My breastfed boy

Richie used to drink mommy's breastmilk till 14 months old. After weaning off, mommy has difficult times feeding him milk till now.
Recently, after encouraged by other mommies, mommy let him try excess breastmilk after feeding his lil brother. Voila, he loves it and asks for more

Yeayy.now mommy is happy to pump more for Richie

Breastmilk VS Formula Milk

I happen to read some groupies in one of social network about breastmilk. And there are some comments that breastfed babies are smarter, laughter and smile more than formula fed, even some insist to feed the baby on breastmilk alone after 1 year old regardless the weight of baby. Well, I just want to write this facts based on my experiences about some myths and claims.

Claim no.1 
Breastfed baby has stronger immunity than breastfed baby

I totally agree with this, breastmilk has natural immunity booster that can't get from anywhere else.
I breastfeed my baby for 13 months plus and as far as I remember, he never suffer from severe flu or cold.
Even if he got fever, it lasted for 2 days and he still had very good appetite. When he catched mild cold, he never has severe cough or runny nose until he can't sleep, eat or difficulty in breathing
Whereas, I was brought up by formula milk since I was 1 month old and I easily fell sick. I remembered within first 5 years of my life, I have been in and out from hospital and took many antibiotics.
Therefore, those who breastfeed the baby can put mind in ease, while those who don't, just be prepared mentally and physically if your child gets sick more often

Claim no.2
Breastfed baby is thinner than formula fed baby

Well, I agree 50%, it's true that formula milk contains more sugar and fats than breastmilk.
After 6 months, baby starts eating variety of food and no longer drink milk alone.
Unless the baby drinks milk alone for 2 years, then we can see that formula fed baby is fatter than breastfed baby. But if the baby starts eating solid food, it's difficult to judge whether the milk makes the baby fatter.
If the kid is eating too much deep fried food, junk food, sweets, even though he's breastfed, I guess it will make him fatter as well.

Claim no. 3
Formula fed baby will be more hyper active than breastfed baby

I don't totally agree with this, hyper active is also very subjective.
If your baby is between 1 - 3 years old and very active, it's good, meaning that they are learning and exploring.
Formula milk has more sugar sometimes it makes your baby wants to do his own activities more and has less sleeping time.

Claim no.4
Breastfed baby is smarter than formula fed baby

I don't agree with this, smart is very subjective and can't be judged with what milk the kid drinks.
IF the parents nurture and stimulate the kid's brain from beginning, I guess regardless what food or milk they have, they will turn to be smart kids.
Both me and hubby are formula fed, and we are top class in school so it's really myth to claim that.

After all, I just want to say that whoever moms can breastfeed her babies, well done and go for it !
But whoever can't breastfeed her babies due to some reasons, don't be sad....
There's good news, breastfed baby won't like other milk then breastmilk, therefore during the weaning time will be very difficult and they won't like to drink any milk.
And for the formula fed babies, they will still like milk until they are grown up.

Milk is very important especially the first 2 years of baby's life for bones and teeth.

So good luck moms !

Breastfeeding Basic Steps for First Mom

I know this topic is so classic...but I just find out that some of my mommies friends have struggle with it.
So, this is just some tips from my own experience. Hopefully, it helps those mommies to be and first time mommy out there

Week 36 onwards (your pregnancy period)
1. Start massaging your breasts in circular motion when you shower.
2. Start cleaning up your nipples mini holes with warm water and cotton bud
3. Start manual expressing your breasts, when there's liquid come out from your nipples, either it's like plain water or yellowish color. You are safe, meaning that your breasts are already producing milk and ready for your baby.
Notes : Don't do above below week 36, 'cos it will stimulate early delivery

D-Day (Delivery Day)
1. If you are delivering normal, and you are not so tired, ask the nurse to put your baby into your breast right after deliver.
2. If you are delivering by c-section, and you feel tired and drowsy like my case, just take full rest until you have energy and more sober to start breastfeeding.
Well, in my case, I delivered my baby at 7pm and have full rest the whole night. I only met my baby 8 am the next morning.
It's better to have full rest than worry too much to see your baby
3. If you are not breastfeeding right after delivery, just ask the nurse don't feed the baby with bottle.
The baby could survive for 3 days without any milk right after birth. But if you worry that your baby is very hungry, you could tell the nurse that you will do exclusive breastfeeding, so just give a little bit glucose or formula milk by spoon.
4. Before you breastfeed the baby, massage your breasts first and squeeze your nipples to make sure the milk come out. First time, it will be colostreum, which is yellowish transparant color.
5. Latching should be in the correct position, otherwise you and your baby will suffer pain. If you are not sure, you can ask the nurse or lactation nurse
6. Try to breastfeed 15 mins each on each breast, this is to stimulate producing milk. The first 2 days, you can do the feeding every 2 or 3 hours

Notes : 
* for first time mommy, there will be a little bit pain in your nipples, like a bit cracks etc. It's normal as long as it's not bleeding heavily. 'Cos there's a friction between your soft nipples and baby's tongue
Just put nipples cream (I prefer medela) and breastmilk
* It's normal for first time mommy not to have abundant production in the first 2 months. So you can complement it with formula milk, but make sure that your baby latching on to your breast first before having bottle.
And latching as much as possible to stimulate the brain to produce the milk

After D-Day
1. Don't worry about how many hours you need to feed the baby, just base it on supply and demand.
If you baby is hungry, feed him. Sometimes it could be 1 hour each or 2 hours or 3 hours depends on the baby
2. Finish one breast first then continue with the other one
3. If you have abundant supply, express it by manual or electric pump. However, I prefer manual express though
4. Make sure you drink plenty of water (2L/day), eat plenty vegetables, have enough rest (especially in the night) and don't stress out yourself.
Breastmilk is produced abundantly at night - early morning

Notes :
* Some food that you can have it a lot : Green vegetables, sweet corn, green beans, salmon fish, milk
* Some food that you have it less : Cabbage, broccoli, beansprout / taoge, chilly (those gassy vegetables could upset your baby's tummy or create colic)
Shell seafood, egg, nuts (just make sure that your baby doesn't have allergic of those )
* Some food to avoid : Raw food (raw salad, sushi and sashimi, not well done beef steak or satay), coffee and tea, alcohol drinks


Good luck Mommies!