World Breastfeeding Week

I am a breastfeeding mum, yup, still am. So, anything related to breastfeeding will somehow gets my attention.

August, or somewhere in August, it's World Breastfeeding Week (WBW). There will be a lot of writeups regarding breastfeeding in most of the parenting or baby magazines, and lots of posting regarding breastfeeding in parenthood or baby forums, and websites. It's quite hard to miss it actually.

So, about me. I "celebrated" WBW during Eunice's time, and now, I celebrate it again. Breastfeeding looks never ending to me. Hahaha! At least for now.

I breastfed Nat for 1 year already. *Grin*. Previous experience with Eunice definitely helps me a lot. But she's a different baby comparing to her sister - she is not as addicted to my boobs as much as her sister. There are times when I need to force feed her, and she often just latches for 2-5 mins just to satisfy her hunger, and she continues to her own exploration.

I used to pump 3 times a day. Morning 535-545am when I wake up, 1030am  & 430pm in office. I used to over supply since my baby doesn't like to drink much. Eunice has been clearing my stock for me. Even so, I still have my freezer full of milk and had to buy a chest freezer to keep my 80-100 bottles of precious milk. Ever since Nat turns 1yo, I cut my morning pump but continue to pump two times in office.

Friends in mother's room asked me how long do I plan to pump? I seem to be there forever LOL! I don't know but my plan now is to pump until she's 18mo, then we'll see if she still wants my boobs or not. I believe, weaning her this time won't be as hard as during Eunice's time. But I'll still be sad.

I thank God that I can breastfeed my two girls. They are beautiful girls. I thank God for the supply that He has blessed me with too. Nat grows up healthily. She has less allergy problems as Eunice's hence she doesn't have the frequent flu and cough. She's easier to take care, and she looks more solid with high resistant. Haha!

Breastfeeding, is a mixed feeling. At one point, I yearn for the freedom of myself, but I feel sad thinking my baby is not sticking onto my breasts for comfort too. It's just the same feeling that I had 2 years ago. But I am sure, this time, I'll be able to handle it better. I hope.

It's a tough journey but it's worth it. I am glad that I had great support from hubby to 100% breastfeed my two girls. Some said about being ugly, breasts sagging, no time, tiring, hard to take care, etc etc but I often reply back and said it's all worth it. Just 1-2 yrs of "suffering", and it's for the baby's well being for the whole life. It's surely worth it.

Breastfeeding rocks. I am going to enjoy the last 1/3 of my breastfeeding journey with my little naughty Natalie. I hope she'll love my boobs for a while more. :)

My pretty girl at 1y12d :)

Note: There's a great writeup for breastfeeding here. I got the comics from there. I am sure, those comics bring a smile to any breastfeeding mums. :)

Breastfeeding Journey II

When I found out I was pregnant, EG asked me if I want to upgrade my breastpump. Of course I want. :)... I was using Unimom for Eunice's time. It served me well. But this round, knowing that it's going to be another long journey, I bought Medela Pump In Style Advanced instead. I got it from Amazon.com and EG's colleague was really kind to help me to bring all the way back to Penang for me!

I have read that for 2nd baby, mother will have more milk. I prayed for that. During pregnancy, I felt my breast duct was a bit painful, the sensation is similar to when I had mastitis during Eunice's time. I was worried that it'll be a roadblock for me to breastfeed my baby. Thank God the sensation went away in my later part of my pregnancy.

EG said I have breastfed Eunice for 19.5 months, so I must do the same for Natalie, if not more, to be fair he said. :).. Well, I agree.

I direct latched Natalie after she's born. No bottle feeding. I insisted to direct feed. When I came home on my 4th day (I stayed extra day to observe Nat's jaundice), I felt my breast was very engorged. So I pumped, and I got 6oz output! Wow, amazing.

I pump once a day during confinement to clear my breasts. I can get 7oz easily, while I direct fed Natalie most of the time. So in the end, I fed Eunice my breastmilk since I dunno what to do with it. :)

After I started working, my supply was abundant. Averagely I get 8-10oz on my every pump session. And I tried not to over supply, hence I still only pump 3 times a day, even Nat has slept through the night. And I still get 27oz-30oz of output everyday. As a result? Not only my freezer is full, now both my girls are on breastmilk fully. Yes, you heard it right! Eunice is on breastmilk AGAIN. :)

I tried not to stuff up my freezer since EG didn't want to buy another freezer for me. I have to agree with him that as long as it's enough supply, no point stocking up so much. My girlfriend told me, it's a good problem actually. I have to agree with her. Oversupply is always better than under supply.

