@25 weeks -rezeki EBM buat Irfan

Alhamdulillah berat Irfan naik agak byk lepas discharged sebulan lepas. Dari 4.565kg, semlm timbang 6.055kg dlm masa 35 hari :) Utk mommies yg anak mereka ada penyakit LM, gaining weight has always becomes an area of concern..ikut hati everyday nk timbang sbb every little ounces of formula means a lot to them. Bila berat naik sket, atau static, atau decreasing, that means the child is working extra hard to breathe and is burning more calories than what he could take.

Based on CWL support group, mama tahu yg ada mommies yg thicken their babies feed dgn oatmeal cereal/Gelmix thickener/Simply Thick. So mama mintak abah cari kat farmasi, plan nya nk add oatmeal cereal tu dlm EBM utk kurangkn potensi reflux sbb EBM agak cair. Malangnya abah x jumpa oatmeal cereal, tapi yg best kt situ ade jual thickener! yeay so abah try bli thickener, dan bermula 2 hari lepas irfan dah start minum ebm mama+thickener :) Syukur dan hepi sgt rasa..mujur mama x ikut perasaan sedih dan buang Ebm2 tu dulu...at least now ada jugakla rezeki Irfan utk continue minum susu mama walaupun stok takdela byk mana. Mula2 mama kasi stock 29 Jan..susu pertama yg mama perah 3 hari lepas irfan lahir...kaler pun agak kekuningan sbb ada kolostrum. Moga badan sayang makin sihat yer lepas minum ebm!

Hari ni menu irfan blended porridge + ayam + carrot. Mujur dia lalu mkn. Aritu try kasi sweet potato..tp stool dia mcm cair sket..so mama stop dulu.

Cluster feeding and growth spurts

as early as 5 week? Like it or not this is true and am trying to 'enjoy' every minute of it!
Kellymom says it is common for newborn to hit his growth spurts at 4-6weeks and goes into cluster feeding...sigh*

So what Irfan does nowadays...nurse almost every hr at night, and continuous nursing throughout the day with a short 10-15min power nap in between..sabar sabar! I am considered lucky if his sleeping time stretch for 1 hr..which is very rare to happen. The time will pass before u knew it, must keep reciting this mantra to keep me calm...so bertabah jela yer mama!

The good side of cluster feeding, this will establish the right level of milk supply to satisfy his needs. The not so good thing abt it....it is so tiring that u practically dont hv the time to do other things other than glued to ur couch :( And the sad thing is, theres no way u can find time to express ur milk for the frozen EBM huhu. mcm susah nk capai kpi b4 masuk keje nih haishhh

ok mama..igt..this is common and not only u are experiencing it. I looked up in the forum for this topic n there was this one mommy whos son is nursing for a continuous 8hr during the day! Huish sgtla menduga iman :)

KEEP.CALM.AND.ENJOY.CLUSTER.FEEDING.

Stok EBM selepas sebulan

adalah dlm 109oz setakat hari ini...stok agak kurang memberangsangkan compared to Ammar dulu (150oz dlm masa sebulan pertama).

Start pam 3 hari lepas Irfan bersalin. Sekali pam dptla dlm 40ml (sebelah B)...kdg2 bole reach 60ml (2oz). Selalu pam sebelah je, sbb Irfan tidur kejap2..so spare sebelah lagi for DF..if not mahu mengamuk mamat tu kalo tetiba dia bgn and mama baru lepas pam.

Timing mengepam x tentu. Selalu 2x je dpt...siang n tgh mlm. tu pon depends la kalo dia bgn every 1hr time mlm mmg x dpt nk pam la. Mama pon nk rehat jugak hoho. Nk cari waktu pam time siang lg mencabar considering Irfan tidur kejap2 x sampai 30min..kalo dpt sejam tu mmg bertuah sgt dah mama!

Bila baca kat website kellymom, rupanya normal utk momies yg full time bf utk pam around 0.5 to 2oz for each session. Adoi lega bila baca! actually dh risau sebenarnya bila dpt kumpul stok sket je...tp takpela kena pujuk hati utk usaha dan buat yg terbaik. Moga Allah permudahkn perjlnan bf mama buat Irfan kali ni amin...

Oh ni pic Ebm Irfan yg diperah masa hari ke4 -6 kot...color masih kekuningan sbb belum keluar susu yg mature lagi :)

Hepi breastfeeding mommies!

