Breastfeeding Support Group

Mel
No lah, I dun mean he drank 20ml. I meant when I tried to express my milk in the 1st month, I got very little. So, I stopped expressing and do direct latch on instead. I din want to think abt how much milk I've got, so I just feed on demand, put him to my breast whenever he was hungry. It was really tough and tiring then. Even now, I dun express my milk, coz I dun want to stress myself to see how much milk I've got, I just latch on.

I've read tt some babies hv a stool movement after every feeding, some of them can go without stool movement for a few days. So not too sure on that. If u are worried, why dun u check with the PD on bb's wt gain. BF babies shd regain birthwt at 2nd wk, then gain abt 7 ounce every wk, until 3mths.
I know what u mean when u say cannot bear bb to be hungry. Can feed bb some formula. But if u feed too much, bf wun work, coz bb wun suckle anymore.
 


desert
Same, same. I also direct latched but since I went back to work, I gotta express twice at work. Also stressed when ss is little, never hit those levels by some of the mummies here, not trying to compare but really a bit discouraged when I dun have enuf milk, cos apparently what I express is not enuf for him. Like you, I have done everything I can for him, now I just store whatever I can. Consolation is besides the fussing part, he is growing well, got alert eyes and healthy.

I set myself a target of every two months, April is coming to any end now, hopefully I can carry on till June and that my right side will heal soon.
Your boy was fussing? Mine too, we tried to bring him out to tire him, after we got back, he only slept for half an hour, and started fussing.

Linda
Thanx for encouragement. My bb eats normally but his interval is close. My ss has dipped over the last week and I feel lousy. I want to give him enuf bm but seems not producing enuf. I cannot grasp this demand=supply cos it does not seem to be working out for my situation.

Mel
Poor thing, have a good cry and press on. Indeed it's not easy. It was tough for me too during the first six weeks, I just direct latched on, pressed on tho I nearly gave up. Felt so drained of energy.
 
hi helen,

phew...so busy cos my colleague is on leave, got to cover her. no time to log in and reply.

good fo ryou that you are pumping so many times....must be really tiring , i can imagine. it seems more effective if you pump first then latch on cos the baby's sucking motion can empty the breast more effectively and signal to the breast to produce more. whereas pumping is simply to empty the breast. i find that if i pump then latch, my boy still has milk to drink. whereas if i latch then pump, either i can't pump out anything or i pump out very very little with a lot of effort.
 
Hi lea
My boy is 15 weeks old already. Yes I took 2 months no pay leave to look after him. But will be going back to work soon. Thank you for your compliment. He is in deed big! So when do you intend to stop brestfeeding? I am still unsure cos when I go back to work ss may dip cos stress will come in. I also has a problem he seems to like one breast more than the other. and will fuss awhile before drinking. Soscare my breast will beceom one big and one small.

Hi stlyobb
I guess we will have to jiayou. don't stress ourselves too much. no good for health.
happy.gif

moon
 
To those mummies using electric pumps, do you adjust the pressue to medium or to high? Sometimes I wonder if it's becos I dun move it to too high (scared it's painful) that I dun get more milk.

Moon
Thanx. Really needed the encouragement.
 
hi styloBB
i also wondering if adjust to the highest means will pump out more milk. Now i put it to medium, high seems a bit painful after expressing...
 
Helena,

my baby was born on 12march..only a day apart. yours is boy or girl? mine is boy.

last night my boy also demand long feeding. started to latch him at 730pm. then after some time tot he is satisfied n then put him down. who noes shortly after he cries again.. so been latching him on n off until 10pm n he finally felt too sleepy. he asked for feed again at 330am.

yar, its normal for baby to suck vigorously for first few min then slow down. think mainly becoz the milk flow is v fast initially. usually i just see if my boy is satisfied after feed. if not satisfied n cry means he has not drank enough. as long as he is sucking correctly, believed milk is flowing n he is swallowing.
 
Mel
Hope you are feeling better today.
I forgot, when was your bb born? Boy or girl?
Yah, I am afraid pressure too high then the area will be painful.
 
hi styloBB
just gave birth on the 7th and it's a girl.

