Enough Milk?

A new mother often questions the adequacy of her milk supply, usually brought on by a baby that fusses and refuses to be pacified except at the mother's breast. Other family members or nannies in the household might then deduce that the baby is still hungry and cast doubts on whether mom has enough milk for the baby. Since our breasts are not transparent with measuring marks on them, they might then suggest that the mother express milk to "see how much she has". In reality, this is the worst form of "measure". Firstly because a new mother is not used to pumping or expressing milk, so she may not naturally "let-down" for the pump, and not because she is not a "good producer of milk". If she gets a miserable amount from pumping, she may really start to think she has not enough milk for her baby, and take on the advice of her family members to start supplementing.

A new mother should learn to relax more, be well-informed instead, and be confident of herself. The best measure of whether a baby has enough is through the baby's output. A baby that is past the 1st week of birth should be having at least 6 to 7 wet diapers including 3 or 4 bowel movements. The stools should be yellowish, soft & curdy. It is quite common for breastfed babies to pass their stools quite *explosively*! So do not be alarmed. (Yeah, that photo shows our 5-day old babe clenching his hands while passing motion!).

As new mothers, we learn as we go along, and we learn after a while which advice is useful and which is probably just nice to smile and nod away at. ;-) Ah...even when I strolled around my neighbourhood and chatted with a granny, she too asked if I had enough milk for my baby (what a question to ask of a passing acquaintance, yah?!).

You will soon learn to recognise what your baby's moods, what he seems to want, and when his cries are cries of distress and when it is not quite so serious. And you'll discover many entertaining nursing moments along the way too! The moments when your baby latches off, milk dripping from their mouths, thanking you for nourishing them. ;)

Christening

Christened at 8 weeks.


Mom wearing a Red Cara Top.

Stinky Face?

Practice Times @ Home

Baby's practising here too!

From a baby that normally kicks away actively when in a good mood....

... to a baby practising his listening skills. ;-) Noticed that JR slowed down and became so still to placidly listen as his brothers practised away (yea, the violin is going on outside as well):

Scalding & Moulting

Yikes - hand all red and feeling really tender and raw last night. So painful, like as if loads of chilli padi had been rubbed on it. I was scalded when the water from my steamer spilled and splashed on my left hand as I brought out the pump parts I had sterilised. Ah...do be careful as you do this task!

My 1st thought was to put aloe vera gel on it. It gave temporal relief, but the sting was excruciating once the gel had cooled off, and I kept applying it with no further relief. Eventually I thought of this Mango Butter that I got from Little Dreamers and have found most reliable for dry skin during my pregnancy.

It gave immediate relief from the burns! By late evening, the redness on my fingers had almost all disappeared.

This healing cream was what I also reached for when our newborn seemed to be moulting as his dry baby skin was in the process of falling off - it sure looked like I was carrying a baby full of dandruff! Applying this cream helped the dry skin fall away faster, revealing a new layer of beautiful baby skin. ;-)

Get Moving

With a baby that often naps only 5 minutes at a time, I ran out of ideas & energy to keep him happy and myself sane, as his mood between those 5-min naps could range from kicking happy to super cranky, either of which saps my energy & mood adversely.

Instead, I bring baby out in the baby pouch on morning and sometimes evening walks. It could be walks simply just for the fresh outdoor air or walks out to run errands and do my shopping at the nearby market and shops. This also gives me an opportunity to explore our neighbourhood near & far, which is easier to do when on foot.

Our walks are usually for 30 to 45minutes, and are also great for exercise, other than raising those happy happy endorphins. Just have to make sure I have on a comfortable non-slip pair of shoes on!

That's our 6-week old JR yawning as we start on one of our morning walks....he will invariably fall asleep along the way , and never fails to amuse all who see him all cuddled so cutely, allowing me to be totally handsfree.

Aerial View I

View from the Top. How the 1 month-old baby looks like curled up sleeping in the baby pouch.
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What Else?!

At times like these, with milk powders being contaminated, we are grateful for breastfeeding.

This time, at least Singapore does not directly import China-made brands of infant formula, but I still recall years ago, when our 3rd baby was just a newborn and there was a major recall on several brands of infant formula, and yes that WAS in Singapore.

If disaster like a typhoon, earthquake, or a cyclone were to strike, like it did recently in Myanmar, even expat families, who were not hit by the cyclone, were affected by "no water, no electricity" as supply lines were damaged by the storm.

