What lies beneath

We were on our way back from Low Yat when Mr Photographer (my husband) asked me the question "apesal susu u makin sikit? naper dulu u kerap pump, sekarang x kerap dah? dulu u asal ada time jer u pump...  u yg cakap kat i makin kerap pump makin byk susu"

Ambik nko soklan bertubi2.

Memula i thought my stock berkurang because aku dok ambik sikit2 and tak ganti balik stock.
Then i thought deeper, and here is the answer that i wanna share.

Like i said in previous post, breastfeeding memerlukan semangat and also willpower yang kuat. Bukan takat nak start and also master in it, but most importantly to sustain in this field.

I dunno about other mommies, but i have my ups and downs. Not in terms of milk supply, but my semangat and willpower.

The truth is people, sometimes i feel tired. I never tot i would say this openly but i guess i need to let it out. Plus, aku bukan nak menakutkan korang or discourage or demotivate korang to breastfeed. No.. not in a million years. Cuma i think you need to know the whole truth, yg elok ke, yang tak elok ke, so that you can prepare yourself emotionally and mentally.

Memang memenatkan. And sometimes uncomfortable, and sometimes menyakitkan.

Dulu aku pump MINIMUM 5 kali sehari.
7.30 am, 10.30 am, 1.30pm, 4.30pm and 8.30pm.

There are times yang aku bangun tgh2 mlm nak pump pasal sofeya tidur lena tak bangun nyusu.

Then as she grows up, she nurses more frequently especially tgh2 mlm. Her perangai berubah, bukan takat nak nyusu, but she also wants to bergayut mlm. So i cut down the midnite pumping session.

Then she grows up lagi, and tidur lewat sket mlm. I find it impossible to pump at 8.30pm coz time tu la dia nak main, nak nenen etc. So i cut down that pump session.

Then makin dia besar, dah makan solid, demand for susu pun not as much. So, beralasankan itu, plus aku sendiri kepenatan terkejar2 pagi2 nak siap itu ini, i cut down pulak 7.30am punya session.

Now, tinggal 3 pumping session yg aku masih buat kat ofis.

And sometimes i force myself to pump.

Terukkan aku?


So yeah.. my susu berkurang sebab sikap aku sendiri.

I'm not complaining, coz i know, susah payah, usaha aku ni tak sia2. I get the benefit, anak2 aku pun sihat, plus, setiap titik susu tu kan Allah berikan pahala?

Byk cara nak remedy the situation sebenarnya... like..
- remind yourself of the benefits
- talk to rakan seperjuangan
- read abt it.. masukla susuibu.com.. baca forum, mesti semangat balik.

Farah.. tolongla ketuk kepala aku kasik sedar sikit!

Introducing EBM

So I am gonna try to update thsi blog more regularly. Sebab mcm plenty more stuff yang belum dikongsi bersama.. ewahh.. :)

If you are new to breastfeeding, and working mother like me, you probably do not know that it is important to strategize the way, i.e. when and how to introduce EBM in bottle.

Well... to some people lah i guess. Coz ada jugak mothers yang tak de problem langsung nak introduce bottle to the baby.

Generally, we should direct feed the baby for as long as 2 to 4 weeks before we start pumping. Reason being sbb kita nak establish the milk supply properly. Deman-Supply rule. Meaning, in the duration, baby only being fed direct from the breast, no bottle. So bila nak balik keje, some baby yg fussy will start to refuse being fed from the bottle.

Maka masa tu la kelam kabut cari alternative.. ada bagi EBM pakai sudu, syringe, cup, etc.

So how la to avoid the situation. Well this was how i did it lah.. may or may not work for u..

I started pumping on day-9. (yeah i know aku sendiri tak follow the general rule). But I did not gave the baby EBM thru bottle yet, I store them all.

The first month, aku mmg fully direct feed.
Day 31, I started introducing EBM. Once a day. I started with 2 oz.

Mula2, mmg sofeya reject. Buat muka blur2.. jeluek2 lidah. Few times tried, tak mo. Masa tu I used Avent bottle and teat.

So I changed to NUK teat. OK. Dia accept.

Then day 32, I gave her 2 bottles of EBM. First one OK, second feeding session dia buat perangai. So we thought maybe too rushing. So for the next couple of days we stick to one EBM per day.

