advice needed on breastfeeding

[sleek]

hi blurquen, first of all don't listen to your CL that you have not enough milk, most of these aunties know nuts about nursing and are a big hindrance to mummies successfully nursing. you are doing a good job okay!

it is perfectly normal for newborn babies to wake up frequently for BM as it is very easily digestible so babies do get hungrier on BM as compared to FM and most info out there is always based on FM babies.

some tips from a very useful website breastfeeding website, http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing.html.

Frequent nursing encourages good milk supply and reduces engorgement. Aim for nursing at least 10 - 12 times per day (24 hours). You CAN'T nurse too often--you CAN nurse too little.

Nurse at the first signs of hunger (stirring, rooting, hands in mouth)--don't wait until baby is crying. Allow baby unlimited time at the breast when sucking actively, then offer the second breast. Some newborns are excessively sleepy at first--wake baby to nurse if 2 hours (during the day) or 4 hours (at night) have passed without nursing.

jiayou!

 

[blurquen]

ok... thanks for advice. now i'm trying to pump and feed alt hours but sometime very difficult to know wat time my bb wake up.... haiz....

 

[sleek]

drink lotsa water and other liquids like advised by the other mummies, get lotsa rest and most important believe in yourself that you have BM and you will have enough BM, your mind is very powerful so dont stress yourself out by thinking you dont have enough.

 

[lonelyduck]

Sorry to disturb...

<font size="+1"><font color="aa00aa">Handsfree Pumping?</font></font>

See here:
http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/messages/581296/2361855.html?1240318956

 

[blurquen]

ok, cos now still on confinement,can only drink the red date drink and milk.
izzit normal tat my bb only suckle like less than 10mins sometimes and don't even wan to drink anymore. cos nite time i pump out and let the CL to feed him.
so thinking if after the confinement then i start nursing him at nite izzit too late... cos my friend who gave birth later than me now could pump 200ml when i could only pump out sometimes lesser than 100ml for both breast....

 

[sleek]

blurquen, i really cannot comment on comparison between the amt your friend pumps and yours as there are many variable factors.

However you can try lying down on your side in the day while latching on to prepare yourself for latching on at night as it is much easier and you can rest / sleep while baby is latching on.

also suckling for less than 10mins could be for comfort sucking and that's perfectly normal too. http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/comfortnursing.html#comfort

 

[oosh]

Hi All,

Really needed some urgent advice here... My son is into his third week and he refused to latched on since day 5 of birth due to nipple confusion (gave him FM on the 4th day due to pressure from CL)... Having been pumping since then, avg 8-10 times a day but supply maintains at 500+/- ml per day. At this rate, how can i increase my supply to substain his intake, not to mention having enough to store for his future needs when i resumed work in two months time?

Im currently taking Fenugreek as well but only 2caps a day as per recommended by the bottle...

My question here is that is it too late to train my son to latch on again or will visiting a lactation consultant really helps??? i also noticed that i have lumps on my breast, are they normal?

My son is quite a big eater or is it my CL Fault... everytime he cry, she will just pop the bottle into his mouth, claiming that he is hungry.. so upset with her... at 2 weeks old, he is drinking about 3plus oz every 2hrs... is this normal?

hai.. can someone help me? im so fustrated and feel like giving up so many time but deep inside of me, i kept hoping for a miracle to happen...

 

[tanlengleng]

Hi oosh,
fenugreek you need to take 3 caps, 3 times a days,
http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html#dosage

Also rem to take lots of liquid,
soup, milo, milk, red date tea, etc.

About 3L, 2 for youself, 1 for Baby.

Worse case,
express out for BB to drink,
this way you won't need to train BB to take bottle when you return to work later.

Eat lots of protein rich foods,
beans stuffs like toufu, fish, etc.

HTHs.

 

[jayce]

Leng leng, now my girl don't like to breastfeed leh.. Sometimes she entertained me by drinking abit only.. My milk supply getting worse, if she don't latch often again, then my milk will stop! Now my right side can only pump 10-20ml, funny right!

