Tips for travelling to Korea with baby

1) Is Seoul stroller friendly
Before the trip, I did researched on whether Korea, or more specifically Seoul is stroller friendly.

After coming back from the trip, I do not actually have the answer.

That is because stroller was BOTH good and at the same time a burden.

Strollers great for Nami Island

Strollers are good for places where you need to travel on level ground for long distances like Nami Island but a real burden at places without elevator but just stairs.

That is why I did not even step into Daiso in Myeong-dong as is it located on the basement accessible only by stairs.

Also it will depend on how much your baby like to sit on stroller.
My baby was not fond of the stroller, hence whenever he is QUIETLY sitting or sleeping on the stroller and we came across stairs or escalators, we are reluctant to disturb him.

No choice but to lug and lift both the stroller and him on board up or down the stairs.

So it is no wonder that I develop a love hate relationship with the stroller.

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2) Baby carrier
For my trip, besides the Combi Quickids stroller, I used SUPPORI - a one shoulder baby sling.

I also have an i-Angel hipseat carrier but did not bring it as ALL my family members were protesting that it's too bulky.

Suppori was perfect because it's light and small so basically I just kept it in one of my front pockets (yeah it's that small when folded).

So whenever Ming Jun needs to be carried, I'll just whipped it out but since he learnt how to walk, I'll only carry him for max 30 minutes.

In Korea, I see mostly moms with hipseat carrier or Ergo type of carrier. So whenever I used Suppori, there will always be a few quick glances at my direction.

Using Suppori in front of Seoul Station

Shopping at Lotte Mart

So in the end, when travelling, the most important factor in your choice of stroller or carrier is WEIGHT!

Cos you ain't going to use it if it's heavy, bulky and cumbersome.

For a comparison between Suppori and i-Angel read my review.

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3) Is Korea nursing friendly?
DEFINITE YES!! Because you can find nursing rooms in almost every subway station! Seriously! The bigger stations nursing rooms are so complete that they even provide nursing pillow, microwave and etc.

Nursing room in Seoul Station

In Lotte World Mall @ Jamsil Station, the rooms are even staffed by 2 employees. Wow!!

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4) Korea is a great place to buy baby food

Korean made ones are more wallet friendly than the imported ones.

I find products such as Nurture Inc's Happy Yogis are more expensive in Korea compared with Malaysia.

But there are no complaining as there are many many Korean made baby food to choose from!

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5) Is it a good idea to bring baby to Everland?
Definitely yes but be prepared for the long journey because it will take at about 2 hours to get there one way (from Myeong-dong to Joendae Everland Station, via the Yongin Ever Line W3,350).

The journey also consist of 5 transfers of subway stations and finally a short walk to catch a free shuttle bus to Everland entrance.

And bear in mind that you will need to repeat same for the journey back to your hotel.

There's coach from Myeong-dong direct to Everland but it will costs more at W12,000 for round trip.

Link for transport to Everland's is here.


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6) Length of stay
For me, I went for 10 days and it was good because my baby came down with chicken pox so I was in isolation with baby for a few days. So the extra days came in handy.

Also every baby is different and mine was very well behaved during flight but he was either homesick or not feeling well because of chicken pox during the first 2 days.

Symptoms include crying whenever I am not around, so much so that I could not even go to the toilet in the hotel room and if I did, I have to leave the toilet door open.

When evening, he cried when I opened the hotel room door because he was expecting to see his familiar room.

Since every baby is different, you have to factor in homesickness in your planning but most important is that you must be patient and cool about a crying baby in restaurants, trains and even in your hotel room.

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7) Special departure hall for passengers travelling with infant

When travelling out from Incheon Airport, there are special departure hall no. 1 and 6 for passengers with elderly or infants which made the whole immigration process much easier and faster.

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8) Bring diapers
I am glad I did because diapers like Huggies are super expensive in Korea. It cost about RM100 (more than 30,000Won) for 50+pcs.

