I can hardly believe it. I do not have to spend time with the pump anymore.
Yes, since last Thursday 18 March 2010 I have officially stopped breastfeeding. I started the day Shanna was born on 5th March 2009. Shanna was 100% breastfed for the 1st year of her life. This is beyond my initial goal of 4-6 months :)
Just for the fun of it, and for the record, here is some data:
Duration: 1 yr 14 days
Number of hours spent expressing milk: ~753 hours
As of today, there is still some stock of milk in the freezer. Shanna takes a mix of breastmilk and formula nowadays. She has taken well to formula (Dumex Dugro), and in fact seems to prefer the taste of formula. Oh well, it's understandable that she may have gotten bored with the taste of the same thing for 1 year.
Was breastfeeding hard? Yes! Tiring and require lots of time and energy. Couldn't have done it without God's grace and support from family and friends.
Was it worth it? Absolutely! Shanna is healthy. She hasn't been sick with flu/fever/etc at all. Thank God for good health. A side benefit for me is breastfeeding was the express way to lose weight, I'm thinner than before I got pregnant :)
Would I do it again? Definitely. But I am enjoying my 'freedom' for now :)
~ Audrey
Shanna
Ian
Showing posts with label Breastfeeding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Breastfeeding. Show all posts
Monday, March 22, 2010
Thursday, October 1, 2009
8 Hours of Beauty Sleep Finally
I got an 8 hours stretch of sleep finally last night. In the past 7 months the longest stretch of night sleep I had was 6 hours.
People usually think I lack sleep because of Shanna waking me up in the night. Well, the truth is Shanna has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old. Initially I did get her up for a feed around midnight-1am, but I dropped that when she was 5 months old. Since then, Shanna sleeps from 9pm-7am.
When everyone else was sleeping nicely in the night, I would wake up to express milk. I stuck to a 4 times a day, every 6 hours+ expressing schedule.
In fact, most breastfeeding moms can train their bodies to go through the night without having to do anything.
But in my case, for the reasons below I did not do so:
1. I do not feed baby direct. Lacking that stimulation, I worried about my supply decreasing by going too long without expressing.
2. Experts recommend minimum of expressing/feeding 4 times a day to maintain supply.
3. Some people pull-in the last round of expressing to before they sleep. This means the time lapse from the previous round of expressing was maybe 3-4 hours. It was too short a lapse for me- pumping too frequently caused sores for me.
Nowadays, I have reduced my frequency of expressing to 3 times a day, every 8 hours.
Well, what made me change my schedule?
1. I decided I could make do with less milk. The fridges were full to the brim and Shanna had started solids, so her milk intake will not increase.
2. I was tired. I had hung on for 7 months after all. And I wanted to have 'steam' to continue on.
It has been a long but rewarding breastfeeding journey for me so far. I learnt that what works for me may not work for others and vice versa. The challenges every mummy face are different, some find direct feeding hard, some find expressing impossible. I'm very grateful that God gave me the grace to sustain so far, and satisfaction from seeing my baby grow well :)
Because of my exclusive time with the pump every morning and evening, Tim has also had the chance to be a very hands on daddy. He can take care of Shanna very well and I had no worries when I had to be away for business trip.
Dear Tim, thank you for your support. Couldn't have done without it. :)
~ Audrey
People usually think I lack sleep because of Shanna waking me up in the night. Well, the truth is Shanna has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old. Initially I did get her up for a feed around midnight-1am, but I dropped that when she was 5 months old. Since then, Shanna sleeps from 9pm-7am.
When everyone else was sleeping nicely in the night, I would wake up to express milk. I stuck to a 4 times a day, every 6 hours+ expressing schedule.
In fact, most breastfeeding moms can train their bodies to go through the night without having to do anything.
But in my case, for the reasons below I did not do so:
1. I do not feed baby direct. Lacking that stimulation, I worried about my supply decreasing by going too long without expressing.
2. Experts recommend minimum of expressing/feeding 4 times a day to maintain supply.
3. Some people pull-in the last round of expressing to before they sleep. This means the time lapse from the previous round of expressing was maybe 3-4 hours. It was too short a lapse for me- pumping too frequently caused sores for me.
Nowadays, I have reduced my frequency of expressing to 3 times a day, every 8 hours.
Well, what made me change my schedule?
1. I decided I could make do with less milk. The fridges were full to the brim and Shanna had started solids, so her milk intake will not increase.
