(2009/04) April 2009 MTBs

[crystalline17]

Pei,
I use Ameda dual pump with the Pumpin Pal handsfree kit, so I can still massage the engorged breast(s) while pumping. Read that there are mummies who use nursing bras to stay handsfree during pumping, maybe you wanna try it too? Usually I pump for average of half an hour, but takes a while longer if breasts are engorged. I am very sian and sick of pumping and BF too, I flared up couple of times at my hubby cos we went out for so many hours till my breasts were so engorged and painful that I was so pek chek! It's like I wanna rush home not mainly to see my baby, but to clear my breasts! The feeling is so sianz... But I just keep telling myself, since I am on maternity leave now, and to build up the immunity level of my girl, I just hang in there, suffer for a few months, and hopefully I can give her what I can for her own health and immune system.

Plus I have a mission to fill up my chest freezer so that I can stop BF when I go back to work but bb can drink till at least 6 mths. Since gonna be so busy working already, I rather spend my free time in school clearing my markings and spending time with my baby when I am back home, rather than spending a couple of hours per day pumping.

cocobunz,
Yeah agree that the heating part is troublesome! I bring a small plastic bowl, and a thermal flask of hot water. As for the EBM, I put in glass bottles from the hospital with the ice pack in the Avent thermal bag. Plus there are milk bottles to bring along! During the heating up process, need to change the hot water once when the heat is lost.

Anyway, from real life examples, I feel that it's not definite that only BM is the best for bb. Me and my younger bro (2 yrs younger) were on BM from my late mum for months. My youngest bro (8 yrs younger) was never breast fed and he was straight away on FM. But, my youngest bro hardly fell sick, at most like 1-2x per year, yet me and my younger bro fell sick more often than he did when we were younger! Now he is the most outstanding of us, an airforce pilot on a scholarship. So that rationalises FM is not always worse off than BM. As long as the bb gets sufficient nutrients, and we let our babies grow up in the best environment possible, I guess that's the best we as parents can do.

 

[tingting]

cocobunz, i think it's bcos of work stress, cos i was going to a new dept then, so new job n new bosses.

 

[lemon_tea]

hmm, totally forgot that we have to warm it up before feeding!! By the way, if we bring EBM out in cooler bag and don't use it, can we still pop them back into the fridge when we get home?

tingting,

You are right, I shouldn't feel burdened by her, otherwise, unhappy mom = unhappy baby. Will continue to BF and see how things go.

cocbunz,

According to other moms, whether you can succeed at expressing at work depends on the kind of job you have got (eg do you need to attend lots of meetings), whether you have a room when you can pump peacefully and whether your company is pro-family. You work in a bank right? Normally big companies should have more mom-friendly facilities (eg nursing room, and special fridge just for storing EMB) so that should make pumping easier and less stressful. Hope everything will work out fine for you at work!

 

[crystalline17]

Yesterday, brought my bb girl out for the whole afternoon till night. She had her feed at 4pm, a full feed somemore. So hubby and I were on the way to Ikea Tampines at around 6pm, thinking it would be just nice to feed her when we reached Ikea. Who knows, she started screaming her lungs out and started scratching me with her nails (ouch!), hubby had to stop by the roadside, warmed up the milk and fed her in the car! Haha... really horrible! I wanted to latch her, but nothing to cover leh, very obscene if passing motorists happened to peek into the car! =p

 

[cocobunz]

happylittlewoman,
i always pump for 10-15 mins . only lately when my fren came visit me and saw me pumping say i din empty my breast totally ...still have milk cos my breast not soft hehe...i tot soft ordi and i'm lazy to wait for 1/2 hr to pump.
i'm trying to stock up reserves too but only have excess to store 1 milk bag a day...sigh.
U have gd reserves? muz be la..if not y have a chest freezer

tingting, oh same as audrey, she aso mention with her #1,work stress so can't maintain ss.ood

Pei, if have u good ice pack n cooler bag, can still pop it back into fridge and use within 24 hrs, however best consume asap. ya my coy's pretty pro family and have a good mummy's room with freezer.
U can express the milk and store/freeze, if u are gg out without bb (have some sanity time heehe), u can let ur caregiver give the EBM to bb.

 

[lemon_tea]

happylittlewoman,

I am using the same pump as you. Hmm, maybe I will give using the nursing bra suggestion a try. Have been collecting the leakage from the other breast while pumping and it can amount to 30ml, so quite a lot of wastage.

Hope you succeed on your mission soon!! For me, I don't intend to do that because I read that the composition of your milk changes as your baby grows so that what you pumped 1-2 months ago may not be nutritionally suitable for your baby 1-2 months later. So i choose to adopt the just-in-time method.

