BF Diary: The 2nd journey

My 2nd breasfeeding journey.. kali ni confident sikit sebab dah berjaya dengan Mika dulu.. takde lagi dah episode episode air mata or meroyan.. kali ni pun rileks2 je.. tapi still aku start pam on the 4th day.. sebabnya dah start rasa engorgement..

walaupun schedule tak menggila cam time Mika, alhamdulillah boleh kumpul banyak macam time Mika jugak.. tak pasti jugak kenapa, maybe sebab aku pun baru wean off Mika 8-9 months before kot..


My pumping schedule, 3x sehari.. sekali pepagi buta (3/4/5AM) depending dengan kekebalan mental nak bersengkang mata and dua lagi siang in between time tido Laiqa, boleh masuk kerja dengan senang hati lepas ni ;)

my happy bambam baby. enjoy your milk baby Laiqa

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2 happy years!

Alhamdulillah, we've achieved our two years target!

The journey that begins with various challenges, is becoming increasingly easy though there are still some bumps along the way. Thank you Mika and daddy for helping and supporting me along the way.. Alhamdulillah murah rezeki Mika dapat menyusu sampai sekarang~

Current stock.. dah tinggal 4 tupperware jek sobs

Now that we have reached the two years milestone, I only manage to bring home 8-9oz of milk. Cukup untuk supply harian Mika walaupun kadang-kadang kene topup dengan stok peti . Malas nak meningkatkan production sebab I'm planning to wean off dear son walaupun hati still berbelah bagi. I want to stop but I am not ready. hahaha complicated kan?? Mika? Lagi lah tak ready. Sometimes before bed, when he asked for milk aku cakap takde susu malam ni, nanti dia start menangis. Lepas tu macam burung kakak tua keep on repeating, "susu... susu... *cry*cry* susu.. susu..." acanne nak wean off ni?

So current plan dah berubah, I will keep on pumping to maintain my stock and production and at the same time I will introduce him to fresh milk. Once dia dah ok dengan fresh milk, I can stop my pumping routine!! Yahoooo, no more dragging the pump bag to office~ harapnya berjaya la achieve all this in 6 months.. 

Mika and susu tak dapat dipisahkan.. Aksi menyusu Mika masa turun dari Mount Wellington. hip hop sangat!

Based on my experience, aku cuma boleh advice mommies yang nak breastfeed, be prepared both mentally and physically. Then rajin-rajinkan diri membaca pasal breastfeeding and get a good support system (husband, fb groups..etc). Lepas tu usaha, usaha, usaha and tawakal. Tak lupa jugak rajin-rajin la mengepam. InsyaAllah boleh. kalau dah usaha pun tak boleh jugak, jangan la stress-stress.. at least korang dah cuba buat yang terbaik tapi takde rezeki kan..

Btw, group FB yang aku recommend sangat-sangat korang add - TBAN (The Breastfeeding Advocates Network). Member-member dia very supportive, kalau korang kene topup dengan formula pun diorang tak jump macam member-member KIM. Member-member KIM ni lebih hardcore, sila masuk at your own risk huhuhu.

Last but not least, to celebrate my achievement, I'm going to declare this week as my breastfeeding week.. hahaha #over so this week korang akan nampak entry pasal breastfeeding je la harap maklum.

p/s: To all mommies to be, if you decided to breastfeed your baby.. good luck in your journey. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 

BF Diary: 20 months and counting!

Alhamdulillah, rezeki masih ada untuk meneruskan usaha menyusukan Mika.. lepas tragedi susu Mika almost 2 months ago, berjaya jugak kumpul balik stock.. from 2 weeks dah naik jadi 2 months stock.. walaupun merangkak je skrg, aku syukur sangat-sangat sebab tetap ada

Current stock in deep freezer

p/s: dimana ada kemahuan, disitu ada jalan.. 4 months to go bebeh!!

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Tragedy!

I lost all my breastmilk in my precious deep freezer today.

But I'm okay.

