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| My Ima with my son |
My grandmother, Elena ''Eleng'' Sitchon, is turning 86 on May 3. Last February 17, 2011 my mother turned 59 and I will be turning 31 in June. My son, Azlan Lione, is the first apo and apo sa tuhod.
This means that my lola Elena has been a mom for 59 years, a grandma for almost 31 years and greatgrandma for 6 months and 17 days!
Last Sunday, my Ima Eleng showed me how blessed she is by being able to carry Lione in her arms. I secretly shed a happy tear witnessing a blessing not too many people were able to experience.
As a way to thank this one great woman in my life, I would like to share to everyone how I was able to EXCLUSIVELY breastfeed (EBF) my son during his 1st 6 months and counting.
Why breastfeeding of all topics? Well, my lola had 9 children-7 of which she had breastfed. And I surmise that because of that my mom also breastfed me and my brother Louie.
So here are my "Breastfeeding Survival Tips":
•Yes, I actually used the word survival because breastfeeding is NOT easy. You have to keep in mind that it requires discipline (because what you eat is what your mammary glands produce), patience (baby feeds anyTIME and anyWHERE) and lot of hard work. You have to prepare yourself for the hardest workout of your life.
•Breastfeeding makes you SEXY so WORK IT! As your body produces breastmilk, you also shed off calories. I read that you loose about 500 calories per day. So eat when you are hungry. Breastmilk production follows the law of supply and demand. If your body senses that there is a higher demand it produces more -meaning more calories burned!
I have actually experienced this "miracle" myself. I was able to wear my college pants 3 months after giving birth!
•Determination is the key! I believe that the sucess of breastfeeding lies on the willingness of the mother to give the best to her child. My mom motivated me to breastfeed even before I got pregnant. I had a VERY rocky start. If I my heart was not into it, my son would have been formula fed on his 3rd day.
•Be prepared. Read about it before the baby comes out. This is something that I was not able to do. Reading will help you understand you and your baby. It will prepare you mentally for the challenges ahead. Here are my favorite sites:
www.kellymom.com
www.fabnaima.blogspot.com
•Mighty malunggay! Malunggay has been part of my diet since I was 7 months pregnant. Initially, I want all natural since my mom concoct soups and placed malunggay leaves during my maternity leave. But I ran out of creativity and time to prepare soups when I went back to work. So now I take malunggay capsules everyday. I tried Natalac and Pro Lacta both worked but for me the best brand is Sun Angel, which I order thru their webpage.
•Healthy diet is a must. Aside from malunggay, my diet includes:
o a dose of seafood soup (the real one and not the artificial in a pack) at least once a week
o oatmeal drink or cookies everyday
o peanuts and peanut butter
o avoid cold drinks, coffee, tea, sodas
•Don't drink cold water after giving birth. Ğet something hot. Best to have seafood soup with malunggay. Some may not believe in this but I actually do because my milk flow lessened when I asked for iced cold water while I was at the hospital.
•Don't panic if you don't have milk after giving birth; your baby does not need much anyway.
•Always take a hot bath. It relaxes your body and stimulates milk production. Clean your nipples with a wash cloth.
•During the first 2 months, pump before or after baby nurses. But don't give it to baby.
•Establish supply first before giving baby your milk in a bottle. It took a month of being with baby 24/7 and nursing him every 2-3 hours. At the early stages, there are instances that baby asks for milk every hour. Don't worry, you body can take this. You are stronger than what you think.
•If you are going back to work, simulate work and pumping schedule a month before. Ask your caregiver to practice the baby with bottle. Baby will definitely reject it at first but once he tastes it and he is hungry, he will eat it.
•When you are at work, don’t worry about taking lactation breaks. The breastfeeding acts requires all companies to allow lactating moms to be on lactation breaks aside from their regular beaks.
•Don’t skip a pump at work. To be able to do this, I keep in mind that this is my only way to be with my baby while I am at work.
•Have a support system. For me, it was my mom who really helped me do this.
•Get your strength from that one person who you love dearly –aside from your baby. In truth, if my husband did not drop everything to be with me during the days that I am having problems with my milk supply, I would have stopped trying to feed my baby with my best.
