Breastfeeding

Now i understand why some moms loves to upload their ebm (expressed breast milk)...cuz it really take a lot of energy n effort to pump! 

I cant comment more on pumping cuz ...hihi...i am too lazy to do so. Plus i find it easier to dl (direct latch) without all the bottle and pumping and storing fuss. 

When the nurse weighed him yesterday and told me he has reach 5kg, i m overjoyed. I felt like all my sweat and tears are paid off. All my short showers and quickie meal and 2second toilet break seems nothing now. My baby is 5kg in just 2 months. Meaning he is eating(well..drinking) well. Alhamdulillah. 

Give it overnight and suddenly i realized i am being selfish. This is not my 'contribution' alone. This is ours! My husband and me. Sure he is 'exempted' from feeding our baby but he is there for everything else! 

I can still remember when my obgyn asked me if i would bf my child and i said yes. I also told her that my husband is my biggest supporter. She smile widely and say, "his support is all you need"...and oh boy wasnt that the truth...all the help and back-rub he gave...just makes this bf journey so worthwhile. Totally worth while. 

I dont know why some moms choose fm...they must have their personal reason cuz every mom wants the very best for their child.

But those of you who are expecting, maybe i can advice you this, be prepared to bf your newborn. To exclusively bf your newborn. Trust yourself that your body will produce enough milk for your child...because that is the case unless you have medical reason (which is highly unlikely...). The first latch should be within 2hours after delivery...(mine was within 2-3hours...cuz they told me they need to keep my newborn under the warmer or something...they intend to do so for 5hours, if i m not mistaken, but my husband, keeps on asking the nurse and finally they agree to bring our newborn to us...i mean he is ours...didnt i just push him out into the world?! And why would he need a warmer when his mom is alive and able to warm him up?! Manas padu pasal ya..haha)...

Anyway...my point is, try hard and try harder to bf your newborn. If you have a very hard time after deliver and you cant dl..its ok...you can expressed ur milk and gave it to the nurse...ask them to feed ur newborn using feeding cup or spoon or syringe.. tell them that you plan to bf your newborn and surely they will understand...

If they dont...oh well...its ok. Once you n ur baby are home, start to dl...never ever give up...never ever scold your newborn...sooth them and try again...they might wail their heart out...take a deep breath and try again...its ok...sooth them..hold them lovingly...insya allah...  ;) 

P/s: its not that easy for me either but i am desperate....i am desperately wanting to bf my baby...and alhamdulillah my prayers are answered... 

here comes my baby boo

Dear abandoned blog...sorry for abandoning u...

:p

Just kidding.

Life has been perfect.

It has been a month and i m adjusting to it. 

My current passion is 'breastfeeding'.

Right now i feel like if there is one thing to fight for, its exclusive breastfeeding. 

Giving your newborn formula (milk) is not the worst thing ever but giving them breast milk is the best thing ever and ever...

Plus its free!

And formula cost a fortune!

With formula you need water heater (which mean electricity/gas for the stove), hot water(obviously), feeding bottle, sterilizer, soap (k cuci bah) and etc....plus when u go out, u need to pack everything! Oh...thermos to keep the hot water...ngeh ngeh

But if u exclusive-breastfeeding, all u need is boobs...and ur cute baby...and a balance meal ( u need this even if u dont breastfeed)...if u go out, all u need is extra shawl or nursing cover or if ur shawl is long enough, u dont need that extra! ;)

If u bf, in the middle of the night, when ur baby cry for milk, u can just rolled him to ur side n feed him..then u both can fall asleep when feeding.. :p ( just keep a pillow behind him to keep him laying on his side...utk elak tersedak susu). 

Plus it means ur hubby will help with the diaper changing and everything else...cuz he cant feed the baby..so he will be looking forward to help any other way... ;) 

Did i mention it is free?! 

Forget the hundred ringgit supplement as ur milk-booster. Find something that work for you! Find some daily food/drink that can boost ur production...as for me, i am loyal to milo, hot chocolate, milk, horlic, goat milk (hi-goat), half-boiled egg and lots of other food that doesnt cost a fortune...

P/s: i have no problem with anyone taking the supplement to help with their milk supply... ;) 

Most of all, believe u can do it. Allah has created us so perfectly...why would we doubt if we can or cannot do it?! That is what boobs are for (ehemm...excuse the language... :p)

Ask for support from your husband...he is all u need...trust me!

When the others are pushing you to feed your baby with formula cuz ur baby is crying after feeding, all u need is your husband by your side. 

       All you need to do is just feed him again...or atleast just cradle  him to sleep...sometimes the baby just want to be cuddled... to be close to us...cuz that is the closest he can be to his previous 'home'...

Lets get serious

Putting my serious face on..(as if! :P)

So…let me share some of the info/knowledge I have earn throughout this pregnancy of mine (ecece..macam pandey gilak!)

Now, I will just share the ‘surface’…I am no expert…to know more, read and ask around and read some more…

1. Ultra-scan is actually bad for baby. The longest exposure our baby can be exposed to the scan is 15mins max per session (if I am not mistaken)…why? It might cause miscarriage in some mom…It might caused brain damage to some baby… it might be the reason why more and more babies born authistic…it might…so better be safe than sorry.

