All about breastfeeding

[jacee 0]

janice, thanks for your reply...this forum is very helpful, i joined when i was pregnant and along the journey i get quite a lot of info here.

i didnt know that lack of rest will have mastitis...thought didnt pump regularly. well, dont think i'm a supermom.. ha! just try to breast feed my baby at least for the first 6 months...my supply kinda drop compared to last month, but i think it is just nice cos i plan to wean her in 3 weeks time when she reach 6 months. am i bad mom? really in the dilemma..when my supply drop i felt very sad...but its tiring when need to pump. hai...

[SweEtCaNdY 0]

I dunno if this is the right thread or not...just wanna let something off my chest. :(

I was talking to a fellow knitter this morning who just had a baby - her son is younger than Eva by a month - and she was sharing how he was sleeping through the night. When I mentioned that Eva was doing the same but I was waking her up once to give her a dream feed, she sort of told me off saying that I am the only one doing that, other people are letting their babies sleep and etc. When I explained that it's because she would puke out her milk, poo frothy green poop from milk inbalance and that her feeding frequency is less than the average 8-12 (for two month old la), I was told by her that she's bigger now, so should eat less frequently but more.

To be honest, I got quite stressed out talking to her because 1) Eva sleeps more than she eats and 2) since she started self-soothing, I have no idea when she is hungry or not until she cries (which she hardly does) and I don't want to wait for that. I can't feed on demand because she's sleeping in her own room and this gal of mine will wake up, suck her thumb and go back to sleep so how to know if she's hungry or not? On top of that, I don't know how much she drinks at one session because I'm 100% direct latch-on and I feed her until she lets go. The timing has not changed since birth - 10 to 15 minutes so either she's really really good at taking in milk or...I dunno.

I have been feeding her every 3.5 to 4 hours with her last feed being at 1130pm and her next one at 6-7am with a 230am dream feed. What happens is that I go to her room, pick her up, feed her (she would drink with her eyes closed) and then put her back down. Irrespective of whether her eyes are closed or not, she would "eh eh" for a minute or two and then go to sleep. When I shared this with my friend, she kept insisting that I should cut out the dream feed completely. (I'm sceptical about listening to her because of what she said next - she's trying to feed her son cereal powder mixed in with milk just to make him sleep longer and he's just 2 months old!) And she's not the only one. Another friend thinks I should cut out the dream feeds in order to sleep train Eva (but Eva is already sleep trained, I feel).

But I've been reading that breast milk is digested every two hours and well, when I called up the LC regarding my milk blister (this was two weeks back I think), I was told to feed her once at night in order for her to gain weight (and for me to see the weight gain).

I dunno what to think anymore. I've emailed the LC organisation here to see what they think about it (since it's not urgent, I don't really want to call them up), but am I strange for getting stressed out over this matter?

Hi Mabel,

I understand how u feel *hugs* coz i am one worry freak honestly. I would worry even the smallest thing..baby eats too much, eats not enough, sleep too much...u name it. I am always on standby mood..can really go OFF. so i understand perfectly why you feel guilty to dream feed your baby. For me, it's OK so long you are comfortable with what you are doing and look, Eva grows up healthily and happily as everyone can see. So, do only follow other's advice when you feel good about it, otherwise...you will not going to be happy and keeps on worrying. YES, why make yourself so difficult. If Eva is fine with the dream feeding...and most importantly if this will put your mind at ease, then go ahead. Diff baby has diff need/demand. Dont stress yourself too much. You have whole bunch of frens here to support you. OK?!

[meiteoh 0]

Thanks ladies! Feel so much better after a good cry and chat with my mum as well as HB. My mum was very supportive of my choice to dream feed Eva mainly because she did it with me - I was on formula though and she told me that I too was a sleeper so she would wake up TWICE a night to make milk and feed me. And the whole "if you feed her at night, she'll make night waking a habit" is not true. At least not for my mum. She said once I started on solids, I wasn't waking up at night at all...except to go pee sometimes. So she just told me to follow my instincts and do what I feel is best for my daugther.

islandgal and L&J, that's why lor...when she told me that, I was like "urm, I did read that it doesn't work" and I wanted to tell her that feeding semi-solids to her two month old isn't recommended but know something? After last night, I am telling myself that that's her baby la. What she wants to do with him is her business.

