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.

4Es for successful breastfeeding

not Jade but Jade's Mummy said...

Originally published on Hann's blog in 2007 as "the 3Es for Successful Breastfeeding" (in black).

I'll now add on a 4th E and other stuff (in blue).

For an "easier time" and for breastmilk to come in as quickly as possible, remember the 3Es:

1. breastfeed as Early as possible.

best is to latch baby the moment he is born.
tell your doctor before THE day that you want to breastfeed your baby as soon as he is delivered. Remind your doctor again during labour or ask your husband to remind doc.

well... if it's not possible, as soon as you can, ok?
or pump 1st if baby's kept from you.
don't worry that if you were to pump, baby won't have milk to drink later because your body will produce milk again soon if you keep the demand up!

2. breastfeed Everytime baby wants.

Resist the temptation to give baby FM cos it will disturb the establishment of your supply.
"Nurse at the first signs of hunger (stirring, rooting, hands in mouth)--don't wait until baby is crying. Allow baby unlimited time at the breast when sucking actively, then offer the second breast. Some newborns are excessively sleepy at first--wake baby to nurse if 2 hours (during the day) or 4 hours (at night) have passed without nursing." ~ taken from Kellymom.com

Bear in mind that supply = demand.
the more you feed baby / pump, the more milk you will have.

Used to advocate dont't give FM at all and used to believe that all will have abundant milk if only they dont' give baby FM but give breast everytime baby wants milk.

but I started to change my thinking when I learnt that a friend of mine's milk came only in 2nd week. Meanwhile, she gave baby FM and pumped cos she doesn't want to stress herself.
Imagine if my friend had not persisted, and gave up after two days of no milk. but you'll have to keep latching and pumping. cannot think the milk will come if you do nothing. You must work hard for milk to come.

preferrably you shouldn't give baby any FM so that baby will demand for breast milk and suckle more.
for the 1st few days, it's enough just to give baby colostrum but I suppose, like what my friend said, no point stressing yourself. if baby's hungry, just give FM 1st. but please remember to pump.


3. breastfeed Efficiently.

Make sure you latch baby correctly and that you are sitted or laying down comfortably. Your back should be supported when you are breastfeeding.
Get the nurses to supervise you everytime you wanta latch baby so that you are sure you get it right. It's not a time to be shy about your body. When you are discharged, nobody can help you.

4. Expect to breastfeed.

Do you really want to breastfeed?
If you really want to breastfeed, you should expect yourself to breastfeed, rain or shine, pain or not.
Some mothers have this mentality - I'll breastfeed if I have milk.
I tell you, more likely than not, these mummies won't have milk because they just wait for milk to come and didn't work for it.
you'll never have milk if you just wait for it to come.
You'll have to latch, if not pump often.

Feed like you have milk / pump like you have milk.

oh. and when you 1st pump, the milk will be very little, so don't be discouraged.

Have a 假想敌 (an imagined opponent),
someone who breastfeeds and is your rival in someway - ex-boyfriend's wife, husband's ex-girlfriend, rival at work, ex-classmate who always fight for the 1st-position with you, any1 you will not want to lose to.
and tell yourself, "if she can do it, so can I!"

cute girl needs bottles

me at 2 months 3 days

Thanx, Hong Ah-yi for this romper!

For those who are thinking of getting me a gift,
please get me these

Medela milk bottles.

Mummy has so much excess milk, all our bottles are in the freezer now.

when breastfeeding mom is sick

One common question among breastfeeding moms is this:
Should I breastfeed when I'm sick?

The answer is YES!

but make sure you tell ya doctor that you're breastfeeding and get him to prescribe medication that is compatible with breastfeeding.

"The best thing you can do for your baby when you're sick is to continue to breastfeed. ... Your milk will not transmit your illness to baby, but it does have antibodies in it that are specific to your illness ..."
~ taken from http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/mom-illness.html ~

Mummy's down with flu
and the bad thing is most flu / running nose medicine are not safe for breastfeeding.

So how?
Since Mummy's milk contains antibodies against her illness,
theoretically, her milk is the best remedy for her illness.
So she decided to drink her own milk though she thinks it tastes yucky.
(I wonder why, cos I like it tastes yummy!)

To make her own milk drinkable for herself, she adds it to her milo.
that'll be one big mug of milo (about 250ml) to 30 - 50 ml of breastmilk.
Anything more than 50ml, u can taste the milk in the milo.

Update on Sep 2013: Now u can download a smartphone app called LactMed that gives you information on the compatibility of various drugs with breastfeeding.

Sunning my Jaundice away

Pictures taken when I was 8 days old.

Mine was consider a mild case of Jaundice, hence no need photo-therapy.
I was to be sunned twice a day - morning 8am and evening 6pm, front and back, 10mins each.

"A common condition in newborns, jaundice refers to the yellow color of the skin and whites of the eyes caused by excess bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is produced by the normal breakdown of red blood cells.

Normally, bilirubin passes through the liver and is excreted as bile through the intestines. Jaundice occurs when bilirubin builds up faster than a newborn's liver can break it down and pass it from the body."
~ taken from kidshealth.org

Hence, to help baby recover from jaundice faster, you have to give baby as much milk as possible.

Note: "Giving water or glucose feeds will not lower the jaundice. Since bilirubin is excreted from the body in the stools, breastfeed your baby frequently to encourage frequent bowel movement."
~ taken from www.nuh.com.sg

Mummy was amazed that I can prop my head up so high when I was only a week old.

Then I started to graze on the blanket cos I want milk!

another important thing to note: Jaundice causes babies to be sleepy.
but Don't allow baby to sleep as much as he wants
but you've gotta wake baby up for milk!
Make sure you feed baby every 2-3 hours so that baby can pass out bilirubin as quickly as possible.

I've recovered from jaundice on my 2nd week.

Dear God, thank you for healing me.

and thank you, Mummy's friends who had prayed with us.

blocked Nose

I'm not even 3 weeks old and fell sick already!?

Got seriously blocked nose yesterday and my parents brought me to the doc.
Doc said there're big lumps of dried mucus in my nose but mine's not an extremely bad case.

My mummy did try to clean my nostrils with
Pigeon's cotton swabs
(choose the one with extra thin stem, thinner than those in the picture, for tiny nostrils)

but she couldn't get much out from my nostrils since the mucus were deep inside.


So Doc used a nasal spray on me and a mucus suction machine! to suck out my mucus.

I screamed and cried so badly.
My parents and korkor looked on, feeling heartache for me.
My korkor shook his head several times.

this is the nasal spray I use:

Sterimar Nasal Hygiene
an isotonic* filtered sea water solution
(*Isotonic solution: a solution that contains the same concentration of salt that of the human body cells)

When using at home, no suction is needed.
The solution will just flow out or flow back into my system.
Doc said she had to use the suction machine on me cos I had too much mucus.

One good news from the visit to the doctor's: I put on almost a 1kg since birth!

Oh. and I can finally sleep properly after all the mucus are cleared.

One other thing we learnt:
Doc said sometimes when Mummy eats food that is too heaty, it will cause my mucus to be thick.
Any1 can verify this?

I also have a super big ulcer on my tongue, deep in.
Cause is unknown and Doc said it's unusual for babies this young to have such ulcers.
Now Mummy thinks maybe it's the heaty food she took that cause my ulcer.

Yesterday my korkor saw the doc too cos his voice was hoarse and had been having cough.
Mummy also suspect that it's her heaty milk that caused him to cough.
Now that I'm having ulcer, Mummy dare not give him her milk, for fear of contamination.
What to do with the extra milk now?