Disclaimer: I'm writing this as a breastfeeding mum in MY OWN PERSPECTIVE. Yours may be different 👯

So, going into 8 months of breastfeeding journey. How was it then? Easy in terms of feeding. I have had mild  blocked duct. No mastitis or whatsoever but not in taking comments from people around you.

I've never imagined that having a baby can change how you looked. From an average decent looking person to a 'wear-a-pant' kind of mum. Well, that's me. I've no shame for that, in fact I'm guilty as charged.

Although I admit that my baby is being taken care by my parents, however I still have mummy and wifey chores waiting for me at home. Working from 8 to 5 just adds up to what I already have on my plate.

Since I return to the work force, I've been receiving sooooo many comments about how I look. Most of them are things I already know and if given a choice, I don't want to hear. I admit that I went through stages of change especially when I am now breastfeeding a 8 month old infant. What do you expect? Pregnancy and breastfeeding each resulted in another trip to the bra boutique. The sizes changes as my baby grows.

I pump an average of 4 times a day compared to when I first gave birth, 8 times in 24 hour span. 8 FREAKING TIMES A DAY! Imagine what pumping do to your boobs. Definitely it sagged a little. Ok I lied, it sagged A LOT. But then again, your child gets the benefit out of it. Mothers do what a mother has to do to feed their child. But not everyone is in the position to have hot bods, perky boobies right after post par-tum which include me. I'm lucky that I don't have to run on the thread mill for 30 minutes nor I have to sign up for gym to lose those baby-weight. I lose them immediately after I delivered #babyjedi.

Imagine being made fun of your boob every s.i.n.g.l.e time. Being picked on just because you have a plus size boob. No it's not fun when it's being done in front of your male colleague. No,no, not funny.
I tried to gather my anger together, not wanting to be the 'uncool' mummy at work but there has to be a point of stopping. Nope, it doesn't. It's just plain rude when it reach to an extend that a male is involved. Where is the dignity of a woman? You don't do dirty jokes with a male colleague. I mean making fun of your own self. That's not nice.

I'm sooo used to it that I don't really bother about it anymore. 'Do you feed yourself enough?' or 'You're so stick thin' or 'Omg, your boobs'. Most of the times, I tried to answer these questions like hundred of times a day and the comments just come throwing at me most of the time.

I know it's hard to hear these negative comments about you especially when it comes from another breastfeeding mum (breastfeeding mum, really?) but you can't really avoid them. All you can do is just keep a deaf-ear or tell them that you're not comfortable. Being quiet when you are constantly being commented at doesn't mean you are too scared to stand up for yourself, because for me, I have other important matters to attend too. Plus I always put this positive thought in my head 'No matter what people say, I know that I'm giving the best thing to my baby when some mothers unable to provide'.

For as long as your baby and your husband are fine with it, then why should you take it seriously. I know it's hard to do but hey, you're doing great despite of the changes you have gone through during your pregnancy until the day you gave birth to a healthy little toes. People will not understand because they're NOT IN YOUR SHOES no matter how many times you try to explain. Sometimes, you gotta let them experience it first hand.

So it was our last day in Lombok before flying off on an afternoon flight the next day. Our itinerary for today was to visit the aboriginal village, songket weaving center and Lombok Islamic Center. We hired supir/tour guide for these activities as the places we were going was around 1 hour drive from our home stay. Our tour guide was recommended by one of the home stay staff. Fee was quite reasonable.

Sasak Village, Sade:

The first destination was the Sasak Village, Sade province. It was an hour drive from Mataram city. Souvenirs are quite expensive over here. You may request your tour guide to bring you to places where they're much cheaper if you plan to buy souvenirs for family and friends.


Once you have finished touring the area, it would be a courtesy to give some tip to the local guide. Tourist's tips are their only source of income.

Sasak tribe is a community that inhabits the island of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara. This community is the largest tribe in the province that lies between Bali and West Nusa Tenggara. Survey population explained that the Sasak tribes who lived in Lombok approximately 3 million inhabitants.

Little is known about Sasak history except that Lombok was placed under direct rule of the Majapahit prime Minister, patih Gajah Mada. The Sasaks converted to Islam between the late 16th century to early 17th century under the influence of Sunan Giri and the Muslim Makassarese, frequently mixing basic Islamic beliefs alongside with Hindu-Buddhist beliefs, thus creating the Wektu Telu religion. Lombok was conquered by the Gelgel Balinese kingdom in the early 18th century, thus bringing a large population of Balinese to Lombok. The Balinese population of Lombok today is about 300,000, 10-15% of Lombok's population. The Balinese have also strongly influenced the Wektu Telu religion of Lombok.

Sade Village is a traditional Village on Lombok Island. This Traditional Lombok Village located on Central Lombok, Nusa Tenggara Barat. Their houses are still traditional, made from alang-alang and the wall made from combinations of clay and cow feces.. Cow feces are also used for cleaning the floor, washing and bathing.

