"EXCUSE ME, I'M LACTATING."

Since having a pair of functional boobies now, my lunch break stretches to almost 2 hours. Expressing milk has become a daily routine since I started working, and it gives me a much needed break. My supply took a dip a few weeks ago; from 7-8 oz per session, I only managed to get 2-3 oz nowadays. 4 if I'm lucky. Imagine my joy, after relentlessly squeezing and pumping, it went up to a glorious 5 oz!



Breastfeeding is one of the most wonderful thing to me, although sometimes it's time consuming, and I ALWAYS have to find ways to pump milk, WHEREVER I am (yesterday, it was a handicap toilet booth at a swanky hotel in Penang) to keep the supply up.
I'm really proud to say that I have done everything I could to breastfeed my baby as long as I can, eventhough Lil Nunu is partly on formula now. Its pretty emotional for me, when well-meaning people give confusing, conflicting and demotivating comments & advice regarding Nunu's feeding habits.
Like, when she refused to take the bottle (of my own milk) from the babysitter as I started going back to work and she had to be spoonfed, I felt like I was blamed for not "teaching" Nunu the bottle while I was in confinement. How can I be blamed? The nurses at the hospital are strongly against the bottle, and they warned me of nipple confusion syndrome (BAH! Balderdash syndrome. No such thing! Mother in confusion adalah!).
Then there was this "right breast- rice, left breast- drink" belief. This silly idea that your child should eat rice first, then drink, adds to roller-coaster ride. Pening kepala!

Needless to say, first time mums are a nervous wreck. Which is why I am truly glad that the breastfeeding bewilderment phase is over, and I can breastfeed Nunu in any way that I or Nunu like, now that it's just the two of us at home. Drifting happily in mother-child bonding. To hell with you callous people and your patronizing remarks!

What still bugs me is that I keep getting this reaaally nasty lumps even if I pumped my boobs dry. There's no other way getting rid of these painful lumps but to let lil Nunu suckle the boob till it's gone. And usually accompanying the darn lump/lumps is a shooting backache, right between the shoulder bones. I tried ice packs, warm compress, massage, almost everything. And it's getting on my nerves. Therefore, pardon the lactating missus. She's having a really bad day.

In my pursuit of finding a remedy for this predicament, I try to get my hands on everything about breastfeeding. Including these Avent booklets I got at a small baby shop.



What kind of a mother visits 3 baby shops in a day - though she's terribly late for an appointment? A desperate mother, I assure you.

However, I found something else which holds more interest to me than the baby herself.


This shall be my bible. Hurrah to Fisher-Price!