Friday, December 10, 2010

A baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts, and security in the knowledge of her presence.
Breastfeeding satisfies all three
.” - Grantly Dick-Read


My baby was born with Wet Lung Syndrome. Sound so serious! Thank God it was not. In fact, it is a pretty common syndrome for babies born by way of caesarean (so I was told). But it did cause him rapid breathing in his early days and his paed told us he could be prone to get asthma.

And because of this, we had to mix FM during his early days, on his paed’s advice. Johor Specialist added Wyeth S26 Gold on top of my BM and we continued with the same. Sebab kalau dia penat in his effort to menyusu and kalau menangis sebab lambat kenyang, boleh cause problem to his pernafasan. So I was told lah.

But during pantang, I was determined to try as best as I could to provide my baby with enough BM so I pumped and fed and nursed and pumped and stocked-up, like a mad lembu tenusu. Haha. So yeah, alhamdulillah, despite some makcik-makcik constantly telling me that BM will not be enough for boys, I managed to prove them wrong. Lembu tenusu berjaya!

This is gonna be a long one. Read on only if you’re keen to learn about my personal views and experience on breastfeeding. Ewah, baru 6 bulan nak cerita pasal experience. Yalah, my 6 months experience lah! (Defensive) Oh yes, this entry is inspired by
THIS.


WHY BREAST IS BEST?

Google this and you’d get hundreds of reasons why you should breastfeed your child. Why it’s good for you. Why it’s good for your baby. How breast milk is the best. How breastfeeding strengthen your babies’ immune system and lower their risk to get asthma, diabetes, gas and obesity and so on and so forth. How breastfeeding promotes bonding. How it helps mothers to get back their pre-pregnancy weights and how it is economical, timesaving, clean, safe and bla bla bla. Go Google lah! Jangan malas. Haha.


WHY I CHOOSE TO BREASTFEED?
(1)
Refer to the hundreds of reasons. I concur with expert opinions. (2) Allah has custom-made my milk to suit my baby and who am I to argue with the Almighty Creator? Hehe. (3) I have history of eczema and resdung, so I hope to reduce my baby’s risk from getting these penyakit and many others. (4) And yes, in the words of Allah the Almighty, “The mothers shall give suckling to their children for two whole years.” (Al-Baqarah: 233) Two whole years, people! (5) Besides, I am a product of breastfeeding and I’d like my baby to be one too.






BAM BAM BAM. PRODUK SUSU MAMA.


WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT BREASTFEEDING?
First and foremost, that breastfeeding is hard work. That it requires effort, especially if you’re a working mom. That especially during early days when your baby has yet to master latching technique, it will be painful and somewhat frustrating. That it could be inconvenient and time-consuming. That there will be days when you feel so tired and akan rasa macam, eh eh senangnya kalau bagi FM! Take 2 scoops, mix with 4oz of warm water and voila, milk is ready!

This is when support system, motivation and mostly, willpower are crucial. Bunyi macam serius. Eh memang seriuspun. I think fellow breastfeeding moms will definitely understand what I mean.


BUT YOU'RE A WORKING MOM?!
So what’s the problem again? Pump your milk. Store them. Hand them over to your baby’s caretaker. Thaw the milk. Feed the baby. Hehehe. Bunyi macam simple ya? No no no. It involves a lot of effort on your part and yes, mesti ada kesungguhan dan support system!

But yeah, it can be done! I’m doing it! And have you heard about
Ginger Bohl, the American doctor in Afghan who expresses her milk and get them transported to her son in the USA? Sungguh mengkagumkan. Such dedication. Such an inspiration!


HOW DO I DO IT?

(1) STORE: I work, therefore I store. First kena tahu, if you intend to resume work after pantang, during pantang, you have got to pump and stock up and pump and stock up. And continue stocking up your supply on daily basis. For guidelines on storage, read
HERE.

(2) PUMP: To store, yeah you gotta pump. Get yourself a good pump. I use Swing and I pump at least 4-5 times a day, each pumping session would usually take 10-20 minutes, producing approximately 4-8 oz. Oh you must also pump on weekends, to ensure that your supply will exceed demand. Kalau tidak, akan berdebar.

(3) STORAGE ACCESSORIES: You don’t have to get yourself a deep freezer just yet. Must haves would be storage bags (I use bags instead of bottle because it saves space and time) and cooler bag, complete with ice packs.


WHAT IS THE BEST BREAST PUMP IN TOWN?
Have you heard the joke that breast pump is the new Blackberry? Haha. Breastfeeding is that cool, tau! If you have extra money to burn, most people would suggest Medela Freestyle, sebab boleh express both sides sekaligus thus saving your time. And Medela is known for its 2-phase expression system, which is good lah. I use Medela Swing and it has been good enough for me.

