Breastfeeding Support Group

Hi Dili Mummy,
So nice your company allows you to ebm 1-2times every day. How long you pump during each session?

Think her new company might not have any room to ebm. Ever since she change her pumping time to 2times a day, her supply dropped. And Gynae told her it's normal. She used to pump abt 2litre every day (every 3hrly).
 


Hi, anyone can advise whether is there any type of food/fruits that need to refrain from taking during bf.

TIA.
 
toony, there is really no taboo foods unless it causes discomfort for yourself and baby. eg, my bb used to get bad wind if i take too much broccoli, esp the stems or cabbage... he esp suffered when i ate very spicy indian food (only indian becos i think it's the spices like cardommom or something, i dont' know what) or coconut-y dishes. you'll have to experiment to find out.
 
Hi experienced mummies, I need some help!

I am a SAHM and am TBF my daughter who is coming to 5 months. For the past 2 weeks, she doesn't seem to be feeding much at all. I would latch her on every 3 hours and she will fuss in about 1 to 3 mintues, so I would switch her to the other breast and again, she fusses in a few minutes. In total, she usually only takes less than 10 minutes to feed! And at the end, she will scream, not sure if it's coz she's still hungry or coz I kept holding her to my breast and wun let go. She is still peeing ok and have 5 to 6 wet diapers a day.

Am getting worried now as I dun feel the fullness in my breast anymore and concerned that I may lose my milk! Any advice please? Thanks!
 
hi sharon,

i m a new mummy too so not experienced at all to advise u on anything.

but just to share, could it be that it's time to start ur girl on semi-solids? i read somewhere that this is a common prob for bbs 6 mths up though..
 
I thought about starting her on solids too, but then I wanted to wait till 6 months coz both my husband and myself have food allergies and we are worried starting her early on solids will cause the allergy problems. Also, am concerned that starting her on solids will cause her to drink even less milk!
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Hi Sharon,

I am not exactly an experienced mummy either since my gal's only 1 year old. Just to share my thoughts.
As our babies get older and more "experienced" at latching on, they don't need to stay at our breasts for so long. I used to share this same fear as you have that my gal's not getting enough milk. I think as long as she's peeing and poo-ing as per normal, she has gained weight, it should be fine.

With regards to the fullness feeling in breasts, I think that as our breasts get acustomed, the fullness won't be there anymore.
 
mummies
wonder if anyone of u can help. my baby is on nursing strike. he is 4 mths now and still on TBFG. as i am wkg, he stays over at my mum's plc during wkdays and i will go over to visit him daily as well as to latch on. 3 wks back, he oso went on a strike but was "cured" subsequently. yesterday it returned wif vengence again. i am so so upset.
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he was v v hungry coz aft fussing for not wanting 2 latch, he drank the EBM up in 5 mins. its a +ve sign of strike. any tips? i noe hv to b patient and guide him again.
 
hi jRt

i think he mayb too hungry, so wat u could do is to give him lesser EBM but more frequency. meaning get your mom to feed him like 2 hrs (assuming he is on 3-4hrs interval now) before u are ready to latch on but half of the EBM, so he is not so hungry when u come back. and when he is ready for his next feed, you are there to latch him on for the next feed.

also, mayb he can feel your frustration and tiredness assuming that you had just started work like a month. and he is adjusting to this new feeding schedule as well.

good luck!
 
win_ng
his intervals erratic one. can b 2 hrs or 3 hrs depending on how much his last feed consumed.

this boy ah, i tried feeding him EBM and halfway latch him, he can detect and he dun wan!!!
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i am back for a mth liao, and its his 2nd strike in 1 mth. dunno wat to do wif him. hope it improves faster.
 