Haizz..I have already thought it over, if God meant for me to unable to BF i also cant do anything, just let things take it couse lor...no milk also bo pian
 
Mini,

Mine is a boy. I delivered at TMC. You? Mebbe we were neighbours if you delivered there too! ;)
My boy's EDD was 31 March but the doc wanted to have C-section on 16th cos he was getting way too big but my waterbag burst on 13 March and I had emergency C-section.

I brought him to Centrepoint today and he was wailing his lungs out everytime my mom and I put him on the pram. He only stopped when we carried him. So frustrating. When I got home, my breasts were really sore and full and I managed to express 230ml. That was after 6 hours of not expressing. I wonder if this is an achievement.
 
helena,

i delivered in mt alvernia. my boy's EDD was 22march but water bag burst on 12march. had normal delivery w/o epidural. wow..u can get so much milk! i nvr try to express both breasts yet. will have to do so next wk so that my mum/MIL can feed boy using bottles. so far tried bottle feed once n he refused to drink initially. but after some time he tasted n the milk taste the same n quickly drank. have to train him to take from bottle since going back to work 3wks later.
 
Dutchess,
I think it is a waste to only express milk once at my workplace cos I can't sterilise the pump using the steriliser. Is it possible to sterilise it using sterilising tablets? Then perhaps I can pump twice at my workplace.
 
Mini,

How long was your labour? Was it painful without epidural? Initially I opted for normal with epidural cos mt threshold for pain is really low but my boy was too big. The gynae gauged that if he were to be carried for 40 weeks, he would be 4.2kg. My boy weighed 3.9kg at birth (37.5 weeks) and measured 53cm. What abt your boy?

Actually the reason why I could express so much milk is because I hadn't expressed for 6 hours. I have come to realise that it's always the case for me. Normally, if I were to express after a 3 hour gap, I would get only @50ml and that is not enough for babies as old as our boys.

Helen,
You can use the tablets. I use them too. Try Boots or Milton. You sterilise abt 30-60mins, depending on brand.
 
hi all,
i did not know this thread existed until now! i am tbf my 4 week old girl. but one thing she refuses bottle and loves latching on. i am using avent bottles and teats and seems like the teeats are too hard for her. are nuk teats better? they seem softer like the nipple. any mothers have this problems too? any solutions?

my milk supply is ok. i only pump once a day in the morning and can achieve about 150ml. but the milk i pumped out is to be thrown away as she refuses to take them from the bottle... i lost my appetite since confinement so i ate very very little. sometimes feel very faint. wondering whether this will affect the quality of my bm.

i do not store my expressed bm because i am a sahm and too troublesome. i am rather confident that as long as i continue to tbf her, my milk supply will maintain.


By the way, do your milk spray out? there were a few times the milk sprayed all over baby's face. i was so afraid that it will get into her nose! and also my bb will sometimes choke on the milk as she is sucking too hard and fast.


helena,
your baby really big! i gave birth on 17 Mar at TMC too. Emergency C-section...
 
hey pink
wah, you another lucky mother who can produce so much milk.

My case totally different from you. How I very much wish my gal will refuse the bottles and latch on me instead...
 
Pink,

My baby and I went home on the 17th March! Why was yours C-section? Who was your gynae? So you had epidural or GA?
 
hi helen,

sorry, got to make this a short one, really busy in the office.

i pump twice in the office and i don't have a problem with sterilising cos i have 2 pumps. i bought one and another one was give to me by my friend. but i guess you can use sterilising tablets although i'm not sure how it works, cos i never used them before. or if your office has a microwave, you can get those microwave sterilising bags. or worse come to worse, wash your pump with hot water. i don't have a microwave in the office and i don't want the hassle of sterilising the pump in the office, so i bring 2 pumps to work everyday.
 
Stylobb
Yup, I know how u feel, even if u dun want to compare, its quite depressing if u cannot express the amt bb demands. That's why I've stop expressing, coz even I can express abt 100ml in the morning at 5th wk, it still low as compared to most mummies. For my case, I can choose to direct latch on, coz I am not working this yr.
I believe this demand = supply thing works better if u do direct latch on. Anyway, my boy has been on tbf for the past 3 days, coz he rejected the bottle. But I want him to be able to switch fr both breast and bottle leh, will monitor and see how lor.

