Mummy Matters: BREASTFEEDING (Blocked milk duct)

Being a new mum, I was amazed at this whole breastfeeding thing especially how Eva was able to suckle within minutes after birth! I guess this skin to skin for the 1st hr after birth is good and hospitals should continue to advocate it! 

Breastfeeding is an art!! It is one part of parenthood that is exclusive to mummies and well.. makes you spend alot in preparation for it (read: breastpump, nipple cream, nursing cover, nursing bras, supplements).. and makes you fumble at first... and gives you a magical moment of bonding with your baby.. 

Breastfeeding also test your endurance! Say you would probably be waking up like you never even sleep before? And you might be wrestling away with your baby to get him or her in right position and the nipple in the right way into the mouth... And doing it discreetly if you are not alone in comfort of your own home.. And you probably be annoyed by all the "how much milk are you yielding?? Is baby having enough milk from you?? how long are you going to breastfeed yr baby??"... 

And in my opinion.. Pain in breast was the ultimate I had to endure!!! 

My milk only came in on 3rd day after Eva was born and hence I started her on formula bottle feed (tried cup feed etc but found it really tough and I decided to just go for bottle - Tommee Tippee was her first). Meanwhile I still latch on and pump hoping to stimulate the milk production. 

I continued the practice even after the milk came in where EBM and formula came in useful when family help to bottle feed. This help was important as it gave me some time to rest and to do other preparation for her. It also gave them especially hubby a chance to watch Eva feed and observe her behaviour. They were also useful in some nights. (Will share in other posts later about how I manage the feedings). 

This continues and I always needed to either let her latch on or express in time though its not always possible as she might be fussing and I cannot get to pump. Sometimes we are out with her and we bottle feed her. So breast would often feel engorged after some hours and it would generally be okay after I pump it out. sometimes there would even be lumps which would clear out after I pump out the milk couple times. 

One fine day I suddenly felt excruciating pain somewhere near nipple and felt deeper in. The pain was unbearable when pumping that I couldnt bear more than 5 pumps and I had to stop. The pain was like as though my skin was burning! Strange but it did felt like that way. And when i latch on. The pain was equally horrendous though I could bear the pain till Eva finiah feeding. I couldnt understand and guess this is probably engorgement? 

Then the pain got so horrible when I was pumping and I checked my nipples for wounds!! I thought it must be Eva who might have injured them. Then I spotted blister like looking stuffs in the nipple with yellow stuffs inside. OMG! I almost freaked out! i thought this is bad!! Pus in nipple??!!! Infection???? 

I quickly google and fortunately it was not what I thought! It was what they call blocked milk duct! And the yellow stuffs is actually built up of milk inside this skin layer. 

I tried using hot towel on the affected breast and massage followed by frequent pumping.. *OUCH* really did feel like hittung someone back then!! I was dreading pumping but if the more I put it off.. the worse it is going to get!

After some perseverence and endurance, the blocked milk duct finally cleared and you can see spaghetti like substance i.e strand of milk that was stuck and coagulated! 

Only then did the pain start to subside...

I had a few attacks throughout the 1st few months and the worst period was when the pain was bad enough to disrupt my sleep! I totally couldnt sleep due to the twitching high pain!!

Thankfully each ordeal only last a few days and managed to clear before developing into mastitis.

So new mummies.. endure if you are going thru it!! You will survive with:

1. Latch on baby

2. Breast pump

3. Hot/cold pack that can be heated by placing in hot water or cooled by placing on freezer. 

4. Nipple cream for massage

Baby Matters: CLEARING BABY THROAT MUCUS (Jing Feng San)

Jing feng san (heard my korean sis-in-law refer it as "scared powder")

This is absolute good stuff IF you believe in TCM and dare to try for your baby! I have tested and so far so good. I cannot say about the impact on her little body and organs on long term (since it's external intake) but I can definitely say that it totally improved her condition miraculously fast! 

Okay so the story started with Eva coming down with runny nose which is pretty common for the past few months. Normally it clears off on its own after a few days. However this time it came down hard on her. Within half a day after she started rubbing her nose, she was started to choke on her mucus backflow and phlegm especially when she sleeps. Several times after her milk feed, she would choke on her phlegm and puke some milk. She also couldnt sleep well as she cannot breathe properly and would keep coughing. Normally able to sleep only after she puke some milk together with the phlegm. BUT I have to say she embraced her illness well! She is otherwise active and cheerful, only gets a little irritated at her itchy nose and will rub it agitatedly. 

