BF

A few months back, BF would still mean BoyFriend to me.
Now, BF has totally got a new meaning ... Breast Feeding that is
& together with bring a new string of abbreviation

try BMI?
don't worry, it still stands for Body Mass Index
well, now Breast Milk Index seemed to mean more to me =p

Before I proceed, allow me to say thank you very much to all who have supported me throughout my breastfeeding experience especially my love ones & my group of close friends who not only supported me emotionally(by borrowing me their ears and shoulder) but also financially. I'm able to invest in a good breast pump with their help (sponsoring). Also friends & colleagues who share their knowledge, books & magazines with me in their quest to help me conquer my problems.

there are a few personal experience which I would like to share (although everyone's experience is unique to mother & baby) ... hopefully these may give you a little idea what to expect when it comes (not like me...blur blur)

1. there will be well meaning & experienced senior members of family / relatives / friends who advises you to supplement with formula milk. Their reasons range from 'afraid baby not full enough','breast milk is not thick enough to make baby full','you got no enough milk', 'your milk is too dilute'. Although they all mean well, perhaps they may not realise that every ounz of formula milk is the 'killer' of breast milk supply.

2. then there will be 'doctor' who instead of giving encouragement to breastfeed, advise a mother to supplement / give formula milk to her baby. Doctor gave a more 'doctorish' reason ... you've have no idea how much your baby has drank, he's not having enough...not full enough... which is why he's not sleeping well / colicky. (did I mentioned I try very hard to listen to this 'doctor' but failed miserably). Not all doctors are pro-breastfeed... some never even advised / mentioned about breastfeeding even after the baby is bornt. Instead the doctor's clinic are distributing free formula milk powder. It's good to know that lactation consultant is a better person to go to than doctors in general.

3. then there will also be the 'confinement lady' who naturally prefer 'formula milk' as they are able to adjust the feeding time as compared to 'breast milk' feeding time as and when demanded. This is crucial to them as they need to cook for the mother & help with household works...which is best done while baby is asleep (after feeding time is adjusted) every 2-3 hours. Pacifier is a 'must' for them which may cause nipple confusion ... creating more problems to mother who is trying to establish milk supply. Most confinement lady may not have fully breastfeed their baby thus they may think it's a norm that every baby drink formula milk ... it's really up to us to insist of breastfeeding. What I did was sharing with her all the chinese pregnancy and parenting magazines to give her understanding. I've also got to know that there's another group of confinement lady who are very pro-breastfeeding all for the wrong reason... they feed the mother with lots n lots of alcohol ... the baby will be very 'easy to care' ... sleeping most of the time even when the loud noises are unbearable.

4. then there are milk powder companies who on the surface seemed very supportive of your breastfeeding effort but turn around offering you their products (which is so good & sooo good). I've been getting phone calls from major baby formula milk brands ... they are providing very good follow ups (hopefully until you start your baby on formula milk).

5. then there are companies / employers who indirectly thwart our breastfeeding effort ... due to lack of support in term of facilities. I've known many who gave up breastfeeding upon the end of maternity leave (2 mths) due to reasons as such. It's short sighted of the organisation not to 'see' the long term benefit of breastfeeding .... children with better immune system translate into lesser leave taken by employees. Perhaps there's another reason employers are not providing ... when you need to feed formula milk, you need more money, you'll work harder to earn more money (this one I made up myself)

6. then there's myself to blame ... of course, there were things that I wished I may have done differently such as not being 'so eager to please' everyone who offered advices, not being confident enough with myself & my ability, not being insistent enough when I should be .... and the list goes on. I'm not still not good enough now but I learnt through my experience. I really do hope that my persistence 'a.k.a stubborness' was not a worthless effort.

the journey is really not easy and may not be getting easier ... I had a rocky start ... had my fair share of problems ... and now as we got 'steadier', I've new emerging problems ... my baby refuses to take anything from bottle but I need to go back to work. (i'm working on it now...anyone with any solutions? )

ps. going back to office, I'm going to 'advocate' for a breastfeeding / breast pumping room at each building via suggestion to HR. Well, of course I'll rope in the support of mums and mums-to-be (that included singles who have intention of having babies). I'll need all the support I can get. At least I hope many many more will get to benefit from this.

children & parents

Virgo child

Common sense & attention to detail are two of your Virgo child strongest characteristics, even from a young age. You might find your little one organising her toys or saving her pocket money to buy some longed-for item, while other children spend their cash on whim.

Your little virgo isn't likely to be impulsive. Instead, she'll measure the pros & cons of a situation & then make a decision on what to do. Virgo children have high standards & are naturally cautious, so they can seem picky & shy. This is simply because they prefer to stand back & think about a situation rather than throwing themselves into it.