Mel
U are giving up bf totally?? I still think u will hv enuff milk, coz I was like u initially. U just need to latch on ur bb on demand. U know my breast seldom leak, even if it does its only a little, I dun even need to wear breast pads. Normally, I will feel engorgement if I dun feed bb for some time but seldom leaking. My boy is still on tbf, his wt gain was slow during the initial 2 wks, but his wt gain is gd now. So I tell myself I dun hv to produce a lot of milk, as long as I am meeting his demand, its gd enuff.
Hope u can persevere on, if its too tiring at times, bf lying down with ur bb, it helps lots. I always do this at nite and when I am tired. But the problem with this at nite is tt I get so comfortable tt I sometimes fall asleep. Or maybe just do partial bf with formula.
 
Helena,

wow..ur baby is so big. my water bag burst at 530am n admitted at 7am. but only 1cm dilated. then gynae came at 10am to check. was 3cm then. at 1230pm when i cant bear with the pain n wanted to ask for epidural, midwife came n was already 9cm dilated. so no pt using. delivered at 243pm as waiting for gynae to come. he was having anr delivery at East Shore. if he was there early my boy will be out by 2pm. the wait for him to come was so tortoring as have to suppress the desire to push for so long. heard active labour started when dilation is 3cm, so my labour only 4+hrs. my baby is small...only 2.92kg @48cm. my tummy was small(only 37inches) n tat time my gynae n nurses tot my baby will b v small. so glad he still has 2.92kg since i delivered 10days earlier. my boy has thin small bones like me
happy.gif
he was 4kg when went for 1st mth jab. how heavy was ur baby at 1mth?

last nite my baby finished his feed at 950pm. then went sleep. at first wanted to pump milk at 1am. but then was too tired so just slept thru. who noes at 340am my breasts leaked milk again! thinking how come my boy din wake up for feed since he din eat alot for his last feed. so no choice n i woke up to pump. halfway thru pumping he woke up. managed to pump 120ml of milk n latch him on at the same time. so i think i should have more than 200ml of milk too since din pump for 6hrs!

this morning been feeding my boy on n off since 6am. must be growth spurts since he usually dun do tat. he is sleeping now. is ur boy taking more milk these few days other than night feed?

Pink,
i m also using avent bottles. my boy same as ur girl reject bottles n prefer breasts. my MIL will feed boy with water n he always refuse to drink. once i pumped some milk to let him drink. at first he fuss n cried so hard n just refuse to drink. i persisted to still give him the bottle. after quite some time he finally started to suck. wow..he sucked the teat real fast n quickly finished the milk! think its not becoz avent teat too hard. our babies just dun get used to it yet. continue trying to give them bottles.
 
desert
The past week or so has been tough for me, cos my right side is still healing thus I cannot latch him on direct. If I feed, I can only use left side so I try the tandem pumping method at nite. My brs hardened at nite but seldom leak. Happened again at 5am... could not sleep, tired as I was, dragged myself up to pump, only about 90ml.
Thankfully tho my boy takes both brs and bottles well. He is not fussy. Anyway I tell myself he is coming to 4 months already, and soon will be taking semi-solids, I dun wanna get overly stressed and so long as I have bm, I will feed him as well as stock up.

Mel
Yah, are you still b/feeding?

Pink
Same, I also lost my appetite since confinement. Was back to normal, back to work, but lately could not really eat so much again.
 
Hi,

Just stumbled on this thread and boy am I grateful for this. I gave birth on 1 April and am doing tbf. It's really really difficult and many times I really wanted to give up.

I'm currently expressing about 3 times a day only and latching on bb for most of the day (and nights).

How long is each 'latching' on session? My boy does about 15 mins at tops, and that includes like 'naps' during the middle.
 
Hello!

My elder girl used to suck for about 10-15 min each side. So the total feeding time was about 20 - 30 min.

My second baby, now about 9 weeks old, is drinking from one side per feed. And she takes less than 10 minutes! At first I was doubtful whether she was taking enough milk or not. But after some time, I know she is cos she is satisfied after each feed and her bowel volume is substantial.

My friend told me that my second baby sucks well, that's why.

So perhaps different babies have different duration of feed?
 
