had it my way bcoz elder generation, they will thimk fm is better for baby. I read books n articles during pregnancy so i had very very firm decision n confidence that i cld bf.

I myself, really hate confinement bcoz of all those pandang. For me, some can follow but not all especially no shower. Aren't we supposed to jaga our hygiene to ensure baby is in gd condition bcoz we need to take care of bb?

When 1st n 2nd checkup, my bbgal gained 1kg each mth, my mom shut her mouth up bcoz i proved i had enough milk n gal was growing well. However, i found that, latch-on of my bbgal was improper n caused my nipple pained, as i couldn't correct her, so, i just let her suck me with pain.

However, bcoz i was 100% caregiver n my hb always busy, i was too exhausted n my milk started to get lesser after that. So, now i combined fm since last 3 wks but i still pumped to feed her 1/day. I was so depressed over this n cried 1st few times when i fed her fm. Till now, i still can't really let go bf, 1/day oso i feel better than nothing. But i will try Cas method, to take the fenugreek seed n see if i can get more milk.

Above all my experience.......

@redchili
I love your story. Keep up the good work

Are you drinking enough water? Like 2-3L a day? Because before bb comes we're all asked to drink 2L of water anyway - a lot of people are drinking not even close to that.

Now, i want to make some pros & cons of bf & chinese confinement practice, from my experience

BF Pro: 1. bbgal grows so well. 2. No need to wash so much things, like milk bottle, cup... 3. Mother losses weight very fast. 4. Feel bonding w/ bbgal

BF Con: 1. bbgal only wants to stick to mom, others no chance to bond so much, including dad, bcoz i direct feed for 3.5mths. 2. take time to train bbgal to take bottle, she rejected it so much (but now, she likes bottle more n rejects my breast, really know how to choose easy way out). 3. mom needs to keep eating (right) to ensure her weights n health not affected (this is where my problem)

CH Confinement Cons: 1. Very dirty! 2. Too much heaty food, directly caused bm heaty n my bbgal got so many rashes, after confinement over, my bbgal skin got better bcoz not heaty anymore. 3. Traditional CH confinement food not gd for bm, like yellow wine. Midwife told me, sour food will make bb diarrhea n i proved it right, even black vinegar oso culprit. 4. Cant drink plain water, i don't care, i drink, just make sure it warm water. N pls, drink a lots, alots, alots of water to ensure enough milk supply.


Hb support is very very important. Friend that has experience oso cld teach you a lots.

Baby crying? If your bb not crying at all, shdn't you get more to worry? Crying is way of bb communicate w/ the world. Try to understand n fulfill the needs. Not just to stop the crying bcoz it is annoying. But i don't want to divert the topic. So, if there is any topic abt baby crying, tell me, i will share mine.

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Added on November 21, 2010, 11:44 pmeven b4 preg, i drink at least 2L per day, so, drinking water isn't problem for me. I will drink 1 cup b4 bf, 1-2 cup after bf. this was my practice all while. My problem begun when i found my gal weight gained only 0.5kg on 3rd mth checkup eventhough dr said it was normal weight for 3 mths bb.

dr in fact prescript me pills to boost up the milk production, i took it for abt 5 days, milk production really went up but my body became weaker. Initially, i thought it was due to my tiredness as i did all house chores, took care of bb, laundry n cook by myself. So, all ppl advice me to stop bf as i alrdy lost weight even lighter than my pre-preg weight. Then i stopped taking the pills. As my mom came to help me again, i curi2 took 1 pill again hope if i could continue. After taking it, abt 2 hrs later, i felt so sleepy, tired n depressed. So now, i concluded (by myself) that it could be the pills i took for 5 days that made me so weak, bcoz i believe that pill has sth to do with hormone.