If you've been to any Indonesian country before, you'll know that due to the currency exchange, you can afford to live like a millionaire there. With RM500 in your pocket, you can do tonnes of activities. The same when I was in Lombok recently. I went for a backpacking trip with a good friend. It supposed to be an all girls trip and it was :-). Relax and no rush.

We didn't had any itinerary planned. Just browsing through Google on interesting places in Lombok the night before. Everything is almost impromptu. Because Lombok is only made famous a couple of years back, I'd say it is not as commercialized as places like Bali, Jakarta, Bandung and other regions in Indonesia. It's a small island with not much things to do. So you can do your real chillax holiday here.

Blessed with exquisite white-sand beaches, epic surf, a lush forested interior, and hiking trails through tobacco and rice fields, Lombok is fully loaded with equitorial allure. Many are drawn to mighty Gunung Rinjani, Indonesia's second-highest volcano. Rivers and waterfalls gush down its fissured slopes, while its summit – complete with hot springs and a dazzling crater lake – is the ultimate trekker's prize. In the south, you may need to hold your jaw in place as you encounter one superb beach after another.Meanwhile, off the west coast, the fabled Gili Islands are three exquisite droplets of white sand sprinkled with coconut palms and surrounded by coral reefs teeming with marine life. Each has become a full-blown destination in its own right with oodles of great places to stay, eat and celebrate.

We went for an almost 4 hour spa session which is about 20 mins drive from our home stay. We rented a cab cause it was cheap. Our spa consist of pedi and mani, feed massage, hair spa, head and shoulder massage. Guess what, the moment we walked out of the spa, I had my nails bitten off (very bad habit I tell you :o). We walked about 10 mins down the road after our pampering session to have a look what's install for us at the Art Market. They have small stalls selling souvenirs. Affordable price and you can bargain some more. I bought twinning t-shirt for Juan and #babyjedi

Cost for our 2nd day:

Taxi from hotel to spa - 20,000 rph
Nasi lauk - 20,000 rph
Spa - 250,000
T-shirt for #babyjedi and juan - 150,000 rph
Drink - 7,000 rph
Dinner - 102,000 rph

*We went dinner to a fancy restaurant. You can have cheaper ones at the local food stalls. They're quite clean with more varieties.

Bringing back my breast milk:

To be honest, when I purchased my flight tix to Lombok last year, I've actually forgotten that I was breastfeeding! Yes, I forget that I was a mummy to a 7 months old #babyjedi  -__-' . I guess the travel bug just caught me after a year long of hiatus from travelling.

That aside. A week before our departure, I've never actually secure any accommodation for the both of us. I was contemplating of cancelling this trip because I realized that I had to leave #babyjedi behind and I'm worry that I'm gonna miss him. Uurrgghh. But apart from that, I was thinking that this will be a good time for me to get out of mummy zone and find some time for myself, away from my daily routine. Recharge and re-energize before going back to 'war' again.

I have prepared myself with everything I needed in order to ship my breast milk back to Malaysia. Because I produce soooo much of breast milk, I decided to check in a medium size polystyrene box. I didn't want to bring my 3.2 liter cooler box because the box itself could weight around 2 kg, excluding my luggage and other stuff. Alhamdulillah the process was soooo smooth and all my milk were still in good condition and they were still chill when I arrived home. So how did I do it?

Things you need:

1. A cooler box/ polystyrene box
2. 2 to 3 pieces of towel cloth
3. Newspapers to close the gap in between the breast milk bags
4. Cling wrap (just in case) to wrap your box
5. Scotch tape to tape around your box
6. A printed label
7. Ice gel, around 6 packs (Techni ice sheet is the best). You can get it from Lazada or 11th Street.




KLIA2 and Lombok International Airport do provide wrapping service. Lombok airport cost around standard price of 60,000 rupiah (RM18) for any sizes. While KLIA2 cost around RM15 for a medium size polystyrene box. Penang International Airport cost around RM21 for the same size. Wrap your box to and fro your destination to protect your box from scratch.

I stored my milk in the mini bar in our room while my gel pack were stored in the kitchen freezer (call your homestay/hotel beforehand in regards to this). I was so lucky that the staffs at the homestay were so accommodating and understand my situation.

Because I only travel for 4 days, therefore I didn't  freeze my breast milk. I didn't want to go through the hassle of having to maintain the freezing temperature during my flight back. So refrigerator temperature is good enough. The weight of my cooler box is around 5kg (include breast milks, newspapers in between, ice gels)

1. Layer the bottom part and around your cooler box with ice gel pack/Techni ice sheet.
2. Place your milk on top of the ice gel.
3. Place some scrambled newspaper in between the gap and layer the top part of your breast milk with 2 to 3 layers of clothes to trap the cool air inside the box.
4. Wrap the box with cling wrap (please check if the airport provide wrapping service) and label your box so that the airline staff is aware of the content.

Your cooler box will need to go through the Xray machine in Lombok and Malaysia airport but the Xray emits minimal rays and for just a few seconds. So your breast milk are still safe for baby's consumption.



