My baby, who looked like an angel, was a demon when it came to the breast. As a nursing newbie in the early days of first-time motherhood, I was constantly stressed, worried, and in pain. He wanted to latch on constantly. He fell asleep on the breast and screamed when I tried to get him off so that I could empty my aching bladder.
My nipples felt like they were participating in an S&M showdown and losing every bout. My little one wanted to be attached to the breast all the time and developed superglue gums that would clamp down hard if he suspected that my body was about to achieve lift off. I calculated once that he was koala-ed for twenty out of 24 hours in a day (yes, he slept on me day and night, mouth closed over one nipple).
He loved breastfeeding, I was starting to hate it. Thank goodness for all these breastfeeding hotlines and lactation consultants. I called at least one a day to whinge, but their advice and knowing that there was someone out there who actually understood what I was going through helped – really helped.
My darling ended up breastfeeding exclusively for two and a half years, self-weaning when I was five months pregnant with number two. So if you’re feeling stuck in a nursing rut, don’t give up. Get help from one of the lovely people listed below, keep calm, and keep latching.
Breastfeeding Mothers’ Support Group (Singapore)
Counselling Hotline: 6339 3558
Talks’ Line: 6337 0508
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.breastfeeding.org.sg
KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital
Ask-A-Nurse: 1900-556 8773 (8am – 12 midnight)
Lactation Clinic: 6293 4044 (office hours)
Joyful Parenting and Breastfeeding (by the Family Life Society)
Helpline: 6488 0286 (Mon – Sat, 10am – 5pm)
Website: http://www.familylife.sg/counselling-care/joyful-parenting/
Hospital Lactation Consultant Services
(By appointment only. Charges may apply)
National University Hospital: 9722 0376
Singapore General Hospital: 6321 4530/31
Mt Elizabeth Hospital: 6731 2180/82
Mt Alvernia Hospital: 6347 6641/9839 9477
Gleneagles Hospital: 6470 5852
Thomson Medical Centre: 6251 4090/4043 or 9159 3264
Raffles Hospital: 6311 1516
Private Lactation Consultants in Singapore
(By appointment only. Charges may apply)
Doris Fok
Tel 9638 7660 (8.30am – 5.30pm, Mon-Sat)
Betty Lee
Tel 9833 0170
Christina Kwek
9367 9293
KW Chew
9815 8283
Websites
Breastfeeding Inc. The World’s Breastfeeding Resource
Helmed by Dr Jack Newman and lactation consultant Edith Kenerman (directors of the nternational Breastfeeding Centre in Canada), this site has an amazing compilation of articles on breastfeeding.
Kellymom Breastfeeding and Parenting
Managed by Kelly Bonyata, an international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC), this excellent site also provides links to other useful breastfeeding resources.
Breastfeeding.com – Everything For The New Mom
Lots of substance, with entertaining quotes from celebrities, and breastfeeding stories.
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[…] ++ Ready to raise the white flag? Don’t give up yet! Find out where you can get help with breastfeeding at http://singaporemotherhood.com/articles/2011/08/breastfeeding-help-in-singapore/ […]
My Baby girl, Cazelyn is 8 week old now (born 15 July 2011). I did not breastfeed exclusively still as my nipples start to sore n bleed from day 2 of her age and then I have a Confinement Lady (who is employed to take care of me and my baby for 1 month) who is not very encouraging on breastfeeding. Plus my milk flow is so little, everyone seem to keep saying baby do not have enough which I believe so too. My sore nipple recover after 3rd weeks and I am able to do direct latching more comfortably.
My milk is so lown my breasts always feel soft, with occassional little lumps n slightly fuller in some mornings only. I can only express like 50-90 ml in morning and just before I sleep at night. I have to keep squeezing my breasts with alternating hands inorder to force the milk out. My Medela Electric pump is not able to extract out my milk on its own. I have been supplementing my BB w formula ever since birth cos BB can’t even sleep deeply for more then 1 hour in the day as she not full from my breast milk. I have to latch my BB for 45 mins – 1 hour each time and this is very tiring. So normally, we will give her formula milk 90 ml at night to make her sleep deeply till morning, when we bring her out (since I cant keep doing latching and cant do my personal things) and sometimes at home when I feel tire from the hourly feeding. Sometime she will drink till she keep fidgeting and pull at my nipples.