Hi all bf mommies,

you are all great mommies by giving your babies the best milk
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Juz my views as a nursing mommy for 2 kids:

As long as your baby still wet and dirty her diapers, she is drinking well. I've learnt that timing (i.e. nursing 20 mins on each breast) is just a guide. Every baby is different. My 1st baby can latch on for 20 mins before feeling satisfied but my 2nd one only latches for 5 mins at most! Both still cries for milk every 2 or 3 hours. Hence, it doesn't matter how long she latches on. As long as they are drinking, they are doing well
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Hi tare1919,
you can get those 'fridge on the go' or cooler bags. I know MIM has it. You can check out their website. The concept is simple: put the bag into the fridge and leave it overnight, take it out and use it the next day. It can keep your milk chilled for up to 12 hours. Medela PIS comes with a bag like that too..

As far as i know, ginger is fine, but how old is your baby. Ginger might cause the baby to turn a bit yellowish in pigmentation, so might scare you that he/she is having jaundice...
 
tara - wow that is really early research!

MIM = moms in mind, u can check their website. u could wait for the motherhood exhibition happening in may-july (i forget when) and go look at what's for offer, before investing in anything

as for expressing milk while in the office, and bringing it home, it depends
1) if u are feeding the EBM in 24hrs after expressing to the baby, then the normal compartment in the fridge is ok

2) if u are feeding EBM after 24hrs after expressing, then its better to freeze it first. to thaw the milk, u just need to bring it down to the normal compartment to "thaw", i will shake the milk a little to mix the fats as while in the freezer, the components will separate by sections where the fats actually floats etc... then u warm the EBM before feeding baby. i actually try to feed baby EBM within 24hrs if its in the normal compartment

for me ginger helps - as my boy had colic or mayb its just wind in his tummy before, and when i eat ginger, and bf him, he actually expel more air and feels a lot better! what your mom say are actually food for confinement, it helps to expel air from your body, as for alcohol, its up to u if u are bf, coz some pple believe that the alcohol content evaporate after cooking for a while. for me, i avoid feeding the baby or expressing it within 4-6hrs after drinking. so i will drink immediately after i had fed or expressed.
 
hi

I have some questions abt breastfeeding:

1. Did anyone try to express BM straight after feeding? How much can we express out?

2. How do we differentiate between foremilk and hindmilk? Is there any color difference?

3. If we feed the baby with FM as supplement, what color will be her poo poo?
 
hi

my 2 cents worth:

1. Did anyone try to express BM straight after feeding? How much can we express out?

i tried - its like almost nil or really little. what you could try is tandemn - pump one side, while feeding the other side.

2. How do we differentiate between foremilk and hindmilk? Is there any color difference?

hindmilk is thicker and more yellow, and usually come in after foremilk (but it also depend on your diet). that is why books and websites recommend feeding up to 15/ 20 min per side. i was lazy, i let my terrorist feed on one side only, then the next time he ask for milk, its the other side, coz - he was drinkinly almost every 90min in his first 3 months!

3. If we feed the baby with FM as supplement, what color will be her poo poo?

i think it depend on the FM. i knew NAN will result in green poo. not sure about the others. as long as they are pooing and weeing consistently, there should be no concern...
 
my tots are it maybe too soon to make any judgement or decision. having a game plan is ok, but sometimes things are likely to change. i had never plan to bf my baby but i end up totally bfing him for 8 mths.

if milk is in the fridge - u need to warm it to feed the babe. milk left outside has to be consumed within 2hrs (that is my gauge), but u should go to the different websites for more reading on this, before making any decision.

colic? check the website out. http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/health/colic/

good to do some read-ups etc first lor. gather all your questions and if u do attend pre-natal classes, you could get all these questions will be answered!
 
hi ladies,
am trying to find out more about breastfeeding...am planning to total BF once bb arrives in august, but i have a few concerns...when i've spoken to potential confinement ladies, they all want me to give bottles via EBM or to at least have bottles at hand for water...but i've read that BF provides everything already, so the newborn doesn't even need water!

i really want to get a good and supportive CL that's not going to pressure me and make me feel like a bad mother if my boy is yelling his head off cuz milk supply is still being established..what can i do to make sure the CL i get is alrite?
 
lilyn,

i have been tbf ds til recently my supply dips to super low =(

For your research part, u r right abt everything bb needs is in ebm. However, if bb suffers from breast milk jandice, u may haf to make plan to intro water, forumla etc...

