Did you know there is such a thing as oversupply of breastmilk? Yeah - check it out! And sometimes, cos of the milk just gushing out of your nipple, baby gets too much of it and can choke and splutter so watch out! As one website put it - it's like trying to feed at a water hydrant! :)
On a separate note, I just saw the 'Baby Whisperer' video on YouTube where a dad calms his crying baby with a simple SHhhhh sound....one of the 5 S techniques from 'The Happiest Baby on the Block' by Dr. Harvey Karp. Sounds interesting.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
TOO MUCH MILK?
Motherhood is a Lonely Journey
Wow, yesterday I had the most overwhelming feeling of a great sense of loneliness. There are so many people around me, to take care of me and help me with Baby Julian, my husband is around, kind and loving but still I feel lonely.
I feel as if there is no one around who actually knows what I go through on a daily basis on my journey into motherhood. Sure mum and mum-in-law have all gone through it, a couple of times each at that, but then they aren't going through it now, they don't know what anxieties I feel, or wonder I feel when I look at Julian....etc.
Today I don't feel it so bad, probably cos I talked it over with hubby last night and he understood! (WOW!) But yeah, no one really knows what you are going through. You're breastfeeding all day, leaking, sticky (yeah breast milk is sticky - didya know that???), insufficient sleep, worry about baby's each and every eh eh, you can't leave the house/don't feel like leaving the house cos that means leaving baby.....it can all seriously Get.To.You!
If you are a new mother reading this, don't worry about it is what I would say - I think when mums feel this sometimes, it's just normal cos it can be taxing and tiring and wonderful all at the same time when the tiny one arrives. And furthermore, as the decades pass, our worries and doubts about breastfeeding, care, changing etc practices encounter new and different advices and suggestions so all the more we can feel confused and at wit's end.
At the end of the day, do your best and leave it at that and Love your child - that's all anyone can ask of you. I know I have (still) boundless patience with Julian, he can do no wrong so far and if I hear him crying desperately, I hurt inside though outwardly I must look as if I am extremely nonchalant - it's just that sometimes, I really don't know what to do and can only hold him and rock him and talk to him. Hiyaaaaa......
I also find it useful to share with other mums on forums and such! Such a treasure trove of information and knowledge and experience and also motivation, support and kindness from others going through the exact same thing you are at this very moment!
Love and it will all turn out right!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Family Full Moon Pics
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| L - R: Mei Cheh Confinement Lady, Mum, Julian, Grandma & Grandpa Penang |
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| Dad, Grandpa PJ, Julian and Mum |
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| Mum, Grandma PJ, Julian and Dad |
Confinement Lady Mei Cheh
This is my Confinement Lady who was my guide and chaperone for 28 days after the birth of baby boy.....She was excellent - friendly, open, knowledgeable, flexible and genuinely loved Baby Boy Julian. The first pic shows her near the start of the Confinement Period and the second pic was taken on Baby's Full Moon Day (1 month old). The last shows our relationship and camaraderie - she's good....and available - so give me a holler if you'd like to contact her! :)
Monday, January 3, 2011
How do women from Impoverished Nations Produce Breastmilk?
So, I am supposed to be eating lots of fish and drinking lots of fluids etc.....eat healthy, eat alot.....and I should be able to produce a lot of milk.
How do women from tribes in FAR OUT AREAS - you know where there is only dust and 3 goats and people have to scavenge for roots for water - how do those women produce breastmilk? When I get on Wikipedia and check out Breastfeeding, I see pictures of these women with their full breasts, purportedly breastfeeding - how do they do it?
I'm Not Doing This Very Well At All
Ok, so while I was putting up the last post, baby Julian was with me - he was on the bed and I was supposed to be watching him. He did make some sounds midway through but I just looked up and made some cooing noises - not walking over to the bed to see him.
Later, when I had finished the post and everything - went over to pick him up with the intention to feed him, I noticed some dried-ish vomit speckled on his shirt - and almost immediately, he threw up on himself again. (This morning he had his first supplemental Formula Milk feed).
