It's All About Breastfeeding This Month!

August is World Breastfeeding Month!

It's going to be 11 months since I started breastfeeding and it's been an amazing journey! It's something I'm very proud of and very close to my heart.


It's not easy at first but I got all the support I need from my husband.

Holding Y for the very first time after delivery.

The milk drunk look we all breastfeeding moms love! Satisfied baby!

I love Y's eyes especially when she's breastfeeding!

I've learned a lot from breastfeeding, met moms who breastfeed, started this blog... Crazy ride from low milk supply to experiencing nursing in a breastfeeding station, nursing in public to joining blog carnivals (view my post here and here). I told you it's an amazing journey!

There are activities set for this month of breastfeeding!

Images from Chronicles of a Nursing Mom

I hope there are more activities! I wanna join in spreading the awareness! Oh, I'm looking forward for this month's blog carnival! Let's do this!

For more information on other activities, check Jenny's post!

And check out the Painter's Wife post on L.A.T.C.H.'s campaign!

I'm Going to La La Land... and a Challenge!!!

La La Land means Hong Kong!!! Well, in two months that is. Sounds like I'm more excited with this trip than Y's Birthday Party noh? Haha.. Of course not! And by challenge.. I mean a boobs challenge!

Ok, that means, I'm on a shopping ban (actually, matagal na akong banned!). I can only buy Y's needs and of course for the house. The rest will have to wait! Oohh I can imagine myself going wild at H&M! But of course may budget! Can't wait to eat, shop, eat, shop!

I'm not bringing Y with me. :( Yeah, maybe when she's older and maybe when I'm ready to take her traveling with me. Ngayon, mall ka muna!

Not bringing Y with me means I have to have stock of expressed milk. Hmmm.. How will I do that??? Yan ang challenge ngayon! I've got to have at least 100oz of expressed milk stored by the time I leave for HK. Possible? YES! Doable? EWAN KO! I have to deal with a week of low milk supply a month. But I'm up for it! I've got two months to do it!

Let's see if I can do it! I hope I can. I CAN!

Eating My Words...

Am I finally going to eat my words? I've said and mentioned so many times in this blog that as much as possible I don't want to mix feed Y. (The BOS and) I want her to be strictly and exclusively breastfed. But I'm tempted to buy a can of formula (again!). My yaya called me this afternoon at around 5PM telling me that Y has no milk na. Need to go back to my previous routine and can't leave the house earlier than I did today!

These past few days:

- I'm having my period (Sorry, TMI!)

- Y's milk intake increased but I'm having milk supply problems once again and Y's feedings has been erratic because of her teething.

- I've been pumping every two hours in the office. But my supply still won't improve.

- I'm taking malunggay supplements and drinking fresh malunggay tea. Still no effect.

I already bought a box of Mother's Milk Tea. I'm planning to take Calcium/Magnesium supplement and fenugreek capsules. I hope my milk supply will increase once my period is finished.

Hay.. I can't afford to take another leave. I don't want my boss to think I'm slacking. I can't always just take a leave when Y has no enough expressed milk or else my leaves will be used up.

Am I finally going to eat my words?

What Have You Heard Lately?

Y is going thru growth spurt right now. Adding to that, Y is also teething. And once again, my milk supply can't keep up with Y's demand and again I'm a milking machine. I took the afternoon off from work last Friday so I can come home early, a sort-of nursing vacation. I was also pumping in between feedings, my nipples are starting to sore. I'm not complaining.

 

Every time I'm having a low milk supply dilemma, my mom would bug me into buying a can of formula milk or supplement with water. She would tell me to check what's the best formula in the market and buy it. Mommy, breast is best! I've gone through this about three times since I started working. And those three times don't you think I was tempted to buy a can of formula milk? I get stressed thinking if Y has enough milk until I get home. But every time I talk to my husband (He is a breastfed baby), he would say no and would just tell me to boost my milk supply, eat malunggay, order more Mommy Treats, or just take a day off and stay at home with Y. So yay for the BOS! :)

 

The other day, I took my Amma to get her flu vaccine. While waiting for the doctor, she asked me how long do I plan to breastfeed Y. I said as long as I have milk, I will continue to breastfeed. She told me (in Chinese): "Breastfeed her until she one and a half years old. That should be enough." Hmm... I just kept quiet because I don't want to go on discussing/arguing about breastfeeding with her. She might/won't understand my reasons. She didn't breastfeed my dad and his siblings. I might get nosebleed explaining breastfeeding to her LOL. Kidding aside, basta it's hard to explain it to her. But I wanted to tell her: "Amma, breastfeeding is best for babies up to two years and beyond!"

 

How do I deal with these? I know it's my mom and amma. But I have to brush them off and I hope they understand my stand on breastfeeding.

Out of Sync

Today is not a great day.

I was totally out of sync this morning. I don't know why. I got my car bumped hard by a pedicab. It was sort of my fault. As I've mentioned, I was out of sync. I guess I steered to early o what, I don't know. There's a big dent and a hole at the back fender. Yikes! I've yet to tell my parents. I didn't bother to go down the car because I was in a small street with tambays, and I don't want to be mulled by usiseros, so I just left, sort-of hit and run. I didn't see the damage until I got to the office. Ughhh...

