Trying out Dutch Lady Infant Milk Powder for the First Time

Last week Friday, Mommy went to a Chinese medicine hall by the name Kedai Ubat dan Pasaraya Mega Grade Sdn. Bhd. (Jalan Sepadu, off Old Klang Road) to survey the price of infant milk powder. Mommy has heard of many feedbacks from other mummies that milk powder is cheaper if bought from Chinese medicine hall rather than hypermarkets and supermarkets. And yes, indeed it's true! The brand Mommy had in mind was Dutch Lady Step 2 and Mommy was very keen to try this brand firstly, because of the relatively low price and secondly, because this variant still has the same amount of common nutrients, except for DHA content which is roughly half of that found in Dutch Lady's more expensive infant milk powder, Frisolac. Mommy reckons that probably it is the high content of DHA in those expensive brands of infant milk powder that contributes to the 'smelly' smell and taste which is what fish oil supplements also smell like. So, probably if the DHA content is not so high, maybe Juan Or will like the taste better. (Anyway, Mommy has already been taking fish oil supplements since pregnancy till now just to make sure Mommy's breastmilk has enough DHA or Omega 3 or Omega 6 in it!) In Tesco, the price was RM15.99, whereas in The Store was RM15.90. In Mega Grade, the price tag showed RM15.50 which was even cheaper. So Mommy bought it from Mega Grade.

Then Mommy left the shop and drove home. Upon reaching home, Mommy realized that Mommy had forgotten to check whether the scoop was attached to the packaging or not. And much to Mommy's frusfration, the scoop was not there! So Mommy drove back to Mega Grade and told the shopkeeper that Mommy wanted to change to the one in which the scoop was still attached.

So Mommy went to the shelf to choose the packet with the scoop attached and went back to show the shopkeeper. Guess what! The shopkeeper laughed at why Mommy took so much trouble to change the pack just because it lacks a scoop. Mommy felt like slapping the shopkeeper! Hello, this is a medicine hall! You as someone with some knowledge about traditional Chinese medicine and perhaps some Western health knowledge SHOULD KNOW that milk powder measurement is VERY IMPORTANT if preparing milk for INFANTS! And you can't just simply use any scoop of other brands as substitute! What's more Juan Or has dilated kidneys, so Mommy has to make sure his kidneys are not put to unnecessary strain.

(Dutch Lady's scoop [pink colour] is so much smaller than Similac's scoop [blue colour]. Can't just simply substitute the scoop!)

Not wanting to waste time with the shopkeeper (Mommy needed to pump breastmilk already), Mommy left the shop and vowed never to ever buy from Mega Grade anymore. As Mommy was walking back to the car, Mommy saw another Chinese medicine hall (Kedai Ubat Wah Seng) further up and so decided to drop in to check out the price. The price tag showed RM15 only. Dammit!

Anyway, about suitability of Dutch Lady Step 2, Mommy got the feedback from the babysitter that this brand is suitable for Juan Or because he still has daily bowel movements and the bowels are of the normal type. So Mommy will stick to this brand until Juan Or is ready to drink growing up milk (for ages 1 to 3 years) which Mommy has already stocked up (Dutch Lady 123 at RM18.45 per pack of 1.1 kg bought during a 3-day sale in Tesco).

In Transition to Infant Milk Powder

Mommy has been exclusively breastfeeding Juan Or for about 9 months 3 weeks. Recently, Mommy started Juan Or on drinking partly breastmilk and partly infant milk powder because Mommy's current milk production ranges from 10 to 12 oz from 8 am to 6 pm per day which is far less than Juan Or's consumption of 18 to 22 oz. Previously, Mommy was able to produce 12 to 15 oz of breastmilk within that time period.

Mommy's colleague, Dr. Renee, offered to get a scoop of Enfalac from her sister-in-law who still has an infant to care for. There's also Ms. Stephenie, also Mommy's colleague and office room mate, who gave away the remaining quarter tin of a 900-g Similac (from Abbott Laboratories). Apparently, Ms. Stephenie wants to change brand to Mamex because she wants her baby to have more frequent bowel movements than currently is.

So Mommy handed the milk powder to the babysitter to try on Juan Or. The result? According to the babysitter, by drinking the infant milk powder itself, Juan Or retches or acts like he is about to vomit. So the babysitter fed him via the spoon. The next day, the babysitter mixed about two-third of Mommy's breastmilk and one-third of infant milk powder (with water), and Juan Or seems to accept it better. Of course, this time Juan Or won't drink from the baby bottle anymore. If fed by spoon, he will bite it. So the babysitter resorted to pouring a small amount of the milk mixture into the baby bottle's cap and slowly poured into his mouth. What a tedious baby! But luckily, the babysitter doesn't find too much of a trouble feeding him that way. How about Juan Or's bowel movements ever since consuming Similac? According to the babysitter, his bowel movements are daily and of the normal type - not too dry and not too wet, just nice.

Mommy is relieved that Similac goes well with Juan Or and that he accepts drinking it when mixed with breastmilk. Mommy is also relieved that Mommy doesn't have to succumb to the daily pressure of meeting the daily milk production target of about 20 oz. per day. Prior to this, Mommy's daily milk production falls short of Juan Or's daily consumption by as much as 6 to 10 oz. per day. For this reason, the buffer period of frozen breastmilk supply in the freezer has dwindled from a good 14-day buffer period (when Mommy went back to work after maternity leave) to a mere and miserable 5-day buffer period. According to the babysitter, everyday, Juan Or drinks 12 to 14 oz. of breastmilk and 6 to 8 oz of infant milk powder (with water). Mommy heaves a sigh of relief!