My first breastfeeding journey

Breastfeeding... interesting topic, eh? Yup..it has always been an interesting topic for me. There're lots of things that I can share with my kids about it.I want to document my fourth BF journey here. So, I'll start with the first journey first. Let me start on how it got started. 9 years ago, I was so excited about breastfeeding during my visit to a gynae in Putrajaya. I was 7-months pregnant back then. The gynae promoted breastfeeding to us saying that it's very good for the baby and even suggested a good breastpump, Medela Mini Electric.

I was not that interested to buy the pump at first because I believed that breatfeeding was so natural and easy. Every mothers in the world can do it. My mom, working as a teacher, managed to BF all her eight (8..ramai tuu..hihi) children even up to 2/3 years old, without even expressing milk at work (but, she top up with FM during working hours). So, if mom can do it, why can't I, right? But, that is just a myth. It seems that many people had problem with breastfeeding, including my MIL. She didn't bf all her children because she said that there's 'no milk'. That's why MDH was so concern about bf. He said that he's 'lacking' because he was not being breastfed. So, he digged out as much information on breastfeeding. We even went to a BF Seminar organized by Pa&Ma magazine back then. With RM100 fees for 2-pax, it was worthwhile. We even get one 1kg Anmum milk (free gift) and a breastfeeding support pillow (lucky draw).It was during the seminar that we get to know Pn Jasmeen Tay (Who is she? You might ask. I'll tell you about her later). Then, we went to Ampang to buy Medela Mini Electric which costs us around RM450 (it's pricey, but it's worth it!). Through reading from lotsa resources on the internet, we've decided at that time that I shall BF my baby, and even express milk at work... no FM shall involve.

Then, Aisyah Najihah was born on Sept 4, 2003. Alhamdulillah. Everything went smoothly eventhough I was induced. I was taught to breastfeed..but, it was not easy. On top of that, my nipps weren't even wet. Oh my! The nurse said there should be 'getah-getah sikit' (she was referring to colostrum), but, in my case, my B was completely dry. Nothing. To make things worse, my roomate showed her milk spot, eventhough she haven't even delivered her baby yet. So, there I was... all stressed up, thinking that I got no milk.
Astaghfirullahal 'azim.

Then, upon arriving my MIL's house, things got worse. Aisyah was hungry and refuse my B after a minute or two. I was discouraged to force her to latch on, thinking that there's no milk. Then, when she cried, MDH requested some milk from his cousin who gave birth two months earlier than me. So there and then, Aisyah got her ibu susuan, and adik-beradik susuan, Harish. After Ayong's (MDH's cousin) milk had finished, we had to feed her with FM. I cried and cried but at the same time I keep on using the Mini E eventhough nothing came out from my B. It was on Day-5 that my colostrum finally came. By that time, Aisyah already had nipple confusion and preferred to be fed thru bottles. So, MDH tried to find a solution to overcome this. I even cried on the phone when I explained my problems to jasmeen. Pn Jasmeen was the seller of Medela products who also sponsored some prizes during our Pa&Ma seminar.So, he went to Mums and Babes to buy Medela SNS. I remembered trying using it twice. But, it didn't suit me.

So, to keep the milk coming in, I had to pump every 3-4 hours. But, thru reading, I knew that I must find a dualpump for better stimulation. Hence, my husband contacted Pn Jasmeen Tay once again and she asked us to come to her Mums and Babes at Dataran Prima, Ampang, to find the pump that suit our needs. So, we went there and tried Pump-In-Style. I've read reviews about it and even contacted one of PIS user thru 'ummi-kusayang yahoogroups'. The review was very good and the kakak that I contacted said that she's been using it for all her 4 children, and PIS is still working fine with her. So, once I've tried it... I bought it right away. It costs us RM1.5K back then. . Alhamdulillah, my milk production increases even without any stimulation from my baby. But, I cannot catch up with Aisyah's demand (eventhough I had tried dried longan, red dates, fenugreek). I still had to top up with FM. Sad but, I was rather satisfied because for me, that was much better than nothing at all. So, there I was.... pumping even in the wee hours of the morning.