 

[tingting]

pei, u also collect leaks like me! hehe.. y waste leh, can accumulate and store up or feed! that's what i do, but for my #1 instead.

cocobunz, my experience that time was that i couldnt pump at work, but could pump at home. i also continued to latch on morning n night, so my #1 was considered partial bf after i returned to work.

 

[catong]

Sigh....Think I can't make it for the 26th June gathering, too...my sch have meeting on that day & I must go back!! So Stupid!

 

[crystalline17]

cocobunz,
usually I use my laptop, read a book or watch tv while I pump, so it's like pumping time = "me" time which I quite enjoy leh hehe. Yeah, think your fren is right, your breasts should be soft and "dangling" when all the milk is drained. I think we will get saggy breasts when we stop BF! Haha! Eh, my ss has been dropping a lot, cos I cannot stand the 4hourly pumping schedule, I only pump every 5-6hours interval. I store about 2-3 milkbags (180ml) each day. Freezer only half filled, definitely not as li4 hai4 as Kris! =p

Pei,
Wow... 30ml of wastage! Yeah think you should try ways to go handsfree, then you will be more relaxed.

Yeah, in fact I only started to bring out those frozen milk since 1 mth plus ago to clear the stocks, I find those frozen milk so thick, and remembered that these should still be colostrum. I have no choice cos my school has no nursing room and the toilets have either no electric sockets or the main door can't be locked, except this individual one which is frequently used by the teachers. Hence the hygiene level is really quite terrible. Don't think I can still pump when I go back to work, plus I wake up at 5.30am for work, with pumping, I think I need to wake up at 4plus in the morning! *faint*

 

[crystalline17]

Catherine,
Same here!!! Rin too right? My breaking of maternity leave is during these 2 weeks of June hols, so I need to go back on 26 June too! One whole day too... need to hide in the dirty toilet for my pumping! Luckily only one day!

 

[vulnerable]

hiaz.... all e issues on bf-ing...
actually totally agree w e part of heating up ebm... super mah fan n worst is u ran out of hot water!
so far only brought bb once out n e rest of time was a short while, which dun need to bring ebm out. just 1 feed enuf to tong till we reach home.
realized medela own coller bag isnt tat gd, hence used bk own coleman cooler bag to transport ebm here n thre..

Happylilwoman: my chest freezer gg to fill up soon, but still will cont to pump until ss goes off lo...

Pei: ive gt e pumping pal handsfree thing... if u want, i can sell to u at $15.
used only 1x n dun really like it...
prefer e freestyle own handsfree solution...
lmk if u r keen..

Gg bk to work, im intending to pump once before leaving e house, ie7am, den 12noon, den 5pm b4 gg bk home... hopefully it works out well...

 

[kidzskidz]

<font color="0000ff">Diapers...</font> I hv to upgrade B2 to M size Pampers oledi to eliminate the red marks on his thigh. Bt stl can't get rid of 3pks of S size Huggies Ultra...<sigh>

<font color="ff0000">This Wed's Gathering:</font> So Bakerzin hor? Okie, c u ladies there. 2mr I'm likely going back office again to clock x. I nd 24+hrs so I won't hv to go in and serve 1M notice (24 to add to my AL).

 

[catong]

I dun bring out ebm whenever I go out with baby...usually I would latch him out...cos I always stick to shopping centers with nursing rooms so so far so good...

 

[crystalline17]

Cia,
Wow you are great too!! I realise when I go out for too long periods during the weekends, my ss drops! Haiz... I think I gonna be guai and stay at home, esp when my hubby is overseas, hopefully can fill up in 2 mths time then I can retire already hehe. Now I think working office hours is good! Can still pump in the morning and lunch time, mornings are too early for me, and lunch timings are erratic! Anyway, I don't mind retiring, then hubby won't keep on saying I have the "milky" smell! Hehehe...

 

[catong]

Cos for my #1, he refused to latch on, so I was very miserable. Need to take care of him &amp; pump @ same time...but it gets easier as he grows up...

 

[jamgal]

Pei, went to kiddy palace and picked out the thinnest cushion material - from puku..i feel andrea is not comfortable enough lying on the stroller cos it's not soft enough..if weather super hot, then i will change to the cooling pink mat

 

[sjas]

hello...

wah a few of us are having BM ss prob.. me too

i started freezing EBM n was so happy abt it then.. ss drops

now only enough for bb feed 125ml. i wonder how long more can i go on with this .. sometimes feel like switching to FM .. continue with BM but instead of pumping start latching her back... wat shall i do?

 

[felicitybaby]

<font color="666600">Jam: the thomas train bottles did u see wat size n do they sell individually or in set?</font>

 

[chelsey_alyssa]

Hello Kitty! Mummies who love hello kitty can go Gmarket n see.. got alot nice n cute kitty stuffs at cheap price also.. i saw one hello kitty kids table..