These are ALL times, when we would be super thankful for continuing with breastfeeding. The way nature intended, and the best to protect our young ones, and not have to, like some Chinese were quoted in the press reports of the SanLu incident, as worriedly asking "What do we feed our babies with now?". Those who had continued breastfeeding can at least heave a sigh of relief and say "What Else?".

Full Month

Had a simple celebration, sharing cupcakes from Mong's Stirs. We did the red eggs ourselves, packaging and decorating - had quite a bit of fun doing that simple task!


Baby had quite an outing today. I had to nurse him several times while out today. Here I was in dh's office nursing wearing my favourite Selina Top in Berry Pink size M - sure's discrete and convenient!

Week 4: Wt 4.62kg, Ht 54cm, Hd 37cm

Out with Baby

Baby turned a month old and the whole family went on a short outing. Quite liberating to be out with everyone, and eating out once again. ;-)

Baby was happy in his pouch, looked around, napped, had his "dinner". It was so great that Dad carried baby around in the pouch after dinner, so I could shop around too !!! The pouch was really easy to use in this young baby cradle position and I could be handsfree.

(I am wearing Liana Short-Sleeve in Mocha size M and easily nursed him in the size S pouch while having my dinner).

Pre/Post-Natal Massage

With an aging achy body that found this last pregnancy too taxing, I found prenatal massage to be such a respite. Time-out for full-body massages were rare, and I only managed these a few times, and loved going to Aramsa for my Prenatal massage. The ambience was great, the service & the therapist were excellent. But what I indulged in mostly were prenatal foot massages. These, I managed to fit in almost every week, sneaking in the time when my elder ones were in classes. It was superb for a relaxing half-hour nap too, which was so needed, since woe ..... I'd only managed to sleep like 2 or 3 nights each week this whole pregnancy(!).

Soon after birth, I had a few days of home postnatal massage, which I looked forward to each morning, after a night of getting up for night feeds and having my joints aching. Using a belly binder (from pharmacies) helped lots in supporting my lower back and weaker abs while I moved around caring for the newborn and the older children.

I also tried a service that was newly introduced to me. Too bad that I hadn't known of this earlier! It's a TCM Postnatal Home service from Idylls TCM Professional (Tel: 67410369/96727422 Ms Chua for booking). It includes TCM consultation, postnatal confinement cooking, and TCM postnatal massage. I tried this TCM massage in my 3rd week after birth. It was really really good, working on pressure points and was very effective for my aching body. The pricing was really reasonable too!

Introducing Books

Babies love bright colours. JR would flip the pages of this book(probably by coincidence?) and stare at the pictures.

Me & Joey

Me & our little joey, in the Baby pouch. The pouch is particularly suitable for this cradle position where a newborn baby's face is visible and well-supported.

Our little joey is 3 weeks old in this photo, and in a Black with Khaki Colour Combo Baby Pouch.

I'm wearing a Maroon-coloured Cindy Top in size Medium, the same top I wore from my 5th to 9th month of pregnancy. It's great for nursing while carrying baby in the sling or pouch. I am particularly fond of nursing clothes with empire-waistline nursing opening styles as they are discrete and really convenient.

Week 3: He's grown from all the Mommy's Milk!

Confinement Food

Having a full household, and being an experienced mother, we didn't need a confinement nanny this time around. I explored the options for confinement catering. There's really not all that many choices. I narrowed my choices down to Natal Essentials & NewBaby.

I toyed with the idea of ordering a week's food from each, but well, NewBaby's menu is just not what I'm used to. So it was Natal Essentials for 14days.

Natal Essentials - some hits & some misses. On the whole, acceptable. Food usually on time at 11am for lunch and 4 - 5pm for dinner. Food enough for 2 persons.

Here's one of my favourites: Red Wine Chicken


That day's lunch.


We had our own Red Dates Tea boiled for drinking the whole day, and some evenings I'd have my Quick Tonic. I am so dreaming of the Chicken "XO" Essence Tonic that my confinement nanny did for me last time. Maybe I'll try it one of these days now that the confinement catering has ended.

Here's some interesting Confinement Food Sites I found:
Yummy Confinement Foods
Chinese Confinement Foods
Chicken Rice Wine Recipe

Baby's Needs

After a 9 year gap between the babies, we sure don't have baby stuff/equipment from Baby JR's elder siblings. With experience on our side, we preferred to stay lean on baby stuff, and started off with just these minimum:

1. 5 newborn rompers
(our babies are usually not very large, so it made sense to get some newborn size)

2. Sleepsuits, 3 pieces

3. Different coloured socks, 5pairs
4. Different coloured mittens, 5pairs

5. Newborn Diapers, 1 pack
(and super-grateful to the gifts of dipes! very useful)

6. Swaddling blanket, 1 piece (rarely need)

7. Changing Mats
(2pieces - 1 smaller one for Baby bag, 1 large one for home use)

8. Nappy Rash Cream
9. Towels - thanks to a friend!
10. Sleep Positioner - thanks to a friend too!
11. Baby Slings/Pouch - I reserved my favourite.