Bila susu badan tidak keluar

Selepas bersalin, usah gusar jika susu badan anda tak keluar secara automatik. Ada orang lepas bersalin je terus susu keluar dgn byk. Ada juga orang yg susu badannya hanya akan keluar dua atau tiga hari lepas bersalin...atau mungkin lebih lambat. Jangan risau sangat ye mommies, yang penting kena ingat yg susu badan anda tetap anda, cuma it takes time for it utk keluar utk bayi anda!

Pengalaman saya sendiri, susu hanya keluar 2/3 hari lepas bersalin. Macam Irfan hari tuh, masa nurse suruh bf, saya letak je baby and kasik dia hisap, tapi setitik pon langsung takde! Irfan plak mcm baby2 lain, memula keluar mesti mamai..in fact first few days kebanyakan baby mmg akan tido sokmo...so kuranglah stimulation utk si ibu.

Bila dah keluar dari labor room and pindah ke wad, susu masih belum keluar. Bila nurse bawa baby ke bilik dan tanya nak bf baby tak? saya cuma jawab nak and bila sampai masa derang akan ambil baby balik ke nursery. Tapi susu still belum keluar jugak...mujurlah Irfan tidur je, so takdela dia mengamuk dan mengganggu patient sebelah katil saya :p Malam tu, mmg saya duk la sikat2 dan urut both B utk stimulate pengeluaran susu...sambil2 tu mulut mmg tak berenti doa pada Allah mintak cepatkan pengeluaran susu saya utk Irfan. Disebabkan hospital takkan kasi baby discharge kalau dia tak berak dan kencing, saya berikan kebenaran utk pihak hospital top up dgn susu formula jika Irfan tak kenyang (sebenarnya saya tipu nurse2 dgn mengatakan baby dah bf everytime depa amik Irfan dari saya huhu). Saya tak pasti berapa byk susu formula yg sudah diberikan kpd Irfan...tapi yg pasti Irfan byk tido dan kurang berjaga....dan yg pasti Irfan diberikan formula cuma pada hari pertama dia lahir.

Hari kedua, lepas lunch baru saya berjaya discharge. Again susu masih belum keluar, tapi since Irfan asyik tido je, pressure pada mama tu agak kurang. Seigt saya mlm tu barulah susu keluar sket, yakni kolostrum. Bila kuar je setitik dua, cepat2 saya sapu dgn jari ke mulut irfan sbb dia tido. Irfan masih belum pandai bf dgn betul, latch pon tak betul lagi. Hari ke3 dan ke4, B dah bengkak sbb susu makin byk tapi baby belum pandai latch dgn betul...mmg sakit yg amat. So saya sudah mula start aktiviti mengepam sejak hari ke3...takut sgt kalo bengkak susu, boleh demam ok! Bila pam, susu yg keluar agak kekuningan (pekat jugak kaler dia), dalam masa yg sama saya simpan sket dlm botol dan suapkan Irfan dgn sudu sebab susu2 terawal ni sgt penting utk antibodi dia. Irfan agak kurang cooperative sbb slalu tido, jadi susah utk saya train dia bf dgn betul. Rasanya hari ke6 or 7 baru dia boleh bf, tu pon belum betul2 terer lagik. Baby kalau tak pandai latch mmg akan mengamuk kan...so mama mmg kena bersabar byk2 part training newborn utk bf nih. Kalau tak kuat iman, mental dan fizikal mmg dah lama suap dgn formula...tapi JANGAN give up ye mommies!!

Sampai skarang (hari ke 28) Irfan at certain times tak latch on dgn betul. Kadang dia gopoh sgt, amik masa few minutes jugaklah baru dia boleh latch properly dan cover mulut dia the whole aerola tu. Bila tgk youtube, antara sebab baby tak latch dgn betul sebab dia tak bukak mulut dia besar2..jadi mulut dia cuma cover bhgn nipples sahaja, tak cover aerola. Bila jadi mcm ni, mommies kena stopkan nursing (keluarkan mulut baby dari nipples anda) dan cuba lagi sampai baby berjaya latch dgn betul ok. If not mmg nipples boleh terluka, crack or even worse berdarah! Sila tgk youtube dan gugel internet tentang how to latch on for newborn dan sebagainya...insya Allah byk jugak info yg dpt membantu especially for first timers.

Bumble Bee Nursing Pillow

My very first online purchase during confinement period, also the most expensive single-item purchased for bby Irfan!

