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...

Syawal 1431H

alhamdulillah, we had a blast aidilfitri this year...we went back to negeri sembilan and batu pahat and had great food, meeting up with relatives and enjoying ourselves travelling....the kids behaved well and had lots of fun too..

after the raya break, we went back to work and had another short break during the Malaysia Day..this time we travelled up north and had another round of great fun there...we visited relatives and friends and on the way back to KL, we stopped by at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort for a night stay...we have to come again to this place to enjoy all the fun there next time..!

something to be proud of, this year Jihan stood tall with her personal achievement of being able to fast fully during Ramadhan, alhamdulillah..she treasured the meaning of Ramadhan and Aidilfitri more this year...sharing and caring with others, especially with the less fortunate ones...

May Allah bless us all and accept our good deeds and reward us with Jannah in the hereafter

i'm having milk bleb : (

picture googled from mother-2-mother.com

alhamdulillah, to date at 18 months, Imtiaz is still breastfeeding, without any supplementation of formula milk..even though during the day,he is no more interested to drink my expressed breast milk (EBM) via bottle, cup, etc, he drinks only plain water, juices or occasionally UHT flavoured milk...but when i'm around, i am his readily available milk producer for him...

once a while, i noticed i will have to deal with nipple pain or blocked duct myself, even Imtiaz is considered as big enough to cause such problem to me...during the hari raya break, i had another episode of nipple pain, being the usual area, the right nipple...i thought it was due to improper latching or due to pulling by my aggressive little dinosaur...the pain was sharp, at every feeding, even after i corrected the position...

this morning, upon waking up, i noticed a tiny, white spot on the nipple...i'm having a milk bleb or milk blister...

A milk blister, or blocked nipple pore, is also called a bleb or nipple blister, or simply "milk under the skin." It occurs when a tiny bit of skin overgrows a milk duct opening and milk backs up behind it. A milk blister usually shows up as a painful white, clear or yellow dot on the nipple or areola, and the pain tends to be focused at that spot and just behind it. If you compress the breast so that milk is forced down the ducts, the blister will typically bulge outward. Milk blisters can be persistent and very painful during feeding, and may remain for several days or weeks and then spontaneously heal when the skin peels away from the affected area.. (from kellymom.com)

so, what i did just now, i applied moist heat to the area (i immersed my nipple in a bowl of warm water), then i apply some olive oil on a cotton ball and gently rub the area to soften the blocked pore...then i massage my nipple in the warm water and the milk started to ooze out of the bleb...alhamdulillah, milk is able to eject through that pore...and now i feel a bit better, with less pain...

the recommended treatment will be, applying the moist heat prior to feeding, then nurse the baby often or pump with hospital-grade pump, and followed by antibiotic cream if needed...alternatively if all the methods above do not work, ask your healthcare provider to use a sterile needle to open the bleb...pain relief can be used to relieve discomfort...

remember, to seek immediate treatment if any of the following occurs: fever, inflammation, swelling, any kind of discharge, abscess, etc...

2010 raya preparations

Jihan is so excited, she sleeps in her raya tudung!

alhamdulillah, towards the end of ramadhan, i am very proud of my Jihan who is still fasting fully until today...she is very excited to complete her fasting this ramadhan and very eager to celebrate eid...i am sure that this is the most meaningful ramadhan and idulfitri for her as she reaches the highest achievement in her life....

as for us, similar like years before, the preparation for idulfitri is done in moderation..this year, we are wearing purple and each of us got 1 piece each of baju kurung/baju melayu...for casual wear, the kids got 2 pieces each and a pair of shoes that is also to be used for day to day occasion...

kuih raya..? i managed to make 4 types and 2 cannisters already finished...alhamdulillah, i'm very happy that somebody will eat my kuih raya...

insya allah, we will be going back to Negeri Sembilan and Batu Pahat from 1st raya until Monday..dear hubby starts working and Monday and he'll travel back to work on Monday morning...we weill continue our journey to Muar visiting friends.. and on Malaysia Day holiday, we are going back to Sg Petani to celebrate idulfitri with my parents in-law...

wishing all my readers Eid Mubarak, Maaf Zahir batin...drive carefully and have a safe raya...