Your virgo child is a natural helper. She likes order & genuinely wants to help out & do good things for your family & later the world. This is a quality that you should try to encourage & praise her for.

As parents of a virgo, you'll need to calm your child's expectation of perfection with the message that sometimes, good enough is just that. Build up her confidence as much as you can, as your child is likely to be self-critical and overly modest.

Help your little virgo relax & enjoy the simple pleasures in life by getting outside and enjoying nature together. A long walk or a family bike ride is an easy way to do this.
Bedtime routines, balanced meals & regular fun days will be important for your virgo child, who tend to be a bit of a worrier. Anything that encourages relaxation will help your child stay calm & centred.


Gemini & Cancer parents

You two are quite differentin your approaches to parenting. One of you comes from the head and the other from the heart, so between you all areas are covered! The Gemini parentis the more logical and talkative. You prefer intellectual to emotion, and you'll be the one to help your children with their homework as well as many of the fun project they want to try. You like new things & a variety of activities, & will provide these for your children to their delight.

The cancer parent is a nurturing force to be reckoned with! You will introduce your children to the traditions and rituals of your youth, & will incorporate them into your family life. You're sensitive and emotional, so your chidren will be able to pour their hearts out to your sympathetic ear.

gemini parent,virgo child
running on nervous energy

You & your virgo child share an intellectual outlook, & you both run on nervous energy, but beyond that you're really pretty different. You've always been curious, spontaneous & sociable, but your little virgo is much more reserved. She's quiet & observant, especially when there are lots of people around. In fact, your naturally high energy could cause your child to hold back even more, as commotion & impulsive behaviour make her nervous.

Your little one thrives on orfer & routine, neither of which is your strong point. Your sytle is to make a plan & then change it halfway through, which is likely to drive your little virgo mad! For her sake, try to stick to a set of routine for school & meals, & establish a regular bedtime. You can still encourage her to relax & be flexible in other ways.

Cancer parent, virgo child

A solid emotional bond

A born worrier, your virgo child can be a bit reserved or highly strung from an early age. It's a good thing she has such a warmly nurturing, supportive parent as you! You're sensitive to her feelings & concerns, & you go out of your wat to provide her with plenty of emotional support.

Under your tender guidance, your little virgo can learn to feel more secure in the world, but take care not to compund her fear with your own. As the parent, your job includes putting on a show of confidence, even when that's the last thing you're feeling inside. In fact, you can learn a lot from your child in that area. She's somewhat more grounded & practical by nature than you are, so she can teach you by example about setting your emotions aside when it's time to get something accomplished.

I stumbled upon this at http://www.babycentre.co.uk/horoscopes when I was searching for baby care stuff. Suprisingly, these above paragraph seems to be ringing truth especially the part on parents...it's good to know what to expect although I don't believe in everything they say =)

ps. click above link if you're curious to find out about what parent / child you'll be like or have been like =) ENJOY!

1st online purchase

I've not really brought anything online (yes,despite living in this age)
this would be my 1st purchase online ... paiseh ^^!

Never expect myself to spend this much purchasing stuffs online ... stuffs that I don't get to touch / feel/ try before buying. (for a fussy buyer like me!)
spent almost RM1000 in total (a big sum for a 1st timer imho & I DO NOT EVEN DARE TO SPEND THAT AMOUNT OFFLINE ... I've must have been CRAZY)
It has cross my mind that what happened if I've transfered the money to the specific account and don't receive my goods / receive my goods not in acceptable condition, but I guess there's too much thing to worry about if I were to start worrying.
(Oh, did I mentioned I kept looking out of the door every minute waiting for some delivery guy to appear =p )

It was a very pleasant online shopping & buying experience though =D
thanks to the very efficient & prompt service as well as good customer service rendered.

this experience has sparked 2 things in me :

1st : it has tempted me to spend more money online ... purchasing stuff that are so easily available (at fingertips) without the hassle of going to the mall physically. I can do research and search for the best deals online.
After that 1st experience, I've been very tempted to purchase clothes & handbags online (& have them delivered to my doorstep ... since now I'm less mobile)
really a bad case of 'belum cuba belum tau, sudah cuba tiap tiap hari mau' .... LOL
.... I'm obsessed to the point where I need to keep myself sane by reminding myself that those 'cash' are better off used somewhere else.

2nd : it has opened my eyes towards a new avenue ... another stream of income. I was telling myself ... if I were to be a full time mother / housewife, this could be 'IT' ... establishing & managing an online store presence. Wait... I don't really need to be a full time mother / housewife to do 'THAT'.

RM1000 for such a lesson (an experience) ... worth it?

love makes it all worthwhile

my life (yes, 24 hour of my everyday) revolve around him now ...

there were many things we've been through and many things coming ...

but LOVE MAKES IT ALL WORTHWHILE