Tags: breastfeeding Breastfeeding in the Philippines breastfeeding Pinays Carine Cabebe Lopez Carine Lopez LATCH Davao Milk donation in the Philippines Milk sharing
Every breastfeeding journey is really different, no matter your age and cup size. While you can equip yourself with all the lactation aids in breastfeeding vocabulary, it’s really strong determination and support that will keep the milk flowing.
Case in point, the experience of former TV commercial model and brand endorser, Carine Cabebe – Lopez, now a mom of two.
“Patience is very important when breastfeeding. A lot of moms give up right away, when after giving birth, they find out they don’t have breast milk yet. The first time I pumped, I only got to produce 2 drops of milk.”
“When I gave birth, my milk didn’t flow right away. Formula milk is not allowed in the hospital, so nurses made me sign a waiver that will allow them to feed my baby with donated breast milk. I turned to lactating friends for a share of their liquid gold, until I finally got to produce enough milk to feed my little one.”
“I breastfed my eldest daughter through direct latch until she was three months old. On the fourth month, I noticed she didn’t want to latch anymore. I had so much milk that she would choke every time I had a let down. So, since then, she drank my breast milk from the bottle.”
Carine was able to establish and increase her supply through pumping, and ended up having an abundance of breast milk to spare. “I remember how my baby made it through the first few days with donated breast milk. So, I asked and researched how I could donate. It wanted to give back and pay it forward. I donated to various hospitals and campaigned about breast milk donation.”
“Unfortunately, on my baby’s ninth month, I started to have blisters and cracks on my nipples. I tried different sizes of flanges and nipple creams, but they didn’t help with my condition. I endured the pain for two months. The cracks would open every time I pump, and I routinely pumped milk every four hours. It was so painful.”
Carine gave birth to her second shortly after her eldest turned one.
“Breastfeeding my second baby is a lot easier, since I’m already familiar with the whole process. She is now 5 months old and she only latches. She doesn’t like to drink from the bottle. It’s a struggle when I need to leave the house, because she always throws a tantrum when she’s hungry and given the bottle.”
She was able to boost her breast milk production not only to feed her second baby, but also give some of the supply to her eldest as well.
“All my expressed milk was consumed by the eldest. After a month, we stopped giving our eldest daughter breast milk because she developed allergies from the food I ate. So, with the extra milk I had, I started to donate again.”
Asked for tips on breastfeeding, Carine shared, “For mommies who pump and want to build a stash, stick to your schedule. Pumping at 3 or 4 in the morning yields so much milk! Practice manual expression. If you still feel that your breasts are full after pumping, try to express milk manually. There’s a big difference. The more frequent you empty the breasts, the more milk you’ll produce.”
“When you breastfeed, you also need patience when the baby is feeding (direct). I feed my baby when I feel she’s hungry or just wants to latch,” she adds.
“If you want to donate to hospitals, you can just go directly to the NICU department directly. Search HM4HB – Davao City on Facebook to request and donate milk. Posting on social media also helps. You’ll be surprised with the number of people who will share the post and give you the information you need.”
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Story also published on my Metro Mom column in Edge Davao newspaper.
