Breastfeeding Zak

Uy, haman si Ue?




A reply to ACE's question (and more) which I forgot to answer:


I breastfed zak for 18 months. I know, grabe gajud. We planned to stop giving him my milk after he turned 1 but it was very difficult on my part. I found it too stressful to get up in the night just to make his milk. I was then working full-time at the finance office of a local college where K is now lecturing part-time. Going back home during my lunch break just to breastfeed him was not as difficult as getting up in the middle of the night to warm his bottled milk. However, we slowly introduced to him full cow's milk hence the shift from my milk to a cow's (what a horrible thought!) wasn't a shock for him.

I can't count how many times my breasts pop out during plane, boat and train travels. I remember when we were on board Cokaliong from Cebu to Surigao, I breastfed zak in one of the tourist cots. We both fell asleep and I didn't realize that I was baring the full splendor of Zak's nutrition for all to see, and there was this man who unashamedly stared at it like it was some iced candy on sale! But then, even if you're facing a hundred voyeurs or worse, the strictest nun from Rome, you just couldn't care anymore. The benefit is worth all the public embarrassment.

There is no word to describe the bond made in the process of breastfeeding. Now that zak is 2, he knows when and how to express his affection fairly well. When he wakes up in the morning, he caresses my hair, kisses my face and asks, "Cuddle mummy?" When I open my arms to cuddle him, he says british style, "Aaahh!".

Zak is calm and relaxed, although there are some hyper moments which is normal for his age. He is not sickly, thank God, and has good eating patterns. His height and weight are between 50th and 75th percentile which is excellent. We're not giving him supplements or any sort of vitamins as he doesn't need it. We just make sure we give him healthy food, with lots of greens naturally. K has a fantastic way of giving him veges. He uses the food processor to hide the real color of the vegetable (like broccoli) and to even the texture. Zak loves carrots though, which is a plus. Most of his vegetables are boiled--no salt, nothing extra.

Another good thing which I like and appreciate very much is that Zak has fantastic Nana and Grandad who prepare his favourite food and desserts. He naturally eats well when he is with them. His Nana has reliable home-made cakes, muffins-- everything from zak's recipe book.

The most amazing thing is that my breasts have gone flat. I said amazing because they used to be bulging out with milk and it was horrible. Now I can just go around the house without bra on, but with erect nipples to show off! Haha.

And by the way, those kids in the photo have all been breastfed, I think.