My story: breastfeeding support at TMC after birth

uddermummy

Well-Known Member
regina, maybe you can try pumping a bit to pull the nipple out first and then bfing bb?

cos v jia lat and tiring to keep pumping!

the manual pump is good for electrical blackouts! :)
 

apollo

Well-Known Member
I know what you mean... My life was like eat, sleep, take care of baby, pump milk (and repeat). But nowadays, it's getting better. Jiayou!! It willl get better. :Dancing_tongue:
ya tt's y.. actu i somehow feel v guilty cos i only pump twice a day cos i'm realli v shag and aft i pump my shoulder will v sore cos i sit up straight to pump... family ask me to stop BF-ing totally but can't bear to do it cos once stop, is forever no BF for ds le =(
 

apollo

Well-Known Member
regina, maybe you can try pumping a bit to pull the nipple out first and then bfing baby?

cos very jia lat and tiring to keep pumping!

the manual pump is good for electrical blackouts! :)
i tried but b4 the nipple is out, he alrdy wail until face red red... feel so heartache and just give him FM 1st... so far he onli able to latch on once in hospital when i used nipple shield but now when i use, he also dun wan... dunno y... :embarrassed:
 

blubberish

Member
ya that's why.. actually i somehow feel very guilty cos i only pump twice a day cos i'm really very shag and after i pump my shoulder will very sore cos i sit up straight to pump... family ask me to stop BF-ing totally but can't bear to do it cos once stop, is forever no BF for dear son =(
I also felt guilty coz at first, i gave her some FM too as I din have enough milk. Later, I realised that I was already trying my best so I shouldn't beat myself over it. Furthermore, my intention is to give her my best and if I'm too stressed out, it affects me and baby too. So, as long as you do whatever you can to give your baby your milk, then it is good enough.

Plus, now that you got the electric pump, even better! It'd free you so much time!

Anyway, maybe your baby already used to bottle feed and it really is easier than taking to the breast (even though there's so much more benefits in the long run!). Maybe if you want, you can dun give bottle and wait until baby is hungry enough to take the breast.

Don't give up!!! Jiayou! Jiayou! :Dancing_tongue:

P/S: I took fenugreek to increase milk supply. It seems to work. Maybe you can try too. Remember, the more you pump, the more you will have! It might take 24-48hrs to increase it though. So be patient! We can do it!
 

snowbear

Well-Known Member
ya that's why.. actually i somehow feel very guilty cos i only pump twice a day cos i'm really very shag and after i pump my shoulder will very sore cos i sit up straight to pump... family ask me to stop BF-ing totally but can't bear to do it cos once stop, is forever no BF for dear son =(
Hi regina, it's really tough at first, but things will pick up. I suggest that you try to pump more often even though you're tired. I hardly had a 2-hr stretch of sleep in the first month coz i had to pump, feed, wash and sterilise the pump and bottles myself (did not have a CL and dont trust my mother in law to do anything related to baby) and the cycle repeats in about 2-3hrs. did not ask dear husband to help on wkdays coz wanna let him have enuff rest to work properly, so he only helped on wkends.

I also had a tough time coz i had lotsa breastfeeding problems and very painful nipples and my family, esp my mum, see already very heartpain, keep telling me that it's ok to give up. I did think of giving up and i fed dear daughter a few times of fm (alternate breast milk and fm) for a couple of days to let my nipples heal properly coz they were in super bad shape i couldn't recognize them!!!:eek: During that couple of days, i just kept crying every time i thought of giving up bfding coz i was plagued by the guilt. But i was tired and in great pain and i had to choose between providing relief for myself or giving my dear daughter the best milk in the world. In the end i chose to give her what i think is best and i'm really glad i overcame the pain and fatigue. dont really know how i did it, but my friend says that's called "mother's love". :001_302: Persevere and things will pick up. That said, no pressure to continue bfding if it really is unbearable for you. I rem during my difficult times, i felt very pressurised by bfding mummies to continue so i dont wanna pressurise anyone... just wanna share my exp with you. :) i said in this forum during those difficult times that i dont understand how pp in the forum can keep saying that they love bfding. But after persevering thru it all, and when things picked up, i truly know what they mean now.

