We always love it when our readers share their stories with us – and all of you! So we were delighted when Singapore mum Amy agreed to share a very special recipe with us, for breastmilk noodles! What a clever way of using up excess breastmilk!
Amy also talks about her experience of being a mum so far, and what it’s been like breastfeeding up to now.
Amy and her adorable cherub!
Amy’s breastfeeding journey
My name is Amy and I am a proud mama of a precious little three month old baby. My baby means the world to me and the journey of motherhood has been up and down but surely it’s a beautiful one. The sleepless nights, the tiring days, all these are worth it. Just by looking at my sweet baby’s face make, anything can become better.
My baby is exclusively on breast milk. But the starting of my breastfeeding journey was not that sweet. I would like to tell all mummies to not feel stressed the few days after giving birth if you don’t see your milk come in immediately.
Mine didn’t come until a week after I gave birth. I was so stressed because the first couple of days at the hospital I literally didn’t see any milk at all. I had a few drops of colostrum, that’s it, only a few drops. But everyone at the hospital, the nurses, lactating consultants and doctors told me it’s okay if I don’t have much milk because the baby doesn’t need much.
But I saw how my baby suffered. He cried his lungs out and couldn’t settle even after latching for more than half an hour. He looked really dehydrated. After one and a half days I couldn’t take it anymore and demanded the nurses to feed him formula.
He settled and slept soundly every time coming back to my room from the nursery because he obviously had enough milk. So mummies out there please listen to your mother instinct and give your babies enough milk.
Breast milk is best but if you don’t produce enough milk the first few days, then a little formula is better than leaving your baby dehydrated and stressed.
I’m blessed that after a week postpartum my milk kicked in. And I continue to be blessed to have enough milk for my baby now and have some excess as well. Because of this my baby is totally on breast milk now.
Since I have some excess, I have been donating and giving away my milk to mummies who don’t produce enough. Some days though, I still had more excess that my fridge could hold.
So I started to think of ways to not waste my breast milk since as many of you know, it’s “liquid gold” that has many good benefits, not to mention the hard work we put in to pumping our milk.
So far I have tried some ways to put my excess milk to use (besides giving away to mothers in need).
These include: putting it in coffee, making face mask and body scrubs, making flan custards, baking cake, muffins, and most recently, I made breast milk noodles.
After trying it and succeeding, I decided to share my recipe with all other mummies. I would like to tell all mummies that breast milk is very nutritious, not just for our babies but for us as well.
Why do we drink cow milk, goat milk but not human milk? So the next time you want to reach for that carton of store bought cow milk for any recipes, think twice, and reach for your excess breast milk first.
With all that said, I would like to share my little breast milk noodle recipe.
*Disclaimer: I am not a professional cook, just a mum with a little recipe to share for fellow mums out there to try.
On the right is the delicious prawn and minced pork noodle dish that Amy made with her homemade breastmilk noodles!
Recipe for Breast Milk Handmade Noodles:
- 400gr of all purpose flour
- 140ml breast milk (this is just approximately, I recommend you pour in little by little, until you have a dough that’s not to dry nor too wet)
- About ¼ teaspoon of salt
Mix the salt in the flour then mix the milk into the mixture little by little until a dough is formed.
Knead the dough about 15 minutes until it’s smooth. Cover with a towel and plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for about two hours at a cool room temperature (24 degree Celsius) or overnight in the fridge.
After the dough has rested, take out, divide the dough into about 4 parts. Use a rolling pin to roll each part of the dough into a thin sheet (sprinkle flour to avoid sticking).
After the dough is rolled into a thin sheet, roll 2 sides of the dough into the middle and use a sharp knife to cut into thin strips. After that you shake out excess flour and drop into boiling water to cook the noodles (about two to three minutes).
There you have it, nutritious handmade noodles preservative free ready for any noodle dishes you like!
I made prawn and minced pork noodles with mine, what are you planning to make with yours?
Got a recipe to share with us? Let us know in a comment below!