WHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT :p
This is the time when mummies are pampered in so many ways, especially if we’re pregnant with our first child/first grandchild etc. I found that so many mommies are more interested to know what are the most goodlooking stroller / coolest bottle to have instead of finding and saving money for a good pump . buying a good pump is never a waste, for it’s a good investment in the long run, especially if you plan to have many children in the future.
Here are tips for pregnant mommies
1. Go read review on good pumps. Save money to buy a good pump. If you ask me, buy at least a Medela Swing, and of course medela Freestyle is the best. This is especially true for mommies who work as nurses/doctors and mommies who work long, crazy hours and also for mommies who are not willing to wait ( eg manual pumping is time consuming)
2. Buy the pump before you deliver. You never know that you might need it earlier, eg baby sick in ICU and you cannot direct feed him etc. plus if you’re in confinement, it would be a bit difficult to go out etc
3. Not just pumps, breastfeeding also comes with other accessories- bottles, warmer, sterilizer, storage bottles/plastic bag, freezer to keep EBM or even deep freezer. And all these means MONEY. Speaking of storage bottles, please note that you have to change the storage bottles after 6 months, and based from my experience and calculation, it’s cheaper if you store your milk using the disposable plastic breastmilk storage bags- I suggest AUTUMNZ brand as it has double zip lock
4. Be prepared financially. This is crucial because without financial power, we would opt to buy inferior quality stuffs huhu
5. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PREPARATION- SELF ESTEEM AND CONFIDENCE.TELL OURSELVES THAT WE WILL FULLY BREASTFEED OUR BABY. MY MILK IS ENOUGH FOR MY BABY. I WILL HAVE LOTSSSS OF MILK . some mothers are not confident of herself,and keep saying WHAT IF MY MILK IS NOT ENOUGH. When she said that, she wouldn’t buy the good pump, and she won’t be fully prepared and the tendency to lose the battle to formula milk is higher. Say I WILL FULLY BREASTFEED MY BABY. SO I NEED A GOOD PUMP, STORAGE BOTTLES etc.. I found so many friends who were reluctant to invest in good pump because they’re afraid their milk is insufficient. Guess what? Eventually it’s true, their milk is insufficient because they planted the idea so long before the baby was born. So Formula milk wins :(
6. Go to antenatal class. Get your husband ready to face the labour with you. Let him know that you wish to fully breastfeed your baby. And POW HIM to buy you a good pump hahaha
7. Learn and practice the correct technique to bf your baby. Breastfeeding SHOULD NOT BE PAINFUL.so if it’s painful, it means you are doing it the incorrect way
8. Tackle issues like- inverted nipple, no nipple etc( putting ke dalam, putting tak keluar etc)- massage the nipple (ms tgh pregnant, bukan ms baby dh lahir) every day.. take 10 cc syringe, cut the front part, and use it to suck the nipple out everyday..preferably start when you’re 6 months pregnant like that. Start early.. kalau ms baby lahir, ms die tgh meraung2 br nak start massage the nipple then you(or your husband/mother/mother in law) might already give your baby formula milk huhu
IN LABOUR- I have separate notes on labor, what to expect and pain relieves available. Go check out my old notes
AFTER BABY IS BORN
The moment you hold your baby in your arms, it’s the most beautiful feeling a mummy can feel. It’s more exciting and memorable, even you are not as happy on your wedding day :p so why not give your baby the VERY BEST that you can give.. as I’ve wrote before, (but I’m going to repeat this again), here are some tips after your baby is born
1.direct breastfeed within one hour of life. Okay a friend pointed out that I never mentioned or give tips to mummies underwent c-sect. thanks for your feedback. So, for mummies who have to undergo c-sect, please let your doctor know that you want your baby to latch on within his first hour of life. What is important, is they put the baby to your breast, even for -10 minutes. I understand that mummies who underwent c-section would be weak, nauseated, semi conscious.. but tell your doctor, after baby is born, just put the baby to your breast. Or ask your husband to do so( in private husband is allowed to go into the operating theatre) . why? Because EARLY STIMULATION is crucial