[starzband 0]

Dear girls, currently I'm strugling over the matter of whether to bottle feed EBM my 2 weeks old baby Natalie... Since yesterday, Natalie suddenly doesn't want to suck from my breasts for milk... she seemed very hungry and frustrated, heads keep turning left n right searching for nipple, but after sucking for 2-3 times, she just dozed off! then started to cry.... I really duno what is wrong with her or me... But when my confinement lady spoon feed my EBM to her, she's drinks like a horse!

So now, I seek from ur comments regarding:

1. What is the difference between direct BF and bottle feed EBM?

2. Issit too early to bottle feed her EBM?

3. Am I too particular if I insist not to bottle feed her EBM and stick to spoon feeding? Cos my confinement lady kept mumbling to buy a bottle for her to feed.

Thank you in advance...

[meiteoh 0]

Jessie, I can't really commend on bottle feeding as I've always directly fed Eva but really, to me, as long as she's taking in breast milk, I don't really care about the method. You work with what options you have before you.

[Bao B 0]

Janice, hahaha! ya I almost forget that is my dearest lovely boobs nowsaday ! only know its purpose is to pump milk for my bb :)

The most happy moment is when see milk flowing out fast into my pump ! oth than that, forget it is part of my body ! BTW, thanks for ur concern ! oh, glad to know u recovered too ! & hope ur supply boost up again soon !

what bou ban can I boil har ? I really no idea too !...but I thinking to wean off slowly now...bit sad to do that too..so dilemma :(

[L&J 0]

jessie...maybe u want to root cause why natalie doesn't want to suck from u? latch-on correct or not? too fast or too slow the flow? there's a good lactation consultant at tropicana medical centre (known as srigim before this).maybe u wanna go and see her,latch ur baby on in front of her and she can tell u if it's not right.her name is dr. balkees.i went to her twice.

if u're sure u prefer to bottlefeed,then go ahead.if not,it's not advisable since it's still too early.baby might not revert back to directfeed tat easily if u later choose to.

baob,i also same like u.treat my boobs as milk-making machine.hahaha....

why wanna wean now? coz too tired n weak?

[bunnyNwife 0]

Dear girls, currently I'm strugling over the matter of whether to bottle feed EBM my 2 weeks old baby Natalie... Since yesterday, Natalie suddenly doesn't want to suck from my breasts for milk... she seemed very hungry and frustrated, heads keep turning left n right searching for nipple, but after sucking for 2-3 times, she just dozed off! then started to cry.... I really duno what is wrong with her or me... But when my confinement lady spoon feed my EBM to her, she's drinks like a horse!

So now, I seek from ur comments regarding:

1. What is the difference between direct BF and bottle feed EBM?

2. Issit too early to bottle feed her EBM?

3. Am I too particular if I insist not to bottle feed her EBM and stick to spoon feeding? Cos my confinement lady kept mumbling to buy a bottle for her to feed.

Thank you in advance...

To me, it' does not really matter whether my gal is drinking my boobs or bottle. What matter most to me is tht I am giving BM to her instead of FM.

I introduced bottle to my gal when she was 2 weeks old. This is to ensure tht CL can still feed her even I am not around (back to the hospital, attending conference call (yah.. i actually working from home), etc). Since then CL will feed her on bottle for nite feed (2 times). After my confinement, my gal was on bottle most of time and only 2 direct feed a day. Now she is totally on bottle as she stays with my mum 24/5.

The only risk about introducing bottle at early stage would be that your BB might not want your boobs anymore which I dun find it as a problem at all.

[janicelly 0]

L&J,

Thanks for your wishes but I've been struggling with supply issues for over 1 month already & after exhausting all methods, nothing seems to work :(.

If you worry about wear & tear, then just periodically change your pump parts.

As for bou pan, you can boil red dates + tong sum (as drink macam during confinement), herbal soup, black beans + onions (with or without meat), papaya + suet yi (add rock sugar to make as tong sui or add meat to make as soup). These are a few simple ones that I cook. It's good for milk production too.

jacee,

NO, you're not a bad mom. Each person will have own opinion on how long they should breastfeed. If you feed 6 months is good enough for you, then just follow your heart. Compare to others who didnt even TRY to breastfeed, you did a great job!

islandgal,

Tell your mom breastfeed on demand is what doc recommends. After baby pop off 1 side, you can offer the other side BIT have to see baby's cue. If baby dont want, cant paksa cos if over feed will vomit out, lagi teruk. Feeding every 2 hours is becos breastmilk is digested around that time ma. Educate her!!!

starzband,

1) During early days, direct feed will be able to stimulate your breast for milk production.