 

[oosh]

Hi Leng Leng,

thanks so much for your advice... Yah... i will increase the fenugreek intake (hopefully my milk supply will increase)

My CL adviced me against drinking water but im just curious, why not?? anyone knows the answer to this?

paiseh.. one more question.. i understand that baby needs to latch on in order to increase milk supply but since my baby wont latch on, does that mean, my case is GAME Over??

Gee.. so jealous of those mummies who can pump 200ml of milk in a single pump... =P

 

[tanlengleng]

Hi Xueyi,
do express out if you want to continue to BF.
Supply = demand

How old is your girl?

 

[tanlengleng]

oosh,
you are most welcome.

For strict chinese confinement, there's no drinking of plain water,
plain water is consider "cooling",
confinement ladies should be taking "warm" stuffs,
red date tea, ginger tea, etc.

There are many mummies who solely express for their BBs to drink,
can maintein for months/years too.
JIA YOU!

 

[jayce]

Leng leng, my girl is 7 mths and 10 days.. Eat 2 times porridge and 1-2 snacks daily. Yes, i hope to continue to bf until one year plus. But work is very busy recently, no time to pump at all. I think due to stress, i hardly pump out milk during work..

 

[tanlengleng]

Hi Xueyi,
Eat 2 times porridge and 1-2 snacks daily,
only 1-2 chance for milk only lor...
Maybe try to "sleep feed/latch" her b4 you go to work?

You are a great mom to BF for 7mths+ liao,
do try further,
but if you really can't, you've tried your best for her.

Yes, stress = no milk too.
Have you been drinking enough water?

 

[jayce]

Lengleng,
Yes, drank abt 2 litres plus water daily plus milo/milk. But i need my morning coffee to keep me going for the day, can caffeine affect my milk let-down?

i think worse come to worse, when my frozen bm are used up, i will supplement with fm, but continue to latch during night time. Is it possible to bf only night time but breasts still produce mik?

 

[tanlengleng]

Oh yes,
for our #1,
I went to work at 2nd month,
didn't pump out, cause no place, no time,
just latch on at night &amp; b4 I go to work.
Weekends, public holidays I latch on as often as possible.

But there's engorgement...

I BF her till she's 1 yr old.

 

[oosh]

Hi Leng Leng,

Thanks so much for your encouragement... really appreciate that.. i was thinking of giving up and during the past few days, feeling so upset with baby for not latching and worrying that my supply will gradually go down...=P

Thanks yah..

 

[tanlengleng]

oosh,
we're here to encourage one another,
let me share this with you to "encourage" you more to BF for longer period.

Sharing my personal experience.

Mummies bringing out BBs...
Before going out, try to make sure BBs;
1. Have enough sleep
2. Not close to milk/mealtime
3. Not close to poo poo time/days
4. Are in comfortable clothes, not be too warm/cold
(If one of the above don't meet, forget the trip, else this will be your 1st &amp; last one)

By public transport;
1. Bring a light stroller
2. A sling/carrier

Drive on your own;
1. Play BB's fav music
2. Some safe &amp; hands on toys if possible
3. Your fav stroller, sling/carrier as back-up (shopping use?

)

Things to bring for BFing mummies;
1. finger biscuit
2. 2-3sets of clean clothes
3. plastic bag for soil clothes
4. 2-4 diapers
5. wet tissue
6. drinking water for mummy
7. a comfortable bag to hold everything

<font color="ff0000">Things to bring for non-BFing mummies</font>;
1-7.(see Things to bring for BFing mummies)
8. Hot water
9. cool water
10. 2 clean milk bottles
11. milk powder
12. BB water bottle
13. hankies

Long list, but many items are "permernantly" in my bag already,
just need to "update" &amp; stock-up the items b4 going out.

 

[tanlengleng]

Jia You Everyone!!!

