Breastfeeding with Confidence: A Practical Guide

another great book for parents-to-be...Breastfeeding with Confidence: A Practical Guide by Sue Cox is such a great book for expecting parents...written in easy-to-understand format, this book takes you to the amazing journey of breastfeeding- from the process of making milk to breastfeeding through toddlerhood and weaning of breasfteeding...according to Sue Cox, learning how to breastfeed is a lot like learning how to drive a car...it incorporates the step-by-step practical aspects of breastfeeding that you can practice even before the baby arrives and provide new mothers with the insights they need to be successful...

Sue Cox explains both the art and the method of breastfeeding, and addresses the fact that making milk comes naturally, but breastfeeding is a learned skill...when many mothers-to-be are asked if they'll breastfeed, they often answer, "I will if I can." Cox counters that answer proactively and positively with information, advice, support, resources and encouragement for new mothers...

there are also stories and comments from breastfeeding mothers, with lots of reassuring advice and information...the stories of successful breastfeeding mothers started off with a rough breastfeeding journey and they succeed in the end, which increase our confidence to continue our breastfeeding journey with our little precious...

it's not a thick book but packed with all you need to know on how to breastfeed with confidence successfully...not much of colours and illustration in it, but relevant important pictures such as positioning and latching are included...

Baby-led weaning...

i'd really love to share with you my limited knowledge of baby-led weaning (BLW)...weaning is another important aspect of child's nutrition apart from breastfeeding...as we know, exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months and complementary foods are introduced along with continuing breastfeeding up to 2 years and beyond...

BLW is relatively new in Malaysia...traditionally, we spoon feed our baby her first food and this continues until she is big enough to hold and handle her food by herself, but then we are scared of her choking and tend to be overprotective of her act...i used traditional way to wean my children to solid food and often got frustrated when they didn't finish the stipulated amount of food in the bowl...i encountered problem with Imtiaz when he is too used to spoon feed , when one day i put a piece of bread that was relatively easy for him to grab and put into his mouth but he didn't do it... what he did was, he brought his mouth to the plate on the table and try to bite the bread from the plate, like a bird picking his food..! it took him sometime to be able to feed simple food by himself and i shouldn't i feel worry..?

i first heard about BLW a couple months ago when i virtually attended the Australian Breastfeeding Association Online Seminar and was very impressed with Gill Rapley's talk on BLW...after having a minor setback with Imtiaz's feeding experience, i found that BLW is the ideal way of introducing solid to our babies, it's about being in control and balancing the intake of food and fluid by choosing how long each feed should last...

what is baby-led weaning (BLW)?

baby-led weaning is a way of introducing solid foods that allows babies to feed themselves - there’s no spoon feeding and no purées..the baby sits with the family at mealtimes and joins in when she is ready, feeding herself first with her fingers and later with cutlery..

in another words BLW allows babies to explore taste, colour, texture and smell, at the same time encourages independence and confidence, helps to develop their hand-eye coordination and chewing skill and makes picky eating and mealtime battles less likely...and all healthy should be given the opportunity to feed themselves from about 6 month of age...


why 6 months, not 4 months or earlier..?

BLW is based on the way babies develop in their first year...in term of motor development , comparing a 4 month old child and a 6 month old child, i'm sure you can see how steady and stable a 6 month old child is if seated on a chair and how developed his gross motor movement is, including trying to reach out for food on the table.....while the 4 month old would still have wobbly head and shaky body, trying to balance himself, not appear to reach out for food with uncoordinated palmar grasp...

in term of babies' immune and digestive system, they are not ready for other foods until they are about 6 months old- breastmilk [or formula] is all healthy babies need until then...at 6 months, a baby is able to sit upright, pick up pieces of food, take them to her mouth and chew them - she can feed herself!

in the past, when babies were started on solid foods at 3 or 4 months, they had to be given purees because they were too young to feed themselves...so if you've waited until your baby is 6 months to introduce solid foods, there's no need to puree the food for them and you can enjoy family food with the rest of the family members...