1. Bathing you newborn in warm water only can be bad for his/her bones…well..i’ve just read this from some mak bidan. I think there is truth behind this. The trick was to bath baby in warm water, then for the last rinse, use cold water…

1. Maternal milk (e.g anmum, fosil (eh..apa nama ya?!)…or any brand, is good and bad at the same time. Careful not to get GDM (gestational diabetes m-something)..the type of diabetes you get when you are pregnant…most of this commercial maternal milk has high-sugar-contain….and trust me…you really-really-really don’t want to get diabetes at all…

1. Check-up at KKIA (the government Klinik Kesihatan Ibu dan Anak), is actually better than monthly check-up in private clinic (no offense, I went to private clinic myself…but I also went to KKIA). Why? It is cheaper (free semenanya). Why? Less scan…at KKIA, the doc only do the ultra-scan at your first visit, then around 20^th weeks and 38^th weeks (more if you have any prob)…at private clinic, the doc will do the scan each and everytime…sure you can say no…but trust me, you will be too excited to get a peek at your baby to say no to your doc (at least I am). In KKIA, they check your Hb monthly for free! They palpate your tummy to learn the position of your baby (no ultrascan…but there is still the Doppler-scan…I wish they didn’t use that as well..). They check your hands and feet for edema. They check your weight-gain and your blood pressure. Best of all, they gave good advice! They teach you everything from taking care of yourself, to taking care of your newborn later… and this is all for free! The older your nurse is, the better, because in this case, older means they are experienced… if you don’t agree with them, just smile, its ok…you can always choose what to take and what to ignore….

1. Surround yourself with positive people and positive stories…before this, people keep on telling me how scary childbirth is, how painful it is, how the episiotomy is actually more painful than the childbirth itself! (urghhh…I am all against epi!) …ok….to be fair, I don’t have any experience in this, but to surround yourself with negative people with negative stories and will just serah-diri bulat2 to the doc, is really not my cup of tea. I am not undermining anyone... I am just someone who understands that the doctors are tied with the hospital policy and sometimes, the decision they make is the best and safest to avoid any lawsuit should something goes wrong. They are playing with the better be safe than sorry. Eg in the case of episiotomy. Why oh why this unnecessary procedure being done routinely before? Because it is the quickest way to get the baby out…so baby is safe and the doc is safe…what about the mom? She is safe as well…but recovering from epi is far worse than natural tear(if there is!)…unless the doc did a really good job…a really good job….there are a lot of uncertainties here. Even without episiotomy, the baby is safe, the doc is safe and the mommy is even safer…of course…let’s just say, I will say yes to epi when there is really a need for one…really really needed one…

1. spinningbabies.com has the best tips ever on avoiding breech babies

1. Ina-May Gaskin’s guide to childbirth is the best book to read…the birthing stories makes you can’t wait for your own experience.

1. Join a group of expecting moms, the best if you can find those with the same edd as you. You guys can be clueless together and support each other….there is no one is more understanding than the person who is going through the same thing as you at the same time.

1. Don’t buy maternity clothes..it is expensive! Just buy bigger clothes…much bigger clothes.

1. Read and read and ask around…but don’t expect other mom’s experience will be the same like yours. You are you, carrying your child….and your child is a totally different baby than theirs. In other words, get educated but keep an open mind.

Ok…enough with 10 things….too much of anything won’t do anyone any good… ;)

bittersweet symphony

Feeling bitter

Lots of reason to feel bitter…. :(

On the bright side, someone is coming today! It is the weekend! Hoyeah…family gathering..eating and lots and lots of chit-chatting in the kitchen I am sure!

LDR..ehe…we even have a glamorous name for it…..aiya..it means long-distance relationship.

You’ll never get used to it. Trust me.

You can only handle it and don’t let it control your life.

At first, I thought I will be ok with it…I can fly there now and then…then come the crazy-hormone-imbalance…the challenge to stay calm and don’t let it rule your life suddenly seem impossible…so…pulanglah kepada-Nya…yup…that’s all.

2 of my dearest friends is getting married this year. 

Alhamdullillah. 

As someone married myself, I can’t even begin to explain how happy I am for you guys. 

The happiness that comes with marriage is indescribable. 

You guys will fight…ok…in my case, we will still fight and argue…but the best advice someone gave me on ‘fighting/arguing’ is, make sure the fight makes you two closer…

It will be hard… :) suddenly you have this one person that will be with you for the rest of your life

It will be easier…. :) suddenly you have this one person that will be with you for the rest of your life

Suddenly my bestfriend is mine! He is mine ok

Haha…. 

Suddenly I can share every single thing with my bestfriend

Suddenly I have someone to rely on…a shoulder to lean to…a chest to tumbuk bila geram (naah…don’t do that! :p )…

The most important thing, don’t share your stories with others…especially the ‘problems’…the fights, the argument, the cold-war…just don’t…share it with Allah…because behind closed doors, no one-else knows…no-one else…

Forgive me for saying this, but us girls (girls?! OMG..haha)…anyway…us girls tend to do this. No matter what our intention is, just don’t do it. Sooner or later, you will regret doing so.

And that my friend, end our session today. :P

9 months

Happy 9 months to baby!!! ;)

The truth is , I didnt even realized we have reach 9 months. My preggy-mind somehow thought that 9 months=40weeks ..well most apps consider 40 weeks is the longest ... well 40-42weeks ... and we've been told again n again that pregnancy last for 9 months....never in my mind to realized that it is actually simple math... 36weeks/4=9months...silly me

So how am I feeling?

Great!

Minus the sleepless night and the backache and the crazy-mood swing and wanting to lay down all day and the I'm-hungry-all-the-time-but-can-only-eat-sesuapdua-at-once...

Hey...I am great... hehe

Cant believe one month left....I m counting days actually. Pray for me that baby will leave the womb between 40th-42nd weeks....aminnnn ;) ney tauk sempat g pengilan nua...hihi