Average nursing time for Irfan is around 1.5-2hrs, before i can finally put him into sleep. There were times he woke up n refused to sleep for nearly 3 hours..nak kena kelek jer! This caused serious ache to my back,neck and of course arms. Hopefully this nursing pillow can at least reduces the pain and makes nursing more enjoyable n comfy for both mommy n baby :) Bought this Bumble Bee nursing pillow at Rm79.90 @ Fabulous Mom, normal selling price is Rm99.90. Pls do cross checking at all the major online baby shops before u do the purchase as some are having discounts on selected items.

2nd item purchased are washable bra pads. This is considered essential items for nursing moms, since ur milk will definitely flow n wet the bra during nursing. These 6 pcs bra pads are now selling at 20% off the normal price Rm16.90.

That's all for now. Hope there will not be too many series of online purchase this time! :p

Deep freezer baru!

Alhamdulillah, aksesori baru di rumah kami..beli sempena kehadiran ahli baru yg kenit nih :) Hubby beli di kedai brg2 elektrik depan EPF lama kajang...paling murah is brand Hisense dr china..belasah saje lah heee reganya RM500...dekat kedai lain ada yg jual RM550.

Moga lepas ni makin bersemangat utk kumpul stok susu buat baby Irfan :)

Kisah kelahiran Irfan nnt saya tulis dlm separate entry yer!

Medela Swing compatible adapter

Yeay one of the precious items in my 'to-buy' list has arrived. Alhamdulillah it works well with my 6-yr old Medela Swing pam. Risau jugak takut x compatible since this is a customized version, not an original Swing adapter produced by Medela. Hepi sesangat!! The only cons is that the adapter is pretty bulky n heavier as compared to the original adapter...takpelah redha je la since nak yg harga murah kan..of course there's always a trade-off hehe

I also bought a new Swing tubing since the existing one dah masuk categori lusuh yg amat.

If u want to purchase other Medela spare parts, you can visit http://susuibu2u.blogspot.com. The prices are quite cheap as compared to other web sites. For reference, my swing tubing is priced at RM30 while adapter RM70. Most other web sites sell the tubing at rm38-40.

Little Bean Sterilizer and Warmer Combo Pack

I am letting go this Little Bean Sterilizer and Warmer to whoever wish to have ur own sterilizer and food warmer at a cheaper price. Retail is RM199.90, but i am selling this for RM120 only. Bought this in 2011 time breastfeed Ammar, but was hardly used it due to malas. Yes malas. Masa belum beli sangatlah berkobar-kobar and excited nak ada sterilizer sendiri, but bila dah ada malas pulak nak guna. Food warmer tu mmg sgt berguna utk panaskan thawed EBM/chilled baby food, so saya memang kasik cikgu taska pakai utk panaskan EBM Ammar...dan EBM bayi2 lain. Small and compact, so sgt mobilize dan boleh dibawa ke mana-mana. Nak letak kat rumah pengasuh pon boleh...senang dan memudahkan kerja mereka utk menjaga bayi kita :) Sterilizer tu can fully sterilize all your EBM bottles and alat2 mengepam in just 8 minutes. Lepas basuh, letak dlm alat tu, tekan suis eletrik, dan nanti dia akan bunyi beep menandakan proses sterilization done! So siapa yg teringin nak beli, sila roger yer :)

PRODUCT DETAIL

Sterilizer
- The safest & easier way to sterilize baby feeding bottles / accessories, feeding containers & nursery products
- Easy to Clean removable structures.
- Come with the plastic tong.
- Suitable for any size of feeding baby bottles
- Sterilizing cycle time is approximately 8 minutes with 90ml of water poured in, LCD display & sound indicating the
end of the sterilizing cycle.
- Your contents will remain sterile inside the sterilizer for up to 3 hours if the lid is kept shut.
- AC 220 - 240V, 50/60Hz, 500W

Bottle Warmer
- Efficient PTC heating technology imported from Japan.
- Suitable for different milk bottles and bottle packed food.
- Energy Saving.
- Comes with feeding bowl and juicer.
- Temperature Control :
- Constant Temperature for liquid food %28 40c %29
- Heating liquid food %28 70c %29
- Sterilizing Milk Bottle %28 100c %29
- AC 220 - 240V, 50Hz, 100W

Bepanthen ointment - a must-have for nursing moms!!

This magical ointment truly works wonders on me.

