Free Maternal Milk: What I need to know

I thought it was meaningful to allocate a post on this topic because there was not much information on this by individual consumers. A lot of the articles were from the producers themselves, so they are definitely only talking about the benefits about the maternal  milk.

One thing that I realised was all the maternity milk producers gave very nice freebies for you to sample their products. For the best freebies, you can redeem either Dumex or Nestle. For the best testing, go for Similac! My Dad has always been commenting that I should start drinking such milk, so I went ahead and redeem two cans for myself.

Things I learnt on Maternity Milk

1. Don't drink it cos it makes you fat!

Guess what people, this isn't true at all. I check with my doc. and the only reason why she told me to hold on for now was because it makes the baby fat. And my baby is already big without drinking those milk. If your baby is small, you might want to take maternal milk instead of gouging on durian so that the baby get good nutrients.

2. I should drink as per the stated number of scoops

Based on the instructions menu, it was advised to take 6 scoops * 2 cups a day. Most gynaes would have given you quite a bit of supplements. My alarm bells started ringing when I saw there was a bit of overlap, so I lugged my unopened can to seek advise from my doc. Before consuming anything, it is really better to check with the Doc. For me, my doc. told me given that I am taking extra supplements, I only needed 1 scoop * 1 cup max. I think if you are trying to save some money on supplements, you can take the recommended amount. 

3. There is no need to buy maternal milk. Many mothers are happy to give away free.

This is actually true. If you are not particular about taste etc., there will be many mums who have redeemed it and end up can't really consuming it. If you know where to find the forums, there will be many mothers that will be blessing it away. Alternative you can drink it during breast-feeding :)

** Will be continuing to update this because I still have so many questions for my Doc.

Oeteo: Baby's First Set of Clothes

Baby finally got its first set of clothes from Oeteo (pronounced as Ee-tay-o). If you surf the web long enough, you will notice that Oeteo is quite a popular brand among mothers and I think it is really because of the vibrant, rather gender netural designs. Oeteo is having an online sale now and a lot of its old collections (even the welcome set) are going at a good price.

Baby's first set is also a welcome set - Starry Gaze Welcome Set ($65.90) and Starry Gaze Easysuit Sleep Bag ($28.90). Personally, I find a set like this very reassuring because it has everything the baby needs for its first wear out, without having to worry if anything had been missed. If you open the welcome box, you will find a newborn baby romper, removable bib, beanie, mittens, booties and blanket.

The welcome set is packed in a reusable felt box that can be used to stored baby's stuff, nice! When I opened the set, I can't help but gush on how adorable and tiny they were. The beanie in particular stood out to me. My Mum was telling me how not all babies like wearing things on their head, my brother would always pull it off even as a newborn. And a naughty thought crossed my mind, I will keep putting it on baby if it pulls it off just to disturb it...Muhaha.

The sleepbag seems slightly bigger and I might use it as a transition swaddle. I noticed that for Oeteo the design of the romper is a bit different as it comes with a rubberised bottom that would make dressing the baby fast (see video for more info). My fav. design hack was the removable bib. Instead of velcro, it uses a patch that can easily stick on and off without causing any thread runs. I also really like Baby's blanket cos it would make the framing of its future pictures so much easier. 

As mentioned earlier, Oeteo is having a huge online sale now. A few of the designs really caught my eye and I was one step away from paying for my cart. The only problem was my cult members told me that Oeteo's design were on the "smaller side" and the doc. just told me my baby was a little bigger than its peer. My friends were also telling me please don't go all crazy, at least wait till you know your size of your baby. T.T

If you are a parent already or is planning to get a gift for a friend, I would really encourage you to take a look at the sales, cos the prices are really good for such fancy pieces. If you are like me, Oeteo has kindly extended a 15% discount off for regular priced items. Just key in "Forfunk15" during check out! The coupon expires on 31 Dec 2020 and is not applicable in conjunction with other coupons, sale items or Little Sprout Box. I will probably be using it when baby arrives so that I can grab some X'mas and CNY clothes from the newer collection for it. 

P.S.: The girl's collection at Oeteo is so darn cute!

Nursing Dresses from Malaysia: 9 Months Maternity

Call me blur, but initially I thought there was only maternity dresses. I didn't exactly know that there were nursing dresses in the market (cos in my Mum's time, breast-feeding wasn't the popular option). So when I first knew about nursing dresses, through snooping around websites of cos, I had this cost-saving thought "Could we just have nursing dresses that also double up as maternity dresses?"

I quickly realised the answer was probably no after checking the designs of my nursing dresses. It really depends on the cutting, but most of the time, the priority isn't giving you extra tummy space but the ease of accessing the boobs. By now, I have enough energy to be excited about new clothes again, so here's me flaunting my new shape to the fam!

1. Turquoise Wrap Nursing Dress with Buckle (MYR59)

I tried out 2 different type of openings for my nursing dress, this was the wrap version. My Mum is not too big a fan of this cutting cos wardrobe malfunction are more likely to happen if you fail to wrap your top tightly after "milking".  I personally find it quite easy to access both boobs and you can easily adjust the tightness. A boob flash in my opinion is quite an ungrounded fear. 

This dress has a very vacation vibe which is exactly what I need during this lock-down. My cabin fever has been driving me nuts. By right, I should be on my babymoon so I decided to style this as though I was on a vacation. The material is very breezy and if you are looking for a piece you can double up as a maternity dress, this is a good choice! 

2. Red Draped Nursing Sheath Dress (MYR84.50)

The second piece I got was a little bit more corporate like. I wanted a red festive looking piece because you never know when the occassion calls for it. This used a zip opening, which is more secure than the wrap version. But I do find this cutting a little harder to access the other side of the boob. Definitely, this is not a piece for the third trimester. Even though the material is slightly stretchy, it is not meant to accomodate an enlarged tummy. The material is a lot thicker and warmer but I guess if you will be in an air-con room most of the time, it is fine.

So if you are observant about the currency, you will noticed these pieces are in Ringgit. They are from a Malaysian brand - 9 Months Maternity. They are also on Zalora, but the prices are a lot more attractive if you go direct and you also have a better selection of their pieces (which includes nursing bras, maternity dresses etc.). The only down side is that you will have to get your sizing right as returns might be a little more troublesome, but to be fair, their measurements are quite accurate so you can definitely go direct. To make the deal sweeter for you, quote "ChaaYen" and you can get 15% off for the regular items!