I love my new pump. I could get 7-10oz in 15 minutes. My friends sharing the same pumping room in office often shocked with my efficiency! It's good because work is crazily busy  now and I won't take so long in the room pumping like during Eunice's time.

I sure hope I can breastfeed Nat up to 2 years old. For 2nd baby, even breastfeeding is such an enjoying process. :).. Guess my friend is right, with a good pump, it surely makes the breastfeeding journey more pleasure! :)

4th day post partum, my golden creamy milk

My new companion for the next 18 months, or more :)

National day present - pumped 14 oz one go!

Freezer door full during confinement

1.5 mths post delivery

Effect of durians - 19oz one go! I also went @.@!!!

My freezer today on 28 Dec 2012

The end of my breastfeeding journey

Yes. Finally.

Since my first mastitis episode in Eunice's 14th month, I had it again on her 15th month, 17th month and 18th month. It's definitely not fun. I am not sure why it kept coming back but the only possible reasons that I can ruled out are: 1) stress 2) previous infection wasn't cleared well. So this time, I went back to my gynae (I went to Panel clinic the last 2 times :P) and make sure I followed the instruction correctly this round to clear off all infections.

And I took the opportunity to wean off Eunice at the same time.

I had stopped pumping in office for 3 weeks, and only let Eunice direct latch in the morning, and before she went to bed. And on one fine day, I have decided to stop letting Eunice latch on. I got EG to help me.

First night, she cried, hugged my legs, and asked for neh neh... My heart melted. I seriously thought of giving in but thank God EG was around to help me. I told EG to please carry her away with my really weak voice. When Eunice saw EG coming, she ran into my kitchen (with all lights off) and hid at the corner. My heart broken. EG then carried her with her milk bottle to the room. She looked at me, cried, extended her arms to me asked me to carry her, but all that I did was just telling her byebye, and good night. :(

After a while, I heard her laughing happily upstair and she drank her milk, and fell asleep.

Next morning when she woke up, first thing she asked for neh neh again... I showed her her bottle. Of course she cried again, shook her head and her hands. She must be thinking what she has done wrong and why isn't she getting anymore directly from me. :(.. EG asked me to go bathe and few minutes after I went into the bathroom, she drank her milk. When I'm out, she's all happy again.

But I think she can feel that she's not going to have the intimacy with her mummy anymore. When I went to prepare her milk, she asked me to carry her and I did, and she held me close and tight with her two arms. This is the first time she did this to me. I just felt SO.SAD.

The crying continued for the next 3-4 days. Sometimes in the morning, I had to go to the guest room to sleep in order for her to drink her milk in the bottle. When she climbed onto me to ask for milk, i lifted up my shirt and showed her my bras, and asked her, where is neh neh? no more neh neh dy....

On the 5th day, she didn't cry anymore when I gave her bottle for her morning feed. She drank it happily. I took back the duty to sleep her at night and she is drinking her bottle happily.

She FORGOT about my breasts already. In just 5 days!

In a way, I'm happy that the weaning process wasn't as tough as I would have imagined. But I felt a very strong loss inside me. The tinge of sadness never seems to go away even till now - 2 weeks since I didn't let her latch on. Sometimes, I actually forgot about it and still thought of feeding her. I feel like I "broke up" with someone that I really love.

No, I didn't cry. But everytime I think about this, I teared. But I keep telling myself that I have done my best to feed her up till 19.5 months, and I have hit my target of 18 months. And she has grown up and now it's a whole new chapter for both me and her.

So, I have graduated! And hooray to my breasts, they have finally gotten their freedom. :)..

But I'll miss this experience dearly. I'll miss my little girl asking for neh neh, and came to me, and auto lie down in my arm, pointing at my breast and tell me "this is neh neh" before she latched on to drink. I'll miss this dearly.

All the breastfeeding moments will be remembered forever, only by the mothers though.