won't she choke...?

many parents worry about babies choking..however, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon feed...this is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have developed the ability to chew...and they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things..the ability to pick up very small things develops later still..thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get small pieces of food into his mouth...spoon feeding, by contrast, encourages the baby to suck the food straight to the back of his mouth, potentially making choking more likely...

tipping a baby backwards or lying him down to feed him solid foods or even milk all by himself is dangerous...i am sure that was what actually happened in the deadly incidents involving babies and toddlers in day-care centres/nurseries recently, where they were left unattended while feeding with their bottles were nicely secured onto the chest and the babies were helplessly fed and got suffocated with their feeding because the fast flow milk were forced into their mouth and lungs and they can't take it at their own pace and such small babies didn't know how to throw the bottles away if they decided they had enough...a baby who is handling food should always be supported in an upright position..this ensures that food he is not yet able to swallow, or does not wish to swallow, will fall forward out of his mouth...


what food to offer my baby...?

the good thing about BLW, you don't have to cook separate food for your baby..you can share most healthy family foods with your baby (avoiding salt and sugar) , for example fruit, vegetable, meat, cheese, well-cooked eggs, bread, rice, pasta and most fish are suitable..choose foods that are easy to cut into sticks or large strips when your baby is starting...

offering your baby a variety of foods will give her the chance to discover different tastes and textures and ensure she gets all the nutrients she needs...


what about breastfeeding...?

continuing to breastfeed on demand during weaning period will have added advantage of allowing the baby to decide how and when to cut down his milk intake...as she eats more at shared mealtimes, so he will 'forget' to ask for some of his milk feeds, or will take less at each feed..there is no need for her mother to make these decisions for him...

the need of follow-on formula for babies who have weaned to solid food and stop breastfeeding is not always necessary as the babies will get most of the nutrients from variety of nutritious and balanced food, not milk anymore...


remember..!

don't expect your baby to eat much in the beginning..many babies eat only small amounts for the first few months of baby-led weaning and still breastfeeding a lot on demand as they take this transition at their own pace...

also, do expect some mess...they thought mealtimes as playtimes in the beginning...however, this approach utilizes his desire to explore and experiment, and to mimic the activities of others..allowing the baby to set the pace of each meal, and maintaining an emphasis on play and exploration rather than on eating, enables the transition to solid foods to take place as naturally as possible...

lastly, keep it enjoyable..that way your baby will be keen to try new foods and looking forward to mealtimes...

Source: Rapley Weaning.com


in her presentation, Gill Rapley showed a few videos of different ages of babies and toddlers doing BLW and they have good hands and eyes coordination and very good at using cutleries during mealtimes at an early age, together with their family members...

after knowing this fantastic approach, i really hope to use it on my future children and i love to share this bit of information with all of you...and i'm currently hunting for Gill Rapley's Baby Led Weaning: Helping Your Baby to Love Good Food book and DVD at affordable prices {they are not in Malaysia :( }

for those who'd like to watch the video of BLW, try this link and this link or find some other interesting clips at youtube.com

Susuibu.com International Lactation Conference 2010

hope it's not too late for me to blog about this auspicious event occurred from 5th -7th October 2010 at Pullman Lakeside Putrajaya...wide topics were covered by our key speakers - Dr Jack Newman, Sue Cox and Diana West (as mentioned in my previous entry)...

i was glad that i attended the event..i came not only to gain more knowledge and get a first hand experience from the experts, but also to build a good and establishing a network of breastfeeding advocates and exchanging views and sharing experiences with all the participants from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong,Thailand, Philippines, Australia and others...

as for me, this is a good experience and opportunity gain the knowledge and experience, making new friends and adapting other nations' way promoting breastfeeding...

in Indonesia, the Asosiasi Ibu Menyusui Indonesia (AIMI) approaches the Ustaz and Ustazah and teach them the importance and the technique of breastfeeding so that they'll be able to preach their communities that breastfeeding is greatly beneficial for the infants, as proven by science and it is also mandatory as mentioned in the Noble Quran...