I have tried Malunggay Pills, GNC Fenugreek pills ($29.90), Fenugreek Tea ($4.50), Motilium (Domper prescribed Pills) ($40), Jamu Pill (Malay herbal pills) ($8), Chinese prescribed herbal pills (increase blood supply) ($70), Sea Cucumber pills ($43), Malunggaay Tea. The last 3 pills when taken together /consecutively seem to be able to increase my supply a bit but only in the morning when my breasts become slightly fuller. The max I can yield at one time only is 100ml which is only enough for Baby one feed!! (That’s because i give formula feed to bb for the previous few sessions). My daily supplements includes multi-vitamins, Calcium, DHA, Folic Acid and alternate days for Iron and Anti-constipation pills
I have also eaten raw green papaya fish soup, sesame oil chicken, Red Dates Logan Tea during my confinement period which many local mummies tried and said is useful but also failed for me. I have tried hot towel compression, massage (I am not sure if my massage method is correct since I can goggle out any online videos to see)) and nothing seem to make my breasts produce more milk. I got drink lots of water every day (approx 2-3 litres). I might have some stress cause of the milk supply issue and taking care of baby issues. Baby Cazelyn starts to co-sleep with me after her 1 mth of birth but she don’t wakes up in middle of night since we either give her a 90ml to make her sleep better or she is so tire from the lack of sleep during the day that she can sleep through the night till 7am or 10am without waking. In the day she become so lightly sleep that once we put her down on the cot to sleep, she will wake up after 5 min and start crying for us to carry and sooth/latch her to sleep. I am not sure if her sucking method is correct (Open-Pause) as she seem to be sucking very fast desperate to draw milk out from me. At night my nipples become her pacifier to let her suck till she fall asleep, normally in 10mins.
I have seen my friends who just given birth can have so much milk without doing any of the above or having special diet. Yesterday I even helped my cousin whose baby is only 3 day old to pump out her milk as she is painfully engorged and is able to express out 270ml in one session in 15mins!!! Really wonder what’s wrong with my body structure?? Do I have little milk ducts for production or how can I create/open more ducts? I have already spent a lot of money on the pills enough to buy at least 3 tins of formula milk but I still persist to find solution to my low milk supply problem as I really love to breastfeed my baby. Really love the bonding we have together when she is latched on. I don’t know if I should buy the Sacred Tea to try. I am getting worry as I would need to go back to work soon in another 4 weeks. Please advise what I can do urgently or who really can give me a answer to my problem?
~~ I have called Breastfeeding Mother Support Group, Joyful Parenting and Breastfeeding , Gleneagles Hosp for advise but none give me valuable advise. Please drop me a reply to my email address too. Thanks alot.
Desperate Mother
Hi Desperate Mother,
Kudos to you for trying your best to give your baby girl breast milk. Are you planning to wean baby Cazelyn off formula milk and feed her only breast milk? Or will you continue with mixed feeding? If you intend to give baby breast milk only you will have to stop all formula feeds and latch her on whenever she wants to feed, even if it takes a long time. You could read a book or watch TV while she is nursing, to help make the time pass more pleasantly.
One of the golden rules of breastfeeding is that supply equals demand. The more baby wants, and you give, the more your body gets the message that milk is needed, and increases production of it. Soft breasts does not mean that there is no milk. Please see http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html#supply for a more in-depth explanation on how to increase low milk supply. Have you seen a lactation consultant?
Hi desperate mother, I’m also a July baby’s mom with very similar problem as you. I tried taking fenugreek and domperidone, a drug prescribed by my gynae, but it did not work. KKH lactation consultant advise to do breast massage, I also did not feel it helped. Now I am now taking DOM wine which helps to increase my milk supply (boil it for awhile to evaporate the alcohol). Also I express milk to feed in the day and limit latching to any twice a day since it is inefficient for me to breastfeed directly. Hope this helps.
[…] Breastfeed Seriously, breast milk is the best and most perfect food for Baby. It’s free, easily portable, least likely to cause allergic reactions, readily available at the right temperature, and contains all immunity-boosting elements that help Baby fight infections. Tip: Breastfeeding is a natural process. However, it may not come naturally to all. If you are a first-time mother, breastfeeding can be painful and difficult in the beginning. Get help. Call the hospital that you gave birth in and ask for help. Meet up with a lactation consultant. Call a breastfeeding hotline. You can find some numbers here. […]
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