6 Months Milestone

Yeay! Maisarah is now 6 months and we've reached the first milestone of breastfeeding.

And on 20th May, we've introduced solid food to Maisarah. I made rice porridge which was pureed with breastmilk. When I fed this to her for the first time, she totally loved it. She got angry when I was slow at feeding her. However, the porridge was quite runny so Maisarah was hungry again half a hour later. I've got this on video but I haven't transferred it over to our laptop. Once it's transferred I've got to remember to upload them here. We fed Maisarah with the porridge once a day for 6 days. Yesterday, I made pureed carrots mixed with a little breastmilk. This time I was sure not to put too much milk or water so that the texture is thicker. Maisarah had no problems eating it but after 10 to 15 spoons, she was full. I think this might be due to the fact that I gave her milk a few minutes before giving her the carrots so she was quite full. I called home earlier today and according to my mom's helper, Maisarah finished her portion for today. So far, Maisarah has no problems with solids. After 4 to 5 days of pureed carrots, I'm going to try giving her apples or spinach.

It's not that difficult to prepare the food and it doeasn't take lots of time too.

• For the rice porridge, I grounded the rice first before washing and cooking it on a slow fire with just enough water to gover it. Then once it's cooked, I pureed it breastmilk until smooth.
• For the carrots, I chopped the carrots and then boiled it with water just enough to cover them. Then once it's soft, puree it with breastmilk and some of the cooking water.

Apart from eating sloids, Maisarah is also very talkative now. Her first word was 'Abah'. FYI, we refer to Shah as "Abah' and me as 'Mommy' whenever we talk to Maisarah. Anyway, Shah was away on a work trip recently and on one of the days he was away, Maisarah kept repeating the word 'Abah' and whenever she saw Shah picture she said 'Abah'. So, maybe she really is referring to Shah when she says 'Abah' but more often then not she says it with out really putting any meaning to the word. So, we'll never know for sure. Lately, when I started giving her solids, Maisarah keeps saying 'Mamma' and sometimes we hear it as 'Mummum'. My mom and aunt thinks that whenever Maisarah say this she is hungry. But this week, I noticed that whenever she says 'Mamma' and I go to her or pick her up she will stop. Does this means she is calling for me? Hmm...again we'll have to wait and see.

What My Hubby Does When I'm Away

He placed my bear and cat on my office chair as though they were busy studying. Sometimes, the cat will be slumped over my keyboard as though working hard all through the night. He also likes to draw animals or silly cartoons on my office white board. Usually when I have visitors who come over to my office, they will ask if my child drew those pictures when in actual fact it is my full grown husband.

These are the things he likes to do to cheer me up.

A Working and Pumping Mom's Review pt 3 - Cooler Bags and Chillers

The last things needed are a cooler bag and chillers to store the expressed milk during the commute to and from work.

1. Moms Precious Smart Pack package - inclusive of Mom's Precious cooler bag, three Mom's Precious ice packs and six Mom's Precious milk storage bottles

It is designed to fit the Spectra 3 breastpump motor on the bottom with a small access at the back to pull out the power cord to be connected to the wall power outlet. This is so that you wont have to take the motor out of the bag to be used. The top part is then used to store the cooler bag. It also comes with a removable mat which can be used to provide a clean surface for moms to work on.

I bought this smart pack because of it's back-pack design and it can fit my pump as well as a cooler bag for my EBM and chillers. When I used the iQ Uno, I placed my EBM, chillers and the breastshield in the cooler bag and pushed the cooler bag right down into the back-pack. Then placed the motor and other stuff on top. Now that I have the Spectra 3, I still can use this bag if I need to bring the Spectra 3 out of the office. Shah and I went for a Java Programming course two weeks ago. It was held in KL near KL*CC area. So every day, Shah and I took the LRT to and fro. I brought with me my Spectra 3 breast pump in the back-pack. I placed the motor at the bottom. The cooler bag was big enough to store 6 milk storage bottles + 2 Spectra breastshields in a ziplock bag + 2 Moms Precious chillers + 1 coleman brite ice. So don't be fooled by the size of the cooler bag. It may look small but it can fit lots of things. Based on my exprience, The cooler bag + 2 Mom's Precious ice packs are able to keep the EBM cooled for up to 12 hours. I've even used it up to 14 hours and I found the the ice packs were completely soft but the EBM was still kept cold.

When I wanted to use the pump, I just threaded the power cord thru the back access, connect the breastshields to the tubing and motor at the front and I was all set to pump. When I was done, I closed the bottles, store the breastshileds back into the zip lock bag and place all into the cooler bag which was in the back-pack all the while. All was done in the bag itself with no risks of leaving anything behind. While on the course, I also brought with me the Avent Isis manual pump in a pouch just incase there was no electricity. It was not that heavy to carry the back-pack with the Spectra 3 to and fro on the LRT.

