Choosing a breastpump

ameda lactaline electric breast pump

during kJ's time, i had 2 breast pump!

one is a medela harmony manual hand pump, and the other one is this ameda electric double pump.

they served me well throughout our breastfeeding journey.

the ameda broke down a few times.
despite that, i still miss it.
this time round, i decided to just invest in the 'ferrari' of all pump! that is the medela freestyle!

pumping at work

to succeed in breastfeeding for working mothers:

 pump/clear your breasts every 3 hourly. at most you can drag is 4 hours.

after you clear your breasts, automatically your body will produce more or fill up the boobs.

it is as simple as this.

my pumping schedule at work: 9am, 12pm, 3pm. ideally

but sometimes u can alter it a wee bit.

10am, 1pm, 4pm

i read so much about pumps before i decided to get this.

after getting this 'ferrari', i think it is just 'okay'.

it is not necessary to get this to succeed in breastfeeding.

there are plenty of other pumps out there in the market.

spectra, avent, to name a few.

BUT! an electric pump eases life.

manual single-pump is good for the first month (confinement month).

do your own research and set your budget before purchasing a pump.

i am actually thinking of getting medela PISA because a friend here uses it and she swears by it. she offers to exchange pump with me for a while so that i can try :) how sweet of her.

PISA is a hospital grade pump!

so again, do your own research.

i reckon now that malaysian prefers medela freestyle.

however, my friend in the States recommends PISA.

you can read the reviews in amazon on these two. it's a 50-50 if i am not wrong because i had a VERY hard time deciding on which pump.

this is how this pump works
http://www.medela.com/IW/en/breastfeeding/products/pumping/freestyle/media-seperation.html

comparison
http://breast-pumps.findthebest.com/compare/4-6/Medela-Freestyle-Breastpump-vs-Ameda-Purely-Yours-Breast-Pump

Pump it!

mickey mouse!!!

kj did this.

played with the membranes of my breast pump.

I'm amazed with their 'creativity'

do allow the children to play freely.

allow them to explore. to expand.

no TV!! grrrr

no electronics please

one day at work,

i forgot to bring my bottles so luckily i could use this 'polycitra' bottle.

it is a 500ml bottle.

i find it pretty tickling :)

this week aunty increased feeding to 5oz from 4.5 oz

so i have to be disciplined.

i pumped every 3 hours.

9am, 12pm and 3pm.

yielded 4-5oz per session.

Us in November

 in the car today,

i want to buy smoke for laopa (babysitter's husband).

oh? u mean u want to buy cigarette for him to smoke?

cigarette?

u can't buy cigarette. you are underage.

only adults can buy.

the police will catch you.

i will ask ah kong to shoot the police!

well, he knows and remembers that ah kong has a long gun for hunting.

amazing memory!

this is what happened this morning.

I'm always hurrying here and there in the morning.

i now get up at 5.30am and yet i need to scurry all over the house.

perhaps i should get up earlier?

oh man.

when we move,

i think i need to get up at 4 am :(

im dreading the moment!

and it is not a momentary thing. it is for…life almost?

this is to share with my friends about my lifestyle.

having no maid.

tending to 2 kids.

:S

btw, baby matty can now flip!

last week he tries very hard to flip but yesterday he could flip easily.

sometimes one hand will still get stuck below his tummy though.

and he will cry for help.

he loves to roll to his left and flip!

he loves it when i place a mirror in front of him when he is on his tummy :)

he is now 5 months old.

time flies.

one more month and he can begin to eat.

i am also dreading that moment so i will try to stall and not begin solid feeding that soon.

i hope babysis cooperates.

this week aunty wants to increase his ebm intake to 5oz. 

O.O

stresses me out.

i can still provide, but somehow, the nervousness will be there.

 the top tier is for ebm only.

they are full.

really full.

but some of the ebm has expired.

i have donated 30 packs of ebm to a mommy.

the older milk will be turned into soap.

by having all these stocks,

i still feel the jittery.

i prefer to supply refrigerated bm because the metallic taste is horrible.

i suppose the longer u keep, the stronger the metallic taste.

bless me

Green pea soup

frozen peas + fresh cream 

all ingredients are not according to scale.

did this in a jiffy.

this is my reference.

onions+garlic+ butter. Varoma. 2 mins.

add in frozen peas. 1 tsp mushroom powder (seasoning). water (double the weight of peas). 100 Celcius. 10 mins. speed 4.

add in cream ~ 50g. pepper. 1min. speed 9.

serve.

garnish with home grown mint leaves.

i can't take mint leaves now so i did 2 portion.

chucked some mint leaves into his soup and blend together with the cream.

he is not a pea person but he drinks the soup.

i wish to try this recipe - Mara's Three-INgredient Thermomix Pea Soup.

she uses rice in the soup!

how cool is that.

