All about breastfeeding

[oxford_bb 0]

just want to check do we need to burp bb if breastfeed directly? i know if we use bottle feeding we need to burp to let the air out after feed.

just want to share my experiences. usually BF directly, no need to burp because air not easy go into compare to bottle feed.anyway,I still burp after feed, but sometime my bb could burp but sometime not.

[Apekjolly 0]

I read somewhere that in order to encourage your breasts to produce more milk, always let your baby suck your breasts as often as possible even if there is already no more milk. This is the natural way to stimulate the milk production system to manufacture more milk. I believe this to be true because long ago I knew of a grandmother who always let her grandchild to suck her breast whenever its mother was not around. After a period of time (I forget how long) there was milk being produced by the grandmother.

And, by the way, I think most of you should already know that the best part of the breast milk is very first thick yellowish milk the breasts produce after the baby is born. It contains very rich and vital nourishment critically needed by the baby to start life in the outside world.

Have you heard of a silly belief that the first milk should be squeezed away? There is such a belief even nowadays among some rural communities. In fact, recently, I saw a documentary in TV showing a very backward ethnic group (somewhere in India?) who believe that for the first few months, babies should not be breast-fed. As a result, many of their babies got sick, stunted, and some even died of malnutrition.

[janicelly 0]

cheerio,

*paiseh*, so ngam i know only la....

ogosdream,

i do burp my baby too cos she is "gassy" type especially when younger. now, i seldom burp her cos she'll do it herself.

apekjolly,

wah! breastfeeding topic you oso ngam ah o.O!

what you posted is true. the 1st milk is call colustrum & it's very very good! dats why moms are encouraged to put baby to the breast asap.

as for the silly belief, you'll be surprised at this age & time, there are still some who believe the same :(

[ogosdream 0]

i try to burp my bb after direct breastfeed but there is no gas out wo. now he like to suck and sleep. sometime i can hold him up to 1 hour leh. lucky i got nursing pillow.

another thing to check, is there any nursing bra together with pad which we do not need to put extra breast pad? i feel is warm put the disposable breast pad and the surface of the bra is not smooth and looks ugly when wearing t shirt. it is worst when use washable breastpad because the corner wil crumple.

pls share

[honeylee 0]

hi all mums,

i am not a mum yet, just asking on behalf of my sis. she just delivered a week ago and full time breast feed. my nephew will usually suck for hours, then he will be too full and sometimes vomit milk. but if u dun let him suck he will cry (like screaming), even when he is full he still want to suck. have we done anything wrong or should there be anything else we should do?

thanks :)

[bumblebee 0]

hi honeylee

Babies suck not only for food, but for comfort as well. That was why i had to dilemma wht to let my bb carry on her thumb sucking or provide the pacifier.

But u know, what i read was babies have this wonderful instinct of knowing how much they can eat, and will stop when they are full. So what I am saying is (i may be wrong but it's just a guess), her bb might need to be burped more often. Perhaps your sis can try to stop him once or twice during feed to burp her bb. And sometimes, to make things fun for your bb, you can also carry him facing downwards (imagine like aeroplace flying), with your hands/arm concentrating on chest area. babies can be burped that way and it's kinda fun!

[bumblebee 0]

i try to burp my bb after direct breastfeed but there is no gas out wo. now he like to suck and sleep. sometime i can hold him up to 1 hour leh. lucky i got nursing pillow.

another thing to check, is there any nursing bra together with pad which we do not need to put extra breast pad? i feel is warm put the disposable breast pad and the surface of the bra is not smooth and looks ugly when wearing t shirt. it is worst when use washable breastpad because the corner wil crumple.

pls share

Erm.... usually for new mums who breastfeed exclusively, they do tend to leak quite a bit. So if you are to get a nursing bra with the pad, chances are it will be soaked easily. In fact, i have yet to come across washable breast pads that does not leak easily. I have already tried 3 brands. Perhaps because i do leak quite a bit.

There are nice fancy nursing bras out there. But you've gotta be willing to fork out a bit la. Do check out the babyloft. They have nice seamless bras which are great for tees. and they do carry those nursing tank tops that looks like any other normal spaghetti strap tops. If you are not too top heavy, the in built support should suffice and they come with padding too, so the disposable pads won't show.

There's this product that I've never tried though, coz it's kinda exp. It's like those nipple covers that exerts pressure onto your nipples thereby stopping the leakage.

Honestly, i wouldn't recommend wearing washable pads when you go out for long periods (eg over 4 hours)? It's embarrassing to be caught leaking in public.

[honeylee 0]

thx bumblebee, i will suggest to her and see what happens :)

ogosdream, my sis bought a nipple shield, where it will store the leakage in the shield and u can keep it in container for baby later. but this thing will make ur breast look at least a size bigger.