Anyway as her sleep is affected and green mucus was what really alert me that she needs medical help. And so I brought her to the GP who was concerned and decided to put her on antibiotics to prevent sinus infection / lung infection. 

Needless to say, feeding medicine wasnt a good experience but I insist on NOT force feeding her so that she will not be scared and makes medicine feeding a worse experience when she grows older. Not to say I am hoping that she will need but well, by nature, I guess she will need. 

So after a week of medication fed by myself and infant care teachers, Eva shown significant improvement in her condition but still I can hear the low rumbling sounds of phlegm in her chest and she still had problems during sleep when the mucus start building up. 

And since she has completion her course of antibiotics, I decided to put her on Jing Feng San which is traditionally used to calm children who have been scared / shocked. There is actually indications for Young children suffering from fever, stomach wind, sputum (mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways), coughing, restlessness and loss of appetite; if you check the ingredient list, you will find Pearl powder which is also traditionally used to remove the sputum / phlegm. I remember my mum-in-law bought pearl powder for Eva when she was born, supposed to take it during the 1st few days after birth to remove / prevent phlegm development. 

Of course, I did not follow the real dosage - 1/3 bottle for Eva who is currently 9 month old (which was indicated on the box but not on the bottle. the bottle only indicates for 1 year and above but on the box actually they did advise on smaller dosage for younger children). 

All I did was to wet my index finger, turn the bottle to dab the powder on the finger and rub it into her mouth. Eva likes it! And yes again miraculously, only after 2 days of 2 dosage (day and night), Eva's coughing and rumbling chest sounds stopped! And she slept well throughout the night without coughing / puking any milk!! 

I am happy that I tried and impressed that with such little dosage, it actually able to work! 

I wont know how long it will take if I continued her with her western medicine which improve her condition but did not managed to clear out the phlegm. 

So mummies & daddies, do give it a try if your precious little one is going through similar situation. Dosage should remain no more than a fingertip full of it. Or maybe spatula full will do. I dont think we need or even should follow the full dosage as indicated. 

Here are some of the images of the bottle. It costs $13.50 and should be available at all TCM Hall. If there are variations, do check on either the box / bottle to see if there is any indications for kids younger than 1 year old; and/or ask the shop keeper, they would know better since customers normally return and share with them if it does work. 

 

Quick Comparison of Diaper Price

Just to share a quick comparison price of my preferred Goo.N (Japan) with Bosomi (Korea) and Nepia (Japan) which I havent try yet. 

More on the reviews of the diapers in later posts. 

Review: ANGE BIG BANA TEETHER (Banana Teether)

Eva started to have teething symptoms very early like when she was 3 months old? Her teeth didnt really emerge till few months later but back then she was fussy and trying to bite her hand or whatever she can get her hands on. I gave her cloths / cold hankies / Mothercare teethers, nothing quite worked out.

So eventually I bought Dentinox teething gel which did help but it is not something that I want her to take constantly. After browsing online, Sophie appeared but I looked at that shape and Eva was not good with holding on things at that time and the price was hmm.. so I decided to search further.

And I found this! ANGE Big Bana Teether! It was a wise decision and it is one of her best companion since.. till now..

I like it very much because it keeps her entertained; it helps train practise her motor skills and it is easily grabbed by the body; the whole teether can be nibbled on top to bottom.

However, pls do still use it under supervision as it may gag baby if they try to reach too deep into their little mouth and yes gag reflex means possibility of puking! I prefer to let Eva chew on the peeled skin part as it will not gag her.


Ta-dah here is Eva enjoying her chewing session back when she was 6 month old!






ANGE Big Bana Teether

Introducing the BIG BANA TEETHER!

+ Upgraded version of Bana Toothbrush

+ Cute and Unique design to attract baby’s attention

+ Light & Easy Grip for baby

+ Combines positive psychological influence of eating fruits

+ Delicate construction to protect baby’s oral cavity

+ Special design prevents teether from going too deep into baby’s mouth, but allowing teether to reach molars

+ Odourless, safe and flexible, yet tough material TPR is used

+ Made in Korea

+ BPA-Free & Free from toxic materials

+ Can be sterilised






Where to get this in Singapore?