Y muz CL bottle feed bb with bottle, if u do intead to TBF, u will haf to put off bottle feeding til bb is at least 1mth old, as to not to have "nipple confusion"

how abt geting mil or your mum to help out, the CL may create hell for u =(

In the meanwhile... rest well, dun worry too much =)
 
hi,

can I check with u all? does anyone's baby always like to pull nipple when frustrated? anyone experiencing sore aroela?
 
my first two always pulled. maybe cos I have partially inverted nipples? but we could never latch on properly and I always (yes always) ended up with sore nipples.

On my third, I bought a Medela Pump-In-Style from US (then it wasn't available here) and bottle fed EBM all the way.
 
lilyn
in fact you have to pump out and feed via bottle unless ur latching on is fine and don develop sore nipples. in fact i latch on my bb for a week fully until i give up when i had sore nipples. but that did not stop me from feeding total breastmilk. i pump out and as supply is low, i had to pump v v freq and hunching to collect precious drops. soo tiring. but v v worthwhile.

from second month onwards, i try to latch bb on again and there is no nipple confusion. always good to let bb try both and importantly must persist.

my CL always say aiya not enough bb is hungry and even bought a small tin of formula which made me hoping mad. but my determination to bf totally made me pump more and to make sure i have surplus from each feed to collect a reserve. so finally the tin of formula i thrown away after one feed only.

so very impt must get a good pump and dont save by buying the manual ones, too tiring already. get either PIS or Ameda or Avent isis and nothing else. these are heavy duty pumps and investment is definitely worthwhile. consider the $ u buy formula and within 6 mths you will breakeven lo, not mentioning health benefits for u and baby.

also get yourself the handsfree & super shields from pumpin pal. you can get it from www.mumsfairy.com. very useful for multi tasking & i realied heavily on this after i go back to work.
 
hi all
can i check if its ok for me to feed EBM & FM at same time.
coz my supply is pretty low so i can only express out at on avg 30-60ml per session. so i at times feed my boy with 60ml EBM then top up with 40ml FM. will it cause stomach upset in BB?

btw, when will my milk supply increase? i juz bot PIS and so discouraged that my output is so low for past 3weeks. will increased pumping session helps? currently i am pumping at 3-4hr interval
 
Gitz,

i am having similar problem as u. But i am worst. I express out < 25ml every session. for past 2 weeks i express out 6-7 times a day but it doesnt seem to increase supply leh. My bb is 7 weeks old alrdy. I heard must express 8 times a day to stimulate milk production - too bad i only know about this 2 weeks ago
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I will consolidate EBM till it is 90-100ml then feed my BB. thus i din mix BM and FM. Imagine how many sessions of EBM I must combine to top up to 90 and 100ml!

I heard PIS is good. mine is just Medela Mini electric, i guess not good to stimulate milk production or simulate bb's suckle. but don think i want to invest in another pump alrdy
 
hi stumbled

when u mentioned that u only express out <25ml per session is before or after direct latching? i oso have supply problem too. currently partial BF cos low supply. supplementing with FM.
 
hi

just to share my thoughts and bf experience... it was a lumpy ride esp in the first 2 months of establishing the supply and stressing over this.

do not get stressed out over small amt of expressing, as this does not equate u not having enough milk. as many mommies will have told u that while direct latching can feed their babies well, they could not express anything out! and this often result in mummies giving up bfing... remember the pump is not your baby, no matter wat the marketing material says.

and the body is literally confused! first was direct latching and then pumping etc... so its literally trying to adjust the demand etc.

if u want to express your milk, try expressing it either often but short periods, eg, every 1 or 2 hrs for 15min, or every 4hrs for half an hour. when i was trying to do it during my first 3 months, i will bf thru the day and only express at night or in between of direct latching. and i try to coincide with the baby's feeding time.

good luck ladies!
 
