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