1. http://tlo.com.sg/shop/index.php/teething/ange-big-bana-teether.html

Price: S$12.90
Delivery: Free normal postage.


2. http://list.qoo10.sg/item/BANA-TEETHER-FROM-KOREA/405756264?jaehuid=2000119881

Price: S$9.90
Delivery: Free normal postage.

Mummy Matters: CONFINEMENT - Bathing

Confinement is one of (if not, the ONLY one) dreaded aspect of pregnancy and motherhood that really turns me off everytime I think about it before pregnancy and throughout pregnancy.

I tried to communicate with my MIL which turns out to be really important and good! I have to say thankfully my MIL is someone who is willing to communicate and takes initiative to ask. In addition, my wonderful mummy also communicate with her to share about my likings and not as she is worried if I would be able to adapt, eat well and recover quickly.

So one of the top hated DON'Ts for confinement is BATH!

But as we all know, modern mums seriously don't wanna care!! and I think modern mums are unlike mums of 10 years ago who are still pretty obedient and willing to follow the rules. haha and for your good info, May 2013 was one of the hottest month of that year and I totally would die if not allowed to bathe and if also made to cover from top to toe. I will die, seriously die... ... 

Anyway I was actually told by one of the Malay masseur that the reason for this confinement tradition of no bathing comes from the fact that in the past, toilets were located out of the house and so new mummies would be proned to catching cold by going out to shower. BUT now we have our toilet not only in the house but right in the room! haha 

So how did it go for me? After going through it, I realised that there is indeed good cause for the restrictions and all. I think it is all about compromising and making good sense of what is essential and what can be forgo. 

As you all may already have known and heard about all the bathing in herbal water? Yups, that was what I did as well!

My MIL was very nice and she took the effort to get friends to buy herbal packs from Malaysia for me. It was a total of 30packs. She will boil it every night or very early morning to keep this pot of concentrate aside. Then she will add hot water via the highest temp on the instant heater to a basin and add the herbal concentrate in. So I was allowed to wash my hair and bathe EVERYDAY!! I was even allowed to use the usual shower gel and shampoo. *Envy me* 

I guess it was the best compromise I could ever get! But some ground rules which she set and I think are pretty beneficial and perhaps are really the core of the issue!  

1. Always bathe before sunset 
> This was pretty tough and upsetting at times because sometimes all I want is to go for a nap when Eva naps but I have to take the opportunity to get my bath!! I could jolly well miss the timing and miss my chance of bathing. So is between sleep or bath. After sunset, temperature start to drop. 

2. Always close all the windows and fans in proximity of bathroom
> This was easy since all along I have always been scared of cold and the last thing I want is to have cold air running up my back! Especially so when I am using scoop of waters instead of direct shower head. 

3. Always drink some warm drink before and after bath
> This also helps to warm up the body especially the core. For those of you who are okay with alcohol, taking some DOM / Yomeishu will be good too. I cannot take alcohol. Tried taking like only 10ml of DOM, I felt totally sick soon after. Maybe I drank it too fast. My face flushed, eyes turn red too and I felt giddy and sleepy. That was the 1st and the last. haha 

4. Always ensure that water is real warm (actually hot) when going to bathe
> This was tough too as I dont like cold water, neither is my skin accustomed to hot water! Well, water that is too warm makes my eczema flare. But well, I try to do it slightly more warm but not hot. 

5. Always blow dry hair immediately after bath (after drinking some warm drink)
> This I follow as wet hair can really make you sick when the wind blows! I had one occasion with damp hair, one side drying it with hair dryer, on the other side I set the fan on for ventilation, resulting in a bad night of feeling like I came down with a bad cold and body aches. It went away pretty quickly after keeping myself warm. 

With all the above, haha basically you get to bathe but not without sweating it out all over again soon after the bath. Haha I can only say "be grateful!". 