As for Korean brands, I did not have the time to check them as I am not familiar with their brand and quality.

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For more practical tips on travelling to Seoul, Korea, you must read this and this if you fall sick in Korea.

Baby rejecting my expressed breast milk

This happened to me when baby Ming Jun was about 10 months. His daily intake of expressed milk suddenly dropped from 180ml to 90ml.

Of course I was concerned and even made a few queries.

The answers I received came back as questions:-
a) is baby active?
b) is baby weight reasonable?
c) is he alert?
d) he's taking solid food?
e) he's teething?

If the answers for a -c are "yes", then there is no cause for concern especially if the answer to either d or e is affirmative.

But still I find it disturbing because he loves to direct latch but will not drink the expressed breast milk.

My first suspicion was that it must have been cos I froze the milk but then it did not make sense since he had been drinking it for the past months.

Then I remembered reading about milk having iron or metallic or fishy smell.

So I looked up on Gina Yong's Love Breastfeeding book and there was a write up on SCALDING milk to deactivate LIPASE enzyme.

THIS WAS THE ANSWER as every night when I return from work, I noticed my milk smelling fishy or metallic. 

Because lipase enzyme will react with the fats in the milk and break it down.

SO.. how to SCALD milk?

to scald the milk I place in a glass cup

The easiest and fastest is to use a food warmer.. and to be even faster, I pour into the warmer hot water from thermos pot.

Scald the milk immediately after expressing so that the enzyme does not have the chance to react with the milk.

I scald the milk for about 5 minutes and then I quickly cool the milk.

to cool the milk

I used to place the milk in a bowl of water first but now I just straight away put in my cooler box. You tend to have lower standards after doing this for a couple of months  :p

After that I treat the scalded milk the same way as normal expressed milk.

Meaning I will store in freezer and when I need it for the next day consumption, I will bring it down from freezer and place in fridge the night before for it to defrost.

IS SCALDED MILK STILL GOOD?
Well according to Gina Yong's book (page 95),

"Scalding the milk will destroy some of the antiinfective properties of the milk and may lower some nutrient levels, but this is not likely to be an issue and scalded milk is still far better than formula milk".

UPDATED:- SPECIAL TIP
Nowadays I prefer to give my baby the freshest of milk. Since baby is already 16 months, I only pumped once in my office, which typically yields about 150ml.

60ml of which I will used for the night feed on the same day.

Balance 90ml I will keep in fridge (not freezer) to be consumed the next day. Whatever leftovers which baby did not drink, I will keep back in the freezer to be used for his breastmilk spa.

EXTRA NOTE
That is why, whenever I see photos of mommies pumping and keeping a lot of frozen milk, I find it a waste.

Because most of my milk ended up as spa milk because all my milks have been rendered "smelly" by the lipase enzyme because the longer you keep the milk, the stronger the metallic taste. And freezing the milk does not completely stop the lipase enzyme.

I suspect that consuming DHA or fish oil supplements is the culprit for higher lipase enzyme but I do not have scientific proof for it.

The reason I have this suspicion was because baby was rejecting the milk about the same time when I change from consuming GNC Double Strength Fish Oil to GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil.

But this is really a catch twenty twenty situation because I also realized that during pregnancy, I was perpetually experiencing a patch of dry skin above my lips which I thought then was fungal but now I know it's because I lacked "oil". So I need this intake of extra fatty oil.

Anyhow, whether you consume fish oil supplements or not, lipase enzyme is always present, so perhaps your baby is rejecting your milk now because his taste palate has been awaken with more food choices.

Thus he now have a choice to reject your expressed milk if it's not to his liking (temperature, taste etc).

So give scalding a try as it's clear from the photos below that scalding does make a difference to the milk which you can smell and see.

