The Original Juice

Mon, 12th Oct 09 (6months 2 weeks old)

Courtesy of two of my Besties, Hairiah and Fit, I managed to see a lactation consultant in the comfort of my room.

She came at 6pm. I beamed when she remarked how strong/tough Tufeil is sitting upright and what a lovely happy family we have at home everybody laughing away.

LC commented right away that my skin is very dry. then set about to remove the plug with a sterile needle. Again. this is the 3rd time! Sis and mum winced and squirmed, which in turn made me wary too though i didnt even glance at the needle. Actually.. the needle wasn't too painful, Tufeil's improper latch hurt more but her nails were poking at me! Ouch!

At first she told me that the duct might be OUT OF ORDER for now. But not to worry, i have plenty of other ducts to continue supply. In fact, she did remark on its abundance. So that's really one biggest worry that she had lifted for me.

After 3 months, milk in that duct has hardened. Although she kept picking at it in an effort to open it up, she didnt risk to go any deeper lest more blood and scar would occur. Told me that the skin will heal and the scab will drop on its own. (That's what i thought would happen 3 months ago!)

Alhamdulillah in the end, i managed to squeeze milk out from the blocked duct!! However, she still prescribed to me

1. longgg warmmm showers and
2. Lanolin afterwards as well as
3. Breast Compression when pumping to aid the Medela Mini Electric. (Really when she did it, a lot of milk came out fast and furious when previously, i had been complaining of little and slow flow)

With regards to Tufeil's latch, she actually didn't comment/teach much. Problem being T kept getting distracting by the LC's voice when trying to guide me. He wriggled so much!!!! But a few pointers i picked up:

1. prop a pillow under my thigh/knee when sitting cross legged to support the elevation
2. keep pushing it inwards so baby can get the whole areola
3. keep baby's head close to you.

I also found that Hairiah's style for side lying position suits better for me and baby. That is elbow on the bed, but hands supporting your head. ie more upright. After latch is on, i will slowly lower myself into a more comfortable position.

Thank you to ALL my friends for your concern and support. I believe things will get better from here on out. Ameen.

Ok i'm currently blogging from BOTH sites ie BLOGGER as well as WORDPRESS.

The latter is for password protected entries. Click on the "password" page for hints. Or just email me to ask/confirm/verify. If the PW doesnt work, sorry, not for you. :P

ANyway, i'm having a HEADACHE with these blog templates.

The other time i got a nice orange template all set and lovely... BUT there were a few flaws, that is they didn't insert the code/design for Bullet points (prolly for quotes too) and they didn't have the blogger Dashboard header, and when i inserted codes for my Nuffnang Ads/Counter, it doesn't appear!

This current one is too cramped. So i'm still on the hunt for the PERFECT one. So God Help Me.

Features i like:

1. White background
2. Orange coloured theme
3. Right sidebar
4. two columns ONLY
5. STRETCHED
6. Not flowery
7. Not dark
8. No random model nor celebrities
9. No navigational

Do continue to check my Wordpress for password protected entries.

Ash ever said that whenever she sleeps in my room she will get nightmare.

Well... can't blame her... i get nightmares often too... so much so that i've quite used to it already that i dont remember it.

Mostly it's like being chased, teeth dropping out, swollen tongues, Tsunamis.... but lately its been ghoulish too! It's like getting trapped in a Harry Potter movie with strange creatures trying to kill my character. at some point i seemed detached from it and watching from behind but i feel the fear all the same.

Maybe its the Vampire books i've been reading, its a chick lit really but with vampire theme, or maybe because i was facing left when i slept. i definitely read all the prayers and verses before i sleep.

All these non-stop running in dream and waking up every 1-2hr to feed Tufeil is making me super tired!

Baby, when are you gonna start sleeping through the night again?

When Tufeil was 3 months old i suffered from a Plugged Duct on my left side.