Before u gave birth i told u i'd be here to help if u have any bfding problems. So here i am! feel free to pm me if u want. :)
 
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uddermummy

Well-Known Member
dear snowbear, had the same prob as you. At one point, i was really going crazy over lack of sleep, lack of support, and pple's comments that my bb was small. BB couldn't latch well and my nipples were bleeding! There was a time when i had to be on painkillers every day!

I went into depression and would cry every morning when i woke up and see how small bb was... I also felt v pressured whenever my family would say the bb was hungry and did not have enuf milk when she cried.

But i v stubborn, and the more my mil didn't seem to think that i could bf, the more i was determined to prove her wrong.

reginah and blubberish, just take one day at a time, and if possible, try to latch so that bfing will be easier and less time consuming.

Let's all give ourselves many many pats on the back for doing the best for our dear bbs! :):Dancing_wub:
 
Yeah, me too. Share the same experience like you :)

Every 2-3 hours they will push the baby to me to breast feed, they make sure my son latch on too. I knew the baby is going to be very sleepy for 3 days cos i am on epidural which i go for c-section. But no matter how i still try hard to let him latch on which he did.

But the problem with me is i dont have milk at all. Only start the after i discharge.

I was also very anxious and to me it is a must thing to bf totally. But i can't request wong boi boi to be with me all the time , cos i also know she got to attend to other mummy loh....

Infact, the nurse was ok, they did tried to help me and bring the baby near to me to breastfeed. they are also very patient....
Yup, totally agree... Nurses over there also keep telling me benefits of breastfeeding when I was there during my #2. Haha, for my #3, they didn't really say much as I told them its my #3 kid, so no need to tell me... But they still very attentive lor. Keep coming to check if everything is ok, whether I'm facing any difficulty...
 

snowbear

Well-Known Member
dear snowbear, had the same prob as you. At one point, i was really going crazy over lack of sleep, lack of support, and pple's comments that my baby was small. baby couldn't latch well and my nipples were bleeding! There was a time when i had to be on painkillers every day!

I went into depression and would cry every morning when i woke up and see how small baby was... I also felt very pressured whenever my family would say the baby was hungry and did not have enuf milk when she cried.

But i very stubborn, and the more my mother in law didn't seem to think that i could bf, the more i was determined to prove her wrong.

reginah and blubberish, just take one day at a time, and if possible, try to latch so that bfing will be easier and less time consuming.

Let's all give ourselves many many pats on the back for doing the best for our dear bbs! :):Dancing_wub:
Yup, i think first time mummies sure will face many problems at first but these can be overcome with time and perseverance. My dd also refused to latch for the first 3 weeks. After i went to clear block ducts during week 4, then the LC taught me to latch again and thereafter, there were some more latching wars before dd finally accepted the breasts. Now she won't drink milk from anything except the breasts.
 

apollo

Well-Known Member
thks uddermummy and snowbear for the encouragement..

at many times i reali feel lik giving up.. cos so far i only able to give him the most 3x breastmilk per day.. but whenever i see him finishing the breastmilk, i feel so contented.. my CL and mum both commented tt ds seems to prefer BM over FM, and this make me feel tt though i now i can only give him 3x BM per day but it's better den nth...:001_302:
 

snowbear

Well-Known Member
thks uddermummy and snowbear for the encouragement..

at many times i reali feel lik giving up.. cos so far i only able to give him the most 3x breastmilk per day.. but whenever i see him finishing the breastmilk, i feel so contented.. my CL and mum both commented that dear son seems to prefer breast milk over FM, and this make me feel that though i now i can only give him 3x breast milk per day but it's better then nth...:001_302:
no prob. :) Alicia also prefers breastmilk to fm. Always gag and choke and throw up after that when she drinks fm. So that was one big reason why i wanted to continue with bfding no matter how tiring it is or painful it was...
 

