P.S. Don’t worry and don’t feel sorry for asking so many questions.
If one don’t have any questions then it will be weird coz as a mommy myself I do have lots of questions. Hehe… All thanks to my mom, my sister, my mommy friends and forums who have guided me through this journey.
.
.
so
high demand = high supply
.
.
less demand = less supply
I went online to bought this malunggay tea. Is approved by HSA so is safe to drink and well known in Philippines to increase milk supply. Not only in can increase milk supply, this tea also contains a lot of vitamins like A, B, C and E etc.. But results varies from individual.. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try.
So I do latching, pumping and drinking tea to increase my supply. Surprisingly my supply did increase. Of coz I’m very happy!! Haha..
Of coz there is hard work behind it.
I started pumping almost every 3-4 hrly, no matter whether I have latched on a not or whether I how many mls I have pump out. I did this for few weeks. Finally this is where I see an increase of my milk supply. Yes you must be consistent..
And when my supply increases slowly I stretch out the pumping timing to suits my schedule when I go back to work. And to achieve this, the few weeks you must really pump at those timing you have set, otherwise your milk supply will decrease. It takes a lot of hard work, planning and your beauty sleep, but trust me, when u see your fridge is full of milk and ur baby smile after a full milk drink, you will feel that all this worth while.
As for how I keep my milk when my supply is low which means i can’t fill up the bottles full, I will top up with my next pump. I will only top up full maximum 2 days, not more then that. Depends on individual some ppl prefer not to, for me its ok, and my baby reacts fine with it. After finishing topping up the bottles, i will then freeze it. Up to today even though I have high supply, I also do the same thing. Currently I’m using glass bottles(100/120mls) and Avent VIA cups (180mls) to store my breast milk. Of coz I wouldn’t pump so accurate, definitely one bottle or cups will be either more or less, so I will just top up one bottle or cup to full, and the other which is not filled will wait for the next pump to top it up. 🙂
Coz it’s wasted to throw away and also waste the bottle/fridge space. Of coz your hands must be clean when handling all the bottles while pouring or transferring.
How I schedule feed her….
When my baby Yi He starting to go infant care as I’m going back to work soon. I decided to pump fully, so that she can have schedule feed which allow me to rest more when I’m back to work.
So one day I decided to feed her on schedule. I’m not sure whether it works a not but I just give it a try. When I started the first feed it was 530pm, but clueless on how many mls I should give her (the school have been feeding her 60mls 2hrly, but when I feed her at home she drink between 80mls to 120mls), I start her with 120mls, but that feed she drink only 100mls. So I time 4 hrs later will be 930pm.
“Why 4hrly, because after each feeding, normally she will cry for hunger 4hrs later. That’s when you have to take note when ur baby cry for milk, don’t just follow my schedule. I have searched online a lot on schedule feeds, some feed 5hrly with 120mls up to 180mls etc.. so most importantly schedule based on your baby cues and need.”
True and luckily enough 4hrs later she cry for milk. I was quite worried what happen if she doesn’t and my schedule will be mess up. So at 930pm she drink another 100mls. After 930pm feed, will be 130am feed. So I patiently wait (yes no sleeping) until 130am for her to wake up but to my dismay SHE DIDN’T WAKE UP FOR MILK!! Alamak! Just nice I was whatsapp-ing with my sister so I ask her how ah? Should I wake her up for milk, she said since she’s sleeping better not. I was thinking about the same thing also, because once you start this habit of waking her up to drink, when she grow up, she will have this habit also. But on the other hand I also scared my schedule will be in a mess. T.T
About 515am ~ Started her sucking action. Time for her milk! That’s 8hrs straight! Woohoo.. And the rest of the days is the usual 4hrly feeding. I told the infant care regarding her schedule feed, I ask them to follow but in case she’s not comfortable with it, she need not follow it. Most importantly is make sure my baby needs are satisfied rather then satisfying my own schedule. I can reschedule it if she can’t follow.
Luckily she manage well.
So far she has been coping well to the schedule. 😀 If u ask when to increase her feed or when to lengthen her feeding time schedule when she’s older, I got no clue, most importantly is to look out for her cues. That’s how I plan her schedule.
Currently her schedule feed is at follow (u can use it as a guideline, do not force or wake ur child up to force feed)
All the best to those who are breast feeding, trying to breast feeding and or thinking about breast feeding.
Hopefully my article is useful to all mommy out there.
*All recommendation and tips are serve as a guideline for you. Products mention has been bought and used by me, not from any source of sponsorship , unless mention. So please use at your own discretion. Before trying out any new product please check your medical condition ok, I do welcome any feedback from the products I have use and recommend so that me and other mommies out there can benefit :D*
Have A Say