Suzette's Parenting and Breastfeeding Blog

Last night, when driving home with the kids in my car…

Isabel asked, “Mama, why the car stopped?”
“Oh, that is because the traffic turned red.” I replied.

Then, I reminded them about the rhyme that I used to say to them when they were much younger, which we did with some hand gestures (quite fun).

“Red colour, stop, stop, stop”
“Green colour, go, go, go!”

We then started to say & repeat this a few times, then suddenly Ian said,
“Mama, I remember this, because I drank your nen-nen (breastmilk) last time, and ther is a lot of DHA in it!”

“Wow! Who told you about that DHA thingy?” I asked.
“You lah! Looooong time ago already…” he replied.

Wow! My 4 y.o son has elephant memory. I believe I must have uttered this, didn’t have the intention for him to remember it, but he did!

Maybe the AHA, DHA, bla-bla-bla alphabets and nutrients that milk companies try to copy, really did a good job in my children?

I am writing this from my own experience. About 4 years ago, when I suffered sore tendon on my right wrist, I was so painful that I went to see doctors.

I first saw a Chinese orthopaedic, who told me I suffered “Carry-Baby Hand” (抱仔手), i.e. result of carrying baby. He told me that he couldn’t cure me and the only solution is to let it rest.

Not satisfied, I went to the company panel doctor. When I went in, I told one lady doctor (they are on rotation) about my problem. She didn’t buy the “carry-baby hand” theory. Then, she asked me if I do any laundry, and said it must be the laundry that caused my pain.

She then wanted to give me some anti-inflamation medicine (ibuprofen). I told her that I was still breastfeeding, whether the medication is suitable for me or not. Her first reaction was a disgusted look (of breastfeeding)!

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As I was trying to re-write this post, I got lazy. Yes, I wrote “RE-WRITE” because I realized I’ve written this before for MMB.

Well, bringing home EBM is not a new stuff. I learnt it from a supermom, SiawFui in MMB, and improved it as I have more experience, and with the change of airline rules etc. When I came back from New Zealand, I received lots of enquiries on how to do that. As SF was my guru in this, I consulted her. She suggested that we write an article and place in the FAQ area.

Though 4 years have come and gone, the tips in the article is still useful and valid. So, I think instead of re-writing it, I’ll just provide links to that article, which is now split into 4 parts after Lilian revampt the pages:
http://www.mymomsbest.com/travelling.htm
http://www.mymomsbest.com/travelling-and-breastfeeding-pt-2.htm
http://www.mymomsbest.com/travelling-and-breastfeeding-pt-3.htm
http://www.mymomsbest.com/travelling-and-breastfeeding-pt-4.htm

In the articles, we have provided tips like:
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5 years ago, when Ian was still inside my tummy, I worried about how I could breastfeed him for long. My job requires me to travel extensively. On those days when travel budget was still good, I used to travel 2 or 3 times a month.

Depending on where I go, some trips would be just 1 night, but some last for a week. Traveling to US would be 8 days due to time spent on route.

There were 2 issues that worried me. First, how to stock up enough for Ian when I am away? Second, how to store and bring back my EBMs from overseas?

I tried to solve 1 thing at a time. Since second issue won’t happen for the first 2 months (would be in maternity leave), so I tried to look for answer for storage first.

How to Stock Up Enough Before Your Trip?
My very first advice from my colleague, was to store my EBM using containers bought from Tesco/Carrefour as below:

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2 weeks ago when I was in Singapore, I met up with a few ex-colleagues. One has two children already and she is still breastfeeding her second child, 6 months old. A great job! And I think generally breastfeeding awareness and supports are better in Singapore compared to Malaysia.

Well, actually none of my ex-colleagues in Singapore know that I am married and have 2 kids. None know that I have breastfeeding experience. That’s because we didn’t catch up for so long! The last time we met was like 6 years ago!!

Anyway, when I was chatting with her, she complaint about night feeding, that she actually pumps before sleep and then after she wakes up in the morning. The baby is taken care by the maid in another room, and is fed from bottle.

Well, when I talked to ‘experienced’ breastfeeding moms like this, it is hard to give opinion, coz she would disagree with every suggestions or opinions I give. Yes, instantaneously. Not to blame her, because none of them know of my breastfeeding journey (chewah! like very self arogant… :p).

Anyhow, this prompted me to write this post about breastfeeding at night.

Yes, it is individual preference to co-sleep with the baby, or have separate bedrooms. I wasn’t comfortable co-sleep with Ian too, and he was my first child I didn’t have any experience - not only in terms of breastfeeding, but also childcare!

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