SunShine07

Member
Yup, totally agree... Nurses over there also keep telling me benefits of breastfeeding when I was there during my #2. Haha, for my #3, they didn't really say much as I told them its my #3 kid, so no need to tell me... But they still very attentive . Keep coming to check if everything is ok, whether I'm facing any difficulty...
Ya lo ya lo, they keep asking me if i am ok with the food and bf. Pretty concern, and i dun feel like discharge cos it is so comfortable staying leh :p
 

blubberish

Member
Actually their service is not bad la... It's just my experience with them "helping" me to breastfeed was more depressing and distressing than helpful. :embarrassed:

Maybe coz they din quite explain their actions and that I didn't know what to expect. I have more experience and knowledge now. Just hope that other first time mothers-to-be will find out more so that they can know what is wrong if they experience it.
 

Imac

Member
hi there,

i'm new to this forum.

altho this thread has stopped sometime back, i wish to share my experience.

i delivered my bb on 30 sept. indeed wasn't satisfied with the lactation nurse who should f/up to ensure that BF was in order n right way.

on e 3rd day to be discharged, e lactation nurse did visit me at all! not like what e hospital or mrs wong said. it was e nurse manager who told me that the lactation nurse was busy. it's not my biz that biz 'is too gd' at TMC! neither did i receive a f/up call fm e hospital.

i'm so occupied in e confinement time n did not launch a complaint to e hospital at all! for sure, if were to deliver again, will NOT Return to TMC.

just a note that among many nurses in e nursery, there is a young skinny nurse with a ponytail who is e most cautious. she told me that my boy was cold n thus a need to adjust e aircon temperature. also, she did guide me how to BF when i demo to her.

as for another nurse (I think it was a malay), after she pushed e bb to me when it's BF time, she said that she would come back n bring back e bb. she didn't after bb n i napped for a few hrs in e middle of e night! i had to call for e nurse to bring e bb back as e bathing time is ard 5am that all bb have to be returned by then.

shld hv called up mrs wong to visit as she said that me as 1 of e customers signing up her pre-natal class, she would come by to check n guide me.
 

klearad

Member
um... I have a pleasant experience at TMC, only have bad experience on the billing portion as we have to wait very very long.

I was induced on 9 March and delivered on 10 Mar 09. Nurses there were nice and sort of encourage me and talked to my hubby during my long labour. I remembered that I got to carry my baby in the labour ward once she is clean up. However, I cant remember if I get to breastfeed her there.

The nurses brought my bb to my ward once she is completely clean up and I breastfeed her. Being a first-time mum, the nurse guided me on how to bring baby to my nipple and feed her. However, the nurses there did not really teach me on how to breastfeed my baby in various positions. As I did not have milk, I told the nurses to give my bb a little formula milk but I still continue to let my baby latch on, hopefully to stimulate milk. Think they did tell me that its ok not to feed the baby with formula milk as baby has enough 'stock' to last them for 3days or so, even without milk from mummies.

Nurses there have been very nice and prompt. They even bought a birthday cake for me as my baby share the same birthday as me. I delivered 9pm+, they sent me cake 11pm+. They pushed in my baby from nursery room to me for breastfeeding, even when baby is sleeping. Hee and I managed to have my baby be with me whenever I requested the nurses to bring her in to my bed so that I can cuddle her and let my family carry her.

I do agreed that some of the nurses there ACTION before they ASK us. Would prefer that they explain what they will be doing next and why, so that we are more prepared or can voice out if we disagree.

My gynae is based at TMC, so I will go back to TMC for 2nd delivery (if have).
 