2. Happy Mother's Set with Techni Ice

This was the first cooler bag and chiller set I bought. The Techni Ice is easy to use and the cooler bag that comes with this set is generous in size. However, based on my experience, this cooler bag would not be able to keep the EBM chilled for more than 8 hours if you use it with the Techni Ice alone. Maybe because the insulation of the bag is not that good. In any case, the bag can be used to store chilled EBM for a short periods of time, for instance when transporting chilled EBM to the nursery or babysitter's place or from office to home. Now I use the Techni Ice as back up chillers in my mom's freezer for instances when there is no electricity at home.

3. Moms Precious Ice Pack

I like using this ice pack as chillers for my EBM. Two ice packs placed in a good cooler bag can keep the EBM chilled for more than 8 hours. The size is small too and it is not heavy when frozen. It also comes with a sleeve so that the condensation from the chiller will be absorbed.

4. Coleman Brite Ice

You can get this at most department stores at their camping/outsdoors section. It is easy t use and is able to keep my EBM chilled for more than 8 hours. However, it is much heavier than the ice packs I mentioned above. Even so, to give me long lasting cooling I use the Brite Ice together with the ice packs every day at the office.

I guess that completes my review. I'm not sure if it will help a lot for any mothers out there who are planning to work and continue breastfeeding. But I just wanted to jot it down for my own notes.

A Working and Pumping Mom's Review pt 2 - Milk Storage

I didn't know that there were more things (other than the pump) needed when wanting to work and still exclusively breastfeed Maisarah until I was introduced to SusuIbu.com which was during my confinement period. You would need some sort of milk storage, a cooler bag and chillers to store the expressed milk during the commute to and from work. In this entry, I will list down my reviews on the milk storage gadgets I've used so far.

1. Moms Precious Milk Storage Bottles pack of six

I use these bottles to store milk after expressing at work. I usually store 4 oz per bottle which is the amount Maisarah drinks each feed. Even when I used the iQ Uno, after each session I will pour the milk into these bottles so that I only have to bring one Avent bottle to work. This save space in my cooler bag and is less in terms of cost. Now that I use the Spectra 3, I express directly into these bottles. This is the great thing about these bottles, it can be used directly with Spectra and Medela breastpumps. Plus it is BPA free. These bottles are certainly very convenient for me and easy to sterilise. I just immerse them in hot water for 10 minutes minimum. These bottles can be used to freeze the breastmilk too. However, I don't use them for frozen breastmilk.

2. Playtex Liners - there are two sizes 8 oz and 4 oz

I use the liners to freeze the expressed breastmilk (EBM). These liners are are be a bit pricey and you can only use them once. I have no choice but to use them as I don't have much space in the freezer so I can't freeze the EBM using the milk storage bottles above. So what I do is, when I get home, I will pour the milk into the liners and then tie it with a rubber band. Then I stand them in a covered plastic container so that it doesnt get contaminated by the odour from the other items in the freezer.

I use the 8 oz liners to store the 4 oz of milk. The most I've filled is 5 oz in each 8 oz liner. This is so that there will be some room to spare before I fold the liners and tie them up. You need to leave some space as breastmilk expands slightly when frozen. The 4 oz liners are used when I express 3 oz and less, i.e. during my confinement period.

3. Medela Milk Collection Shells (not actually milk storage but I'll just include it here)

This is useful when expressing one breast at a time. I use the shell on the breast which is not being expressed to collect milk that flows out whenever I get let down. I actually can collect up to 1oz of milk when engorged. I've also used this on both sides when I was at a seminar and didn't have time to express. So, whenever there was a let down, the milk would be stored and not wasted in the breast pads.

My Recommendation:
If you have ample space in your freezer then just use the Moms Precious Milk Storage Bottles for freezing EBM. You can save costs as it is reusable. Plus you can then thaw the frozen EBM, warm it up and then feed you baby directly by replacing the sealing disc with a teat. This is better than what I'm doing now since Maisarah is still fed using Avent bottles which unfortunately is not BPA free.

The Milk Collection Shells was a good buy for me as I used to leak a lot especially when I did single pumping.

A Working and Pumping Mom's review pt 1 - Breastpumps

When I was pregnant I was determined to breastfeed my baby. However, at that time I only knew that I had to buy a breast pump. In this entry, I will list down my reviews on the breastpumps I've used so far.

