Eventful Trip Home

Hubby and I planned the trip since LT was in my womb.. We anxiously waited for LT's appearance before applying for a passport for him and finally booking the airplane tickets. Did you know that the Malaysian MyKid Card is not even used for passport application?! We waited to receive the card, which came two months late to the PJ registrar's office only to find out that the dumb card is not required.. Humbug!

We chartered a taxi to take us to the airport on Saturday.. Decided to bring his car seat along for the long journey.. First off, the Proton Iswara taxis DOES NOT have long enough seat belts to secure GRACO car seats. So poor hubby had to clasp on the car seat with the precious cargo inside for the whole trip to the airport. To make matters worse, LT started having running nose just before the trip. =( He was cranky but well behaved through-out the journey.

I read somewhere that babies need to breastfeed or suck on something during take-off and touch-down to aid the change in pressure inside their ears. So, very gung-ho, I helped LT to latch on as soon as the plane starts to taxi to the runway.. Little did we know, it was a 20 minute wait before we are clear to take-off. =( By that time, LT already drained one of my boobs and is not interested in feeding anymore. However, once the plane started to lift off, LT graciously accepted the 2nd boob and happily suckled until we touched down. =)

Btw, the airline doesn't permit the carry-on car seat or stroller, but they would happily store it for us once we reached the plane entrance. LCCT had a very basic nursing room, cold and thankfully just cleaned. It had very bad ventilation and LT didn't like it one bit. Thumbs down! On a stark contrast, Changi's nursing room was properly ventilated, comfortable and clean. It even had a private room for nursing! Thumbs up!

We were greeted at the airport by enthusiastic Granma who proceeded to shower LT with lots of kisses. Then off we went to search for Granpa who had parked the car and was walking towards the arrivals. At home, LT was greeted by Xiao Ku. LT gurgled with happiness!

Day 2 was Father's Day, and we were all excited and ready to go to Christ Methodist Church, which LT's grandparents attend. As Grandpa and Daddy stood up during a Father's Day well-wishing during service, mummy could see both dear faces were beaming with pride and joy at the little bundle of joy in mummy's arms. What a Father's Day! =) And it was Daddy's first Father's Day celebration too.. =) There was a major Mum-mum session at home with Grandpa cooking very yummy pomfret! Yum-yum! =P

Day 3 brought along cousins J & J over to grandparent's house.. My oh my, were they over the top at seeing their little cousin LT. It's the first time the cousins met. Oh, it was also the first time Ta Ku met her new nephew. The 2 cousins were so eager to see LT.. Younger J was so happy that she kept holding LT's hands and feet and saying, " So cute!! "
Older J kept prancing about and making LT laugh at his antics. Then we went off to dinner at Waraku, Granpa's favourite japanese restaurant.

Day 4 was a shopping trip to Orchard where Daddy and Mummy found out that the GSS is actually a minor sale with major shopping places offering only 10, at most 20% discount on the items that we wanted to buy.. Like the Philips Steamer & Blender for making baby food.. It's actually more expensive in Sg than M'sia! However, we did manage to buy a pair of cute rompers saying "I love Dad" and "I love Mum" at a very cheap price.. After a tiring day, plus with a stuffy nose, LT decided to throw a tantrum.. And we zoomed off back home in a taxi fast.. Mummy had to cradle LT until he sleeps and while he sleeps. The moment Mummy puts down LT into his cot, he started to yell his lungs out. =( Poor LT. Sleeping must have made his nose blocked. Grandma figured that the best remedy for stuffy noses would be to give more breastmilk. So, Mummy fed LT every 3 hours and sometimes even sneak a feeding in between when LT's sleepy. =P Oh, and we nearly forgot.. Daddy cooked us very nice lobsters for dinner. =P

Day 5, LT's nose got slightly better.. And we bundled off to City Hall to meet Auntie SW and Uncle ZW. LT wasn't his usual chirpy self yet, but he gave good smiles to enthusiastic Auntie SW! What a trooper!


Day 6 was a restful day for all of us.. But mummy got a surprise call from Uncle A, mummy's only sibling. Uncle A was not around when LT made his first appearance and has never seen LT yet. Uncle was away on flight training in Australia and could not take any leave home to welcome our family's latest addition. The very moment Uncle A completed his flight test, he boarded the plane back Sg.. Eager to see LT for we would be leaving on day 8 morning. So, that night, after Uncle A reported back at Seletar, he dropped his luggage and came over for dinner with the invitation of LT's Grandma (mummy's cool mother-in-law). =)
Here's a nice pic of Uncle A, Mummy and I. Notice I was a bit grumpy? Well, that's because I was pretty sleepy then.