NON-SCALDED milk - with white patches

 

SCALDED milk - no white patches

UPDATED - Lacte Duet Electric Breastpump Review

After long comparison with Malish Ilaria, finally I decided to get the Lacte Duet because of the following Lacte's stronger points:-

1) service center is nearer to my house in Puchong :D

2) Even though Malish is quieter, in the end there is no comparison with Lacte's soft breastshield.. meaning it will feel more like the baby's sucking. Soft breastshields also translate to gentler suction and ability to empty the breasts as this silicone will compress and decompress the nipple.

3) the packaging of Lacte gives a more complete feeling. For example, they provided:-

a) cover for the breastshield (which I did not actually use in the end because it just means extra 2 parts to wash :p

b) 2 teats and bottle cover which can be used with Lacte bottles.

All these I guess make it worth the extra RM50 (compare with Malish).

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AFTER nearly 2 months...
So far so good. It can perform well and definitely better than using a manual pump.

In fact with practice, I can even use it hands free (without using special bra) by supporting it with my thigh.

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Only special note to ensure the unit works well is:-
NOT to use electric steriliser for the soft component - meaning the soft breastshield, the diaphragm and the membrane - because it will caused these parts to harden and may not work as well later.

So just wash with baby liquid cleanser and dry.

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OTHER PROBLEM...
FYI I also tried Lacte's customer service because somehow for my particular unit, there is this annoying "air escaping" sound from one breastshield.

I tried changing the diaphragm at Fabulous Mom (FM) near ioi Puchong (cos apparently the supplier of Lacte and Fabulous Mom are same company) but still the problem persists.

Then I tried changing the cover with cap. This did not really solve the "air escaping" sound moreover for my unit the suction sound from the left pump and right pump are different. On one side the sound is louder than the other.

But since I paid only RM450 for the unit and I can get almost same amount of milk from both breasts, I am very happy and satisfied with this product and would gladly recommend it.

Their customer service especially from a Ms Christine earns them TOP score!

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UPDATE:- Yay!! I finally found the reason for the air escaping sound! See the photo below:-

My two very different caps (see the center)

 As you can see, the raised part in the center is different in each cap. It is the lower one which have this air escaping sound.

Funny that I get 2 different type of caps in one box. I am going to highlight this to the supplier. Let's see what is their response now that I have "evident" proof. Yes! Finally this proves that the sound is not my imagination! :D

UPDATED @ 16 September 2015
Been using this Lacte pump for nearly 14 months and after going through it, I would recommend the soft breastshields to mothers who are new to pumping because they may need the stimulation.

But for more advance mothers, better just use normal hard breastshields because it would translate to lesser parts to clean and also assemble.

Sometimes it might take a bit of time to properly assembly the soft breastshields to ensure optimum suction and the rule not to sterilise is very very important here.

So once you are pro to breastfeeding, you can change the soft breastshields to normal hard ones.

Lacte hard shield (note the matte plastic in front is the cover)

Baby Liquid Cleanser - Pigeon, Bumble Bee, Tollyjoy, Baby Kiko and Pureen

Being a full-time-working breastfeeding-breastpumping-mom, there are many bottles for me to wash everyday! :(

Had I known this, I would not have bought breastmilk storage bottles but instead use bags cos it's just tear, pour, store, use and throw.

That simple.. No cleaning, sterilising and drying!

Plus it's really not that expensive to use the bags RM12.90 for 25pcs ~ RM0.51 each.

Anyway I am now using bottles since I have 33 bottles, why waste, therefore I have to go through the cleaning routine :(

To make my job easier, I find that using the correct "tools" help.

#1 - use bottle cleaner brush and not your finger

#2 - use baby liquid cleanser not normal cleanser because baby one is made of edible ingredients

For #2 - I find PIGEON's better than Bumble Bee because:-

Do note that breastmilk can be very GREASY especially on the membrane part of the pump so it might take several washes to get it squeaky clean but with Bumble Bee, it took double the time and double the amount of cleanser in comparison with Pigeon :(

UPDATES
Bought Tollyjoy cleanser during a recent Mom's and Baby Fair. It was RM50 for 1 bottle and 2 refill packs of 900ml each.

