Monday, May 11, 2009

Pumping Is An Uphill Climb

"Aisyah habiskan 5 oz sekali minum. Hari ni dia minum dua botol!" said Ayah, as he beamed proudly at me as I picked up Aisyah and planting a big kiss on her forehead, as I always do the minute I got back from Uni. And Ayah was reporting me the developments that I have missed during the day.


This piece of news I received warmly. It had been a struggle to get Aisyah interested in drinking the amount of EBM that she was supposed to the last few months. Mainly because she flat-out refused Hubs' attempts at shoving the bottle down her throat. Or maybe she was lashing out at me for leaving her so long during the day. Or maybe she was too busy figuring out how to crawl. Or maybe she's adjusted to the routine of not seeing me during the day and is now okay with it. Or perhaps the fact that she can now hold the bottle by herself made her drink her EBM more willingly. Or she's just going thro a growth spurt now and needs more milk. Whatever it is, it's a good piece of news and hopefully it will show on her weigh-in session next week. I'm getting pretty tired of hearing the 'she's-a-little-small-for-her-age' talk from the health visitors.


Anyway, this means that I need to get more milk pumped during the day. Not something I look forward to, seeing that I am already low :( I never really thought that it could happened to me though, my supply was good and always over the top. I could stock the fridge from end to end. But that was five months ago, maybe. How can getting 4 oz per br3ast gets miserably down to 4 oz per pumping session? *SIGH*


I have a new found appreaciation for mothers who pump at work during the day after their baby is 6 months, and an even higher admiration for those who can continue to do so until the baby is two years old. Never mind that it takes much time, it is pretty much testing a mother's last straw. But still, it's okay, as long there's enough to go around.


I also noticed that the more I eat, the more I can get pumped. Now I understand why cows graze all the time *Duh* Anyway, I have unintentionally (but very, very gladly) lost some unwanted weights, I thank the walks and exercizes and tight daily routines I have to face each day and pushing almost 20 kilos of weight uphill (stroller + Aisyah + groceries) on our weekly grocery shopping. So having shed a few kilos, I feel a bit reluctant to start grazing again, although I know I'm allowed 500 calories more from my daily intake than an average non-breastfeeding women. Ah, dilema, dilema... what to do... what to do...


Also the fact that I still 'hutang posa tahun lps' means that I have to qadha' my fast mid-summer. Where the fast starts from 2.30 am till almost 9 pm. You bet your ass I'm also gonna lose weight from that. So how to increase milk supply woh?


Some suggested air longan, but where in the UK can I get that? I tried parsnips (lobak putih), loads of it, that my taste bud no longer detects its rasa yg supposedly pahit maung, anymore, it just tastes normal now, but no effect, it seems. Horlick? Not seeing much improvement either. But Oats, yes. That seems to be helping. I can handle having oats for breakfast every morning. It's not like I can just stop on the way to Uni and beli nasi lemak tepi jalan anyway. Huhu... I miss Nasi Lemak Bungkus... yang buat sendiri x sama... huhu...


Anyway, still staying very ceria and positive thinking here. I know a lot of Moms are in the same boat, just writing my piece of mind so that you guys know that we are in this together. Be strong, ladies. We can do it! Insya Allah ada rezeki utk anak2 kita, cuma kena teruskan bersabar... Ayuh lah berjuang!

7 comments:

Lia Sakinah said...

Admire your spirit...chaiyo2 noris!
Ade try minum milkmaid tea/fenugreek leaf? Dulu sy prnh try minum, mcm ade kesan jugakla...tpi since qystina refuse nk direct bfeed, xde original suction, lama2 susu kering jugak...sob sob... hrp2 adik dia lahir nti, leh la bg qystina EBM semula. Really miss those breastfeeding moments...

Btw, seronok tgk perkembangan aisyah... dh makin cerdik dia yek... :-)

noris said...

lia:
lama menyepi...

hehe, lom, saya x terbeli lg milkmaid tea tu.. mahal giler kat sini... tgk kat ebay dlm 7 pound peket kecik... lg murah masa saya beli kat msia itu ari... ntah la, kalo terdesak nnt mungkin terpaksa cuba jg, hehe..

Jia said...

jia da masalah yg sama la noris..stok susu makin sikit, production pn da kurang tp prmintaan semakin tinggi..skrg nie masa kt nursery..aqil minum 4 x 4 oz..mkn 3 kali sehari, bekfes. lunch n dinner petang..
masalahnya skrg pump susu nk dapat 6++ oz pun susah berbanding dulu,one pumping session bleh dpt 12 oz (masa blk dr lab susu da penuh) kuikui..kene berusaha lebih kuat lg ni..cayo'2..utk noris juga..

yzmahoney said...

same juge disini!!! kekadang maid kite selambe jer kasi rayyan minum susu yg 2.5 - 3oz jer...walhal sbnrnyer die minum 4 oz!! sian abg rayyan kite nih..pastuh klu die nangis bibik pujuk suruh tdo..last2 die tdo jugak walaopun x brp kenyang... tp pastuh bile kite dtg..haa amik ko..balas dendam habis habisan..klu blh nk masuk skali 2 nenen dlm mulut! hehehe comel sgt!!!

Anonymous said...

wah...ayuh...you can do it! eheheeh Sori la aku tk reti nk nyampuk lebih2..sbb tk dok dlm boat 'pumping' yang sama..kekeke

noris said...

jia:
4 x 4oz yeh... bagus, mmg patut minum byk tu pon, tp tu la, jenuh nak memerah... kuat kan smgt, teruskan! hehe...

yzma:
fuh, balas dendam, tu yg x tahan tu... sama la ngan aisyah... eh, korang, kita lately nih mcm sore sket kat nip*le kalo aisyah nyusu. x tau dia dah besar sedut makin kuat ke apa. dia mmg dah ada gigi, tp dia bkn jenis gigit la so far (alhamdulillah). korg ada x rasa camtu? harapnya sbb dia dah makin terror sedut ... best jg bila ramai2 admit ada masalah sama ni.. xla daku rasa kesedorgan meneruskan perjuangan ini... hehe

shue:
tq... tq... x pe, it's never too early to prepare for the future... tp tu la psl, tiap2 kalo geng kita plan benda ad hoc ptg2 spt minumm kopi / lepak pizza, aku mesti lambat giler sampai, sbb pkl 5 lebih tu adalah waktu pumping aku. budhet dlm setengah jam la, baru dapat sukatan yg perlu.... huhu...

miSs inTerpReted said...

oyis!!! kita pon hadapi the same prob..bekalan makin sket. tsk.

ingat nak beli la teh yg jual kat sini ala-ala milkmaid tea tu. nak try upkan sket production.