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..

Sketsa hari ni

Tahukah anda...

Bila kita baru deliver baby, susu yang keluar terhasil dlm bentuk kolostrum. Kolostrum ni, bukanlah byk mcm susu yg kita dok pump hari2 tuh, ber oz-oz, memancut2.

But, kolostrum ni adalah susu awal, yg amat sedikit in kuantiti and pekat.

Like really sikit u know.. i read somewhere klu picit kuar, dlm 1 teaspoon jer dpt. 1 teaspoon tu pun dah mampu mengenyangkan baby for hours. (some say for days.. wallahualam). Coz u know, perut baby masa baru lahir only sebesar kacang. (i think la.. i read somewhere, correct me if i'm wrong, well, maybe beso sket from kacang, coz kacang mcm kecik sgt plak, but i know its really small la the tummy)

So how can such small tummy accomodate large amount of milk?

Allah punya kejadian tu mmg sgt indah. Susu awal2 tu mmg dlm jumlah yg sikit, BUT SANGAT TINGGI khasiat.. sgt sgt tinggi.. susu yg sikit but sgt berkhasiat sesuai utk baby yg masih kecik and sgt fragile..

Kolostrum ni, or some people may think that "susu tak der" or "susu sikit" normally ada for the first few days of delivery..
hence, some ppl (most ppl actually) thinks that susu mula ada only after few days of delivery.. hence, they tend to give formula milk to their babies during that time..
hence, bila no demand, supply pun menurun lah kan?
hence, ppl will think/justify that "ohh.. susu tak byk... kena top up dgn formula"
hence, bye bye breastfeeding!

So, mcm mana nak remedy the situation?

Stimulation is the best remedy.. we may think tak de susu, but believe me (yourself), there WILL BE susu IF baby continuously direct feed from the breast. So the best thing is direct feed as frequent/soon as possible after delivery!

So... sketsa hari ini..

Lebih kurang 2.5 bulan lepas, Mrs Tulip (bukan nama sebenar) yg tgh sarat ngandung bertanya kepada Mrs Korny yg sibuk basuh her pumping gadgets kat pantry..

MT : eh you breastfeed eh? dah berapa bulan your baby?
MK : (sambil senyum2 gatal) dah 9 mths dah..
MT : wahh..good lah u... i pun nak bf my baby nanti.. dah pinjam pump medela fr my fren!

(and she continuously tanya MK dia pump mcm mana.. pump kat mana.. yada yada)

MK pun syok la... sbb alhamdulillah.. makin ramai org interested in bf. Makin sihat la penduduk2 dunia ni kan?

Itu cerita few mths ago...

Pagi ni.. bila Mrs Korny masuk lif, nampak Mrs Tulip masuk lif jugak.. ahhh. dah balik maternity la kot... tapi, dlm hati Mrs Korny tertanya2.. apsal minah ni sempoi jer bwk handbag dtg ofis? dia ni ha jenuh ngangkut beg besau gabak bwk pump & bottles... takkan tak pump kot? hehhh.. tak per.. Mrs Korny tak mau bersangka buruk.. mebbe minah ni tinggal pump kat ofis kot.. maleh nak ngangkut pi ngangkut mai..

So Mrs Korny pun bertanya..

MK : how is your son?
MT : ok lah... tapi i tak byk susu lah.... i pump morning b4 work and after balik fr office... susu i pun keluar after 4th / 5th day.. so dah bagi formula..

aikk.. dia ni mcm tau jer Mrs Korny ni pk apa kan.. elok2 dok tanya pasal anak dia.. pi bukak citer susu plak.. isk isk isk.. kat muka Mrs Korny ni tampal penyokong kuat susu ibu kot kes kes kes...

Mendengar alasan tu.. Mr Korny pun meyabarkan diri agar tidak membuka ceramah pasal kolostrum etc seperti di atas... dia senyum kambing jer sepanjang2 lif tu... ye la.. siapalah Mrs Korny ni kan... sibuk2 nak paksa2 org bf plak...

So question for the day..

Should Mrs Korny sibuk2 ajar org the right thing abt bf or just diam jer? Coz, u know.. tak semua org suka klu org sibuk2 ni kan... kang cop aku eh.. Mrs Korny ni jaga tepi kain org plak.

tapi aku rasa Mrs Korny ni diam jer la kot eh? klu org tanya then jawab la...

gitu ke?