[ogosdream 0]

thanks bumblebee and honeylee, i was thinking about during back to work how shouldi prevent leaking. my colleague leak during work and stain her uniform. its embarrasing.

i bought nursing bra without pad so i need to put disposeable breast pad but i dont like the shape. it looks odd. haha

i saw fabolousmom selling padded nursing bra. is it the one we no need to add breast pad and it will not stain my uniform?

[honeylee 0]

thanks bumblebee and honeylee, i was thinking about during back to work how shouldi prevent leaking. my colleague leak during work and stain her uniform. its embarrasing.

i bought nursing bra without pad so i need to put disposeable breast pad but i dont like the shape. it looks odd. haha

i saw fabolousmom selling padded nursing bra. is it the one we no need to add breast pad and it will not stain my uniform?

Ogosdream, what i meant is this http://www.fabulousmom.com/catalog/product...;products_id=49 i think u can call up fabulous mum to ask if the padded nursing bra will still cause staining. i went there to purchase things for my sis before, the lau ban liong there is quite friendly.

[oxford_bb 0]

dear all BF mom,

would like to share my feelings this morning.

actually I stop bf my son directly since he was about 4 mths+ due to some reason.and I do intro to him again but he refuse. so I still cont express my BM because my son fully depend on my BM. This morning, my son crying and looking for my BM. I was so surprise because I thought that this would not happend to me again as I didnt BF my son directly about 2 mths+ and he was starting semi-solid food. 1st 3 mths, when my bb crying for my BM, I can feel the stimulation & my BM will flow automatically. and this happend to me this morning. I feel very touch & amazing because I can feel the stilmulation for my BM flow when my son is crying & searching for it. and my son feel very comfort when I BF him directly. Anyone BF mummy have experienced this before?

[janicelly 0]

ogosdream,

i find it more convenient to use disposables bra pads cos it can absorb better. although you might find it expensive but you wont leak forever *wink*. after a few months, after your milk supply is stabilized, you wont leak unless you dont pump milk. i now wear washable pads to work too cos i dont leak that bad anymore.

as for crumpled looking bra, if you buy those padded bras AND put pads, it's not noticeable.

happy breastfeeding!

honeylee,

what bumblebee said it correct. my girl will suck for comfort too but now that she is bigger, it gets better :) (no more 24x7, hehe).

i wore that milk collection shell too & it does make my boob seems bigger, hehe. i stopped wearing it during 4th or 5th month cos i dont leak anymore & at the same time i changed to double pump too.

[cheerio 0]

for mummies who exclusively breastfed their babies, do you feed them with water when they were solely on breast milk?

i was told by my MIL that my niece who was fully breastfed had dry skin when she was 3 months old and the matter resolved after she feed her with water. i already been telling her gazillion times that nurses and doctor said no need. i even tried to rationalize to her but old people, once they have the idea implanted in their mind, they will keep insisting on it. every time she sees me, she will ask me the same question.

the same for talcumn, she will ask again and again, no need to put meh?

she never object when i said no need, but the thing is she keep on asking. until i beh tahan yesterday i tell her my friend's son who was borned at about the same time and same weight as my gal is much much smaller size cos the confinement lady fed him on water. then she said, no need to feed bottle, feed a spoonful is enough. i feel like exploding.

[cheerio 0]

to add on... i told her my gal's skin is perfectly fine and she said i wont be able to see it now until she is 3 months old... the skin will gets dry.

any mummies experience this?? pls share.

[lewisshoppe 0]

haha...my son is 13 months now and i'm still breastfeeding my boy~

I drink herbalife and milk has very good quality~start drinking when i'm pregnant already...Baby never get sick except after injection!(*business solicitation removed* - note: the mods are not stupid and putting a spoiler doesn't mean you're not advertising! )

This is the power of breastfeeding...Its very tiring but a happy process(so suffer when starting...nipple crack but still have to go on...so mother-to-be ,if you want to breastfeed prepare 1 month b4 delivery...rub your nipple with a towel everyday to makesure your nipple tough enough!)

Edited December 16, 2008 by meiteoh
Business solicitation

[Bao B 0]

Hi, lewisshoppe, I jst preg 5 mths & stl wondering am I able 2 BF whn deliver my bb ltr (no confidence), so hav some ques here...can i know wat is d herbalife u drk ? hav 2 drk during preg.time ? can explain more here ? & u jst rub ur nipple wth towel 1mth b4 deliver without apply anything ? or wat cream needed ? ..

