November 20th, 2007 | Babies, Breast Feeding, Personal | 9 Comments
It was weird, my baby Clarisse just decided to stop drinking formula milk one particular afternoon when she’s around 6 weeks old. Before that, she would willingly consume a bottle of formula milk and breast milk but on that day, she started to cry and refused after drinking only 1/2 oz.
Initially, I thought nothing of it. Maybe she’s just being fussy. I kept trying to persuade her to drink her bottle of formula milk. She would drink a sip, turn her head away and start crying uncontrollably if I continue forcing the bottle at her. We tried everything but the kitchen sink, baby Clarisse just won’t give in. She just won’t drink her formula milk. I put the bottle of formula milk away. She seems perfectly alright when I breast feed her afterwards.
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November 17th, 2007 | Babies, Breast Feeding, Personal | 2 Comments
Baby Clarisse was scheduled for a visit to a paediatrician 6 days after she was born. I was shocked to see Clarisse’s bilirubin level rising to 16. Jaundice with bilirubin level above 13 is considered high. On the day she was discharged from the hospital, Clarisse had a 9 on her bilirubin level and wasn’t considered to be suffering from jaundice.
I was adviced to admit her for phototherapy. She was stripped down to her diaper, except for an eye patch protecting her eyes, and placed under ultraviolet light therapy to speed up her body’s removal of bilirubin. The hospital’s phototherapy room is a small room houses several newborn cots with ultraviolet lamps. No parents or individuals are allowed to stay overnight. I was worried and sad as I couldn’t bear being away from her. Moreover, I wanted to breastfeed Clarisse as much as possible so I made several trips in a day to the hospital just for that. It was painful having to walk and move about during the first week after delivery but I had no choice. We’re grateful we live just 5 mins away from the hospital.
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November 16th, 2007 | Babies, Breast Feeding, Diet, Health, Personal | 3 Comments
After spending 4 days and 3 nights in the hospital, I went back to my mother’s house for my confinement period. Previously, she took care of my eldest sister’s newborns so Clarisse is the third grandchild she’ll be taking care of. I’m so grateful she agreed to take care of us because the first month is an extremely busy and taxing time for families with a newborn. She has to cook for the family, household chores and apart from breastfeeding, she took care of everything else for the baby - bathing, changing diapers etc. It was a learning experience for me. I learnt the ABC’s of baby care by watching my mother.
We had worries about me lacking in breast milk production. My intention from the start was to fully breast feed Clarisse but she would cry after every breastfeeding session. My mother and I worried that I might not produce enough breast milk to satisfy her hunger so we supplemented formula after breastfeeding her. She would sleep soundly after a bottle of formula.
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