911, Breastmilk Emergency!

"911, whats your emergency?"

"My breastmilk! They need to be transferred to another freezer because the current freezer now needs to be shut down for 4 hours. And if that happens, my breastmilk will melt!"

Okay, so maybe I didn't exactly call the 911 hotline, but if I could, I would! It was such drama at home a few days back, I swear!

You see, I am not the type that makes abundant supply of milk easily like some moms do. In fact, with my first baby, I was forced to supplement him with formula because my milk production was low.

Knowing this, this time around, I made sure I prep myself with more reads on breastfeeding, more water intake, more tips from the "sifoos" in breastfeeding, and of course, more pumping!

I started pumping as early as week 2 after my delivery this time. Thanks to the tips shared by Irin Putri who adviced me to pump while direct feed, I've managed to collect 40+oz for my baby when the time the drama happened, alhamdulillah :) It may not be a lot to milk-factory moms like some of you, but they are the world to me! In fact, they're currently my obsession! ;p



So you can imagine my terror when I noticed one day that the freezer door at my in law's place is not as 'sticky' as it should be. We're guessing the 'stickiness' is wearing off, and that's something I can't risk! Quickly, I told my husband that we needed a new fridge or all the effort I've put in would go to waste. Immediately, my husband went out to buy a new one. The thing about new fridges is that, you'll need to allow 4 hours before you can switch on the power button. And that's when trouble strikes!

The moment I heard that the new fridge cant be used immediately, my blood rushed to my head as I panic-ly think of ways to save my 40oz of milk (then) from melting! Should I buy ice cubes? Should I get help from the neighbor and use her freezer space temporarily? Should I go back to my house with all the milk and store them there?

After some careful thinking, I decided to bring all 40oz of milk back to my own house in Bukit Jelutong. (In case you're wondering, I'm currently at my in law's place in Shah Alam until my confinement ends.)

Then, another thing occured to me. How do I bring all the milk without risking any of them melting? It was blazing hot then! Luckily, I remembered my good ol' Pureen cooler bag that I used for storing Aydein's milk then.



Quickly, I grabbed it and stuffed as many bottles as I could with a few ice cubes inside it.



As for the remaining bottles that couldn't fit? I placed them in Aydein's toy-bag with loads and loads of ice cubes in it :P



Together with my parents in law, we rushed out of the house and alhamdulillah, in just 15 mins, we arrived my house in Bukit Jelutong with the 40oz milk saved; frozen and fresh, alhamdulillah. :D



When all this ended, I realize I learned 3 things :

1. New fridges can never be used immediately. Don't let anyone tell u otherwise (because the SA told us it could!)
2. Get ice packs if you plan to stock up your milk. You will need them!
3. Invest in a good cooler bag that is at least medium sized, so when things like this happen, you don't have to use your son's McQueen's toy-bag! ;p

And alhamdulillah, from that day onwards, I have not stopped pumping and managed to stock up about 60+oz now for Adeena. It's true what they say, sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit (slowly but surely). :)



1+ more month to go before mama goes back to work, baby. Let's just pray mama gets to stock up enough milk for you, in time! :)