Milk Mama Diaries 3
July 20, 2011 § 24 Comments
Welcome to the Milk Mama Diaries Carnival (July). For this month, we join the National Nutrition Council – Department of Health in celebrating Nutrition Month with the theme ”Isulong ang Breastfeeding – Tama, Sapat at EKsklusibo!” Participants will share their experiences in promoting breastfeeding or their tips on how breastfeeding should be promoted. Please scroll down to the end of this post and check out the other carnival participants.
I love breastfeeding! Ha you should have heard me during the early weeks! I swore and kept waiting for a valid reason to stop. But luckily none came. I always remember what I once saw on TV, about how a man can breastfeed by letting baby suck often enough. And I know some nannies was able to breastfeed even when they didnt give birth recently simply by allowing baby to keep sucking. Velvet helped a doctor who adopted a newborn breastfeed and was successful! With that in mind how can I not when they can? If a mom wants to go through the hardship or not is a different question. I once told a friend, dont breastfeed na if it is giving you so much emotional distress, mag formula ka na lang at least mas happy ka and mas ok ang magiging mommyhood journey mo. I am not sure how other breastfeeding advocate sees that, is it normal advice or am I the black sheep but I stand on my advice and will still say the same to one who is on that boat. But if you are one who is very much wanting to breastfeed oh I have your back. I even pay for people to visit some friends just to make sure they are on track and are given the right guidance. What I am trying to say is I am not a formula hater,I dont want people to perceive me as all breastfeeding and makes one feel bad if they are formula feeding. Ay ang dami kong busina!
During my pregnancy I made a mental note on who among my friends are successfully breastfeeding or breastfed, I kept them in mind so I can text them if and when my morale is low or when I stumble upon roadblocks. I had to choose well because I didnt want to get advices and message from annoying and know-it-all people, remember I might be in my post partum and could be ultra sensitive. I didnt want others to be able to make me feel small or like a failure or get frustrated.
Now that I was able to do it, that is also what I do to help others out. I make myself available to others who might want to go into breastfeeding. I simply talk about my experience and how much fun I have and how glad I am about breastfeeding. That would hopefully attract those who are interested to breastfeed to ask me anything and at the same time not seem pushy to those who aren’t since am not talking about it anyway, am showing it lang. Is it effective? I think so as I got friends who would email or text me their breastfeeding concerns and even friends who would ask in behalf of their friends.
Also attending Breastfeeding meets were very very helpful to me, meeting different people with different experiences you will bound to meet one who shares what you went through too. Of course nothing beats online support group since it is available 24/7 and is a group of wider kinds of mom. Being with people who breastfed makes you realize it is not as hard nor as impossible so your confidence grows too.
Pressure point of breastfeeding: I feel that the first few days of breastfeeding is the most crucial part, once they start giving up or doubting all the problem start entering so I am always telling people to text, email or message me at the moment they feel they need help. This is where I think people should focus to help promote breastfeeding.
I think seeing my friends feed til their child is 3 or 4 years old makes me not stop too. I first wanted to feed till Laya is 1 but didnt want to overwhelm myself when I was having a hard time so I made it 3 months then 6 months then on my 9th month I knew I can go on not even need to give myself a goal, it is not inconvenient to continue instead it is so convenient na nga, mas inconvenient pa to stop, I had so many concerns and preparation to make if I stop. Now at 16 months am not seeing myself stop unless Laya decide she doesnt want to anymore.
As for the government to promote breastfeeding? I honestly dont know, I am quite scared about promoting breastfeeding because it is so easy for those who doesn’t breastfeed to feel that the breastfeeding moms are so gung ho and so full of themselves when they talk breastfeeding (Read this blog this is EXACTLY how I felt). It is so easy to step on their toes so I try to be quiet and only answer when asked (yes sa lagay na ito pigil na ako). I guess people just tend to always talk with too much emotion on things they are passionate about and those who arent on the same boat feels those who are are OA na. Kinda like having born again friends diba? They are so happy to discover God that they would do anything to convert those who havent. Yung nga lang mas easy to understand mga born again kasi God yan eh. Sa breastfeeding, it comes off differently because there’s this feeling na if you didnt breastfeed you didnt give the best and thus guilt and so many other emotions get in too so some people gets riled up easily too. But I do think getting popular celebrity that connects well to the people to endorse breastfeeding will help leaps and bounds 🙂
Please read the blogs from the other carnival-ers
Enjoy!
