Babywearing - Jumpsac and Wrapsody Wraps

Holla...

Salam Ramadhan. It's day 2 already?

Busy. Jadi takde nak update sangat. BUT, I have new kind of indulgence these days - woven wraps. Hahahaha... yes, sangat detrimental for the pocket I can say!

The awaited fluffy mail.
Such a beauty isn't she?
Currently Jumpsac does not produce this anymore.
Lucky me!

I bought my first woven wrap a month ago (in May) and I LOVE it to bits! The thing is, some people like new things but there's this trade secret within the babywearing world - buy the 'broken-in' ones so that you don't have to trouble yourself going through all those starchy-diggy-wraps. I got mine from a mama from Babywearing Mamas (BWM) group in Facebook. Boyyyyyy everyone was jealous of the colours and many mamas queue on the DIBS (do inform before selling - chup la kiranya).

Jumpsac Taht 70's Rainbow with Violet Weft
Size 5
This is Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC) style
This picture was taken during Ahmad's audiology appointment at HPj.

It is super soft and those who tried it on during small gathering in June totally loved it! I wore it in public for umpteen times but the only time I managed to capture it in action was during Ahmad's audiology assessment early June (before I got back to work from my maternity leave).

A week after I got my Rainbow, one of the admins of BWM pm-ed me and asked if I would like to buy her Wrapsody Aurora. I said yes without hesitant and paid it with a payment plan. I just got it last week. Yeayyyyy... And I've been spamming my wall with action pictures.

Wrapsody Aurora size 6
Ashley even gave me the tying instruction by Didymos
And it never fails to make Ahmad sleep. I always do my house chores in wraps or SSC.

I've been experimenting with the ties in the book so please bear with my enthusiasm hahaha... Will definitely try with back carry because it is easier for me to cook. And safety measures for Ahmad too.

Enjoying the hands-free time and play with your older child.
Best kan? Kan? :D

How to choose the right carrier for your baby?

For newborns, and especially for a newbie mommies, try a ring sling. You could always opt for a batik sling, sewn or no-sew. Be careful with the rings because we need a metal ring with no openings. The best rings are the aluminium rings. DO NOT buy ring slings with nylon or plastic rings. There have been cases reported that the rings snapped or broken - and the rest you can guess.

Ring sling
Source: Jumpsac Baby

And, DO NOT buy front-facing carriers, or crotch carrier (narrow-based hip). Illustrations as per below shows why we should not buy narrow-based carriers or hipseat:

WRONG                                                   RIGHT

THE WRONG WAY
Thigh NOT supported to the knee joint.
The resulting forces on the hip joint may contribute to hip dysplasia
Source: Hip Dysplacia.org

THE CORRECT WAY
Thigh is supported to the knee joint.
The forces on the hip joint are minimal because the legs are spread, supported,
and the hip is in a more stable position.
Source: Hip Dysplacia.org

Personally I prefer wraps. A wrap is also very, very comfy because I get to nurse my baby while walking around! Yeaaa... and Ahmad prefers wraps too because it snugs him in place. Asal keluar masuk dalam wrap je tidur or memang duduk diam. Refer to my pictures in action. Heheheheheh~ *racun*

Tapi kalau nak cepat, e.g. from the car to the nursery (20-30 metres), I'd buckle up my SSC. This is because Ahmad already has good head control, hence the SSC. If your baby still hasn't have his head control, use a ring sling. SSC is recommended for babies from 4 months old and above. You can actually watch tutorials on how to tie your wraps and ring sling on YouTube for better demonstration. I might do my own version of tutorial styles too, if I'm that rajin :P

If you still can't decide which one to use, please do not hesitate to join the group for newbies Gendong 101 on Facebook and you can ask questions there, and also rent the carriers.

Happy babywearing everyone! :D

Sorotan Sepanjang Minggu

1. Anak OKU terabai disangka mayat.

Tak boleh nak digest okeh cerita ni! Whatever it is, I reserve my comments on this matter sebab nak elakkan fitnah.

2. Kereta dilarikan perompak - termasuk anak 9 tahun dan 3 bulan di hadapan rumah pengasuh.

Lesson: JANGAN tinggal anak dalam kereta. Enjin hidup ke enjin mati ke angkut je lah semua. Hence I bought TWO soft-structured carrier untuk angkut kesemua anak-anak dari dan ke kereta. Anak dah boleh berjalan sila pimpin ye. Although they came back safely, still, mishaps are about to happen anytime. Be EXTRA careful.

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3. My pumping schedule :D

Keep pumping religiously y'all! No pain no gain. But since A LOT of effort done in making sure the stock is sufficient, I treat EBM like gold. So you can see the stock is 740oz already. Wayyyyy better than those days where my stock was around 400oz in the 4th month.

Do your own schedule. Lain orang lain schedule ye. Now I stick to pumping 2-hourly. Power pumping works too ;)

Exam

Last two days were ... INDESCRIBABLE.

I had exams on both Saturday and Sunday, yep on weekends. Only had Friday night left to study because we were too busy with our assignments. I had my friends over on Friday, we took leave specifically to finish our group assignments. Imagine us, moms, the three of us juggling with work, study and kids. Yeaaa... hectic, and seemingly interesting too ahahahaha...

The only time we really studied was before the exam. I came early so that I could go through the notes and boy, last minute discussions really worked for me! even my friends told me whatever I told them (more like storytelling session haha) really etched in their mind and helped during exam. Well, glad it worked that way. I was thinking that my voice annoyingly echoed in their heads ahahahahahaa~

I was really sleepy during ALL papers. Sleep-deprived.

Yesterday after I came back home, had lunch and performed Zuhur prayer. Breastfed Ahmad. I fell asleep until almost 6.30 pm. Luckily Mak woke me up and I performed Asar quite late that day.

