My article :)

Was approached by a gf to do an article about my breastfeeding journey..Here it is (before its edited!)

My Breastfeeding Journey – 2 years + 3 months and counting

People always say that each kid you have, will be different. Different in their personalities, likes and dislikes and even in their speed of development. I, as a mother to a very active 3 year old toddler, Justin, was prepared for the differences and in fact, looked forward to them in my new baby. But never would I have though that such differences in preferences extended to even how they would be breastfed!

For Justin, breastfeeding was a breeze. Even though I was a first time mummy and certain new to the whole breastfeeding business, I was very lucky because Justin was a champion nurser. Right from the first time he nursed in the delivery suite, he seem to know what he wanted and how he could get it J People would be amazed to hear that he would just need 10 minutes on each breast and he would be all done. With him, there was none of the sore nipples agony or back breaking “exercise” to get him to latch on. My husband, Waising, use to say that Justin was like a “pop and go”, always ready for milk 24 by 7! And Justin thrived on what I was able to give him, the full breast milk diet helped him grown to a heafy 10kgs by 6 months! He was such a good nurser that he rejected the bottle completely – which wasn’t too much of a problem for me as I was a stay home mum for a good period during his first year. Because it was so easy for the both of us, I breastfed him exclusively for 1 year and then continued to night feed him for another 1 year. Only then, 2 years into our breastfeeding journey, in order to conceive another child, did I wean him off. I say “I” weaned because I missed the closeness of the breastfeeding bond and in a way, wanted to continue as long as I could.

So, after having such a positive experience of nursing a child, I never thought twice about how it would be to nurse my new baby, Jason. Certainly he would be breastfed and theoretically, I should be better at nursing him.

But Jason, proved to be the challenge for me. Right from the start, he was a very slow nurser and didn’t seem to latch on well. On the times when the latch was right, he was disinterested in nursing and it took me hours just to feed him, wake him up, feed him again, burp, change diaper and feed some more. Throughout this process, he would get so agitated that he would scream the house down and then flatly refuse to open his mouth. My back was breaking from the marathon sessions and I was in so much pain from bleeding nipples. Surely after 2 years of nursing his brother, I would have coped better right? But baby Jason kept on the crying and the long long nursing sessions continued. I remember weeping and lamenting to my husband, “why doesn’t he just take the milk?” The only thing that kept me going was that I knew I had milk and I knew it was important for him. When Justin was just 2 months old, he caught a bad flu bug that escalated to pneumonia. It was thanks to the breast milk that allowed him to make a quick recovery and not to mention, the ability to nurse on the go for comfort that help me and him cope with the stress of hospitalization, injections and drips. I was determined to give Jason, my new baby, the same.

At 10 days old, Jason was hospitalized for jaundice. It was then that I realized he wasn’t taking in enough as his weight had dropped more than 10% below his birth weight. It wasn’t the milk supply, just that he didn’t take in enough. Desperate to feed him and also to keep him under the photo light treatment which was necessary to get him well, I started pumping milk for my baby.
Most breastfeeding mummies would know that a pump is hardly the same as a baby. It was disheartening to see so little milk during each pump, when the stress of seeing your child in hospital is coupled with the stress of counting the number of ml of milk you can pump out. It was a vicious cycle of stress than drove me insane. I wanted to give my baby breast milk and yet was so torn wanting to latch him and worried over the amount that I could produce, plus spending time with my needy toddler who was at home.

Thankfully, it was the support of Waising that helped me pull through that difficult period. He told me “what matters the most is that our baby gets better and grows well” - it is still breast milk, whether you latch the child or pump out and bottle feed.

To produce more milk supply, I turned to internet sites and forums and “pumping” mummies that I knew. I started to learn more about mothers who exclusively pump, or “ep” for short. With their help and all the new found knowledge, I pumped milk while gazing at my new born, every 2 hours for 20 minutes each time. I also took herbal supplements like frenugreek and Mothers nursing teas. And most importantly, I made sure I had enough to drink and rest. Husband and my domestic helper chipped in to help with the bottle feeding, whilst I concentrated on being in love with my “pump” which was difficult in the beginning.

