Hi everyone,

I am currently 20 weeks pregnant and was reading up on breast feeding when I found this thread. Ooh, lucky me. There is so much positiveness and informative stuff here. Probably will come back later when nearer to EDD.

I just wanna ask that during the confinement period, for chinese, new moms will be fed rice wine, brandy, etc mixed with their meals? Won't this affect the breast milk fed to the baby?

I was chatting bout confinementlans with my mom when this thought came out and unfortunately, my mom has never breast fed.

Thanks. Have a great day

Hey, thanks for the info. I feel more at ease now. Kinda nervous cause this is my first. Haha...can't wait...

Have a great weekend ahead

Hello all,

Have been reading all your posts since i got preggy. I finally delivered baby nicholas on the 8th day of CNY. Now, I am trying hard to breastfeed him but he or we seem to have difficulty latching on. Only can latch properly whereby he actually suckles after a few tries. Sometimes, he gets frustrated. Is this a common problem for breast-feeding? I think he has nipple confusion ever since readmitted to hospital for jaundice.

Almost wanna give up db and feed with ebm liau. Got difference? Just that I am not sure I will have enough supply to feed him this way. Each time I pump, I only get about 1oz from both breat only. then would have to sumpplement with formula.

Any advice from experienced mommies out there would be great.

Thanks sbux. I guess I just need some reassurance. The latching has gotten better. I was wondering, how old will the baby be when he can latch on by himself? So far, I am kinda doing it for him.

Brought him for a check up today and he put on 0.2kg. I guess I must be doing okay after all. Was so worried that he isn't getting enough.

Lol@phythia. That is a cute story. Hopefully, one day, my son will be like that also.

Oh, Happy Valentine's to all of you out there

Haha nickit, funny way you put it. Sad to say, at 2 weeks, the reflex thing which open the mouth doesn't work with nicholas anymore. If he doesn't want to drink, he closes up like a clam

What I meant was the version of greedy cookie monster. Right now, even with the breast at his mouth, he opens his mouth but doesn't latch on his own. Kinda have to push his shoulder and even this, takes a few tries before the latch is correct whereby he suckles. I wonder if what I am doing is ok? Am I hindering him from learning to latch on by himself? He is only 16 days old after all

Lol....I think nipple confusion don't only happen to babies. Sometimes, I feel pretty confuse myself

Hi, tumpang ask a bit. If I pump every 2 hours, what happens if my baby wants to feed right after I pump? Aren't the breasts empty already?

I wanna pump more often to keep more spare but afraid that if I pump so much, the breasts are always nearly empty and my baby has nothing to drink when latch on.

Actually, I pump to maintain and try to increase supply. My baby is now 11 weeks old. Born at 2.7kg, at 9 weeks, during doc's visit was 5.1kg. I assume I am doing ok here.

During confinement, I usually pump right after I feed my son, but now, since I don't have help, I tend to pump later and I feel that lately, I hardly feel that my breast are full (hard and heavy) but soft, like just after feeding or pump. Am worried that I might be drying up though i do eat (not gonna worry bout weight atm) and drink a minimum of 2 litres of liquids. I also drink fenugreek water at least once a day.

Appreciate all advices from experienced bf moms. Thanks.

Hey Victoria,

thanks for the pumping tip. Will definitely try that out. Don't wanna dry up so soon...planning to bf at least till he is 1.

Have a nice day

Here's the list of gnc stores in Malaysia.

http://www.gnclivewell.com.my/?page_id=15

Great. Let us know if it works effectively. I am currently drinking fenugreek water. I thinki pills are more convenient though.

In lactation class, the consultant told a story. Cabbage is known to relieve engorgement, right? One mom called the consultant up and ask how come her milk supply totally stopped. How now? The consultant ask her what did she do and the reply was she used cabbage leaves to relieve her engorgement. When asked how long she did it for, she reply 3 days. She had to get her milk supply going again from scratch and it was difficult.

So, maybe can think about using this trick? The consultant told us this story so that we won't make the same mistake..

Hi komkakia,

I think I know the answer to this one. Normally, drink DOM after breastfeed at night. I also asked my gynae before. He said it is ok to take small amounts. He said if we drink one glass of wine, our liver will metabolise the alchohol fully and not get into the breast milk.