I pray that my results would be better. But we don't know that. Tawakkal je lah kan. Nangis pun tak guna.

*now concentrating on KMMG*

Preferences and References

This morning I woke up late. Usually I'd wake up at 4.30 am or 5.00 am for the first pumping session but nayyyyy... I slept late last night due to finishing up my assignments T___T

So I was  done with the first session at 8 am. 7oz. Not bad. Supposedly 10oz. But we'll compensate that in 2 hours' time (it means now hehe).

Last night was hectic. I was lone with 2 kids at home. I tandem-nursed my kids - a form of bribery for Amna actually ahahahahahahahaaa~ Well she threw her tantrums like nobody's business! I had to use a method to pacify her - and breastfeeding works wonders hahahahahaha *tak bersalah langsung*

Due to yesterday's emergency (the one that I had to send extra EBM), I packed 2oz x 8 bottles for Ahmad today. So overall is 16oz. I do hope he drinks them all. Growth spurt is good, but then there's always this unexpected thing happens - your baby tiba-tiba jadi cranky, kembung perut etc. No, not Ahmad but he poops twice daily now. So much for digesting the milk eh?

Current stock: 650oz.

Why I make fuss on numbers? I am planning to get another milk baby. Whenever I tell this to my office mates (more to subordinates actually) they have this kind of weird face expressions (which you know they don't agree on such thing). Really? You'd rather give your baby formula milk, then be it. I'd rather give away my milk because there is nothing can be compared to breastmilk. It's natural. it has all the nutrients that your baby needs. Formulated milk us just man-made with over the top claims - menyambungkan sel-sel otaklah, lebih berzatlah, all those loadful of bs.

Source: Breastfeeding Mama Talk

So compare them for yourself.  :)

Breastfeeding is sunnah. Need I say more?

Growth Spurt

Baru balik hantar EBM kat Ahmad.

The nanny Whatsapp-ed me at 12.30pm, informing me that they ran out of EBM and Ahmad was feeding on the last bottle of EBM when I called. I was pumping that time so I guess I would just send the fresh EBM. But wait, 2 botol je mana cukup.

Singgah rumah on the way. Thawed the remaining 3oz frozen EBM (separuh dah guna untuk this morning) and all together 4 bottles of EBM. Usually I prepared 2oz x 7 bottles of chilled and thawed EBM for the nursery. And since yesterday, Ahmad managed to finish 6 bottles. The last bottle (chilled EBM), hantar untuk 1st feeding session (I put number on the bottle caps 1-10, and today I ran out of numbers LOL).

Yes, growth spurt. Some mommies who are unable to produce enough milk stock would dread on growth spurt, but alhamdulillah, I have abundance. It's just that I prefer fresh/chilled EBM rather than giving frozen ones. But hey, Ahmad jenis tak kisah, although he made faces tapi telan jugak 4-5 botol when I left him with my mom during my class.

To mommies out there, breastfeeding is a journey that you will treasure for life. memang awal-awal tu susah, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy peasy. Panaskan EBM sambil pejam mata je. My toddler, Amna tak nak EBM. Geli - perhaps yang dulu-dulu punya EBM tengik so she refuses to take any milk in a feeding bottle (dah transfer dalam cawan pun tak nak -__-). What you have to do is keep pumping. I pump at least 5 times a day. So balik rumah tandem nurse + pumping at 6pm (usually Ahmad sleeps at whenever I fetch him) and if I am so rajin, I will pump at 9pm/10pm.

My target is simple. I want to make sure I will be able to provide more fresh/chilled EBM everyday. At least 4 out of 7 bottles. Set your target. Banyak stock tu tak penting. Yang penting, your milk is enough for your baby. Ada lebih baru masuk freezer ok?

:)

Back to Work. Yeay.

Second week at work already.

Baru ada kesempatan nak menaip dengan senang hati. Nottttt...

This coming weekend ada exam. Sabtu dan Ahad. Last week attended final classes. 

Assignment. Tak. Siap. Lagi.

Lucky it was group assignment. Saturday tu jugak pulun buat presentation slides. Macam haram kan.

Truthfully, having a baby (and a toddler) and studying at the same time really puts your patience to test. Stress woooo... Masa pregnant siap menangis buat assignment. Third week of pantang dah attended class. Had to catch up with milk-pumping activity and also taking care both my Amna and Ahmad. Luckily husband dah belikan Medela FS. Sangat-sangat bersyukur.

So, where do I start? (baru nak bertanya)

Ahmad's current milestones:

1. Rolled over successfully at the age of 2.5 months. Now striving to move forward. Wow. I am amazed with his achievements really.
2. Current weight: 6.6kg. Height 63cm. Sama macam Amna dulu.
3. Hantar sama dengan Amna. 2oz EBM per session. Since he's having reverse cycle, kat nursery habis dalam 3-4 bottles je. The rest repeat.

Amna:

1. Tantrums
2. Very clear pronunciation. But a phrase of 3 words tu kadang-kadang Rezal and I tak faham haha.
3. Tantrums. Loves singing and acting. Very-very smart. An excellent observer and a fast-learner. So jangan sesekali memaki-maki depan dia. Cepat tangkap. (bukan puji anak sendiri but more terrified takut terlepas cakap depan Amna)
4. Tantrums. Suka makan sayur. Sangat.
5. Hulurkan my pump and bottles when she sees me collecting my gear. Awwww... ibu sangat terharu ye Amna!
6. Imitate breastfeeding action. Angkat baju dan susukan kucing robot! Ahahahahaa~

I love my life now. Really. Couldn't ask for more.

To my dearest husband (aka tukang tadah telinga kena bebel), thank you Abang. For every little thing that you did for us :)

Ahmad and Amna.