Colostrum DHA Chews

I ordered this from a online forumer. This is her website - http://mumsandbabes.blogspot.com/p/colostrum-dha-chews.html. I have heard alot on good stuff about Colostrum. This product is made in New Zealand and thus more reliable (I feel).

What is Colostrum?
Colostrum is a nutrient-rich 'first milk' lactating mothers produce immediately after giving birth. It is wonderfully rich in essential proteins, antibodies, antioxidants, immunoglobulins, growth factors, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids that synergise to provide the body with the strength to fight off attacks.

Benefits of Colostrum:
-Stronger immune system
-Better resistence against infections
-Reduction in allergic reaction
-More efficient digestive track
-Speedier wound recovery and cell regeneration
-Healthier bone metabolism
-Healthier joints and cartilage functions
-Leaner and improves muscle mass
-Reduction in body fats
-Improved engery level
-Improved quality sleep
-Improved stamina and endurance
-Improved sense of well being
-Enhance mood

I'm a kiasu mama. I have been eating doc's fish oil (The fish oil capsule is too big. Everytime I swallow, I will tend to vomit it out...arghh) and folic acid but I still top up with other supplements rich in DHA so that my baby will be clever next time. I've just tasted one pill. It's okay. I wonder if next time my colostrum will taste like that. Hehe.

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After trying the colostrum tablets, I proceed to order a full size one in chocolate flavour from Regine since there is a free registered post :) I think the chocolate one tastes better than original (vanilla) flavour.

More benefits about Colostrum here.

Every 3 hours

This week, I seemed to be waking up every 3 hours automatically when I sleep at night. I read from the forums that it's the body trying to adjust to the mummy system. So that next time every 3 hours you'll also wake up and breastfeed your baby. Cool eh! But isn't my body abit too early for that adjustment?

Hubby said my cup size grew abit. I thought so too. It's about half a cup bigger. I wonder what is the right increase? The anti-infection pills that Dr Chen gave me really makes me wanna puke. I'm supposed to take two pills daily but I can only take 1. I supplement it with eating yogurt or drinking yogurt shake everyday. It's very xinku eating this pill.

Mom and Dad will be back from their China trip tonight. Mom smsed me that all they bought are baby's clothing and stuff as they didn't have much time to shop. See the new baby stuffs that they bought :))

We're going to Batam tomorrow to celebrate Hubby's birthday. Time for some relaxation.

Breastfeeding and Storing breastmilk

Breastfeeding

I intend to let baby be on total breastfeed for at least 6 months (well, I'm on maternity and unpaid leave, no excuse). My mom will also be giving me a small fridge to store the EBM. I will latch on as many times as possible during the day. At night when I sleep, the confinement lady is to cup feed the EBM, not bottle feed and to play soothing music at the background while feeding.

This is so to prevent nipple confusion and sore nipples. I also don't have to worry about weaning the baby off from the bottle later on.

A lactation consultant demonstrates how to feed a newborn baby using a cup rather than a bottle. Click on the link to view the video. There are lots more videos on youtube on cup feeding infants.

I'm going to look for this Medela Disposable Cup Feeder or the Softcup Advanced Cup Feeder to feed baby.

There is more information on cup feeding here.



Quote "Yes, even newborns can drink milk from a cup. They don't gulp it down like grown-ups. Instead they lap it up like kittens. Infants who are given supplements in a cup are less likely to get nipple confused and more likely to go on to successfully breastfeed. Some nurseries have used cup-feeding in infants with gestational ages as young as thirty weeks. Research has shown that not only is it possible for preemies to drink from a cup, but they also maintain a more stable blood-oxygen level during cup-feeding than during bottle-feeding. " Unquote.

There is also a good breastfeeding log for download via this link. Print out extra copies if necc.

Storing breastmilk

# In a fridge (at four degrees C or colder) for up to five days.
# In a fridge’s freezer compartment for two weeks.
# In a home freezer (at -18 degrees C or lower) for up to six months.