2.DO NOT INTRODUCE BOTTLE BEFORE BABY IS ONE MONTH OLD. No compromise. Once bottle is introduced, baby will reject your nipple. He prefers the bottles. Why? Because babies are smart. . They want easy work. Bottle feeding means less work and effort for them, while direct breastfeeding requires them to use all the muscles, soft palate, in the oral cavity to extract milk from mummies’ breast. Kalau botol, tekan lidah sket je susu dah keluar. That’s why if introduced bottle(even if you put your milk in the bottle) baby will tend to get NIPPLE CONFUSION and reject your nipple thus reject direct breastfeeding. Okay you might say, okay apa, still bagi susu bdn wlupun dlm bottle. But remember, you need baby’s STIMULATION to ensure continous milk production. Ok, dr Zaa, susu saya byk. So saya tak risau, bg jela kot botol? Here is my answer. Yes, your milk is sufficient for your baby, but it’s sufficient FOR NOW. Let’s say today your baby drinks 20 oz of milk a day, and you don’t have any problem pumping that amount. In 4 months time, he might need 40 oz a day and you can only produce 20 oz a day because there’s no direct breastfeeding so the CONTINUOUS STIMULATION is not there. when he needs the 40 oz but you can only pump 20 oz, that's when problems start to arise huhu
3. ESTABLISH BREASTFEEDING FIRST,before you start pumping or start keeping EBM. That’s why I recommend mummies to start pumping for EBM stocks after 2 weeks to 1 month. Even if you’re using freestyle, there’s no use to pump early. Because when baby is born, they don’t need that much milk. Perut diorang sgt kecik, besar kuku ibu jari kita saja. So don’t start pumping, then feel down sbb stok susu tak banyak mcm Dr Zaa punyer penuh freezer ( I have friends who called me late night and saying this) and start telling yourself that my milk is not enough. BECAUSE IT”S ENOUGH for the baby. So, jgn pump sblm 2 weeks-1month after giving birth, unless susu awal2 tu dh tersangat byk then it’s okay. And another thing, sume stok susu mummies yg byk2 penuh peti ais tu , bukannya pump dlm ms 2-3 hari tau hehe
4.when to start collecting EBM? My advice(as I stated earlier) would be 2weeks to 1 month after giving birth. And please note, awal2 pump mmg susu sket, sbbnya anak kan masih direct bf. But don’t give up. Continue to pump and be confident that you will have more than enough milk for your baby :p like myself, I start pumping twice a day, once at 12 midnight, and another time in early morning- 7am. Then I increase the frequency, I add on pumping session at 5 pm..then I make it 4 times a day- 12am, 7am,12pm and 7 pm. Don’t despair if you notice only small amount of milk collected, just keep doing it. Your body will tell your brain that more milk is needed and the amount will increase over time, insya allah
5.EAT HEALTHILY. I cannot stress more on this. Please don’t follow those rigid confinement rules that only allow nasi, ikan kering and lada hitam and 2 gelas air sehari. It’s absurd! You need to eat balanced diet to ensure good supply of milk. Plus without vegetables and fruits, you WILL DEFINITELY GET CONSTIPATION.. sembelit sgt sakit, mcm beranak lagi sekali and kdg2 luka, darah menitik2 huhu.. and it’s okay to try all the food that are known will increase milk production. But to tell you the truth, I never take any supplement or eat special food. I just eat as I like , pantang nampak je hehehe..
6. BEWARE DENGAN WATAK JAHAT DALAM BREASTFEEDING. Bukanlah aku ckp diorang jahat, just diorng ni yg akan mempengaruhi kita utk bg formula milk. It can be your husband, own mother, mother in law, aunties or biras. This is the time when you have to be strong..jangan tunduk kepada tekanan. Because THE MOST CRITICAL PART IS THE FIRST 2 WEEKS, if you manage to fully bf your baby in the first 2 weeks then insya allah after that your breastfeeding journey would be smooth sailing insya allah
7.TRAIN YOUR BABY TO BOTTLEFEED 1 MONTH BEFORE YOU START WORKING. As I wrote earlier, babies are smart. So, don’t bottlefeed your baby yourselves , as they can smell you thus reject the bottle. Ask your husband /maid/mother/sister to bottle feed your child. At first he might reject the bottle, but please don’t give up. Another common question is, what brand of teat my baby would accept?well , no one have the correct answer as babies are all different. My baby might accept MAM but your baby might prefer NUK. Another thing, if you’re using plastic bottles- even BPA free like avent, mam, tommee tippee, please change them every 6 months as after the sixth month, the risk of BPA to be released is there. If you want bottles that do not need to be changed, then opt for glass bottle or stainless steel bottle :p the reason i start stainless steel bottle for my children is because I don’t want to change/buy new bottles every 6 months hehe
8. when you start working and let’s say you have certain amount of EBM stocks, make sure the amount is static or increasing. Maksudnya, katakan ade 80 botol susu dlm freezer, kalau bole jgn bg amount berkurangan langsung. Katakan anak minum kat nursery sehari 20 oz, make sure dpt pump 20 oz jugak on same day, sbb kalau tak, mmg stok susu akan berkurangan..DAN JANGAN MALAS(peringatan utk diri sendiri jugak).katakan ms kerja dpt pump 12 oz je, make sure tgh mlm bangun utk ganti/cover lg 8 oz.. dgn cara ni, br stok akan maintain, and hanya akan guna(tanpa berganti) bila kes2 kecemasan sahaja eg mak makan antibiotic yg takleh bg menyusu anak, or sakit teruk masuk ICU takleh bf anak dll..