& any mum knw abt is green papaya rlly can help 2 increase our BM ? wat 2 mix up wth it ? whn 2 start drk ? & 'll d papaya drk coz BB jaundice ?

pls giv me some advices here sin I rlly don hav muc in4 4this...THANKS !

[janicelly 0]

cheerio,

i understand how you feel cos i was bombarded with the water issue too. actually you are correct, there is no need to give water if you BF exclusively. my mom insisted on giving (during confinement) so i have to close 1 eye (if not sure gaduh) BUT i only allow her to spoon feed a bit. after confinement is done, i quickly rush back to KL & i did not give water at all until i started baby on solids at 6 months. my girl's skin is not dry at all..... you try to hold on as long as you can. IF really cannot then no choice, have to close 1 eye like me :(

here is a link which explain why we shouldnt give water. maybe you can explain further to your MIL after reading?

[janicelly 0]

Hi Bao B,

information is an important key to be successfull in breastfeeding! Try to read more on what to expect during the early days to get yourself to be prepared. You can go to La Leche League & Kelly Mom.

as for rubbing our nipples with towel BEFORE we deliver, it's kind of a myth (sorry lewisshoppe). we dont need to toughen our nipples in order to prepare to breastfeed. personally, i didnt do anyting except for reading as much info as i can & gather as many support as i can (from experienced BF moms).

as for papaya soup, a lot of moms says it works. no harm trying cos it's nutritious soup. for herbs & suchs, it's best to read labels carefully/check with your gynae before taking anything as some as not meant for pregnant & lactating women. be careful of anything you take (especially those not prescribed by your gynae).

good luck!

[Bao B 0]

Janicelly, Thanks for ur in4...I'll surf tru d website u said....

[cheerio 0]

janicelly thanks so much u always have answer to my questions!! its so comforting 'hearing' from u cos no one seems to understand me when it comes to BF issue. it seems like i am the weird one among all the human on earth. friends comes for visit also have been asking if i feed my gal with water and if not, she would not like to drink water later on. whatever they says sometimes do make me step back and think if i should persist with what i think it should be. haiz...

[cheerio 0]

BaoB, massaging ur breast after week 34 of pregnancy (if i remember correctly) is allowed. it is meant to help u with milk production after delivery. stroke inwards and in circular motion. u could get ur hubby to help u if needed but be careful not to overdo it as it could trigger contraction and therefore possibility of early delivery. if u notice contraction, its a sign to stop. good luck with BF!

[bumblebee 0]

cheerio

breastfeeding is not really an easy journey. i still have questions thrown to me against breastfeeding till today. Even after the milk scandal, some of my family members still think formula is better than BM. And what I learnt is that must be firm with what we are doing, and surround ourselves with support. If you can't get it from family, get it from friends. Trust me, if helps, alot! I have made some good friends while breastfeeding and honestly, friendships like these really help me get through my days especially when i face parenting/breastfeeding issues.

As for the water, I also face this with the elderlys. Thank god not from my mum. But sorry, i'm a very strong advocate of breastfeeding, so no, no water till my bb started solids. And nope, she no problem with water.

[ogosdream 0]

i m facing this problem on water too. at first my mum ask me about feeding water but after i explain to her that BF bb no need to feed with water and she understand it and support me. Lucky but when i back to in law house, my MIL and SIL keep on asking why i didnt give water, say the urine look yellowish, hv to feed water. once bb cry they will ask me to feed him water. until i close one eye just for 3 days.

my bb dont refuse to drink water, they was like " see, he wan to drink water" .. fainted.

[janicelly 0]

cheerio & ogosdream,

like what bumblebee said - it's a tough journey. people how have not gone throught it wont understand. what you can do is to educate yourself more on breastfeeding so that each time anyone throw any question at you, you will have an answer! sooner or later, they will "get it". having plenty of determination (aka stubborn la) is good too, hahahaha. things do get better in the long run, the questions wont be so much when they can see you are really determine & you can do it (but it wont "die" completely). i am the ONLY BF mommy at both sides of the family, so i am under constant scrutiny too.

surrounding yourself with positive people do help a lot. if you can find it from anyone around you, find it online. that's what i did. keep up the good work & we gambate together!

[Bao B 0]

BaoB, massaging ur breast after week 34 of pregnancy (if i remember correctly) is allowed. it is meant to help u with milk production after delivery. stroke inwards and in circular motion. u could get ur hubby to help u if needed but be careful not to overdo it as it could trigger contraction and therefore possibility of early delivery. if u notice contraction, its a sign to stop. good luck with BF!

Cheerio, thanks for ur advices & I oso surf tru d website suggested by Janicelly and I jst get 2 know some of d position 2 handle d BB whn BF hopefully can remember dat later & can do it !