But then again, yang penting ialah keinginan. Like my Kindred put it, if you really want to breastfeed your child, guna manual pump jenama Pureen pun boleh! A cousin of mine told me that her doctor friend pumps manually, I mean guna tangan! And she managed to exclusively breastfeed her baby for two whole years! Mari kagum! Ini membuktikan bahawa keinginan dan will power itu penting. But I do think a good pump helps a lot!


WHAT IF YOU DON’T PRODUCE ENOUGH MILK?
This is almost always not true! Demand creates supply. So the more you feed your baby, the more you pump; the more your body will produce milk. Percayalah! Memanglah awal-awal, setitik-setitik keluar. This is how it was for me. Tapi perlu teruskan usaha! And watch your diet. Read on regarding low milk supply
HERE.


CAN I TAKE OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDS? ANY FOODS I SHOULD AVOID?
You should always consult your doctor/pharmacist before taking any meds. Sebab memang kena take breastfeeding-compatible meds. The same rules apply for foods. You should monitor your diet. Kalau nampak baby develop allergies after you take certain type of foods, stop. My baby developed some rashes after I had some peanuts so I stopped taking any types of nuts.


KESIMPULAN TIBA-TIBA
Eh penatlah nak compress everything you need to know about breastfeeding in one entry. Go get yourself this
BOOK and read this comprehensive SITE for more information. Iqra’ iqra’ iqra’! Oh and just so you know, I have nothing against moms who choose to feed their babies with formula. Their baby; their prerogative, their way. But yes, I choose to breastfeed and I undoubtedly encourage others to do so because yes, BREAST IS BEST!


27 comments:

Sanaa Elias said...

Alhamdulillah, thumbs up! :)

~Serenity~ said...

thanx for the info..blh bagi semangat utk bagi ank BF once lahir nanti..;)

kano said...

gua pun guna pureen manual instead of medela sbb lebih laju (bagi gua) n tangan. hehe. yang penting, di mana ada kemahuan, di situ ada jalan. chewwah.

AyinEmran said...

kano guna manual? wow!

kesimpulan tiba-tiba adalah comel.

Anita, Mummy Adzryl said...

yes! very well said. nice entry, dear! :) i'm using swing too & yeap, before i use a bpump, i manuually express my milk too. guna tangan! u should try it sometimes. i produced more milk when i express by hands. tapi sebab dah lama sgt, jadi penat. so swing it is for me now! and i still continue express with hands lepas tu, everytime after i pump. :)

good luck to u dear. it's a long way to go... lets prove that BREASTS memangggg THE BEST! :D

Marliza Radzi said...

Sanaa: Alhamdulillah :)

Serenity: Mari semangat sama-sama!

Kano: Kakak guna breastpump apa eh? Mini E kan?

Ayin: Sebab tiba-tiba dah malas nak bercerita. Haha.

Anita: I express manually kalau dah hujung-hujung, nak make sure dah habis pam. But memang respect lah orang yang express manually! Lenguh!

{f a r a h} said...

Salam
I am also still exclusively and to be precise directly BF for a year now to my son. Directly sebab he won't accept any bottles nor formula. And to that, ive to give up my work sbb dh mcm2 kitaorg buat dia still taknak anything other than mine.

My son pernah kena hospitalized when he was 2 days olds for nearly a month sbb hirschsprung disease. After 2 surgeries, only then doctor bg green light for me to BF him. I was there beside him 24-7 to BF him. Tu yg dia dah lali dgn my milk. Even masa doctor x bg he drinks anything for few weeks, I got all the supports from the midwives to keep expressing every 3 hours, 8 times a day.

It's hard giving up work but what choice do I have. Alhamdulillah my son dh sihat skrg. Looks like I am going yo BF him for 2 yrs dgn gaya dia skrg yg susu lembu pun taknak. I tried giving him Alfredo,kan Ada ltk susu dlm tu,he knows ok, eventho kita dh campur benda2 lain skali

Marliza Radzi said...

Farah: May Allah reward you for that, dear! Semoga terus tabah! :D

kano said...

aah kalo x silap.hehe. ni tgh dok guna pureen yg rm24.50 ni je.yg mcm giant syringe.sesuai tuk yg ada prob inverted nipple.kesimpulan:nak seribu daya.. :-)

Shafini Mustafha said...

Entry ini menyedihkan saya kerana my baby survive with FM not BM. Bukan tidak mencuba tapi tidak ada rezeki Adam agaknya. Sebelum habis pantang pun susu ibunya sudah tidak keluar lagi. **sedih**

Marliza Radzi said...