Glad I told my gynae that I want to choose Mt A, :wong29:
ya you shld!
mt a provided very good and excellent services!!
i just gave birth on 3 apr 09 this your
never regretted choosing there
staff were friendly, and nurses too!
among say for eg. 10 nurses, only 2 were kinda unfriendly the rest were great!
mi also c sect but the nurses carried baby to me =D
she was also wheeled in to me within an hr frm my birth
and to me every 3hrs =D
but baby was also forced on to my breast and was kinda uneasy
maybe that is a standard way???
my nipples even had blistered after latching on for the first few daes =(
but the lactation lady sae still can and i had to endure the pain everytime baby latched on...
but overall service was great!
 

Goldiemum

Member
I had similar experience on BFing with TMC as well. My boy couldn't latch and the ward nurses commented that I have flat nipples. I kept asking for LC help and she only came the next day. She managed to latch my boy successfully but didn't really stayed longer to advise me what I should do. Her phone kept ringing and she barely stayed for 5min as she saw that the baby had latched so she left. But my subsequent attempts were unsuccessful and one of the ward nurse introduced nipple shield to me. I accepted thinking that that will help me pull my nipple out and aid in the BFing. It was a BIG mistake. I shouldn't have implemented nipple shield to my boy. He couldn't latch directly after we got home. I went in TMC for BF consultantation again but the LC couldn't latch my boy either. I believe the damage has already been done. I was so depressed during my whole month of confinement thinking that I should have done better and be more prepared myself. I was so full of myself thinking that I will have no problem BFing. I should have make the effort to read up more. Now, I expressed out for my boy.

The problem with TMC is that the hospital is too busy. From midwife to ward nurse to LC, they are always rushing in and out. They have many babies delivering everyday so they cannot afford to spend the time. I had feedbacks from friend on her bad experience with TMC LC before and she went to KK LC for help which in fact help solve her problem.

I reckon my next pregnancy I would probably choose the other hospital.
 
Urm, seems like you all have bad experience with Thomson Medical Center huh? Maybe bcoz you all are 1st time mums?

I had my 1st experience at Kandang Kerbau Hospital and it was damn bad... Nurses there dont show sympathy at all... I couldn't BF but they insisted I should n when I cried, they scolded me...

My 2nd n 3rd experience was at Thomson Medical Center, simply wonderful... My 2nd 1 this time round i wanted to BF, as I was struggling, the nurses der all very patient n caring... the lactation staff, i 4got her name, came up few times to help me too when i requested...

3rd experience was I oreadi know how to BF, so it was orite for me. As for baby to be brought to me, they aways bring in during feeding time, which is every 3 to 4 hours interval. N each time they leave baby with me for at least 2 hours.

Btw, baby gotta put in warmer bcoz their body temp is quite low. You dont 1 your baby to be sick right? The nurses der are not new, they have many yrs of experience, so they will know better then us too.

For breast milk, it will only come in on the 3rd day, 1st 2 days baby has reserved inside the body so we do not have to worry. as for feeding with FM at hospital, the nurses will only give when the mother requests for it. They are totally pro active on TBF at Thomson Medical Center.
Hi, 1st time mummy @thomson, may 09... had a wonderful time there as well.... nurses were really nice..... No LC but the nurses and my gynae really helped me a great deal....

I was exhausted right after my labour but the nurses & my gynae encouraged me to let my baby latch on since she's on total BF... Nurses even got me to join their free class which teaches us, 1st time mummies to take care of their babies.... bathing, clothing, safety and latching.... was surprised to read the encounter.... guess it really depends on the nurses who are on shift...
 

beerbelly

Member
oh dear.....just read this thread and I'm feeling so worried now. I'm already towards the end of my 37th week, and will be delivering at TMC. I want to total breast feed my boy, but now I have almost no faith in the hospital! :eek:

Ugh, is it too late to change hospitals? I have already sent in the pre-admission form.....hmmmmmm
 
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