First Mom Discoveries

 Why you shouldn’t worry about breastmilk

I wished someone told me I should stop worrying about producing colostrum. Colostrum is the early stages of your body ramping up breastmilk production . It’s important to produce and keep the colostrum in the freezer before your baby arrives. It’s full of antibodies that protects your newborn. 

My mother was one of the women who stressed over how to start breastfeeding a newborn. She ended up giving up trying after only 1 week. Not only that, the pain from attempting to breastfeed a newborn made her steer clear from it . Hence, I only knew powder milk. 

Fast forward a few decades later and here I am. A mother of my own. I wished someone told me that you could start using either a manual or electrical breast pump to massage the breasts in your last trimester . This is essential as stimulating the breasts sends a signal to the brain to produce  hormones that switches on breast milk production. Think of it like starting a manual car. You’ve got to ease the car engine before fully starting it. Well, if you ever drove a Toyota Landcruiser from the early 80s , you know what I mean.

Besides biochemically prepping your body naturally, you are creating a habit for your body clock to express milk at regular timings. This is probably the second thing women struggle with hence throwing women into a vicious mental cycle of self-doubt and stress. Thus, further reducing their chances of more breast milk production.

I learnt this the hard way. Went through a period of sleep deprivation trying to express more milk while keeping up with my newborn’s eating routine. Since I am also an artist, I need both my hands and mobility to work so finding the right breast pump that gave me freedom to work was crucial.

I’ve gone through 6 electric breast pumps. Ranted out in frustration to my husband each time they failed. Read all I can online and only finally find 1 electric pump brand that I use until 11th month of my baby. 

This brand did not sponsor me. I found it and bought it on my own. It’s called Horigen Breast Pump . I got it from their official store on Shopee Malaysia.

Why this worked for me , firstly the design of the pump and pump motor. I’ve used wireless breast pumps but they either had no suction or became weaker the more I used it. 

Here’s what to look for in an electric breast pump :

Characteristics of a good long lasting breast pump with chances of  increasing breast milk production 

✨  A motor that is detached on from the pump to prevent backflow & longevity of breast pump motor

✨Less than / only 5 components to clean after each pump

✨Fast disassembly & reassembly of breast pump components ( essential if you work , take care of baby & do housework altogether )

✨ Massaging modes and expression modes ( essential in the beginning to activate your breasts to produce more breast milk each week) - This is what I love about Horigen!

✨ Portability . This is important especially travelling in the car , on the plane etc. Baby products are a lot so having a light and easy pump to carry is a bonus

✨ Learn about your nipple shape and size .  ( Horigen breast pump so far I never needed to buy any add on to better fit my nipples . Their silicone suction cups are quite universal nipple size friendly in my opinion )

I hope in your random searches on the internet while awaiting your due date that you found this blog and hopefully it was helpful. I spent the first 3 months struggling with finding a portable breast pump that was easy to clean, assembly and most importantly could increase my breastmilk production. 

This is not a sponsored brand post but a review and diary of the solution to my struggle. 

Most importantly, if you let your mind wander away from meeting the daily quota of breastmilk , you’d find yourself expressing more milk at ease.