2. I was tired. I had hung on for 7 months after all. And I wanted to have 'steam' to continue on.
It has been a long but rewarding breastfeeding journey for me so far. I learnt that what works for me may not work for others and vice versa. The challenges every mummy face are different, some find direct feeding hard, some find expressing impossible. I'm very grateful that God gave me the grace to sustain so far, and satisfaction from seeing my baby grow well :)
Because of my exclusive time with the pump every morning and evening, Tim has also had the chance to be a very hands on daddy. He can take care of Shanna very well and I had no worries when I had to be away for business trip.
Dear Tim, thank you for your support. Couldn't have done without it. :)
~ Audrey
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
We Made It Through
Last Tuesday, I went for my first overseas business trip since Shanna arrived. To make a long story short:
Shanna
Was in Daddy Tim's good hands for 1 whole evening, night and morning. She ate, took her nap, stayed clean, slept through the night. She was very well taken care of :)
Tim
In his words 'survived' his first night taking care of Shanna alone, and thoroughly enjoyed the father-daughter bonding time :)
The next morning, he got himself and Shanna ready and arrived to office on time. Way to go, Daddy!
On the day I traveled, he also had a major technical presentation. Guess who won the Best Technical Presenter award? :D
Audrey
My colleagues and I wore face masks in the airplane. But the situation in Singapore is as if H1N1 is not a big deal... shopping malls were crowded as usual, families with babies were everywhere and nobody wore masks. Anyway, just in case, the first thing I did after getting home was to take a shower to 'cleanse' myself of all the germs/viruses.
The major challenge was managing the schedule for expressing milk versus traveling and meetings. The lack of facilities in Intel Singapore didn't help either. I had to use a common meeting room (with a transparent narrow pane in the door where people outside can peek in) for pumping and the pantry fridge to store milk. While traveling, I checked-in my pump and milk according to my colleague's advice... who had the experience of being suspected of carrying a gun & trying to bring bio-chemical weapon on board the airplane when she hand-carried her pump and milk.
Needless to say, I missed Shanna a lot... :) hubby too la.
~ Audrey
Shanna
Was in Daddy Tim's good hands for 1 whole evening, night and morning. She ate, took her nap, stayed clean, slept through the night. She was very well taken care of :)
Tim
In his words 'survived' his first night taking care of Shanna alone, and thoroughly enjoyed the father-daughter bonding time :)
The next morning, he got himself and Shanna ready and arrived to office on time. Way to go, Daddy!
On the day I traveled, he also had a major technical presentation. Guess who won the Best Technical Presenter award? :D
Audrey
My colleagues and I wore face masks in the airplane. But the situation in Singapore is as if H1N1 is not a big deal... shopping malls were crowded as usual, families with babies were everywhere and nobody wore masks. Anyway, just in case, the first thing I did after getting home was to take a shower to 'cleanse' myself of all the germs/viruses.
The major challenge was managing the schedule for expressing milk versus traveling and meetings. The lack of facilities in Intel Singapore didn't help either. I had to use a common meeting room (with a transparent narrow pane in the door where people outside can peek in) for pumping and the pantry fridge to store milk. While traveling, I checked-in my pump and milk according to my colleague's advice... who had the experience of being suspected of carrying a gun & trying to bring bio-chemical weapon on board the airplane when she hand-carried her pump and milk.
Needless to say, I missed Shanna a lot... :) hubby too la.
~ Audrey
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Brief Review: Avent UNO vs Medela Mini-E
This blog is all about breast pumps for breastfeeding. I don't expect the single guy readers would be interested to read any further. It's ok, just skip this and go to the next blog ;) Whoever is interested, read on. But take note of the blog disclaimer... this write up is based solely on my personal opinion :)
I will not go into explaining some of the specific pump-terminology. For those interested, this information can be googled :)
I have tried using many different breastpumps (some borrowed, some at hospital), in the effort of trying to find which one would work best for me and yield most. Focusing on the electric pumps - I've used (at least once), the Medela Lactina, Avent IQ DUO, Avent IQ UNO & Medele Mini Electric. The last 2 are what I personally own, and have been using daily for 3 months in double pumping mode. So this review will focus on these 2 pumps.
Overall design:
Avent UNO
1. Top heavy, no good base stand.
This pump tipped over many, many times while not in use. So many falls caused the some circuit connection problem i.e. it will turn off on it's own while in use.
2. Overall heavier and more bulky
3. Comes with massage cushion - some users find this is helpful in yielding more milk. For me, I don't find the cushion comfortable so end up not using
4. Fixed funnel size
5. Has battery & electric power options
Medela Mini-E
1. Overall design is light and handy
2. Good standing base design
3. Many users, including me, complain of bad adaptor socket connection over long period of use time. Solution is to replace the adaptor cord+socket, just go buy from hardware shop.
