My breasts friends - supplements for breastfeeding mothers

 

Not Jade but Jade's Mummy said ...

Background:

I am selling Amway Products. 

But more than wanting to make money, I also want to share good products with my family, friends and whoever is reading this blog, as a housewife and a breastfeeding mom.

I don’t like popping pills. Since I have to take my daily dose of medicine, I only occasionally take supplements myself. 

When I was breastfeeding Hann, I only took these on a part-time basis: as and when I remember, which is not very often

So, no, breastfeeding comrades, you don’t have to take ALL 4 of these supplements I'm going to introduce, take only what you need.

1.      Lecithin

(for all bf moms)
I wish someone had told me about Lecithin and that it can help to resolve and prevent blocked ducts (source: http://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/lecithin/). Then I wouldn’t have suffered mastitis so many times in my 3.25 years of breastfeeding Hann. Can’t remember any episode of mastitis while breastfeeding Jade though but I think I should have had it once or twice.
So I'd recommend Lecithin for all breastfeeding mummies - prevention is better than cure.

2.      Green Tea Protein

When I shared that “My friend swears Green Tea Protein boosted with her milk supply”, someone challenged me and said it’s not a galactagogue. Seriously, I didn’t know what  galactagogue is but I think she meant it doesn’t help to increase milk supply.

Unlike the time I was breastfeeding hann and had abundance of milk, Jade doesn't demand as much so my supply was lower with her. Since my friend swears by this Green Tea Protein, and I still had it in my fridge, I tried to take it on a daily basis to maintain my milk supply when I went back to work and pumping is a luxury.


Well... I decided to do some homework and find out what “galactagogue” is.

“A galactagogue ... is a substance that promotes lactation in humans and other animals. It may be synthetic, plant-derived, or endogenous.”
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactagogue

in my 3.25 + 1.5 years of breastfeeding, I have not taken any galactagogue except fenugreek while breastfeeding Jade.
Fenugreek is said to work wonders for many mothers but somehow it didn't happen for me. Maybe that's because I didn’t take it regularly. I didn't even managed to finish the one bottle I got from GNC before I was "forced" to stop breastfeeding Jade.

And through this search on what galactagogues are, I found out that on top of fenugreek, Milk Thistle and Alfalfa are also herbal galactagogues.

3.      Milk Thistle and Dandelion

So if fenugreek is not helping you increase your supply, why not try Milk Thistle?
http://www.livestrong.com/article/139149-milk-thistle-breastfeeding/

but Before you decide on an herbal supplement, consider your reasons for doing so.
Read more at
http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/herbal_galactagogue/

4.      Calcium Magnesium

Recently I shared on facebook an old post about breastfeeding and some friends realised that I was breastfeeding Hann for more than 3 years. One of them asked if it’ll affect our (mommies’) calcium level. So I went to search again and seems like it's not breastfeeding that affects our calcium level but the pregnancy itself.

(source: http://osteoporosis.emedtv.com/calcium/calcium-and-breastfeeding-p2.html)
So this one’s only if u think u need to take Calcium supplements then do consider Amway’s since it has alfalfa concentrate and alfalfa is known to increase milk supply (source: http://www.mobimotherhood.org/mm/article-herbal2.aspx).

as with all Amway Nutrilite products, 

the advice is 

"Pregnant and Nursing women should consult their physician before use"

so if u need more info on any of these products to consult your physician, 
or if you want to buy them,

drop me an email at ariellyp-at-yahoo.com

or leave a comment on my amway facebook album.

Medical Specialists Directory in Singapore

Mummy recently found this
http://www.bookmyclinic.com/

while trying to help a friend find
a pediatrician near her place.

other specialist clinics are listed there too!

Fan vs Aircon for confinement

not Jade but Jade's Mummy the trained application scientist says...

a friend, who is expecting her baby real soon, post this on her Facebook status:

Mothers out there, any scientific proof that aircon has no negative side-effects during confinement??? I need to win this war very badly! pls help

Fret not, Mummies! Scientist to your rescue!

basically the whole idea is to prevent wind from entering your body during confinement.
Hence, Fan is actually worse than aircon w/o fan.

Aircon
just keeps the air cool.
keep it at no less than 25 deg would be good and don't blow the aircon directly at you though.
If you Don't let the aircon "sweep", and/or keep it at low fan speed, the air in the room is actually quite still.
So, no wind!

Cuba Gallery: Retro fan blowing hair
Originally uploaded by Cuba Gallery - Now on Twitter!

Fan
creates wind which is exactly you want to avoid.
Wind is also known as convection currents which is a type of heat loss,
hence Sweat + fan is the worse combi.
If you are sweaty and you blow the fan at yourself,
the convection currents promoted by the fan will cause the sweat on your skin to evaporate more quickly and as a result, more heat lost from your body.
Even if you have no sweat on ya skin, heat will continually be removed from your body thru' convection if you blow the fan at yourself.

so Jade's Mummy, the trained application scientist (aka engineer), strongly recommends Aircon over fan.
Well... of cos, if you are one of those who can survive in hot hot Singapore without aircon as well as fan, Bravo!

but Jade's Mummy will just die without at least one of those.

Shopping and Delivery

December's the best time to shop for baby stuff!
cos on top of The Great Singapore Sale (GSS), there're Christmas specials all around.

topperIMG_1524
Originally uploaded by alwayscake

but Did you know...

most, if not all, major departmental stores deliver ya shopping to ya place for free if u spend above the minimum sum.

for Takashimaya, it's >$200
and Robinson, it's >$150
check other departmental stores for their min sum for free delivery.

so no more lugging all those heavy shopping!
especially helpful if you're pregnant and/or carrying a baby and shopping alone.


Can't make up the minimum sum?
No prob!
just pick up a few of those 6-packs Pigeon Baby wipes. cost $19+ per.
otherwise, u can get those boxes of 60-piece Pigeon Breast Pad, cost $13.90.
These are the stuff that run out quite fast and they are soooo heavy and/or bulky so it's best u don't have to carry them!

Warning:
If u're in ya 3rd trimester, excessive shopping may cause contractions to start earlier than due.

Happened to my mummy twice!
1st time: Mummy just had her gynae appointment at my brother's 36th weeks. Doc said baby won't be coming out for at least a week. So she went shopping for baby stuff for the rest of the afternoon. Her contractions started that very evening.
2nd time: Mummy went to Robinson sale at my 35th week. She did asked for delivery (no pun intended) but still... I came out 3 days later and just managed to pass the "premature baby" mark.

erm... so according to this logic, it's best for expectant mothers in their 1st trimester to please take note of how long u've been shopping for the day. Rest is important!

Confinement Must-haves

Not Jade but Jade's Mummy said...

Must-have for the confinement period (and beyond):

~ image taken from http://www.myfredi.com ~

1. Bedroom Slippers
Most Singaporean homes use ceramic tiles or natural stones for their flooring, hence the floor will be cooling.
Wearing bedroom slippers during confinement keeps your feet warm and the "cold" away from ya feet.
Believe me! I don't really believe in these confinement stuff but I get pains when I'm not wearing bedroom slippers.

2. Bathrobe
Help you dry ya body faster - just put it on and wa-la! most of your body will be dried.
Use towel to dry other "uncovered" parts like hair, face, calves , etc.
if you decide to shower, that is.
I think the idea of not showering is to keep the water and wind out so if you do decide to shower, try to dry up quickly.

3. Long pants / pajamas
same thing: keep the wind out and keep ya legs warms
I wore shorts most of the time for this confinement (am really afraid of heat!) and later on always get joint-pains at the knees.
When I get joint-pains then I put on long pants loh. Helps!