I do not know how does the herbal water works BUT I did hear about people mentioning to bathe in water that has been boiled before. My mum always prepare cool boiled water ready for her to wash her hands or any stuffs when necessary. A friend did her own confinement and she only ensure to bathe in hot water and sort of similar ground rules above. All turn out fine even though they did not use herbal water. 

So I guess the whole principle behind it is to ensure that you are kept warm and not at risk of catching a cold! So to fellow mummies who really wish to bathe, you might want to consider the above method; daddies might want to share the info with your own mummies as well so they can give your wife a break on that. 

For me, so far so good 8 months after confinement. =) 

Baby Matters: DAY OR NIGHT? SLEEP OR NAP?

I read about mummies sharing abt their babies being like the most active in the nights and only start to sleep at daybreak. Omg! I am blessed that such a thing didnt and still hadnt happen to me and Eva!!

So you see, baby sleep patterns are also one of the main issues highlighted by many websites and qn posted in forums.

One of the key thing that has been repeatedly mentioned is how newborns cannot differentiate day and night yet and they tend to hav activities level similar to in the womb i.e when mummy is active in the day, baby inside would tend to sleep due to the rocking motion ; when mummy is resting and sleeping, baby inside starts to wake and kick!

Noting this point as one of my top priority newborn issue, right from the 2nd day of birth we started the following...

During day naps, we will not dim the room and instead allow her to sleep in natural lighting. We also will continue our normal activities without silencing everyone. We wanted her to be able to sleep regardless any kind of background noise. We talk as usual with sometimes TV on and phones were left on normal ringing volume as well. We only take note not to have sudden over loud sounds that could startle even adults.

Maybe because she was a jaundice baby hence she kind of sleep pretty well. She had her fussy times of course and even had a couple nights carrying her to sleep as she wont stop fussing and crying. I couldnt quite make out what she wanted.

She also had her Twilight hours between 11pm to 1am where she wont stop fussing as well. I also couldnt make out what exactly she wanted.

BUT.. all the significant ordeals pass by without me noticing and i think it went pass within days when I havent even quite figure out what to do..

Despite her fussing, it was still apparent that she knows very well when is day and when is night. By 2nd month, she was waking up only like at ard odd 3am? Before was last feed around 11pm or so and 1st feed after 3am normally around 5 to 6am. Basically I was thankful and impressed that she start sleeping through the night this young! (Note! Sleep through night is not as defined like as adult sleep. For babies a straight 5hrs would be considered so!)

So I attribute that quick progress to the daylight and nighttime accustomization. Of course in the night, not only will we ensure that she gets her deserved dimness in the room, she also gets her deserved silence which she doesnt get in the day.

I have come across babies who have to sleep in total dark room with air con and silence. Well, I seriously am not a supporter of that as it will make it so difficult for baby to nap naturally if on-the-go. Eva was doing well. Dozing off well even while waiting in polyclinic with hot weather and brightness with crying babies and kids around. At least she is getting the sleep that she needs.

We establish that so well that on her 1st few days in sch (aka infant care centre) she wouldnt sleep in the nap area as they have it dimmed down. Haha. Oops. So they put her in the play area instead.

Babies are very adaptive. So soon she was alright with the semi dimmed room and so is she alright with our normal.

So new mummies and daddies, do try to do this too for your babies if you wanna gain back your better rested nights sooner!!

Shall share more about Eva sleep patterns next round!

Baby Matters: PACIFIER OR THUMB?

As a new mummy, naturally all sorts of ideal scenarios go through my mind during pregnancy; and actually way before that, like say since 16 years old, I have been thinking about how I want to raise my child! 

So one of the key issues that always pop up will be to give or not to give.. The Sacred Pacifier!! 

My stand was.. If I could.. I wont and I was thinking babies are like white paper, if you dont introduce something like that, why would they know??!!! So pacifier went straight out of the "to buy" list.

And the big day came and you know newborns - sleep wakes feed and the cycle goes. Well done! Days pass and I was thinking hey I am getting a hang of this manz! 2 weeks pass and then suddenly... ... The Twilight hour came!! (more of those in other upcoming posts) where Eva starts crying and fussing every night from 11pm to 1am. No idea what was wrong and I always thought perhaps cluster feeding?? Comfort nursing maybe?? 

