Suzette's Parenting and Breastfeeding Blog

Today, I went into the office to surrender all company’s properties. So many things, quite trivial, but necessary.

From laptop, credit card, petrol card all that, down to small thing like car park stickers. So trivial that it makes things so mechanical and cold.

So I am officially unemployed from now on.

Time to celebrate. I have quite a few farewell lunches already, and there are a few more lined up in May – ya, having my farewell lunches AFTER I leave. LOL! I am looking forward the one in second week of May – my favourite Japanese food! Yummy!

Whatever it is, from tomorrow onwards, I am officially siu-lai-lai, at least for a few months. LOL!
Just need to watch out, don’t turn my face yellow. :p

This is a very good film to teach our children not to waste their food. This award winning short film, IMHO, should be shown not just to children, but also ourselves. How many of us actually like the 2 girls in the film, leaving behind our unfinished food?

Finally! SuzetteCooks – Blogs on easy and simple recipes is now ready to be shared! Thanks to Jason, who helped to prepare the theme in a speedy manner, I finally managed to get this announced today.

It is not fully customized yet, but I guess it is sufficient to be launched. I have been very busy with last minute stuffs to do (ya, as usual, given many months but never did until the last minutes), so I guess I will leave it as it is for a while, until I get my own new laptop (if I do). Was so busy making income tax filing, clearing off my work stuff as my last day draws near, surrendering company properties, packing my office stuff, emailing to inform everyone, etc.

Anyway, this new blog is actually a food blog. At one pont, I realized that I have been turning The Suzette into a food blog, so I stopped doing it and started to consider a separate blog for my food stuff.

Have been cooking a lot since redundancy started, and am quite excited to experience many things, especially baking!

Do hop over and subscrbe to my feed ya?

Two years ago, I won a gift from MiaBambina (first to leave my comment in one of the forum thread). It was a Papoose brand of mattress pad.

It consists of a layer of fleece on one side, and a layer of PUL fabric on the other side. This PUL is the same material that is used in modern cloth diapers. It is waterproof yet breathable. It is like plastic, but without the noisy plastic sound.

When I first received it, I didn’t know what to do about it. Then I placed it on top of Ian’s bed, and let him sleep on top of it — WITHOUT diaper. That is how I started my toilet training on him.

It is SSSSOOOOOOO useful! I LOVE IT!

First of all, it doesn’t have any plastic’s noise. Secondly, it is not hot (because it is breathable and thin). So, Ian didn’t complain (nor did he notice) about the sheet.

Whenever accident happens, I just take away the sheet, and I don’t have to change the bedsheet below because it is dry! This is so helpful especially in the middle of the night – you want minimal disruption to your sleep, don’t you? Even with Ian’s heavy volume, the thin layer of fleece can absorb fully without any leak.

I still let Ian use it now, but hidden under his bedsheet, because he thinks he is very good at this already and refused to use it. He still have accidents occassionally, so I am not entirely comfortable of letting him go without this sheet!

When I try to get a second sheet for Isabel, I just cannot find this brand any more. Not even at MiaBambina. Sandra (the owner) recommended me to get this other brand of mattress pad. It is the closest that I could find:

I am not entirely happy with this, because it is slightly smaller and thicker than the Papoose one. Somewhat, I just couldn’t find the Papoose sheet again, even in all the other online stores that I used to see it. Googled also cannot find.

Anyway, if you intend to take away diapers from your children, this product is still very useful. It saves my mattresses many times! I love them very much!

BTW, it is different from the waterproof mattress protector sold in bed linen outlets. This ons is very thin, much thinner and smaller – enough to cover children’s hip area. I prefer it this way as it is easier to wash and dry. It can be used on top layer – without having to wet the bedsheet!! Definitely a recommended product!!

Hiring a Confinement Lady to take care of new mother is a common practice amongst Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore.

There are so many rules after delivering a baby. Many new moms do not know them well, so they hire a CL (Confinement Lady) to help them. CL’s service including cooking of confinement food for new mom and normal food for the new dad, taking care of the baby day and night, cleaning (sweep and mop the floor, and laundry).

Now, the issue with CL is that, most of them are coming from the old school (that’s why they are hired for their knowledge of the old practice). They themselves are mothers in the 70s era, where formula invaded Malaysia and Singapore and gained popularity. I can dare say nearly all of the CLs have never breastfed their babies, and that’s where problem comes in.

If you have experience with CLs, I’m sure you will agree with me… Nearly all CLs would tell you that:
- You do not have enough milk for the baby.
- You need to supplement with formula, at least for the first 1 week and for night feeding.
- You must let her take care of your baby at night, so you can sleep.
- You must drink a lot of alcohol and eat a lot of ginger.
- You must not feed baby lying down.
- You must not feed baby at night.

For those mothers who follow CLs advice, 100% of them fail breastfeeding. Some might consider them ‘successfull’, because they fed a few times a day for a month or so, then weaned because of ‘no milk’. I won’t call it successful, if you have to supplement with formula.

I hired a CL after my 1st child birth. It was a disaster. But because of my perseverance (or stubborness) and well equipped with knowledge + support, I overcame that. Also, my CL didn’t have strong character, and after I told her firmly how I wanted my confinement to be, she accepted it later (like after 1 week!).

I didn’t hire CL for my 2nd child birth. My mom took care of me, and she let me do my way.

Why CLs like to tell you the wrong way (or sabotage your bfg effort)?
- They never believe in breastfeeding in the first place.
- They have never breastfed themselves, but most like to pretend they are pro, and they give you wrong information.
- Those wrong advices are made to ease their job in the 28 days.
- Formula is harder to digest, hence stay longer in the stomach. SHE works less, and can sleep through the night!
- Formula fed babies usually poo less – less work for her.

It is important that, before you hire a CL, always interview her first. Ask her the following questions:

- Has she taken care of any bfg mothers?
- If yes, did the mothers supplement with formula at all?
(if yes, ask why – if she keeps insisting that the mothers have no milk, she is questionable! Note her reaction towards the failed bfg moms – whether she sounds ‘disgusted’ or ‘pitious’)

- How supportive is she on bfg?
(if she discourage you immediately, drop her)

- How comfortable that you do not keep any infant formula at home?
(if she asks you to buy a can for ‘just in case’, tell her that you would not keep any, not even for just in case basis — ask if she is comfortable with that or not)

- Is she okay that you take ginger and alcohol in moderation during the 1st week. And all alcohol must be cooked before serving.

Along the way, note the character of the CL, whether she is very authoritative, or easy going. Remember, you are the boss. You pay her salary. You have the rights to choose how you want your confinement to be.

The word ‘confinement’ is already so demotivating. With the Confinement Lady’s dominating the whole process, it can be very daunting for the new mothers. I nearly developed post natal depression with my own CL!! So it is very important to stand firm on your choice – breastfeeding. Read a lot – to reinforce yourself that you are doing the right thing. Most of the time, it is us who doubt whether we are doing it right, since CL is supposed to be the more experienced. That’s when we tend to give in, because the experts say so.

Having a CL is actually still a very pampered thing to do. So, choose your CL right, and you can enjoy your confinement period.