Breastfeeding @ 14.5 months

Ya, Eunice is still on breastmilk... *shy*....

After the mastitis episode, though I have recovered after my course of antibiotics, my supply drops 20%-30%. I used to be able to pump out 10oz - 12oz in my 2 pumping sessions in office, but after my mastitis, I could only pump out 6oz-8oz. Each pump session reduced from the usual 6oz-8oz to 3oz-4oz. Once, I only pumped out 1oz from both breasts. Imagine my terror!

I was so sad, and heart broken. I mean, though I know I'll have to wean off Eunice soon but I didn't expect the day to come so fast.

Now I understand why everyone has been saying that having stock is important. Even though I don't supply enough as per Eunice's daily intake, I know my stock can last her for some times.

My hard worked stock in my fridge as of 6th May

I had to use some time to tell myself that it's OK, I have done my best, she has grown up, it's OK now to give her milk powder, etc etc. After 1-2 weeks of self psycho-ing, I'm slightly OK now and been planning that I'll give her her first try of milk powder when she hits her 15 months, though I still haven't decided on which milk powder to give her. :P

But just when I finally persuaded myself to finally give in to milk powder, my supply went up again since yesterday. *Grin*. I think my supply has came back to normal again.

Now, I'm in dillemma again. Should I continue breastfeeding until I'm really ready to wean her? Or should I go on with my previous plan to start my weaning process at her 15 months?

*Dillemma*

Mastitis

Mastitis means that the breast is inflamed, and there is swelling, redness, tenderness and pain. There may be an infection, so it is wise to consult your health-care provider to determine whether or not an antibiotic is necessary.

I read about mastitis ever since I started breastfeeding. I have been very very careful. When Eunice was 3-4 months old, on a night, I felt chilled in my sleep. I woke up, felt my breast very very engorged. I went to kitchen and get a warm towel to do some warm compresses to my breast. And I saw a white blister on my nipple. I pricked it using my finger nail, made sure the milk flow resumed, and direct fed Eunice. I was ok on the next day itself. Later on, I read that that's blocked duct.

I have been breastfeeding for almost 14 months and I never thought that I'll get mastitis at this time! On Thursday, before my usual pumping time at 5pm, I already felt some pain on my breast. I thought why is it so engorged. So, I went to mother's room 30 minutes earlier, thinking I might get quite a lot. But I was wrong. Nothing much came out, and the milk was pink in color! And I couldn't stop shivering in the mother's room, and the pain on my breast didn't reduce even though I tried to pump for 45 minutes.

I decided to throw the 4oz of pink milk away. And I smelled some unusual odor from the milk. Fresh pumped breastmilk should be odorless. The milk from the other side of the breast was ok. When I poured the milk away, I saw some debris at the bottom of the bottle. It looks like some many little pieces of dried milk. I was shaking so badly that I couldn't even hold my phone with one hand. And the moment I left my office, I got fever.

I called up my friend Janice in KL as I know she has one lactation consultant that she always gets help from. I told her my condition and got her to help me to ask her LC what's going on. My main concern was - can I still direct feed Eunice? I talked to a few of my colleagues, but no one had this problem before. I called up a doctor from my church who's also breastfeeding, and another LC from Penang that I found in internet. I even called up to Island Hospital baby nursery room to talk to one of the sisters. All of them told me it might be mastitis, and it's safe to direct feed Eunice still. Only problem is that when I have mastitis, the milk will taste salty. So some baby won't like it, and it'll make things worse as the blocked duct will worsen the situation.

Thank God that Eunice was still drinking like usual! Even the LC Dr Jamie from PG was laughing about it. Guess Eunice is not a fussy eater. She was drinking longer than usual, maybe because it's full since I couldn't pump them out. I took a paracetamol, and slept at 9.30pm. Felt better after that.

I still went to office the next day, but I felt really lousy. So I took MC after settling some work and went to see my gynae Dr Karen. She was shocked to see my breast, commented that it's red & warm and it's infection. She commented that mastitis can happen anytime during breastfeeding when I asked her why. So, I'm now on antibiotics for a week and if it doesn't improve after 3 days, I need to go back to see her.

I initially stopped paracetamol thinking that I don't have fever. But how wrong I was. The pain was so bad that I couldn't walk well, and I couldn't even lift up my hands. I tried pumping and could only get 2oz! So, Eunice was my best breastpump to clear my breast for me.