There are 2 range for Tollyjoy - Normal One (blue) and Antibacterial (pink).

So far I have tried the antibacterial one and Tollyjoy:-
a) leaves a temporary floral scent
b) cheaper than Pigeon because Pigeon is only 700ml each.
c) thicker and almost clear liquid
d) more foamy
e) a little goes a long way as cleans effectively

UPDATES @ 12 June 2015
BABY KIKO liquid cleanser
This is by far the WORST liquid cleanser I have used because it takes a lot of water and time to make it squeaky clean. Somehow the breastpump parts have a "slimy" feel to it which you have to wash and wash before it becomes squeaky clean.

It's thick and clear like Tollyjoy and does not have any fragrance.

UPDATES @ 19 September 2015
PUREEN liquid cleanser
Not bad. I would rate this same as Tollyjoy. If I cannot find Tollyjoy cleanser, I would buy this.

I tried the "No Flavour" and it basically cleans like Tollyjoy. Thick and clear with no fragrance.

MY VERDICT:-
If you can afford it, Pigeon is better because it is odorless and have less foam but since it is watery, you will use more.

Otherwise, Tollyjoy and Pureen are good in terms of value for money and easy super cleaning power.

I must add that Tollyjoy was previous winner of Singapore Mother and Baby award and are made in Singapore. Since Singaporeans have high standards and very good in calculations, you can't go wrong with Tollyjoy!

Before buying a Medela breast pump, read this.. - UPDATED

It's undisputed that the Mother of all breast pumps is Medela Freestyle because it seems to be on every mom's wishlist.

But the price factor makes many especially me think twice. Maybe because one is never sure how long she can breastfeed and how many children will she have.

Also I was afraid that cheaper brands will hurt the nipple or not work as well or worst, break down easily. Cos even cheaper brands will cost a few hundred ringgits and this money can instead go towards "Medela Freestyle fund".

It was because of these reasons that I bought a Medela Harmony manual pump at RM215 when I had sore and cracked nipples in Day 5.

And I was very content with the manual pump and used it during my confinement to stock up more than 30 bottles of 90ml milk in the freezer.

my stockpile :D

I'll use it on one side as my son direct latch on the other breast.

But once I began work full time, in less than a week of pumping using the manual pump, I knew I need to get a double electric pump.

Because not only was tiring to empty 2 breasts, it took too long. Almost 45 minutes away from work desk do not rest well with my bosses especially after 2 months confinement leave.

So in my quest to look for a reliable electric pump, I chanced upon a mother using SPECTRA M1 in a nursing room which we shared in Jusco MidValley,

SPECTRA M1

Seeing the ease of pumping, low noise as well as the affordable price tag of less than RM600 and most importantly real testimony of its reliability, I was elated that there are other pumps beside Medela!

I was convinced to get myself a Spectra M1 until my cousin told me that I can go to PUMP ON THE GO (a retail shop in Kelana Jaya area - click PumpOnTheGo website) to try it out.

At Pump on the Go, moms can try all the popular brands and they even provide breastmilk storage bags for you to pack the milk expressed during the trial.

It was in Pump on the Go that I was convinced that:-

- Medela Freestyle is not for me because of the LOUD noise and
- Spectra M1 is not for me because of it's too-powerful suction.

The very informative saleslady reasoned that since I am a Medela Harmony manual pump user, I will not like Spectra.

Indeed Spectra made me felt like a cow because not only is the sucking pulling my nipple from front to back, it even  shake it!

During the trial I was most impressed with Mango Ilaria and Lacte Duet double pump.

 Here is comparison between Malish and Lacte:-

MALISH ILARIA

LACTE DUET

Besides these 4 brands (Medela, Spectra, Malish and Lacte) , you can even try Eve Love and Autumnz at PumpOnTheGo and also other manual and single electric pumps!