4. No massage cushion
5. Funnels of different sizes can be purchased
6. Has battery & electric power options
Motor:
Avent UNO
1. Motor is relatively silent
2. No motor failure in my 3 mths of heavy usage (1st mth - 7 times/day, 2nd mth 6 times/day, 3rd mth - 4times/day)
Medela Mini E
1. Motor is LOUD... to me. Surprisingly, baby finds the sound soothing.
2. No motor failure in my 3 mths of heavy usage (1st mth - 7 times/day, 2nd mth 6 times/day, 3rd mth - 4times/day).... even though Medela website recommends this pump for 'occasional use only'.
Suction:
Avent UNO
1. Suction speed/strength can be programmed by user. Just press the pump at the strength & rhythm wanted, enable the pump memory function and the pump will run the way it was programmed
2. Maximum suction does not feel as strong as Medela's max setting.
3. Overall the suction feels comfortable
Medela Mini E
1. Suction speed is fixed (Somewhere at 40 draws/min). Strength can be adjusted by lever.
2. Suction feels hard, and for me, sometimes uncomfortable (slightly painful). Not to scare anyone, but I've had some skin surface bleeding while using this pump.... never on the Avent, but apparently this can happen to anyone using any pump.
Output:
I found both pumps give me comparable milk output/yield
Price:
Avent UNO
Normal: RM695 (I've seen up to 20% off on occasions)
Medela Mini E
Normal: RM469 (I've seen up to 20% off on occasions)
Ease of use:
Avent UNO
1. Parts are easy to assemble.
2. Cleaning is not difficult.
Medela Mini E
1. Easy to assemble.
2. Cleaning is very easy.
Advantage:
Avent UNO
1. Can be converted to a manual pump (the Avent ISIS design)
Medela Mini E
N/A
ADVERTISEMENT: I have an extra, brand new in box Avent IQ UNO pump to let go. Price: RM530 (negotiable). Whoever interested can contact me, first come first serve :)
~Audrey
I will not go into explaining some of the specific pump-terminology. For those interested, this information can be googled :)
I have tried using many different breastpumps (some borrowed, some at hospital), in the effort of trying to find which one would work best for me and yield most. Focusing on the electric pumps - I've used (at least once), the Medela Lactina, Avent IQ DUO, Avent IQ UNO & Medele Mini Electric. The last 2 are what I personally own, and have been using daily for 3 months in double pumping mode. So this review will focus on these 2 pumps.
Overall design:
Avent UNO
1. Top heavy, no good base stand.
This pump tipped over many, many times while not in use. So many falls caused the some circuit connection problem i.e. it will turn off on it's own while in use.
2. Overall heavier and more bulky
3. Comes with massage cushion - some users find this is helpful in yielding more milk. For me, I don't find the cushion comfortable so end up not using
4. Fixed funnel size
5. Has battery & electric power options
Medela Mini-E
1. Overall design is light and handy
2. Good standing base design
3. Many users, including me, complain of bad adaptor socket connection over long period of use time. Solution is to replace the adaptor cord+socket, just go buy from hardware shop.
4. No massage cushion
5. Funnels of different sizes can be purchased
6. Has battery & electric power options
Motor:
Avent UNO
1. Motor is relatively silent
2. No motor failure in my 3 mths of heavy usage (1st mth - 7 times/day, 2nd mth 6 times/day, 3rd mth - 4times/day)
Medela Mini E
1. Motor is LOUD... to me. Surprisingly, baby finds the sound soothing.
2. No motor failure in my 3 mths of heavy usage (1st mth - 7 times/day, 2nd mth 6 times/day, 3rd mth - 4times/day).... even though Medela website recommends this pump for 'occasional use only'.
Suction:
Avent UNO
1. Suction speed/strength can be programmed by user. Just press the pump at the strength & rhythm wanted, enable the pump memory function and the pump will run the way it was programmed
2. Maximum suction does not feel as strong as Medela's max setting.
3. Overall the suction feels comfortable
Medela Mini E
1. Suction speed is fixed (Somewhere at 40 draws/min). Strength can be adjusted by lever.
2. Suction feels hard, and for me, sometimes uncomfortable (slightly painful). Not to scare anyone, but I've had some skin surface bleeding while using this pump.... never on the Avent, but apparently this can happen to anyone using any pump.