I'm now on my 2nd day of antibiotics and I felt much better (maybe from the help of the paracetamol to reduce the pain). But I still feel the infected area on my breast. I hope I'll be better by end of tomorrow.

Yes, still doing full breastfeeding

Many are very surprised that Eunice is still an exclusively breastfed baby.

1. Enfamama called me up, and asked me if my baby is >6 months (I registered the info in their website). I said yes, and she asked what milk powder is your baby drinking? I said, breastmilk. And she responded with a very surprising tone:"Oh, still breastfeeding?" And I said yes. Next she said, OK you know breastfeeding mummies can drink Enfamama too. And I said yes I know. End of conversation. :)

2. Everytime I bring Eunice to her monthly checkup, Dr Dan will never fail to ask me what milk powder is your baby drinking now? And I always tell him, breastmilk. And everytime he'll reply:"Oh still breastfeeding? Very goood.."

3. My mum in law doesn't check on my milk stock anymore when she comes visit us. I think she's finally assured that I have enough supply for her granddaughter. And breastmilk is as nutritious as formula as it's advertised as her granddaughter is as chubby as the other babies, and has a very good weight. So good that sometimes she struggled to carry her well. :D

4. My mum still checks on my supply when we talk on the phone. Still asking if I have enough for Eunice. I told her yes because now she's on solid and I still pump 3 times a day. The next question is so when do I plan to stop. I told her I don't know yet I haven't planned. And she started to get worried about teething, biting, etc etc. And I told her, yeah yeah I know, and we'll cross the bridge when we come to it.

5. Some aunties that I met also very surprise that Eunice is still on breastmilk. I don't know where on the earth they heard that a mother can only produce breastmilk up to 4 months and it'll then slowly reduce to nothing. I'm been feeding & pumping for the past 9 months. And yes, sometimes the supply dropped and that's mainly due to my lack of sleep, but most of the time it has been maintained at 18oz-22oz a day.

Look at my cutie pie enjoying herself while suckling from mummy

When Eunice was admitted for high fever, she's spared from dripping because she drinks breastmilk. I thank God that I have endured so far.


I always encouraged my friends to continue breastfeeding no matter how hard the situation seems to be because I believe one day all these effort will pay off. I'm blessed with many breastfeeding moms around me and the encouragement and companionship to each other is a great motivation to keep me going on.


And as for me, my weight has gone back to my pre-preg weight even though I still eat like a cow. But many commented that I look thinner than last time (with bigger assets though :P). And I do notice that all my jeans are very loose now. But my tummy is still bulging.


Besides, my period has finally came back to me when Eunice hit her 8 months. I used to worry that my supply will be affected when my period is here but thank God it still maintains, maybe just slightly lesser but it's still more than what Eunice consume everyday.


So, when do I plan to stop? I don't know. I am used to wake up at 5.30am to pump everyday, and so used to lift up my shirt whenever my baby cries at night. Like I always tell EG, I've not been sleeping through any night ever since I become a mother. But I'm not complaining. One day I'll wean her off. The only thing that I look forward to after weaning is I can stop pumping. But I haven't planned the day yet.


We'll see. :)

My Breastfeeding Journey

Eunice is 7 months 1 week and 1 day old now. It also means that I have been her moo moo cow for 7 months 1 week and 1 day. *phew*

I pride myself in my determination has helped me go this far, and that Eunice has been on breastmilk exclusively. And she has been growing well~! Many are amazed by her michelin legs and round tummy. Well, at least I prove my mum and my mother in law and many aunties wrong - they always think breastmilk is less nutritious and it's impossible to provide enough for a young baby.

I wouldn't say the journey has been easy but I thank God that my breastfeeding journey is rather smooth. I don't produce A LOT bu I just produce enough for Eunice. I guess that's good enough. She has been drinking 20oz a day before she started solid and my supply is always between 18oz to 24ozs. During good days, it'll go up to 26oz. :). Now that she starts solid and skipped a milk feed, her daily consumption at babysitter's place has reduced to 14 - 15ozs but my production remains at +/-20ozs.

