by Ayuni Ayatillah @ Mommy Confessionals

Abundant breastfeeding references in their resource centre

A few weeks ago I have blogged about SusuIbu.com breastfeeding for working moms’ class, and I was very honoured to be invited by Pn Kamariah, a lactation consultant of SusuIbu.com to attend the workshop.

Eventhough I am currently not pregnant and no longer breastfeeding at the moment, I figured why not. Plus it was also good knowledge for me to keep and use again in the future.

So on 4^th November 2012, I drove all the way to Bangi to their HQ and attended the 90 minutes session (which actually turned out a bit longer because we were all so engaged! Hehe).

The workshop was actually intended for working moms and more of how to help them plan their breastfeeding and pumping schedules, by understanding the key concepts of breastfeeding.

I can personally say that it also doubles as a refresher class for moms who already got the hang of breastfeeding, and if they wish to reaffirm their “theories” and of course, learn more new things. In my case, even though I have gone through a breastfeeding experience, this class actually taught me a new thing or two, which made me go “Ooooooohh…..” (like an enlightenment of sorts, haha).

Ayuni & Pn Kamariah

Some of the new things that I have learned:

• The reason why mommy and baby MUST stay together in the first 6 months is because it is necessary that the mom adapts to the same environment as the child, so that she can produce the optimum breastmilk for the child – one with the right concoction of nutrition and antibodies. This applies to daycares too, the more we are present and breastfeed at the daycare, the better protection is present in our breastmilk. Hah! I did not know that! More reason to find a daycare near to office I presume…hmmm…
• The thing that makes the breast heavy when they get engorged is water! Not milk! No wonder there was a lot of water coming out prior to the real milk. The fact is the longer the produced milk is kept inside, the higher the attraction it makes to water. This is helpful when planning the pumping time, the best way is to pump before we get engorged!
• There is no such thing as one breastpump fits all. Apparently we have to get a breast pump shield that fits snugly and nicely on the breasts, so that the expression hits the right spot (just outside the areolas). So the best way to buy pumps is to go and get a fit! There are also breast pump shield extensions sold in the market, in case you still have problems finding the right fit. This is new to me! I had this problem before, so there, next time I am sooo finding those extensions.
• Paced bottle feeding is a better way to bottle feed a baby. This way, it helps baby with their suckling because it imitates breastfeeding, hence produces a more satisfying feeding for baby and optimum milk intake (prevents over feeding and lazy-to-suckle baby). Paced bottle feeding can also help baby stay interested in breastfeeding even when he is being bottle fed at a caregiver. Read more about it here and watch a video about it here.

See? A lot of things to learn! If you attend the class yourself, the bonus is you get to ask your burning questions straight to the lactation expert. Plus you get to share the experiences from other moms too.

All the moms and mom-to-be

However if breastfeeding is totally new to you, there is another class that SusuIbu provides, called NES101: Breastfeeding Workshop for Expecting Parents. According to Pn Kamariah the class is more suitable for expecting couples, and is more hands-on.

All in all I would say that the class was VERY informative. I would totally recommend it. And if the class duration is made longer, that would be awesome too!

Thanks again SusuIbu.com! 🙂

“Breastfeeding is not only about how much milk you have in stock, it is about the precious mom and child bonding that comes with it” – Pn. Kamariah