Rezeki Mika masih ada InsyaAllah.

p/s: semoga perjalanan ini dipermudahkan. amin~

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BF Diary: One and Half!

18 months of breastfeeding.. Alhamdulillah, rezeki Mika masih ada. Masih mengepam dua kali sehari dekat office walaupun hasil tuaian tak lah semeriah dulu.

Current stock in the deep freezer

6 bulan je lagi sebelum mencapai my 2 years target.. Semoga dipermudah dan dimurahkan rezeki Mika, InsyaAllah.

sekarang tengah fikir, nak sambung mengepam ke tak come 14th Oct 2013.

as for Mika pulak, dia dah tau inform kalau dia poo poo.. paling impress bila dia ckp "yak yak" before doing his business ehehehe dah boleh potty train ke?? mcm too early, i'm not mentally and physically prepared #eh
then dah pandai follow simple instruction like  "mummy want book" nanti dia fetch the book and pass to me.. or "Mika tutup tv" then he'll go to the tv and switch off the tv.. erm yeah, he just discovered those small button at the side.

BF Diary: Storage Liner Review (Autumnz vs Jingle Jungle)

Dah lama aku nak buat review pasal storage liner ni.. sebab aku adalah pengguna tegar.. tak pernah freeze EBM dalam botol.. memang dari dalam pantang lagi aku guna plastic nih.. and nasib jugak aku tak pakai botol.. looking at the stock yang ada dalam deep freezer tu.. tatau la kan berapa ratus botol aku nak kene beli nanti.. hahah memang pengsan..
selama 15 bulan mengepam, aku pernah guna 2 jenis liner jek.. which is Autumnz and Jingle Jungle sebab brand ni jek paling murah di pasaran.. kalau time baby fair, autumnz tu boleh jatuh RM9 per box. Jingle Jungle liner aku beli masa clearance kat FM RM13 for 2 box kot..

Storage Liner Autumnz

 

Pic source: Google

Pros
- Double ziplock
- Plastic dia tebal, takde jugak case susu bocor lepas thaw
- Heat seals side yang tegap, takde case plastic terkoyak masa nak buka ziplock dia masa menyimpan or case susu bocor lepas dicairkan

Con
- Tempat labelling dia tak strategic.. kene label dulu before masukkan susu, kalau tak memang tak lekat ink kalau store susu yang sudah dichill.. and susah nak baca label.. maksudnya kene la angkat and keluarkan baru boleh nampak.

Storage Liner Jingle Jungle

 

Pic source: Google

Pros
- Double ziplock
- Tempat labelling senang dibaca.. tak perlu nak angkat and keluarkan susu, just selak-selak je plastic tu dah boleh baca

Cons
- Plastic dia tak tahan lasak.. 
- Side seal dia tak kuat, selalu terkoyak side dia time aku buka ziplock tu.. especially kalau tertarik kuat.. this never happens with autumnz liner storage!! banyak storage terkorban sebelum berkhidmat~ 

antara storage bag yang terkorban.. koyak di bahagian tepi masa buka ziplock dia.. this never happen with autumnz

kedua-dua point diatas menyumbang kepada issue susu bocor.. aku pun tak tau kenapa, masa simpan elok je.. bila dah freeze and dicairkan balik, tiba-tiba bocor side dia.. sah-sah susu dah bercampur dengan air rendaman, and haruslah kene buang.. ni dah jadi banyak kali and i vows never to buy any jingle jungle storage liner again!!