Parents-Teachers Meet Little Caliphs Bandar Seri Putra

last saturday, we went to the parents-teachers meet of Little Caliphs Bandar Seri Putra to see our little darling's school performance and achievements...

from my observation, Jihan had made such an improvement since she started going to kindergarten..being a busy working mother of 2, it is not easy for me to give my utmost attention to her and to coach her by myself...that's why we decided to send her to kindergarten at the age of 3 and a half year old because we were aware of our limitations as parents...alhamdulillah, sending her to the Little Caliphs program, an English- Islamic Integrated education was a correct choice...Jihan was able to grasp and digest the materials well...though she seldom tells us what she learned at school ( even when we asked her many, many times), she unconsciously shows her intelligent and talent when she is doing play role as a teacher herself...sometimes, she reads aloud her books and she loves to improvise her readings and making her own story...

during the last semester, she received good comment from the teachers, although she was quite playful and talkative...and this time round, her teacher told us that in term of achievement, she is actually far ahead from most her friends...she reads both malay and english well...and her iqra' also has improved..she is currently going to book 6...her achievement during this ramadhan, being able to fast fully, has become an example to other students as well..she is able to solat and recite the readings in solat well too...alhamdulillah..even though she is naughty and sometimes stubborn, she performs well in school...

i believe, the teachers and the parents complement each other in our children's education...and choosing the right method in early education is also essential as a core for our children's foundation...

we pray that our children will continue to pave their way to success, insya allah...

iftar with the unfortunate orphans

yesterday, we were invited to break fast with a few unfortunate orphans from Darul Izzah Bangi and Kajang area at Dewan MPKJ Kajang..the event was organized by Susuibu.com, Nurturing Concepts, Sdn Bhd, Sands Consulting Sdn Bhd and MPKJ....

i was glad that we were given this opportunity to do some good deeds in Ramadhan and to contribute some duit raya to the unfortunate children...i took this opportunity to teach Jihan to be grateful to Allah for what He has gives us and how fortunate we are to still have our parents with us...

Imtiaz, as usual kept on running around the big hall and it was quite difficult for us to enjoy our meals :( nevertheless, we had good meals of kambing bakar, satay, white rice and delicious lauk and kuih...

Imtiaz also helped me to distribute the duit raya packets to the kids while Jihan and papa ate their meals...

alhamdulillah, until today, Jihan has fast fully since day 1 of ramadhan...she is such a strong girl...we are very proud of her...

i hope we can continue to help the poor, the less fortunate and the needy as much as we can...and i hope to instill this good value in our children from now on and hopefully they'll grow up to be good muslims, insya allah...

Jihan's Ramadhan Journey - day 10 today

alhamdulillah...we are entering the 10th ramadhan today and i'm very proud of my girl who has been fasting fully for 10 days all these while!! congratulations, dear...at first, i thought it was going to be quite hard for her...after she went through her first few days with a bit of crankiness towards the end of the day, now she is more calm and more patient waiting for iftar...

as usual, her appetite has always been big since the first day of ramadhan...she has been requesting me to buy murtabak almost everyday...luckily, that's everybody's favourite too...at the end of the day, it was us who finished it for her...

and my little boy, Imtiaz is not bad too...he will have his iftar with us and likes nasi kerabu or any other couloured rice very much!...he wakes up for sahur and enjoys his meal very much...and during the day, he somehow eats a little less than usual..fasting as well, huh..?

alhamdulillah, we are enjoying ramadhan very much...and insya allah, we'll sail through the rest of ramadhan in barakah....

Jihan's first attempt fasting...

alhamdulillah, my little girl is getting more mature....yesterday, she fast the whole day and broke her fast together with us...she was so excited to break her fast with us and demanded a Chicky Meal from KFC....

it was easy to wake her up for sahur and she had a proper meal during sahur....later, she went to school in the morning and many of the children in the school also fast....she told us that she mostly read books rather than playing with her friends in order to conserve her energy....when she came back, she slept for an hour before going for Iqra' class...

i called her a few times asking her whether she is still fasting or not and i was very proud of her achievement....

when i came back, she was so excited looking at the kuihs and some dishes that i brought home for iftar....and when the time for iftar was almost there, she sat at the table and kept on looking at the clock....

and when it was time, she put almost everything on her plate and drank a whole glass of fruit juice to quench her thirst...

alhamdulillah, she made it on the first day...and today, she was very eager to fast for the whole month...and when i called her just now, she is still fasting...

congratulations Jihan...we are so proud of you..!

