Breastmilk donation and Breastfeeding tips

Before I gave birth to our son, I really wanted to breastfed him. At first we bought Farlin Breast Pump at SM Megamall - Baby Company. It cost only P550.

After i gave birth, I immediately breastfed my son. At first, I felt depressed because there was no milk. I tried to pump but to no avail, I can only pump a few drops of my milk. I wanted to cry. But thanks God there were breastmilk at the Nursery.

After two weeks of constant lactating/pumping, my milk flows. It satisfy the needs of my newborn. I breastfeed my son every two hours or whenever he wanted.

On his 1st month, i felt really tired. Me and my husband don't have enough sleep, our baby was awake all throughout the night. I wanted to stop breastfeeding but my husband encouraged me to continue for the sake of our baby. So, I aim for a 3 months of purely breastfeeding.

Before I go back to work, my husband bought me another set of pump, it is an Avent Electric Breast Pump, it cost P6,500. I super love it, it makes my pumping session so much easier and I can pump more milk. When my baby was 3 months old, I aim again another 3 months. I pump in my office 3-4 times a day. I bring my expressed milk at home.

When my baby was 6 months old, I noticed that my milk overflows, so I started donating my breastmilk. I donated my expressed BM in the Nursery Section. There was a time that a mother approached me coz she needed breastmilk for his son who was confined to have late sepsis. I immediately gave my breastmilk since I still have lots of supply at home.

Before my baby reached 1 year old, everytime I woke-up in the morning, I can pump 10-12oz (360ml) of breastmilk. Over all, I can pump 30-35oz (appox 1,000ml) a day. That's why I donated my breastmilk that I expressed in the office. I bought milk bags through online but now I buy Playtex milk bags at any malls, it cost only P499. I also bought hand sealer to sealed the milk bags.

I met many moms who needs breastmilk for their premature babies. Sometimes, they replaced my milk bags everytime I gave them breastmilk. Other moms gave me some goodies as their appreciation.

Time flies so fast, my baby is now 16 months old and he is still purely breastmilk. Thanks God for this precious liquid gold. I gave my son rice, vegetables and a small piece of meat. At present, I donated my 12bags (approx 50-55oz) to a newborn baby boy who has a congenital defect.

I strongly recommend breastfeeding at least 6 months for your baby. Aside from saving money to buy formula, it is also good to your baby's health. It's the best gift that you can give to him since it is a product of love, patience and perseverance. No other expensive formula can replace mother's milk. It makes your child become healthier, smarter and have beautiful skin.

-yengyeng

Wedding at Apo View Hotel, Davao City

It was a fine sunny afternoon around four o'clock last April 10, 2013 Wednesday in Davao City wherein we took our vow for the second time around in front of our family, friends and God above. But this time, it is already in the church at Sta. Ana Shrine Parish.

Since we already married in a civil wedding, we submitted our NSO Marriage Certificate. The rest of the requirements are still needed in church like Baptismal Certificate, Confirmation Certificate, Parish permit, Pre-Cana Seminar, etc.

We had only two months in preparing our church wedding. It was hard in our part since we both residing in Manila. But we're glad that we do it very well. We personally made our invitation and souvenirs. We also have photobooth from Facebooth Davao so that our guest will not be bored during cocktail.

In our reception, we choose Apo View Hotel since it was our dream hotel when we were still boyfriend-girlfriend. Dinner reception was at the Top of the Apo of Apo View Hotel so that our guests can view the whole area of Davao City. We got the Elegance Package which cost P665 per head, menu details are as follows 1 Soup, 3 Salad/Appetizers, 3 Main Courses, 1 Vegetable Dish, Steamed Rice, 3 Assorted Pastries and a Softdrink/Juice.

Our wedding florist and coordinator was Petals and Accent. They have a wedding packages depending on your preference. The head florist is Roel and the head coordinator is Erish. On the day of our wedding, their were 5 coordinators who will be assisting us from preparation up to the end of our reception program. One (1) coordinator is in-charge for the groom, he is Jay - he is also our wedding choreographer. The other three (3) are in-charge for the bride, I forgot their name sorry. And the last one (1) is Erish - he's the team lead, he was the one monitoring the whole event.

Our wedding cake was hand crafted by Ms. Gloria Alcantara, it is a 5 layer fondant cake. It's a chocolate moist flavor cake, and swear it was soo yummy.

Our official wedding photographer was Archie Pelago of Picturista. We got his wedding package cost P35k plus P3,500 for the Photo Teaser and P5k for the LCD and Widescreen. They're costly but swear their output is the best.

Our reception host was Mr. Brandy Fuentes - he was Dr. Love in Davao City. He's a very good host, he knows how to make the crowd alive, jolly and no dull moment. Together with him is his spinner.

-yengyeng

Car theme: 1st Birthday of GP

I'm so excited for my son's 1st birthday, 6 months ago I already think of a theme for his birthday party. The first plan was Zoo Safari Theme but when we started to gathered birthday stuffs, we found it very hard to collect. So, we ended up with a Car Theme (Lightning McQueen) party.

After deciding a theme, we plan to have the party at Davao City since all our relatives were their and many children can attend. We choose Harana Restaurant at Torres St., Davao City for the venue because the place is child-friendly. And there is a playground outside the Function Hall. We reserve 80 guest for my son's birthday. In Harana if you ordered P15k above, the function room will be free.

We bought all the birthday stuffs like souvenir bags, lootbags, party hats, balloons, peñata, banderitas, etc at Divisoria Mall in Manila. The 24pcs invitations costs P360 and the 4x5 Tarpaulin costs P750. We order his birthday cake from Ms. Gloria Alcantara. It has 8 inches mother cake and 30 pcs 3D cupcakes, it cost only P1,950 with free use of cupcake stand.

We ordered lechon at Podunas Lechon House in Panabo City, 38kg costs only P4,500. It's so yummy and crunchy. We bought the chocolate fountain machine at Divisoria Mall for P1,400 and we just bought Stick-o, Marsmallows and Bread sticks for the dippings.

For the party host, we just search it at the Internet. She is Joy, her talent fee is only P1,200 with unlimited hours of hosting and 12pcs balloon twisting. She prepared lots of funny games for children and adult. She wears Payaso costume. That's why children and adults enjoyed the games so much.

We prepared 30 souvenir bags with candies, chocolates, school supplies and toys inside for the children. And we're glad that its just enough for all of them who attended the party.

I can say that It was really a successful birthday party for my son and we're proud that we personally organized it with my husband. We know that it is hard to organized a party since we are miles apart from the venue.