Mothering Corner

I love nursing wears and I used to buy a lot when I was breastfeeding. My SIL has stopped breastfeeding her 6 months old during the day, so her baby is supplemented with formula milk. She knows all about the goodness of breastfeeding, but it’s her own choice on how she will breastfeed her baby. Furthermore, she doesn’t wear nursing clothes, nor nursing bras. It might be inconvenient for her to breastfeed in discreet if she wears the company logo shirts when there are other men in the same room. She used to cover her baby with a nappy when she nursed, but like any 6 months old, the baby will pull the clothe away.

She might not be breastfeeding exclusively, but her baby will still benefit from breastmilk when she nurses at night. It’s a mother’s choice, and every mother knows what’s best for her and her baby.

I thought about tandem nursing but not extended breastfeeding. When I was expecting my second baby, I didn’t want to wean of my boy. I planned to breastfeed him during pregnancy but my gynae advised me to wean him off as I was bleeding. I was diagnosed with placenta previa, so it’s best to get more bed rest and stop breastfeeding further. When I had my second baby, I tried to get my boy back on breastfeeding but he was not interested anymore. He said it’s for mei mei but not for him as he’s a big boy then. How sweet huh?

Nonetheless, he took some breastmilk. I expressed and stored my milk as preparation of going back to work, so my maid fed him with those thawed expressed milk. He didn’t like it if there’s a fishy smell, but his (then 6 years old) cousin loved it. She took the milk like popcicle as I stored some of the milk in ice-cream Malaysia plastic.

Those breastmilk may not provide all the nutrients an older kid needs, but it still has lots of antibodies for older children. I found a few articles related to extended breastfeeding, and if you are interested, just hop over to the links.

My SIL has just given birth 2 months ago, but she slimmed down very fast by keeping herself busy with a baby and juggling her work at the office. She is nursing her baby exclusively but if she’s away from the office, her baby will be fed with formula milk by the office staffs. She brings her baby to work because there’s no one to take care of her, and she can’t leave her own business.

Like I said previously, it’s much easier to lose weight if you are breastfeeding. Some of the breastfeeding mothers I know lost their baby fat six months after the labor and they can still eat normally. But if you are not a breastfeeding mother, you can try lots of methods in losing weight like exercising, taking diet pills like Acomplia, doing on diet and etc. No matter which method you choose, please make sure that it’s safe and consult your doctor before you take any pills. It’s best to lost weight the safer way, but I know how frustrating it can be if you can’t see the pounds losing before your eyes with all the diet plans you tried!

Seriously, I am controlling my diet now. I can’t be eating the same since I weaned off my gal. I missed my breastfeeding days when I could eat anything I want.

 I haven’t donate my blood for years and anyway, I have low blood pressure and it’s best to avoid blood donation when I’m not fit for it. But something came across my mind just now and I was curious if a breastfeeding mother can donate blood? I found some answers from Kellymom:

There are conflicting opinions about donating blood while breastfeeding. The US Red Cross okays blood donation for nursing moms after 6 weeks postpartum. Donating blood causes a small loss of blood volume (and therefore a loss of fluid), so there is a theoretical possibility for a short-term temporary reduction in milk supply. Moms with vulnerable supplies may want to avoid donation. In general, women who are not pregnant, have good iron levels (that will be tested before donation), are not taking antibiotics, and are at least 100 pounds are good candidates for blood donation.

and La Leche League:

La Leche League’s sources differ in their opinions on blood donation for breastfeeding mothers. Dr. Gregory White does not recommend it. Dr. Jack Newman says any otherwise eligible mother who is not anemic can donate blood. The Canadian Blood Service (a division of the Red Cross) asks breastfeeding mothers to wait six months before donating blood. LLL recommends that mothers consult their own physicians and make an informed choice.

If a breastfeeding mother chooses to donate blood, she needs to be very careful to stay hydrated. Human milk is 87% water, and a blood donation takes 16 ounces of blood from the body. This is a lot of liquid to replace. All blood donors are cautioned to eat a substantial meal before donating blood and drink large quantities of water afterward. After a donation, donors are advised to avoid heavy lifting with the arm used to donate (to prevent excessive bruising). This may be a consideration for mothers who may not be able to avoid lifting and carrying their babies or older children.