I was so scared - I quickly lifted him up - afraid he would swallow his own vomit and choke or something. I called for the Confinement Lady and she came and took over while I waggled around like some useless scarecrow ragdoll. I followed her around the room as she took out new clothes for him, wiped down his mouth with some moistened cotton wool and then she made him drink some warm water (like a wee bit of a teaspoon) to wash his mouth out. I felt so helpless and useless.
I guess the common sense of what to do when a baby does this or that can be found in what we would do for ourselves - we would wash our mouths out right? But in the moment, it's hard to know if I would have known what to do.
And most scary of all is me rehashing in my head that he could very well have choked on his own vomit. The nurses at the hospital did say to burp the babies and then let them lie on their side for about 10 minutes in case they threw up. But this was like ages and ages later. I told the Confinement Lady (CL) that perhaps he had taken too much of the Formula since it's much heavier than Breast Milk....and that's why he threw up cos they can do that when they're overfull.
Well, that's my bad story of today. Today has been a full day of no milk, him not latching on, him throwing up and my guilty conscience.
:(
He's HERE!!!!
Baby Boy Julian joined the family on Dec 20, 2010! Via C-section and is now 13 days old! I haven't had the time nor the inclination to write in the blog til now - when I've had a couple of baths, getting more used to the routine and the confinement food.....and of course, baby boy.
He looks a bit different from when he first arrived, gained a little weight - and got some spots (courtesy of mums' spicy eating habits apparently), but generally, we've been able to recognise his cry (when upset) and his particular facial expressions since being in the hospital.
Pics up.
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| 1 Day Old with Daddy's Thumb For Comparison |
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| 6 days old with Mummy (in Confinement) and Daddy |
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| 11 Days Old |
Baby Julian came at the perfect time - when his dad started his two-week year end leave and we had a wonderful time in the hospital. Coming home and realising the confinement starts was not so good - the 2nd and 3rd meal I had, I threw up - a perfect waste of 'all' the goodness I had forced myself to ingest. Now the Confinement Lady knows my taste more and is cooking more to my liking - though I am sure she would much prefer to me to be the dutiful little Asian girl who downs what she's given. I just can't force myself!!!!!!!! All I want is a BIG ICE-COLD COKE!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! I can't hardly wait!
My Confinement Lady, Mei Cheh, is great though - understanding, not pushy, knowledgeable, helpful, friendly (til now that is). She even sometimes cooks for the entire family. I got her from SHL Cares Confinement Home and Sam who owns the business has been really great and helpful too! We also bought the package of soups from him which is like soup for 20 days.....to replenish the mum - ummmm....not every soup is 'replenishing' hheheeheheh....
Oh yeah, one more thing - breastmilk when left exposed to air smells like vomit after sometime!!!!!!! Seriously! I keep having leakages onto clothes and POOH!!!!!!!!
And ummm, ok, one more thing......DO NOT BUY BEBE brand of disposable breast pads! I bought them from the Baby Fair at Midvalley and my god!!! They don't stick to anything! I did ask the sales girl if one sticky area was enough to ensure the breast pad stay in place and she was all gung ho about it but NO! It's a LIE! The BEBE brand is terrible!
I still like my First Years brand though - we just bought some nail clippers and they are easy to use with the big rubber handle - I had to buy the one with the magnifying glass cos they don't seem to stock the normal one anymore, but anyway, the magnifying glass folds away - all the planning and design of the First Years! I LOVE!
We also recently ran out of my First Years breast wipes which cost like RM9.90 for 30 wipes and Ju Han, failing to spot the brand, bought some from NUK - 30 wipes for RM30!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! He didn't know the price til the cash register! I think I would have returned it on the spot! And guess what, when he brought it home - they were all individually packed in sachets which is great until you have to keep tearing each sachet apart to get out the itsy bitsy square of soaked cotton (looks exactly like facial cotton swabs).....compared to my First Years breast wipes - JEEEEAZZZZZZ!!!!!!!
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