Day 7 was pretty uneventful, with LT recuperating at home from the cold. Mummy and Daddy did sneak off to buy "pineapple bak kwa" for souvenirs.. We had another big feast at home with all the whole clan.. This is a nice picture we took:

Day 8, and it was time to say goodbye.. Granpa, Grandma and Xiao Ku accompanied us to Changi.. Sigh.. we hate farewells.. LT even more so.. He did a major poop in the waiting lounge of Changi and we had already cleared immigrations and were waiting to board the plane. Hehe, what a frantic time it was, two parents hurriedly cleaning out the big mess and changing the little one, diapers, clothes, booties and mittens!
The trip back to LCCT was good, with LT suckling away at both boobs throughout the journey. However, the trip back to home was a different matter.. We got another Proton Iswara taxi which had a spoilt airconditioning system! LCCT should really do something about the taxi services that ply the area. They should ban the old rickety taxi types from coming in.. I may sound crude and unforgiving, but my heart breaks when LT cried the whole journey home due to the heat in the car!!! Do you know babies could die from heat stroke from too hot a car journey?!! If anything were to happen to my LT, I would have the hide of the taxi company! Thank God we survived the trip home. Poor LT was soaked through and he had such a sad, grumpy face that your heart breaks if you ever saw him! =(

Flying With Baby

Hubby and I were excited as we planned this trip a few months back.. In fact, it was even before Little Tyke was born. =) We wanted LT to spend time with LT's loving paternal grandparents & see where his daddy grew up.. With the added bonus of having LT's grandparents to dote on him, this trip would be a memorable one.. Mommy started packing like 3 weeks before, and even considered taking the kitchen sink with them.. With the adding crates of stuff and appliances (namely LT's toys and everyday necessities), we find that we need to upsize our luggage to 15kg per person.

Since we would be taking the budget airline, we figured we must check what we could bring and could not.. And what services we could use.. Before booking, hubby checked if we could bring the baby pram & the safety seat that comes with it.. It says on the website that it would be free.

Mommy, being the ultimate kiasu type, called the airline to check whether we could carry baby on the safety seat as a hand carry.. As I tried calling the airline on their "usual" line, it was totally unhelpful as the answering machine dolled out inflexible options for me to choose from. After 20 minutes of listening to "letters A, press 1, letters B, press 2.." from the cold mechanical voice, I decided to call it quits and called the"premium line" at RM1.95 per minute.. [Yeah, this airline knew how to do business.. Even when you have a tiny inquiry].

Fine, the call was placed a little before 1pm today and it lasted 8 minutes.. Oh well, what's a little charge if you could get your facts straight right?
WRONG! I couldn't be anymore wrong! I was told that, I could not place LT on the safety seat, and was not allowed to take the seat on board with me.. Okay, fair enough.. Then, the staff on the other line said I have to check in the pram and safety seat, plus, if it's over the baggage weight limit, I would be charged.

I was like, "Huh?! But your website says it is okay to bring the pram."

The guy on the other line had the cheek to reply in a mannered way,"Where does it say in the website?"

I was totally flummoxed, "I forgot. It was so long ago when we checked before booking."

Seeing that the conversation was going nowhere, and that LT had begun rousing from his sleep and is now crying for mommy, I ended the call and tended to him. Now that my indignation has subsided, I went on the web to check the terms and conditions of carriage. Sure enough.. It says here:

Checked Baggage : A baggage fee is charged for the carriage of Checked Baggage, which will be charged at a discounted rate if purchased at time of booking or up to 24 hours prior to the scheduled time of departure or at a full rate at the Airport Check-in counters. A minimum of 15kg of Checked Baggage may be purchased at first instance and then in increments of 5kg. Any passenger checking in baggage which exceeds 15kgs or the amount purchased at time of booking will be charged on a per kg basis at the Airport Check-in counters. Please refer to our Fee Schedule for details on all rates. The fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.

Baby buggies, manual wheelchairs, mobility devices and walking frames are carried free of charge. There is no baggage allowance for infants, although a pram/buggy will be carried free of charge.