 

[jayce]

Thanks Leng Leng! I will jia you =)

 

[hoho03]

leng leng,
did u add me to your facebook?

 

[tanlengleng]

hoho,
wat's your email address?
You saw pictures of my 3 kids?
That's me then.

 

[blurquen]

hi,a question to ask... cos recently i went to clear up the blood clog in my womb by doc. by then my supply start to drop very badly.... from 1 side abt 150ml to now abt less than 80ml every pump..... is this bcos of the operation.... or bcos moving house stress???? thanks

 

[tanlengleng]

May be due to health &amp; stress,
build up your health, rest well, eat well,
your supply should return.
JIA YOU!

 

[blurquen]

ok thanks alot.... maybe very stress cos just move in wif MIL.... can't get use.... haiz............

 

[tanlengleng]

Close one eye...
Else "close both eyes"...

 

[bl5737]

Hi Lengleng

Can you advice. Usually I can pump out abt 200ml milk /session. But currently my bb only drink abt 100ml.
I was told to pump out the remaining after each feeding. Is it true so that i can maintain my volumn?
Usually i latch on abt 10mins on each side. How long should i use the pump to clear the remaining milk?
Usual case is 15mins on both breast every 3 hours if u r not latching.
I hear that excessive pumping will stress the breast, resulted no milk true?

 

[tanlengleng]

Hi BL,
depending on what you need...
&amp; how old is your BB.

Are you returning to work &amp; need to store EBM for baby?
If NO, then no point pumping &amp; store/freeze, then finally give/throw away...
Unless you have elder kids to give them.

If you need to store;
Latch on BB on 1 side for each feed,
make sure BB drinks the full foremilk &amp; hindmilk of 1 breast,
until not enough, then switch breast.
After BB finish, you can express out the 2nd breast.

Supply = demand
If you pump more, there'll be more milk.
Excessive pumping will stress the breast? Sorry I never heard of this,
but excessive pumping will definatedly stress mummy.

BFing is a feeling thingy,
you feel your breast full, there's still milk.
Relex &amp; let the breast "let-down", that's when you gain most milk.
There's no "usual" timing, feel your breast,
don't let them go engorge.
Engorge &amp; not release will give your breast "idea" that it's not necessary to produce so much,
thus resulting in drastic drop.

On another note, if you want to slim down sooner,
producing BM is one of the BEST way.
You may want to pump out &amp; drink them on your own.

Just sharing my personal experience,
I'm still learning too.

 

[bl5737]

Hi Leng leng

Thx for sharing.

My bb is abt 6 weeks old.
I do have a elder one, currently he's on full BM too.
I really want to maintain my supply coz my elder boy after taking BM he hardly fall sick as i just enroll him to pre-school. Else he fall sick almost every month.
But lately these few days my supply drop, not sure whether is it i pump out the wrong way or is it my diet that coz the drop.
Is their any food that breastfeed mother should avoid?

 

[tanlengleng]

Hi BL,
great that your elder one is on TBM,
save money too!!!

Supply drop may be due to many reasons,
stree, insufficient rest/sleep, insufficient water intake (you need about 3L a day).

When BB sleeps in the day, you try to sleep too.

Food to avoid;
1. Jiu Cai (those flat greens like spring onion on mee siam)
2. San Zha (those red colour sweet/sour titbits)
3. Mai Ya Tang (those liquid malt sugar sold at Pasar Malam)

To prevent your BB from refusing your milk,
you may want to "introduce different food" to your diet slowly.
e.g. seafood, strong tasting food.
If there's a drastic change in taste to your BM,
BB may refuse your BM.

HTHs.

 

[bl5737]

hi lengleng
i didnt know that food will change the taste of BM.
Thx for yr tips, really learn alot today.

 

[tanlengleng]

Hi BL,
try tasting your own milk daily.

You are most welcome,
I'm learning daily too.

 

[jayce]

i tried drinking own breastmilk, it's fishy! Taste like fresh goat/cow milk =P

 

[tanlengleng]

jayce,
frozen ones are fishy,
fresh/chilled ones are nice.