Output:
I found both pumps give me comparable milk output/yield
Price:
Avent UNO
Normal: RM695 (I've seen up to 20% off on occasions)
Medela Mini E
Normal: RM469 (I've seen up to 20% off on occasions)
Ease of use:
Avent UNO
1. Parts are easy to assemble.
2. Cleaning is not difficult.
Medela Mini E
1. Easy to assemble.
2. Cleaning is very easy.
Advantage:
Avent UNO
1. Can be converted to a manual pump (the Avent ISIS design)
Medela Mini E
N/A
ADVERTISEMENT: I have an extra, brand new in box Avent IQ UNO pump to let go. Price: RM530 (negotiable). Whoever interested can contact me, first come first serve :)
~Audrey
Monday, April 20, 2009
Breastfeeding: The Inside Story From A Working Mother's Perspective
Just a disclaimer before I proceed. This is entirely my own experience and opinion - a 7 week mom who is preparing to go back to work.
Breastfeeding for me, was indeed not easy. Why?
1. Everyone knows that breastfeeding is on demand, when baby wants to eat, mummy's got to feed. I found out that even if baby did not want to eat (sleeping ), I had to wake up to express milk to ensure milk supply... and to avoid engorgement (ouch!).... no chance to steal more sleep.
2. When baby falls asleep when feeding without eating much, I needed to express remaining milk after that, again to ensure milk suppy and avoid engorgement. So double the time spent.
3. Expressing milk with electric pump was initially very hard for me. Somehow milk is so hard to come out through the pump! I was so fustrated sitting there for an hour pumping but not having much and still feeling engorged. After 7 weeks, through much practise and lots of effort, it's become easier, BUT not easy still! I have to do a lot of massage and end up with sore wrists, sore neck and back.
4. Breast feeding is not 'cheap' compared to formula! Consider the $ spent on pumping equipment. What's worth more is the time spent on effort to breastfeed. As a working mom, I need to express milk to store for feeding baby. I spend at least 25 mins to 0.5 hour for each pumping session (that's using double pump), pump 6 times a day, plus time spent to stearilize pump equipment, store milk etc... that adds up to at least 4 hours a day spent. That's why breastmilk is 'golden liquid'. I learnt to appreciate the saying 'Do not cry over split milk' literally when I accidently split some a few times.
5. Baby Shanna ended up very attached to suckling from the breast. Past 2 weeks she has been fussing and very cranky when going through transition to being fed using a bottle. She can't continue suckling during day when she goes to the babysitter!
So why do I want to breastfeed?
1. There is nothing more satisfying than to see baby contented and well fed from the best baby food that I can provide from my body.
2. Baby and mummy get to spend lots of time together. I talk to her, pray for her and speak blessing over her during our feeding sessions.
3. Everyone knows about other benefits of breastfeeding so I won't go into that here.
Hopefully this sharing of my experience will help other wives-to-be, moms-to-be to be more prepared :)
Probably I will have more comments when I actually start working :)
~Audrey
Breastfeeding for me, was indeed not easy. Why?
1. Everyone knows that breastfeeding is on demand, when baby wants to eat, mummy's got to feed. I found out that even if baby did not want to eat (sleeping ), I had to wake up to express milk to ensure milk supply... and to avoid engorgement (ouch!).... no chance to steal more sleep.
2. When baby falls asleep when feeding without eating much, I needed to express remaining milk after that, again to ensure milk suppy and avoid engorgement. So double the time spent.
3. Expressing milk with electric pump was initially very hard for me. Somehow milk is so hard to come out through the pump! I was so fustrated sitting there for an hour pumping but not having much and still feeling engorged. After 7 weeks, through much practise and lots of effort, it's become easier, BUT not easy still! I have to do a lot of massage and end up with sore wrists, sore neck and back.
4. Breast feeding is not 'cheap' compared to formula! Consider the $ spent on pumping equipment. What's worth more is the time spent on effort to breastfeed. As a working mom, I need to express milk to store for feeding baby. I spend at least 25 mins to 0.5 hour for each pumping session (that's using double pump), pump 6 times a day, plus time spent to stearilize pump equipment, store milk etc... that adds up to at least 4 hours a day spent. That's why breastmilk is 'golden liquid'. I learnt to appreciate the saying 'Do not cry over split milk' literally when I accidently split some a few times.
5. Baby Shanna ended up very attached to suckling from the breast. Past 2 weeks she has been fussing and very cranky when going through transition to being fed using a bottle. She can't continue suckling during day when she goes to the babysitter!
So why do I want to breastfeed?
1. There is nothing more satisfying than to see baby contented and well fed from the best baby food that I can provide from my body.
2. Baby and mummy get to spend lots of time together. I talk to her, pray for her and speak blessing over her during our feeding sessions.
3. Everyone knows about other benefits of breastfeeding so I won't go into that here.
Hopefully this sharing of my experience will help other wives-to-be, moms-to-be to be more prepared :)
Probably I will have more comments when I actually start working :)
~Audrey
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