How you store your breastmilk depends on how soon you want to use it. If you plan to use it within a few days, refrigerating is better than freezing.

Breast milk that will be frozen should have at least one inch between the milk and the container lid.  Frozen milk expands as it freezes. 

Whether you choose to refrigerate or freeze your milk, you should:

* Use sterilised containers. The best choices are plastic bottles, or plastic breastmilk bags.
* Label and date your bottles and bags, and use the oldest ones first.
* Keep your breast pump clean. Wash the parts in hot, soapy water and rinse them thoroughly before sterilising.
* Wash your hands before expressing. Keeping everything as clean as possible.

If your milk has been stored for some time, you may notice that it separates. This is normal. Just give it a gentle shake.

Frozen breastmilk should be defrosted in the fridge, and can be stored there for up to 24 hours. Once it has defrosted, though, it mustn’t be refrozen.

Containers for storing breastmilk

I also need to find out if baby bottle warmer can warm these milk bottles to the right temperature so that baby can be cup-fed.


I just bought online MEDELA Soft Cup Feeder and MY BREST FRIEND Deluxe Wearable Pillow (total SG$151.50) from http://www.babytown.com.sg :))

Some useful reads/resources on breastfeeding here.

Constant nightmares

I'm back to work today. Lots of things to do and catch up. But I think I am managing my work well. I can even remind my colleagues some of the things to follow up and to take note of.

Last night I had a nightmare. In fact, lately, I have been having nightmares. Not sure whether it's because of the tension between me and Hubby. We seemed to bickle more often nowadays. But Hubby would never fail to listen and talk to baby when I am lying on the bed. Anyway, about my nightmare - I dreamt that I was being kidnapped.

But the person didn't want a ransom. It's a she. She wanted me dead. I pleaded her to let me go because I have a baby. And she said she wants the baby dead too. And she asked me to choose what kind of death I want; and she gave me some options (push me down the building, suffocate me, bury me alive, drink dettol, drown to death etc). I couldn't choose any and she randomly picked for me. I was so scared and so shocked that I woke up.

I had another nightmare, not long ago. That my head is being pressed against the wall until I can hear my skull crack. It was so painful; somehow I really literally felt the pain. But in the dream, I was more concerned about my baby. I felt my hands sayang my tummy but I couldn't wake up. When I finally managed to open my eyes, I was panting in tears and I could feel baby kickly fearfully inside me. I repeatedly apologized to baby for having such a nightmare and for scaring him so badly.

Lately, I kept on dreaming that someone wants to take my baby away from me.

Confinement Lady

Hubby did the first round of confinement ladies calling (about 4 of them) but couldn't secure any; all of them are not available and fully booked already. My mom did the second round of calling (about 8) and we secured Auntie Meiling (46 years old). I got the recommendation from online moms forum. My mom also drilled her lots of questions and she is able to 'satisfy' my mom. This Saturday, I will have to pay the deposit of $300. I don't want an old (more than 55 years old) confinement lady coz most probably old people are stubborn and insists on their way and have that attitude that you don't know better than them. That's the reason why I always ask of their age (which is one of my criteria) first.

I am pro breastfeeding. So any confinement lady who is pro-formula milk or anti-breastfeeding, I won't choose. I need her to teach me how to latch and how to express BM rather than 'Aiya, baby don't like it, just feed FM' kinda attitude. I would also need her to know what to cook so that my BM can increase.

Today is Ash Wednesday. Hubby will be fasting for the first time ever. He told me that he was so hungry and then today we aren't suppose to take meat. Hubby prayed for baby to be well and me to be good.

Then tonight, we will celebrate Hubby's birthday in advance (before my parents go for their vacation) at Melben Crab Place. After the hospital stay, I seemed to get tired every 3 hours and want to nap. I worry that I will not have enough rest at work next week. I sleep and sleep like a pig nowadays. But my weight has not gone up much. I grew 1 kg+ so far (now at 45.5 kg).