Note: mint leaves and borage are not to be taken when breastfeeding. decreases breast milk.

Been 3 months

baby M is going to be 4 months old now

weigh 5kg last month.

loves to talk. kj was comparatively quiet.

tummy time:
his neck is so much stronger now. i would say pretty stiff. can support when i carry him straight. he could also lift his head much longer and higher when he is on his tummy.

recognition:
he could recognize me! :D he will search for me - eyes looking for me. he could recognize my voice too, according to the father.

no mittens:
if u realize, he is off mittens too! during 3rd month review in kkia, the sister says he shouldnt be wearing mittens anymore.
he likes to rub his eyes and scratch his heads. there will be lines all over his face. i will need to trim his nails every other day.

feeding:
he started off with drinking 3oz when he first went to aunty's house. in 2 weeks time, it increased to 3.5oz , to 4oz and this week 4.5oz. this week is his third week. drinks every 2 hours or so.
i told aunty to wait till he cries before feeding :p best would be 3 hours.

sigh. aunty is notorious to overfeed. she loves to feed milk, and later on solids. kj eats lots of porridge when he was young. well, now he eats a big bowl of rice too in aunty's house.

mommy's condition:
mommy's wound is getting better. when i first started work, i could feel the pain whenever i lean on my tummy. after 2 weeks, no aches. not even when i bend really low, as in, bending my body more than 90 degrees.

also, another good news is that ive lost 2 kg! in just 2 weeks time. that is the only thing that i can think of about coming back to work. *grim*

pumping sessions:
i used to pump 2-3 times at work. 3-4 hours interval. but this week aunty began to increase his milk intake to 4.5oz, i begin to panic.
sigh. always happens. im not a veteran in pumping. haha. yes, ive successfully breastfed kj for over 2 years, but that doesnt come with a snap of my finger.
i knew this will happen, that i will worry and stress about feeding.

matty is drinking every 2 hourly and i cant possibly pump every 2 hours at work!?
i need to eat well, rest well, stress less. hopefully i can catch up and not use the stocks of frozen expressed breast milk (ebm).

we tried to give kj the frozen ebm but he refused. i was wondering WHY. THEN, i defrosted a bottle and YUCKS! tasted like vomit! the silly father clipped his nose and down the entire cup! ohman!

i bothers me so much that i had to google. indeed, everyone seems to know about it. try to google "breastmilk taste like vomit". it is due to lipase being broken down.

strange that i didnt know this for the entire time i was breastfeeding kj.

so what am i going to do with my drawer of frozen milk? gonna make them into soap.

breastmilk soap. yep :)

going NUTS!

sunflower seeds RM 10
pumpkin seed RM 10
raw almond (L) 1kg RM 38
brazil nut 500g RM 35
raw cashew nut 1kg RM 45
walnut 500g RM 26
pine nut 500g RM 75
macadamia 500g RM 45
dried figs RM 15

all from Mercu Food, shah alam.

spent RM 400+ here.
bought other things as well if you are wondering the amount does not tally.

bought 6 bottles a pack

RM 20 per bottle

Tesco sells RM 25.50

wonder where to get my supply of honey after i finished these 4 bottles.

gave 2 bottles to mom.

spices are from Shaury  Damansara.

NOTE: cinnamon powder that we buy from Mc Cormick are not real cinnamon.

they are cassia.

read up on the difference between cassia and cinnamon.

this is why im really busy when im in KL.

we drive around to get all these.

i think it drives hubs nuts but hello? they are for our kitchen.

the entire family benefit from these.

:p

so well, we went to Shaury with the intention to get cinnamon. then i bought cayenne. then he introduced me to their pepper and being a woman, ended up buying that as well.

which is why they suggest us to get a shopping list and not buy something not in the list!

unnecessary expenditure :p

 drove all the way to Selayang market for this.

biggest market in Kuala Lumpur.

worthy!

5kg of california medjool dates.

RM 190

outside sells RM290 - RM 300+

Bard Valley dates rocks!

pitted

also bought a box of 5kg without pit. RM 70?

dates can increase breast milk!

dates = kurma

it was a whole seller so we need to buy in bulk.

spent RM400+

we also bought a large box of blueberries.

contains 12 small boxes. RM 70 - 80

kj loves the berries.

phew.

told him we cant afford to eat otherwise.

you can get these berries very cheap in seasonal countries so why pay more in malaysia?

im trying to buy more local fruits which are as nutritious as well.

there u go, my busy schedule in KL.

selayang, shah alam. damansara. kajang (non food stuff)

and the amount spent before coming back here before raya.

and the weight!