To me, pumping is harder than nursing. Because I had to pump so frequently in order to build up my supply, it meant time away from the baby. And I miss the bonding of nursing so much. But in spite of numerous sessions with lactation consultants, Jason could not nurse well and so pumping continued. The consultants told me that he is a slow nurser and was choking on the fast milk flow that I was producing and that he might eventually grow to cope with it.

People ask me if Jason is breastfed and sometimes I would get torn in the reply, “yes he is, but I pump exclusively for him”. To this day, I still feel that its not the best arrangement, but its as good as it gets. Baby Jason is growing very well and is a happy baby – much better compared to his earlier days when both him and I will get so frustrated over nursing that he be wailing and I sobbing.

Now I am a proud owner of an extra freezer, which I store all the breast milk that I pump for him J I am glad to say that I have more than enough for baby Jason and even had donated some milk for babies who needed it. I never thought that I would have produced more that my baby needs, but its great that someone else gets the benefits of breast milk too!

And so they say, every child is different. My two boys have certainly shown me how! I hope to be able to latch on Jason on day. My journey with him is now 3 months long and I hope will continue for a long time.

Fist eating ;)

Dated on 11 March ;p look at how the small one is sucking on his hand! He has found his thumb!






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At marina barage

Here is the big boy doing the capoirea at the marina barage ;)

Gave me the tickles and at the same time, worried about how dirty he is getting!!

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No school today

So my son proudly declared that he would like to go to the airport and eat pizza!! This would have to be at waraku, our usual Sunday evening hangout place ;)

Since the whole point was to entertain him and tire him out, I decided to tell him that we are going to take public transport to the airport. First stop, to my sis branch at bedok central! We took the bus to the interchange and then walked, or rather, I walk and carried him, to visit his doting Aunty. He was his usual charming self at her worplace and said his hellos. But soon he was pulling me and reminding me about his pizza.

Then we headed off to the mrt station to changi airport ;) took a picture of him at the rather iconic flight display!


We had lunch with his grandparents ;) and of cos he had his usual egg and bacon pizza which kept him entertained and quiet for the meal.




After the lunch, we went for a huge exploration around terminal 2 & 3. With most of it carried by me and grandpa. Very tiring! He got to take the sky train to and fro the terminals and played at the numerous playgrounds in t3.
Finally after close to 3 hours of fun, the exhausted boy went home for his nap and slept in 5 mins for 3 hours!

Ps; he did well at the toliet today and promptly told me he needs the loo each time ;) grins!!

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Justin @ the playground

At 35 months, justin is displaying quite good coordination physical skills. He has always been a very physically active child and always running here and there. We try to squeeZe in a short visit to the playground after his dinner to help him work off the excess energy. 3 days ago, this is what he did ;)

Was so proud of him!! Okie fearful that he might lose his grip and fall but still v proud!

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Jason's ah gu video

See the little baby button saying ah gu to daddy ;) hubby says baby is not afraid of tickles!

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Pumping like a cow??

For the record, I am writing this post with one hand via the iPhone whilst carrying the little one.
He hasn't pooped in three days so he is extremely cranky and can't nap unless he is carried..
This has nothing to do with the tittle of my post ..oppps!
Okie since I have said before that for this child I am doing exclusive pumping, I thoughti will post about the volumes I pump. During his hospitalization for jaundice, I started to pump. At that time, he was about 14 days old and I could only get 70ml per 2-3 hours. High stress made it worst. I bought a tin of formula cos I was convinced that I needed to use it during the stay. ;) thankfully it remained unused.
Got home and brought the tin home... With lots of fish soup and red date tea, volumes started going up - now it was 90ml per 2 hours. Pumping was like a ritual for me. Each time he was fed via the bottle by cl, I would pump and I kept this up even at nights. I was convinced that once cl went home, my volumes will drop cos how can I pump and feed him? Thankfully hubby was v supportive and said he will do the night feeds.
After cl left, I was managing about 120ml per pump, sometimes 150ml. Fridge ran out of space and a day before his full month, I bought a freezer!!! Was proud of my milk stash!
So in the 2nd month of pumping, I would average 200ml per pump and now it's at 3 hours intervals with a 5 hour stretch at night. This would be about 1.2 litre each day which is about equal to the amount he consumes ;)
That I think qualifies me for cow status!



