Adventure at Hort Park

These are just some photos which we took at Hort Park one evening when we went for a walk :) See how naughty my little darling Alicia looks in these photos!

Mummy loves this photo of me (from this series) best!

Checking out the place...

I'm enjoying myself!

That's mummy and I... who's cuter? :)

Nursing Strike

When Alicia was about 4 months old, she went on a nursing strike for a few days after the jabs that she took in the 4th month. It was a terrible time and nursing her again became a time for battle.

A nursing strike is when a baby stops nursing abruptly.

I tried the following methods during this period of time:

• Feeding her when she's sleepy/ just woke up
• Feeding her in a different way such as feeding her and walking around at the same time
• Offering the breasts often (I had to try very very hard not to make an issue of it when she refused me)

Fortunately, it didn't last long and my milk supply didn't drop much because I managed to coax her into drinking sometimes...

You can read the following (which I find useful) for more information on nursing strikes:

1. kellymom - nursing strikes
2. Surviving a nursing strike by Becky Flora, IBCLC
3. Is Baby Weaning or Is It a Nursing Strike? by Nancy Mohrbacher

Blocked Ducts

I thought I'd dedicate a section to discussing blocked milk ducts because it is quite common among mommies with babies who are still learning to latch correctly (and hence not emptying the breasts) as well as mommies who express exclusively (as I did in the first month). Baby's suckle is much stronger than the pump's strength so sometimes you may get blocked milk ducts if expressing exclusively. I was one such mommy as I was exclusively expressing for Alicia in the first month and I didn't even know I had blocked ducts then! It was a very painful experience but at least I learnt how to clear them on my own after the lactation consultant helped me to clear them.

First of all, how do you know if you've got blocked milk ducts?

I gathered this information from kellymom:

"Mom will usually notice a hard lump or wedge-shaped area of engorgement in the vicinity of the plug that may feel tender, hot, swollen or look reddened. Occasionally mom will only notice localized tenderness or pain, without an obvious lump or area of engorgement. The location of the plug may shift. A plugged duct will typically feel more painful before a feeding and less tender afterward, and the plugged area will usually feel less lumpy or smaller after nursing. Nursing on the affected side may be painful, particularly at letdown."

My symptoms then fit the above description and I kept getting this sharp shooting pain that was a lot more painful than a normal letdown. So I called the lactation consultant and made an appointment with her.

Anyway, here's how to clear blocked ducts (my own method):

1. Place a warm towel on affected breast
2. Massage breast gently in small circular motions, moving towards the nipple.
3. Pump milk from the affected breast and while pumping, massage and press on the lump(s) (this will HURT!). Do this until the lump(s) become smaller and eventually disappear.

The affected breast will feel soft and no longer have lumps.

The process hurts but it is important to get the problem fixed. Nursing is supposed to be a wonderful experience, not a painful journey.

If after going through the massaging and pumping the milk ducts are still blocked, try getting your baby to suckle on the affected breast again. If that fails to clear the ducts as well, seek help from a lactation consultant.

Latching Wars?

I'm not sure about you, but I had lots of problems latching Alicia in the first month. She gave me sore, cracked and blistered nipples from incorrect latching, biting and pulling at my nipples with her gums... After being discharged from the hospital, I no longer had the help of nurses or lactation consultants during feeding time so I was all alone and every nursing session was a latching war. It usually comprised of a screaming and crying baby followed by a crying mummy...

After a few days of latching wars at home, I gave up on latching and expressed exclusively for her. But I didn't give up hope on latching her as I read that sometimes baby just takes awhile to learn to latch. So in the mean time, I read up on how to latch baby since I didn't want to engage the services of a lactation consultant then.

I stumbled upon two very good resources for breastfeeding during that time which I'd like to recommend.

For breastfeeding information, I really like kellymom.
Whenever I meet with breastfeeding questions, I'd consult that website first and only when I can't find the answers I need there then I'd call the lactation consultant.

For latching videos, Jack Newman has a wonderful library of videos to show and teach new mommies to latch baby! If you think a picture speaks a thousand words, then well, his videos are a treasure to a desperate mommy with very painful nipples :D

I hope you find these resources useful!

An aside: for those with cracked and painful nipples, I find Medela's Purelan effective in healing:



















What I like about it is that it is safe for ingestion so there's no need to remove the cream prior to breastfeeding.


For those who really find too much pain in nursing due to painful nipples, you can try using the nipple shields:

Mummies with flat or inverted nipples or mummies with babies who are reluctant to latch may find this useful too. You can read more about breastshields here.

How to increase milk supply

The best way to increase milk supply is to let baby latch on as baby's suckle is the strongest pump on Earth. However, if baby cannot latch for whatever reason (like my darling in the first month), express frequently. I used to pump for every feed in the first month, so that means that I pumped milk every 2 hours or so for 30 minutes each time (5 minutes per side, alternate till 30 minutes is up). Yes, that means that I had to wake up to pump milk instead of sleeping through the night... which explains the lack of sleep then - hardly a two-hour stretch at a time! Besides expressing frequently, I also made sure I drank enough fluids and ate enough nutritious food at regular intervals to maintain milk supply (note: do not diet while breastfeeding!).

I never had any lack of breast milk but here are some ways to increase milk supply through my own reading as well as what nursing mommies have shared with me via forums and casual chats. Not every suggestion works for everybody as I have learnt from these mommies so I guess it's just trial and error till you find the best method that works for you! :)

Fenugreek
Fenugreek is a herb and Malays and Indians commonly use it in their cooking.

There are a few ways to take fenugreek.

• The fenugreek seed itself. Go to those Indian spice shops to buy. Cook with water or your soup & drink.
• Fenugreek pills. Most convenient, some brands are more effective than others. Some find Nature's Way more effective than GNC but I'd say you have to try it out yourself to find out if it applies to you as well.
• Fenugreek extract. This apparently is potent! (Not suitable for Muslim mummies though as it has alcohol extracts)
• Organic Mother's Milk tea. It's a blend of herbs for breastfeeding mothers to increas breast milk. Best part is it is organic & natural, no need to worry that you are taking anything harmful.

Papaya Fish Soup
Some mommies say that this soup works wonders for them while it has no effect on others. Whatever it is, you can try out this soup because even if it doesn't increase your supply, at least it's a nutritious soup!

• Ingredients
• Fish bones
• Fenugreek seeds 1tsp
• Lemongrass 1 stalk
• Unripe papaya half a small papaya, cut into slices

Method

1. Boil fish bones with fenugreek seeds and lemongrass.
2. Add unripe papaya.
3. Simmer for 1-2 hours (use slow cooker also can).
4. Just before serving, add fresh sliced fish, boil for around 3-5min (to prevent overcooking the fish)

You can vary the ingredients to make it more exciting.
Instead of papaya fish soup, you can cook ABC fish soup (big onions, carrots, potato) or herbal fish soup (wolfberries, red dates).
Oatmeal
Some say that eating oatmeal helps to increase milk supply. I'd say eating a bowl of oatmeal, if nothing else, is healthy for mom. At best, it may be a simple way to increase milk supply. That said, I did eat quite a bit of oatmeal during my confinement month (not knowing that it may increase milk supply!)
If these methods do not work for you and frequent nursing doesn't seem to help, seek help from your doctor or a lactation consultant.
Disclaimer: I've not tried any of the above methods to increase my milk supply. These methods are what I have gathered from other nursing mommies. Do feel free to try them and ask me any questions if there's any and I'll try to answer them if I can. But I cannot be held responsible for any mishaps from following the above methods.