QHL
Hi. I did not express during the first six weeks,it was direct latch. Yah tough, I understand. All for the sake of our bbs. My bb does 15-20mins each side and he seldom naps. Nowadays he seems to do it faster. You express after or before each feed?
Watch out for more demand during the sixth week and it could happen in the evenings. Feed him whenever he demands for it.
 
hi moon

so blessed that you were able to take no-pay leave to look after your bb as some companies are not so supportive. when you return to work, try to pump regularly. if you stick to a pumping schedule, there should be no problems maintaining a sufficient supply for your boy.
happy.gif


actually i have no idea when i intend to stop. my short-term target is when he's 18 months. but if he wants to wean before that, i'll probably stop earlier.
 
Thanks much for your tips. I will watch for the 6th week.

Not sure if that's true. I was expressing about max 40mL during previous days. Didn take naps, was a bit stressed out. Yesterday took a bit of nap and tried to take things easy - today could express about 60mL on average.

I am expressing and doing direct latching at the same time. Figure if I 'demanded' more, supply could increase also. FYI, tandem expressing really does help. I find that the flow of milk is much faster. Although having to handle both bb and manual pump is a bit of a challenge (I'm using Avent manual)

To those who are in their first weeks of bfding, dun give up. It definitely is not easy, and I'm still only trying to find my way in this....
 
Mini,

I just brought my bb to the paediatrician for his jab today. He weighs 5.3kg and measures 57.5cm. He was supposed to be born on 31st March and I was supposed to go for C-Section on 16th March but my waterbag started to leak on 13 March 2.30am, just one hour after my husband reached Singapore.

People we met at Centrepoint yesterday didn't believe he's just 5 weeks old. Let me attach his photo.

He doesn't seem to drink more, except at the bottle. When it comes to latching on, he gets sleepy easily. He tends to just suckle 15 mins at each breast. Is that enuff?
73323.jpg
 
Helena
He looks so cute and blissful in his sleep. What is his name? Looks chubby eh.

desert
Lately I wonder if it's the pump that we use, I have been using electric pump. Tried the manual and was hopeless, nothing much came out at all. So cannot be the pump. I think for me, it's stress and fatigue that is affecting my ss too...now that I am back to work, ss is affected. I try not to think about it when I pump but really can feel so xian when I see the amount that comes out..plus my boy's appetite is growing.

lea
18 months!! Wow... but I got not enuf milk leh... I only give myself 6 months. Cannot take it anymore, cos I put in so much effort and get so little, think I am not utilising my time well enuf and get so stressed up somemore...
 
Hi Helena

Your bb so sweet sleeping so soundly. Is that you or your hub sori can't see clearly. You mean people say he looks small? But if the pd say his weight is alright that means ok right? 15 mins per breast. I think it depends how well bb suckle. Some suckle very fast, you can feel his suckling and swallowing.

Hi lea

What do you mean by pupming regularly? Do I need to pump at the same time everyday? 6 hourly is it too long? I will admire you can bf your bb till now.

moon
 
HI Qhl
You manage to pump with one hand carrying bb. Same is mini. I can't do it. How you both do it?
Hi Pink
You are a stay home mom ? SO good. REally envy. My bb also has the same problems as your bb. REject the bottle. I am using avent bottle, me too wonder is NUK good? Cos the teat like smaller and softer. Same here. My milk sometimes will spray out too and bb will also like choke when drinking.
My bb don't know why everytime before drink milk must fuss a bit. When the milk too much coming out he also fuss.

Hi desert
Are you working? YOur bb rejects the bottle how? I am also at my wits end. Going back to work soon.

Hi stylobb
I understand how you feel but I think I worse now bb rejects bottle. ButI think time passes fast. Bb going to be 6 months old soon. then jiayou!

Hi dutchness
You mentioned that I can also wash with hot water right? I mean the pump cos I think like very troublesome to bring steriliser. I have only one pump.

moon
 
Hi mini
You are good. how you manage to train your bb to use bottles? Initially my bb knows how to use when he is about 1 month old but I think after a few weeks without using he forgets already. He can suck at the thip of the teat for very long but no milk comes out and after that cos too hungry will get frustrated. We try to teach him but still can't. You have any tips?
Thankyou
 
hi serene,

i guess if really really NO CHOICE then just use hot water to soak and wash the pumps. although i prefer not to do that. esp when your baby is very young, it's better to sterilise the pump properly. for my son now i'm still sterilising all pumps, bottles, teats and pacifiers, but not so kan cheong like last time. cos anyway now he crawling all over and putting everything into his mouth so not much difference lor
happy.gif


another way i did when i was desperate was to put my pump in the fridge after using then take out and use it again later. if your office has a microwave then all the better. just use the microwave sterilising bag.
 
styloBB,

He's called Titus. My family is Christian and we name him after someone in the New Testament. It is also a book in the NT. Actually his thighs are the most chubby. The nurses at the nursery in TMC called him "King of the Nursery" as he was the biggest and tallest. He even beat two angmoh babies. My tummy was really big when I was carrying him.


