Monday, September 22, 2014

All About Breastfeeding and Lactation - Starting it Out Right

How much pain and anguish a mother can go through, especially when a mother with endless responsibilities could also be susceptible to postpartum blues?

The following are three handy resources on breastfeeding that has helped me in one way or another throughout my entire breastfeeding journey as a first time mom who experiences lactation issues:
1. KellyMom - http://kellymom.com
2. Ask Dr Sears - http://www.askdrsears.com
3. La Leche League - http://www.llli.org
4. Breastfeeding USA - https://breastfeedingusa.org/

Breastfeeding Basics
Breastfeeding - Starting Out Right - A MUST READ article for all to-be mothers who is determined to exclusively breastfeed their little ones.  The points outlined here are what every mother who experience breastfeeding difficulties needs to help guide them through the challenges of breastfeeding.  If I had read this and drummed the points into my mind, I believe my breastfeeding journey would have been much easier.
How does milk production work?
Nursing your newborn — what to expect in the early weeks
Breastfeeding Information Articles - Great information and quality articles shared

Lactation Issues
Latching and Positioning Resources : KellyMom - KellyMom is a wonderful resource for information on breastfeeding.   I find that any questions or doubts I had on breastfeeding, Google always brings me back to this site and indeed it has the best answers you can find.  The articles here provide very comprehensive advice that are easy to comprehend.
LLLI | The Mother-Baby Dance: Positioning and Latch-On
How do I position my baby to breastfeed?
Help for latch on infant led breastfeeding
Video - Breastfeeding Help Videos - nbci
FALC - Find a Lactation Consultant - International Lactation Consultant Association


Milk Supply Issues
Milk Calculator
Living with Chronic Low Milk Supply: A Basic Guide - MOBI for Mothers Overcoming Breastfeeding Issues has heartwarming and encouraging articles that summarizes mothers' experiences.  It is written based on what these mothers face and have plenty of practical tips on overcoming these challenges.
Increasing Low Milk Supply
Establishing and maintaining milk supply when baby is not breastfeeding : KellyMom

Expressing Breast Milk
Exclusive Pumping – The Best… Expressed!
How much expressed milk will my baby need? : KellyMom
I’m not pumping enough milk. What can I do?
How to Videos on Breastfeeding and Pumping Breastmilk at The Pump Station
Storing & Transporting Breast Milk | Ask Dr. Sears®

Guide to Choosing the Right Breastpump
A Guide to Popular Breastpumps | Ask Dr. Sears®
All About Breastpumps


Hope these links help and please do feel free to share any breastfeeding resource that you have come across as useful.

Happy Breastfeeding Mummy! :-)

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

What I wish I had known about breastfeeding before giving birth...

My son is 8 months now, and I am still exclusively pumping.  Baby have always been supplemented with formula since 3 weeks as I experience latching issues.  I always try to give baby at least 60% of my breastmilk in a day and am still doing so today.

(Note that some of the tips apply only to those who experience low milk supply or have lactating issues)

What I wish I had known about breastfeeding before giving birth:

1. You should start to condition your nipple during pregnancy before you deliver.  When your baby starts bf, your nipple may feel sore especially for first time mums but this soreness is not to be confused with incorrect latch soreness (sorry I can't explain the difference).
- Get any nipple cream (can get from any pharmacy) to keep it moist.  
- Gently massage the nipple to toughen it (but take NOTE to avoid doing so when nearing delivery as it will trigger contractions)

2. No matter how tired you are, try to clean baby's saliva off your nipple after every feed as leaving it there will dry your nipple and may cause any sore to become worse.

3. LATCHING correctly is no 1 thing you must get right.  No matter what anyone says, if breastfeeding hurts, the latch is not correct. Do not feel sad (easier said than done) if your baby cannot latch.  Both of you need time to learn so do not give up.  

