MY BREASTFEEDING GADGETS

"Wow!!!, that's a lot of money, why don't you buy the usual type?

"you're still 'rajin' to pump yea"

That were some reactions I got whenever I did my pumping activity.

The most extreme reaction I remembered was " eh you buat apa tu, dialisis ke?" ha ha...

I know my pump made a strange noise every time it pumps.

Being a full time working mom, travelling daily, of course I need few good gadgets to help my breastfeeding journey.
I know my journey is not as impressive as many moms outside there, but, no harm sharing , right?

In fact sharing is caring and "kehidupan adalah perkongsian"

So let me start with this...




This Medela Pump in Style Traveller had been around since 2004. Want to know the price?
Well, it was half of my monthly paycheck 5 years ago.I really have to dig out the money from my near-depleted saving account.

But, hey, it is really worth it. How can we compare a few thousands ringgit to the greatness of breastmilk created by our All-great Creator?

For me it has served Fairuz, Zulfa, currently still loyally serves Wafa.My niece, Wardah also got her mother's milk with the help of this machine.

It can be overwhelming at first with all the tubing and wires but once you get familiar with it, the pumping session will go like a breeze.

With its double pumping features, the output is greater than single-pumping gadget.

In fact, I can pump while driving, with the help of a 'hands- free bra' of course (sorry I don't have the heart to capture the photo of it).

I have to mention that every morning, while I am busy to get ready to work, juggling between breastfeeding my youngest and ensure that my hijab is in order, my darling hubby is the one obediently assembling all the tubings, bottles, the ice packs and all inside the bag and put everything in my car.
He even know "what to put where" if I decided to pump while driving and I just sit in and stucked the thing on my B then drove on.

Thank you dear!

Actually this is the lower end of Pump in Style range, now they have more advance than this.

But for me, it is my life saver...sturdy, never break down, and comes with a compact backpack eventhough it can be heavy.

Then, the next important gadget is the bottles and the icepack inside it cute back (photo pending :D)

All those things get into the backpack just nice.



Then how do I keep all the milk.....


This time around, I wanted to try the milk organizer, so I bought a few.

While it is very handy in oraganizing the 'first in, first out " concept, but because of it price, I have to limit myself to 2 sets (4 altogether), so the maximum I can put inside those are 48 bags.



Now I keep the milk in the 'dadih' container which can only be used once or twice.

I wish I can be more 'green' than this.



After that....my freezer.


This deep freezer, from Singer also has been there since 2004, when the normal fridge I have could not cope with all my stocks that time.

Currently, I have the first two drawers to fill in my stocks, now approaching 100 bags.




The 'nice to look' accessories.....


He..he...this drying rack also is relatively a new item in my breastfeeding journey.

I know, I know....you don't have to have this to ensure successful breastfeeding but if this can make your spirit higher to face all the challenges ahead, then why not?

But this should be at the lower part of your list 'lah' ...

This time around, I decided to go for MAM bottle instead of Avent bottle I have loyally used since Fairuz.

I wanted to get away from the BPA content ...... but personally I prefer Avent bottle but the BPA-free Avent bottle is not readily available in Malaysia as yet.
I know few online stores have it on their site but still, I have to preorder first , which I still pending doing.




This liquid cleanser and the brush is one of the 'must have' accesories in my list.

I try to avoid the strong chemical present in the usual dishwashing cleanser.

It lasts quite long....about a month.

I have a smaller version of this in my office, well, I still do my bottle-washing at work.



Then, my knowledge resources.....

I did a lot of reading before I ventured into this breastfeeding thingy 5 years ago.
Most were from online sites.

Just google 'breastfeeding' then....whoaa....overwhelming materials will appear...

I strongly believed that breastfeeding needs a vast of knowledge, particularly for a working mom.
You just cannot survive hearing all those myths and hearsay from your in-laws, old-fashioned aunties and friends, even doctors (and paediatricians) sometime.

Equip yourself with strong knowledge foundation and be steadfast about it.

My prime references will be

Kellymom.com - you can have almost everything on breastfeeding here.

workandpump.com - for the pumping moms - working or not.

susuibu.com - a Malaysian site with online support group

Don't you know that our Prophet once mentioned : if you want to be succesful in the worldly life, you have to have knowledge, if you want to be succesful in the hereafter, you have to have knowledge and it you want to be succesful in both, you have to have knowledge.

How true is that, isn't it?

Breastfeeding is no exception.




This book is a good,compact book for working mom....and you will surprise that many celebrities including Wardina (as in photo) make breastfeeding as part as their life style.



For only RM10, this book is very useful and a handy reference on the go for most moms.



Lastly, this was my inital stock, before all this melted away in one incident, but Alhamdulillah, after a month I can replenish my stock and now more and more bags I have to keep, without much use as I practice pump today for tomorrow's feed.

Alhamdulillah, this time, until now I'm not facing any major obstacles in continue breastfeeding Wafa.
With a strong family support from my hubby, mother and maid, I am still surviving....

OK....if you ask me which gadget is the most important ?

My answer will be YOUR MINDSET AND DETERMINATION indeed.

Happy breastfeeding , gorgeous moms out there.
You are on the right track.


Allahu'alam


Ummuzulfa
16 Mei 2009