in Bangkok, the breastfeeding mothers have WOMBLES (working overstressed mothers of Bangkok lets eat supper)..it's a great way to let yourself out, hanging out with friends and supporting each other...

in Malaysia, we are proud to present the first structured and systematic Mother-to-Mother Support group, the Malaysian Breastfeeding Peer Counselor (MBfPC), which currently have trained around 120 peer counselors and we are working together supporting and educating breastfeeding mothers and their families so that a more favourable breastfeeding outcomes will be seen in Malaysia in years to come...

even though the participants of this conference came for different background, our aim is the same..we want to empower women to choose to breastfeed, to educate society at large about the importance and benefits of breastfeeding, and working together to make breastfeeding a norm among the population...while many knows that breastfeeding is best, but some do not know how to get it done right from the start and lost their confidence in their breastfeeding journey...that's why it is important to build a strong network of breastfeeding advocates in the country so that we can reach to those mothers, fathers, grandparents out there who are in need of help and support to improve the breastfeeding practices for both mother and infant and young child..

i had fun during the conference...food was good, there were many breastfeeding books, gadgets, clothings on sale, not forgetting babies stuffs including cloth diapers, babywearing stuffs and organic and green stuffs on sale at unbeatable prices...we also had fun contests and lucky draws with great prizes offered {which i didn't win :( }

i really admire the efforts brought by Nurturing Concepts Sdn Bhd and Susuibu.com who have made this conference a success...insya Allah, this will be their annual event as part of continuous breastfeeding education in Malaysia...

The Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk

often we hear many new mothers and even experienced mothers complaint of having low milk supply and that somehow hinders their confidence to breastfeed their baby...knowing what goes wrong or trying to work it out why it happens is important, as the management for each problem differs...some might just go for a quick-fix but will that solve the entire problem..?

getting peer support or even professional help may relieve the anxiety and stress; which can aggravate further drop in the milk supply...searching for reliable information through the internet or books widens our knowledge and at the same time help us understand more on the physiology of milk-making in our body...i couldn't agree more that mothers should not be alone during this situation...they need support and encouragement and a word of advice telling them the correct thing to do....

i found a very interesting book that i bought while i was having the milk supply crisis when Imtiaz was around 9 months old...although at that time i was looking for a quick-fix, but after reading the whole book, i realized that there is more that just a quick-fix in making more milk for my little ones...The Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk incorporates the latest research and discoveries about causes of low milk supply, the way your body makes milk and how babies contribute to your milk production.. best of all, it offers valuable suggestions for both time-honoured and innovative ways to make more milk...

the opportunity to meet the author, Diana West during the Susuibu.com International Lactation Conference 2010 recently was exciting...listening to her speech helped me to boost my confidence to continue helping mothers with breastfeeding difficulties...i also got my book signed too...

this is definitely a worth buy...

LCBSP Eid Mubarak Celebration & Mini M&M Concert

for the first time ever, Little Calips Bandar Seri Putra (LCBSP) invited the whole family to attend the Eid Mubarak Celebration...previous years, the event was held at the school compound and was celebrated among the kids and their teachers...this year, they made it a bigger event and invited the whole family to come over to enjoy the fun and to see our children in action...was held on the 25th September 2010 at Anuwar Mahmud Hall UKM Bangi, it was the children's first experience making a stage performance in front of a whole lot of audiences...

the children has been practicing their performances for quite some time, but when the time came that's the time when the lyrics were forgotten, wrong steps occurred, some just too astonished to move on stage, but most of all, they had real fun on stage...even my little boy made his own performance in front of the stage, following the songs and steps of the bigger kids on stage....

at the end of the concert, awards were given out to those children who managed to fast the most during Ramadhan...one of the recipient is my fantastic Jihan who manage to fast the whole month of Ramadhan...

and we had a feast of food afterward...where every family brought potluck, there were more than enough food for everybody present...

alhamdulillah, the event was a success one...we hope to see more of our children's work in the future...