How to be a good Otousan??

After anticipating for 9 months, I am finally an otousan! But there are so many things that I did not know. From feeding, to diapers changing, to swaddling, I have never tried any of them before. In fact, I never dared to carry a new born baby.

So... how to be a good Otousan?? Can you believe it? Youtube was one of my favourite teacher. hahaha... Yes. Youtube. Whenever my wife and I are at a lost of what to do, Google and Youtube are our best friends.

Let me share with you some of my experiences and findings. :))

Today I shall share Lesson No.1: Feeding a Baby!

My wife and I believe in breastfeeding because there are SOOOO many goodness in doing so. It benefits the baby just as it benefits the mother.

Some benefits for the baby:
- Breastmilk provides the best and most balanced nutrients for the baby.
- Baby will have lesser trapped gas
- lesser possibility of getting diahorrea
- Breastmilk contains antibodies that builds up baby's immune system
- always fresh and always the right temperature!

Some benefits for Mama:
- closer bonding with baby
- decrease risk of getting cancer
- contracts uterus
- best of all... losing weight! (this is the part my wife love the most! lol)

And of all things, it is very convenient. We don't have to be preparing bottles when we travel around. Worrying about whether there is warm water or not.

Of course, mums can also choose to express out their milk and allow husbands (like me) to feed the baby. AND I LOVE FEEDING MY BOY! :)))) It's a joyful thing to see my baby drinking milk in my hands. The feeling is so lovely.

Well the flip side, breastfeeding can be a tedious job for new mums.
Why do I say that?

Newborn babies doesn't know how to suck and latch properly. So proper latching on is very important. (As if I am very experience right?) I saw how my wife breast feed my boy and like a little tiger cub, he bites and sucks vigorously! ouch... I can imagine how painful it can be.
Within 1 week, my wife's nipples were swollen and it bled. It was so painful that she would tear whenever feeding the baby.

*recommended by my wife"

In order to continue providing Elric with breastmilk and allowing the nipple to heal, we decided to start expressing out the milk and bottle feed him. However, do take note that you should use bottles that are breastfeeding friendly. Which means it is easy for you to switch between bottle and direct feeding. Some bottle nipples flows so easily and the baby becomes lazy to suck when latching on to Mama's nipple. They will cry and reject Mama's nipple. So choosing of bottle and nipple is very important.

We tried a total of 4 brands and finally decided on using Avent Philip bottles.

- Tommee Tippee (my son has to open his mouth very wide when sucking. He doesn't quite like that)
- Chu Chu (Japan brand famous for being slow flow and has glass bottles. Don't have to worry if it is BPA free)
- Nuk (my son's sucking is too strong. So the nipple tends to collapse easily)
- Avent Philip (My son seems to accept the bottle and nipple better)

Each of the brands have their pros and cons, so you have to go about trial and error to get the right brand for your baby.

While exploring the bottle brands, my wife was trying her best to recover her nipple. We bought the lanolin cream from Avent. Pretty useful, but the best way to recover from sore nipple, we feel, is to apply your own breast milk. After expressing out the milk, my wife would apply the breastmilk on the nipple, let it dry and let the milk do it's healing work.

Alternatively, you may like to try Aloe Vera which also has good healing properties.

There are also other products which I bought for my wife to help her recover from the soreness, like breast shield, gel pad for cold and heat treatment. Within 10 days, my wife was back to direct feeding. I will be reviewing some of these products in time to come. :)

Meanwhile... Happy feeding!