~ First Fever ~ The Combat of the Runny Nose!

My dear little daughter had caught a fever complete with the whole package of the sniffles and also the ever frightening cough. Whenever I checked her temperature it was always at 37 degrees or a bit higher. Only sometimes would I get a lower reading than that (usually after she had taken her meds). Baby Mia who rarely cries now whimpers and sometimes cries whenever she sneezes or coughs. I felt so sorry for my poor little baby. If only her sickness could be transferred to me, I would gladly be sick for her so she can feel better and be healthy. ( T T )

In these times of need, a baby nasal aspirator is a God sent! After I had given birth, my dear husband went out and bought the bulb nasal aspirator thinking it would work to help our baby once the need arises. We did use it a couple of times when her nose was blocked but I didn't see the effectiveness of the bulb aspirator that much. I did some surfing on the internet to find a better nasal aspirator and narrowed down my choices to NoseFrida and BabyComfyNose. I really didn't want to use the kind of nasal aspirator that had to be inserted inside my baby's little nose. I am afraid that it would hurt her (yup, I am a bit of a paranoid mummy!). Both NoseFrida and BabyComfyNose works the same way: the end of the aspirator is held against the baby's nose and the parent just suck manually to get the snot out.

I opted to get BabyComfyNose because it does not need any filter purchased like NoseFrida. BabyComfyNose just use any type of tissue as its filter. I find that very convenient indeed. The soft rubber tip does not go into baby's nostrils so it is definitely safe and would not hurt. Unfortunately for me, it is not sold anywhere in Malaysia. I ended up purchasing it with the help of a friend and it cost me quit a bundle! No matter though, anything for my dear little baby.

So, when my baby had her fever and her nose was runny, I used the BabyComfyNose aspirator and it did helped clear my baby's nose. The first time I used it, my baby made a bit of a fuss. I think the noise of the snot being sucked out of her nose startled her. She calmed down after her nose was cleared though. After that, every time I took the nasal aspirator out of its' mesh bag and show it to my baby, she would smile at me. 98% of the time she would co-operate with me and offer me her nose to be sucked clear! So cute! Hehe..

This is the BabyComfyNose nasal aspirator:

The package consists of the main body of the aspirator, the soft rubber tip, a long tube with a mouthpiece and a mesh bag. All of these components could be dissembled to be washed separately.

To use the aspirator, I just have to connect the end of the tube without the mouthpiece onto the small cylindrical connector at the top of the body.

Then, I would have to open the main body.

Next, I only need to insert soft tissue as the filter.

Attach the body together and I am good to go!

I would have never guessed that a simple product would help me so much. I am so glad I purchased this. With her nose cleared, her cough seems to lessened and she could sleep more soundly. I feel that as a newbie parent, this is indeed a life saver. I would definitely recommend this nasal aspirator for every parents with a baby.

Until next time! ( ^_^ )

~ Mothercare Shopping Spree! ~

Since having our little bundle of joy, I had always have this weak spot for baby products and those itsy bitsy baby clothes. One of the most frequent shop I end up walking into happens to be Mothercare. I just couldn't help it, the baby clothes are all sooooooo cute there! ( >.< ) So, one day when my hubby took our dear baby daughter and me to Alamanda directly from the hospital after she got her second month's shot, I took the chance to stop by Mothercare's outlet and give in to that little voice in my head that always chants,"Shop! shop! shop!". Lucky for me, Mothercare was having their 25th Anniversary Sale! I ended up buying quite a storm in my one shopping trip at the store. Well, actually the storm was brewing in my hubby's wallet! Hehe..

One of the things I bought was a pack of Aden+Anais' Swaddle Blanket. I had been looking for Aden+Anais' Swaddle Blanket for quite a while and I was very delighted to find it in Mothercare's store! It is really impossible to find anywhere else, even on local online baby shops. The fabric is very soft and comfortable, it definitely will not scratch my baby's delicate skin. It is also breathable so I am not worried about my baby being overheated when she is all swaddled up. The size of the blanket is actually very large, making it easier to swaddle my little baby girl and ensuring that she does not succeed in cleverly wiggling her little arms free of the swaddle. The best part is the more you wash the Aden+Anais' Swaddle Blanket, the softer it gets! Seriously, no kidding, it is true. I really really love them!