So there!!! Humbug to the RM1.95/minute call service!

On a lighter note, the guy on the other line says that we could ignore the "Adult and infant qty" when booking a seat. Adults being aged 2 years and above & infants aged between 9 days to 24 months. That would ensure that LT has a seat of his own, in his safety seat, strapped and SAFE by booking him as an adult. Another way to get around the system.. As taught by their own employee!

Breastfeeding Made Easy

While I was pregnant with LT, I had a comforting vision of me and baby rocking together on a rocking chair, breastfeeding. That lovely vision encouraged hubby to purchase a nice rocking chair from Ikea..

Together we anticipated LT's arrival with lovely visions of the perfect lovely, cuddly and well-behaved baby. Haha, we were 2/3rd correct except for the well-behaved part (LT's is one alert and mischievous baby..) Little did we know, or are prepared with the difficulties of breastfeeding. Everywhere from adverts on telly, articles on books to word of mouth from strangers echoed that breastfeeding is the best for babe and mommy. Yeah.. they forgot the most important part.. It takes a lot of determination, pain and confidence to pull it off successfully.

An article in Reader's Digest on October 2009 that I came across totally bowled me. I should have read that before I started to breastfeed. Many people say that breastfeeding is best, but they fail to tell the moms-to-be that it is super-difficult and it is not by instinct. Both mom and child need to learn this process and complement each other.

I dare say that I had a rude shock when I dealt with painful sore breasts, thrush and cracked nipples.. No one said anything about discomfort, let alone pain.. Everything made it look so easy.. And then it hits you.. Are you a failure being a mom? You cant even feed your child properly.. Is your child getting enough nutrition? How come you cringe each time your child feeds? Silently praying that the ordeal would be short and yet baby has enough to feed.. I cringe & grit my teeth everytime LT starts to suckle during those first few weeks.. The pain was enough to bring tears in my eyes.. That and with the added stress of "entertaining" the confinement lady really made confinement difficult.

Confinement lady was chinese, from Kepong.. At first, she said she was pro-breast-feeding, but after a few days of saying I have not enough milk & pestering us to get formula, Hubby & I felt that she wasn't walking her talk. Anyway, Hubby told her up-front not to be so negative and start encouraging me instead. She took the advice none to graciously.. She told LT after one bfeeding session, "Why? Mommy's milk not nice?" Anyway, I'll talk more about Chinese confinement and myths later in another posting..

Back to breastfeeding.. During the early weeks, both mother & child are learning about each other. Particulaly a new mom and her newborn. Me, a new moms knew next to nothing about bfeeding, only what I read in books, therefore instinct, or the lack of thereof, was not one I possesed immediately. I had no exposure to bfeeding and didnt know anything about proper latching on. LT too, had lots to learn.. Together we went thru sore nipples, bleeding and hunger (on LT's part). We were both tired and stressed out. Hormones were doing yo-yo on my moods. Sometimes I felt like crying and giving up. I prayed often for strength and perseverence, and God graciously extended them to me.. What I also found helpful during those few weeks were the encouragement I recieved from family and friends. Thank you all! =)

I'm glad we persevered thru all that.. LT is now 6 months old, healthy, strong (thank God for His blessings!) and naughty. Even though his weight is on the borderline of 25% and 50%, the ped said he's doing great. Oh, and the rocking chair from Ikea? We didn't use it all too often.. We found that armchairs from Ikea are better.. Rocking made it difficult to latch on.. But on the hindsight, the rocking chair was good to lull LT to sleep. =)

Baby's First Word!

Little Tyke said his first word!! It's "Mam-mam!' LT was officially 4months and 6days' old then.

Hehe, this happened when we were coming back from a tiring day of shopping at 1 Utama with LT's grandparents. LT was fretting cos he didn't sleep and eat well whenever we go shopping. He was fretting in the car as mummy was driving home.

Granma said LT was looking silently and grumpily at daddy the whole trip before he started fretting, and then it happened, out of the blue, LT said, "Mam-mam!" Everyone in the car heard it loud and clear! We cheered! However LT was still grumpy and he couldn't join us in cheering as it was 1/2 hour late for his milk.

Well done LT! We await for your next few words!

