experience  regarding tandem nursing...

After finding out I'm pregnant last Feb,...the first thing that strike my mind is...could I make it ...I mean..would I be able to bf my son until he's 2 years old...??? it's bcoz from the first day he was born I'm determine to give bm till he's 2 years of age. The reason for me to have such determination despite any probs. that might occur during this 2 years bfg..is because... my religion (Islam) strongly recommend bfg until the age of 2. This fact is also supported by researchers of science..and I'm pretty sure all of you gals know that bm is the best milk for our children..no matter how
good is the formula ..still ..bm is the number 1.It's also proven that children that drink bm is much brighter then those who depend on the fomula eversince they were born.

Now..that's the 1st question that arise..So..what's the 2nd question..? Yup..you bet..the big question is ...would my bm sufficient for my son? Does he get enough nutrition from his mummy's bm(even though there's his little bro/sis inside his mummy's womb) ?...you sure bet these are not the only question that lingers in my mind...coz...suddenly..one more question pop up in my mind...the statement that says "it could effect the baby in the womb of a mother that bf during her pregnancy" did make me worried.So..without much hesitation..I decided to consult my doc and
also my fellow friends (luckily, I've a number of friends that are docs)...They said that it's no harm if you still bf your child during your pregnancy at a certain limit of time..The only thing is that...make sure you stop by the time you're 7 months pregant. This is bcoz..if you continue to bf after you're 7 months pregnant..the bm would not be suitable for your newborn...in a nutshell....let the bm take a few months to prepares itself for the newborn without any disturbances.

Pregnancy did reduce my bm quantity.But..never mindlah..as long as I
still could give bm to my son till he's tummy is full..that's not a big deal...So now I hope that my explaination had satisfied all those big question marks in your mind...Last but not least..continue this meaningful corresponding and sharing experince as a mother...coz as you know...being a mother is a special gift from god to us that couln't be replaced by any precious gift in the entire world... :)))) (Husna)

Nursing despite inverted nipples

I too have got inverted nipples but have been able to breastfeed directly. With my first child though I tried nipple shield I found that it was quite difficult as the shield kept slipping away. Somehow I had some sense to express and feed for 3 months. But one thing a Paed said was, a baby suckles the areola and not the nipple. With my second son, I was in UH and it supports BF. One of the nurses there shared how she had succesfully fed her 4 children with inverted nipples and that gave me a boost....if she can, I can. Suprisingly, though I had initially bottlefed epressed milk, he finally learned to latch on at the 3rd month...I took off from there and bF till 8mths and he weaned himself off probably due to increasing bottle feeding....actually I thought BF for 6 mths is good enough till I joined this group. Now with my 3rd son I intend to do it as long as possible. I initially did not mind the formula and bottle feeding as I did not want him to end up having jaundice like the previous 2. The key Pumping definitely helps to draw the nipples out and toughens them. Try to use the pump to draw out he nipple and then try to get the baby to attach by gently pulling down the lower jaw to encourage the mouth to open. You will most probably have to go through some nipple soreness but it will be okay in time. Don't listen to all the negative comments. Get the baby to the breast b4 he?/she? gets too hungry. You will actually see the nipple drawn out beautifully when the baby releases the suction. So, best of luck as you try this, do feel free to ask me and I really want to let all the inverted nippled moms who think they can't directly feed know it is not impossible and absolutely possible. Angeline

Share experience with new moo-mies who have returned to work after confinement and find that their milk supply has dropped.

When I first returned to work after a blissful 2 months of unrestricted breastfeeding, I also noticed a drop in my milk supply. Initially, the first 4 weeks were still o.k.... my McB's (breasts) would be full and leaking after 3-4 hours and if I didn't express immediately, I would end up with breast engorgement. That happened a few times. Then gradually, I noticed that I was expressing less and less milk .. down to 2oz per session. I began to panic and would try out all sorts of methods to increase my milk supply. I tried Lilian's fenugreek soup, fenugreek tea, nursing tea, fennel tea, kurma, papaya soup and Appeton C18 vit/min supplement (Sze2x recommendation). At the same time I was expressing twice a day at work. Somehow all these did not produce any significant improvement. Maybe I was just too impatient as I tried only once or twice with each food item. I thought fenugreek was o.k. but realised that it contributed an odour to my body that Joe Yue disliked. I'm still taking Appeton C18 though for my general well- being. Anyway, I decided to see a lactation consultant for some professional advice. With some advice from her and a tip from Jen, our Canadian member , I noticed that my milk supply has increased to 3 - 4 oz each session now. Sometimes I can even get 5oz. To cut things short, here's my advice to increase your milk supply:

1. Express after you've bf your baby just to make sure your breasts are emptied.

2. Express 3 times at work. I do it at 9.15 am (after bf Joe Yue before leaving the house), 12.15p.m. and 3.30p.m. I bf Joe Yue at 7.30p.m. when I've returned home. The more you express, the more milk your body produces.

3. Take brewer's yeast. Yes, it's a tip from Jen. I've just started on brewer's yeast and find that it helps to boost my milk supply. The taste of BY is nothing to shout about so I take it (1 tbs) with Milo (2 tbs) and 1/2 cup water and gulp everything down in one go. Brewer's yeast is very rich in Vitamin B and amino acids (building blocks of protein), and can be taken up to 4 tbs daily.

4. Before expressing, massage the area all around your breasts (1" from your areola) with three fingers, making small circles and concentrating on each spot for a few seconds. Then lightly brush your fingers towards the areola. This is to stimulate the "let-down"

5. Do not wean your baby from middle-of-the-night feeds which are important to maintaining your milk supply. Of course that's difficult for those of use who have to work the next day. Just try to catch up with sleep on weekends or try to go to bed early (just as your baby has gone to dreamland).

6. Try the soups, teas and all the other milk boosters mentioned in our website as they have been proven effective for other moo-mies.

7. Last and not least, have a positive attitude! Very important! Phew, that's the longest mail I have written so far! Happy trying! - Christine