This post has been edited by redchili29: Nov 21 2010, 11:44 PM

i know hygiene is important that's y i had towels wif me... 3 in fact... one for baby (spit milk), one for breast (clean breast wif those mini water spray for plants then clean wif towel) n one for myself (sweat, etc)... 2 more days n i'm out of confinement... will drink lots n lots of water... i simply can't understand y no plain water... anyone can enlighten me??

syd, yesterday we watched the video n found another nice video on burping... we decided to use the other coz the baby in the video seems like the same age... n it works! even wif the technique wif the video u attached... today i tried the feed-stop-burp... baby is calmer n sleepy... will monitor n c how it goes... thanks dear~!

I'm not well-versed in Chinese confinement but for the Malays, cannot drink too much water cause it will cause bloating (thus 'perut buncit' = body not attractive), and saggy vagina / swollen feet. Urgh. I dont even know how true the 2nd reasons are....

Hey doesnt matter which technique - as long as your baby's burping and happier, that's good

Ya, i watched the video but i still prefer to burp my bbgal as rubbing her back bcoz i found my bbgal burps more angin out with this tech. However, it will take longer time.

my bbgal doesn't like to be disturb while feeding, so, i couldn't practice feed-burp-feed as i read from book.

nicKit, remember, not only after feeding you need to burp your bb, pls burp the bb if bb has been crying for sometimes bcoz crying oso will masuk angin.

Ya, while bf, i oso would have 1 towel for myself on another breast as it will leak. I didnt really care, i still took plain water heaps... but just make sure it is warm.

red, we din have luck wif the rubbing n patting... btw if u happen to find fenugreek seed do lemme know where to find n how to consume...

syd, still need to continue experimenting...

When I try to burp my baby.... I end up burping instead !!! What gives ?
Will try the video way.

My wife also suffers from crack nipple when brestfeeding. Medela cream did help a bit. Would anyone know of other traditional or kampung methods in minimizing crack nipple. Wife sufffering like crazee laa.
Thanking you in advance

shizham, i read somewhere u can use the breast milk for crack or sore nipples ur wife can try that...

It's a Malay thing. Think about burping tukang urut.

Er no need to buy Medela cream la. So expensive. Any pure Lanolin products will do. Is your baby latching correctly? Your wife can also wear ultrasoft breastpads - I use Lansinoh Ultrasoft.

Try to apply some pressure on bb stomach while burping, i will press a bit on my bbgal stomach n rub her back. although sometimes it takes > 10 mins, but it will burp eventually. Of course, provided ur bb neck can hold by his/her self.

But my bbgal won't burp if she fell asleep b4 i managed to burp her. But i will burp her again when she wakes up.

Eerrr, I heard some ppl said just apply breastmilk around the nipple can help. I myself nvr try cos nvr hv this prob. Maybe u can try and see.

Yes, it is one of the practices by the Chinese. However, if a mother really has to wash herself, she should do so by using water boiled with dried ginger skin.

Regards, Joey

shizham,
Ask your wife to relook on her latch. If baby is latched on correctly, she shouldn't have cracked nipples. Not to brag but I've been BFing my gal for almost 3 years already & I've never had any cracked nipples episodes. So google on some latch on videos on youtube & watch. If still cannot, go & consult a Lactation Consultant. Please PM me if you need contacts.

Meanwhile, ask her to put some breastmilk on her nipples, try not to wear bra & "air" her boobs. This will help heal. Take care!

Great feedback and tips here...thanks a bunch !

The latch...how do I say this....is on the nipple only. The baby doesn't seem to latch on the outer area as she opens her mouth very small and not wide open. As a result of this, she clings/latches onto a small area, which is the nipple.

Will get her to air her boobs.

Thanks again

@shizam
Do watch this video



Btw it takes practice from both mommy and baby. Babies may know how to suck but latching properly is difficult for them

how do u know that ur breast is already "empty"?

shizam,
Ouch! No wonder she's in pain! Try to get baby to open mouth big (like yawn) when latching on. Our Mod posted a really good video there. Gambate!

nicKit,
Your boobs should feel softer AFTER a feed/pump session.

here's a good site - breastfeeding help videos

it shows how a good latch looks like n poor latching... my problem is nibbling, jiggling n pulling... i still couldn't get a good big wide mouth for latching... tried to move nipples across his upper lips... still not big enuf... plus he's a sleepy drinker... wondering if a nursing pillow will help me out by not making my arms sore trying to get a big mouth from my boy...

or should i clean his white tongue? they say baby can't taste if his tongue is white due to milk...