How i knew it was a plugged duct? Only the bottom part was engorged and not the rest. and a yellowish dot sprouted. Called a friend and she said to just continue nursing the babe on that side and it will go away... The engorgement was gone in slightly more than 24hours. but the DOT did not.

For the next month i suffered from searing pain during and AFTER feeding. I read up more on the internet and realised its prolly due to poor position/latching. So i started sitting up when giving on my injured side to properly align his tummy to my tummy and such. The pain was gone during the 2nd month but the dot was still as prominent as ever.

On top of that, my supply was also affected. Very little and the flow was VERY SLOWWW!!! 30min pump to get 80ml at the most if i was lucky.

Then come the 3rd month, the pain was back again. So I called KKH's lactation nurse. She told me to just keep rolling it and to use warm packs to dislodge the plug but to call her if it doesnt work. Well.. i can't really tell her if it works or not cos i had NO CLUE HOW TO DO IT! I mean what does "rolling" entail? and i have a hot/cold pack but im not sure how to heat it? and how to hold it if its HOT, damn it!

So i just bore the pain... Until...

The thursday before the Hari Raya weekend, i woke up with extreme pain. I called in sick. (Or is it the other way around? *Wink*) Went to the GP and she poked me w a sterile needle. She said it worked on the last and only patient she had for this condition. But milk still didnt come out. She thought it might be cause the milk just below the plug has hardened and told me to continue with warm pack. When i exasperatedly told her i dont know how she told me to use WARM towel.

Er..... I didn't get the 2 days MC as intended. You see.. one of the CAUSES of plugged duct is fatigue and i sure am fatigued! and needed ample of rest and relaxed nursing sessions to cure it.. and right ambience to "Air it" (like you could air it at work, huh!) but still didnt get... Aiyah!


As it prolonged... my supply has decreased even more! Average i can only get 40ml over a 30min period of expressing. Its sooo tiring lor! But i know this is because im afraid to give baby my injured side. My mind was practically flinching at the thought of the incoming pain. But i still manage to pump between 350 - 400ml a day for baby. How? My right side compensated for it. Alhamdulillah.


Second Hari Raya weekend was a nightmare! Left side got engorged. this time it is milk blister. The difference? Its clear and look like a blister on your foot lor! Mum helped me a lot applying the HOT towel and massaging me. Thank god for that cos im sooo scared of hot water i can't think of squeezing the towel! no way! Again, in about 30hours, the engorgement was gone, but not the blister.

This time around i was wiser. I used a moist cloth to rub the blister away! But it wasn't that easy. At first, i managed to deflate it.. i think there was a hole somewhere... but in a second it would be filled with milk again. It took prolly a week. I got fed up and literally PICKED at it and tore the skin away. i dont want another duct to be clogged ok! The supply is already dismal enough!

THEN! at work when i pumped, BLOOD oozed out instead of milk. there were like 5 GIANT DROPS. I paused and expressed the other side first and returned to it and it was ok. The next time it happened a few days later, it persisted even after leaving it to air dry for a bit. It came out to 30ml of 80% blood!

I was scared shitless, i tell you! How how how?! i screamed in my head. If i dont pump, i wont have enough for baby. If i continue to pump blood, i will prolly faint from its loss! Oh God oh god!
I called a few friends who told me to put ice on it to heal as you would to a nosebleed or something. and hold off the pumping for a few hours.

But im still worried, it was 4pm and the last pumping session was 8:30am! If i dont pump soon, the body would prolly think baby is not drinking and produce even less milk. not to mention it was starting to engorge. but supply was my ultimate worry.

I got in touch with a private lactation consultant. She could see me the very next day! Which was a friday. I was sooo happy! "Finally, i can fight this supply issue with proper positioning!" i thought. When i asked what do i do now? she told me to pump on the LOWEST pressure.

When i got home i did just that and then nursed Tufeil on that same side too and it was all ok.

Then i started to reconsider my appointment w the consultant. Do i really need it? For one, i dont have $100 to spare. For another, i have a busy day of PLAY @ Work with the mid-autumn celebration PLUS i also have a much awaited lunch appointment. So i decided to cancel it. I promised to myself to read more on positioning the baby and correct it myself.