To date, my fridge has 49 bottles of breastmilk with avg of 4-5 ozs, some at babysitter's place. I have 68 bumblebee storage bottles and almost all of them are filled up. To make sure I fully utilise the bottles, I try to make sure I have minimum 4ozs per bottle (mix after pump). And for the stock that I have now, it can only last Eunice for 10-15 days for day time only. If for full day, I guess it will be all gone in less than 10 days.

I actually budget to buy an Ameda double breastpump after I confirm that I can go on with breastfeeding after my confinement, but when I went over to the shop, the sales person actually recommended me UniMOM Forte (never heard before leh...!) :P.. It's 50% cheaper than Ameda, except that it's a bit bulky and slightly heavy. Well, since I don't carry laptop to office, I just put this breastpump in a bag pack and carry to office everyday! In order to convince me to buy this cheaper breastpump, EG also volunteer to carry my bag for me if we ever need to bring it around. :P ... So far, I have no complain and it has been serving me well. :)

Of course I do crave for new branded breastpump. Well, I told EG this is what girls normally want to do - having >1 bags, >1 purses, >1 shoes and what more for this breastpump that's on daily usage. However, he's right that if a cheaper breastpump has already been doing its job well, why do I need to spend more for a branded one? Ahhh... So I'm still not getting any till now. Probably for my next baby I'll buy a Medela or Ameda then. :)

Many asked me how long I plan to breastfeed. I haven't really thought about it yet as I really enjoy breastfeeding now (though I don't like the pumping). But I do plan to do it as long as I have enough supply for my little one. For now, the target is when she reaches 1 year old.

I really thank God that it has been a great journey so far. :)

Finally... YES to Bottlefeeding!

5th June 2010 - A day to remember - I successfully bottlefed my little cutie pie!!

I was holding her, playing with her while waiting for EG to come and feed her. While playing with her, I just tried to put the bottle into her mouth and told her... "Hey baby, mummy feed u OK?"

To my surprise, she started sucking! Even EG was shocked. And both of us kept really really quiet while she's drinking, thinking she might suddenly "realise" that it's MUMMY feeding her... and she finished ~5oz of milk!

So, I tried again during the weekend. And without fail, she's taking bottles from me very very positively. And she can drink really well now without throwing tantrum! Previously bottlefeeding her is always something that really stresses me out because she'll cry cry cry, and I can hear EG trying so hard to pacify her, and she'll continue to cry cry cry, and end up threw away some of my milk - my hard worked expressed milk. =.=

So, both me and EG are very happy with her "performance" last week. And I hope next week she'll continue to be an angel like this. :D

And from last weekend onwards, daddy got lazy to bottlefeeding his precious since mummy can do a good job too... hmm... =.=

Bottlefeed vs Breastfeed Part II

Follow up from the previous entry.

When we picked up Eunice from the babysitter few weeks ago, babysitter told us that every Monday, Eunice will protest whenever they bottlefeed her with breastmilk. But of course after a while she'll give in and drink on the following days. However, thinking about her crying for my breasts while feeling hungry breaks my heart.

So, I told EG we have to try to bottlefeed her during the weekends in the day time.

And so we did.

Initially, the little cutie pie will CRY~~~ but later on she'll suck on well. Then later we found out that she will only drink well when she's VERY HUNGRY. So, we always make sure that she's really hungry before we fed her in bottle. And also, everytime after her feed, she'll look at EG with her two big eyes - as if she got cheated big time. EG had to apologize to her many times and explain to her that bottlefeeding is to help her better when she goes babysitter on Monday.


Later on, it gets easier and easier to bottlefeed Eunice. And EG the daddy also developed his skills to bottlefeed her better. He'll cool her down, sing to her, praise her saying she's a good and smart girl, and burp her in between if she can't drink well. Slowly, Eunice has developed trust over EG and now, she'd smile to EG after feed - at least that means she's happy and contented. :)


Everytime when EG feeds her, I will try to hide everywhere in the house so that she won't see me. Whenever she wakes up from her nap, I'll have to call EG to pick her up if she fusses and prepare the milk beforehand so that EG can feed her straight away, and she won't see me and she won't ask for my breasts.

