Cord blood: To store or not to store

Prior to pregnancy, we had not heard much of umbilical cord blood (UCB) storage. Our first introduction was through a commercial pamphlet at our O&G. It sounded like a wonder cure if ever our child needed it.

Briefly, the UCB stored may just save a child in the future in re certain critical illnesses. Science has found medical use for UCB. What is required is for the UCB to be drained and stored at birth. This is a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity for parents to extract the UCB and have it stored long-term. In cases where the UCB is not drained for storage, the umbilical cord (together with the UCB inside) is cut from the baby and disposed.

We were initially keen. Before deciding, we had:

1. Discussed with our gynae. She encouraged storage if we could afford it.
   
2. Spoken with a doctor friend who'd recently given birth to her firstborn. She didn't store.
   
3. Spoken with friends who had stored.
4. Attended a talk of one of the companies providing private UCB extraction and storage services.
   
5. Read articles on The New England Journal of Medicine, WebMD, Cord-Blood.org and the internet generally.
6. Discussed (and argued) with each other.
   

In the end, we decided against it. Of course, if it turns out to be the only thing that can save our child's life, we would be kicking ourselves. On the other hand, we may never have to use the stored UCB.

I believe there's no right/wrong answer here. A parent is prima facie presumed to have acted in the best interest of his/her child, and dare I say, no one has the right to question the parent's bona fides in such a case.

I guess only time will tell whether we made the right decision. This was just one of the early decisions we had to grapple with as parents. Not easy.

[Note: Although we didn't opt for commercial storage, we considered public banking at the Singapore Cord Blood Bank but this was not yet available for babies delivered at private hospitals. If we ever have more children, we may just consider public banking if it becomes available to us.]

Feeding Update

Breastfeeding is getting better. Elijah is latching on well. Latching (or failure to do so) can really put mothers off breastfeeding. So, we're glad that Sister Lim helped made it less terrifying for Mommy to breastfeed.

We've learnt not to force the issue with Elijah. After a few attempts (we normally spend no more than 3-5 minutes), if Elijah does not latch on, we would take a break by burping him. It's important not to condition Elijah with the wrong experience. Trying too hard is likely to put Elijah off. After burping, we try latching again. It's worked for us. So far.

Breastfeeding usually takes 60-75 mins. Increasingly, we are seeing shorter (but more frequent) feeds of 15mins. Elijah is also taking in more each feed.

We've also started using the bottle (with expressed breast milk) for night feeds. Ideally, we shouldn't because we risk "teat-confusion." We're bottle-feeding it for practical reasons. Elijah feeds up to 3 times between 12am-6am - most times he feeds twice, and in a good night, just once. At that frequency, and Mommy's physical and mental state at that hour, bottle-feeding is more convenient.

So far, the night bottle-feeds have not confused Elijah. Thankfully.

But what we do maintain is to continue feeding Elijah with breast milk - whether directly or via bottle. Not sure how long we can go on, but we'll try for as long as we can. The Similac Excellence formula milk powder we bought last week upon discharge remains unused. For now.

12th day Chinese custom

Today, Ah Mah and Ah Kong celebrated the "12th day" of Elijah's birth. According to Chinese custom, on this day, two special dishes are prepared and distributed to relatives to announce the arrival of a newborn. The two dishes are: (1) pig's trotters in black vinegar; and (2) chicken in glutinous rice wine. Such a custom took root in a time when communication systems were less developed. So, whenever a family came bearing these dishes, relatives would know of a new addition to the clan. Ah Mah prepared the two dishes and distributed to our KL relatives.

Traditional dishes
Pig's trotters (L) and chicken wine (R).

Milestone: A week at home with baby [PHOTOS]

We're coming to a week since we brought Baby Elijah home. In that time, we've survived a week without a confinement nanny. Struggle we did. Frustrated we were. But Mommy and Daddy has gained confidence.

Mommy's breastfeeding regularly now. To be sure, we do use the bottle (with expressed breast milk) - but only during the night. We've found that it was not practical to breastfeed at say 3am when Mommy was dead tired and not alert.

These past few days, Daddy has learnt how to:

1. Change diapers
2. Bathe baby
3. Swaddle
4. Burp baby
   
5. Cradle
6. Wash/sterilise bottles
7. Help with the nursing
   

Daddy's first
Daddy bathing baby the first time - Sat 12-Nov-05
Daddy is pictured using the "football hold."

Sharing a family moment together
Ah Mah, Ah Kong and Ashley playing with Elijah.


Firm and gentle hold
Babies like to be held firmly. It gives them confidence in the handler.

Burping calms babies
What would we do without burping?

Elijah frowning
Baby Elijah tends to frown whenever he looks up.