SIGNS OF GOOD LATCH ON
1) baby's chin touching mother's breast
2)lower part of areola that's visible is less than the upper part
3)outwards movement of baby's lips, especially lower lip
4) fullness or round baby's cheek
5)sound of baby swallowing
6)baby contented after feeding
6 signs of hunger :
1)increase eye movement
2)open his mouth
3) make soft whimper sounds
4)sucks or chews on hands...
5) move the head or mouth , look for mother’s breast
6) crying- late sign..usually by this time, baby refuses feeding.. need to calm him first
steps to successful BF:
a)baby's body and spine in 1 line
b)well supported
c)baby close to mother
d)baby facing mother
HOW TO HANDLE EBM
1. deep freezer- can last up to 6 months- deep freezer ni yg mcm beli freezer specific(mcm kat kedai2 letak aiskrim tu)
2.freezer(bhgn atas peti sejuk) – 3 months
3) fridge( bhgn bwh peti sejuk- tp rak atas skali tau, bukan bwh skali kt tmpt sayur2 tuh)- 1 week
4) room temperature- 4-6 hours
5)please label your milk- with date and time and name( name ni kalau anak duduk nursery, kang tak psl2 tertukar susu dgn baby lain)
5) first to go in, first to go out – guna susu yg bertarikh paling lama dahulu
How to defrost the milk??
The easiest way is to bring down milk from freezer compartment to fridge 12-24 hours before you give your milk to your baby.. eg , contoh esok nk keje, mlm ni bawa turun siap2 susu dr freezer ke bhgn bwh fridge utk cairkan die.. so that ms baby nak minum, susu dh cair elok dh, just tinggal nak panaskan saja..another option is to put the frozen milk in warm water- but it will take forever to defrost huhu
Can I put my frozen milk into microwave oven to defrost it?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! PLEASE DON’T DO SO!!
Can I put my frozen milk that has melted back into the freezer??
NO!!!once you bring it out (either to room temperature or to fridge-lower compartment) there is NO WAY that you can put it back in the freezer
Tips: few weeks before going back to work, please teach and inform the baby sitter/ carer and your family members regarding these rules.. my own experience, I have to explain it few times to my husband, mom , kak won and my siblings before they can fully understand how it works.. so please be patient ;p
My personal tip- the morning before you go to work, pump and put the milk in the bottle siap2. So that dh ade fresh milk yg tak payah letak dlm warmer dah. Then the remaining bottles( susu dah cair sbb dh bw turun ke bhgn bwh fridge) , just tell the babysitter/nursery worker/maid guna yg tu saja. If your baby is taken care by maid/nenek/nenek sedara/makcik at home, bw turun jugak frozen milk ke bhgn bwh fridge..and bgtau suruh guna yg tu saja.. jgn bg nenek yg rabun terkial2 cari nak amik botol mana dlm deep freezer..silap2 die bagi formula milk ‘kan aku dah ckp, bancuh susu tepung lg senang ‘ hahaha
TIPS TO WORKING MUMMIES
I have received many personal messages(especially from my juniors who just started housemanship) , asking me how to find allocated, comfortable times to pump. The truth is, I don’t have the answer. This is the reason that I think medical personnel need at least medela swing or even better medela freestyle for they work long and crazy hours huhu..Why? Things that we think are easy, it’s actually easy to implement. Do not make breastfeeding complicated and difficult. One of the way is by choosing an efficient and mobile pump :p if, let’s say you choose a manual pump which takes 30 minutes to empty both breasts, then if you’re busy or your job is stressful and demanding, the verdict is you might give in, skip few pumping sessions, or skip all the sessions, your milk pumped at work is not enough and then the cycle begins huhu.. make it easy and quick,so choose a good pump.
Tips for doctors/nurses who work shift/in emergency department..