Well, with all that unanswered and she dont seem to be hungry, I thought perhaps and maybe and probably she simply needed to suck (google tells me that babies soothe themselves by sucking! its nature!) and ta-dah came the pacifier from the Avent set which hubby bought (review on that in later posts). 

It is orthodontic, symmetrical collapsible teat so being symmetrical, you do not need to worry about it being upside down hence you can just pop it into your little one's mouth anyhow. But I changed to "Advanced Orthodontic" one later which she is using till now! (Scroll to bottom) 

BUT my attempts to let Eva take the pacifier (we call it du-du) failed!! She wont take it! I was like OMG!! This is the sign!! We dont need to start her on du-du! Haha.. but eventually we still did. I cannot remember exactly when and how I started her on the du-du but I needed to do so in order for everyone's ease of taking care of her on my behalf. Well, I needed to be considerate and make things a little easier for everyone ya? 

So it did make life simpler especially during naptimes / bedtimes but at the back of mind, I keep picturing her running around as toddler with the du-du in her mouth!  *faints* That is like the last thing I ever want it to happen!! But even more fearful to imagine her sucking thumb!! Oh.. kill me!! What a big dilemma!! 

My extensive reading on forums and all tells me that pacifier is something which you can wean off and there are like so many examples around me saying how they actually remove the pacifier from the toddlers and even more amazing, some say the kid just decided not to take it anymore on his/her own! But thumb is something that you cannot remove from the kid. So the choice is clear!!! (By the way, Eva's classmate has been sucking thumb and the teachers at infant care also shared that thumb is really not the way to go because it's sooo difficult to wean them off!!)

And so I started trying something which I thought might work.. months down the road.. I think it does work!! 

Pacifier is only given to Eva when she shows signs of sleeping as it helps to soothe her to sleep. And whenever she falls into deep sleep, she will spit out the pacifier on her own. So it was a sign to us that she is well asleep. Heeding the advice which I read online, we never attempted to put the pacifier back into her mouth. Only when she wakes up in middle of sleep then will we give her the pacifier again. Very often, she spits it out after only several sucking. 

So say if pacifier is given to her when she display signs of sleepiness YET did not actually sleep, I will tell her "Eva, if you are not sleeping, do not eat the du-du." and I will remove it from her. Amazingly! Later on, whenever I say that, she will spit it out if she decides that she is not intending to sleep! And we came to this advance stage where she will scream at you if you come near her with the pacifier and she apparently doesnt want to sleep!! 

So the pacifier has become not only a soothing tool for her, it also become a communication tool! After saying it all, Pacifier or thumb? All for Pacifier!! No regrets!! 

As I mentioned, I changed her pacifier to the Advanced Orthodontic. With all the sayings that du-du is going to affect their teeth development and making them buckteeth etc, I decided to invest in this. Well I was thinking if you dare say you are advanced then you have got to be good?? 



This pacifier actually has no pointers that will attract any mummies and daddies other than it's ADVANCED orthodontic. HAHAHA.

What you probably wont like (but they are precisely also the reason why you should buy it):

1. It does not come with any ring that can allow you to easy remove the pacifier from baby's mouth or from its own cap not attach it to those hanging tags to prevent pacifier from dropping to ground. 

BUT 

Yes it may be more inconvenient but I have no intentions of attaching it anywhere on Eva because she is NEVER going to be moving around with her du-du on! Only for sleeptime. Period. 

2. It comes in a special shape and not symmetical hence you will need to specifically check the direction before you insert it into baby's mouth! If in wrong direction, baby is gonna spit it out!  

BUT

Precisely it is specially designed in this way for a reason which is why I buy it. =P

Unique "wings"

Advanced orthodontic teat with unique wings that minimizes pressure on gums and developing teeth. The wings make the teat wider so that the pressure that is caused by baby's suckling is distributed more evenly resulting in less pressure per tooth.

Shaped nipple

The nipple is shaped to let baby's tongue remain in natural position. 

And yes Eva is having the pink one! One in school (aka infant care centre) and one at home. It costs $9.90 each which I thought was fine especially so that Eva is using the same 0-6mths one even till now (she is 9mths now). I tried to change her to a 6-12mths soother (under the classic range) but she wont take it and is happy with her same old one. 

Happy Baby = Happy Mummy = Happy Daddy