Babies: Breastfeeding 101 (Part 1)

Note: I am currently fully breastfeed my 17 months baby.
Disclaimer: This entry being write based on my breastfeeding journey alone and not necessary work on others. Any sharing tips given that being followed are under own risk and any product stated not being sponsored by any brand.


Hello Mommies!

How do I start this eh. Ahaaa. Do mommies ever found that it is so hard to breastfeed our little angel for the first time after giving birth? Well, fret not darlings, all new mommies pass through those struggle moment as well. You are not alone. (Group hugs).

So, I decided to bf my baby (her name is Malika btw) since day one I knew that I'm pregnant. Tapi ku sangkakan panas sampai ke petang rupanya hujan ditengah hari. Cita cita nak menyusukan hanya lah cita cita tanpa sebarang kelengkapan ilmu dan pengetahuan. Then the big day is coming, the arrival of Malika to this world. On that day as well juga lah baru tahu that I have inverted nipples, tak tahu what is inverted nipples? Go Google, segan aih nak terangkan dkt sini.


First/Second week of confinement - Struggling phase

At the very first and second week, mmg sangat struggle well I guess semua new mommies pun struggle juga on the first/second week, aite? Yelah, kita mana pernah ada anak kecil before, jaga nieces/ nephew/ cousin tak sama okay. Why tak sama? Once you officially become a mother then baru you tahu. No clarification needed here. So back to my first/second week journey, I receive lots of unhealthy word from surrounding, such as;

"takde susu ni, mungkin mmg keturunan takde susu kot"

"nipple tak keluar tu, anak lapar bagi jela susu tepung"

"pump berejam2 banyak tu je dpt?"

And I received many more ladies, so if you girls facing the same situation like mine, one advice for you darling; PERSETANKAN CAKAP ORANG.

I know dalam pantang kita face unstable hormone, kita jd cepat down dan mudah nak ambil jalan pintas when any difficulties arrive.  Breastfeeding ain't an easy journey gal, jd be prepared dan cekalkan hati for thick and thin okay?

What did I do/have during struggling phase?

1) Breast Massage

- Okay don't get the wrong picture here please, ni bukan website bukan2 okay? Breast massage helps so much you know. Why? Warm massage and circulation can provide calmness. Indirectly, kita tak stress. Bila tak stress, our brain can stimulate milk production. Ingat, nak breastfeed, tak boleh emosi, stress, sedih, kecewa and so on. Kena happy je sokmo walaupun hakikatnya kita tgh stress and penat nak adapt new environment with babies. Nak bg happy mommies boleh cuba cara imaginasi, fikir laut yg biru ke and so on. Alah perempuan kan biasa berangan2 ni, gunakan kuasa mu lah! ahaaa.

2) Pump

- Tolong add on breast pump in your hospital checklist now. Pump sgt sgt sgt penting utk bantu kita when our baby still struggling in latching. Baby keluar dr perut tak akan terus pandai latch ya. Kebanyakan mommies buat silap on this part, beranggapan baby keluar2 je pandai hisap susu. No it takes quite sometime juga utk dorang pandai menghisap, in a meantime boleh pump dulu to help stimulation. Ya keyword kita utk minggu pertama adalah stimulate ya ibu ibu.

- "Power Pumping", kalau mommies search this keyword, akan ada explanation in details. Don't worry kalau pump tak keluar apa apa, keep on pumping sbb sebenarnya badan kita tgh terima message "there is milk demand, kena cepat2 produce susu ni". And please kalau hasil pumping kita sikit, DON'T EVER COMPARE IT TO OTHER PERSON. I know sekarang mmg trend org upload susu pump yg berbondong bondong di socmed. If their post sedikit sebanyak disturb you, better you mute that kind of people punya posting for awhile. Kalau nak restrict dr guna smartphone terus mcm tak boleh je kan. So pillih la jalan untuk tidak tengok, alright mummies? Just keep calm and be happy with whatever outcome that you produce wokeh?