Serene,
No. People say he looks big. They do not believe that he is only 5 weeks old. That's my husband in the photo. My bb looks like him but his character takes after mine more.
 
Serene,
how old is your baby? i am persistent to let her learn suck from both bottle and breasts. If not, totally loss of freedom. But when i am around i will latch her on as i can't to see her crying and refusing the bottle. so i always pump a some milk before i go out and let my mum 'settle' her. sometimes my mum will call me and tell me she refuses to drink. when i hear her wail in the background, i feel so guilty...

mini,
thatz encouraging. i am PERSISTENT to give her bottle too. if not, shiong for everyone.

helena,
hehe... my water bag burts at 5.30am and admitted at 6plus. dilated only 1cm.. took epidural at 10 plus and had to go C-section because my pelvic bone too small and dilation was slow.... baby had slow heartbeat too. i was wake throught the operation and Avelyn was out at 1pm weighing 3.15kg and length 51cm. she is overdue by 1
73336.jpg
73337.jpg
 
hi pink
you baby's so cute! How's the celebration thingee going?

hi desert
i didn't totally give up BF, just that I don't take it too hard on meself, or else i think i will get depression any sooner. I will latch her until every 4-5 hrs when she really hungry den give her the bottle lor. Me most of the time nurse laying down cos shpulder really ache, have to carry her like every hr can die. I always fall asleep anyway. LOL
biggrin.gif


still got two more days to see the LC, but still no improve in amount...so sianz...

helena
wow, you boy really chubby. Your tummy so big, must have gana a lot of stretch marks?

styloBB
me also wonder if it is the pump's fault. Really get dishearted to see the amount that comes out. But the Ameda pump not bad compare to the medela one. Which one you using?

73345.jpg
 
Mel,
your baby's nose quite high hor. the full month celebration was on sat. she was asleep most of the time!

now u confinement right? do not give up, just pump and latch on whenever you can even if she is just suckling for comfort. eat nutritious food also. i take a glass of papaya juice everyday now since my confinement over. even during my confinement, i did not follow those rules lah... eat more fish.
 
hi pink
her nose is high, but BIG too!! Ah, look like mine
sad.gif
! Always hated my nose...

How did you celebrate the event? Me still have no idea what to do for mine..

What does the papaya juice do? Can improve milk supply??
 
Pink,

Your bb's considered tall, I think. You can can that against the average baby in her health booklet. So who was your gynae. I think part of your posting got covered by your bb's photos.

Mel,
I think my bb looks a bit like yours when he was born but he's got a flatter nose. My mom is pinching the bridge of his nose too often, in an attempt to sharpen it. Dunno if it works.
I use both the Medela Mini Electric and Avent Manual Pumps. Sometimes, when I have a shower and I massage my breasts, I get quite a number of squirts but I dun understand why the pumps are not that effective.
 
hi helena

u mean when u use the pump can manage to get 50ml? that's quite a lot to me liao.

My MIL also pinching her nose every now and then. Hopefully it will help.
 
Helena,

ur baby is big n chubby. my boy limps are thin. i used measuring tape to measure my boy n he is ard 57cm. so he has grown 9cm so far. no wonder he cant put on much meat as all his milk has made him grow 9cm taller. my PIL always commented how come hands n legs still so thin :p

since late morning my boy gets sleepy n din really drink much in the afternoon compared to past few days. dunno is it growth spurts over n he become more sleepy? read tat baby uses alot of energy during growth spurts n the 1-2days after that he tends to be more sleepy.

moon,
i m using the avent 2-hole teat. the flow is faster n easier for baby to suck. hmm..i just talked to my boy n tell him to drink milk milk. also make the "sucking" sound. mayb he is too hungry n just accept the bottle? will try to bottle feed him more next wk to see if successful or not.
 
