Ministry Of Health Malaysia - Exclusive Breastfeeding Awareness 2015

Of my 3 girls, I breastfed Cass, my youngest daughter for the longest period. Over 3 years of blissful bonding between the two of us seemed long yet too short! It was the 3 most cherished years that I had with Cass, my last baby.

When I was pregnant with Cass, I told myself that I would have no other ways of feeding her except to breastfeed her exclusively for as long as I could. Well, I wanted to save money on expensive baby formula and most of all, I wanted the best for her. And I was lazy too - lazy to prepare formula milk at ungodly hours, lazy to sterilize bottles and I did not want to waste money spending on expensive baby bottles.





Above: Chubby Cass at slightly over a  month old in May 2008. She was breastfed on demand exclusively.

That was the best decision I made for Cass. I successfully breastfed her for over 3 years - direct feeding, sans any milk bottle. It was so convenient and I did not lose any sleep as we co-slept. For over 3 years, Cass slept under my armpit and I breastfed her on demand. She slept very well and so did I. When she was hungry in the middle of the night, my boops were readily available for her :) When she was in pain, my boops were there to soothe her. There was not a single time that I denied her of my boops, except the time when she was in the hospital before and after her surgeries. We have saved so much money on baby formula, baby bottles and even on sanitary pads for 3 years! For 3 years, I was on 'menopausal mode' with no menstruation as I was breastfeeding.





It’s never too early to start thinking about how you're going to feed your baby. Today, many women are choosing to breastfeed their babies. The benefits of breastfeeding your baby are manifold.

Benefits of breastfeeding your baby:
Breast milk is the only natural food designed for your baby.
Breastfeeding protects your baby from infections and diseases.
It’s available whenever and wherever your baby needs a feed.
Breast milk is non-toxic and not contaminated.
Breast milk is full of vitamins, minerals and precious anti-bodies to protect baby from a wide range of diseases and ailments like diarrhea, respiratory infections, allergies and much more.
Breast milk is easily digestible.
Breast milk is always at the right temperature.
Encourages brain development.
It can build a strong physical and emotional bond between mother and baby.
It can give you a great sense of achievement.

Why breastfeeding is good for mommies?
Reduces chances of getting breast cancer
Burns calories (up to 600 calories per day) and helps you to get back into shape at a faster pace.
It's FREE!

When I was still breastfeeding Cass, the news on the hundreds of babies and toddlers in China who died and left in critical condition due to ingestion of baby formula adulterated with poison left me heartbroken. I felt the pain of the mothers who lost their babies. With mother's milk, you will have no doubts on the milk that your baby drinks.

When Cass was just a few months old, both Alycia and Sherilyn were down with chicken pox. I was worried sick that Cass would be infected by the chicken pox virus too. And there was no way that I could leave them and seek refuge with Cass some where else while they recuperated from chicken pox at home. I had to care for 2 sick kids and nurse an infant. Thankfully, Cass was spared from the chicken pox virus, all thanks to my anti-bodies that she ingested from the breast milk as I have had chicken pox before!

Breastfeeding is the healthiest way to feed your baby. Exclusive breastfeeding (giving your baby breast milk only) is recommended for around the first six months (26 weeks) of your baby's life. After that, giving your baby breast milk alongside other food will help them continue to grow and develop healthily.

The Ministry of Health of Malaysia is strongly encouraging all new mothers to breastfeed their babies. The Ministry is also encouraging spouses to support their wives in this area.

Whether you nurse your baby for days, weeks, months, or years, you will both benefit. If you are a new mother and are still hesitant to begin breastfeeding your baby, it's always worth giving breastfeeding a try. Even if it doesn’t work out, you can always stop nursing at any point. Take it one day at a time and remember than even one feeding at the breast provides important benefits to both you and your baby.

Quirky Yet Adorable Habit

My 4.5 YO baby girl has a quirky yet adorable habit.  She loves smelling my clothes!  Not just any clothes but worn ones and stinky ones which has mummy's scent!  Just a moment ago, after showering her, I removed my partially wet nightie and threw it on the floor.  My baby girl instinctively picked up my nightie and held it to her chest, lovingly as if telling me "why throw this on the floor" and smelling the dirty nightie as if the dress had some really sweet smelling perfume that could comfort her body and mind!

On some days, Cass would rummage through my drawer to fish out the nightie with the strongest mummy scent so that she could hold it to sleep at night. She would fish out each nightie - sniff it, put it back, fish out another one and sniff it... and continue doing this until she finds one that has the strongest 'perfume'!  Usually, she would pick up the oldest nightie with my body smell deeply embedded in the fabric. None of my girls has done this in the past and I guess this closeness that Cass has to me is contributed by the 3 years of breastfeeding her and having her sleep with hubs and I for 3 frigging long years! :)

Finally After 27 Months

For 2 years 3 months, I had not had my menses as I was and is still breastfeeding Baby. Over the past 1-2 weeks, my milk factory has sort of shut down by default. It sort of wants to tell Baby to stay away from mummy's boobies as she's getting older now. 2 days ago, my menses came back after 27 long months of experiencing menopausal symptoms!