 

[princesskris]

<font color="119911">leereiner,
the seeds are veri heavy, i dunno hw much stamps u will need, i tink if u send a SAE, it might b cheaper if u go buy at sheng siong. anyway u PM me if u wan my address to send the SAE k.

cia,
if dun stop i veri bo eng leh, i will try to drag to 8hrs n c hw, if not too destructive, den mayb i will cont for a mth more.

marie, pei,
the octopus is reli cool, it came wif a little tag dat teaches hw to press the legs so it can play twinkle, twinkle little star, etc. veri interesting.</font>

 

[chelsey_alyssa]

ladies! go whr n choose e nickname in FB?

 

[chelsey_alyssa]

Marie: whrs e link u post? hmm.. i want to get toys for chelsey..so haf no toys..so poor thing..

 

[princesskris]

<font color="119911">owmum,
wed go US can go buy toys for chelsey. US got lots of kids store.</font>

 

[4evaluv]

Wa..the topic now is on BM ar..me the opposite..converted from exclusive pumping to total latching..but quite dif at first cos always engorged..cos my bb small eater only..so I was reducing the no. of pumps and timing..but the LC at TMC says that pumping should nt exceed 15 min per breast actually cos will result in sore nipples..I actually felt that I got more time when I switched to total latch on..cos dat time wif pump, had to pump every 4 hrs..den sterilize, wash bottles etc, plus feed bb and my bb screams when she's hungry..though her feeding times are usu predictable..there were a couple of times when she woke up earlier than expected and had to warm the milk..very stressed lei..nw i find so much easier..maybe oso cos she's a very fast drinker..she usu only takes 10 min.max 20 min..last time i used to pump b4 I go out and I will use those so that dun need to bring cooler bag but dat also means that I can only stay out not more than 4 hrs..now wif total latch on, can go out for hours..just go nursing room and feed her can le..

HLW &amp; Cat, I so suay..usu June go back 1 day wan rite but my sch dis year EV so gota go back one wk..my sch oso no nursing rm..I want to pump once but oso dunno where..haiz..tinking of going to my mum's place during lunch but gota ask for permission lor..cos my mum's place is super near my school..only 3min walk..else maybe every few hours go toilet and hand express..sians..reali dreading it..

 

[4evaluv]

oh ya, abt bf in car..can use nursing cover oso...my hb went to install curtains..haha..so dat i can bf in peace..

 

[4evaluv]

cocobunz: my bb loves e cot mobile too..will follow the dangling soft toys attached to it n b quiet..hee..so cute...she oso likes dis bouncing colourful caterpillar which makes some rattling sounds...oh ya, my bb likes watching bb tv oso..scv channel 37 but i try to limit e time though..

 

[felicitybaby]

<font color="666600">owmum: u gg on wed right...can go US n see.

leereiner: u are gg to the US outing right? y dun Kris pass to u there?</font>

 

[4evaluv]

Pei: i tink u shd do watever makes u happier..cos our mood will oso affect bb...FM is oso gd wat..i grew up drinking FM oso cos my mum was lazy 2 bf me(dats wat she told me)but we share a close bond n i'm ok oso ma

 

[catong]

Feeling so sian that I need to go back to work soon...#1 suddenly comes down with cough &amp; flu...hopefully, he recovers in no time...very poor thing! Keep coughing.

 

[lemon_tea]

sorry mommies, have an urgent question to ask. EBM when heated up can be left at room temperature for how long before it has to be discarded? My gal left 50ml in hers *faint* and I am trying to salvage it cos my MS is pathetic

 

[jamgal]

marie, i don't see the individual bottles on the shells. The side that i go to is all hello kitty baby stuff, then right at the bottom got just 1 box of thomas the train bottle set (baby bottle, water bottle, etc)...you know me lah, i am only fan of hello kitty leh, other i don't pay attention one.

Btw, i was at kiddy palace just now, saw ur marie the cat leh..it's when u enter the store, where they store rubber squarish mats one...i tink it's a mat too...

 

[jamgal]

paiseh, on the shelves i mean haha

 

[kgal]

Pei, PD told me 2 hrs once heated up..

 

[crystalline17]

Pei,
Max 2 hours for the heated BM to last in room temp, cannot reheat again hor...

 

[lemon_tea]

Cia,

What does the pumping pal handsfree thingy look like? Anywhere I can see it eg Mums &amp; Babes? I will think about it then let you know ok? What's your freestyle own handsfree solution?

 

[irene95337]

<font color="33efg"> Anyone want to look for a nanny? I have a friend willing to look after baby and she is staying at TPY. PM me if u are keen</font>

 

[lemon_tea]

KP, happylittlewoman,

Thanks for the info. Hmm, then got to throw away liao, unless I can convince my hb to drink!! kekeke...