Hi win ng
Sometimes i express and sometimes i let bb latch on in btw expressing. Is this correct? Or i shd only stick to one to avoid confusion to the body?
 
Hi all,

Just wondering if it is normal for a TBF baby to have loose stools up to 6 times a day? Or is the BB suffering from diahorrea? Thanks
 
haystack,

no...no direct latch on before that. pure pumping. so u can see how pathetic is mine..

dear all,

do u know the medicine to stop breastmilk, will it cause breast to shrink ? although my milk supply is pathetically low, i always have block ducts and fever . its not mengstis (spell?) cos gynea taught me to 'identify the symptoms'. frustrated that i get block ducts and fever every few weeks
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stumbled
you mean your BB can be on total EBM everyday even with that output?
I can only give 2 bottle of EBM a day for my girl with my output of avg 30ml per pump session.

So sad. a part of me really wanna give up pumping since output so low and wonder if its worth spending my time pumping.. might as well give him total FM

however, a part of me very 'bu gan yan' coz its not that i hv no milk but i still can't apprehend why mine is so low at every session.

i did all i can by: massage, drink fluids, take Fenugeek etc.. u name it, i hv done it yet to no avail.

anyway, i gonna pump for 3 months and if supply still pathethic, i'm not gonna pump when i go back work liao
 
gitz

of cos my bb cant be TBF for that pathetic output. she can only take one bottle of EBM a day, although I pump 5-7 times a day.

but its all history now. i have ended my pumping career. like what u said, output so little and time spent not worth it. Plus I keep getting block ducts and fever. So for the 3rd time I got it since delivery, I ended pumping/BF. I cried when I made that decision. Cos fever/block ducts/plus ever increasing lumps/ducts that are hard to clear really made me frustrated.

i also did all i can. but i din spend money on Fenugeek or other medicine. But i drank papaya fish soup, massage diligently yet keep getting block ducts. I guess pumping is really no good to empty breast; thats why got block ducts. i also thought of pumping for at least 2 months..but now with this bout of fever..I ended.

Hope u can continue cos your output is still more than mine and u can give at least 2 bottles a day! Plus the fact if u dont have fever/block ducts like me u shd continue.
 
stumbled, gitz

last time i oso only able to pump <30ml only. but now slightly better. i can pump ard 50-60ml per session. it's very tiring cos i pump 3 hourly. now i can avg give my baby ard 3-4 times of EBM of 100ml each. now my baby 2 mth old. btw, how much does ur baby drink ard 2 mth old?
 
hi ladies...
Just stumbled on this thread...So nice to know there is a breastfeeding support group here.

am a bfg mummy too...

agree with win_ng...expressing quite different from latching. machine can never actually duplicate the real thing lah.

in the first few months, it;ll be good not to rely on ebm. coz supply just being established...just latch on and latch on and latch on...

ive read about a very good way to increase ss...needs some commitment but i think its guaranteed to work. they call it 'supply vacation'. over the weekends, or long weekend. sit back and not do anything..leave the housework and other errands to others. stay in bed with bb and latch on on-demand. have a good book to read and keep the tv on. prepare your food before hand...two days into this, n your ss is bound to shoot up.

haystack,
u are lucky...my bb now at 6.5 mths refused to take bottle much.he was ok with bottles until 3 mths...so sad...now when i return home from work, he;ll cluster feed...feed and feed...
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haystack

good that u manage to increase ss. Like what eat_CY_eat says, nothing beats latch on. Machine (ie pump) cannot replace. Anyway, its all history now for me..

My bb also close to 2 months. She drinks (FM) 100ml. about 7 feeds a day. 3 hourly for daytime. Night time she sleeps more, sometimes can sleep 7-6 hours straight without waking up. I like it this way!