Aden+Anais Swaddle Blanket.

I know the shade of pink for girls are so overrated, but I had been eyeing the pink 8-piece gift set for girls for quite sometime now but never got around to purchasing them since the size that I wanted to get was always out of stock. Fortunately for me, it was available during the sale! My little heart was jumping with joy as I, at last, picked up the gift set for my dear daughter. In this set, there is an adorable little reversible long sleeve shirt, a long sleeve sleeping romper, a long sleeve bodysuit, a short sleeve bodysuit, a pair of pants with feet, a bib, a pair of mittens and a hat. All of the colours are coordinated and there's a cute motto which says 'Made with love' and teddy bear motifs with either little dots or stripes printed on the clothes. The material is very soft and comfortable. I think the long sleeve shirt and hat is going to be used often whenever we go to the hospital for our baby's checkups and shots and the rest is definitely for her daily use.

The adorable 8-piece Gift Set. Very very cute outfits!

Mothercare always carries cute bodysuits and I always have a weak spot for cute clothes especially bodysuits! During my shopping spree, I also picked up a pack of 5 pure soft cotton bodysuits with animal prints on them plus a pack of 3 pure soft cotton coordinated pants that matches the patterns of the pinky bodysuits. By that time, I thought 5 pieces of bodysuits were plenty enough for my baby so I decided to wrap up my shopping spree for the day. On the way to the cashier, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a very cute bodysuit with a cute slogan printed on it which was 'Mummy's little dreamer'. It was in the shade of off white and baby blue, so I guess it was really meant for cuddly little baby boys. I really don't think it's wrong to dress my little baby girl in it because it is sooo adorable looking! ( ^_^ ) After a short mental debate with myself (as if I needed the debate!), I picked it up in the end! Hehe.. I also picked up two pairs of blue pants (dark blue and soft baby blue) to be worn with the cute 'Little Dreamer' bodysuit and also two extra pairs of plain pink pants (soft pink and dark pink) that can be worn with any of the pink bodysuits, mix and match style.

My baby's collection of Mothercare's bodysuits and pants. Love 'em!

Arms bundled with a whole lot of cute outfits for my wee little one and feeling satisfied with the selections I chose, once again I decided to wrap up my shopping escapade. After steeling my heart against picking up other cute outfits on display, I aimed myself to the checkout counter. Again, as I was walking in between the aisles heading towards the cashier, arrays of hanging socks at the socks' section caught my eyes and I stopped (yes, again!). On impulse, I reached out and felt the material of the socks and I thought, "Ho boy!". They were oh so soft and I just couldn't pass them up. A baby can't have enough socks, right? Haha! My baby do need lots of socks and this pack consists of 5 pairs of them. I was torn in between the pink ones and the multicoloured ones. In the end, I chose the one with soft brown, beige, yellow and green socks. I bought the socks in a size larger than my baby's current feet size so that she is able to wear them a little bit longer.

 The pack of very soft socks.

I really love Mothercare's range of baby clothes because the material are always soft and comfortable. Plus, they are always made out of 100% cotton so I am sure my baby feels comfy in what she wears. Here's a picture of my little cutey in her cute Mummy's Little Dreamer bodysuit and baby blue pants, sucking her favourite pacifier, trying to fight off her sleepiness after being bathed and nursed.

Our darling little baby Mia

Here's another picture of our baby girl fast asleep after being swaddled in the Aden+Anais' swaddle blanket. She slept, well, literally, like a baby! ( ^_^ )

Baby Mia fast asleep in her swaddle blanky

I do believe these purchases I made were money well spent for the quality of the products I got. I definitely am going back to the store again and again to browse through the clothes, toiletries, feeding bottles and other baby essentials products! And I am definitely will be purchasing more outfits from Mothercare for my dear little baby girl as she grows. ( ^_^ )

~ Medicine Time! ~

My little baby is in her second month and is a bit colicky, especially at night. My poor baby. ( T.T ) My mother told me to get a bottle of Gripe Water to ease her tummy upset. We opted to give our baby Woodwards Gripe Water as it is the same brand my mother fed us when we were babies and plus it is Jakim halal certified.

