November 08, 2009

Mission breastmilk: Bits and pieces

On the Montreal – Amsterdam flight, there were only 12 seats at the section that I was sitting and all the seats were full. I didn't inform the crew that I would be occupying the toilet for a long time so when I made a disappearing act to express in the toilet, my absence of conspicuous. One of them came knocking at the door when I was half-way expressing to make sure that I was OK, and not fainted in the toilet :-)

~~~OOO~~~

My breastpump broke while I was expressing at the lounge in Amsterdam airport while on transit home. The pump can still be used but it takes a lot more effort to balance the broken part and work the pump. I have to thank my lucky star it didn't break any earlier, as it would have made my expression sessions much more difficult.


~~~OOO~~~

What's my record output in one single expression session?
13oz!
This was achieved when I had a gap of eight hours between expressions, instead of the usual 5 – 6 hours.

~~~OOO~~~

Yan Yan has no problems at all with nipple confusion or breast rejection. When I offered her the breast upon my return, she didn't hesitate one bit and suckled like a pro, as if I hadn't been away at all. And I'm thankful for this - one less thing to worry about in my next trip - Bangkok for a couple of days at the end of the month. Now that we (Yan Yan and I) survived Montreal, I'm sure Bangkok will be easier.

10 comments:

smallkucing said...

I envy you for having so much milk. Mine was very low :(. It was hard even to get half a oz. Had to give him breast milk and formula for it to be enough.

ryeli said...

wow! 13oz! that is a record man! I've only managed 10-11oz in my time of expressing and that was under Rye Li's time. With Haye Li, no such luck coz i was not consistent with my schedule and hence my output also very sad.

i respect you also coz u're using manual pump. i tried once before and i was not used to it.

LittleLamb said...

wow..really salute ur determination to bf.. keep it up.

lucas'mum said...

Hi, I stumbled upon yr blog from some other mummy's blog. Been reading for a while, but de-lurking now to tell you that I think your dedication to breastfeeding is very admirable!

I am a stay-at-home mum with 2 kids too (my boy is 3 yrs 11 months old and my girl is 10 months old). Breastfed my boy til he was 14 months and now still breastfeeding my girl. Since I don't work, I nurse(d) them both directly. I only expressed on the rare occasions when I needed to be away from them for an extended period of time. I think expressing is a lot of work (equipment to sterilise, etc)! Two questions though: 1) From the photo, it looks like you used a MANUAL pump?!?! If you did, then I'm even more amazed - I find manual pumps to be quite tiring on the hand. 2) How many ozs of BM does Yan Yan drink each time? My girl hasn't taken the bottle in a while, but when she was about 6 months old, she only used to drink about 4-5 ozs each time.

A Mom's Diary said...

Smallkucing - thanks for dropping by. I'm trying to stock up as much as I can while I'm still productive, as "insurance" for later when my production starts to decline :-)

Syn - I'm the opposite. I'm more consistent this time, coz I know I needed to stock up enough for Yan Yan while I was in Montreal so supply is better compared to Yiu Yiu's time. Last time, the most I got was about 8oz only.

I tried using Medela single electric pump during Yiu Yiu's time but didn't like it coz I can't control the suction power and cycle. And I've loved Avent manual pump ever since I made the switch.

LittleLamb - haha, thanks.

Lucas' Mum - thanks for delurking yourself :-) I TOTALLY agree with you, expressing is HARD WORK but what to do, just trying to give my best to my girls. Life is an endless cycle of pumping, sterilising, pumping, sterilising...haha.

1) Yes, I'm using Avent manual pump, and I've loved it ever since I switched to it after using Medela single electric pump for a while with Yiu Yiu. Was contemplating Medela PIS to cut short the pumping time but it's just too costly.

2) At 3.5months now, Yan Yan takes between 3-4 oz each time, so I think your girl's intake is pretty OK.

michelle@mybabybay said...

Wow you must be expressing hard to break the pump. But I really salute you.

2ma said...

i salute you super mum!!

A Mom's Diary said...

Michelle - I think I didn't clip the handle on properly so it broke when I exerted pressure.

2ma - no la, just trying to do my best for baby.

lucas'mum said...

heard medela PIS is great for working mums.. it's a double pump and the motor is more powerful (than say, a single electric pump), so it gets the job done much faster.. should invest in one if you plan to breastfeed for at least anothr year (or plan to have another child!)..

i used to use the avent manual pump too for my boy, but when my girl came along, i got a medela swing.. as i rarely express, that's more than enough for me..

well done on yr dedication to BF.. i truly believe that formula is but a very poor imitation.. "Jia you!"

A Mom's Diary said...

Lucas' mum - Yiu Yiu was exclusively on bm for 15months, so I guess I'll try to do the same for Yan Yan but despite this, I still think Medela PIS is too expensive :-)