Breastfeeding Challenge

Oh i can't begin to describe the challenges i've faced with breastfeeding.

Upon reading about the many benefits of breastfeeding, I have decided to breastfeed my baby(exclusively if possible) when i was pregnant with her.

So after delivering my baby (via emergency C-section), I told the nurse that I want to breastfeed exclusively. So they brought baby to me the first day when she cried. I put her to my breast......I struggled to get her to latch-on. No sign of milk. But i did not give up. I persevered. I'm educated enough to know that sometimes, milk might not come in for the first 3 days.

At every feed for the first 3 days, i struggled with her......i struggled with my own breast. And i hated myself not being able to produce milk to feed my poor hungry baby. 2 days without any food for baby, my heart sank. My poor baby must be terribly hungry....I gave in. I opt for mix-feed. In which at every feeding time, baby will be brought to me for breastfeeding and if needed, the nurses will top-up with formula milk.

Uncontrollable tears came streaming down my cheeks on day 3 when i was having breakfast in the hospital bed....I was very emotional about not being able to produce milk to feed my baby. But everyday i persevered. I tried my best getting my baby to suck. Even investing in an electrical pump to stimulate the milk production. Finally i manage to get a few drops of precious milk!! I was extremely happy that i could finally feed my baby.

However, my struggle doesn't end there. My baby doesn't seem satisfied with the breast, i guess she is used to being cup-fed by the nurses and so she doesn't like the slow flow of my milk. My baby wants to gulp!! sigh....So i continue to supplement every feed with 1 or 2 oz of formula through cup-feeding.

Though i experiences engorgement and leaking breast at the first month, i struggled to breastfeed my baby. She couldn't latch-on properly causing milk to drip all over her face. Sometimes, i just give up and gave in to formula. Night feeds was mostly formula because I was tired and too lazy to breastfeed. Sigh....I also stopped breastfeeding her when she develop pretty bad milk rash all over her face. Though i did continue to pump, my milk supply never increased. At most i manage to pump out 2oz per session from both breast.
I regret not being persistent in my breastfeeding efforts. I would have been able to increase the milk production if i get her to suck more often.

Now at the 4th week of my 2 months old baby, im still struggling to establish my milk supply, but I have not given up totally yet, I pump whenever I can and breastfeed her whenever I can....
still struggling.....but not giving up just yet.

Colic,gas or wind in baby stomach

Basically, "Colic" is a word i learn after my baby was born.
In fact, there are quite a number of vocabulary i have never heard before i became a mama. Well, its definitely a learning process for me.

Colic is a very tricky issue. In fact, my almost 3 months old baby still suffers from colic and i have no solution to it.....

What is colic??
Wikipedia says "Baby colic (also known as infant colic, three-month colic, and infantile colic) is a condition in which an otherwise healthy baby cries or screams frequently and for extended periods without any discernible reason."

Read here for more about colic.


Actually, i think the term "colic" is being used rather loosely. Whenever parents can't find a solution to their baby's crying, they'll term it as colic. That is because, there is no commonly accepted explanation for colic.

Asian parents think that "wind" or "gas" in the baby's stomach is the reason for colic. Though some books says that colic is not due to gas, i do believe that the wind or gas is definitely one of the causes of the baby crying.

Its quite heartbreaking to see your baby crying like she is in terrible pain. As a mama, it breaks my heart. I want to be able to protect her, to solve all her problems, to make her stop crying.....to shield her from all evil, to take away all her pains...etc...
But, colic is such a tricky issue to handle. Sigh...

However, its been almost 3 months and her condition have improved tremendously. Just to note down and share a few of the things that i have done to help.

• Changed her milk powder.
  
• Change her feeding bottle( from normal cheap bottle -> to expensive avent bottles->to buying anti colic teats->to anti colic BPA free MAM feeding bottle -> and lastly to Bfree anti colic BPA free bottle) I'm most satisfied with this bottle....Apparently Bfree is the same as DrBrowns.)
• Apply ointment after bath (minyak yuyee) helps her fart alot
• Give her gripe water (Dentinox) i think it helps to a certain extend
• Make sure to burp her after feeding and burp longer.definitely helped
  

I Love Earth mama angel baby bottom balm

I bought this earthmama angelbaby bottom balm after reading about it from a blog. My baby was having really bad milk rash on her face and her whole cheek was so red and rough it was such a heartache to see.

However, as she was too small at about only 1 month old, i dare not apply it on her whole face. I only dab a little on some spots. It was really good. The healing came fast.
angel baby bottom balm is actually a balm, sort of like lipbalm in texture but smell a little like ointment but a mild one. The label says that it is a "first aid in a jar" that can be use on minor cuts, scrapes, rashes, burns and more.

When my baby was about 2 months old. We went to church and was at the nursery. I placed her on a mattress and there came a little toddler who had just learned how to walk approached us.....and while busy playing with a toy, she swing the toy and it landed on my poor little baby's head. Though the toy wasn't a large one, it does have hard surface and my baby was crying, probably more so due to shock than pain. Anyway, upon inspection, i found 2 visible lines of scratches on a face, a tiny bump also appeared that sort of look like a mosquito bite. My poor baby.....immediately i put her to sleep. And while she was sleeping, i took this angel bottom balm out and using a cotton bud, dabbed them on the lines and the bump.

When she had awaken from her sleep in an hour, i was delighted to see that the bump was gone. The lines too had lighten.

I continued to apply the balm on the lines that night.
The next morning, the lines had vanished completely!!

Fist Time Mama

Hi!

Lets do a little intro here.

Yes i'm a first time mom to a beautiful baby girl. My little daughter just turned 2 months old recently. I'm overwhelmed with new responsibilities and i feel a tremendous pressure to provide, protect, comfort and love my little baby.

I desire to be a perfect mom and a cool one at that too! :)

I love my baby, she is the most beautiful baby in the world!

In this blog, I would try my best to share my personal experiences, both joy and agony. Most importantly what i've learned as a first time mama.

First Post

I've been toying with the idea of setting up this blog for a lonnnnnnnnnnnggg long time. I have lots of post conjured up in my mind and finally I thought of a name i like for the blog!

Mamainstinct!!
Well, as the name goes, i'd like to make this blog a place for mama's to learn and discover mama stuffs. Mostly i'd be writing about my own experiences and true to a mama's instinct, how i manage my mamahood.

All suggestions, reviews, opinion are entirely my own unless stated otherwise. Use/practice according to your own discretion. Every baby is different so is every mama, so my solution may not work for everyone...however some thoughts shared may spare some mama from the agony of going through "trial and errors". Hope you like the effort and I absolutely do encourage you to drop your opinion at the comments section for the benefit of others too. :)


mama cheers!

Welcome To Mama Instinct!!

Welcome to Mama Instinct!!