Of late I keep on experiencing sore nipples, both sides, which every time when it comes to nursing I was like ‘ouchhh’ or ‘arghhhh’ or ‘adoiii sakitnyeeeerrrrr’…errr things like that. Those who never had this before, you may think I sound somewhat exaggerating. But wait till you have it (janganla doa kena) then you’ll understand why a nursing mom must have something to become their constant companion to cure the sore.


One of my friends who also bf her son introduced this cream to me. First time when I used it, it took me around 5-6 days to cure completely, that after several days of surviving medication-less. You may apply once, twice, or as frequent as you want, at your own convenient. I love it because you can still continue breastfeeding your child without having to clean the area prior nursing. Pretty effortless isn’t it?

Before I forgot, this magical ointment actually carries its main tagline as below:
NAPPY RASH – DUAL ACTION – Everyday protection and healing of nappy rash

Hah, teruja tak??

Here goes more explanation on the cream:

Bepanthen ointment protects and gently heals damaged by nappy rash. It is also suitable for caring and treatment of sore/cracked nipples, dry, chapped, and cracked skin and other minor skin injuries.

Menarik kan cream ni?

Anyway I am not representing any company, nor do I gain anything out of this entry.
Just feel that someone might benefits from this posting.

p/s: tq Hayati Jamil, this post is dedicated to you :)

The day where Ammar started on formula...

Our youngest lil Ammar now turns 16 months old. Still a baby to the family, as what his brothers always refers him. The most dramatic and manja kid of ours, he can be so sweet at one point and later pulls tantrum in a blink. Silap gaya this budak can go guling2 on the floor, anyway that’s what apparently differentiates him from the elder brothers!

Of all the kids (cewah bunyi cam ramai benar anak :p), he is the one that attach most to me. Probably because I manage to bf him this far.

Well, this supposed to be a sad entry actually. Today marks the very first day I need to supplement ammar with formula. My frozen EBM has started to be depleting since the last Ramadhan, and yesterday the stock turns zero. Yes from beribu2 lemon, it finally reaches the zero level yesterday! Sedih toksah cakap, I may be happy and looks cool on the outside but the inner me was actually feeling the opposite. Well I know it is not the end of the world, nor did the end of my motherhood journey. I also knew that I still have loads of things to offer, and embrace through, in raising up the kids. Failure to exclusively breastfeed your baby up to 2 years doesn’t mean you are no good in this area. And despite all this, I am still continuing the pumping routine as usual, twice a day in the office. So from today onwards Ammar will be taking 3 bottles of fresh EBM plus 1-2 bottles of formula to supplement his daily needs.

So it seems I fail to meet my 2-year target of exclusive breastfeeding, now let’s revise the statement and turn it into 2-year direct breastfeeding :) The journey is still on bebeh...caiyo caiyo!!!

Faber deep freezer yg hanya tinggal kenangan...

once upon a time..masa stock tgh meriah dolu-dolu :p

sampaikan nak letak ice packs pun struggle hihi

Ammar 1 yr old during last Eid..still exclusive bf that time

si manja mama yg sgt dramatic isk isk

tapi bila senyum..cair dan luluh hati mama!

@ Disneyland HK last October 2011

see the cheeky face? that means he's up to something mischievous so jgn tertipu dgn senyuman dia!

Oh he now can speaks "ma-ma....aaa-bah"
Sweet bunyi dia!!!!

Deep Freezer Faber

En Faber sudah secara rasmi menjadi penghuni baru di rumah kami. Proses pemindahan frozen EBM sudah selesai, dan En Mistral bakal dipulangkan ke pangkuan tuan empunya dia minggu depan. Terima kasih bebyk yer Zue dari akak dan pruzz...byk dan besar sungguh jasa En Mistral buat Ammar dan kami :)

Nota kaki:
Chest/deep freezer Faber ni kami beli dekat Tesco Kajang, harga RM599. Siapa yg tengah dlm proses survey freezer tu, bley la pergi Tesco tu yer :)

Tips tambah susu ibu?

Ingat tak dulu saya pernah try makan Fenugreek dan janji nak ceritakan hasilnya atau after-effect consumption fenugreek tersebut?

Nah, hasilnya...pengeluaran susu saya sama sahaja after few weeks of consumption. For first few days adalah nampak pertambahan dlm 1-2oz. Tapi selepas pemerhatian dilakukan untuk beberapa minggu, actually average daily output tetap sama, sebelum atau selepas pengambilan Fenugreek. Cuma satu perubahan yg nyata, kepekatan susu saya bertambah selepas mkn Fenugreek. Jika saya tak makan, saya perasan yg susu saya kelihatan sedikit cair.