When Baby saw the pad stuck to my panty, she was terrified! She kept saying "What's that on your panty? I don't want!" I guess the pad reminded her of some pads used after her surgery. Her memory is very good and she still remembers the hospital, the X-ray rooms and I think she still remembers her 3-week stay in the hospital after her surgery last year.

Yesterday, she saw the red stuff when I was in the bathroom. She showers with me together everyday. She was both stunned and curious.

BBC - why got blood? Cheh cheh hit you?

Me - no....

BBC - lizard bit you?

Me - no....

BBC - cockroach bit you?

Me - no....

BBC - why (got blood)?

LOL!!!! She's too cute with all her questions and expressions. Naive and simply adorable.

My Choice Of Breastfeeding-Friendly Clothes

When I first started breastfeeding Baby, I bought expensive nursing tops imported from the U.S. and expensive tube bras. Each top cost over a hundred ringgit. After nursing Baby for almost a year, I discovered that I need not buy imported expensive nursing tops. I discovered that cheap dresses and tops (less than a hundred ringgit) can also facilitate breastfeeding very easily and efficiently. Many of my friends and relatives often ask how I let Baby latch on in the car or in a restaurant so easily like I am a pro. Sometimes it's so discreet that no one ever notices. I use a shawl to cover my shoulders and Baby - no need to buy expensive breastfeeding covers. My choice of breastfeeding-friendly clothes are clothes that are:

1) Designed with a deep v-neck collar -- worn with a tube bra (without wire. I hate wired bras!). To breastfeed - just pull the top of the tube bra down. The deep v-neck collar top/dress is low enough to open up one side to facilitate breastfeeding.

2) Low cut dresses or tops -- worn with an inner tube or tube bra.

3) Dresses and tops made from stretchable fabric. My favorite is poly-cotton. They are cheap, does not need any ironing, cooling and stretchable.

4) Dresses and tops that have elastics / garters at the chest area so that it's easily pulled down to facilitate breastfeeding.

5) Get cheap tube bras. I am small size and petite. Scarlet brand from Jusco has very cheap tube bras (comes in many attractive colors) for teenagers. Yes, I can still fit into a teenager bra haha!

6) Buy clothes that come with a built-in bra / padding. Try Elle Sports or even Scarlet brand - at the bra section.

7) Get cheap and funky tube bras from those shops at Times Square KL.

Oh yes, you may also get some dresses I mentioned above from my online blogshop :D Just ask me which one can facilitate breastfeeding and I can recommend a few for you.

Just my 2 cents from a pro-breastfeeding mummy who has been nursing Baby for almost 22 months!

What A Waste

For over 3 weeks, I have been expressing my milk and pouring them down the sink.... another big heartache. I feel it's such a waste. I even asked the nurses if they knew of any patients (babies and toddlers) who needed breastmilk but all the patients in the pediatric ward were on formula. Each time the Sister came and saw me expressing, she commented on how wasteful it was that I had to throw my breast milk away. She suggested that I drank the milk myself and know what? I took her suggestion and drank it!!! Gross hor? I know, I know, it's really geli.... I can't bring myself to drink it fresh from my boops and I had to add some Nescafe and some cold fresh milk to force it down my throat lol! I drank my own breastmilk several times and I think I wouldn't want to do it again! Eewwwww!!


10-15 ounces of breastmilk a day .....all down the sink....

Baby C's Post Surgery - Day 2

Baby C has stopped puking since last night. She has also passed flatulence and poo poo yesterday. So the doctor gave me the green light to start feeding her with small amount of breast milk. Initially, I was really worried that my sweetie-pie would reject my boops as she was so weak and listless but boy was I wrong. The minute I put my boop to her mouth, she devoured on it like she used to before the surgery!

However, an hour later, my poor baby puked the milk out when she was sleeping... all over her hair and body... and the bad part is we can't bathe her or wash her hair for at least another week! No amount of wiping could remove the vomit stench from her hair. The same thing happened a few hours later when I nursed her again. The nurses then had to aspirate out the milk from her tummy, eewww! I just hope her guts will be able to digest and tolerate breastmilk better by tomorrow without anymore puking.



Breastfeeding my sweetie-pie has never been this difficult before. With all the tubes dangling from her body and from the machine, I've had a tough time lying down next to her to nurse her. I even had to climb into her tiny cot, lie down next to her extra carefully and contort my body (so that it fits into her tiny cot) to nurse her! Oh gawd, all these are stressing me out to the max. I don't even need ephedra to help me lose weight. Even without exercising for 10 days during my stay in the hospital, I am pretty sure my weight will drop in no time.

Continue Breast-feeding Till 2 Years Old?