Finally, a miracle happened. As soon as I started working, Aisyah wanted to latch on. Yay! Finally! So, by then, I considered myself a successful breastfeeding mother. I expressed my milk in the office and at night, Aisyah would be directly breastfed by me. It went on until she was 19-months-old. I weaned her because I was pregnant. Pheww... a long story on my first BF journey. To be continued on my 2nd journey..insyaAllah. ( ^,___, ^)

2012 updates

Mak aih..bersawangnya. Rumah sapa ni..haha. Yup, it's been a year since I last update. I know that there's no reader to this blog. except that I want to keep this blog going as long as possible so that my kids will be able to read it in future. (If they don't, then, I'll be the one who read it..Reminiscing the past..hehe).

Ok, to recap what is going on in my life throughout 2012.
1. January - Doctor Siti confirmed that I'm pregnant! huhu... I was kinda shocked because we're planning for our umrah this year. On top of that, Dr Siti and Ustazah Ummi discouraged me from going to Mecca, saying that there's a possibility for miscarriage. I was disheartened by their advice, but at the same time, happy that I'm expecting. :)

2. March - My brother's wedding.And there's a new update to my umrah plan. I went to Klinik Mesra Jenjarom for vaccine shot and was told by Dr Rosdi that it's safe for me to travel to Makkah during my second trimester. He gave me a few reasons to support his belief. One, he had known some people who went there while expecting and nothing happened to them. Secondly, there's no 'air pocket' during the 7-hours flight to Saudi Arabia. So, it should be safe from miscarriage (wallahua'lam). And thirdly, performing umrah is not as extensive as performing hajj. so, expecting mothers who went for umrah should know their limits and refrain themselves from overdoing things. (note : at this point, I was relieved. But, I was still doubtful). On another note, Syazwan had to to be circumsized because he's going for umrah too.He was so fussy and didn't allow anyone to touch his 'angry bird' for almost two weeks after the surgery. Therefore, we (MDH and I) made a mental note that we should circumcised our son (if the one I was carrying is a boy) when he is still an infant. Make things a lot easier I guess.

3. May -Three weeks before our scheduled flight for umrah, I was still doubtful (Astaghfirullah a'zim) because I was 5-months pregnant and my little Nadya is just 20-months old (pls be reminded that I had to carry my 'heavy' body, carrying a baby inside my tummy and carrying a toddler on the outside as well). But all my doubts disappeared into thin air as soon as I heard Prof Muhaya's recorded IKIM slot on youtube. In her slot .. one caller was asking her on whether he should bring his mother for umrah or not since his wife is pregnant (5 months to be exact!). He was scared to leave his wife alone but at the same time he wanted to fulfill his mother's wish. Subhanallah ... thanks to the caller. Prof Muhaya's reply was .."satu fakta yg pernah sy baca, orang yang sedang mengandung 5 bulan berada dalam tahap kesihatan yang paling baik sepanjang hidupnya .."(lebih kurang macam tu lah). Upon hearing that, I gasped. I keep on saying Subhanallah and Astaghfirullah .. Subhanallah because Allah had chosen the BEST time for me to perform my first umrah - being at the healthiest stage of life, and not having any menses throughout the two-weeks duration. Subhanallah. And at the same time, Astaghfirullah.. for being doubtful. "Ampunkan dosa hamba-Mu ini ya Allah".
So, we went there, 7 of us .. my little nucleous family, FIL and MIL. And Alhamdulillah... everything went smoothly. I'm lost for words to explain how great the experience is....... Alhamdulillah.

Kakak & Abang dan tertido lps tawaf. Adik pulak ilang tudung dah

Ladang kurma di Madinah

4. September - Celebrated the birthdays of three of us (Mama - 17/9, Aisyah - 04/9 and Nadya - 05/9) on 15 Sept 2012. Four days later... we are gifted with our new bundle of joy.. Muhammad Shakir Azhad @Pusat Perubatan Islam Azzahra, 2.7kg, c-sect. "Semoga anak ini menjadi seorang yang bersyukur dan zuhud. Amin"

So, that is the updates thus far. Will be updating on my BF journey for Muhammad Shakir Azhad soon. InsyaAllah.