Medela Free Style: The Ultimate Breast Pump For The Working & Traveling Mum

Posted on 16 May 2013 by Mimi

I’ve always been a breastfeeding advocate, knowing fully well the superiority of mother’s milk over infant formula. Thus, in anticipation of my return to work before Peanut was born, one of the things I knew I needed to invest in was a breast pump. After a lot of online research and asking around, it didn’t take long for me to conclude that the Medela Free Style was the one for me.

Here are the things that I love about the Medela Free Style:

1. It is cordless, thereby freeing me from the hassle of having to look for a private place where I can pump…with a place to plug the pump in. It goes without saying that this cordless feature is perfect for traveling. A single charge lasts me for a week or two, given an average of 2-3 pumping sessions per day at 10 minutes per session. [NB: As a rule of thumb, try to express milk every 3 hours that you are away from your baby. That means 2-3 pumping sessions in the office per day.] There’s a handy-dandy battery level indicator to let you know, more or less, when to charge the pump unit.

2. The pump unit is small and light and can easily fit into any bag.

3. Despite being cordless, suction power is not compromised at all. This was my only concern about the Free Style before buying it but I checked Medela’s site for the specs and saw that its suction power equals Medela’s other pumps.

4. Despite its commendable suction power, the Free Style is quieter than most breast pumps.

5. Adjusting the suction and speed is as simple as pressing the relevant buttons. Best of all, you can program your preferred suction level and when the pump should switch from ‘Stimulate’ to ‘Letdown’ mode.

6. The Free Style allows for double- or single-pumping. Double-pumping means time savings; single-pumping is useful when you need to top up your supply and pump while feeding your baby at the same time.

The only thing I dislike about the Free Style is how sometimes the power button gets accidentally pressed by other items, thereby draining the battery. My solution: arranging the pump unit with the tubing in front to serve as a sort of buffer. I always take special care when rolling up the tubing so that it doesn’t get folded.

(more pics after the jump)

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Charmed By Pandora

Posted on 20 April 2013 by Mimi

I have somehow managed to evade the Pandora bracelet fad for quite a while, despite seeing it ALL the time in KLM’s in-flight shopping offering. In case you haven’t heard of it yet, Pandora is a jewelry line that originated from Denmark which is now available in more than 50 countries around the world. They sell charm bracelets, stackable rings, customisable earrings, and necklaces.

It’s the charm bracelets that I’ve been avoiding for far too long. You see, I’ve always secretly dreamed of having one ever since I was a young girl. I just never bought one because I didn’t like the standard charms that came with the charm bracelets found in most gold shops in Malaysia.

Then two weeks ago, I made the mistake of browsing through the Holland Herald while waiting for our KLM flight to take off. It took all of my self-restraint to not jump off my seat when I saw THE most irresistible trio of charms ever: the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and Big Ben!

Pandora Charms - Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, Big Ben

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Istanbul’s Yeni Camii (New Mosque)

Posted on 14 April 2013 by Mimi

Istanbul has always been described as the crossroads of the East and West. Walking around Istanbul is like stepping into old world Europe, complete with ancient Roman ruins, cobblestones, and crumbling stone edifices. The only difference is that, unlike in Europe, everywhere you turn in Istanbul, you’re bound to see the characteristic domes and minarets of mosques. It is also virtually impossible to miss the reverberation of the azan (call to prayer) five times a day — at daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, dusk, and early evening — anywhere you may be in Istanbul.

The mosques themselves look pretty nondescript and uninteresting from the outside — drab, cold, and grey. Just take a look at this mosque that’s just a few steps away from the Misir Çarşisi (Egyptian Market) — the Yeni Camii or New Mosque.

Yeni Camii facade

It doesn’t look like much but the sign indicating its age will pique anyone’s curiousity.

Yeni Camii entrance

Walk into the courtyard and you’ll see this ablution fountain. (NB: Muslims purify themselves before prayers by washing their hands, faces, and feet.)

Yeni Camii ablution fountain

As you cross the threshold and enter the mosque, suddenly you feel as though you’ve stepped into Aladdin’s time — lush and thick wall-to-wall carpeting, lamps suspended from the ceiling, and the typical designs associated with Moorish architecture.

Inside Yeni Camii

But wait! What is this? Stained glass windows! They’re just like the ones that you’d expect to find in Europe’s Gothic cathedrals. Except that these have Arabic words like Allah (Arabic for ‘God’) instead of depictions of Christian saints and angels.

Yeni Camii stained glass windows

Here is a short video that I took of the interior of the Yeni Camii, just to give you all a feel of the atmosphere inside.

My visit to Yeni Camii reminded me once more not to judge a book by its cover.

(P.S. I’ve written this post end-2010 right after a trip to Istanbul but completely forgot about it until I stumbled upon it as I was browsing around my hard drive for some other files.)

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Peanut’s 15 Minutes Of Fame

Posted on 10 April 2013 by Mimi

Peanut got his proverbial 15 minutes of fame in People.com when they asked for pics of sleeping babes.

Peanut in People.com

In the internet age, ’15 minutes of fame’ is now more like 15 seconds only. But this proud Mama doesn’t care. Little Peanut will have bragging rights to his 15 minutes of fame when he’s grown up one day ;)

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Barely Breathing…But Still Here

Posted on 31 March 2013 by Mimi

This blog’s been so utterly neglected lately that some sort of explanation is in order. So here’s the deal: I’ve gone back to school. Madness, right? As if my life weren’t complicated enough already! What with my juggling routine involving my six kids (don’t forget that the youngest is only 10 months old to date) and their father (lest he thinks I’ve forgotten about him), my work, my frequent travels, and a household that somehow still maintains some semblance of normalcy despite everything.

My classes are online and since it’s a part-time programme, I have the ‘luxury’ of taking only two subjects this semester. Sounds easier than done, of course, considering that I’ve got my midterm exams in three weeks, a term paper due at the end of this month, and weekly assignments…on top of all the other stuff that I need to work on for the office.

And since we’re talking about  graduate school here, our classes only cover the major stuff, with the students expected to do research and self-study to cover the rest of it. Worse, everything seems to be at breakneck speed. Just to give you a hint of how things are like: for one class, we covered a topic in under two hours which our lecturer said normally takes at least six hours for him to explain to undergrads.

So yeah. This is how I feel right now.

buried under work

Ten years from now, I’ll look back at all this and say I’m glad I did it. Because if don’t do this now, perhaps I never will. God-willing, I can do this.

Wish me luck!

Barely breathing but still here,
Mimi

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