As for pumps, I now have two .. Pisa and freestyle, both medelas. ;) freestyle when I am out or need to pump in the living room whilst rocking the baby on his rocker, and Pisa for the stronger suctions when I need it in the nights and mornings (otherwise it will take too long and I will fall asleep pumping).
And I have a stock of nursing teas, pills and supplements ;) mooo mooo! Hopefully all this will continue to help me reach my goal of 6 months!


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Haha hungry boy!!

Baby button is turning out to be quite an eater! Weight check at 2 months is 6.565kg ;) good size.
Here's a picture of my greedy eater:



Hungrily holding his own bottle?
Well so far this little one still refuses to latch on so i am still pumping. Of cos it's not the same but I still want to give him bm, in whatever way possible. The waking up in the middle of the night is the toughest! Feel like a zombie at times. And during the day I have to pump once every 2.5-3 hours. At times I feel like a slave to the pump but it's getting easier. Only tough part is going out with the baby and the pump in tow. Boy do I miss latching!



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When your almost 3 year old slams the door in your face

Yes, it has happened to us. And I thought such behaviours will only happen in his teens.
After baby button came along, there were days when I swear I dun know what over came my child. His temper would be so bad and there were tantrums all day. Simple things became impossible. I guess that's his way of gaining attention. Drives me and sing up the wall.
When he is good, he is good. Almost every night he will tell me he is sorry and that he loves me. Makes me love him so much. I am praying for the patience to deal with this boy!!


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Pics

Picture of Jason taken today ;) face is round like mooncake !



Justin and daddy enjoying ice cream at ikea. One of the rare nights that he went out late.


At jm place during cny period. I like Justin's expression in this photo


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Baby button's skin?

Okies, baby button has ezcema. Which didn't suprise me cos justin has also got sensitive nose. But that doesn't mean I dun worry about it. Sigh!
Anyways, during his one month old party, he presented himself to his family with very red red ezcema cheeks. We saw dr lim and was given some medication for that. It sort of went away but his cheek remained dry.
Then about 1 week ago, I started to notice that his thighs were rough and so was his arms. Asked dr lim during his 2 months review and she said to keep moisturizing and it will be okie.
When the condition didn't improve, I sought the advice of my friends and decided to bring him to a skin doctor. Saw another dr lim at east shore and what he said really cracked me and sari up!
"yes mrs Yong, Jason does have ezcema on his face and he has sensitive skin. But what he has on his arms and legs is not ezcema... U see, we often see this condition on babies this size.. He is growing at a faster rate then his sweat glands can catch up with. Thus the rashes are actually due to clogged pores. "In short, my baby is too fat! Yikes!
Ok like when Justin was young , I got chided for making him obese. I guess I am about to hear that about Jason too!

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The one about the big poop!

Disgusting tittle but ;) hey I never knew it would be so satisfying to blog about my son's poop. Cos he finally did his first bm poopie in the toliet bowl on 2 march!!! Yeah!
Many thanks to his teacher in school for showing him how his classmates did it. Had to enlist the teacher's help cos he was terrified of sitting on the toliet bowl. I think he wad scared of getting flushed away! After a kind demonstration from his classmate, he bravely sat on the training seat and did his first "plong". Of cos sari and I cheered him on!
As for the pee pee part, he used to refused to go to the toliet. After about 2 weeks of training in school and at home, I can say that he goes without much resistance now. In school he tells his teachers that he needs to pee but at home he doesn't. Think the tv is far more interesting! I get him to go about once an hour and so far, we still have accidents but we are getting there. School has also started to train him to nap without diaper but I am not so brave yet ;(
When we go out he normally wears a diaper but we take him to the loo, and sometimes I notice that he has stayed dry! Yippy!
So that concludes the update on the potty status. I now truly believe the words of wisdom " when he is ready, it will happen"


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