So now you know these alternatives, you can make a good decision for a breast pump. One which will work for you. For all you know, you might still end up buying a Medela Freestyle but at least you know you have tried other brands. So happy breastfeeding to you!! :D

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UPDATED @ 28 July 2015

Having been pumping for 12 months and still counting, this is my humble opinion on breastpump:-

1) get a pump (double and electric if you are in for the long haul) that have LESS PARTS TO CLEAN.

This is because cleaning the pump will be a CHORE that you have to do almost DAILY! So the less parts, the less things to clean and less time spent on cleaning!

Somehow the pump especially the part which attaches the membrane is prone to "fungal" growth cos our milk is really ALIVE!

This does not only affect Lacte pumps as my friend using Medela faces the same problem.

2) if you can afford Medela, then might as well GET A FEW PUMPS.

For me, initially I pump in the house, car and office. So why not buy a few pumps and keep a pump in each location. Also the one in house and car can be single pump since you might not be pumping both breasts at the same time.

Why is this good? Well, it will translates to less one item to carry.

Audio test for baby with high jaundice (BSER)

Since my baby had jaundice of 361, the doctor in HUKM prescribed an audio test, Brain Stem Evoked Responds (BSER) to be taken when he is 3 months old.

Imagine the anxiety of having to wait that long before you can breath a sigh of relief that the jaundice ordeal is completely over.

At HUKM government hospital we had to book the date when baby was one month plus and the hospital gave a set of instructions to ensure that the test can be carried out without any hitch.

Because for the test to be successful, baby must be sleeping. So it is suggested that we wake the baby earlier and not let him sleep during the journey to the hospital.

Otherwise if the baby is awake, they will give medicine in syrup form that will cause baby to sleep. If the medicine does not work, then the last option will be to fix another date where the baby will be admitted one day before the test and then in the morning, they will apply anaesthesia.

Gulp! So scary..

So I was sleepless and up early at 5am plus on the day of appointment

For the test, the attendant attached 4 wires to his head, 2 in the center and 2 behind both his ears.

Initially she will apply a type of abrasive gel with a paper to remove dead skin to ensure strong adhesion.

Then she will scoop another type of adhesive gel with the cup shape connecting point to be attached to the head.

It was not easy to mount these things plus there is also an ear piece (the blue wire) which play the sound. Left ear first and then the right ear.

Thank God, baby was very cooperative and to help him to sleep, I breastfed him during the test.

The readings are captured by the computer which comes out in a graph form. For each ear, there were 3 graphs.

The results came back good! Praise God!

But the doctor did asked if I have other babies and when I said this is my first child, he mentioned that since there is no other siblings to compare with, he would recommend self monitoring.

Meaning babies will usually talk between 12 months to 18 months.

So if baby still do not know how to make 2 syllable sounds by then, I will need to make another appointment for audio test.

But for now, I'll leave it as that cos the results showed that my baby can hear so I am ecstatic that the jaundice did not affect him physically. Woo HOo!!

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But the funny thing was, a few days AFTER the test, I almost wet the baby's ear during bath... so me being overly concerned that water may have seeped into his ear, used babies cotton buds to "dry" his ear.

I was surprised to find on the cotton bud very strong dark coloured earwax.. Motivated by this "find", I proceeded to clean the next ear with cotton bud.

Having cleaned both his ears, I felt a niggling feeling that perhaps it is not safe to clean his ears... so I googled on it.

Lo and behold... to my horror!! We are NOT supposed to use cotton buds on babies ear.. Those earwax will somehow make it's way out and you just clean the outer part of the ear http://www.babycenter.com!!

And to think that we have just done the audio test a few days earlier to confirm baby's hearing is ok and here am I causing potential damage to his hearing... GULP!!

My only saving grace was that I did not dig real deep plus I was using cotton buds for babies with large tips. Phew!

So mothers out there.. Know what you can and cannot do! Google first before you do it and not like me.. do then check.. Hehe..

So cotton buds on ears are a definite no no.. no matter how "dirty" the ear may look inside.