Celebration of a Milestone

Little Tyke was due for his baby wellness check-up on Tuesday and his 4 mo HIB jab and 2nd Rotateq.. He's now a big boy! 4 months and 4 days' old. Daddy and mummy went early to the hospital and found out that your usual doctor was on leave. Hummph.. No one bothered to tell us? So we have to wait another 45minutes before we could see another pediatrician, Dr Paran.
Mummy made a long list of questions to ask the doc, we managed most of it before he was called into the operation theater. LT was very brave, thou he screamed his lungs out before doc could touch him for his dose of Rotateq, his cries were lesser than the baby before him. Considering that they both got their jabs. Possibly LT already knew what was coming (the jab). He was fidgety the whole time in the hospital before the HIB jab.

Looking around in the waiting room, we noticed that LT was a bit on the small side. Especially when a great-grandma of another 3 month old baby boy asked if LT's 4 months. Wow, that great granny looked so young, and so wise! She took one look at LT and announced that he's 4 months and every bit of a rascal cos of his mischievous look. Her great grandson looked very chubby and had a bigger stature than LT. Hmm, that got mummy worried.

When it was LT's turn to see the doctor, mummy asked about LT's sleeping habits (only 10 - 12 hours a day!) and weight (LT now weighs 6.2kg, which was short of the expected 6.5kg). Doc said 10 hours of sleep is okay for his age. Then doc asked what formula was LT on, he said 750g gain in weight for a month is still above the minimum, so no cause for concern. Daddy told the doc that LT was on total breastfeeding (TBF). Doc gave a surprised look and exclaimed, "That's very good! Very little TBF babies are so chubby!" [At this point, you could see mummy's got relief written all over her face]

Mummy's always been a bit phobic on LT's weight. Ever since the beginning when many people commented that LT's skinny. We keep telling them that he's on TBF, but they seem to not register it in their heads. LT's been gaining 900g every month since birth until April.. Most babies we see in church and now chubbiness extreme. =) Very contented and sleepy babies.. Unlike LT, whose all eyes and curious as a little kitten =P. Mummy read somewhere that babies who are TBF are generally:
1) more alert
2) more active
3) progress faster (cos less weight to bear on their little bodies makes them easier to turn and crawl faster)
4) skinnier
5) healthier (less likely to be hospitalized due to antibodies provided in mother's milk)
6) smarter (higher IQ)
7) more confident (cos closer to and more skin contact with mum)
All of the above which encouraged mummy and daddy to persevere on BF.

Upon checking the growth charts, mummy found out that LT actually improved in his weight percentile. He used to be hovering above 25%, but now, he is in the 50% line. Hmm, it could be cos the chart tapers as babies age.

However, looking at the chart, Dr Paran marked LT's head circumference as 38cm, which was lesser than what Dr Peter marked 2 months back, LT was already 38.5cm then. Mummy went straight to alert mode! Daddy got concerned too and we measured LT's head again, yielding a healthy 42cm. Whew! Maybe Dr Paran didn't measure at the correct spot? Oh well, these things would have errors. Not that we have anything against Dr Paran, we think that he has many years of experience.. Possibly the next check-up would reveal a more accurate figure? The next check-up would be due next month, but the family is leaving for a week-long trip to see Granma and Granpa. Hmm, maybe we shall change pediatrician?

Dr Kwan's very good and he's got 30 years' of experience. More importantly, he's office opens on weekends and weekday evenings. That means, daddy doesn't have to take a day of leave to bring LT to see the doctor. Hmm, I guess we should consider changing from Assunta to Dr Kwan's..

Baby on Strike Again - Part 2

I'm glad to say Little Tyke is back on track again, taking both sides of the boobs. =) After a week of partial striking, he's back to normal now. Both hubby and I tried nearly everything to get him to take his normal meal portion for that painful week.. until mummy stumbled upon a great find!

Turns out that Little Tyke seeks out the boobs for comfort and sleep. Every time he gets sleepy, he would seek out the boobs. Also mummy found him more co-operative and easy on the boobs when he's half asleep.. =) We never did find out the reason for his strike.. Maybe it was a cold? or an ear infection? Only he knows...

The next time he's on a strike, mummy's got a few tricks up her sleeves.
1) wait till LT is sleepy, then feed.. =)
2) always tickle LT under the chin when he stops feeding and his eyes closed to prevent LT from falling into deeper sleep. Sometimes LT takes a breather after suckling too long but his eyes remain open.
3) switch breasts when he starts to drift to deep sleep, but only after 8mins.