I guess for BM its different. cant last 3 hrs. Last time when i used to give once or twice EBM a day she maybe able to last 3 hour, or sometimes 2 hours plus
 
hi mummies,
any idea if while BF..are u able to get breast cancer? i m quite paranoid now...got this lump on my right breast that refuse to go away..been there abt 1 wk or so..pump or latch its still there..stimes felt abit soften but stimes can be pretty obvious ..its a bit sore pain esp when i sleep on my side..i hope its a milk duct blocked n not the dreaded one.. i m thinking if the lump still there i might wanna go for a mammogram , m i too gan cheong??
 
actually i beg to differ. BM changes its content when baby grow up, my boy who used to feed for half an hour for every 1.5 hours for the first 3 months, can last up to 3 hours on either BM or FM after. in the end i can even made up to excess supply even after i go back to work.

for the first 3 months, my baby can drink for half an hour, take another 40min to blurp him, and let him rest for just 10 min, before he wakes up and ask for more! i was sitting in front of the tv with milk and bread besides me from 7am-7pm daily during my maternity leave, till my hb comes home. then i could take a little break by giving him ebm or fm for the next 12 hrs!

sometimes i feel BM digested better, and baby can rest better.

stumbled by - i feel that your baby is drinking more in the day, because she is trying to regulate her body so that she has enough nutrients in the day, and would not wake up at night. u could tried using EBM or BM, its will have the same effect
 
pax
i didnt watch yday match cos didnt know till hubby's alarm sounded at 3+ ..i ask sleepily..got match meh? he replied yaya..n went back to zz haha. then later i saw him woke abt 5 mins on the tv to check the score n went back to zz
 
Hi belle,
Should check with the doc. Could be a blocked duct? i rem my friend used to have it, went to lactation consultant, massage lik crazy before it dissolves...but still, check with doc better...
 
haystack / stumbled
my boy at 7wk oredi taking 120ml @ 2hr interval. big eater hor..

now output still avg 30-40ml.. wonder when can i see result??

i felt my whole time dedicated to pumping. recently hubby ask me to watch movies & dinner with frens but i decline, coz i don't wanna be away from home for too long then i can't pump. Sigh.. i missing out on so many things.. no personal time oredi
 
hi win ng & eat_cy

tks, yeah i guess i hv to go to the LC or doc to clear my doubts..oops noticed i posted a wrong msg in this thread apologies!
 
lynnda,

dont lose heart, 7week still has good chance to increase your bm supply.

my first girl that time i took 1hour manual pump only collected 10ml...caused i had a bad start on pumping and afterwhich all went wrong...
it took me real long to increase from 10ml to 30ml..so be persistent and u will see the result.

in fact, to get good supply, we need to do some planning and preparation. i had done some homework for my 2nd pregnancy, and am glad to have good supply to feed both kids..

u are not alone caused bf moms need to be delicated to their 'job', but the rewards is so much greater in satisfaction then going out with friends..

hehe...recent just managed to 'enjoy' my life after 4years of 'confinement' (pregnancy + breastfeeding)..
 
Hi Lee Yan,
Wow, 4 years!!! amazing. Did you tandem nurse at any point?

I agree with you that the reward is so much greater. Ive only been bfg for 7mths. I intend to go on till my lil boy weans himself. Now even in the evening, i cant go out with my friends as much as i would like since i nurse him to zzzz...he wouldnt go to bed otherwise. but to see his drunken look everytime after nursing. or his milky smile everytime...it sure is worth it... gambatei mummies...jia you!!!!
 
hi lilboymum..

my girl self-wean at 13mths, maybe she could sense the difference in my bm due to my 2nd pregnancy...i didnt managed to tandem nurse caused i had very bad day/night sickness, end up kept throwing out whatever i had eaten..dehydrated and need to put on drip..i felt so guilty towards my girl that time...no more milk..no more focus attention caused i was like a sick cat...sigh..

that was why i so determined to have a good start on my 2nd breastfeeding, plan ahead what i should do on day 1 ...day 2..etc, even dreamt of bm flowing like river caused first time did not have good supply due to inexperience, get wrong pump, wisdom tooth swell went for op...sigh....