Breastmilk storage bottles - Autumnz or Bumble Bee

For breastmilk storage bottles - even though Bumble Bee's are slightly more expensive than Autumnz, they are worth your money because of just one point.

Yes ONE point!

Autumnz sealing cap always comes off by itself because it does not fit properly!

And when it does, it somehow manages to land on the sink's dirtiest spot :( humph.... and you will have to wash it again  ヽ(ಠ_ಠ)ノ 

I have used Bumble Bee's many times and not once do they come off by itself because the fit is perfect and you need to use force to remove it from the cover.

Comparison chart:-

IMPORTANT NOTE:

I never use the electric sterilizer for these bottles because PP bottles are BPA free. So they tend to have a cloudy look and can withstand heat until 120 degree celcius.

Water boils at 100 degree but steam can be more than 120.. Anyway Bumble Bee's staff also wrote this on their page:-

Therefore it is not recommended to use electric sterilizer SO for me, I just use tap water and liquid cleanser to wash and then dry. So far baby's stomach is ok with this method :D

Breast pumps - manual or electric?

Since I have tried both, my verdict are as follow:-

Manual pump
Pro
1) Less parts to wash and assemble (depending on model)
2) Cheaper
3) Total control on speed and suction

4) More natural suction like babies'

Con
1) Tiring for the hand
2) Might not be able to empty breast cos your hands are tired from the pumping

Electric pump
Pro
1) Not tiring. With practice, you can even be hands free without using the hands free bra
2) Can empty the breasts

3) Adjustable speed and suction power (depending on model)

Con
1) Price price price.. With Medela Freestyle going for RM1,499 (this is the cheapest price for this model in the market), it's no wonder people think twice before buying an electric double pump.

But fret not as there are many cheaper and affordable brands out there.

2) More parts to wash and there are more parts to be carried - the pump, tube and power adaptor.

VERDICT
The choice of pump will depend on how often you intend to pump.

If occasional pumping (once or twice a day), then manual will do. But if you are full time working mother, then do yourself a favour and get double electric pump!

See the guideline chart below on choosing the type of Medela's range of breast pump:-

Disposable breast pad comparison

This is a comparison among 3 brands of disposable breast pads - Pigeon, Autumnz and Lacte.

My CONCLUSION is unless Pigeon is on offer (RM30 for 72pcs), Lacte deluxe pads are just as good (RM16.90 for 36pcs).

But I definitely WILL NOT buy again Autumnz (RM15.90 for 30pcs) because not only is the material coarser, the adhesive left a sticky feeling on the fingers. A definite no-no for me.

PACKING
Both Autumnz and Lacte come in plastic wrapping. Pigeon's wrapped with thin cotton sheet.

SHAPE
Both Pigeon and Lacte are almost flat.

Autumnz is contoured like alphabet C which is shaped like the breast - Which is supposed to be fantastic but somehow it made the pad more uncomfortable especially when your breasts are engorged.

Possibly due to the fact that this design made the pad rigid and not soft to gently cup / cover the breast.

ALTERNATIVES to disposable breast pads:-
Using disposable breast pads are not cheap considering a normal Pigeon price will cost rm1 a piece - thus rm2 for both sides.

Even babies diapers which have more features and are bigger in size only cost maximum rm0.70 apiece.

So I read somewhere in the internet that a person tried to take panty liners and cut it in half.

I actually went and tried it but I have to make sure to seal the open end with tape. It did worked (especially if you dont leak a lot) but you might get some cotton on the breast if you did not seal off the cut end properly :p

But recently I found out the reason for the high price when I accidentally soaked the breast pad - the pad became jelly like inside and expanded - meaning the pad is filled with special gel like diapers and not just cotton or fiber like panty liners! Ta-DAA!

So for convenience and the fact that Lacte disposable breast pads are reasonably priced, I will just stick to using disposable breast pads and leave the panty liners alone :D

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ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF THE BOXES

Pigeon

Pigeon

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Autumnz

Autumnz

Autumnz

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Lacte