When we were at our pediatric nephrologist's clinic today, I asked our doctor if I should wean Baby C off breast milk, to which her reply was that I should NOT. She said that breast milk is still the best for Baby C. Along with other food that's high in protein like chicken, fish, eggs, green veggie, etc., breast milk should preferably be continued until she's 2 years old. If however I'd like to introduce formula, I can still do so but I should have mixed-feeding (breast-feeding + formula) until my sweetie-pie is 2 years old. Our doctor is all for breast-feeding. I'm still not decided if I should really continue breast-feeding Baby C for another year. If I don't fall sick so easily and so frequently, I don't really mind. With my recent frequent bouts of colds, flus and throat infections, I'm really suspecting that Baby C is sucking me dry and withered with very little nutrients left in my body, thus my compromised immune system. I'll see how things are after her impending surgery.

BTW, I'm glad that Baby C's weight has finally breached the 8kg mark, yay!! I now wonder when her weight will ever touch the 10kg mark. With a surgery not far away, I am hoping and praying that her weight won't drop after the surgery.

My Tuesday

I couldn't blog for almost the whole of today when my darn monitor konked off. Hubby then brought his spare monitor from his office for me. After fixing the spare monitor, the darn CPU acted strangely and keeps shutting down by itself every 15 minutes. I am speed thinking and typing here to beat the timeline coz very soon, it will auto shut-down again, aarggh.....!!

We made a trip to Baby Loft again today. I quickly fed Sherilyn lunch after she came back from pre-school. This brat has been very, very, very whiny and fussy lately.... drives me bonkers! She cries everyday over the slightest things! Anyway, Alycia came back later as she had Mandarin enrichment class today. So I prepared her lunch in a lunch box and she ate in the car, on our way to Baby Loft, which is quite a distance from where we stay.

This is what we bought from Baby Loft :


I swear by this tea.... it has helped me successfully breastfeed Baby C for 6 months+ and I plan to breastfeed her for as long as I can still produce milkie for my darling!


A bed railing for the gals' new bed in our new condo....

Also bought another Diva Mama breastfeeding spaghetti strap top and new teething rings for Baby C again.... stay tuned to see what I bought Baby C!

Ok, gotta publish this post before it is gone when my darn CPU shuts down again!!

Tube Bra For Breastfeeding Mums

To all breastfeeding mums, if you don't have this yet, you really got to buy one or two of this tube bra. I got a promotional pack which costs RM70+ for 2 from the Baby Loft Shop. I find this a must have. With this tube bra, you can wear just about any clothes and don't have to buy expensive nursing tops.

It doesn't slide down your boops easily since there's elastic at the bottom. When you want to nurse, just pull down one side of the bra.

There is a pocket inside the tube to hold the bra padding.

It looks great under your baby T and spaghetti tops too! You can even wear it on its own at home.

The removable bra padding.

Sucking Air Too?

Baby C is one baby who just cannot wait for mummy's teat teats each time she's hungry. Well, I guess most babies are like this. She would wail till her face and body turn red and stiff. When she's really hungry, she would suck my teats so ravenously that there is a loud 'jup jup jup' sound produced, especially when the pressure of my milk flow is high. My friend told me that the 'jup jup jup' sound is caused by Baby C sucking too much air. Huh? Really? I only hear this sound when the pressure of the milk flow is high and when Baby C is sucking too ravenously.... so ravenously till she often choked. Is she also sucking air? I think she has latched on correctly coz my teats no longer feel sore. What say experienced mums out there? You think my Baby C is also sucking air and did not latch on properly?

Bottle Feeding Exclusively Breastfed Babies

One of these days, I really have to try bottle feeding Baby C to get her used to the bottle. Now, she only wants my teats and nothing else. If she continues to be so hooked on my teats, there are not many places that I can go to, apart from shopping malls that are baby-friendly that have special rooms for mummies like Jaya Jusco. I will even have a hard time going to the church as there is no special room for nursing mums in my church. The only way I can try making her drink from the bottle is to only feed her when she’s really hungry. But then again, I fear she will get choked when I bottle feed her when she’s really hungry. She will definitely suck too hard from the bottle like she used to when she nurses directly from my breast…. and then get traumatized.

For those of you who have successfully breastfed your baby exclusively, did you also bottle feed your baby? For those who did not bottle feed your baby, how did you manage when you go to places without special rooms for nursing mums or changing rooms for babies?

Organic Mother's Milk

That's the Mother's Milk Tea that I bought from Baby Loft on Sunday. The result is quite amazing as my milk supply has definitely increased and I managed to breastfeed Baby C exclusively yesterday and today.

The taste is errmm... well, not to say very tasty but still quite palatable. It is made from a concoction of organic stuff, namely fenugreek seeds, aniseed fruit, coriander, thistle herb, spearmint leaves, lemon verbena leaves, lemongrass leaves, among others. A box of 16 teabags costs RM38.90.

Confinement Food

That's what I had for lunch yesterday - turmeric chicken, stir-fried red spinach and pigs' stomach soup with pepper, onions and serai (lemon grass flower?).

I wonder if my breast milk has tinges of the pungent serai and turmeric taste in it. You think it has? I wouldn't want to try it myself !