MacGyver and Sustaining Breastfeeding

I had my gall bladder removed last week. Unfortunately, I underestimated the procedure and thought I could go home after 24 hours. Wrong.

Because of this glitch, I only packed x number of bottles in preparation for the stay at the hospital. I figured I'd pump every 3 or 4 hours and then ask my anesthesiologist when can I resume breastfeeding. From our breastfeeding support group site, mothers were saying that women who underwent Cesarian Section delivery were allowed to breastfeed immediately. Seems logical. But I still had to confirm to ease my worries.

Remember I was pumping every 3-4 hours? Wrong move! Because of the increased time in between sessions, I was getting more milk and filling up my bottles faster than intended. By the time I was about to go to the operating room, I have filled up all the bottles that we brought. Uh oh.

When the anesthesiologist arrived in the Operating Room, I asked him if he was going to give me the same drug as what is used during childbirth. It wasn't. He said to wait for 24 hours before I actually breastfeed.

We waited, pumped and dumped (what a waste of milk, but better safe than sorry). After 24 hours, what to do now that we don't have bottles anymore? We thought that maybe Dad can go back home to get my milk storage bags. Kaya lang, I was really weak after the operation and needed help even with my personal businesses. So dad being away for more than 20 minutes does not seem feasible at that time.

That's when we shifted to MacGyver mode (this is the stuff of the 80s to 90s era hahaha) There was a nearby grocery store where dad bought zip-lock sandwich bags. It was the smallest size that he could find.

Zip-lock sandwich bags?? But these are...

• Not sterilized. May contaminate milk. Damn it, we are no longer sterilizing the bottles that Miko use at home. Pwede na yan.
• Not freezer safe. May rip when placed in freezer. We'll double up the bags. Pwede na yan.
• Not double zipped. May drip. Doble naman ang bags. Pwede na yan.

In the end, it was really pwede na since we had no other alternative. We even had different styles in packing the milk.

Dad was laying out the inner bag flatly inside the other one, then pour the milk into the two bags.

I poured the milk into one bag first, then jimmy the bag into the second one.

And that's how we survived sustaining breastfeeding even with no bottles. We were able to bring home about 900ml of milk for Miko! Thank God!

Want to hear more stories about my lap chole? I'll tell you in the next posts. :) I love you!

Times when I would rather formula-feed Miko...

**This is a post in progress; meaning, I will update whenever I remember something to add.**

1. When the office AC is busted and it's freezing and I'm not wearing a nursing top so I need to pull up my blouse to expose my chest and express milk. Bonus feature: I need to get my breastmilk pump accessories from the fridge and put the cold flanges on my breasts. Brrrrr....

2. When lola forgot the instructions to feed Miko the milk thawed from the freezer first. It got spoilt tuloy. That was just sad and frustrating.

3. When nature calls but I cannot run to the bathroom because Miko is still feeding. Imagine what I have to go through if I need to #2!!


Times when I love breastfeeding:
1. When I see the cost of formula milk. So shallow! Eh pero totoo eh! I can no longer imagine spending more than Php1000 a week for infant formula. I'll just save that amount for Miko's first birthday no?

2. When I want short sanity breaks from work. The breastfeeding room in our office has become a quick escape from all the stress. (But then again, I sometimes bring my work to the Diana Room. There was one time I had to eat lunch and catch up on email - all while expressing milk!)

3. Whenever I wake up and realize that Miko is already awake and trying to stand by holding the window sill. I expose my breast and call out a short "psst". Miko turns and, upon seeing my boob, will flash this super cute smile and start running crawling towards me to feed. Ah the joys of motherhood. :)

Miko's Breastfeeding Positions

1. Missionary

2. 69

3. The shut-up-and-feed-me

Hay Miko! I hope your future wife sees these. I love you Bunso!

My Monday madness

Just wanted to share this --

Every Monday, I facilitate a meeting with our managers, senior managers and managing directors. I get so nervous that I sacrifice my lunch juat to prep for this meeting.

So, just like today, I pumped milk and ate my lunch using one hand just so I can maximize my time away from my desk. Pathetic, I know, but I kinda like the pressure. It's like an instant adrenaline surge. Downside? I usually feel too tired when all tasks have died down and I'm going home.

They say buko juice increases milk supply. And it's a natural energy booster -- a natural Gatorade, if you must. My baon cooked by your dad last night. Sarap! I love him for this :)

Give mama a kiss okay? Pang-tanggal pagod.

