It was my wish to be able to breastfeed my son ever since I got pregnant. We got Medela's Freestyle Pump way before giving birth to force me to really breastfeed... ang mahal eh!!! However, due to Gavin's unforeseen stay at the NICU, I was not able to latch with him or even carry him after the delivery. On his 3rd day, a kind NICU nurse asked if I have breast milk and I told her I don't know because I have never tried expressing since I gave birth days ago. She then taught me to hand express. Lo and behold, I was able to produce a very small amount of colostrum, probably just 10cc which she said was enough. A day after, it increased to 20cc, to 30cc and to 40cc.
When we went home ahead of Gavin, I asked Lita Nery (+639185557565), breast feeding consultant, to teach me how. She was heaven sent!!! Ms. Lita patiently explained the rudiments of breast feeding and that you don't really need a pump because the most natural way is to hand express it. With her help, I was able to produce the most milk I have ever produced at 2 ounces! She also showed me how to make sure that I don't suffer from mastitis, engorgement and the likes. I was wondering if I can do it all by myself when she left.
Thankfully, it was possible to do so. Within days, it increased to 3 ounces too!
Honestly, hand expressing is tiresome, mega effort talaga, but it does make expressing not painful at all. I switched to the pump after a few days as my "download" increased to 4 ounces to 6 ounces in a sitting :) galing talaga! Medela's is now my best friend :)
It has been truly a pain in the ass to wake up every 3 hours to pump, but I know that in the long run, this is the best gift that I can give my son- good health through the years.
I hope I can sustain it even when I go back to work. My goal is to at least feed him with my milk for the first six months. Then, let's see how it goes from there!
When we went home ahead of Gavin, I asked Lita Nery (+639185557565), breast feeding consultant, to teach me how. She was heaven sent!!! Ms. Lita patiently explained the rudiments of breast feeding and that you don't really need a pump because the most natural way is to hand express it. With her help, I was able to produce the most milk I have ever produced at 2 ounces! She also showed me how to make sure that I don't suffer from mastitis, engorgement and the likes. I was wondering if I can do it all by myself when she left.
Thankfully, it was possible to do so. Within days, it increased to 3 ounces too!
Honestly, hand expressing is tiresome, mega effort talaga, but it does make expressing not painful at all. I switched to the pump after a few days as my "download" increased to 4 ounces to 6 ounces in a sitting :) galing talaga! Medela's is now my best friend :)
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| My Night Time Bedside |
It has been truly a pain in the ass to wake up every 3 hours to pump, but I know that in the long run, this is the best gift that I can give my son- good health through the years.
I hope I can sustain it even when I go back to work. My goal is to at least feed him with my milk for the first six months. Then, let's see how it goes from there!
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