The rest of the items, like baby bathtub, cord spirit/swabs, are in the hospital package.

And the one major "equipment" we have is a gift of an infant carseat. Most useful! Not just in the car, but at home during the daytime. When baby does sleep, we carry him to where we can keep an eye on him wherever we are in the house, and rock him when need be. And of course, it's a MUST to have in the car!

This is our Mobile Baby Changing "Station".

Everything goes into a neat little foldable "box", which is part of Ikea's drawer organiser set (which we already had lots of in the house). Reminds me of this Diaper Caddy I saw on Land's End.




The changing mat is foldable and rather large. Great for home use. Found this in a mother/baby store locally.

And no... we don't have any toys for the baby! The baby doesn't need any of that right now! Just needs his Mommy Milky, to be cuddled, played and talked with!

Hmm... and actually, I think I'd really rather have a new CD player like the one they had at the Hospital, or even it's smaller version !

Nursing Lying Down

Propping baby up with firm latex support like this makes it easier to breastfeed while lying down at night!

Sleep Positioner
(*click* for more Details)

Music Effect

I noticed this earlier in the day when changing his diaper. Like all newborns, he hates that, and was bawling away. His brother was practising his violin right then, and decided to play an old piece that he'd practised during my pregnancy. Immediately, the baby stopped crying and looked around and listened.Can't really tell in this photo - probably a video clip would show more as he stops, turns his head and eyes, and listens around for the music.

Later in the evening, after his bath, again, he was bawling as usual. I put on another piece of music - still cry, then I put on the CD of same violin piece that his brother had played - still cry. Then I played the recording I'd done of some weeks back of brother's practice. Again, baby had the same reaction. Stopped in his bawling state.... interesting. He does this in the car too when I play the Mozart CD that I'd been playing throughout my pregnancy.

So...keep that in mind. Play 1 or 2 CDs frequently throughout your pregnancy. Classical music particularly is good for baby's mental development too!

Home Therapy

Managing Jaundice. Doc gave us the option for either hospitalisation or home therapy. Obviously we chose home therapy. It's more convenient and also easier for breastfeeding.

We rented this PEP Bed . Very neat package - like a little briefcase!

Only sad thing was that he would cry hysterically like this for 2hrs or as long as he's put down on bed . Thankfully he did that only for the 1st night, and then only occasionally for the next 2 days. We diligently took him out every 2 hours for breastfeeding.

If anyone needs this neat little home phototherapy bed kit, here's the contact:

PEP Bed Hotline:
6305-2583, 96485578
Quinnie SeeToh
Green Pastures Pte Ltd

Our New Addition

Baby Boy born 3.55kg, 50cm, at 41 weeks pregnancy.
Birth Order: #4.


Nursing the Newborn soon after Birth, wearing our new Abby Transitional Dress, which would be In-Store soon. The baby nursed like a pro !


With our 3 boys (yeah, our eldest girl is missing in this photo):

Packing for Hospital

My EDD is 30th July. Have started packing for the hospital. What went into my bag.

. Calming Chamomile Spray: I love this spray for refreshing myself, even in normal times.
. Perineal Wash

. Disposable Cloth-like Panties: 1 pack is more than enough for a 2-day stay!

. Ultra-Thin Extra-Long Overnight Sanitary Napkins: much more comfy than the thick hospital ones.

. 3 nursing-friendly bras : I brought mostly the camisole bras for ease of use and comfort, plus 1 nice bra for leaving the hospital in

. 2 Ally Transitional Dresses: Comfortable and Great for Breastfeeding
. 1 pair of maternity jeans & nursing top: for wearing when Going Homel.

. Personal Grooming / Care Items (the hospital will usually have toothbrush/toothpaste/shampoo/bodywash/washcloth/towel).

. Music CDs (there are cd players in some hospitals)
. OB/GYN Antenatal Care Card (for admission)
. Wallet with NRIC
. Digital Camera
. Marriage Certificate (so hubby can apply to use Medisave - also useful if you register baby's birth at hospital).

. Going Home Outfit for Baby (Romper, Cap, mittens/booties, Snugwrap blanket).

This time I really didn't pack all that much. Just about enough.