BMSG - Breastfeeding Mother Support Group (Singapore) FINALLY returned my call. Their consultant can pay me a visit at $65. OK i think i will consider that at the next pay day.

Ya Allah, please help me enjoy breastfeeding.

1. I cant help looking at toddlers and young boys, laughing at their antics and think, "How will my Tufeil be?"
2. After having Tufeil, I absolutely CANNOT READ about abuse to children or sick ones. i will definitely CRY!
3. Ash thinks Tufeil will be one of those children who will skip crawling stage and straight to walking. Me thinks, "Please crawl first. i wanna see u crawl, please."
4. He went for 6months development check up this morning. Weight: 7.6kg, Height: 76cm mum thought. Hmmm but can't be so tall?? *shrug* dont know.
5. I can't help it!! I bought Tufeil a $49 bear with a big mirror on its belly cum music plus everything from Mothercare. Now I need suction bottom toys. For Tufeil, that is. LOL

Er... im pretty sure there's more but can't think right now

2nd /3rd Oct 09 - 6months 5days old


Thurs night i finally went to Kiddy Palace to hunt for Baby's food. Two of my friends recommended Heinz Baby Cereal - White Rice. Somehow, i couldn't find it but settled for PUreed pear in a small jar instead @ $1.89


Mummy fed him that first day. Asked her to give after his mid day milk. Although Tufeil has been grabbing at other pple's food and drinks a lot, he still has this knack for thrusting his tongue out as if drinking milk. So... more practices needed, babe!


Sat, was too tired to go visiting. So instead i spent quality time at home with the baby.. just napping away mostly. Also got the chance to feed him myself! Recorded this with camera in my left hand, spoon in my right and bowl on my lap!

In the evening, with nobody at home and nothing much to do, i suddenly got an idea, "Hey let's cook some food for Tufeil."

Boiled a stick of carrot and a piece (bud?) of potato till soft. Lucky i remembered to grate the skin off the carrot first. I'm THAT amateurish at cooking, i admit. Then mashed them manually using this mini pestle somebody gave as present.

Showed Tufeil the mashed carrots - he seemed interested enough!

Alas, i think the carrot wasn't soft yet. I still got some flaky stuff in the lot.. or is it because it didn't grate it deeper ie some skin is still there?

I remembered Butterflyrubrics telling me to add EBM to veges but not fruit since the latter are already sweet, so that the babe would have a taste of something new as well as the familiar old mother's milk. Added some 50ml to this batch of tray!

When parents got home, i saw Mum bought this for Tufeil.


I got two mixed feelings. Initially, i felt happy that Mum remembered Tufeil while shopping in JB. But for another, Hmmm i wanted to be the one deciding which one exactly to buy. Both me and mum were upset over this episode.


Reason i'm being very particular is bcos i dont want Tufeil to get constipated like Syifaa' did when she started on cereal suddenly! but one of the besties said its better not to sweat the small stuff and that its something working mothers hafta contend with. Besides, as long as the baby is breastfed, INsya'Allah with God's grace, he will not have a prolonged episode of constipation.


So help us, ya Allah.

26th, 27th Sep 09 - Exactly 6 months old.


In Malay (or is it Singapore's?) Culture, we celebrate Eid for the whole month of Syawal - logic being we fasted for all 30 days of Ramadhan. So 2nd weekend is pretty much filled with MORE visiting!

I think we didnt visit much on sat and only come up with 2 interesting nice pictures:

@ Aunty Roza's place



Kak Lina's (Aunty Roza's daughter) place




Babies asleep!




I'm wondering myself if i'd be prone to Alzheimer's disease at a young age, though God forbids. But look, no pictures = no recollection. How??

MOved to wordpress. Again. maybe temporary. Again. But Let's see.

go to: http://jussaemon.wordpress.com and go to http://jussaemon.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/ive-moved/ to see the reason why.