4. If you know your baby is not latching correct, it is very important that you get help to get it right within the first week (if possible).  My personal experience is everyone told me the latch is correct despite me saying that it really hurts.  By time I realize it was already 3 weeks and baby have already developed habit of shallow latch so he couldn't get the amount of milk that he needs from latching - as a result I had to use bottle and supplement with formula.  It was unfortunate I was not able to get baby to latch right until he was four months but by that time, he prefers the bottle (faster flow) than my breast.

5.  Where to get breastfeeding help and support?  There are many breastfeeding support groups, forums around.  Even your friends or colleagues who has successful breastfeeding experience is a source of help.  Many successful breastfeeding mothers are able to help you with your lactation issues.  Professional help is also available (but of course at cost).  Just bear in mind that both yourself and baby are first timers and it takes time to learn.  So do not be shy to ask for help. You can always start from here.

6. If your baby experience signs of jaundice, you should bf your baby more often (every two hours) to ensure she gets hydrated.  You should not stop bf and of course, you must consult your paed and closely monitor your baby's condition.  If by this time your milk supply has not been established (note that this should not happen if your latch is correct), then it is alright to supplement with formula. 

7. If you have to supplement with formula, just remember to use cup or syringe to feed.  I never thought of using cup, and had been using the spoon.  Feeding with spoon is very slow and baby was frustrated and seeing baby's frustration and pressure from family members resulted in me giving in to use the bottle.

8. You should invest in good pump if you are a working mum.  Dual pump will save you a lot of time.  I cannot emphasize this more as I started off using a single pump passed on to me by my SIL.  As I experienced latching issues, I had to rely on pumping from very early on and have been using the single pump for several months.  My milk supply could not establish and using a single pump did not help.  I was very stressed out as I was persistent on giving my baby breastmilk, so I spent a lot of time was spent on the pump trying keep my supply going.  It wasn't until I decided to get myself a dual pump that I realize I could have saved so much more time to spend more time with my baby during confinement than on the pump.

9. I should direct latch him at least once everyday, (even if baby could not get enough milk from breast) then use bottle to top-up.  Even if baby prefers the bottle, as long baby is willing to take your breast even for short period of time, let him take it at least once in a day.  The less time spent on breast, the sooner baby will completely reject it...sooner than you expect.  Because I was so concerned that baby will be hungry, a lot of time I resorted to give my milk in the bottle.  By 6 months, my baby totally refuse to latch.  It was too soon for me and I really really miss the bond and the feeling of cuddling him close for breastfeeding.

10.  Will nipple shield help with sore nipples?  Yes.  Will it help if you have latching issues?  I don't believe so.  Based on the research gathered from the Internet, I found that if you have sore nipples caused by latching issues, nipple shield will not help.  It makes it more difficult for the baby to suckle the milk and will further discourage latching.  Alternately, if you have good milk supply, nipple shield may help protect your sore nipples.

11.  Lastly, it is very important to get full breastfeeding support from a family members or a friend (anyone one will do and it may not necessarily be your partner).  This person must be someone who is always there for you to talk to, cry to, let out bf frustration, etc. You will feel stronger and will likely have a successful bf journey with good support.  Of course if possible, your partner should support you and not let family members pressure you into giving up bf.

In summary,  you will lose a lot of precious time to spend with your baby if you could not establish a good supply of milk.  But there is nothing wrong with exclusively pumping.  Some mothers choose to exclusively pump.  In any case, any amount of breast milk for baby is better than none.

Hope this will help all future mummies.  Good luck and stay strong mummies!

Baby Food Recipe - Cereal [from Little Inbox Recipe]



Ingredients: 
5 tbsp of brown rice cereal
hot water (add accordingly)
half of kiwifruit flesh, mashed

Steps:
1. Mixed up brown rice cereal with hot water.
2. Leave it cool for a while.
3. Top up the cereal with kiwifruit.
4. Serve warm.


