We are at an age where there are literally no boundaries and viruses travel far and wide.

And we are currently in the midst of a storm of Influenze A (H1N1). Much has been said about the whys and the hows and the howtos. I cringed reading about the escalating death tolls, here in Malaysia and we’re not talking some occasional numbers here, we’re talking about 6 to 3 deaths per day.

And everytime it’s always someone from the high risk groups and babies and pregnant mothers come on top.

It’s best to take extra precaution at the moment if you are breastfeeding or have a small baby. I’m not a big fan of wearing masks, especially when this particular strain of virus is typically spread from droplets of bodily fluid of an infected person. Not entirely airborne. So, I prefer to sanitise my hands more and avoid touching my face, eyes or mouth that much.

Wear a mask if you’re sick, but more importantly practise excessive hygiene in this trying times.

A friend came to me crying about his husband demanding that she stops breastfeeding their 2.5yr old baby girl. Both ends of breastfeeding aren’t ready but the hubby is just not comfortable with the mother breastfeeding a toddler.

I hugged her and I comforted her. In Islam, a wife must obey her husband. But in this case, I advised her to seek some leeway, maybe give her about 3 months to gradually wean her off.

After all, the toddler has never had formula before and breastmilk has been her primary nutrition. And another crucial factor, the time. This is when whatever precaution you can take, to boost your immune system, you have to do. What is best for your body to be able to fend off the infection.

And taking the toddler off breastmilk is not the wisest decision. The toddler will suffer immesureable stress of being weaned abruptly, and worse, her immune system sill drop to a low because the nutristiona nd the enzymes that kept her strong all this while is suddenly been cut short.

And I thought that is the primary reason why she should let her gradually wean her off for at least 3 months.

I feel rather sad for her, but more proud that she stood her ground and she recognised what breastfeeding was to her and the baby. It’s too bad that the father had to come in between, but we all have challenges.

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Having understood how long EBM can last either at room temperature, refrigerator or freezer, you must also devise a plan on how best to maximise the usage of the EBM.

Over 4 kids, this is my GRAND PLAN.  *snigger*

It’s pretty simple actually.  During my 2 months confinement period, everytime I nurse, I always express from the other breast.  Need to build stock before I start work.

Once work begins, how I store the EBM depends on that day of the week.

For Mondays to Thursdays, EBM is always stored in the refrigerator.  Because it will be the baby’s feeds for the next working day.  Freezing preserves the live of EBM but it does kill certain enzymes and it’s best to have the EBM as alive as possible.

Fridays, I would immediately freeze the EBM.  This is because, the Fridays’ stock will be used on Mondays and because the EBM would not survive  a whole weekend, I need to freeze it.

Sunday nights, I would bring Mondays’ stock down from the freezer to the refrigerator for a gradual thaw.

And this begins again weekly.

There would be days when you are forced to work late or overnight trips.  And since if you’re home, there’s no way to express as the baby may as well grows out of your hips, I always make it a point to wake a little early around 5:00am, when the baby is normally fast asleep, completely sated from her marathon nursing and express.

That is how I managed to cart 28 bottles of 10oz each of EBM to my mother’s place who was to watch my baby while I attend a meeting in Bangkok.  And true enough, when I came home 3 days later, my son Ariz was on his last bottle.  Timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

So there.  Not impossible my friends.  Just worth every sweat.  Seriously!

There’s a myth in Asian community that breastmilk is derived from blood and that if you leave it out long enough, it will turn into reddish blood.  *gape*

Alrighty.  It’s a myth, okay.  Breastmilk is made in milk ducts and it’s not turned into breastmilk from anything but it’s a God’s precious gift for a baby.  So, nurse that little babies, mommies.

Okay, once you’ve expressed your breastmilk (from hereon will be referred to as EBM), either through hand-expressed or using a breastpump, you can either freeze it and/or refrigerate the EBM.

What is critical is that EBM must be stored in absolute sterile container, either bottles or specific bags meant to store EBM.  I’ve seen mothers skimping on these bottles and store their precious EBM in mineral bottles.  Major NO NO.  These days Avent has produced these screw top containers for storing EBM and because it’s screw-top, it has wide necks, great for hand-expressing as you don’t need to aim the sprays that much.

It is also important to label these containers of bottles of the day they were expressed so you can t ell which is still okay and which to discard.