 

[lemon_tea]

ow_mummy,

The link is here http://www.toysrus.com/history/index.jsp

 

[chocz]

hmm, reading the posts most mummies taking 12wks ML n are returning to work soon...so when do u guys start to lengthen the pumping interval? Coz i m taking 16wks ML n will b returning bck to wrk in beginning of Aug...so still considering whether I shld continue to pump when bck to wrk or shld I pump more diligently nw so that ss enuff for 6 mths..

 

[suiching]

chocz, I'm also taking 16wks ML, most likely will continue to pump in office, if possible, cos the BM nutrients is different from month to month.

 

[lemon_tea]

Rin,

Not that I think FM is not good lor, it's just that conventional wisom tells us to BF for as long as possible. It's so ingrained in me that I will feel guilty if I choose to give up BFg, unless no MS then no choice lor.

Wa, even if you leave the school compund for a short while still need to seek permission ah? Hmm, seems like all schools have no special rooms for moms to pump hor? Must be tough on you and all the other mopmmy teachers.

 

[chocz]

mousy_pig, so when r u returning to wrk? did u plan the pump interal when u bck @ wrk? I m still thinking...as wrk place no special room to pump. Hw abt urs?

 

[veronbb]

<font color="ff3399">pei, its normal to have the guilt feeling. even if naturally run outta milk ss, still will feel a tinge of guilt seeing other BM-fed babies haha.. like i stopped BF n i m alot more relaxed n can spend time with baby more rather than pumping, massaging, washing every 4hrly.. last time bad mastitis cant even carry her n now its really different for me. even hubby says can stay out whole day n FM v convenient..

its up to ur own comfort, if u're worried abt nutrition wise, alot of FM now chokeful of DHA, AA, SA, etc.. balanced diet for baby, like mamex even has immunofortis to strength baby's gut/immunity..

dun haf to worry abt the bonding/security aspects as u are the primary caretaker of ur girl so she'll still stick to u no matter what.. kiki

you just be relaxed n latch/pump to ur own comfort, if milk ss reduce a lil then use FM, if enuf then feed.. </font>

 

[preciouslove]

Bonbon... hehe.. i agree with you.. me also stopped BF lo.. i set my own comfort level and i do not get so stress and depressed when i am BF.. as my milk level v low.. i can only pump out 3-4oz in a day nia.. slowly i get depressed on why i cannot pump out more for bb.. then my hb also agree to let me stop BF.. hehe.. now i am a happier mummy!!! hehe

 

[lemon_tea]

bonbon,

Thanks for your kind words

I know you used to get very bad engorgement and mastitis.When I read your postings, I cringed at what you went through. So happy for you that you are now so relaxed and can spend quality time with Cait. Hee hee, I am not a very 'on' mother, unlike you lor. Ask me play and entertain bb, I really have no patience leh. I think my hb is better at doing that than me!

Will you be at the US gathering on Wed?? I still owe you money for the DVDs. My IB device has been playing hide and seek with me. If you are going on Wed, will give you the money then. If you aren't, I will transfer the money to you using another means. So sorry about the delay leh.

I know nowadays FM are full of added goodness. So it's not end of the world if I got to give formula. It's good that hb is very relaxed about whether I BF or not.

 

[chocz]

Pei

U dun haf to feel guilty in supplementing ur bb with FM. Mostly importantly that bb is drinkng enuff n growing healthily each day. As i xperince tis kind of feeling before..during disharge frm hosp nurse mention tat bb not drinking enuff as urine is pink...so i felt very sad n try many ways like latching as n when n pumping for long duration n ss not enuff to give bb for 1 feed so hubbi dun want to see me break down, he went to bought a tin of FM and for 1 wk bb was on full FM..den din give up try other methods..ss kick in, so bb nw on full EBM

 

[lemon_tea]

chocz,

It's so good to hear about your success story

Very inpsiring lor!!

I hope to BF for as long as possible, but if cannot, then no choice lor. I can see both the pros and cons of BF and giving FM. Whatever will be will be.

You will be at the gathering on Wed right? Hee hee, then we can all go shopping for bb toys

 

[veronbb]

<font color="ff3399">Always kiki that time at Lot 1 u still say u pump out v lil compared to irene haha glad that u happier now n jayden can spend more happy times with u too! when we going out again.. still owe irene a treat

pei, i'm not "on". my hubby is the on one taking pics n updating blog hahaha.. he keeps nagging at me to contribute but i always wriggle my way out..

i'll try go US this wed cos need to have some "me" time shopping n walk walk too.. after last week's sushi at punggol plaza, really shiok to eat out w/o baby in sling..

</font>

 

[lemon_tea]

bonbon,

Try try try and come. Marie and a few others are going toy shopping lor!! Should be lots of fun

 

[preciouslove]

bonbon.. keke.. now i totally stop liao.. so happy!!!

RE:Wetbags
i have not been following the forum last few days.. are there any updates on the wetbag? hehe. lazy to read the archive..