Here's a simple guide on how to pack your breast milk. I've forgotten to catch mine on video


Pumping during outing:

Based on my recent experience to Lombok, it was a breast feeding friendly island. They encouraged breast feeding for new mothers in the first 6 months or when the baby is ready to wean themselves from latching. They don't really have pumping concept therefore don't be surprised if they asked you why do you need to pump. Most of them direct latch at night and formula milk when the mother are out for work.

I managed to pump in a massage center. They provide me with a small room to pump. But because my travel buddy was pregnant, we spent most of our time in the hotel. The culture also prioritized mothers with infant or toddler especially when you're queuing up at the immigration,
restaurant, public places. But for this time, I tried dragging my pumping time from 3 hours plus to 4 to 5 hours in between.

I even pumped on flight too. The flight attendant was kind enough to give a whole row of empty seats. I hand carried my pump bag with ice block. No issue during immigration check. They only wanted me to show them the pump because it contain rechargeable battery.

Places where there is no mother's room available, I will normally pump at one corner while wearing my nursing cover. Lombok has one nursing room at the departure hall (beside customer and immigration counter).

*Towards your travel date, make sure you call up your hotel/homestay to inform them that you're breastfeeding and you need a mini bar or if you can borrow their refrigerator to store your breast milk. As for mine, they're accommodating and understands my situation. I just removed the drinks in the mini bar to make space for my breast milk.

Things you need in your pumping bag when traveling:

1. NURSING COVER. This is very, very useful.
2. Power bank (at least 10,000 mH). Don't forget the cable that can connect the power bank to your pump. Lombok has different power outlet. make sure you check them first
3. Tissue and wet tissue
4. A very good ice pack/block
5. Ice gel and ice block
6. A small size tupperware to store your breast pump
7. Breast pump power cable
8. Hand sanitizer

I will share with you my current purchase of a breast pump bag that duo as my work/travel bag as well. So less bags to lug around *phewwww*. Very convenient

Life has been so hectic for the past few months and some things have become a routine for me. To a point where I felt sooo exhausted. Being a full time working mum has totally took a toll on me not just physical but mentally. At times, I even go to bed at almost 1am.

With the non stopping demand from work, it just adds on to what I already have in my hands. Not everyone understand that breastfeeding mum's need is as important as a pregnant woman. When you're in stress or you're rushing during pumping, it's hard to focus on what you're doing. From my 6 months experience, many mummies told me that they're under produced mum but from what I understand, I believe they lost focus during their pumping session like rushing for meetings or thinking about their workload. On top of that, demand from bosses just adds on the pressure. If only people understand what breastfeeding mums a.k.a ftwm has to go through.

I'm very indeed blessed with abundance of breast milk. In fact, I have extras to donate to other babies almost on a weekly basis. Hey, I'm not complaining though. Why not help other babies in need kan.



So our trip to Lombok was something I've been looking forward to although it was hard to leave #babyjedi behind. At least I have some time off from mummy duty. We didn't have any itinerary in hand and accommodation was confirmed a few days before our departure. We spent half of our day touring around Lombok and half a day at the home stay. We didn't travel far. Only around Senggigi and nearby Lombok airport.

Our purpose was to really relax without having any plan. Plus my travel buddy was pregnant, so we reduce any activities that might tire her out. We had breakfast cooked freshly every morning, lepaking by the pool. Macam mat saleh la. It was really nice. Not having to think about anything but perhaps I might bring #babyjedi in my next trip. Rindu...

Feeling refresh after taking 4 days off from my work desk. It has been more than a year since I last boarded a plane. It was because I was pregnant and not fit to fly.

Our Lombok trip was a planned one and tix were bought end of last year during the Air Asia sale. We wanted to go for an all girls short trip. Away from the husband and baby. Turned out it was hard to leave #babyjedi behind. Lain kali kena tag along la.

So we flew with Air Asia on an afternoon flight 3.40pm and it took us 3 hours to arrive Lombok International Airport. The airport was relatively small so you don't have much things to do to kill time. Since we arrive at night, we can't see how Lombok looked like.

We headed straight to our homestay by a shuttle bus with reasonable price, Damri shuttle. The bus service is available from Bandara Internasional Lombok to service passengers wishing to travel to and from either Mataram or Senggigi. The 8 DAMRI buses serving the route have a capacity of approximately 40 passengers, 10 further buses with a 20 passenger are expected to complement the fleet but have not been delivered. They are new air-conditioned buses and are white in colour.

DAMRI services depart from their office located in eastern Mataram on Jl. Tuan Guru Faisal (a three minute taxi ride from the Mandalinka Bus Station) every hour and proceed to the airport, commencing at 04:00 with the last bus leaving that terminal at 19:00.

The fare from/to the Mataram is fixed at Rp 25,000 per person which is equivalent to RM7.90

DAMRI services are also provided to connect Senggigi to the airport departing Senggigi from 03:00 and then every 1.5 hr until the last departure from Senggigi at 20:00. Some airport buses may provide services between Mandelika and Senggigi. In the last couple of months these services have not been accurately following the published schedules, ensure you leave plenty of buffer time if catching a departing flight.