1. Avent Isis iQ Uno

I did ask some friends on which breastpump brands were good. They said either Medela or Avent. But my friends were using the Avent Isis so they recommended it to me. They suggested that if I have the money, get the Avent Isis iQ Uno which was an electric pump. I didn't do any research on the pumps so I just decided that I'll get the iQ Uno. This pump is good once you've mastered the technique to relax and get let down. It's not tiring as you only have to pump a few times to set the pumping rythm and then press the button which will automate the pumping. However, since the iQ Uno is a single pump, you need to express each breast one at a time and this can increase the time required to express milk. I've used it at the office and it takes me about 40 minutes to express 6-8 oz from both sides. I've even used it on a few occasions when I had to work out of office. On one of these occasions, I couldn't find a power outlet. The good thing about the iQ Uno is that it also comes with a battery pack and also attachments to make it a manual pump. Unfortunately my battery pack is not working properly so I had to resort to the manual operation.

2. Spectra 3

The difference between Spectra 3 and iQ Uno are:
- you can't control the rythm. With the Spectra 3 you can only control the strength of suction.
- there are no pack up if there is not electricity supply (i.e. no manual attachements or battery pack)
- with the extra breastshieled set you can double pump using the Spectra 3

I bought the Spectra 3 with the extra breastshield set at end of March. The main reason is because I wanted to double pump and shorten the time expressing milk at the office. Plus I've read that double pumping is good to maintain the prolactin enzyme production which is critical for maintaining long-term supply of breastmilk. Now that I've used it for a little over a month, I only need about 15-20 mins to get the same amount (6-8 oz) as the iQ Uno, sometimes even more. With the iQ Uno, I had to do some massages to stimulate let down, then pump and then repeat the process when the milk flow has almost stopped. But with the Spectra 3, I just place the breastshields and then carry on with my work (reading/replying emails, surfing the net etc.) and soon enough I will get let down. So not much effort is needed comapred to the iQ Uno. The suction to me is also not that strong and doesn't hurt as some reviews I read in SusuIbu.com.

My Recommendation:
The Spectra 3 is a value for money double pump (less than RM 450) and the if you need a manual pump for back up get the Avent Isis Manual. Both of this together will be almost the same price as the Avent Isis iQ Uno but with the advantage of double pumping. For speed and maintaining long term milk supply, go for double pumping.

Some updates on Maisarah

Maisarah is already 5 months!! Time sure flew by quickly. Shah and I took her for her 5th month check up at SJ*MC on 18 April. She's now:

Weight = 7.25 kg,
Height = 61 cm (I'm not too sure if this is true, as it was quite difficult to measure her)
Head crcumference = 44 cm

According to the charts, her weight is above the 50th percentile but not her height. She height is infact very much less than the 50th percentile. But the doctor said that height is difficult to measure and she told us not to worry. All in all, she is progressing well.

She can turn over and then turn back to original position. In fact, she can roll over and over effortlessly and this gives me occasional heart attacks especially when I am trying to change her. The moment I turn my back she is a few feet away and ever so close to the ende of the bed. These days diaper and clothes changing is a battle between me and her. She wants to turn while I am trying to clean her bottom or put on her clothes. It takes both Shah and I to change her. Bathing Maisarah is also a nightmare. I usually put her on my lap while I shampoo her head and lather soap on her body but she can't keep still. She's always tossing and turning, looking into the bath tub and wanting to go in. So I end up wet. Once she's in the tub she is calmer and enjoys being washed.

We estimate that she will start crawling pretty soon. She is already able to lift her body and bum but not both at the same time. Every time she lifts her bum, she tends to go backwards which if I'm not mistaken is normal for babies and is the first step towards crawling. Right?

And, she loves screaming or shrieking to be exact. She does this many times during the day and for no apparent reason. Maybe she likes hearing her own voice.

Maisarah came to Uni*en on 24 April

My mum had to go for her doctor's appointment so I had to take care of Maisarah. Unfortunately, I have been using up quite a lot of my annual leave to take care of her previously. So this time, Shah said that he will take leave and take care of Maisarah but instead of both of them being at home, they will also come to work with me. The main reason is because I still am not that confident of driving to work all by myself. But let's just pretend to ignore that. As usual, Maisarah usually wakes up at 5:30 am which is the time Shah and I get up. So it was not a problem to get her ready and we left the house at around 6:45 am. She slept in the car but woke up when we arrived in Uniten. She usually has two 1 hour naps in the morning at 8 am and 11 am but on that day she only napped for 1/2 an hour. Probably because of all the excitement and the new surroundings. Many of our colleagues met Maisarah and she was cuddled and carried around from person-to-person.

At around 10 am she was a bit cranky. I nursed her and at 11:30 or so we went for lunch at Shah's brother's place in Ka*jang as Shah's parents were there. After lunch and Maisarah's nap, we headed back to Uni*en because I had a meeting. Shah took care of Maisarah while I was in the meeting. I left the meeting early as Maisarah was hungry. Once she was full, we then left foe home.

All in all , Maisarah's visit to Uni*en went well. Many of our colleagues said that she is chubby and cute. Some said she looked like me while others said she looks like Shah. We'll certainly bring Maisarah to work again next time.