Storage guidelines :

1. At room temperature. In colder climates where typical room temperature does not exceed 77° Fahrenheit, or 25° Celsius, the EBM can last for 4 to 8 hours.  However, Malaysia has a hot and humid weather and typical day temperature normally hovers above 30° Celsius.  So, it’s best not to leave the EBM outside of the refrigerator.
2. In the refrigerator. EBM can stand for up to 2 to 3 days ar below 32°–39° Fahrenheit (0°–3.9° Celsius)
3. In the freezer. EBM is typically stored longer in the freezer for between 2 months to 4 months if your freezer has a internal compartment inside the freezer itself where the temperature is constantly low.   But if you are like me, who uses the freezer to store everything , then it can only last for about 2 weeks.  But be careful not to place them at the door.  If you’re freezing the EBM, be cautious not to fill the EBM up to the rim of the container or bottles, as liquids do contract when it is frozen.  Sights of broken bottles and spilled EBM is the most heart-rending sights.  Seriously!

If you’ve thawed frozen milk, it is best to place it in the refrigerator and use in the spate of 24 hours.  I know it’s liquid gold, but if you baby refuses a feed but has touched the EBM, it’s best to discard that rather than save it for later. Bacteria would’ve entered the EBM and that can only mean trouble for the little tummies.

Okay. Now we get to the hard details.

It’s a new territory, this breastfeeding business.  And with anything at all, it serves you well, if you research the subject first.  And of course, there are thousands and thousands of websites telling you how to breastfeed, why you should breastfeed and where, who and everything in between.

I think I spent my pregnant days and months reading up on every single article I could find on it.

I decided then that BREASTFEEDING is the way to go for me.  And I set my mind.  That’s all is needed.  Not maternal instinct.  But pure awareness and determination.

And, that’s all you need.

A set mind.  Go to La Leche League (I love their articles) and read your pregnant self away.

Ciao!

You know, some people say that to breastfeed is a MATERNAL INSTINCT.

I dunno.

I seem to have to think about it months or years before I actually am in a situation that warrants the action.

So, this is my take.

When I became pregnant, no one I know breastfed their babies.  Okay, okay.  This was in 1998 and we’re living in a developed country where infant formula were the in think if you have babies.  This was not the States or the UK where the recognition of benefits of breastfeeding were shouted about.  This was where the huge market of those infant formula end.  The society has been brandished by years of advertisement that infant formula is far superior than the plain, basic mother’s milk.

And the worse is, our mothers, our grandmothers raised us all consuming the same thing and look at us.  All well and jolly. So, what’s wrong with the infant formula?

Let me scream this out!

It’s wrong!  It’s wrong!  It’s wrong!

The only problem is that I can’t be screaming this at my mom, or my grandmother.  So, most people just succumbed to this.

Luckily the times have changed and mothers, old and new are rediscovering the joy of breastfeeding.  But it has to be seen.  The habit has to be acceptably considered a norm before it can catch on.

And alhamdulillah, I believe that mothers here in Malaysia have grasped the idealogy that breastfeeding is far far superior than any man-made formula.

Part 2.  Next.

You know the feeling.

When all the huffing and the puffing is over and the pushing is done and you have that little bundle of joy in your arms.  He coos and he looks longingly in your eyes.  He wriggles and he stretches in your arms.  All wet and slippery.

And then he opens up and he yells.

Yikes!

Welcome to motherhood, mommies and daddies.

It never failed to bring soppy tears to my eyes, that first moments when Aliya, Ayisha, Adani and Ariz came into my world and blaring their sirens away.  Haha.

While the first 3 of my babies were presented to me, all cleaned up and screaming bloody murder, hungry.  My youngest son was handed over to me in his freshest form, slippery and wet and needing comfort.

And instinctively, I knew to put him on the breast.  That moment defined it.  Although I must it was kinda hard because you’re half-lying down, with a whole room of busy people milling around you and not to mention, the doctor would be sticting you up.

So, let me tell you this.

Forget them.  Look deep into your baby and feel the connection.  It doesn’t matter if you’re shy, but what matters at the moment was your baby needing you to comfort him, to hold him with your arms this time, instead of the womb.

Ahhh .. I feel like crying now.

By the way, it doesn’t have to be a full latch and a half hour marathon of nursing just yet.  Just to comfort him.  Just for a few minutes before the nurses will need to take the baby to check on him and clean him up.

Your world has just changed, my peers.  Changed forever.

*tsk tsk tsk*

Finally!

I know I miss breastfeeding. But seriously, after Ariz was born who is my 4th child and he has 3 other older sisters, I think I’m ready to call it quits where pregnancy and babies are concerned.

But, I figured that my 9 years of playing mummy-cow must count for something. So, the blog is meant to do just that.

I want to share with you, mommies and mommies-to-be, fathers, fathers-to-be and sisters and husbands and brothers and wives of what a joy it has been for me to be able to breastfeed and what more, I was able to very very efficiently manually hand expressed my breastmilk.

So, this is a chronicle of my journey and I hope you will start yours too, soon.