pumping iron (not!)

man... it's been real challenging the last few weeks! never knew how tough it could be!

we all know now that breastmilk is best for babies right? it was unheard of in our parent's era, so that explains why i have so much difficulty trying to breastfeed ethan. the chinese and western concepts are just worlds apart. what's with this whole confinement thing? i can't even take care of my little one on my own ... that's left to my mother in law now and i seriously think ethan's beginning to think she's his mommy :P anyway old wives' tales about not being able to touch water, bathe, etc.. have rendered me pretty much an invalid, so i'm also not entirely surprised why ethan prefers my MIL to me. i simply haven't been handling and bonding with him as often as i'd like to. but i'll just hang in here till after the 1-mth confinement and then i gotta double up to get re-acquainted with the little guy.

now back to breastfeeding... i've succumbed to pumping out the milk for ethan simply cos we introduced the bottle too early (again, due to 'well -meaning' folks around us who said the baby is extremely hungry in the early days when breastmilk has not been established) and now he just prefers the bottle to my breast. kinda sad that he rejects my breast cos i really did want to establish that bond between mother & son, but hey, we can't force things in life right? so now i have to milk myself like a cow every 3 hrs. it can get boring after a while, but i'll do it so long as it's good for him. it's the least i can do to ensure he has a good start.

anyway it's only 1 more week to the end of this silly imprisonment, so at least the light at the end of the tunnel is keeping me going. we're celebrating his first month at our place and inviting some relatives and friends over. nothing fancy - just catering some food and keeping it simple :)