Kano: Cayalah kakak! You're the man! (Ikut gaya bos lama lu)

Honey: Alaa janganlah sedih, sayang. Susu masa mula-mula memang sikit, kena kerah diri pam & pam & pam. Makin lama akan makin banyak insyaAllah. Boleh cuba next time OK ;D

reena said...

Maknanya semua ibu PASTI ada susu yang mencukupi? Tapi ada dengar/baca keluhan kawan-kawan yang tiada susu dan terpaksa la bagi FM (tanpa kerelaan lah i guess. Ibu mana yang tak nak bf anak kan?)

Anonymous said...

Your entry give inspiration for me to bf my son/daughter soon..TQ =)

kano said...

Dengan izin ye Am. :p

just to share with all, anak 1st kakak (tetibe rasa tua)mmg tak berjaya full BF even up to 6th months. mixed dengan FM dari awal.sebab2nye:-

1- dgr ckp sesetgh orang yg kata BF takkan cukup,
2- stressed sbb ada inverted nipple sblh,
3- mentally tortured sbb everytime express, susah sgt nak kuar.setitik pun susah.menangis everytime nak express. dan tak pnh berjaya.

so, ended up dgn campur jela. sedey sgt bile tgk kwn2 yg leh BF anak smpi 2 tahun.kalo dapat 6 mnths pun dah cukup.

alhamdulillah, yg 2nd one ni, dapat support ramai, and midwives dkt ampang puteri sgt supportive, siap ajar mcm mane nak menyusu dgn cara yg betul etc. And kakak beli avent ape ntah untuk solve problem inverted nipple. Alhamdulillah, kakak berjaya!

Cume nak share, insyaAllah, suma ibu2 boleh dan ada susu ibu yg cukup. Kena amalkan gaya pemakanan yg betul.

Just my 2 cents. Hehe.

Marliza Radzi said...

Anonymous: Alhamdulillah :)

Kano: Setuju sangat! Tahniah Kakak!

nadmin said...

Tahniah Am dan semua ibu2 yg Bf!!

Tq

dari suami yg sgt2 menyokong bf

YATT said...

syg,

you tujukan entry ni utk i, eh?

heh :p

Marliza Radzi said...

Nadmin: Terima kasih salah seorang suami yang menyokong isteri!

Yatt: Khas buat you, sayang ;D

Amyz! said...

I am working mum. I am fully-bf my baby. And I am proud of you. :-)

Love this entry. Will share it in my blog.

FrH said...

thumbs up fren!!

i express guna tgn bile tertinggal pump kat rumah, haha, & bile dah hujung nk pastikan dah pam sampai habis.

best of luck!!

HW said...

Kena ada kemahuan, itu yg penting! All d best, Dear :D

Daripada,
Pengguna BP Avent Manual
(Tiba-tiba?) Haha!

-Wahida-

Marliza Radzi said...

Amy, FrH & Wahida: Yeay to us! :D

CikJa said...

yeay to us too!! suka lah entry ni :). adalah menyesal sbb tak stock up ebm byk2 masa dlm pantang sbb ingat bleh cuti 3 bulan, tapi tak dapat. and my ebm stock abis within 3 weeks of working sbb naik kerja kena onkol selang-sehari for almost 2 weeks. jadi sekarang mmg cukup2 je laa pump hari ni utk minum esok. and if i'm onkol my husband akan dtg anta mkn + pickup ebm after maghrib untuk overnight feeding sampai balik keja esok, adalah slalu berdebar kalu onkol sbb takut tak cukup susu, and mmg ada a few times kena topup S26. tapi berusahalah. dan makan sumer benda yang org suggest utk increase BM. hopefully bleh bertahan sampai at least sethn, meski my supposedly 3-hourly pumping slalu jadi 4-5hrly sbb tak sempat.

go swinger!!

Marliza Radzi said...

thehealthinspector: Itulah kalau betul2 boleh disiplin 3-hourly kan bagus kan? Ini kalau gi Court ke, meeting ke, dah rosak dah schedulue. Heh.

tina said...

saya tak kahwin lagi, pernah jugak pikir tanak BF baby saya bila ada anak nanti..tapi lepas baca akak tulis ni, terus rasa saya memang perlu BF anak saya nanti.

Marliza Radzi said...

Tina: Nanti bila dah kahwin & pregnant, baca lagi sekali supaya semangat OK? ;D

ms. lili@ said...

hi there! loving this piece to the max! :) allow me to put a link of this in my blog for reference, is that ok? thanks ye!!