3) Nursing Ointment

- Nursing ointment wutttttttt? Mesti macam "aduh perlu ke" , betul tak? Jawapannya, PERLU! Ahaaaaa. Okay meh nak bagi the reason why mommies need this nursing ointment. Sebagaimana I told up there yang baby tak pandai latch, tahukah mommies kalau anak menghisap dengan cara yang salah maka "nipple crack" atau dlm bahasa melayu nya puting luka akan berlaku. Dan nipple crack ini ibu ibu, tak boleh di ajak sembang wo. Sakit dia, rasa nak karate semua orang. Jadinya nursing ointment lah yg akan menjadi penyelamat and you will be their first die hard fan masa ni.

This is the ointment that I use for my nipple crack masa dalam pantang dulu. Ok mmg stated there for baby diaper rash, rilex hold your kecaman dulu sisthur, here I paste a few description written on Bepanthen official site:

Bepanthen® Ointment is also an ointment for breastfeeding mothers. Cracked nipples may lead to premature arrest of breastfeeding despite the mother's wish to breastfeed for longer. In this case, the use of Bepanthen® ointment is recommended in order to support healing process and continous breast feeding. The all-natural active ingreadient Dexpanthenol, makes it suitable and safe to use for cracked nipple and at the same time breast feeding. Dexpanthenol is given the G.R.A.S status "Generally Recognised As Safe" status by the US Food & Drug Administration, it is consider safe even if it is consumed by the baby. Therefore, you may not need to clean with soap. Gently wipe it off before feedings.

Mesti tak baca pun kan? I know, being Malays -.-"

Ada banyak lagi nursing ointment in the market/pharmacy. Up there is what I use, kalau nak guna jenama lain also can, up to your own preferences okay?

4) Keep on latching

Breastfeeding latch : How a baby attaches to his/her mother's breast to breastfeed

Okay sounds crazy, tapi selagi baby tak latch dengan betul and selagi kita tak produce enough milk for babies, walaupun nipple crack, tetap kena keep on latching. The power of latching is beyond words. Dengan latching semua problem boleh settle;

You have clogged duct? Latch. You having engorged breast? Latch. Milk bristles appear? Latch. Your nipples crack? Latch. Milk production near to none? Latch.

Basically all answer for breastfeeding problem is latching. The suction pressure form our babies are magical, cuma tahan dengan tak je nak hadap latch tu bila tengah sakit/penat. Tapi kalau dah tahap membawa ke demam or even worst kena jumpa pakar and consultation ya ibu ibu.
Kalau anak ada jaundice lagilah every 2 hours kena kejut dia untuk latch. Basically when my baby is free from jaundice I just make sure she will either latch or bottle feed every 3 hours. Usually siang I will definitely let her latch more often lah sebab malam mummy nak rest tidur kroh kroh. Ahaa!
Plus, latching (and pumping as well) is for us to avoid "bengkak susu". Bila kita malas nak bg baby latch (or pump), nanti bila da too full and bengkak kita boleh demam tau. And you don't want fever in confinement because damn those unbalance hormone issue, takkan nak tambah dengan demam lagi pulak kan?A big NO NO lah.

5) Clean your nipples area

Sebenarnya cukup sekadar alirkan air masa kita mandi. That's all. But sometimes boleh nampak the excessive milk yg kering dekat area nipples so kita boleh bersihkan guna hot towel or lukewarm water or simply wipe it off masa mandi. Kena selalu pastikan the nipples does not clogged or nanti akan ganggu milk flow and boleh encounter another big problem pulak, macam engorged breast, milk clogged duct, soreness, redness, bristle and many more. Tahukah mommies milk clogged duct is a mimic of breast cancer? and I found to know this one person yg kena undergo surgery by making 2 big holes at her areola and  armpit sebab susu yg stuck in her breast already turn into nanah. and it is so damn painful thus her breastfeeding journey need to stop right away. Poor her. Jadi nya keyword kita, rajin rajin lah clean nipple area and empty your 'tank', wokeh?

So itu je la what I did masa struggling phase. Tak banyak pun and kalau google memang belambak point ni orang tekankan. 

Yang Paling Penting nekad, istiqamah and DON'T GIVE UP okay mommies? 

See ya'lls on next post (more details and little bit of my own tips) on :Breastfeeding 101 (Part 2)