Mel,

It depends on when I express. If I express after a gap of 6 hours, I can get quite a lot. Sometimes, the pumps do not clear my milk well. I know because I have gone for showers immediately after expressing and when I use my fingers to sqeeze my nipples, I get squirts that are quite concentrated. The concentrated milk is better cos it's better than the initial bit your baby drinks. It's supposed to be of a higher quality.

Mini,
I measured my bb at the clinic and he has grown just 4.5cm taller. Slowly than your boy. Doesn't matter if your boy has thin limbs. As long as he is healthy, it's all that matters. I was at the paediatrician's today when this mother was brought into the doc's room with her infant before us though we had arrived first. Later, we overheard the clinic assistants calling for an ambulance for the bb as he had to be admitted to ICU. The mother emerged from the doc's room crying. Poor thing. And she was all alone. Can you imagine the anguish if it were our baby?

My bb, I notice, drinks more now and the intervals between feeds are shorter too. He is like his father: eats anything you put into his mouth. He suckles on my breasts, milk-bottle teats, pacifier, my fingers, his thumb..anything, you name it. And sometimes, when he sleeps, you can hear him making suckling sounds and his mouth moving.
 
Hi! Mommies
So many cute babies photos today.
happy.gif
Talking abt length, I think my boy is the longest, hv been telling him to stop growing vertically and start growing more horizontally. He was 70cm at 10 wks.

Mel
Dun stress urself too much then.
happy.gif
Breastmilk can be kept for abt 3-4hrs at rm temperature.

Moon
I am on No pay leave until end of this yr. But my boy has been introduce to his bottle at 2 wks. From then on, I hv been giving him one nite feed using bottle. Just recently, I changed to giving him the one feed at evening time. So far, he has been ok. Dun know why a few days ago, he just refuse the bottle.
sad.gif


Stylobb
Ya, dun stress ourself. Just give whatever we hv.
happy.gif
Take care. I can't wait to start my boy on solids, seems quite fun to feed him. I started giving him a few spoonfuls of water everyday, just to let him get use to drinking water.
 
Hi Mel,

BM can be kept at room temp for up to 4hours. Remember to store it only in plastic containers. Apparently, if you store it in glass, certain good elements get stuck to the bottle (and therefore dun go to bb).

I drank papaya soup yesterday (papaya wif 'gor kee' and fish bones) - quite sweet. Hope it improves supply.

To Stylobb, dun stress yourself. Apparently stress will cause the supply to dip further. Have enough rest and eat more fish?? Take care of yourself and I'm sure all will be well.
 
desert,

That means you have to forgo a lot of money since you are on no-pay. I wanted to go on no-pay for another one month but decided against it cos the opportunity cost is too high.
 
hi Helena
my LC is from the hospital that I give birth in, Glen E.

My husband also starting to ask me give up BF cos he see me very tired and not eating enough tonic. When he around the room, I don't dare to BF baby and have to make formula for her...
 
hi moon

when i first came back to work, i kept to a schedule of expressing 3 times a day at intervals of roughly 4 hours or less. i tried not to go beyond 4 hours each time. but i know of mums who pump in intervals of 6 hours and yet managed to maintain enough supply for their bb's intake. suggest that abt 2 weeks before you return to work, you can start your pumping schedule and give your bb expressed milk in the day so that he's used to the bottle and you can at the same time get your body used to the new schedule. if you intend to pump every 6 hours, just need to ensure that the amt expressed is enough for your bb's intake... if you pump for 1-2 days and find that it's not enough, you will need to shorten the interval and add in another session so that your supply will be more.
 


Helen
Me christian too. Yep, I know about the name but first time I hear that...very unique. My boy's name is Jesse, meaning God's gift.

Mel/desert
Yah, me quite stressed these few days, cos ss dropped, even thinking of stopping but brs still can get engorged, but when I pumped no extra ss comes out...xian. Just asked my mum and she said most can start semi-solid when bb is five months, so I just still latch him on and pump too.

Mel
I use the Medela travel bag pump, it comes in the form of a bag with a cooler compartment, a compartment to store the plug, pumps and all, but quite heavy. My friend lent me the electric pump as well and I'm thinking of trying that...long story, usu I leave the travel bag in the office cos I latch bb at home but due to my br condition I have had to carry everyday, ended up I was so tired carrying it.
 

Back
Top