Which type did you drink?

 

[oosh]

Hi Leng Leng,

You seems to be an expert in this..

Actually ive a query, just wondering if any experienced mummy can help me.

Currently, my bb is 8weeks old. I am pumping exclusively for him on a 3/6/9/12 schedule. My supply has somewhat stabilised at the range of 85-110ml per pump. Im just thinking how can i go about increasing my supply. Ive read somewhere that i can actually pump every 2hrs for a period of 2-3days to stimulate more milk flow. Is this true? Can any experienced mummies verify on this?

My target is to hit 120-150ml per pump for 3/6/9/12 schedule.. hopefully =P

Thanks in advance for sharing

 

[jayce]

Hi Lengleng, i tried both frozen and chilled bm. Or is it bcoz we have gotten used to sweet taste, so for fresh milk(be it cow/goat/breast), we found it fishy? Today i just tried my 4 years old son's formula milk, it tasted fishy too mah.. But he don't like the taste of my bm leh.

 

[tanlengleng]

No leh,
fresh ones are not "fishy",
are you sure it's "fish smell"?

Goat milk smell of "yang shao wei", not fish smell.

I mixed my BM into my kids regular milk,
they are ok with it.

 

[tanlengleng]

Munchies (oosh),
try eating 2 pieces of papaya, 3 times a day,
&amp; eat lots of fish.

 

[jayce]

I think not fish smell, but got one kind of smell/taste which i don't like. YOu add BM to your kids regular milk, then did they become healthier, i mean fall sick lesser?

 

[oosh]

Hi Leng Leng,

thanks.. I will stock up on the papaya today...

Hi Jayce &amp; Leng2,

Inspired by your conversation and tasted my own milk today.. heee... tasted like papaya soup... very sweet.. and that is the chilled one..

 

[tanlengleng]

jayce,
had you always dislike milk taste/smell?

I'm not sure, there's still regular virus,
cause they are in child care center.

Munchies,
BM will taste of what we eat,
that's why we got to avoid strong tasting foods.
Introduce "food" slowly to baby thru our food intake.

 

[tanlengleng]

Sharing : <font color="ff0000">Lactation Food Recipes</font>

http://sgmummy.com/lactation-food-recipes/

 

[jayce]

Munchies, your milk tasted like papaya soup! How i wish mine taste like yours too! =P

Yes, i not so like milk taste.. Prefer soya milk.

 

[oosh]

Hi Xueyi,

I guess i must be having papaya soup that day when i tasted my own milk

Today i will be having corn soup, i will taste it later and see what it taste like.. let's play a guessing game yah? haha

I just had root beer with ice cream, hmmm looking forward to my next pump...

 

[jayce]

Hi Munchies, how you prepare your papaya soup? I tried cooking green papaya with fish bones, taste not so nice leh =)

I don't dare to try my milk leh haha, never mind later i shall try it and see how it taste like today..

 

[jayce]

Thanks Leng leng, i will try out the lactation food recipes! Hope it'll help me to pump more milk!

 

[oosh]

Hi Munchies,

Actually my cf just left so now learning. My mum went to consult a chinese sinseh (supposedly to be quite well known) and he gave the followin receipe:

- Green Papaya
- Pork bones / fish bones
- Hou Si (Dried Oyster) --> he claimed that this one will really help in the milk supply
- red dates
- Ge zi
The other day the cf lady tried it and it seems that my milk supply really increase but not double up lah... dun know whether is it my imagination =P

Try it... it is not as bad..

One question, anybody knows where i can get my hand on Fennel seeds?

 

[tanlengleng]

Confinement cannot take seafood leh, Dried Oyster...

Fennel seeds can buy from indian spice store.

 

[jayce]

but if we tell the indian man/woman that we want fennel seeds, do they understand?

 

[oosh]

yah lor.. that's what i tot also but then the chinese sinseh say okay.. so bochap..