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..