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shucks. reading all these things makes me excited to become a mum! unfortunately, hindi naman ako buntis. wala naman akong asawa. wala nga akong jowa for that matter, so walang reason para mabuntis. :))
uuyy wag ka munang maging mommy… bride muna (tapos iprepresinta kong flower girl si Laya) hahaha joke lang but if seryosohin mo call ako! sagot ko na gown niya 🙂
seriously you will be a good mom! you came from a fun, tight & loving family eh. i saw how funny your dad is and how maalaga your mom is 🙂
Reading your post made me realize that I’m one of those moms who are really gung-ho about breastfeeding. And tama nga yung comparison na ginamit mo na Born Again. 😀
Pero para ngang mas mahirap mag-stop no?
yes iniisip ko pa lang parang di possible eh kasi we co sleep. parang yung mga concerns mo why di ka pwede mag carry kay Janina to OR and be with her sa recovery room kasi for sure they’d want to feed maski di gutom eh.
as i told you before, i still remember your early posts sa N@W and our very first few meetings in LLLI. as in you were super doubtful of yourself BUT look how that turned out AND how well (or should I say excellently) you’ve spread yourself to help your friends succeed!! breastfeeding in the Philippines is lucky to have you as an advocate and i hope the people you have helped will also pay it forward so the numbers will multiply!!
uuuyyy over naman yung lucky! pero super nag enjoy ako dito sobra! i felt so at home and yun nga it was so natural… i hope to be an advocate one day parang feeling ko hobbyist lang ako nakiki alam lang kung saan masaya.
i say good job you guys for making it so much fun and enjoyable. sana we can continue making it fun then more people join us.
amazing, and also a great idea allowing others to text you for help and encouragement. I would LOVE to join you in helping other moms that are looking for help and encouragement to start breastfeeding or continue, or just need some support. I would be willing to text other moms for support, help, and encouragement.
marilyn: yes i tell them to text me at any hour, i dont get disturb sa text even when asleep, i just reply as soon as i can. since i am awake at night am a good text buddy for those in trouble since bfeed trouble comes at night when nobody else is awake and the tiredness & lack of sleep is weighing the mom down pa.
🙂
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Grabeh, mama benz. I honor you for your advocacy in breastfeeding. I think oks lang ung piece of advice you gave to your friend. We all have different levels of tolerance and probably some really couldn’t handle emotions well than others.
For me challenge ko was going to work and then pumping. Hay! Hirap with stress, umoonte ung milk. But if I missed breastfeeding my Gab.
Hi Patty,
Thansk so much!
Hey kaya yan to pump at work 🙂 But ipon ka na before you even work para di ka worried if enough stash mo sa ref if you go to work.
I have a friend who said if alam ko lang gaano kami kadalas magsasama ng pump ko pinangalangan ko na sana siya hehehe
Good luck!
-benz
I understand your sentiment about the well-meaning breastfeeding moms who are so “gung ho” about breastfeeding. You see, I’m a “3-in-1” mom (1st child – formula fed; 2nd child – mixed fed; 3rd baby – EBF). I was not able to breastfeed my firstborn due to medical / health reasons. And unfortunately, I didn’t know then that there’s such a thing as relactation. During that time, I’ve encountered breastfeeding moms who made me feel so inadequate simply because I wasn’t breastfeeding my daughter. And definitely, that kind of promotion doesn’t help the breastfeeding cause at all.
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I just hope it’s occurred to you that you are like Juday in that you influence a lot of moms/wives… and I just know that you have enticed a mom (or two hundred) to at least TRY breastfeeding… and for that, I thank YOU 🙂
Blush naman! But I would do anything to be able to help one who wants to do it.
Hay my beef with Juday is she threw away talaga her chance to give something this precious. Legacy ito na more valuable than any awards and one that will count a LOT when she goes to heaven!
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Nice post! It’s so nice to know that there are lucky people out there who enjoy breastfeeding. I hope that could happen to me on my third baby. I also get more discouraged too if there are breastfeeding moms who are to pushy and too judgmental.
send me an email or fb message or comment here if you need help, just holler, you will be so surprised how many eager hands there are to help out.
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