A Mother's Discovery

a mother's experience nurturing her little ones, treasuring every single family moments with her loved ones and sharing her thoughts on day-to-day life experience, breastfeeding and natural parenting ...

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

breastfeeding tips

this is my EBM in my Medela cooler

my products today - 2 bottles of EBM with 2 sessions of pumping

yes, i'm the midst of exam stress.....my exam is less than 3 weeks away...and now, the kids are not in good health, both are having respiratory tract infections and that contributes to my stress as well...


but still, alhamdulillah i'm still breastfeeding Imtiaz fully....the milk supply is still good and able to keep going with Imtiaz's demand....


i have no particular tips actually but i'm telling you what i have been doing...you can try them, insya allah they'll work for you as well....

  • regular pumping session at work and also at home - this is a must for me at work...i scheduled myself regularly to pump at around 10-11 am, then 1-2pm and if i'm coming home late, i'll pump at 5pm...sometimes i pump only 1 side on the way back home so that i can feed Imtiaz straight away with the other breast...and when the supply is not that great, i make an attempt to pump at home too...it doesn't matter if at that session i only managed to get 1 oz, or sometimes even 0.5 oz....but pump more so that i can add them and after 4-5 pumping session i'll be able to produce 1 feed for Imtiaz...




  • i wait longer to get the 2nd let down reflex- i usually get about 2-3 oz at 1 go....i'm using the old Medela Pump=In=Style...so i do my own stimulation phase after the first go....maximize the speed and minimize the suction...i'll watch Imtiaz's video on my phone and wait for the 2nd let down reflex....and i'm able to get 1-2 oz extra....that is sufficient for Imtiaz one feed...sometimes i waited for the 3rd let down reflex....and limit each pumping session to only 30 minutes because i can't afford to let my patients wait for me longer than that...




  • drink and drink and drink - i realized that Milo works for me....plain water too...it doesn't matter what you drink but drinking water or any other drinks help to make more milk...and currently i take Sacred Tea to boost up milk supply...it kinds of hel p too....




  • direct breastfeeding at home- i make sure that i directly nurse Imtiaz at home... NO EBM for him if i'm at home with him...the more he sucks, the more milk is produced....sometimes he wants it every 1/2 hour....i simply give him...you might think the boop is empty because your baby just fed from it....NO, our boops constantly make milk....with stimulation from your baby, it will be expelled out from our boops...


i think that's all i've been doing...the other thing is be confident with the milk supply...i only managed to express about 4 oz each session nowadays compared to my earlier days when Imtiaz was exclusively breastfeeding, i got 7-8 oz each time...now he has eat solid food and my breasts are producing what he actually takes....


and i'm strongly believe that i am able to continue breastfeeding Imtiaz up to 2 years, insya allah...


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Assalamualaikum Dr

Saya pun nak try breastfd sampai anak saya dua tahun insyaAllah. but lately my breastmilk supply seems low. Previously I got 80 ml each session. Sekarang cuma 50-60 ml. Worse that I have IBS. So whatever I eat normally get passed out of the body. And the IBS pains make me afraid to eat at times, my body weight decreases. My baby is also thin. Lost her baby fat so quickly at one year. I'm a little worried now, that she doesn't seem like she's growing but she's very active though. Dia tak nak minum susu formula, and I only give breastmilk but could she be small because I can't give her enough breastmilk?

Dr Ezura said...

waalaikumussalam sarahset...

my eldest, 4 years old is only 13 kg...she eats so much and very much active...she's thin and slender...her weight is far below the level for her age..if ur baby doesn't want to try formula milk, it's ok, continue breastfeeding..but ensure she eats healthily with all the nutrients complete...the milk supply decreases because it follows the baby's demand...if u want more, do more frequent pumping and do not stress up...take care..