Then slowly we increased number of EBM. From 1, to 2, to 3..then sampai 5 session (full day on EBM).
Memang ambik masa and kesabaran both from our side (the adults) and also from the baby.

So my general rule,
- 1st 4 weeks solely on direct feeding
- week 5 and 6 on EBM training session
- week 7 and 8 the baby should be able to adjust naturally already, siang on EBM and mlm direct feeding.

You may ask kalau it is so difficult to introduce bottle, why not introduce awal2? Well my answer would be, kalau nko introduce awal2, the baby might be confused, and worst case baby reject direct feeding. Again, ni depends on baby. The key is to strike balance between direct feeding and EBM from bottle.

As for the correct amount of EBM to give, also depends on baby. My way, aku start giving at 2 oz per session. Why 2 oz? sebab aku follow the guideline kat tin susu (baby 1 mth buat susu FM 2 oz per session) Yeah I know FM tak sama mcm BM, but heh.. that is the closest guideline I can find.

So aku adjust from there..

I read somewhere, how to know that your baby is getting the right amount of milk is, bila baby habis nyusu, there must be balance susu lebih kurang 0.5oz in the bottle. Then, you can be assured that the baby dah betul2 kenyang.

Pasal kalau susu betul2 licin, we wudnt know if baby ni tak cukup susu ke, or betul2 kenyang. Then gradually you should increase 0.5oz per session.

So example, kalau bagi 2 oz, and susu ada balance 0.5 oz, then next feeding u shud stick to 2 oz.
If bagi 2 oz, and susu habis licin, then next feeding u shud increase to 2.5oz. And so on.

Ada paham ka?

Tak paham sila la bertanya aku..

Selamat Hari Raya

err.. better late than never kan?

sorry, coz been neglecting this blog for quite some time.
truth is busy, and malas, and just seem dono what to write.

yes i am still breastfeeding.. alhamdulillah. sofeya is 15 mths now.
however, my frozen stock dah berkurangan SIGNIFICANTLY. sampai laki aku yg tak pernah perasan berapa byk stok aku pun bleh terkejut tgk..."eh apsal susu u dah sikit?"

like that u know.. dulu sampai melimpah ruah freezer aku..
skang.. siap buleh taruk aiskrim lagi kat tempat yg dulu solely just for susu.

but i have only myself to blame.
-time posa pump 2 x jer...

and MAIN reason is, sometimes, bila aku kuar kejap2.. like gi groceries for 1-2 hrs, aku tak bwk pump. BUT sofeya kat rumah will drink EBM. So once in a while maybe nampak ok.. alahh..sebotol jer..

but i tell u.. one botol after another.. week after week.. and few mths later.. and waddayaknow...tetiba nampak stok susu makin sikit.. WHY? sbb tu lah.. bila ambik susu botol, tak pump & ganti.

so lesson of the day..

ko kuar kejap mana pun, klu dah ambik stok susu, make sure ganti ler... skang ni aku gi tesco ampang yg hanya 6 minit perjalanan tu pun (6 minit klu Mr Photographer bwk ler..) aku pump jugak. (pump dlm keter la.. ko jgn pump time tgh beli sayur tu plak..)

another lesson of the day..

klu agak2 ada perangai malas mcm aku ni.. rajin2 ler buat stok masa dlm pantang. sbb susu masa pantang PALING MEWAH. so klu tetiba dtg angin malas, ada jugak stok nak standby.

tapi lesson paling penting adalah JANGAN MALAS.

Org malas selalu rugi.

PAHAM?

Citer lain.

Haritu aku encounter sorang doctor yg cetek ilmu bfeeding. Memula dia puji aku kurus. Aku cakap ler pasal aku bfeed. Pas tu dia bukak ceramah patutnya dah kena campur formula pasal after 1 yr susu ibu dah kurang vitamin & nutrient. Pas tu yg paling aku hangin sekali stmt dia adalah..

"Of course bfeeding is good for you.. you dont get breast cancer, you can slim down but its not good for the baby. U should top up formula...."

So.. indirectly.. the ngok doctor is implying.. AKU NI BFEED SBB SELFISH lah ek?

YOUR HEAD BRAIN LAH DOCTOR!!!

aku sacrifice my time, effort, my leisure.. etc just nak ensure anak aku dpt breastmilk.. and you say i do it becoz of my own self interest???

nko gilo ke hapo?