Jadi saya yakin, pengambilan sebarang supplement tambahan untuk menambahkan pengeluaran susu ni sebenarnya bergantung kpd badan masing2. Ada orang yg serasi, maka susu dia bertambah dgn banyak sekali, atau mungkin bertambah sedikit. Ada orang yg probably kurang serasi, maka tiada apa2 perubahan yg berlaku. Dan sayalah orang itu hehe.

TETAPI, teori mengosongkan B sekerap mungkin untuk menambahkan pengeluaran susu ibu...haaa yang ini memang saya sangat percaya dan sokong 110%! Buktinya.....

Senario 1:
Jika saya bangun tgh malam jam 12am utk pam, dapatla dlm 4-5oz (sebelah B).
Kemudian pukul 5.30am saya akan pam lagi sekali, dapatla dlm 4oz (sebelah B yg sama).

Senario 2:
Jika saya tidak bangun tengah mlm...dan hanya pam pada jam 5.30am, normally saya akan dapat dlm 5-6oz sahaja (sebelah B yg sama).

Nampak perbezaan di atas?
Senario 1, total output dlm 8oz, senario 2 total output hanya 60z.

* Ini adalah hasil pemerhatian utk beberapa hari yer kengkawan, bukan keputusan yg direkod hanya dalam 1 hari. Andai kata saya tengah buat research, pada saya 'sampling' yg diambil ini kiranya sudah mencukupi untuk menyokong keputusan yg dicapai setelah diambil kira faktor kekerapan dan ditolak dgn unsur2 bias :p

Jadi apa yang boleh saya simpulkan?

1. Lagi kerap anda kosongkan B, lagi banyak susu yang akan dihasilkan.
2. B capacity setiap individual itu tidak sama, ada orang B capacity dia sangat besar, maka dia dpt pam byk oz dalam tempoh sesuatu interval.
3. Ada orang B capacity dia kecil, jadi dia hanya dpt hasilkan beberapa oz sahaja dlm tempoh interval yang sama.
4. Bagi individual dalam kategori no 3, dia hanya akan untung jika lebih kerap mengosongkan B. Dalam erti kata lain, dia kena usaha kuat sedikit dan pam dengan lebih kerap. Tapi bagi mama yang jatuh dalam kategori no 2, dia mungkin hanya perlu pam dalam 3x sehari sahaja dan sudah mampu untuk mengumpul hasil susu yg sangat banyak!

Anda dalam kategori yg mana satu?

Ha fikir-fikirkan lah, dan cuba aplikasikan saranan di atas, kita tengok apa hasilnya :)
Kemudian jangan lupa beritahu saya keputusan anda ok!

hands-free pumping

Pernah sekali sewaktu terdesak saya pam di dalam kereta sambil drive. Tak guna hands-free ok. Sebelah kanan pegang stereng, sebelah kiri pegang pam. Kelam-kelibut juga nak masukkan gear (kereta saya manual) dan control stereng. Mujur time tu saya berada di Bangi, jalan tak jem, jadi boleh dikatakan agak senang saya nak manuvoure kereta waktu itu. Rakan2 tersayang, boleh share tak kalau medela Swing boleh guna certain alat untuk jadikan hands-free ke? Nak beli di mana? jikalau online boleh tak kasi saya url nya? Sesungguhnya saya sangat malas nak surf :p Tq for your input!!!

Cara menambah susu dengan Fenugreek

Ramai ibu-ibu yang kata bila makan Fenugreek (halba) nanti susu ibu akan bertambah.
Jadi dulu saya memang sangat teruja nak membeli Fenugreek di saat stok susu perahan buat si kecil Firas merudum. Inilah rupa Fenugreek yg saya beli di GNC di Mid Valley, 610mg with 100 capsules for RM62.90, mahal giler kan??? harga tu back in 2009, sekarang saya tak pasti.

Saya makan 1 capsule each day, as recommended by the bottle label. Tapi malangnya hasil tidak memberangsangkan, susu saya tidak bertambah pun, sama seperti sedia kala. Jadi selepas beberapa minggu saya makan pil ni, saya terus decide utk stop sebab tiada effect, dan rasa dan baunya tidak sedap! Sebab itulah pil ni masih banyak berbaki sehinggalah si kecil Ammar dilahirkan :p

Dan pagi tadi, bila saya blogwalking ke blog mama Iman, saya terbaca artikel beliau tentang Fenugreek ni dan rupanya Fenugreek ini elok dimakan banyak, dalam 5-10 biji setiap hari, barulah boleh nampak hasilnya! Adusss maknanya amalan saya sebelum ini dah salah, lepas tu membebel seorang diri cakap 'Fenugreek takde effect!' hoho. Anyway thanks to mama Iman for her awesome review on this herb!