Hopefully LT doesn't strike again..

The Beginning

My dear child, this blog is dedicated to you and your future siblings. Daddy and mommy would like to minute down every significant happening in our little family so that you know what happened during your early days. Mommy realized soon after giving birth to you that her memory is not as good as before, hence, to avoid losing these precious memories of your early childhood, mommy dedicates this blog to you.

Daddy and mommy got married on May 1st 2009.. Shortly after, you made an appearance =)!
We were so blessed to know the news of your impending arrival. God indeed has been gracious to us. We first broke the news to Mommy's parents (yr grandparents) during Father's Day 2009. Wow, were your grandparents happy. =) Then we broke the news to Daddy's parents.. Hehe, everyone was overjoyed and anticipating.

Our family had 3 persons in it before your arrival, God, Daddy and Mommy.. And with baby makes four! It was on the eve of 22nd January 2010, 1 week after your prenatal appointment with Dr Paul, when daddy and mommy were watching Monster Sharks on You-tube (cos there was nothing to watch on telly on a Friday night), when mommy felt tired and wanted to sleep early. Guess you were preparing mommy for the big event the next day. =P

You woke mommy up to toilet around 4.30am on 23rd January 2010 when mommy wondered why her pee would not stop flowing.. Mommy called daddy up, and together, we prayed hard, as we think 35 weeks is still a bit early for you to make an appearance. At around 6am, daddy decided to go to the market and stock up our fridge, cos we are running low, and just in case you arrive early, we would not have to make lots of trips to the market.

Mommy stayed at home and tried to call Dr Paul, he was on surgery since early in the morning. Mommy finally got his assistant at around 7.30am and he asked us to drop-by the hospital. His voice sounded calm and we thought, okay, maybe Little Tyke would not arrive so soon. Nonetheless, daddy and mommy took a shower, packed the hospital bag and went to the hospital at 9.30am. Little did we know, the nurses there ushered us all into the labour room.

When we knew what was happening, daddy and mommy were close to tears. Firstly, we were worried that you are born to early.. Dr Paul gave mommy a jab in the butt to develop your lungs. The loud cry you made while the nurses were cleaning you up shows that your lungs were were well developed. =P
Second thing that moved us to tears, was that we are to become parents! All the joy and the fear of bungling up the Christian parenting job overcame us.. We were laughing one minute and crying the next. Hehe..

We managed to take this pic before mommy's contraction became too strong. Picture was taken around 12pm.. Half and hour later, the contractions started coming around 15 minutes apart. It came faster and faster and finally, after much grunting and pushing, you made an appearance! Daddy remembered holding mommy's hand and encouraging mommy to push. Daddy was a bit worried when Dr Paul said he would assist mommy with the vacuum. However, the worry was unfounded as your head was the loveliest little head we've ever seen.

Mommy remembers the moment you were placed on her chest. Aww, such a sweet little thing. "Hello Little One.." was mommy's first sentence to you. Daddy looked at you so proudly and echoed the same sentence.. You are a little trooper! You managed to come out just after 4 and a half hours of hard work. =) Daddy and mommy are so proud of you! =) You are a feistiest, healthiest 2.9kg, 35th week-er we've ever seen (in fact, only ever seen)!

Daddy and mommy always say a word of prayer in the morning, to be good Christian parents to you and your future siblings. We intend to raise you all up in God's way, to prepare you all for the best possible gift of all, salvation thru Jesus Christ. So far, we managed to bring you to church after your fullmoon party. And we've been bringing you to church every Sunday ever since. Also, mommy tries to do her quiet time with you in the morning whenever you are awake. =)

Grandma and grandpa also joined in and gave you Sunday School songs in a CD to listen to everyday. Hehe, so far, we are pleased to see you enjoy yourself with the songs, especially Clap Your Hands. You gave your first laugh when grandma clapped your hands together! =) We can't wait when you could sing the song yourself.. The joy in your face would be a thing to blog for! We hope to introduce more of God to you as the days progress. Amen!

Baby on Strike Again

Our Little Tyke has endless ways of making daddy and mummy concerned. Last week during the bowel strike, this week, it's a nursing strike. Aiyah, Little Tyke hasn't even been to a union meeting, let alone joined one.. How come he does 2 strikes in a fortnight?