100kg ladies and gentlemen

we need 2 escorts in KK

Cabbage smoothies

menu & shopping list: from green smoothie habit

Day 1: Who Knew? Green Smoothie

Day 2: Feel Better Green Smoothie
Day 3: Beautiful Skin Green Smoothie 
Day 4: Thirst Quencher Green Smoothie 
Day 5: Carrot Top Green Smoothie
Day 6: Anti–Oxidant Green Smoothie 
Day 7: Cherry Chard Green Smoothie

 recipes for green smoothies

Read Raw Broccoli, Cabbage Slash Bladder Cancer Risk by 40 Percent; Cooking Destroys Benefits

half carrot. 5 leaves of cabbage, 1 orange, 3 slices of pineapple (with core- they are edible and healthy).

good blenders will blend the core until it is smooth and fine hence do not discard the core.

yummylicious!

beautiful orange hue

too bad im breastfeeding hence raw cabbage is a no-no for me. 

last night we had pineapple with kangkung and ginger. more ginger this time. oh man! i love the zing the ginger gives! LOVE this combination!

anything with pineapple is delicious i suppose.

this morning was kangkung and 3 kiwis with chia seed. slurp!

NICU food

my babies are all NICU babies.

NICU = neonatal ICU

when they were there, this was their food.

by Wyeth

there have 2 types.

one for preterm babies.

another one for term babies.

this bottle in the photo above is for premature babies.

BAYI KURANG BERAT BADAN KETIKA LAHIR

SEDIA DIMINUM

the nurses will warm the milk before consuming

i was worried about what my baby was drinking when they were in ward.

when my first child was in NICU, i interrogated them.

i was alarmed! how could they feed formula?

anxiously i questioned hubs.

how come they did not ask me for ebm (expressed breast milk).

i went to NICU myself and all they told me was:

susu yang sudah dibancuh. bukan susu tepung.

tidak dapat beli susu ini di luar.

ok, so it is not formula milk.

i was in peace.

calmly i went home and diligently pumped milk and hubs busy transporting.

petrol bills are high i tell you.

this time when i was in NNJ (neonatal jaundice) unit, i watched the nurses fed the babies.

last time i was too busy watching my own child.

:D

this boy likes the milk, chilled.

it tastes pretty good! :D

not like our cow's milk.

its a little malty.

the nurse asked if i want to buy the milk.

she approached the wrong person man!

even though it is THIS much!

no matter.

just pump!

i used Medela Harmony manual single pump.

bioavailability of turmeric and what green smoothies has done to us

today's smoothie: 1/2 small beetroot, 1/4 lemon, 2 banana, 2 cubes frozen coconut milk, 1 green apple, 2 cups sweet potato leaves, 1/2 inch turmeric.

just today i learned that we should add oil/fats in combination of turmeric to make it more bioavailable, as reported here.

hence coconut oil or vco?

this tastes GOOD!

hubs asked for more.

whenever he asked for more, i know ive nailed it!

besides, his divulgence about both his and his son's poo are not smelly anymore which could be due to the smoothies helps tremendously in boosting my enthusiasm.

i always treasure such feedbacks.

he also pointed out that kj's mouth was not foul smelling anymore ever since we started on the smoothies.

also, he feels more energetic.

well, another power booster would be the son drinking them!

usually he would say not good!

however upon constant urging, he would down his share.

 there is nothing more pleasurable than that! :)

oh, some mommies shared that sweet potato leaf is a galactagogue!

needless to say, we will be consuming more of these now.

dont forget.

more vegetables, less fruits.

and ROTATE them.

best would be to incorporate 60% vegetables and 40% fruits.

this blog pretty much explains everything u need to know about green smoothies.

there is a debate about how a high power blender being able to break down the cell walls of the vegetables and fruits, thereby releasing all the nutrients and minerals which the body can readily absorb.

do share with me if u ever come across any other conclusive or reliable resource on this.

our thermomix serves us well to this point.

2 combs of banana for ONLY TWO RINGGIT!

u should have seen that victorious smile on my face that day!

felt as though i had won a lottery!

banana is a great companion.

tips: freeze it! they should be in your hands anytime u need it as a thickener or to mask a strong tasting veggie.

have u seen colostrum?

colostrum

yes, they are yellow.

i can only get this much.

not exactly per session, because i expressed manually, by hand, so it was a collection over a few hours.

hubs was the one chasing after me, asking me to get up and pump so that his son has food -______-

i was truly lazy this time.

not motivated.

just wanted to lie down and not do anything. hehe

he made 2 trips a day to send the milk over.

the nurses cup feed, whilst we use syringe.