Baby Food - Blueberry Cereal

Ingredients:
4 tbsp of cereal
2 tbsp of infant formula
2 oz of hot water
12 blueberries, rinsed

Steps:
1. Mixed up cereal and infant formula with hot water.
2. Pour the cereal in a blender to blend with the blueberries.
3. Serve warm.

Baby Food Recipes - Porridge (Fish & Meat) [from Little Inbox Recipe]


Baby Food: Recipe from Little Inbox Recipe

Fish and Vegetable Porridge 



Serves 2 

Ingredients: 
fish fillet, skinned
4 tbsp of rice, rinsed
carrot, cut into thin strips
choy sum, chopped
hot boiling water

Seasonings (optional): 
half tsp of fried garlic oil

Steps:
1. Add rice and hot water to a small slow cooker. Cook it for 2 hours.
2. Add fish fillet. Once the fish is cooked, dish it out.
3. Add vegetables and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Mash the fish fillet in a bowl. Pour the porridge over the mashed fish fillet. Mix it up with fried garlic oil.
5. Leave it cool for a while and serve warm.






Ingredients: 
1 tbsp of white rice, rinsed
1 tbsp of millet, rinsed
5 pieces of soft lean pork (you can substitute it with another type of red meat or white meat)
spinach, chopped
200ml hot boiling water

Steps: 
1. Put all the ingredients into a small slow cooker, except the spinach and meat.
2. Add the meat when the porridge starts boiling.
3. 15 minutes before the porridge is ready, add spinach. Stir to mix up all the ingredients. Continue the cooking.
4. Off the power and leave it cool for a while.
5. You can either remove the meat from the porridge before feeding, or retain 1 or 2 pieces of the meat and puree the porridge before feeding.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Baby Food Recipes - Porridge (Fruits & Vegetables) [from Little Inbox Recipe]



Apple and Carrot Porridge



Serving: 2

Ingredients:
half of a corn, chopped into 2 pieces
5 red dates, rinsed and pitted
2 red apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 8 pieces each
3 ½ tbsp of rice, rinsed half of a carrot, peeled and cut into bite-sized
500ml of hot water

Steps:
1. Add rice, red dates, corn and hot water into slow cooker. Cook for 1 hour.
2. Add carrot and apple. Cook until you get the desired porridge texture.
3. Discard the corn and red dates.
4. Leave the porridge cool down a bit.
5. Mash the apple and carrot and serve together with the porridge.







Ingredients:
1 ½ tbsp millet, rinsed
50gm purple sweet potato, peeled and cut into pieces
260ml of boiling water (add more if needed)

Steps:
1. Add millet and boiling water to the slow cooker. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Add sweet potato. Cook until you get the thickness you want. Add more water if needed.
3. Mash the sweet potato. Leave it cool for a while and serve warm.





Ingredients: 
1 tbsp of white rice, rinsed
1 tbsp of millet, rinsed
5 pieces of soft lean pork (you can substitute it with another type of red meat or white meat)
spinach, chopped
200ml hot boiling water

Steps: 
1. Put all the ingredients into a small slow cooker, except the spinach and meat.
2. Add the meat when the porridge starts boiling.
3. 15 minutes before the porridge is ready, add spinach. Stir to mix up all the ingredients. Continue the cooking.
4. Off the power and leave it cool for a while.
5. You can either remove the meat from the porridge before feeding, or retain 1 or 2 pieces of the meat and puree the porridge before feeding.




Ingredients:
2tbsp of organic hulled millet
20gm organic pumpkin flesh
2 cups of water or more (I top up additional water when the water reduce throughout the cooking)

Steps: 
1. Bring water to boil in a saucepan.
2. Add pumpkin and millet. Bring to a boil.
3. Leave it simmers under medium flame. Top up additional water if needed.
4. The porridge will be ready after cooking for about 40 minutes.
5. Leave it cool a bit before feeding baby.

Optional:
Blend the porridge into smooth puree.