Autumnz vs Jingle Jungle

so in my honest opinion, kalau korang tanya which storage liner to use.. i'll definitely vote for Autumnz!! selamat menyimpan~~

BF Diary: After one year

It's been a while since I last updated on my BF journey.. Yes, I'm still breastfeeding my lil cute monster! Cuma takde benda baru to be shared~ it's the same old routine: pumping, storing, defrosting and finally bottle cleaning! Kalau tiap hari nak update the same thing, aku pun muak!
Plus i'm not that obsess with BFing. Don't get me wrong! I'm dead set to feed Mika till he's at least 2 y.o and will do my best to achieve my target. I support breastfeeding and i enjoy this journey very much. Kalau ada yang bertanya tips and ilmu, aku sure gembira nak share walaupun ilmu aku pun sekangkang kera jek! Cumanya, i don't see the need to upload or update story or picture of my milk everyday..
Hari ni exception cause i've reached the one year milestone! Yeay!! Susah payah dan kesakitan yang dilalui dirasakan sangat berbaloi-baloi~ *kes kes bengkak susu still menyerang and at the moment.. Am facing the worst blister ever atoiii sobs sobs*

My stock after one year~ 

untuk resolvekan issue space dulu, i've reduce my pumping session to 3x daily.. Kadang2 mengelat and skip all 3 session (only on ph or weekends)! Kat office bila rajin and ada masa lapang, aku pump twice. Most time skali je huhu tapi still alhamdulillah cukup jugak (jangan tiru kemalasan ini!)
InsyaAllah, akan ku berjuang nak completekan another year.. Doakan aku berjaya~
p/s: i do not take supplement and i don't believe in them(at least not for increasing ur milk supply)! Understand the demand vs supply concept, lagi kerap kita pump.. InsyaAllah lagi banyak susu yang terhasil!

Breastpump Review

Disebabkan Freestyle aku masuk clinic 3 minggu lepas, merasa la aku pakai segala macam breastpump sementara nak menanti pump kesayangan tu siap (pump masih di Medela service centre masa entry ni ditulis). Jenis-jenis pump yang aku dah cuba termasuk Avent Manual pump, Medela Swing dan Spectra3. So hari ni aku nak tulis review based on experience aku je lah. Lain orang maybe lain pulak pandangannya.

Medela Swing

Ni pump pertama yang aku guna masa dalam confinement.
Pros
- macam freestyle, pump ni ada dual phase expression.
- suction lembut dan tak menyakitkan.
- boleh powered by electric or battery 

Cons
- valve cepat sangat rosak
- susu selalu masuk tube
- boleh single pumping jek. bukan masalah untuk suri rumah since boleh je buat tandem nursing :)
- tak boleh toggle between the two phase suction macam freestyle. maknanya, by default pump ni akan bermula dengan rapid simulation, lepas 2 minutes dia akan automatically masuk to slower expression mode.  Bila dah masuk this mode, tak boleh tukar back to rapid.
- bunyi dia tak la sesenyap yang diwar-warkan!

Philips Avent Manual Breastpump

Ni pump pertama yang aku cuba bila FS tak sihat. Mainly because banyak sangat good review from kawan-kawan. Alang-alang ada stock dekat rumah, kene la try jugak.

Pros
- suction kuat tapi lembut dan tak menyakitkan
- tak bising
- boleh control suction mengikut kesesuaian individu

Cons
- kene kental jiwa dan raga untuk mengepam secara manual (hanya untuk orang-orang manja macam aku)

Spectra3

Lepas kepenatan memerah secara manual, aku pinjam pulak Spectra3 officemate aku. Nak menjimat tenaga dan masa mengepam di office la konon.

Pro

- double pumping

Cons

- personally aku rasa this pump is too bulky

- powered by electric sahaja, so kalau nak pump kene cari tempat yang ada power point.

- takde dual phase expression.

- suction tak cukup kuat unless kita guna max speed.

- suction sedikit keras dan menyakitkan. for me, kalau start pump dengan max speed memang terkejut sebab sakit.. so have to start from below and slowly increase the speed to max.

Medela Freestyle

Medela freestyle ni aku beli sebab selalu stress pakai swing. Time dalam pantang, tahap kesabaran tu dah habis digunakan untuk melayan kerenah Mika masa berpantang sorang-sorang.