Saya sambung baca lagi, dan dusssss rupanya ada yg menjual pil ini dgn harga yg jauh lebih murah. Sila klik sini untuk mengetahui dgn lebih lanjut.

Sumber: www.snowdrop.com.my

Saya bandingkan harga dari website di atas dgn harga yg saya beli di farmasi GNC tu, mak aiiihh beza dekat 3x ganda tuuuu, which translates to a significant saving i tell u!!

Jadi hari ni, saya makan 1 biji pagi tadi selepas breakfast, dan 2 biji lagi sebelum lunch. Malam nanti wajib makan lagi. Nanti bila ada significant effect saya akan kongsikan hasilnya ok :)

p/s: membaca itu jambatan ilmu, tak sempat baca paper tapi blogwalking pun jadiklah hihi. Now who says blogging is a waste of time and unproductive?

Marilah minum air longan!

Dulu masa zaman Firas, mama ada cuba minum air longan time hasil susu merudum, tak silap masa Firas umur 10-11 bulan kots. Masa tu sibuklah baca forum susuibu dan sebagainya dan cari apakah makanan/minuman yg boleh tambah penghasilan air susu. Masa tu mama cuba buat air longan+red dates (kurma merah), tapi erkkk red dates tak sedaplah hoho. Mama cuma minum for few weeks sahaja, kemudian stop. Result? Memang ada pertambahan positif ke atas total output mama tapi takdelah banyak sangat, rasanya dlm 1-3oz je kot. Tapi itu sudah cukup bermakna buat mama! Mama ada juga makan pil Fenugreek, tapi pil ni takde effect pulak ke atas mama...lain orang lain effectnya ok.


Kali ni, nampak gayanya mama kena start minum balik air longan....sebab Ammar minum average 24-27oz daily, tapi output mama merudum sejak dua menjak ni. Hasil susu mama tidaklah semeriah mommy2 lain, seperti mommy Ariff, atau mommy Elyssa (yg sekali pam boleh dpt 10oz, tapi mama maksimum sekali pam 7-8oz di waktu pagi, waktu tgh hari dan petang default 5oz). Jadi cuba anda kira, di ofis mama dapat dalam 17oz, pagi sebelum keluar ofis 3oz, total = 20oz. Waktu malam kalau mama rajin bangun dapatlah lagi 3-4oz, tapi kalau mama malas? hehe sendiri mau ingatlah!

Inilah rupa longan kering (dried longan). Mama beli dekat kedai Eu Yan Sang di Jusco, 200g for RM10.60..agak mahal la sket drpd beli dekat Giant/Tesco/kedai senseh yg tidak glamer :p

Basuh dan toskan airnya yer...

Rebus dalam periuk hingga buahnya masak..rupa macam laici kan? Seperiuk kecil tu mama dapatlah bubuh dalam satu bekas air + 1 mug (utk diminum waktu mlm). Mama simpan dalam fridge utk dibawa bekal ke ofis esoknya.

Rutin harian mama- cooler bag, bag laptop & handbag. Nampak botol Castrol merah yg cun tuh..hah dlm tu la air longan mama. Berat betul nak mengangkut barang2 ni setiap hari...tapi nak buat macam mana, nasib wanita bekerja hoho..tu belum masuk beg nursery kekanak lagik tuh. Sebab tu lah penting datang awal ke ofis, supaya dpt parking free, supaya tak payah nak jalan jauh sambil membimbit barang2 nih. Bayangkan kalau tetiba mama mengader nak bergaya pakai high heels, dan kena parking luar...uhhh macam mak limah lenggang je bwk byk barang sambil terkedek2 berjln control macho!

Kelmarin minum longan ni masih belum ada effect...kena continuous utk beberapa minggu baru nampak hasilnya kot....caiyo caiyo!

p/s: sekarang dapat imagine tak betapa bertuahnya menjadi 'working at home mum'...tak sakit bahu dan tangan mengusung byk barang setiap hari kan!

breastfeeding 1.2.3

Terkesan hati bila rakan baikku ditegur dan dikritik dek kerana penulisan beliau yg agak terbuka tentang breastfeeding. Hairan bila ilmu yang bagus, yang sgtlah perlu dikongsi bersama dipersoalkan sedemikian rupa.