DO NOT bottle feed your baby if you intend to breastfeed.

the mechanism is different.

kj for example, was breastfed for more than 2 years, and now at 3.5 years old, he forgot how to suckle from my breast.

i was engorged and i needed my baby to suckle/direct latch to 'open' up all the pores in the nipple or milk ducts.

hubs says try KJ!

well, he was game. he did try to suckle but OUCH! it hurts.

we laughed at him. he asked How mommy, how?

poor thing. hehe

so when matty's back home, i was quite disappointed that he did not receive as much colostrum.

couldnt bear the thought and sight of my colostrum sitting in the fridge.

we then decided to administer some of the colostrum and forego one direct-latch session.

it was not easy feeding him with syringe.

when he was warded, nurses fed with cup.

when i took him home, he has to readjust and readapt to my nipples.

then now we decided to feed using syringe? 

HUH he must be thinking.

what's up with us people.

in total, only 60-70% of what we fed went in. the rest trickled down his chin.

although my heart ache, (at the amount wasted), still, better than nothing.

since im pretty much a handicapped, (cesarean sucks!) i asked dh to transfer the ebm (expressed breast milk) from bottles to storage bag and this was what i found in the kitchen later on.

GASP!

i was furious!!!

look at the wastage!!!

MEN!

and he dares to refute that i must close one eye if i want him to do things!

i bawled out that out of 10 things i ordered, he will only complete 6!

-________-

my colostrum!

wails

i only get this much milk!

and can u see the color?

it gets less yellow.

anyway, do not compare my milk with yours.

all breast milk are different in composition. they differ with time, as in the milk are made specifically, exclusively for OUR baby so as they grow, the composition will change with time.

in ICU, his milk intake was 25ml every 3 hourly.

when you breastfeed, please do not measure how much milk he is ingesting. we encourage mothers to direct latch and with that, it is near impossible to measure the amount. 

anyway, the amount estimated will never be accurate.

breastfeeding is a 'lifestyle'.

do not be distressed over the hiccups encountered when breastfeeding.

have faith in yourself and your baby and persevere and have a good family support, then you are good to go.

Chillis and Kinokuniya @ KLCC

Chilis KLCC (Feb 2012)

KJ is entitled to get a free meal!

kids below 12 eat for free with purchase of adult entree

kj is a cina-apek!

we scanned through the kid's menu somewhat thoroughly and after deliberating,

we chose what we thought was best for him.

timing wasnt right, he was in cranky mode.

demanded for milk. breastmilk that is.

we ordered cheese toast and fries.

unquestionably, they were being washed down by hub and me.

wastage is a sin!

but we have to nib bit by bit discreetly.

it was not our food after all.

haha.

we intentionally arranged for a meal here after getting to know about the free meal through a mommy blog :)

heck, who would have noticed the kids menu when one is without one?

we ordered cheese toast and fries.unquestionably, they were being washed down by hub and me.wastage is sin!but we have to nib bit by bit discreetly.it was not our food after all.haha.

arrangement of books in Kinokinuya.

*scratches head*

how on earth do i search for specific books?

i have my list of to-buy-book!

-________-

although we are both not bookworms,

i was glad when hb disclosed that he could loiter INSIDE Kinokuniya for one whole day!

he commended on this bookshop when we were in appaling Popular in KK.

thats all that they have (in KK)??? he asked skeptically.

this is not even a book shop!!! he hurrumphed!

that is one thing that i detest about KK!

will be best if i can go back every two months or so.

which will not happen.

so dream on!

fresh bloody mary

:(

:(

still breastfeeding kj at 18th months

did not know the wound would prolong for this long, no pun intended

this was the last week

unfortunately, they spread.. ? spread? yeah

there are more cuts, from one to about three this week

stings yesterday!

ugh!

what is happening!!!

ive discontinued nursing him directly on the right boobs

only offering him the left boobie

but occasionally give in and give him the right boobie, countable times

otherwise i pump out

sometimes the pump would brush against the nipple

yikes! hurts!

i've applied Earth Mama Baby Bottom Balm, didnt work

next, Lucas Paw Paw

there are also some stuff, growing at the bottom of the nipple

no idea what the hell they are

have been there for few months

can be very itchy at times

i'd scratch. haha

seems to worsen now

i need to see a dermatologist,

Dr.Sandhya

tomorrow.

shall ask about the two issues.

gah