Since the gripe water is in liquid form, the medicine needed to be administered via either a medicator or a syringe. We had not bought any at the time we first wanted to feed the baby a dosage of the meds. We did have a syringe left by my hubby's sister and we agreed to try and use that. Our first trial in giving our baby the liquid medicine kind of failed because it was quite hard to feed a squirming and screaming baby her medicine via a syringe. The gripe water ended up either being spat out or dribbling down my baby's chin.

Our second attempt to give her the gripe water was by using her feeding bottle's nipple. It was quite a success but only for the first time. The second time we tried that, the gripe water dripped from the nipple's hole and made a bit of a sticky mess.

My frustration was growing by the day and I decided enough was enough. We needed a medicator for the baby! I ended up purchasing a Munchkin's Medicator hoping that it would solve my problem.

Munckin Medicator. Mine is purple in colour.

The first time we used the medicator, it was a success and easy to feed our baby the gripe water. We only felt happy with the medicator that first time because the second time and so on, the medicator did not work as well as the first time. It was hard to screw the medicine tube to the collar and the medicine always leaks at the joining of the medicine tube and the collar. It drove me crazy just trying to get the tube screwed on right because it took a looong time just to get it right!

I ended up having a love and hate relationship with the medicator and had started to surf the net again to find any other type of medicine dispenser for babies to help me feed my baby her meds without any problem.  In my head, I thought that one of these days I would resort to pouring the liquid remedy into her feeding bottle!  It would be so much easier if there was a small feeding bottle that is small enough to feed liquefied medicine to infants. That is when I came across Nuby's Medi-Nurser on the internet. Since it looks like a feeding bottle, I guess it would be the best option and much more easier to give the baby her medicine via this medi-nurser.

Nuby Medi-Nurser

The only problem is that none of the baby online shops in Malaysia carry this medicine dispenser. That means I needed to buy it from US. I was in the dilemma of either proceeding with ordering the medicine dispenser from the US or otherwise when one day I found a Nuby Medical Kit at Alamanda's Anakku outlet! Yay!! My heart was singing as I picked up the pack of the Medical Kit and I was smiling happily all the way to the counter.

Nuby Medical Kit

The first time using the Nuby Medi-Nurser was a HUGE success. Our baby suckled the small bottle just like she suckled her milk bottle. She finished her gripe water without any fuss or mess! I absolutely love this Medi-nurser! It is so easy to use. We just have to snap off the nipple and collar, and then pour in the liquid medicine as needed and then snap back on the nipple and collar. Then, we just feed our baby the tiny bottle and then we are done! Seriously, no leak, no mess, no stress! The only gripe I have about the medi-nurser is that it didn't come with a cover like the one in the picture above. If only it is sold as singles, I might even buy another bottle of Medi-Nurser for just in case. ( T_T )

~ EBM Trouble! ~ Milk Booster To The Rescue

Help! My EBM production is at a very dangerous level at the moment! The fact that my hungry screaming little baby is not one to wait patiently at the breast that has very slow and low level of milk also is a factor for the low supply since she is already comfortable with the bottle that gives her steady flow of milk. I am now frantically searching and reading all kinds of information on the net to help increase my EBM production level. So far I have stumbled upon some remedies and ways to increase my BM.

From all my readings and tips from my friends, I have narrowed down things and methods for me to try out: 

1. Power Pumping

2. Drinking Nutri99

3. Eating RTC pills

4. Eating Motilium

5. Eating More Milk Plus 

6. Eating Fenugreek

7. Drinking Milk Maid Tea

Power Pumping

So far I have tried power pumping (you have to pump every 10 minutes for 1 hour). The result is not that encouraging. Maybe I am not pumping enough or my body is still underproducing EBM? I had tried this method several times over the past few weeks and the result is still the same. Still, I am going to keep doing this once in a while to stimulate the milk glands since my dear baby would not nurse except via the bottle.