Kata orang putih, 'sharing is caring'. Saya fikir ramai setuju tentang pernyataan ini. Cuba renungkan, dulu-dulu berapa ramai sangatkah ibu muda yg berjaya menyusukan anak mereka eksklusif sehingga usia 2 tahun? Usahkan 2 tahun, 6 bulan pun belum tentu tercapai. Contoh terdekat, diri saya sendirilah. Idlan lahir pada tahun 2004, masa tu rata-rata di kalangan kami belum aktif berblogging (hi hi). Rakan di sekeliling..hmm memang tak ramailah yg menyusukan bayi mereka. Nak tanya pada ibu sendiri? hmm ibu saya sendiri pun tidak berapa arif tentang menyusukan bayi selepas habis tempoh berpantang, cara menyimpan stok susu, cara mengepam, pam apa yg sesuai, dan sebagainya. Nak cari maklumat di internet? emm tidak pernah terfikir pula diri saya tatkala itu (kes ignorance la nih!), makanya saya hanya berjaya menyusukan Idlan sehingga umur dia 4 bulan. Itupun bercampur dengan formula yer kengkawan, bukan eksklusif tau!

4 tahun kemudian, lahirlah Firas ke dunia. Kali ini, semasa mengandung lagi saya dah kumpul maklumat tentang bf, dan yang paling best, semakin ramai rakan2 terdekat yg berjaya bf anak2 mereka sehingga umur 2 tahun. Dan capaian ilmu di internet tentang bf sangatlah banyak, google saja dan wallahh muncullah maklumat yg anda inginkan. Forum tentang penyusuan bayi semakin byk, sahabat yg berblogging pasal bf pun semakin ramai!

Saya paling suka bila rakan2 menunjukkan gambar stok susu beku mereka. Saya suka baca macam mana mereka menyusun jadual pengepaman, pam apa yg mereka guna, macam mana cara nak tambah pengaliran susu, etc. Dan melalui blog juga baru saya tahu lobak putih boleh dibuat masak tomyam! haha jgn gelak ye, selama ni saya cuma tahu masak air, atau goreng saja (sgt bosan!).

Bila ada rakan post gambar pasal stok susu mereka, janganlah anda cakap...iskk dia ni riak sungguh nak menunjuk la tuh! Atau anda kata...alahhh macamlah dia sorang je yang banyak susu!

Sebaliknya, cuba fikir dari sudut yg positif. Isk banyaknya susu dia, lepas ni aku kena usaha lebih nih! (sebenarnya inilah sumber inspirasi dan motivasi saya, bila tgk susu mommy lain byk giler saya mesti bertambah semangat nak kumpul stok macam mereka :)

Saya rasa ibu2 zaman moden sekarang ni sgt suka baca pengalaman mommies lain tentang bf melalui blog, berbanding masuk ke website ilmiah yg menerangkan facts tentang bf (eg: kellymoms). Kata orang, bila baca experience orang lain tu terasa lebih 'real', atau lebih dekat, especially bila pengalaman orang tu exactly sama dgn apa yg kita lalui.

Kepada mommies dan rakan2 seperjuanganku sekalian, just keep on writing ok. Mungkin ada seorang dua tak suka, tapi percayalah raaaamaiii lagi yg suka baca sebenarnya. Ilmu yang bagus dan boleh membawa manfaat, rasanya wajib utk dikongsi bersama betul tak?

EBM - chilled or frozen?

I've received enquiries many times from friends and neighbours on the way i handle my EBM for Ammar's daily needs at daycare. So here goes my routine, it might differs from other bf mommies out there but do not fret, just follow whatever methods that suits you best.

Previously during the first few weeks after confinement, i sent 5 bottles of thawed milk (3oz each) to the teacher. The night before, i will take out 5 containers of frozen milk, thaw them outside for about 1 hour and later put it back into fridge for the whole night. The next morning, i will transfer all the thawed EBM from their respective containers into bottles. This is just exactly like what i did during Firas's time, for 15 months :) Meaning, everyday i will have to wash approximately 9 bottles (5 from taska, 4 for the EBM expressed at the office).