Ramadhan Al Mubarak 2010

Ahlan Ya Ramadhan Kareem....alhamdulillah, this year He gives us the opportunity to celebrate Ramadhan again...this is my 2nd year fasting with Imtiaz still fully breastfeeding...alhamdulillah...since Imtiaz is still reverse cycling, there is no worry for me to express enough breastmilk for him during the day time...although i do express them to maintain milk supply, twice a day, 2-3 oz each session....i've blogged about a few tips during ramadhan before to maintain the milk supply, here and here...

insya Allah, this Ramadhan, i'm trying my best to spend more time to do extra good deeds and ibadah (i already missed last night's tarawikh due to tiredness and Imtiaz was a bit cranky and kept on breastfeeding every single hour)...

and this year, Jihan is trying her best to fast for the first time...! she had been very excited before the Ramadhan month and kept telling us that she is 5 year old and must fast...and her Atok's friend told her if she fasts throughout the Ramadhan month, she can get money!

so this morning, it was easy to wake her up for sahur....and she ate a plate of rice and drank her favourite strawberry yogurt drink until he stomach was full....and Imtiaz joined us for sahur as well, enjoying some pasta and soup....

we should encourage our children to start fasting at the early age... there is no harm to give some kind of reward at the end of the day, at the same time educating them that fasting is obligated among healthy Muslims during Ramadhan...

i found this interesting free download fasting chart from ALIM Kids Bookshop.. perhaps this will encourage our children to fast this Ramadhan, insya Allah....

One Minute Simultaneous Breastfeeding

in conjunction with the recent World Breastfeeding Week 2010, the Mother-to-Mother Peer Support (MMPS) group held an event, the "one-minute simultaneous breastfeeding" where mothers breastfeed their babies for one minute together at the same time...

this year, mother and baby pairs who were unable to attend physically at the event were able to participate as well by joining them on 7th August 2010 at 3.30 pm...

Imtiaz and I showed our support by participating this event yesterday and we were proud to be part of 175 mother-baby pairs this year who participated in the event as well...this is our 2nd year doing the similar event...last year, we physically attended the event at Kajang...here's the post about it...

congratulations to all of us and breastfeeding rocks the world..yeay!

Happy Breastfeeding Week 2010

i hope it's not too late to wish all of you a Happy Breastfeeding Week 2010, which is celebrated every year on the 1st week of August....

the theme for this year, "Breastfeeding: Just 10 Steps- the Baby-Friendly Way"...

it is well known that research shows that the best feeding option globally is the initiation of breastfeeding within the first half hour of life, exclusive breastfeeding for a full six months and continued breastfeeding through the second year or beyond... breastfeeding improves short and long term maternal and child health thus contributing to a happy, healthy nation...

UNICEF recently noted that the reduction of child deaths from 13 million globally in 1990 to 8.8 million in 2008 is partly due to the adoption of basic health interventions such as early and exclusive breastfeeding...more and more studies have shown that implementation of the Ten Steps with continued postnatal support contributes to increased breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding at the local, national and global levels....

Recent studies have shown that with more of the Ten Steps in place, the more likely women are to achieve their breastfeeding goals... this confirms that importance for every maternity, hospital, clinic and community to strive to increase the number of steps in place, even if they cannot achieve all ten steps immediately...therefore every step counts!

*adapted from WABA WBW2010

my little Imtiaz is still fully breastfeeding..in fact, he is reverse cycling now....he refused to drink the expressed breastmilk during the day or when i'm away...so he'll wait for me to come back and get hold to my boops till he finishes his business....at night, he just won't get off me at all....

i really treasure every moment with him now...especially when he is breastfeeding and looks into my eyes and gives me his charming smile, with his hands exploring all parts of my face and upper body....this moment will soon wear off, eventually.....

he is thriving well, active and healthy...and he loves mama's milk so much!