Last week we thought that Little Tyke was having constipation, and hence, didn't want to nurse so much. Before this, he was taking both breasts at a feeding. In total on-breast time would be around 25 minutes minimum. Then, he started shaving off some minutes, and it went down to 20 minutes. After that, he strike-off one side of the boob during a night time feed.

This week, he went from one feeding to the whole night feeding (3 times). We were super worried, but the book says it's normal to have a nursing strike between 3 months to 8 months. Today, he totally struck off the 11am feed! Mummy was so worried she called Little Tyke's pediatrician. Doc says as long as Little Tyke is not running a fever and suckles strongly during the remaining feeds, he should be okay and do not warrant a trip to the hospital..

Mummy did a little research and found out that it may be a teething problem (which we could not do anything about but sit it out), something weird that mummy ate (which is probably the flaxseed oil, fyi, mummy stopped taking that this morning) or he may be having a cold or thrush (neither of which he has.. by the way, breastfed babies rarely get cold or flu). So it's either possibility one or two.. Either way, we need to sit and wait it out. =(

Oh well, Wong household need to pray more now so that Little Tyke's nursing strike lasts only a few days and not up to weeks' like what the book says! Pray with us okay?

Beauty and the Breast (sic!) - Part 2

I congratulate all the new moms who decided to breast feed (BF) their babies! It would be a tough learning process for both mom and the baby.. Believe me, I know.. There would be tremendous amount of pressure as in our Chinese Asian society there are weird misconceptions:
1) BF is to save money and hence, for the poorer people.
2) Formula is more superior in nutritional value than breast milk (could not be more wrong! Read the labels on yr pack of formula - even the manufacturers say that breast milk is the best source of food for your little one).
3) Chinese Asian ladies have small boobs - so they produce less milk, unable to fully supply their babies needs. (Err, my boobs are small, but milk still comes in and satisfy my Little Tyke)
4) BF is troublesome. (BF is difficult to start, but after yr milk supply is regular, you do not need to carry bottles, warmer, formula, sterilizers, warm water and bib each time you go out. Just lift your shirt and pop a boob in yr hungry baby's mouth [pardon the crudeness])
5) Breast milk can go bad in your breasts! (This is a whole load of baloney! My confinement lady said that my baby had an allergic reaction due to bad breast milk in my boobs.. Err, for everyone's info - breast milk is more sterile than yr hands after you wash it with soap!)

I had to battle with one or more of these comments above during my early weeks of BF. No doubt breast milk comes in a little slow, you could supplement with formula for the first 2 weeks (some books totally ban the bottle until baby is around 8-9 weeks old to avoid nipple confusion), but lets not be too harsh on the new mom. I suffered from cracked, peeling and bleeding nipples from the first week onwards. Heck, I'm still having sore nipples as my Little Tyke is a ferocious eater after his 3 hour nap.

Oh, treatment for sore nipples would be to put Cocoa Butter or Papaw Ointment on the affected nipple. My mom-in-law was so sweet to buy me a tube of Palmer's cocoa nursing butter. I was using the papaw ointment at first, but it didn't heal as fast as the cocoa butter.

For bleeding nipples, I rested that breast for a day, but did not miss out on pumping it as baby feeds on the other breast. If I don't pump it, my milk supply would go low, and the breast would shrink in size. =( And after missing 2 feeds, my boob would be so hard, it's painful.

The expressed breast milk (EBM) could be fed to baby by bottle after he/she has finished with the good boob or if baby is satisfied with one boob, it can be stored in the freezer for emergency use. Depending on how good yr freezer is, it can stay fresh up to 1 week for a single door fridge. If it is a 2 door fridge, 3 months (but I usually use them in a months' time cos we open and close the freezer door a few times a day). If you have a separate freezer (temperature kept at a constant below 0 degrees C) that you don't keep other foodstuff other than yr EBM, it can stay fresh up to 6 months! Oh, precaution when pumping, we always sterilize our hands, the pump and the bottle to store our EBM. EBM must not be stored in the same compartment as raw meat to avoid cross contamination (this my hubby strongly agrees).