One Sunday, we tried to bottlefeed her before we went church, but she didn't want to drink (guess she wasn't hungry yet). So fine. I wasn't very happy coz I didn't want to throw away my 4.5oz of precious breastmilk and I brought the bottle out in case she's hungry within an hour. And viola, the little one started to fuss when we're reaching church. And I thought since EG has been bottlefeeding her for the past few weekends, she should be more accustomed to bottle so I stuffed in the bottle for her and expect her to suck and drink.

BUT... she didn't! :(... She only sucked for 1 second, then pushed out the teat with her tongue, making some unhappy noise, then turned her face towards my breast. :(... In the end, I had no choice and let EG fed her with bottle in church while I went down to car park to bring up her stroller (and because of this he skipped his prayer meet) and the little monster finished all the milk!

So now because EG has been meeting her needs to feed her during weekends day time, Eunice has officially became a daddy's girl...

And I think Eunice misses her daddy very much on Monday because babysitter told me Eunice cried a lot on Monday... :( .. and asked if we keep holding her during weekends... :P

And her daddy misses her like crazy especially on Mondays since he has been feeding her during the weekend...

And mummy is very jealous because she can't bottlefeed her baby.... and she feels that Eunice is more attached to her daddy now.... hmm....

Breastfeed VS Bottlefeed

During my confinement, I have already introduced bottles to Eunice due to some unforeseen circumstances. I asked a Malay lady to come and do urut for me during my confinement every 2 days. The massage took about 1.5 hours to 2 hours. It definitely will clash with Eunice's feeding time. So, I usually pumped and get my MIL to bottlefeed Eunice when I did my massage. Sometimes, I also pumped for my MIL to bottlefeed Eunice before she sleeps so that I can have a break. :P

However, after pumping for a few days, I realised I'm getting less and less from pumping. Previously I could easily pump out 3-4oz, but later, I could only pump out 2.5oz max. I got panicked and then I have tried my best to direct latch Eunice as much as I can to re-establish my milk supply. When my massage sessions finished, I never pump anymore and I direct latched Eunice all the time.

When I brought Eunice back to Penang after confinement, for the 2 weeks I have been direct latching her all the while despite her growth spurt and demanding feeding hour (every hour OK!)... Nursing pillow was my good friend then.

I called up Eunice's babysitter to confirm on the date when we're sending her over, and things that I need to pack over. The conversation went on to discuss about her feeding.

BBSitter: "So, how many oz is she drinking now?"
Me: "I don't know wor..."
BBSitter: "You direct latch all the while? Have u introduced her bottle yet?"
Me: "Yah, I gave her bottle during confinement, she's OK..."
BBSitter: "Nevermind, you try to give her bottle again this week and see if she can take it.. but don't feed yourself, get someone else to feed her..."
Me: "OK!"

At that time, I never thought that it will be a problem as Eunice has been sucking hard everytime my MIL fed her last time. And even I fed her with bottles before when I had sore nipples and I pumped out to feed her through bottles. Though many said it'll cause nipple confusion or baby will associate bottles with mummy and reject nipples, thank God it didn't happen to me then. So, I never thought it will be a problem to bottle feed her.

Until when we defroze one of the stocked up express breastmilk (EBM) for her. EG tried to feed her when she started fussing for feed, and I was standing at the side looking. Eunice was pushing out the teat with her tongue and crying. I was shocked to see her behaving that way. I never thought that she'll reject bottle!

We smelled the milk. We thought it spoil as it has some milky smell while fresh EBM is odorless. So we threw away the first 5oz of milk which I collected so susah payah... We took down another 5oz to defroze and thinking of trying again the next day. In the meantime, I found out from internet that defroze EBM does have some milky smell comparing to fresh EBM. So, the milk was OK.

I tried to fed her once also and failed miserably. She's hungry but she refused to suck the bottle teat! And it has been war everytime. So we tried continuously everyday at least once to twice the week before we sent Eunice to babysitter. We tried many methods where I went upstair (I even went bathing so that she can't smell me) and EG trying to feed downstair, or he went upstair and I was hiding in the study room. EG even tried to feed in the guest room thinking maybe the master bedroom also has my smell. But this girl she just cried and cried, kept pushing out the teat with her tongue. EG tried to squeeze some milk into her mouth and she swallowed a bit and kept crying again.

