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.......

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

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.

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.