When I went back to work, I had to purchase a few bottles for milk storage. I made sure I pumped and stored at least 4 bottles of 3 oz of EBM before I start work. This is to make sure Little Tyke has enough to last him at least past the first day at work. It gave me added stress as I know I have to pump 3 hourly at work all the time cos Little Tyke would use up the supply in the freezer in a day. After that added stress, I purchased more bottles and used them to build up a supply of EBM. Hehe, I now have 12 bottles of stored EBM, but I don't use them anymore, cos I'm always around my baby now! Hmm, better start using them soon.. I read that the longer you store the EBM, the less antibodies it contains (The Nursing Mother's Companion - Kathleen Huggins).
Another book I find helpful is What to Expect First Year by Heidi Murkoff.

Beauty and the Breast (sic!)

New moms would have read (sometime during their pregnancy) how breastmilk is the best source of food for their babies. I was among one of them.. My hubby and I were advocates of breastfeeding (BF) until we found out how difficult it really is. =(

One interesting point though, formula was not invented until society became "civilized", so how did the people of biblical times fed their infants? @_@.. God made women with breasts (errm, duhh?) to feed their babies, so, I should be able to feed mine right?

Among my circle of friends in church (there were a few who were pregnant at the same time as I), all struggled with BF. 4 decided to supplement (I was one of them) whereas 1 of them decided from the start to give formula. Among the 4, two were still supplementing and 1 dropped BF after 2 months because she resumed working. After many desperate prayers, crying bouts, doubts, and very sore breasts, I managed to fully BF my little tyke (shown in photo) towards the end of the 2nd month. This is all thanks to God and my very patient and supportive husband (who still wakes up in the middle of the night to accompany me BF).

During the first month, both hubby and I were praying so hard.. partly because there were so many negative comments from the confinement lady. She claimed she was pro-BF in the beginning, but later on proved to be a stumbling block as she said my breastmilk went bad (in my own breasts?!!) & that baby doesn't like it. I'm thankful that God blessed me with the ones closest to me, my hubby, my parents, my in-laws, Godmother & friends who were supportive. At first, little tyke was suckling almost every hour and after pumping, I could only produce 1/2 - 1 ounce from both breasts. Little tyke was an angry little baby & hubby and I caved in during the 2nd week and bought formula for supplementing at night.

I guess my low milk production was due to a few things:
1) too many negative comments made me stressed out.
2) I was weak after childbirth due to an internal bleeding.
3) Not resting well enough.
4) Not eating more nutritious food.
5) Not drinking enough fluids.
6) Not giving baby suckle enough (my breasts were so raw and sore that each nursing session I had to cringe my teeth. =( This was due to both mother and baby learning to complement each other..)

My milk production increased slowly when my mom-in-law asked me to take some vitamin C pills and my dad bought Cellfood and Transfer Factor for me. After eating them everyday for a month, I felt stronger (and partly cos the confinement lady left us before the month is up, finally enabling hubby and I some breathing space). By then I was up to 2 1/2 ounces per pumping session. I then began to feel more confident and began nursing almost every 2 hours as soon as Little Tyke cries, I pop a breast in his mouth. =P After that, my pumping session went up to 3 ounces. My mom-in-law and hubby took care of me during the week of chinese new year and after (when the confinement lady left), I'd say I got more rest that 2 weeks than when the confinement lady was here.. She was such a basket case that she needed to talk to someone almost every hour! Not being rude, I had to entertain her while I BF (which is a NO-NO during the first few weeks, cos baby and mommy needed some quiet time to concentrate on learning about BF)!

Next, hubby and I were worried whether Little Tyke had enough to eat. There were people who commented that Little Tyke looks skinny. Especially that confinement lady - she said he's the skinniest baby she's ever seen (err, more of her negative comments). So, hubby and I did some research. Baby has enough to eat if:
1) He/she is contented after feeding for at least 1 1/2 hours. (check)
2) He/she has at least 6-8 wet nappies and 1 soiled nappy a day. (check)
3) He/she is gaining at least 1 ounce in weight a day. (check)
The above 3 points were just a compilation of what I read online and in books. If you need more info on this, do visit www.babycenter.com.sg. It helped me to clear my doubts.
If you can't get online, do the next best thing, purchase the book What to Expect, First Year by Heidi Murkoff.
Negative comments aside, we resumed our routine above..

