Breastfeeding Success Tips Part 1

When I was a first timer back in 2008, breastfeeding felt strange especially at the start.  I would have given up soon after giving birth if not for the wonderful support of my mom and my ob/family doctor.  Ava would wail and cry and even if I was giving my breast, she wouldn’t latch.  My mom would be the one to carry her while I tried to position myself.  It felt as if she wasn’t getting any milk at all. But my ob/family doctor said my milk will come in a few days, to just keep nursing.

True enough, in a few days, white creamy milk came. And wow, for the first time in my life, I had a cup B. Wowee!

I had to stop breastfeeding cold turkey when Ava was 5 ½ months old because I was diagnosed with a hyperthyroid.  I wasn’t comfortable taking medication and breastfeeding at the same time.

This time, with Emilio, I resolved to breastfeed for as long as I can. The challenges of breastfeeding then vs now  with a two year old as well as balancing a bigger household, moving houses right after giving birth and a full time job are very different.  I was calmer when he wouldn't latch at the start.  I also no longer have the fear of not producing enough milk but I do worry about finding the time and energy to breastfeed on top of my other duties. I also noticed my milk would decrease whenever I was stressed out or physically tired.

Here I am just a few days shy of 5 months and still going strong. I'm breastfeeding as I type this but let me share these 2 tips, many more to  follow later.

Tip 1: Air dry your breasts after a feeding. I also didn’t put any creams or lotions on my breasts. I never had cracked or sore nipples with Ava or Emilio.

Tip 2:  Nurse directly at every opportunity.  Baby empties the breast better than any pump can. My brothers and sisters can attest, I am not ashamed to breastfeed in public or even as we hang around just talking.  Unfortunately, Emilio isn’t too fond of nursing covers (or any cover for that matter) so I have to just whip out a breast (but try to be discreet about it) when he’s hungry.

 

Cloth Diapers

Did you know that a baby at age 2 would have used up 2 tons of diapers? (hmmm... I can't imagine I went through that much with my daughter) And did you know it will take more than 10 years for a disposable diaper to decompose? (Now that, I would believe)

When I was pregnant and on bed rest, I was carefully studying the option of cloth diapering my second baby. I really went dizzy with all the choices out there-  wrap, birdseye, hemp, prefold, Kissaluvs, Thirsties, all in one, etc etc etc. I even made an excel sheet of my choices and the costs. Some websites suggested so many kinds.  I knew I wanted something better than the birdseye my mom used to use for my brothers back in the 80s. It had to be changed practically after every pee and the bed or whoever was carrying the baby would be wet too. But the choices made me go crazy! Analysis paralysis.

I ordered a trial kit composed of a Thirsties wrap, Kissaluvs all in one and some liners from pinoybaby.com. I planned to try it on my 2 year old before I bought a whole supply in Amazon for my newborn. It didn't go too well because no matter how much I tried to make the yayas use them, they seemed to favor the disposables (old habits are hard to break). And my daughter would complain "ang laki ng lubot ko!" (my butt is so big) or "may mali sa diaper ko!". I think it was her way of saying it's too bulky. I even tried being the one to put it on her but I realized that having to put the diaper THEN the wrap on a squirming 2 year old was too much of a hasstle for us.

When my baby boy was born, I still hadn't made up my mind on what to buy for him. He was diapered in disposables until I found Charlie Banana in Hong Kong. I was shopping at Three Sixty the grocery in Elements Mall and decided to give a boxful a try. The print was really cute and the system looked easy to use. It cost 778HKD for a box of 6 with 12 liners already. Plus, it was cheaper than many of the cloth diapers in Manila.

Success!!! Yaya shifted to it after just 1 reminder from me. I realize that it's easier to use than the first set I bought. The only catch... 6 diapers aren't enough since we do the laundry every other day. So now Emilio is in cloth diapers until we do the laundry. I'll be asking my Tita to buy another box of 6 for me. And did I mention that it's one size so I'll be able to use these for a good long time?

I've been able to cut down a lot on disposables. Washing the cloth diapers is a breeze because we just pre-soak them for awhile and wash them together with Ava and Emilio's regular clothes. It's practically the same amount of soap and water. We still use the small load setting on the washing machine. Since it's summer, we line dry all our clothes too.

I don't cloth diaper Ava anymore since she's almost potty trained. She just uses diapers for naps and nightime. For daytime naps, I notice that sometimes, yaya already uses the cloth diapers I bought before.  Note to self, remind her to use them for Ava's daily naps.

So here we are saving the world one cloth diaper at a time. Cloth diapering is really easy once you find the right system for you and your family. But I have to be honest, we still have some disposables too.

Mustard greens in my juice why oh why?

I've been trying to get into the juicing habit for some time now.... A few years to be honest. Now that I have a real kitchen (vs the super tiny kitchens of our past condos and apartments), I finally unearthed my Matstone, wiped off the thick layers of dust and started green juicing.

Shoppersville is a great because it has parking and has an organic veg section. So now no more excuses. Romaine Lettuce, carrots, cucumber, celery, bell pepper... Check check check.

I taught my helper how to use the Matstone so that I can't even use laziness as an excuse for not juicing. Yehey, on my way to daily juicing!

My husband goes to work earlier than me. So I gave instructions to our helper on what to put in his juice. He had already finished his glass and left for the office when I went to the kitchen.  When I drank mine, it felt strangely pepper-y. Sure, I know I have a piece of bell pepper in there but I didn't think that small piece imparted THAT much flavor.  That evening, my husband praised my efforts in juicing but asked what the health benefits of black pepper were. Yikes! My helper misunderstood me! Turns out, our juice that day was generously flavored by black pepper.

Today, two weeks into juicing, I realized that mustard greens do not belong in my juice too. I was cleaning out the crisper and found mustard greens grown in our garden. I didn't know what to do with it so I juiced it.

Be warned my friend. I dared my husband to down his glass after I downed mine. But I soon realized I couldn't be that mean. It tasted horrible. Downright horrible. And I have a very high tolerance for odd tastes. And the taste, that horrid spicy overpowering taste kept coming up my throat. Yes, the pepper flavored juice was a walk in the park.

So far, we've been very successful with the ff (good for 2 people):

1/2 cucumber
1/8 bell pepper
long stick of celery
half a romaine lettuce

Now remember, it's better to drink your green juice first thing in the morning while your stomach is empty! We started with a shotglass full each to get used to the taste and to allow our bodies to slowly wake up. Now we're able to drink a glassful easily (pepper and mustard greens aside).  I'm excited to add the red beets I bought from the Sidcor market and the beautiful carrots. Though I'm equally tempted to make a red beet salad and to eat the carrots on the side.