Pro
- compact and lightweight
- double pumping, saves time especially for working mother like me :)
- boleh berfree style, tak perlu nak pegang-pegang bottle. boleh la nak mengemas rumah ke, main game ke and mengepam sambil kerja (activity kalau work from home)
- dual phase expression
- suction lembut dan tak menyakitkan
- boleh powered by electric and battery. rechargeable battery dia can last up to 2 days for heavy user macam saya.
- boleh toggle between the two mode of expression. untuk aku this feature sangat best sebab boleh nak tukar to simulation expression kalau rasa-rasa lambat sangat susu nak keluar.
- ada digital display! very important so that takde la kes tak ingat berapa lama dah kita mengepam~
- memory button boleh set pumping style preference.

Con
- bunyi pam tidaklah sesenyap yang diwar-warkan!!

Harap-harap boleh la membantu mommies yang tengah buat research on breastpump. Ingat, the correct breastpump can really help for successful breastfeeding :) dan setiap orang berbeza. mungkin spectra3 tu menyakitkan for me but okay for others. kene lah cuba dulu baru tau!!

selamat mengepam!!

FS ku masuk clinic

setelah berkhidmat hampir 6 bulan, FS ku akhirnya terpaksa berehat sebentar kat clinic.. huhu maybe sbb aku heavy user kot.. tatau ler nak cakap kan.. dah la aku beli direct from US so takde warranty.. and dari hasil bacaan aku dr en.google, rata-rata cakap medela service center bo layan customer-customer yang beli luar dr malaysia.. so cemana tu??


2 hari jugak la aku meroyan sebab pam-pam lain tak mencapai piawaian aku (read: tak semudah FS) heh~ hari khamis baru boleh pegi service center.. kitaorg pegi yang kat bangsar tu, jumpa Nurul. alhamdulillah, layanan dia boleh tahan, mesra and ramah.. walaupun takde malaysia warranty, dia still ambil.. charge tuk service is double.. kalau malaysia warranty RM60, aku kene RM120.. itu just untuk check sahaja, nak baiki and spareparts tak campur lagi..


suction level tu for normal pump 250, tapi FS aku around 100 - 150 jek.. dia cakap valve dalam pam yang rosak.. so in total maybe around RM300 kalau nak baiki.. yang menjadi persoalan dia cakap dorang akan ganti guna sparepart second hand.. so tatau berapa lama boleh tahan~ apakah?? alasan dorang, US nye sparepart lain dengan sparepart switzerland.. yang peliknye, semua pump ni kan mmg made in switzerland.. confirm dorang patentkan design dorg ni.. so mesti la design pun sama.. then dia cakap, kita tengok power adaptor pun tau pam ni beli kat US.. sah sah la.. kan dorang nye power point tak sama dengan kita, sebab tu la kalau kita travel kene bawak universal adaptor tu.. ntah la, aku still tak puas hati dengan alasan and penjelasan beliau..


apa pun, terpaksa la hantar jugak.. tak tau la outcome macam mana sebab pump pun tak dapat lagi.. katanya seminggu.. ni cam dah lebih seminggu pun takde kabar berita.. paling-paling pun call la customer update la lambat ke apa kan..


overall aku kasi 3 bintang jek la kat service center ni.. 


p/s: pasni leh buat review breastpump sebab aku dah try 2-3 different pump!
p/ss: owh, thanks melah sebab pinjamkan FS~

BF Diary: Space Space Space!!!

The solution to our space dilemma!!











Brand new deep freezer!!!












NOT!!!












My first donation~ 300 oz in total to an aunty who is suffering from cancer.. They are trying to build her immune system to undergo chemo..



I said "yes" instantly cause i'm desperate to make space for new ebm and she's over 2 years old.. Xperlu risau pasal anak susuan and the ties..

p/s: goodluck aunty and hope you recover soon~

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BF Diary: New Dilemma

Dulu dilemma freezer's too small to store EBM.. Skrg dilemma deep freezer pulak too small to store EBM..