She even pretended to sleep! Gosh... I heard EG telling her upstair "Eunice, please don't pretend that you're sleeping... it's not funny...".. But everytime, she won the battle as she will be crying so loud until EG worried that neighbours will be thinking we're abusing baby at home.

But one thing is, when she was crying, and when I picked her over from EG, she'll stop immediately, and when I lifted up my shirt, she showed her very cute anticipating face again and when she sucked, she sucked really really hard - she's really really hungry.

Because of this - not only I wasted so many oz of my EBM, I was also dead worry that if she will be able to be fed well in the babysitter's place though many told me not to worry as (1) the bbsitter is very experienced and they will spoon feed her (2) baby won't starve themselves. But the thought that she'll cry very loud until give up and give in to bottles since I can't suddenly appear to direct latch her breaks my heart.

Inside me I still couldn't understand why will full direct latching for 2 weeks caused her to reject bottles.

Thank God that my parents came visit on the weekend before I sent Eunice to babysitter. I got smarter and when I'm expressing the EBM, I kept extra 2oz for my mum to feed her rather than keep defrozing the stock up for babysitter. Again, I went upstair bathing when I let my mum feed her.

When I came out from the bathroom, surprisingly I don't hear any crying. I only heard my mum said... "Eunice guai... Eunice good girl... drink your milk..." I didn't even dare to come down or make any noise as I scared she'll smell me again and dun want to drink from bottle.

After 10 minutes, my mum called me and told me that my little girl has FINISHED the milk! I was SOOOOOOOO SURPRISED that I smsed EG straight away. The next day, we tried again with the frozen breastmilk to make sure she's not rejecting the frozen breastmilk now, and again, she finished them all. Gosh, I felt so relief after that. On the 3rd day, I got lazy... I was walking around the house when my mum was trying to feed her. And guess what, this little girl she is just too smart. She didn't cry this time, but she didn't want to drink as well... So I direct latched her again. But I'm already much relief that she's neither rejecting the bottles, nor the frozen EBM. At least now I know she'll be fed well @ babysitter's place.

True enough, when Eunice went to babysitter's place, she can drink 15oz a day with no problem. And now, it has been increased to almost 20oz a day! I have to work real hard in pumping the supply for her!

Anyway, I still couldn't understand why Eunice will associate EG with me and refused to take the bottle from him. And I finally experienced that babies are really very smart....!

PS: Daddy was devastated coz he can't feed his own daughter. But then, we'll try again in near future to get Daddy bottlefeed his cutie pie. :)

Growth Spurt

What is a growth spurt?

During a growth spurt, breastfed babies nurse more often than usual (sometimes as often as every hour) and often act fussier than usual.

......

Physical growth is not the only reason that babies may have a temporary need for increased nursing. Babies often exhibit the same type of behavior (increased nursing with or without increased fussiness) when they are working on developmental advances such as rolling over, crawling, walking or talking. Mom's milk is for growing the brain as well as the body!

When do babies have growth spurts?

Common times for growth spurts are during the first few days at home and around 7-10 days, 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months (more or less). Babies don't read calendars, however, so your baby may do things differently.

More info @ http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html

I used to ask my friend who has been breastfeeding for >2 years why many ppl say if we can endure 6 weeks of breastfeeding, breastfeeding will then be a breeze. She said, because there will be a growth spurt on the 4th week.

I experienced the growth spurt on Eunice's first week. And I almost gave up. She was on my breasts for almost 24 hours! And every feed can be >1 hour. And after that I had all the sore & cracked nipples. Moreover, when I was still so new about breastfeeding, I just couldn't help but to think if she's not getting enough and hence the long sucking... later only I found out about this growth spurt thingy...

I suspect now Eunice is on growth spurt also since it's now her 4th week. She was asking for feed from 3pm+ to 9pm+ last night almost non stop. I only had 10-15 mins break to go toilet or take a quick bath and I had to feed her again. And today, she has been also asking for feed from 2+pm till now.

Now, I feel like a cow...................

My First Breastfeeding Adventure

For c-sect mum, until I can start walking, nurses in Island Hospital actually pushed baby Eunice to me for breastfeeding. We have made our point very clear that we want exclusive breastfeeding, not knowing what's ahead of us. After baby is fed, they will then bring baby back to nursery for sleeping. So the overall stay is quite relaxing, and I thought I quite enjoy the bonding with baby during breastfeeding.

