Skip to main content

Some Tips for a New Mother

photo.JPG
My baby tiger
Alexander is currently 4.5 months old and on partial breastfeeding supplemented by formula and solids. Yes Alex started on solids at 4 months old as his pediatrician gave a go ahead. I have also returned back to work for a month and returned to my pre-pregnancy figure(almost).

I thought it would help some moms by posting various tips that I picked up the last few months:

How to increase breastmilk

1. Use a double pump (would recommend Medela's double pump)

When I first gave birth, I was using Medela's swing, a single pump. It was a good pump but it was not fast enough and also tiring for me. I got the double pump and seriously it reduces my stress of producing enough milk.

Firstly I got almost twice the amount of milk by using the double pump (increased from 200ml to 400ml in total) each pump. I pump 4 times throughout the whole day- 9am, 2pm,6pm,10pm and slept through the night. Not a problem at all. However you got to keep your pumping routine regular

2. Drink double boiled chicken soup

Whenever I feel there is a dip in my milk supply (usually after pumping irregularly), this would be my SOS option. One whole kampong or black chicken, only 2 bowls of water, 4 scallops, some garlic cloves and some black beans, dump everything into a slowcooker for 5hours. Down that two bowls of soup. Works like magic.

3. Brew Mother's Milk Tea

Available in the organic shop on level 5, Paragon. Works for myself and most of other moms I spoke to.

How to know if baby's ready for solids

1. A dip in appetite or intake of milk
Alexander loves loves loves milk. However for a week, we have to literally force him to drink otherwise he would not show any indication that he wants to drink.

2. Fussing Increases
Checked the diaper? Fed already? Shower already? Sleep already? Still crying?

Probably teething. And he keeps chewing on his blankie and toys.

3. Excited when you are eating
Alexander just keep squealing and cooing excitedly whenever we are having our dinner. He would look at us longingly and drool at the same time. We found it utmost amusing in the beginning.

4. Pediatrician says so
We brought Alex for his 4 month check and told the PD all the symptoms. And Alex was also holding up his head very well, PD gave a go ahead that this little piglet is all ready for solids.

Will continue to post more tips in my other posts!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ikkousha Japanese Ramen in Jakarta

We were craving for something soupy the other day; Indonesian food is mostly fried. We decided to check out the ramen store- Ikkousha. We went to the branch in Senayan City but they have couple of outletsIt is supposed to be a franchise from renowned ramen chain in Japan. I was feeling a bit skeptical of halal ramen-  you know great ramen broth is usually stewed from pork bones. The ambience is pretty nice and its attempt to make it look japanese is not bad. Miso Ramen Some spicy egg broth ramen, surprisingly tasty! Chicken Karage The outcome? I was surprised that it was pretty good! Of course it lacks the oomfph of the usual thick pork broth but they got the taste as well as the ramen right. I found the spicy egg broth really delicious and satiable to my soup craving; it's quite spicy though. The prices are also reasonable, costing about 80,000IDR (8USD) per bowl. Since we live only couple minutes away, we will definitely be coming back here quite regula...

Facial Treatment at Miracle Aesthetic Clinic (Kemang, Jakarta)

I am sure those who frequent Kemang will not fail to see the big white building with a huge signage- Miracle Aesthetic Clinic. For those who follow my blog, you will know that I am always on a lookout for a nice spa or beauty/facial places. Just as I was about to check out the clinic, Miracle Aesthetic Clinic dropped me a note to try out their treatments; great timing isn't it? :) Many of us will probably be very skeptical about trying aesthetic treatments in Jakarta or anywhere in Indonesia, after all Jakarta is not famous like Bangkok for beauty treatments. So on the Saturday before I left Jakarta for our holiday, I dragged Hubby G with me to check out Miracle Aesthetic Clinic. They offered a consultation before trying any treatments including facial. I met one of the aesthetic doctors and she took me through the list of available treatments the clinic offers- Botox, Fillers, IPL, Facial, etc. As usual, the cynical me checked with the doctor if the products are legitimate and...

Eat@Bali: Potato Head Beach Club at Seminyak

Our friends were telling us to visit Potato Head Garage when they learnt that we were visiting Bali; the food bloggers are also raving about this place in their blogs...so we decided to check it out. Arriving ten minutes prior to Potato Head's opening hour at 11am, we were refused by the security as well as the restaurant staff to enter the restaurant. I was trying to explain that we have a toddler who was very flushed from the heat and that we would just like to take a seat in the restaurant till they can take our orders at 11am...which is like 10 minutes away... No, we can't take a seat at the restaurant while we wait and the staff wanted us (G, a pregnant woman and a young toddler) to stand under the scorching hot sun for 10 minutes until the magical clock strikes 11am. The chairs, which were in the shade were just couple steps away, and NO..WE HAVE TO STAND UNDER THE SUN WHILE WE WAIT FOR THE MAGICAL OPENING HOUR.   I thought it was pretty ridiculous. I asked fo...