When my maternity leave ended, my mom came to look after Little Tyke for half a month (while I served my resignation notice). I tried to pump in office but was quite stressed out as I pumped irregularly and the environment was not conducive (I had to use the server room). With that, and the added stress of working and handing over assignments, my milk supply went down to 2 1/2 ounces again. So, during the weekends, I did double-pumping (ie. pumping both breasts at a time, fools yr brain into thinking you are feeding twins, hence, stepping up production).. After the 3rd or 4th try, my milk production increased again to 3 ounces. One wonderful day, I was able to produce 6 ounces in half an hour! I was considering to do power pumping (pumping both breasts every hour, mimicking a baby's growth spurt, again forcing yr breasts to produce more milk cos the brain thinks baby needs more), but after that incident, I decided not to.

Now that I'm a full time homemaker, I did away with the pumping unless Little Tyke decided to take only 1 side at a feeding. All in all, I want to persevere till the end of the year at least.. My next worry would be whether Little Tyke's teething would cause me pain.. Oh well, we'll cross that hurdle when we get there.. God will watch over us all.. Amen.

Bowel on Strike! - part 2

As anyone who had read the previous posting knows, our precious bundle of joy, Little Tyke, has decided to go on a 5 day poo-poo strike. After lots of prayers and a visit to the pediatrician's, his little bowel decided to resume work.
However, immediately after that, his usual 2 poo-poo a day became 1 tiny poop. Hmm, daddy and mummy got a little worried and were considering the orange juice again (previously we didn't use the yummy concoction as he went massively at the ped office).
After 2 days of worrying (again!), he finally did a large poop at 4 in the morning, and another one at 7am. (grins)
Looks like it's business as usual in the Wong family...

Bowel on Strike!

Our precious little kitten had not been going potty for 5 days including today.. Both me and hubby were so worried that we took him to the pediatrician. The doc took one look at him, and said, Master Wong, what is your problem today?
Little Tyke just gave the doc a smile.. After we explained to the doctor Little Tyke's condition, doc opened his diaper and checked. Hmm... Doc poked his tummy and did the usual tummy check - you know, the kind where he places his hand on your tummy and uses his other hand's finger to knock on the hand? Hubby and I were a little shocked at how doc handled Little Tyke (pretty rough I would say), but Little Tyke seemed unperturbed and even smiled at the perpetrator (!).
Symptoms were interrogated: Little Tyke's bowels refused to move even though he was straining hard for 2 days. He did manage 2 drops of green poo poo yesterday.. He actually has a cooperative bowel, he goes potty everyday, sometimes, up to 5 times. The day before his intestines decided to go on strike, he went 5 big ones! They were mustardy yellow type bowels, the kind normal for breastfed babies.
Verdict: Doc said Master Wong has a case of lazy bowels. Even if it was pretty cooperative last time, it can go on strike anytime. We have to be careful of what he eats when we start to wean him off the breast. We must make him take plenty of veggies and fruit purees to make the transition easier.
Treatment: Doc gave us Duphalac, but he recommends us to try squeezing the juice out of a slice of orange (around 2 tablespoons), sour or sweet, it does not matter. Giving this natural medicine to a 3 month old is better than a prescription med.
So we thanked the doc and went out. After paying the dues, our precious bundle of joy gave a loud fart.. and since mommy was carrying him, mommy felt a gush of warmness on his small bum-bum. Mum and dad anxiously opened up the diaper to see if Little Tyke has relieved himself.. And lo and behold! His poop was so massive, it leaked out of the diaper and into his shirt. Mom and dad has never been so happy to see him poop before, and we changed him there and then at the couch of the pediatrician's waiting room (who needs changing rooms when you've got over-enthusiastic parents laughing at your poop?) -_-ll
Right after mommy wiped his massive mess, a huge gunk of watery yellow-green poop came out and coated mommy's hands. Daddy rushing out to assist mommy stem the tide, was also well soiled. =P well, who would have guessed, after doctor's poking about, Little Tyke made 5 days worth of poop come out without effort? Our little one felt so triumphant at his achievement, that he promptly fell asleep naked in public (we removed his soiled shirt). We wrapped him up in the swaddling cloth we have (good thing we have that in his bag) and went home. Lesson to learn: always bring an extra set of clothes in the diaper bag.. Little Tyke may have a massive one coming!
All in a day's event in our Wong household.. Let's hope Master Wong's bowel does not go on strike again.. Hmm, I think I hear our little one rousing from his sleep now..