Hi nickit, hows ya baby doing so far?

neo, he's still the same... i've started the fenugreek seeds... so far nothing... will try to get another breastpump for the milk bank coz leave is finishing soon... the bo yin dan oso dun work for his crying at nite...

i was wondering if, let's say, 12pm i pump, milk only 20ml... can i save it then add on later on the next pump e.g. 2pm? anyone? i'm keeping it in room temperature n giving the collected milk in the evening...

nickit,
It's normal for babies to be sleepy during early days. You can tickle his chin to wake him up.

As for pumped milk, DO NOT leave in room temperature if you don't use it immediately. Please put in the fridge to chill. Msia's weather is too hot & your milk will turn rancid fast. General guideline is 4 hours max but for our weather, I think 2 hours also don't know can tahan or not. You can top up different pump sessions PROVIDED both milk are same temperature. Eg : Session 1 20ml, you put in fridge to chill. Session 2, 20ml, you put in fridge to chill also. After 1-2 hours later, you can add both sessions together as temperature are the same already. When you want to feed, just warm up the milk either using a warmer OR traditional method (milk bottle sit in a hot water. Please take note :-

1) DO NOT use microwave as will create hotspots.
2) DO NOT shake the milk as our milk protein will break, you can swirl it gently as milk will be separated to a few layers when chilled.
3) DO NOT use boiling hot water/temperature too high on warmer to warm your milk as high temperature will kill nutrients in your milk.

Hope these helps.

This post has been edited by janicelly: Dec 2 2010, 02:02 PM

actually i oso got the problems abt the breasting feeding. my son oledi 6 months. he juz suddenly dislike 2 drink my milk. i mean he doesnt 1 2 directly get my milk from my breast. so, it caused less milk tat i produce since he didnt drink it directly from me. when i try 2 pump out the milk, it juz 20ml.... last time normally i can pump until get 160ml milk...

so, wat is the problems? wat can i do now since my milk decrease?? plz help!!! tq...

charmingqueen99,
Can you please elaborate more? What do you mean that your baby do not like feed direct? He latched on & off? He totally refused?

If he don't latched on, you must pump to maintain your supply. If you don't, that's like telling your body no need to make that much.

he totally refuse 2 drink. but when i pump, there was not much milk tat i can get... so y ya? i try 2 pump oftenly but still cant get more...

how long it is advisable to stock up the milk bank before the maternity leave runs out? 2 weeks enuf? or in my case 3 weeks enuf? my boy likes to latch on based on his desire no matter how i try to get a good latch on... haizz...

charmingqueen99, mayb u're stress out?

This post has been edited by nicKit: Dec 3 2010, 12:56 PM

This is based on my own experience so I'm here to share. If you drink milk powder like Anmum and then pump, you will get more. If I dont drink, I only get like 1 Oz but if I drink, I get up to 4 Oz in the morning. This proven to work for me for a few occassion now.

To store breastmilk,
room temperature can keep 2 - 4 hours only.
fridge is 1 day but my confinement lady said 3 days max
freezer is 3 months

Now, I am looking for a silent pump to pump breastmilk in the office ladies room. No electrical socket so cannot use electrical pump and I dont want my whole office to know I'm pumping. Any recommendations?

Medela Freestyle.

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Added on December 3, 2010, 4:21 pmMy nurse started pumping after 1 week of baby's birth so she had 50 3.5oz packets/bottles ready when she started working

I pumped 3 weeks before working, managed to pump 15 bottles with 5oz each.

This post has been edited by Syd G: Dec 3 2010, 04:21 PM

Syd G,

Thanks for sharing. Just to confirm which model is it, can you click on the link below and verify (if you know)?

http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/produ...tyle-breastpump

Yeap that's the one.

Any idea where I can find it within Selangor / KL?
Do you know how much the price?