If there was one thing i am proud of as a mother, it is having been able to breastfeed Little for close to 50 months and counting! Thanks to the breastfeeding law, and gadgets made available to mothers i was able to exclusively breastfeed Little even if i was working full time out of the home. Yes i am on a extended breastfeeding mode.
Could not have done it without the support
Of course, the first year wasn’t a walk in the park. Pumping every three hours. pumping during out of office activities. Making sure the milk remains fresh. Organizing the pumped milk. Enter little’s first yaya, Laurence. Laurence had been instrumental in this exclusive breastfeeding that eventually turned into extended breastfeeding.
New Mom? You may want to read one of my related articles: 15 Breastfeeding Tips for New Moms
I taught her everything i learned about milk handling, storage, and feeding, and guess what she was able to help me a lot. We have devised a system already re: organizing everything that ill be needing that work day. When i return from home she organizes all the milk and she implements labeling and inventory system i taught her as efficiently as possible.
This partnership not only helped Little become healthier, it has helped other NICU kids in the Children’s hospital where i donate our extra BM stash!
Another major support machine of course is H! Yes he complained that i smelled like milk all.the.time during Little’s first two months of life, but he got to appreciate all the hard work i’ve been putting in on breastfeeding when he saw that Little has been growing great and healthy. He also makes sure ive got enough pillow support or even bodily support (his john lloyd cherubic body at that time!) during nursing sessions.
My parents have been very supportive as well, even ILs. They were just as proud 🙂 My own Yaya of 25 years even makes sure i always have malunggay tea, and malunggay in all the soups that she serves me for either lunch or dinner whenever we are at Dad’s. 🙂
Determination, love and prayers
Well, it was not a stress-free journey. The first weeks made me want to give up. I even call Little as ‘dracula’ because of all the N wounds that i sustained. I am just glad that mother nature agreed, and i tried to be more patient. That i googled a lot, and read a lot, and went to a lot of breastfeeding resource websites like the La Leche League Website, and kellymom.com 🙂 I also pray to the patron saint of breastfeeding, our Lady of La Leche (You can read more about her here, in one of my entries)
I also get the stares and the side eye, especially now that i am on extended breastfeeding. Little loved nursing even out of the house — in church, in restaurants, name it. And she does it standing up!
I thank God for the gift of extended breastfeeding. As a working mom it helps me reconnect with Little at the end of the day. removed my mommy guilt and sadness during pumping times at the office. and makes cuddling time a lot more fun, and loving 🙂
If you are pregnant right now and would love to give breastfeeding a try, you may want to read my article on pregnancy and preparing for breastfeeding.
Check out this sweet video on extended breastfeeding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTEi8IOQb7s
till next post!
