How I Taught the Family to "Breastfeed"

Welcome to the Milk Mama Diaries Carnival (August). For this month, we join the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action in its "Talk to Me!" theme where participants will share personal experiences, insights or recommendations in communicating breastfeeding intentions and goals to their support system. Please scroll down to the end of this post and check out the other carnival participants.

I didn't really have a proper talk with my husband nor with other members of the family about my decision to breastfeed. I just knew I wanted to do it and so I did!

It helped that my family has been very supportive and they're actually happy about it. The precious baby has never been sick even though her Inay and Itay both had the flu when she was just a few weeks old. "Breastfed kasi.", they'd say.

The little milk monster in action:

But going back to work and leaving my little Yumi for several hours a day is a different story. This time, the baby sitters would play an active role in my goal to exclusively breastfeed.

I asked my Lola Ising (my Mom's aunt and Yumi's lola sa tuhod*) if she could take care of the little girl while I'm in the office. I was so happy when she agreed even if it means she has to commute to our house everyday.

I'm also grateful that Glenn will be able to stay home most of the time because he's schedule is quite flexible. And then there's my Ninang Sally (who's a seasoned nurse and who also happens to be my baby sitter when I was a baby), my Dad, and Yumi's uncles. That little girl is so blessed to have them!

So here's how I taught them to continue breastfeeding when I'm away:

I read, read, and read. Since I became a mom, articles about pregnancy, breastfeeding, and parenting in general suddenly became like the newest Harry Potter book to me - I can't put them down!

The more I knew about breastfeeding, the more I’m convinced that I’m giving my daughter the best start in life and the more I become confident talking about it. Some of the sites I frequent are BabyCenter, Kellymom, AskDrSears, and Ms. Jenny's blog.

I let THEM practice. It’s better if somebody else introduce the bottle other than the mom. So a few days before I return to work, I had my husband try and feed Yumi with expressed milk. She had a hard time swallowing and milk dribbled from her mouth so we had to stop and try again another day.

I learned that I need not obsess about baby accepting the bottle . It’s true that breastfed babies usually won’t take alternative feeding methods unless they’re really hungry and realize that they don’t have a choice.

During my first day back at work, I couldn't help but cry when I was told that Yumi doesn't want to feed from the bottle the whole morning. I was planning to go back home then but thank goodness she finally took it before lunch time and everything went well from then on.

I posted some quick reference notes. I printed these handouts from Kellymom and pasted them on the cabinet doors in the baby room:

• How to bottle-feed the breastfed baby
• Human Milk Storage - Quick Reference Guide

I also badgered my husband into reading these articles. It actually paid off because on the nth time that I asked him if he’d read them yet, he showed off by reciting what he’d learned. Good job! Hihi!

Being the OC mom that I (probably) am, I also put up a handwritten list reminding them:

• to check the smell and temperature of milk before feeding;
• not to shake the milk, just swirl it gently; and
• not to give Yumi any food other than breastmilk. I had to include this because my dad once tried to give her a taste of soy sauce from adobo! I wonder if he did that to me too when I was a baby?!
• and the list goes on but they're already too personal to put here. ^_^

Doing this has helped me shake off some of the separation anxiety that started to creep in - so forgive me if I seem too controlling.

At the end of the day, we assess. We always take note of the volume of milk consumed so we'll be able to gauge how much milk I need to pump everyday to keep baby happy while leaving a frozen supply in case I get home later than usual. We also try to take note of her mood as well as her pee and poop output so we'd be assured that she's feeding well.

I thank them. Because they're doing this for the love, I like to let them feel my appreciation. Simple things like writing a thank you note, sharing a cake, or texting I love you goes a long way.

It's been around a month and a half since we started and I'm happy to report that we've been so far successful. And oh, my husband is now a black belt in bottle-feeding!

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*Lola sa tuhod means great grandmother.

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Read on and get more helpful tips from other breastfeeding moms:

DaintyMom's Creating a Pro-Breastfeeding Culture in the Family (Facebook and Twitter: @Dainty_Mom)
Wifely Steps' On Breastfeeding: Say It, Claim It, Get Support! (Facebook and Twitter: @macaronigirl)
Truly Rich Mom's How To Get Others to Support You in Breastfeeding (Facebookand Twitter: @tinasrodriguez)
EthanMama's My Best Breastfeeding Support System - My Husband (Twitter: @ethanmama)
Raising Baby Lia's A Shoutout to my Breastfeeding Buddies
Jen CC Tan's I'm Breastfeeding, and That's That! (Facebook and Twitter: @next9baby)
Project Blog by Kate's Talk and Make it Happen (Facebook and Twitter: @kate_demetrio)
My Mommy Kwentos' How I Recruited my Top Breastfeeding Buddies (Facebook)
Apples & Dumplings Communicating and First Time Breastfeeders (Twitter: @apple_dumplings)
I'm a Newbie Wife's How I Taught My Family to Breastfeed
TouringKitty's Communication Through Breastfeeding (Twitter: @Touringkitty)
Mec as Mom's Pre-Natal Pediatric Consultations Are Necessary
Escie's World's Ready, Get Set, Go! for Breastfeeding (Twitter: @Escielicious)
Nanaystrip's BreasTALK : Text, Retweet, Share your Knowledge and Experiences(Twitter: @bunsonimaestro)
Superwomom's A-S-Ks (on breastfeeding questions, help, support) (Twitter: @dsedilla)
Go Help Yourself's “6 persuasion tips for breastfeeding moms and advocates”
Legally Mom's Breastfeeding Talk Between Me and My Formula Fed Daughter(Facebook and Twitter: @legallymomPH)
Handy Mommy's Couple's Communication and Decision: Key to Successful Breastfeeding
Chronicles of a Nursing Mom's Effective Communication Bucket List (Facebookand Twitter: @mamababylove)