Then, the teacher told me to do not give them so many bottles, instead just send off the frozen EBM and let them do the rest. Back then i was thinking 'waalllaahh what a relief!' since i dont have to do the thaw and milk transfer process anymore..jimat masa seh plus tak payah basuh byk botol!! Further there will be no more case where the thawed milk has to be discarded should Ammar didn't consume it (sangat rugi tau hukhukkk).

So now i just supply 8-9 frozen EBM everyday, plus a bottle of fresh EBM that i pump around 6-6.30am before i left for work. On certain occassion where i didnt manage to pump, i will give them a bottle of chilled EBM (the one that i expressed at work during day time) instead of the fresh EBM.

On top of that, i will ensure there will be buffer stock (around 2 containers) inside their freezer, just in case Ammar suddenly decided to drink more during the day :p, or for cases where i need to stay back for meetings, or stuck in traffic. Everyday when i reached taska to fetch Ammar, i will take a peep inside their freezer and check the balance of EBM so that i know how many containers i need to send to them on the following day. Indirectly i also get to know how much EBM he consumes throughout the day (again this is very important at least to me who is now on 'kais pagi makan pagi stage' kata orang hihi).

So that's it peeps.
How about you?

EBM difference...

The one you're getting from the right breast is more than the left one, or vice versa.
I am pretty sure some of the breastfeeding mommies out there do experience the same thing. I just dont have the time to look up from the net on the reason behind this. Whether it's purely hormonal thingy, or due to lack of stimulation from one side, or problems in latching, or anything.

During Firas's time, i got more EBM on the right hand side, while now with Ammar i got more from the left breast. I rotate equally between both left and right side during direct breastfeeding, hence i strongly believe my case is not due to lack of stimulation. In fact i've tried to give continuous direct feeding on my right breast for few days to see the 'after-effect' of this action but as you can see below, the result is still the same.

right breast 3oz, left breast nearly 6oz.

Whatever the reason is, it's 'fitrah' determined by Allah and insya Allah is enough for your baby...

transporting the milk

We'll be going back to Kedah this coming Thursday until Sunday. It keeps on raining nowadays, as such our most greatest fear amongst all is black-out when we were not at home. Further from past experience our taman will be in the dark especially when it rains heavily. Hubby threw out the idea of transfering the EBM to my mom's house, temporarily, at most for a week until we get back home. Surely my mom's freezer space is not enough to accomodate all those EBMs, as such we will be transporting the EBM, together with the deep freezer (zue, freezer awak akan berada di rumah mak kite for a week hehe).

1. First i bunk in all the EBMs into paper bags, later it'll be easier for us to empty the freezer and carry it into our car. Plus there is a risk that the container will break if we carry the freezer without emptying it. Got 5 paperbags altogether, stock from December 2010 till January 2011.

2. Process of inserting the paperbags into the deep freezer. Previously the EBMs are stacked-up one by one inside it...kalau angkut dlm kereta confirm tunggang terbalik nanti :p

3. So tomorrow morning the EBMs will travel all the way from Kajang to Ampang, and is staying there for good for a week :)

4. I still spare some EBMs (about 60 containers) that can last for 2 weeks inside our freezer, this to accomodate Ammar's need at daycare for the whole of next week (sementara kami pergi ke Ampang utk ambil balik the freezer).

That's the plan for our upcoming 'balik kampung' trip. Planning is very important isn't it?

Can't imagine what's gonna happen if we just leave the milk, the house got black-out and the milk got defrost and rotten just like that. Uhh habis penat lelah mama mengepam for the past 4 months, mesti sedih kan!!

Have a nice holidays peeps!

growth spurt - 3 months

I guess Ammar is now hitting the 'growth spurt' phase. He consumes more EBM at taska nowadays as compared to his usual milk intakes, which means I need to work harder to increase my daily output. In addition, he also wakes up more often at night, on average around 4-5 times though he never really fully drained out the breast on every feeding.

Oh I came across this one theory on breastfeeding that some of you may find it very useful:

--> Empty breast - high fat, Full breast - low fat

Which means your babies are getting more fat if your breast is not full. So make sure you empty your breast more often so that your babies are getting the most fat out of it :) Interesting isn't it? (honestly dulu saya tak pernah tahu pun :p)

Back to Ammar, he is now begin to accept breastfeeding in lying position. I've tried this few times since last night and he seems to be ok with it. Alhamdulillah, what a huge relief! At least i dont have to wake up, sit back and craddle him on every feeding which is really tiring and cause consistent backache to my body.