I love you, chipmunks!

Breastfeeding Diaries: Blessed Be

Hello from the Eastwood Diana (i.e. Lactating) Room!

Look how much milk we got this morning! I can almost feel God smiling down on me because He knows how giddy He made me feel with this blessing.

5.25 oz of liquid gold, beybeh! :)

What did we do differently this morning? Hmmm.. I was so tired and sleepy last night that I didn't get to switch sides in the middle of the night. Thus, Miko only latched on my left boob throughout the night. This morning, my right boob was so engorged so I decided to latch Miko, still on the left, while I pumped the right. I got 3 oz! Apart from that, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary so hey it is a great surprise and a good way to start our day.

And then... surprise surprise! Another 5.5 oz this afternoon!

It's official. God is making me lambing with all of these blessings. :)

One more thing I did differently -- I prayed for my supply. Told God I wanted to be able to produce enough for Miko, as well as for Kuya, who is having lung health problems recently. I pray my milk strengthen you both and give you the nutrients that you need to grow and get healed.

And I wanted to experience donating milk too. But we're still saving enough frozen milk stash for that, so let's talk more about that on another post, m'kay?

So Iya, I hope you breastfeed your child, when you have one. I will support you all the way should you decide to go on that journey. Tell me all about it okay?

And you two boys, let's drink to more milk!

I love you, my musketeers! :)

Breastfeeding Diaries: Busy bee

Hello from the Eastwood 1880 Diana room! :)

I was running late for a meeting this morning that I had to boot my machine and go through last week's minutes while expressing milk.

Oh the things I have to do for the little archangel! Do you know that I drink more water now, eat less junk food and fast food, and consciously try not to get stressed at work. This is to ensure that you get a looot of milk from me. It also helps that you direct feed at night, no nipple confusion at all, thank God. You will surely hear more about this when you get older! :)

I love you, son, and I'll see you at home! :)

Oops! My most revealing shot 

Breastfeeding diaries: Bountiful providence

Thank You, Lord for blessing us with abundance this morning! :) I pray that I may be able to share this blessing to other kids soon.

Breastfeeding Diaries: SM Megamall Breastfeeding area

Hello from the SM Megamall breastfeeding area! Dad and I went on a date last night. After dinner, I was already feeling engorged and had to express milk before taking the 2-hour ride home. The nurse was accomodating, even if it was close to mall closing time. The room was clean and there was a lavatory for hand washing. Very nice set-up, the seats were comfortable and there is enough space to move around, it can house 3 nursing mothers at a time. So there you go, Mikhael, my first time at a mall lactation station. Looking forward to more adventures on this journey with you. Love you, my angel! :)

My sanity break

Dear Miko, Today marks the first day that I pump milk for you from our office nursing area. It feels weird how I always wanted to experience staying in this room and pumping milk, yet I never had the chance until you came. Thank you, sweetheart, for giving me the honor of feeding you. Thank you for these short periods of sanity, when I can just detach myself from all the work and just concentrate on God's providence through the bountiness of my breasts. Our breastfeeding journey is not easy, but very fulfilling to me. I love you so much! :)

Differences: Milk

They say parents grow with their children. I agree, but apart from this, the parenting style also grows/changes/improves as the family grows bigger. Let me explain -- On Milk: • Aki - no direct breasfeeding. I expressed my milk while you were in the hospital, but stopped when the milk flow stopped. (Ofcourse, this was because you were not feeding directly from me, hence, no stimulation to produce more milk. Now I know that relactation is possible had I chose to make you latch when you were finally brought home) Consumed high-cost formula until about 3 years old, when we found out we're having another child. • Iya - breastfed for a few weeks. I had to get a tooth extracted and was advised to take strong dosages of painkillers. I worried it might affect my milk so I stopped. Also because it hurts when you latch, but that's another story. (Now, I know that there are really strong painkillers that still do not affect breastmilk. Tsk tsk) High-cost formula until 1 year old, again because we found out we're having another baby. • Miko - ah, currently exclusively breastfed. Okay, you were given formula at the hospital, and lola gave you a few oz when mom was out. Now, I'm expressing milk so she'll give you breastmilk still. I've also started storing expressed breastmilk that you can consume when I go back to work. For now, I'm targetting to breastfeed you exclusively for no less than 1 year, with a milestone period at 6 months. Should you still want to breastfeed beyond that, it will be my honor. Just no biting okay? No matter what your differences are, I will always love you all equally. May God bless you and keep you, my loves! :)