Milk Supply...and cheeky + naughty boy

Little boy now loves to lick and chew his fists, his hands, mummy's hands, daddy's hands, EVERYWHERE...even our clothes...his clothes....always like to stick out his tongue and looks very cheeky. I suspect he's teething cos he's drooling now...need to buy a bib soon (oops is that mummy's excuse to shop)....when we carry him, he likes to brush his face against our clothes....and he also likes to rub his face until red red....wonder if its because he's feeling itchy? Poor boy has heat rashes on his neck too, so we are applying medical powder on it hoping the redness will go off.

This mini wrestler of mine hates to drink milk....really wonder why? He will shake his head from side to side trying to shake the teat off, how naughty! Either that he'll just cry or play with the teats, eventually pushing it outta his mouth.

Well i guess my milk supply has been rather unstable these days, but in general it has dropped ever since i started work.

Alot of reasons i can think of....

1) Ever since that food poisoning episode, my MS has dropped like crazy. Now been pumping 7hourly and all but never reach 300ml+ as before. Besides i don't feel engorgement already (call for celebration? or NOT?)...the most recent time i had engorgement was on sunday (but it was after a period of 9hours...9 HOURS!)...sometimes i barely scrape through the 200ml mark liao...sighz...
2) STRESS. Yes stress over work, home, everything....stress to pump at work, stress to bring those pump things everyday....basically stress.
3) Lack of sleep. Imagine having less than 7hours of sleep everyday. Long gone were the days of 7hours sleep. Now i'll be thankful if i have 6hours of sleep. Sleep late cos have to pump, wake up early cos have to pump.
4) Headache causing agent. What the....i've been having headaches for like every other day. V pain....suspect due to reason no.3
5) WORK. WOrk and work....TIRED!!
6) Kyan don't seem to appreciate breastmilk and breastfeeding as much liao...My mentality and motivation to breastfeed is actually bruised by quite a fair bit. I believe a positive mindset is important for maintaining milk supply, if not worsen it.
7) Shorter pumping time and longer pump intervals. How the heck can i find the time to pump more than 30mins per session each time at work? Limit to 30mins per session, sometimes i "eat" abit over the time, but generally 30mins should be appropriate. Cannot be pumping at work for too long.

Now it makes me think perhaps worrying over pumping at work is a needless issue if i cannot breastfeed anymore should my milk disappeared one day. Its sad ya, but i cannot deny that day might come, judging from my life right now. Its just kinda hard to maintain that level of milk supply which i used to establish when i was in confinement and maternity.

But kyan definitely does not understand. He is still wasting lots of milk...sighz....

Re: Food poisoning. I thought i have fully recovered but apparently i still have on and off terrible stomach pains. Drats! Means my tum tum really not 100% recovered. I better abstain from sinful foods. BIG SIGH.

Upset....end of breastfeeding?

Very upset today. Kyan is refusing my BM already. He is starting to take to FM.

This morning, we gave him frozen BM (as i was down with food poisoning hence there was no fresh bm to give) but he was crying the whole house down....so we switched to his favourite bottle but the result is the same.

Then i was taught a method by jo to add in two scoops of formula to the frozen BM....but it did not help either...kyan still cried the whole house down. We also switched to his favourite bottle but it was no use.

So finally i told my mil to try with FM...he drank it all.

Feeling so upset. It makes matters worse when i still have not fully recovered from my food poisoning episode since yesterday. Vomitted and have diarrhoea like more than 5x already. Totally lost my appetite and milk supply dipped too. Daddy too, was down with food poisoning. This makes us two poor souls. On top of suffering from the tortures of being sick, i still had to pump my milk and throw away, can't latch kyan on even though he was crying the whole house down. Every day i had to lug my heavy cooler bag, schedule time to pump in the office, bring the milk back home just for the sake of this little boy but he is now rejecting BM. How cruel can this be?

This behaviour has been incalculated in kyan since a month and more ago, where he has been very fussy over feeds. We wonder whats the problem so i got the teats all changed but it still doesn't help. Don't know if its milk problem until today i realised could it be he doesn't like BM at all?

Does that signal the end of my breastfeeding path?