After my boy's was born, i stick to my plan accordingly and supply build up, thus managed to supply to 2kids. coincidentally, my boy self wean at 13mths oso...so i continued to pump milk for them till recent Mar stop production..
 
lee yan
wats the homework you hv done? can share with me? so in the end wats your output & after how many months?
 
lynnda,

i have kept reading some breastfeeding information to broaden my knowledge...and thus work out a plan on pumping.

when i admitted to KKH for delivery, my plan was to bring along my pump so as to pump once feel engorgement, caused engorgement may lead to block ducts. I encountered engorgement during 1st pregnancy and need great effort to clear..

But hor...i forgotten to bring along..and the 2nd day when engorged in the middle of the night, i asked the nurse for the pump and she said doesnt have!!! no choice..went home on the next day to pump but too late, need me 3 days to totally clear the lumps...

basically i will be back to work on the 3rd month, and to avoid nipple confusion and milk strike which i encountered before with my girl...

i decided to just latch on in the very early morning and last feed + midnight. the rest i will pump out and store for my boy and girl.

i strictly follow my plan, and pump 4hrly in the day caused if i went back to work, i need to have at least this interval for conveniency. My pump timing 7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm.

but to speed up my pumping and milk supply, and not to tire myself caused i was using avent manual pump...i decided to buy medela PIS though expensive but it really worth it.

All along, in between, i made lots of adjustment on the planning...

In about 3mths, I could pump max total 300ml per session, in all 4 sessions about 1.2litres per day, exclude latch on. in average 240ml per session...so was enough for my 2 kids.
 
Wah Lee Yan
That is A LOT of milk!!!wish i could have that much *envy envy*

Hey all, some fun facts to share. from kellymom, so some of you might ahve seen this...

Did you know....

1.Human milk has over 300 ingredients, including interferon, white blood cells, antibacterial and antiviral agents, while formula has only 40 ingredients.

2.Human milk has been shown to kill cancer cells in a laboratory dish and has been used in oncology.

3. The human breast "custom-makes" antibodies to fight whatever pathogen the infant is exposed to in the environment.

4. Breast milk has been used to treat eye infections, ear infections, pimples, cold sores, and nail fungus and prevent infection in scrapes and scratches.

5. In some parts of the world, donated organs are bathed in breast milk for the protective factors.

6. There were 22 "significant" recalls of formula for potentially life-threatening situations.

7. Human milk lactoferrin is patented for use in killing E. Coli in the meat packing industry.

8. Donor milk is being used to treat malabsorption and short-gut syndromes, renal failure, inborn errors of metabolism, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, immunodeficiency diseases, burn cases, cardiac problems, and infectious diseases such as intractable diarrhea, gastroenteritis, infantile botulism, sepsis, pneumonia, and hemorrhagic conjuctivitis in both children and adults.

9. Adoptive moms, grandmothers, and yes, even men (!) have been able to lactate for an infant.
 
lilboymum,

hmmm...in fact compared to my other gfs, the amount still not as much as them but i was already happy till over my head caused of my first time failure in getting so much and only able to partial feed my girl.

2nd time i made sure die die i need to have more then the first, and also make sure no mistake allowed! that was why maybe think too much till kept dreaming milk flow like river.

but is really feel self pride when u see those bottle of milk collected. my first pregnancy my mum said wow...so little...but my 2nd time, my dh said wow...so much....hehehe...damn shioK!
 
Lee Yan
Hahaha..sorry, was laffing at your dreams of rivers of milk.yes, i understand how it is especially when ss hits a rut.when ss was good, you start thinking of all the wonderful things you can do with your milk.

how old is your older toddler? did you do anything fanciful when you give her the extra milk? ive heard of mothers giving it with cornflakes and even milo shake!!!

btw, are you with BMSG or LLL?
 


lilboymum,

my girl is 3yrs3mths now, i didnt mix with any caused i have my own thought that that mixing with others may diminish the nutrient. so i gave her solely my ebm...at times she would say yummy yummy, at times said not nice
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caused maybe the food i took affected the smell lor...

hehe...i am not from either one of them. u are not the first to ask me this question...i am from GSTBFM - Give Support To Breastfeeding Moms wahaha...
 

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