Ni dah abis susun la ni, xtau nak susun/sumbat mana lagi. Sumbat dlm mulut Aqilah xjalan pulak.. Penat aku auta cakap ais cream and letak dlm sippy cup yang xsee through.. Tidak dilayan muaahahha

Option last before dibuang to make space adalah untuk mencari ibu2 yang memerlukan.. Tapi research xabis buat lagi.. Argghh bila la nak abis contest si mamykokok nih??

p/s: mata lebam tengok laptop byk sangat!!
p/s: aku baca dorg kata anyone above 2yrs old xkan jadi anak susuan sbb xcukup syarat.. Ada yanf berminat nak makan ais krim aku buat? Hahahha
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BF Diary: Hasil tuaian

Inilah hasil tuaian over the weekend yang tak berapa nak banyak..



Mostly dituai dalam kereta sebab bz berjimba berjalan~

p/s: ini hobby baru saya~

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BF Diary: Space issue

Solution to our space problem!!

Weeee!! 150L Media deep freezer~ lagi best we got a good bargain, the cheapest in town for a spanking brand new freezer!!

Alhamdulillah.. Dah hampir penuh freezer nih~ murah rezeki si kenit :)

p/s: semoga production tak merosot in the future.. Mari berjuang!!

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BF Diary: The Beginning

When I found out that I was pregnant, I did lots of reading on the don’ts and do’s. My main research was on breasfeeding. I was surrounded by bf-ing mothers and have read enough of successful stories, so dah set in my mind to fully breastfeed my baby~

Malangnya, despite all my research.. I still have rocky start. First day after Mika’s arrival, I was too tired and sleepy sebab I was given a dose of pethadine during my labor (which doesn’t reduce the pain pun though I managed to doze off for a few minutes in between my contractions)! On the way to my room, dorang letak Mika on my chest for a while, and all I can do is to smile at him and belai rambut diab yang lebat! I did tell the nurse that I want to feed him tapi dia suruh aku tido dulu. While I was sleeping, they gave FM to Mika.. pfftttt!! Lepas tu Mika slept all day long sikit pun tanak susu. Aku try jugak sua miss B with the nurse help tapi Mika tidur keras!

The same thing happened on the second day!! They fed him FM before sending him to my room and there’s no sign of milk. Time ni tak sabar nak balik dah, cause aku nak cepat-cepat berurut. Miss B pun dah start mengeras. Unfortunately for me, aunty aku yang suppose to massage me is not feeling well so we have to postponed the massage session. By this time, I was feeling soo frustrated because I have to continue to feed Mika with FM.

Hari ke-4 baru la nampak bayang susu lepas berurut, walaupun sebelah je. Excited giler, aku terus sua kat Mika. Sakitnya tak payah cakap la since he didn’t latch properly. Aku pun tak berapa pandai lagi, so agak merana la nak menahan sakit! The same night, I started to pump because Mika was sleeping all the time. Nak gerak tuk feeding pun tak berjaya. Alhamdulillah, dapat la jugak dalam 1 setengah oz. Then urut the other side sebab nak kasi keluar jugak. Berkat kesabaran and kegigihan aku dan hubby, the same night keluar jugak susu. Hasilnye hampir 3 oz jugak berjaya diexpress!! Pastu I managed to spill some milk pulak, rasa nak menangis je time ni!

For the next 2 day, we start to mix formula with EBM. I have started to pump every 2 hours to increase my milk supply so boleh la fully bf. Penat giler ye pump every 2 hours around the clock but to ensure Mika get the best, ku tabahkan hati bangun pagi buta then spent one hour to pump. Nasib mak ada, so siang boleh la jugak ganti tido.

Hari yang ke-tujuh, Mika dah fully on breastmilk through bottle sebab my nipples hurt like crazy tak sanggup nak kasi direct kat dia. My aunt dah bising-bising, cakap biar la berdarah pun I have to direct feed my baby. Normal katanya. Haruslah aku ignore the advice, takut karang aku terus stop satu hal pulak. Plus I’ve read a lot on breastfeeding kan, so haruslah aku tau yang it won’t hurt if your baby latch correctly. Puas aku search online camne nak latchkan baby correctly. Lepas seminggu, aku gilir-gilirkan bottle and direct so that nipple ada masa nak heal in case of incorrect latching. By this time, my milk supply has stabilized so that I started to freeze some. Sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit, ye tak?