Nutri99 Organic Soy Milk

I also had tried (and still am) drinking Nutri99 Organic Soy Milk (which you can get at only RM14.95 from Carrefour), but the result is still the same. It is basically a soy drink mix that supposedly can help boost the milk production. It was recommended to me by a friend. At first I only drank this drink a cup per day but my friend told me that I needed to try and drink 3 cups per day, so I have already started to try and do just that. So far I had been able to drink at least 2 cups per day confirmed, and sometimes 3 cups per day if I remember. I do have a problem in the memory area! ( >.< )

RTC Pills

I was told that RTC pills under Era Edar's Marketing can also help boost milk supply. Since it is a homeopathic remedy and is said not to have any side effects, I had no worries in trying it out. The instruction was to put the pill under the tongue and let it melt twice a day. So far I had not noticed any increase in my milk production though. But I will still keep going at it with hopes that it would help a little bit.

Motilium (Domperidone)

I have started to freak out by the mid of April and went to the pharmacy with my hubby to get myself anything that can help boost up my milk supply. The kind pharmacist told me to try Motilium. She gave me a few days' supply and I have started to take the pills 3 times a day after every meals (at least I am more consistent in taking this pill albeit missing a dosage here and then). It has only been a week since I've started to take Motilium. I did a pumping session after the second day I started on this medicine and got a little bit more milk than a few days back. The milk covered almost the bottom of both bottles rather than just a speck here and there and pooling at only one side of each bottle. I hope this works and I've already put in my order for More Milk Plus in hoping that it would help me as well.

Motherlove's More Milk Plus

Motherlove's More Milk Plus is an alcohol free liquid concentrate in vegetarian capsules. It is a safe and effective herbal formula designed to quickly increase breast milk for breastfeeding mothers. It contains fenugreek seed, blessed thistle herb, nettle herb, fennel seed, non-GMO soy lecithin, modified vegetable cellulose, coconut oil. All the herbs are certified organic. The capsules does not contain any milk, dairy, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or gluten which is a plus for me since I am allergic to peanuts.

My order for More Milk Plus came in and I have started to take the More Milk Plus supplement for a few weeks now. I paired it with the Motilium pills I got from the pharmacy with high hopes that there would be a significant increase of milk. The instruction on the bottle is to take a capsule 4 times daily, avoiding more than 1-2 oz of liquid for 15 minutes before and after each dose. I did skip a few dosage here and then (again, I am blaming my memory!) but I still take at least a dosage or two each day. Even though, I had noticed some increase in my milk supply. A glimmer of hope is shinning it's little light in my little heart. ( ^_^ )

I did notice a drop of milk production when I skipped pumping for two days while I was in Melaka though. Now I have been pumping everyday since we got back and my milk production had somewhat gone back to normal (which is covering almost all of the base of each bottles).

Fenugreek

In my quest of obtaining information on how to boost milk supply, I have stumbled upon lots of forums and testimonials of mothers who claimed that Fenugreek seeds helped them got their milk production increased incredibly. There are two brands that is always mentioned which are Baby Snowdrop's Fenugreek and GNC's Fenugreek. I actually wanted to get the Baby Snowdrop's Fenugreek but there is a confusion of new packaging and the decrease of the dosage in the new packaged bottles. So, in the end I opted to try out GNC's capsules instead. I had not started to take these since I am still on the More Milk Plus capsules. I will update later once I had tried them.

Earth Angel Milkmaid Tea/Joy Angel Nursing Tea

I have not tried any nursing teas yet but I am thinking of trying either Earth Angel's Milkmaid Tea or Joy Angel's Nursing Tea. I am still contemplating this option because I am quite afraid that the tea would taste weird and I might end up not able to drink them. However, the Joy Angel Nursing Tea is said to taste just like plain water, so I might try that first. I will update if I do end up trying one of these nursing teas.

These are the things that I have tried to increase my milk production to date. Unfortunately for me, there is only a slight increase at the moment. I do hope gradually it will increase bit by bit until I can fully nurse/pump and feed my dear little baby instead of giving her formula. I am still not throwing in the towel just yet. ( ^_^ )