My gynae told me to put the wine in and cook for a few minutes...alchohol evaporates ma. Maybe other mom's can give their input on this one but this was what we did.

Congrats, by the way

Need advice from all experienced bf moms....

When my baby was newborn, I noticed that the bm I pumped out has a layer of cream or hind milk when I put it in the fridge. Now that my son is 3 months plus, the layer is thinner...like less than before.

My question is, is this because I am not eating enough (though I eat a lot, like pregnant) or is the body adjusting and it's normal? If it is not normal, what am I missing?

Thanks.

Hiya,

Sorry to hear that you are going through such a tough time. I would hate to lose control of my baby. Luckily, my hubby supports me. Till today, my baby is 5 months now, MIL still ask if my milk is enough and should be giving cereal by now.

Anyways, if I am not mistaken, cabbage is decrease milk supply.

You can get fenugreek seeds from the dry spice section in supermarkets also. I drink them with fennel seeds (jintan manis) with a ration of 2:1. Just pour inside a jar and shake to mix. I am lazy, i read here it was supposed to be boiled. I just microwave for 2 minutes. I teaspoon with a quarter cup of water. Then only add water till a cup full.

I might pay the consequences later but I drank lots of water during confinement. My doctor said ok.

Congrats on your baby. My paed said baby cry is good. Open up the lungs.

Hugs to you.

Yay!!!!

So happy for you. Maybe it is not the fenugreek seeds, maybe it boost your confidence.

Either way, keep it up. Your baby is very lucky to have a mom who tries and tries.

Happy nursing...

Hi again,

Your question brings back memories. Lol...my LO has jaundice when he was 4 weeks old and extremely sleepy. Furthermore, he was premature. The LC at the hospital said he does have the strength to suck, so I had to compress my breast while he nurse. More like expressing milk with my hand.

So, I feed him 1 breast and when he let go of it, I would change his diaper to wake him up a little. Then I continue feeding him with the other breast. Other tricks are tickling his chin, his feet or his cheeks.

As for quality of milk, I am not sure. I follow Syd G's advice....eat like a cow and latch on. Hehe....mainly I just eat more protein, multivitamin,more fruits and vegetables, fresh milk ( I use farmhouse brand), etc....

I am still finding my way as I go on but no harm in sharing....this is just my experience.

Hi,

First of all, congratulations.

The smell from EBM is caused by an enzyme in breast milk known as lipase. It helps to break down fats in the milk, so that the nutrients are easily digested by baby. This will result in the EBM soapy smell.
 
What can you do if your baby rejects your milk due to excess lipase? 
Newly expressed milk can be stored by flash heating the milk to inactivate the lipase and stop the process of fat digestion.
 
How do you flash heat your breastmilk?
Method 1: Scalding - Heat milk until you see little bubbles around the edge of the pan (not a full boil), then cool and store the milk.
 
Method 2: It is similar to double boiling your ginseng soup. Place a bottle of breastmilk in a pot filled with water. Once the water comes to a boil, remove the bottle with breastmilk to cool and store.

I got the above info from the breastfeeding network on Facebook. Awesome mommies there. You can check it out if you want.

You don't have to waste the EBM. Mixing some fresh EBM into it right before feeding or in your case the scalded ones, will do the trick. Make sure to taste the EBM is not sour first.

Normally, scalding is down after expressed and before storing. So, no need to wait for cool down. If it is freshly pump, should be can give straight to baby?

Boiling the EBM will destroy the antibodies and possibly the nutrients in it. Thus, we only warm it.

Are you direct latching as well? Could it be other factors like your LO DON't like the bottle nipple?

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Added on July 15, 2012, 8:49 pmYou can try though scalding before storing is more effective. Anything for our LO to have the best milk, right?

This post has been edited by laughiebean: Jul 15 2012, 08:49 PM

Wah...your hubby is a good daddy. You are one lucky gal

Anyways, my bb rejects the bottle depending on his mood and time of the day. If persistently give him, he will suck and spit out the milk.

Also, check that the nipple is a slow flow nipple. Could also be flow is too fast, so milk overflow in mouth?

My bb only 5 months, so my experience also limited. But I find that with babies, sometimes, gotta be trial and error.