2) Yes, preferably 1st 6 weeks NO bottles to avoid nipple confusion.

3) You are doing the right thing to avoid nipple confusion. CL sure grumble cos extra work for her.

That said, I agree with L&J too, if you are ok with bottle feeding & pumping exclusively like bunnyNwife, then go ahead with bottle feeding.

[jacee 0]

Thanks, Janice. feel much better...i think will just keep on pumping until no supply hor...as for you, hope your supply will go up, yeah!!

i also agreed that doesnt matter with direct feed or bottle feed as long as baby get our breast milk....my CL fed my baby with bottle on the very first day somemore with FM during the early day as there were not much supply from me...fed her EBM in the daytime and FM midnight...CL said FM can last longer so that dont have to wake up too often..(easier for her, i think) after confinement i slowly replace EBM during night feed and she is 100% on my EBM till now..my baby dont like to latch on maybe due to my inverted nipples so i pump to feed her exclusively.

[L&J 0]

janice,sorry to hear tat u've been struggling for the past mth to boost up ur supply.maybe u can try to drink amway's protein drink.i take tat everyday.find it good.if not,u can try buying those all grains rice from organic shop and puree it...my MIL's fren said tat she was engorged the next day after taking it.i took it twice during confinement but tat time i didn't have supply issue so i dunno whether it actually works or not.

thanks for the bou pan recipe.will try one of these days. :)

[fluene 0]

Dear girls, currently I'm strugling over the matter of whether to bottle feed EBM my 2 weeks old baby Natalie... Since yesterday, Natalie suddenly doesn't want to suck from my breasts for milk... she seemed very hungry and frustrated, heads keep turning left n right searching for nipple, but after sucking for 2-3 times, she just dozed off! then started to cry.... I really duno what is wrong with her or me... But when my confinement lady spoon feed my EBM to her, she's drinks like a horse!

Did you apply anything to your nipples? I.e. cream, soap, etc. Maybe Natalie doesn't like the smell / taste of it.

[starzband 0]

Thank you for ur advices.... I just took Natalie for check-up just now... Sadly, she suddenly lost weight, and the doc said it's not a good thing... so worried! She just refuse to drink milk for 1 day only and she lost weight de....

Doctor also cannot define the problem of her not willing to suck from my breasts. But he did told me that because my milk flow has stabilised, it's ok for me to bottle feed my EBM, as long as she keeps getting breastmilk from me... And then when I reached home earlier, I pumped my breastmilk and the CL bottle feed her, my baby started to drink like a horse and finished the whole 3oz. I guess she really dun like my breasts anymore. I can't control myself to feel a lil disappointed and hurt, but it's nobody's fault right? Sigh*

[SweEtCaNdY 0]

Dear girls, currently I'm strugling over the matter of whether to bottle feed EBM my 2 weeks old baby Natalie... Since yesterday, Natalie suddenly doesn't want to suck from my breasts for milk... she seemed very hungry and frustrated, heads keep turning left n right searching for nipple, but after sucking for 2-3 times, she just dozed off! then started to cry.... I really duno what is wrong with her or me... But when my confinement lady spoon feed my EBM to her, she's drinks like a horse!

So now, I seek from ur comments regarding:

1. What is the difference between direct BF and bottle feed EBM?

2. Issit too early to bottle feed her EBM?

3. Am I too particular if I insist not to bottle feed her EBM and stick to spoon feeding? Cos my confinement lady kept mumbling to buy a bottle for her to feed.

Thank you in advance...

Jessie,

I am one good example that my baby doesnt want to latch on and prefers bottle. Had been so emotional about it previously that it drove everyone around me mad, seeing me forcing my lil baby to drink from my breasts..putting up alot of pressure for baby and me myself when come to feeding time. Now that..i tried to let go...do wat the baby feels happy..sometimes, i try putting her at breast and she is OK but sometimes she will cry out loud. I still want to persevere on it but want to do it moderately. Mummy here encourage me alot that no point making her feeding time so frustrating if she wants bottle. Now i will just have to pump out the milk and ensure the supply is there.

2 weeks baby seems too young to reject ur breasts totally..there may be chances to "correct" her again. Latch her on as many times as possible...as for me, i bottle feed her too many times...so cant blame her to like bottle than my breast. I have always envy those whose babies love to latch on to mummies' boobs and clingy all the time. I hope my baby still clingy though she is drinking EBM...

Goodluck. Have a LC to talk about ur problem. Im sure the prob still can be rectified.