I pasted most of the text here because I know that not all mothers have the time to go to the links I inserted. Personally, I would not go for blood donation until I’ve weaned off my baby. It’s been 6 months after I stopped breastfeeding, so if I’m healthy enough, I would donate blood again.

My mum is worried about how my kids are going to eat when we relocate to Bangkok. She said that I’m lousy at cooking, so what am I going to feed my kids? LOL!

Frankly, I haven’t cooked a decent meals for years. When I was in university, I cooked a few times when hubby came down to see me, but I can’t remember what did I cook. I think I will just try my luck in the kitchen when time comes because eating out forever is not an option. I can prepare the meals for my kids because their food is pretty easy and less oily. It’s cooking for hubby that worries me because he’s been well fed by his mother for so long. Like they said, to win a man’s heart is to capture his tummy, so I need to do something about this. LOL!

BTW, most of the breastfeeding mothers will drink papaya soup or taking fenugreek to boost their breastmilk production, but ever there in Thailand, the breastfeeding mothers take the soup prepared with banana flowers and pork. It’s quite milky as my SIL prepared it and I took some sip. It tasted ok to me, but just “different”. I found another Thai recipe here which is prepared with banana flower, and if you are interested, you take try it out. Even if your milk production doesn’t increase, you will still the antioxidant.

Yikes, I can’t believed that I’m writing about this. I stopped breastfeeding my gal for half a year now and I found that it’s not that easy to keep off the weight, unless I cut down my diet or exercise more. Breastfeeding really helps me to keep myself slim and furthermore I could still enjoy food. I have always been a big eater, but I was eating like a man when I was a breastfeeding mother. LOL! But now, I try to cut down my food intake as I can gain weight easily.

Maybe it’s time I try out some of the best diet pills available in the market as I don’t breastfeed anymore, and thus I can take the risk. But if you are a breastfeeding mother, please eat healthily and forget about all those herbal diet supplements that tell you how safe they are. Breastfeeding is the best way of getting back in shape after childbearing, if you combine it with some exercise and proper eating. Trust me, I have been a moo twice and I’ve proven it.

I got this photo of a baby nursing on her mommy from Breastfeeding Mums. I tried to snap some nice photos of my kids when they were nursing, but I can’t get any as pretty as this. This photo makes me feel like breastfeeding again! Oh well, in a while, but not until I’m back to reality. LOL! I’ve just weaned off my gal for 4 months, so it’s too early to start all over again.

So, do you like the photo too? She’s a pretty baby huh?

I wonder if there are mothers out there who are willing to share their breastfeeding stories on this blog? I might want to set up a page that links to all these mothers who might have blogs of their own. It’s one of the ways we can help to inspire new mothers on how successful breastfeeding can be as well as providing some insights to breastfeeding problems.

If you are interested to share yours, just drop me a comment or email me at amyquah77@yahoo.com. I will be delighted to hear from you. Thanks

My SIL is still breastfeeding her 6 weeks old baby, and she planned to return to her office soon. So far, I haven’t heard of her facing any problems in breastfeeding and I know that she’s been reading up a lot about it. But not all new mothers are so lucky when it comes to successful breastfeeding. Some of us faced some difficulties during the first few weeks, and most of them can be solved with the help of a lactation consultant or looking for more information.

I found that the checklist at Baby Center might be able to help out if you are searching for a solution for your breastfeeding problem. Just click on the boxes and you will be given the list of solutions available. Should you still struggle to overcome your problem with the suggestions provided, just contact a baby-friendly-initiated hospital. There are lactation consultants who might be able to give you a helping hand. Just don’t give up easily, ok?

I found that the advertiser of some breastfeeding videos has dropped out the link from my site. It’s not surprising as my site doesn’t have a lot of visitors but I was hoping that those mothers who are looking for breastfeeding videos can find them here and learn the right ways of latching on or various breastfeeding positions.

It’s the advertiser’s decision anyway and there is nothing I can do about it. The most I lost is just a few bucks per month and it didn’t hurt much. Anyway, if you are interested to know the videos are, check out the link above.