Until we brought Eunice back....

Eunice kept crying and crying, and I'm not sure what to do when she cries. I tried to feed her, sometimes she will suck the nipple for >1 hour to 2 hours, and sleep, and after 30 minutes she'll cry again. And when she cries, her whole face will turn dark red and scream at the top of her voice... I was totally helpless looking at her crying. At night, I told EG and his mum to sleep in another room - no point having everyone suffering together - and I tried to feed her everytime she cries. This caused me with all the backache, hand ache, shoulder ache, and sore nipples and etc due to carrying baby + lack of sleep. My really sore / cracked nipples seriously discouraged me in continue breastfeeding. I'll scream and kick when Eunice first latch on as it's REALLY painful and the pain will be gone only after she starts sucking. Having doing this for two days ONLY I'm already totally exhausted and thinking of giving up with breastfeeding.

When the government clinic nurse came and checked on Eunice, she told us that Eunice has jaundice and asked us to go do the blood test ASAP. We went and her jaundice level has reached the dangerous level for a 6-day old baby. We admitted her to Columbia Asia Taiping for phototherapy. I know that jaundice is common for newborn but my heart ached like crazy and I couldn't control my tears from keep rolling down esp. when I see her just keep sleeping in my arm (jaundice babies like to sleep). I also admitted as a lodger as I want to breastfeed her.

Eunice was admitted for 1.5 days and discharged on the next day. In the 1.5 days, I lost track of how many times I was called to nursery to feed her, until I was again totally exhausted. And nurses in Columbia Asia Taiping were not very supportive in breastfeeding (unlike Island Hospital in Penang) and they kept pestering me to mix with formula milk. Thank God that EG was there all the time and he made his point very clear that as long as I have supply, we won't give formula milk. And everytime we'll be in the nursery to make sure Eunice is quiet and calm under the phototherapy before we left - once we stayed on till 12.30am - imagine how exhausted EG was being running up and down the whole day, + worrying for his precious.

In order for Eunice to be discharged soon, she has to be fed a lot to poo, and make sure she's full while going through the phototherapy so that she won't scream for milk. Phototherapy is hot and she'll get dehydrated and hungry fast. The nurse suggested to me to express my breastmilk. I didn't want to as if you read up any breastfeeding material, they will tell u not to introduce bottle in the first few weeks, and God, it's only my first week with Eunice. And the amount of milk that you expressed might just disappoint you greatly since there's a poissibily that the milk hasn't came in yet.

However, I gave in, feeling so useless that I have only breastfed for less than a week and I had to introduce bottles. All negative thought came into my mind challenging me if I can make it for breastfeeding. My really sore / cracked nipples were the main reasons me giving in to expressing. I'll scream when Eunice first latch on and the pain will be gone only after she starts sucking. Now, I really salute all the mothers who did exclusive breastfeeding! I smsed / called up friends who did breastfeeding and asked if all the things that I have gone through is normal. So, I used the breastpump in the hospital to pump out all my milk supply so that they can bottle feed Eunice faster and get her under the therapy more rather than having her being fed by me more!

I really thank God that most of the time when I expressed, I can get from 2 to 2.5oz. Even the nurses commented that I have quite a bit of milk supply **shy**. To make sure no formula milk is given to Eunice, I set my alarm clock to wake up after 2 -3 hourly to express my breastmilk for them to store to feed Eunice. The 2nd day, I discharged since no point staying in the hospital as lodger when I can express my milk. I came home, slept for 1 hour, EG helped to setup all sterilizer and breastpump and sterilized everything, and I continue pumping again using the Avent manual pump. I'm very surprise that with Avent manual pump, it's even more effective than the Medela electric pump in the hospital (though I'm not sure what model is that). I could easily pump out 3oz of milk. Quickly, we sent the EBM (Expressed Breast Milk) over to hospital again as EG really doesn't want them to give Eunice any formula milk. (He's even more dedicated than me in supporting breastfeeding :P)

Finally Eunice was discharged at 6pm and I was told to keep breastfeeding her to make sure she poo and pee a lot to flush out the excess bilirubin in order for jaundice to cure. It's not easy of course but to make sure she's well, I had to make sure I'm strong too.