[yvonne118 0]

Janice,

I have 4 nursing bra. Thinking whether should I buy more? 2 bra with padding, 2 bra without padding. I was wearing the one with padding yesterday, first time didn't wear nursing pad, it is ok, no leaking. Today wear the bra with padding so have to wear nursing pad lor. Ya, agree with you. I prefer to wear nursing bra all the time, easy when come to pumping. I only use 15 min to pump 5 min to wash the pump. I consider myself very fast la, how bout the rest?

[Bao B 0]

I also using around 15 to 20min.to pump and 5 min to wash pump...

So Jacee, u r like me, I also feel guilty to wean off but my bb already 6mths liao, I thought I stop at exactly 6 mths but keep on dragging myself then told myself I 'll stop at 7 or 8 mths...or I thgt keep pumping till no supply...but if like that, then I thk I can't wean off at the moment as my supply still ok woh...so dilemma lah !....

L&J, ya, I never feel like the boobs belongs to me after delivered but it like totally belongs to my bb loh ! think to wean off coz tired (even my bb no night feeding & that make me guilty coz oth mums who got night feeding & mb not say tired)....& my hb also said I can stop liao as I do my very Best already ! pity me to attach to my pumping schedule, can't really enjoy bonding time with my bb coz I'm too concentrate on pumping...etc etc...actually at 1st I never thk I can do that for so long ~ 6 mths ! coz low supply for 1st few days and discouragement from my CL, I thgt I only can do it for 1 or 2 mths !...who know I can do it ! then I come to thk wean off at exactly 6mths when my bb started solid food but I so dilemma ..so can't do it to wean off ! even I cut down my pumping time for 1 session , I'm sooooo sad & blame myself !!! & resume same time again next pump...so I thk I mb proceed on but wean off slowly & hope that can wean off whn my bb around 7 or 8 mths loh :(

[yvonne118 0]

Jacee & BaoB,

why you girls want to wean off at 6th mths ler? Can share? Is it because the hassle? or because bb start taking solid food? I'm thinking when shall I wean off next time..

**Ignore my question BaoB, just notice your answer.

[L&J 0]

baob...slowly wean off lor...u sound like u're forcing urself to wean leh.hahaha....i dun pump when i'm wif my baby.if engorged oni i pump.if not,i wait till next feed and latch baby on(during wkds and at nite).then ma got time to play wif baby lor.when u breastfeed her also bonding wif her wat.

[Bao B 0]

L&J, ya I feel like I'm forcing myself to wean off !!!! but truly speaking, if I'm not doing it slowly now, I also don't have any idea when should I do so ???? then I will just continuing to be moo moo for long long time....How about u ? u got any plan ? or other mummies got any plan ? don't mind to share here ??????? I know some mummies being moo moo for quite long already ie. Janice & never said wean off...so I'm blaming myself if got that thinking lohhhh

[L&J 0]

i plan to breastfeed at least 1 yr leh....they said if stop at 6 mths,baby will fall sick easily also.one coliq told me lah....

but i memang plan to breastfeed for at least 1 yr and then see from there.

[Bao B 0]

L&J, sometimes I ever pop up an idea how about bf till 1 yr ??? but really no confidence I can tahan for so long....& I always persuade myself to have confidence but fail....mb I'm getting lazy but get tired as an excuse ???? alamak ! I'm confusing who am i? why suspecting myself ????...

[meiteoh 0]

My cousins all breastfeed their little ones until 2 years old. One did it until her son was 5!!! And I never hear my aunt (who is caring for them) complain about them falling ill all the time.

I was told to do the minimum 6 months via direct latch on and then the remaining six months via mixed in with semi-solids or sippy cup/bottle (if she takes the bottle la).

[fluene 0]

Linlin What are the ingredients for the soup?

Yvonne My MIL boil papaya soup for me on and off but doesn't seem to have any effect.

Anyone knows the ingredients for fish maw soup?

[L&J 0]

meiteoh...at least 6 YEARS??? or u meant 6 MONTHS?

yea...if breastfeed till 6 mths,my coliq said tat baby will fall ill easily after that.dunno how true lah...so i guess longer better lah...traditional malays will do it till 2 yrs.

baob...yea,maybe u r tired,so u start to get lazy kua...chain reaction...hehe....no need to purposely wean lah....jsut do it naturally :)

[yvonne118 0]

BaoB, when i read your sentence i LOL.. haha.. been moo moo for 1 year..