After two weeks, mak balik leaving me alone to take care of the little one. Hubby pun dah start keje. Sebab tak biasa lagi, aku terkejar-kejar nak settlekan semua benda. Time nak pump pun limited, so I have to reduce my session to every 4 hours. After a week of this strenuous routine, start la ada problem with my milk supply. Disebabkan aku terlampau stress and penat, susu tak nak keluar sangat so stock merundum menambahkan stress. Aku pun mula la research camne nak keluarkan susu sampai la aku kene bengkak susu yang sangat sakit tak ingat. Berjalan pun sakit ok! Last resort, pegi for another massage session with my aunt. Lepas berurut, mencurah-curah keluar but then bila balik and pump.. bluergghh still tanak keluar.. menangis2 aku sambil mengepam!  Lepas tu, both breast take turn pulak bengkak susu. This week kiri, next week kanan. Sangat mencabar minda!!

Now, 2 days away to 2 months.. Alhamdulillah milk supply amat menggalakkan although takde la macam setengah orang sekali pump sampai berbelas oz, aku dapat 5-7oz pun dah bersyukur~rezeki Mika la ni and hopefully this continue for the next 22 months, amin~ bengkak susu tu still ada occasionally but I now have a husband who knows how to massage my breast, tak payah nak pegi berurut ke Kajang lagi.. hahaha boleh jadi mak bidan dah ye cik abang? tak sanggup nak massage breast sendiri time bengkak susu sebab it's really painful, keluar air mata tahan sakit!!

Sekarang ada dilemma lain pulak.. I don’t have enough space to store my ebm! My freezer dah penuh and hubby dah bising sebab dia takde space nak ikan ayam segala.. muahahah freezer telah dikidnap oleh Mika sepenuhnya!!

p/s: orang kata nak seribu daya, tak nak seribu dalih~ aku bersyukur sebab aku masih mampu bertahan walaupun macam-macam ujian datang, Alhamdulillah! setengah orang macam senang je menempuh alam breastfeeding ni, you guys are soo lucky~!

p/ss: Terima kasih cik abang sayang~

p/sss: to all mommy-to-be out there, be prepared and kuatkan semangat sebab it's not an easy journey. Jangan give up ok!!

New bffs

Meet my new bffs. Won't go anywhere without them!




p/s: rasa cam nak pegi klcc..

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LittleWhiz.com

punyalah excited sebab parcel from LittleWhiz.com dah sampai.. last Monday dorang ada buat warehouse sale so Autumnz double zip lock tu jadi sangat murah.. ok mahal sikit from the Expo kat midvalley, tapi hari tu aku pandai sangat beli 4 kotak je perasan macam boleh tahan lama 4 pack tu.. sekali dua minggu dah habis satu pack.. memang tak cukup la nampaknya kalau nak menunggu the next expo! so nak tak nak terpaksa la stock up lagi. so bila tengok sale kat LittleWhiz terus aku order yang 6 packs for RM55..
bila aku track order, estimate time should be 1st Dec. tapinya hari ni baru sampai.. tak efficient langsung.. sanggup postponed plan nak tidurkan Mika sebab nanti delivery sampai kang terbantut usaha~ Mika tidur je (lepas 2 jam berdodoi and minum susu!) terus aku buka kotak.. TADAAA~~

salah barang daa.. terus aku double check order aku kot-kot aku yang tersalah click kan..

 

sah-sah aku order zip lock kan!! heee bengang aku.. terus aku call dorang pastu apek tu boleh blur-blur plak bila aku cakap dia salah hantar barang.. dia suruh aku send email pulak.. nasib baik dorang akan datang to collect bottle ni.. kalau dia suruh aku pos, memang nak kene maki la kan..

p/s: pandang rendah kat littlewhiz.com..