-when I was in emergency department, I tried my best to pump every 2,3 hours. How did I do it? I pumped everytime I went for my prayer :p ok, katakana shift pg, 8 am- 4pm. So pump kul 745 am(sblm start keja), then lari jap kul 11 am, then ms solat zuhur kul 145 pm, then after abis shift kul 4pm, pump lg. shift ptg 2pm-10pm. Pump kul 145pm ms zuhur, then asar at 5pm, then magrib at 730 pm then lps abis shift at 10 pm. That’s the reason YOU NEED AN EFFICIENT PUMP. Katakan solat 5 minit, pump 5-10 minit( ni ngn freestyle),so takdela lama sgt.. colleague pun tak bising sgt.. tp kalau pump ngn tgn or manual, katakana sekali pump 30-45 minit, then mmg la specialist bising sbb HO/MO ilang..or sister mengamuk, sbb staff nurses sume duk mengepam lama sangat..hihi.. I just give my examples on how to find times to ensure that breasts are emptied as they should be. We work in different areas/field, so you have to find the time that suits you.
Tips for mothers who work 8am-5pm/ doctors and nurses in KK
Yang ni senang sket sbb slalunya takde rushing2/emergency… so bolehla ade masa terntentu nk pump. Maybe once at 745am(sblm start keja) then again at 1030/11am.. then during lunch time ms zuhur ( kurangkan bersembang, lebihkan mengepam haha) and lg skali ms solat asar sblm balik.so dpt la pump 2,3 jam skali kan?? :p
Tips for mothers who work 36 hours straight eg oncall
Actually this depends on your luck, whether you’re jonah or not hahaha.. and also your rotation, certain rotation they would have oncall round with specialists at certain times etc, so you have to find your time to pump. Whatever it is, try to pump for every 2,3 hours.. I know it’s difficult, I myself skipped so many pumping sessions when I was oncall huhu.. that’s the reason it’s good to have large amount of EBM stocks, sbb ms2 oncall jonah ni la susu makin sket, dhla tk smpt pump..
My own experience, when I did paediatrics rotation, that’s when my milk production reduced tremendously huhu.. one time I took 5 days leave just to restock my EBM,and there were times when my stock are just enough, cukup2 je..so when I was oncall, Anas has to come to my ward to take EBM of the day to feed Aryan for the next day. Yes, it’s challenging, yes it’s tough, yes it’s TIRING but when you look at your baby and you know he’s getting the best, you are willing to do everything- safrifice your 2,3 hours sleep just to pump/ decide to pump when you are supposed to rest for you never know when is the next new case/patient coming.. during my housemanship days, I was lucky as my family members really gave me strong moral and emotional support and I cannot thank them enough. And I’m glad that the fact that a busy doctor like myself managed to fully bf my son (at that time) really inspired my family members and friends who work half day(eg teachers) or those who work office hours to challenge themselves to fully bf their babies. So many times I feel like giving up, but I always tell myself, if I think my situation is difficult, there are so many mothers who are facing heavier challenges than myself- eg baby lives far away,eg 200km away, baby is sick in ICU for months, or having terminally ill child, so that way I felt more grateful..
another thing that kept me going was the fact I lack the TIME SPENT WITH MY SON- eg oncall 2,3 times a week, up to an extent a family member came and visiting and she didn’t see me for 2 days- and said this to my face, that I will never forget ‘ kesian Aryan, 2hari tak jmpa mak dia, tuhla mak die sibuk kerja.. sbbtu dia asyik nangis je, sbb die LAPAR MAK’ . I was postcall, sleep-deprived and a makcik said that to my face, I have to admit what she said was TOTALLY TRUE but IT HURT big time and I really wanted to cry. And then my mom and cousin mencelah ‘takpelah ,at least Yah dah tinggalkan satu peti ais susu badan yg TERBAIK.. sesetengah housewife pun tak mampu bg susu badan kat anak dia’ I know they said that just utk sedapkan hati aku, but from that moment, I was really determined to bf my son because I owe him my quality time , eventhough I know fully bf him is not the same as spending time with him. And Allah made my breastfeeding journey easy Alhamdulillah :p
I hope that whatever knowledge and experience that I share here are not misinterpreted. Siapa2 tak puas hati, aik kau baca sampai abis jugak notes ni yer?haha..kalau kau rasa aku perasan bagus, well guess what? memang aku bagus pun hahahaha..anyway, sharing is caring.. lagi satu, jgn malu2 nak tanye soalan regarding bf/ or just to talk to me, I accept calls/sms even at 2am hehe.. because I know some of my friends segan2. Hey I’m still the Zaahirah that you used to know before. Aku lg upset kalau kawan2 gagal bf sbb malu nak consult/takut ganggu.. if I’m busy, I wont pick up my phone or i might reply your messages late, but I’ll try my best to share my knowledge regarding breastfeeding.
Last but not least, say YES to breastfeeding :P
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