During my morning pumping session, I noticed I forgot to bring an extra via cup in my pumping bag. Out of sync! Kainez. I have to ask BOS to come all the way here in the office just to bring me that extra via cup.

I thought maybe because I didn't get my morning (decaf) coffee fix. I want to avoid drinking caffeine. But sometimes I have to, or not I won't be able to work properly. But it's still not it. Maybe it's because of the new yaya. I have to blog about that.

And then this afternoon, I called home to check on Y. Our helper told me that there's only 2oz of my milk left. And that was around 4PM! I won't be home until 7:30PM! Waahhh... I don't have a back-up formula at home! She's eating twice a day now. She was eating when I called. I was going to buy a small can of formula this afternoon but BOS won't let me. He told me to take a leave tomorrow instead. Let's see.. maybe I need to add one more pumping session at home because currently I don't. I nurse Y directly when I get home. Need to take malunggay capsules again! I got lazy taking the capsules.. I think it's time to order another 2-week supply of Mommy Treats!


One good thing: Y's done with her Heraclene!

Yummy Mommy Treats!

As all you know, to those who reads my blog, my milk supply was so low last week! Then, I read about these yummy lactation cookies and muffins for nursing moms first at Topaz Mommy, then over at The Painter's Wife, then recently at Fabnaima.

After reading The Painter's Wife that she tried both muffins and cookies, I left a comment asking which of two is better because I can't decide which one to order. To my suprise, Paolo Loot of Mommy Treats replied to my comment giving me an extra treat that if I order her cookies or muffins, she'll give me a sampler of cookies or muffins! Yey! So, I quickly checked Mommy Treats, considering how desperate I was to do/eat/take anything to boost my supply, I submitted an order form for a week's worth of cookies. We exchanged SMS and got my treats last Friday! Can I just say? She's super duper nice!

Here are my treats. :) I ordered all three flavors: 3 packs of Raisins, and 2 packs each of Chocolate Chips and White Chocolate Chips.

Raisins! My favorite!

White Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Chips

What's so special about these treats? They are filled with galactogogues (Oatmeal, Fenugreek, Brewer's Yeast), which helps promotes lactation. Kaya nga ako nagorder! It has a bitter aftertaste because of the brewer's yeast but very tolerable. My favorite is the Raisin one! Can't taste much of the bitterness, not too sweet, and the raisins she used is really good! I let the BOS took a bite, even he finds it yummy! I find the White Chocolate Chips too sweet for my taste while the Chocolate Chips are good too except for the stronger taste of the brewer's yeast. And what's so good about it too is they are not fattening! 


And then there's the muffins which also comes in three flavors: Banana Oatmeal, Banana Walnut, and Carrot Walnut. I got to taste each of the three from the sampler Paolo gave me. The muffins are soft and moist, just the way I like it. Take note, I ate the muffins 1 week after I got them, I didn't put it in the ref, just room temperature. I was surprise that they are still soft. And no bitterness at all! I like all three flavors! YUM!

Photos from Mommy Treats

As of the effectiveness, they are! My milk is slowly catching up again. Thank God! I need to stock up cause I don't want to go crazy again next month when my period is about to start! TMI sorry! But I really get worried! Next month week, I shall order another week's supply again, this time it will be all muffins! ;) BTW, Mommy Treats has a special soft launch discount for the whole month of January! Get 10% off. ;) You got three days left!

Mommy Treats

http://mommytreats.multiply.com
mommytreats@yahoo.com
+639177923432 

I'm a Milk Mommy!

Today was not a good day. 


This morning when I checked our ref. There's 2 Avent Via Cups left of my BM (breastmilk), 1 was 4oz, 1 was 5oz. I opened the freezer, there's only 1 Avent 4oz bottle with 3oz of BM. Sum it all up, I got 12oz! I'm worried it won't be enough for Y's consumption while I'm at work. She usually consumes 15 to 16 oz, it's not enough. (See related post) So what I did was fed her before I left for work. Lunch time, I called to check on Y. Her yaya said there's still enough, so I'll just hurry home after work so that she can feed from me before she sleeps.

But, I got worried for tomorrow's milk! My supply is still low (see my ranting here), and I went a bit desperate! I was thinking of mix feeding her (formula and BM), so I called my pediatrician's office and asked what kind/brand of milk should I fed supplement. Actually, she was fed with formula milk on her first night at the hospital., but I exclusively BFed her from the next day til now. I was already starting to convince myself that it's okay to supplement since Y needs to gain a little bit of weight and formula can do that. And then, SNAP! NO NO NO!! I will not give in!!! Breastmilk only! 

Rows and rows of formula milk..

So, what am I going to do? Take a leave tomorrow morning so I can feed her plus I get to spend more time with her until I have to go to work around lunch time and hopefully what I pumped today will be enough for the rest of the afternoon.

It's really great that my BOS is cheering me on this, and told me to not give up. So thank you my dear husband!

Now, all I have to do is chant this "I'm a Milk Mommy!" over and over so I won't have to think about formula milk again! Chant with me! LOL!

Trying..

to blog using my iPhone. Just testing it out! It's hard to type. Not suitable if I want to write a long entry. Anyways, I'm experiencing low milk supply again! This happens when I'm going to have my period. It sucks!!! Good thing I have milk on stock.