Official third month....chatterbox!

My darling has turned 3 months old today!

He is much more playful (and naughtier) now....and yes, talkative too! Chatterboxxxxx haha! Here are two videos where you see him "talking" to Bugs Bunny and Friends aka his pillow (HAHA)...apparently its a one-sided thing :P but he's obviously enjoying himself =D

Boon Family - Kyan looks like Daddy or Mummy?

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family search - Free genealogy software

Breastfeeding woes....and botak boy?

BLOCKED DUCTS BLOCKED DUCTS BLOCKED DUCTS....how many more times do i have to face this?! blehz! Despite engaging Mdm ROkiah to unblock the ducts for me, they still keep coming back to haunt me....WHY WHY WHY?!?!?!

I've been back to work for a week already....still trying to get used to the new (and well....busy) routine....

I'm very tired....wish that there was more time for me to zzzZzzz....yes i badly need sleep....cannot imagine i can have only less than 7 hours of sleep everyday....damn the engorgement and the pumping.

On a happier note, kyan has been progressing well in his development. He is learning and trying to flip already, about 70% i would say. And my, he is starting to drop hair (lots even)....his front is already bald!

I decide to shave him when he reaches the fourth month.

Now he is saying ah-geng to us....he is very playful now, sometimes naughty too. Even during feeding time, he loves to play with the teats and do all sorts of things with it but just refusing to drink. And yes, his wails still fill the whole house. Still struggling to feed him with bottle. I'm wondering whats up with his crankiness while drinking...teats problem? Just being naughty? Or not hungry?

I wonder how much breastmilk has been wasted.

In addition, I have donated 18 packets of breastmilk to a mummy who has three kids. Glad to clear the space in my freezer to make way for newer stocks. I guess i may go for a second batch of donation since I still have quite alot of packets. Prefer to give fresher milk to kyan and donate the older stocks.

First Day at Work ~ Breastfeeding Nightmare

Today is mummy's first day of work after a long maternity leave of 12 weeks...fast eh?

Sighz....mummy feels very sad cos she miss kyan so much! Now that she has to go back to work there is much to get used to.

First is the pumping session. Though the new boss has no objections to pumping during official hours, it is hard and pretty inconvenient to pump as there is no nursing room available. End up pumping in the toilet where there is no place to put my pump accessories.

Secondly is the rush for pumping. In the morning at 6am, wake up to pump (when initially i can wake up at 6.45am). Only can limit myself to a pump time of at most 30mins in the morning and during office hours. During the afternoon, pump another time using the manual pump. Siong, rush by trying to empty my breasts as much as possible only to realise they are not fully empty and get engorged five hours later. I try to avoid pumping twice at work so will bear till I reach home at 6.30pm to pump for the next session. The last pump session will probably be around 11pm, which means I can't sleep early cos i'll have to wait for the session. If pump too early will face very bad engorgement in the middle of the night and still have to wake up to pump.

In conclusion, breastfeeding is pretty more a chore but i'm still persisting. This was what i posted on the motherhood board after i felt pretty down in the office. Yes i was already suffering from engorgement at that time but was bearing not to pump till i reach home.

"i think we mummies are just feeling v drained out cos of bf-ing...now i am also thinking if i really cannot cope i may also stop. But do consider carefully and don't look back on yr decision if u have to do so...i do fear the day i will regret hence i don't have the courage to drop my milk flow yet.

I'm also suffering from blocked ducts and the milk flow from my right breast is realli slow now...milk seems to be jammed up in there.

Sometimes i'm wondering why am i making myself so miserable...feeling so drained, tired and yet still doing all these thing...or i should just take the easy way out....feed FM...in fact now i'm already feel like doin that liao...hb oso scared i cannot cope with pumping at work and not getting enough sleep at night since gotta wake up early to pump. V tiring.

I am now at work. There is no nursing room in my office and i was pumping in the toilet. There is no place to put my pump accessories. Realli feel like crying man.

What to do? silly mummy still thinking to continue but yet feel like giving up. Ironic really."

=D

I always love to chuckle, talk and smile like this when i see the family portrait on the wall...mummy wonders why?