The Blissful Corner

***Sofia was 5 months when I wrote this Five months is another milestone as a breastfeeding mom. I've been nursing my child since day one and gladly, I never gave up. So how did I do it? Express, express, nurse, nurse, nurse! That simple. I was able to build stash as soon as I was allowed to pump and that was on my 6th week. I only bought my pump the day before my 6th week. I directly nursed for six weeks. They say during your 6th week, that's the time breastmilk gets stable. I think six weeks are just enough to stimulate milk and allow your breast to produce enough for your child. I only had two weeks left for my maternity leave when I started to pump. After Sofia nursed during  midnight , I'd get up and pump. I was getting fair enough of milk during those days. When we started practicing how to feed Sofia if I'll be away for work, I pumped more than how much she has consumed. That continued until a month after I came back to work. After that, I noticed a...

Note: I wrote this when Sofia was 7-8 months old A little less popular than a leading brand, Spectra has a wide range of products a breastfeeding mom can choose from and my choice is Spectra 9+. This is actually recommended by my husband's officemates. I think two or three of his officemates use this and they highly recommended this (see how supportive my husband is?).    Spectra 9+ is cheaper compared to a leading brand. At its price, you get to have a double electric pump. I love the led monitor that shows time, suction level and suction type. It's very handy and has good battery life. I've been using this for six months already (Sofia was 6 weeks old when I started to pump) and I can say, it has done an excellent job. It comes with a lot of parts that means having a lot to wash but it doesn't matter. I just needed to wash the parts once a day and just put inside the refrigerator after every use. I've change the valves twice  in 6 months  already to make sur...

Two weeks before getting back to work, we practiced Sofia drinking from a feeding bottle. Although lactation experts do not recommend this, my husband and I still let Sofia to use bottles while I'm away. Luckily, Sofia took the bottles easily and more luckily, still latches on me when we're together. However, feeding bottles made me stressed out because of my fear of nipple confusion and thus might result to less milk production. My husband and I agreed to cup feed Sofia when she turns 6 months. During weekends few weeks before she turned 6 months, I practice her to drink from a cup. It wasn't easy at all- we had a lot of spills! At six months, we were consistent drinking milk from the cup after eating but she still takes the bottle when she needs to sleep. Until we observed she dropped bottles little by little from 5 to 4 to 3 bottles a day. A few weeks before turning nine months, Sofia weaned herself drinking from feeding bottles. They tried offering her bottles ...

*Late post.* I reposted this instagram post from @assocbfmothers . I thought having super powers means being a super mom as well. Few days from now, Sofia will be five months, and yes, we are almost there!!! I never got sick since I was hospitalized last year after my dehydration thingy. Even did not get sick after giving birth. I continue to breastfeed, drink my vitamins and lots of water and eat a little more. So, I thought I was doing well. I came back to work two months after giving birth and everything was fine. But two days ago, I felt chills, body aches and headache. I wasn’t able to nurse even though I’m at home. All I did was sleep and pump. I only nursed Sofia at night when she’s about to sleep when both of us are already lying on our bed. I did not feel any better the next day so I decided to get some tests but results say everything’s normal, I was just over fatigued. (But I have yet to see my OB) Then I realized, yes, I may have super powers but I am not a super...

When I was pregnant, I was already determined to breastfeed my daughter though we were open to take FM just in case. I was so positive about breastfeeding just as how positive I was to deliver normally. Everyday I pray for milk and normal delivery and God did not fail to bless us so. I was open with my OB that I want to breastfeed and she was supportive about it. She gave me malunggay caps when Sofia was 37 weeks in my tummy and I continue to take twice a day until now though I think still my determination to provide Sofia with exclusive breastmilk was still the main reason why I still have the abundance of milk. It wasn’t an easy journey. I had some frustrations as early as Sofia came out from my tummy. First, I asked my OB if my husband can be inside the DR when I deliver but the hospital prohibits from doing so. I wanted my husband to look after my daughter as soon as she comes out and not take his eyes off her. Second, I wanted local anesthesia only to feel the pain (Yes, tapa...