It was not an easy
journey, though. I experienced having swollen, wounded, cracked, bleeding
nipples, but it did not stop me from still breastfeeding. There were times na
umiiyak ako habang sumusuntok sa hangin while feeding because of the pain. Para
kang may sugat tpos nilagyan mo ng asin tpos dinurog mo. Well, that’s how I
felt. I did not like putting any gels or ointments on the wound even if it said
that it’s safe to be ingested by infants. Purely tiis was my medicine. This is
the time when a lot of mothers stop breastfeeding because of the pain. And it’s sad when they stop because the wound
will heal naman in a few days and breastfeeding more often will make it better
or will make the wound heal faster. It’s actually more painful in the
beginning, when the baby latches, but the pain lessens kahit papano in the
middle of feeding, and sasakit ulit when the baby releases the nipple when he’s
done. Napapasigaw ako sa point na ito. I’m not saying this to scare off moms,
but to encourage them and for them to know that it’s normal and that other
breastfeeding moms have also experienced this and it did not stop them from
breastfeeding.
I don’t need to stress out the benefits of breastfeeding
because we all know it. It’s the most natural way of feeding our babies.
Breastfeeding is very convenient. You don’t need to worry
about washing and sterilizing bottles.
It is very economical also because breastmilk is free and you won’t run
out of breastmilk unless you stop breastfeeding (You stop producing milk when
you stop breastfeeding). Sobrang laki ng
matitipid if you breastfeed because you don’t need to buy a lot of feeding
bottles, water and formula milk. Try to compute how much you’ll save if you
breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months of your baby’s life and multiply
it by the number of kids you have or will have. Well, if you’re a working mom, you will have
to buy a good and reliable breast pump. Medyo mahal din ito but mas malaki pa
din ang matitipid compare to when you feed your baby formula milk. House of
Medela is the exclusive distributor of Medela Breastpumps in the Philippines.
This is one of the most reliable breastpump brands available in the country. House
of Medela also helps new moms who don’t know how to use breast pumps. They even
have regular talks and seminars about breastfeeding and other related topics.
Sympre if there are benefits, there are also the downsides.
That’s what I’ll stress out on this blog, so moms will have realistic
expectations about breastfeeding. A lot
of women find it hard to breastfeed because they have work. Mahirap naman talaga
but it is not impossible. When I had Enzo and Marko, I was still working in an
office. I had to wake up super early in the morning to pump milk, and breastfeed
before I leave para medyo busog na and hindi agad magalaw yun ipon ko na
breastmilk in the freezer. In the office, I had to manage my 1 hour lunch break.
I had to eat fast, do my CR break, and pump breastmilk. I had to have baon
because I cannot even go out of the office and buy food because I won’t have
enough time to pump. It was difficult because there were no breastfeeding area
in my office. Buti may sleeping quarters, but sometimes it’s full or depending
on the time of my break, it’s closed for cleaning. There were times that I had
to request for a 10 to 15 break from my superiors para lang mkpagpump. Some of
my office mates would tell me to pump in the toilet. Never ever say this to
breastfeeding mothers because it’s very, very offensive. Anyway, when I get
home after work, I pump again before or after I breastfeed my baby. This was my
everyday routine. I pumped at least 3x a day. It was very, very exhausting, but
again, not impossible. I just wish that all offices be required to have a
breastfeeding room where mothers can express their milk comfortably. And for
moms to have additional breaks kahit 15 minutes lang so they can pump at least
twice in the office because if the breasts are full of milk already it is also
painful and mahirap huminga!
Another downside is breastfed babies get nipple confusion. This
is for moms who express (pump) breastmilk. Some babies prefer feeding directly
from the breasts. This is another reason why some moms don’t like to breastfeed.
Ayaw nila masanay ang baby sa breast because they will have a difficult time
switching to bottles. So some prefer to mix feed, meaning sometimes they feed
formula milk, sometimes breastmilk. But this is not ideal because when the
frequency of breastfeeding or pumping is decreased, production of milk is also
decreased. These are the moms who say they don’t have enough milk anymore, or
gutom pa si baby, so eventually they bottled feed na talaga. I experienced this
when I was still employed in the office. There were times when Enzo would wait
for me to get home para lang makafeed na sya. He would just cry and scream, but
he would not drink my milk from the bottle. I guess the key is to practice the
baby to bottlefeed also and to buy silicone nipples that are soft. I read that
Pigeon is the brand of nipple that won’t give babies nipple confusion. This is
what I bought for Javi. I manage my own business now so I can breastfeed
anytime. But there are still times when I cannot bring Javi with me in my
events, or there are times when my husband and I want to go out without the
kids, or when I want to have a massage. Anyway at first, he had no problem with
it. Kaya natuwa naman ako. But now, he does not like to bottle feed anymore. He
pushes the nipple with his tongue and cries hard until he falls asleep sa pagod
ng kakaiyak. That’s why now, he comes with me everywhere I go. This is one of
the perks of being self employed, yun pwede ko
maisama si baby anywhere and anytime. But as I said earlier, being employed in an
office will make breastfeeding hard but it is not impossible.
There, those are just some of my experiences as a
breastfeeding mom. It is not easy, that’s the truth but because I love my
babies even if it is difficult, I still do it. I believe breastfeeding is one
of the best gifts that we can give to our kids, and it is one of the best
memories we can keep.
 | ||||||
| Javi at 5 months |
The Medela House
29 First Street, New Manila, QC
725.3723 /
738.6272
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