Malunggay Makes Me Produce More Milk

Before I gave birth to Baby Fiel, I had been told by my cousin-in-law, that "malunggay" is best for breastfeeding mothers because of its ability to stimulate the body to produce more milk.

Fortunately for me, I really like "malunggay" since I was a kid. And fortunately also, "malunggay" grows abundantly here in our place so I can have some whenever I want it.

Right now, my baby consumes nothing but my milk, so I need to produce as much milk as her body requires. I have small breasts than most mothers I see, so providing enough milk for my baby is a struggle.

But "malunggay" is a real life-saver. I proved this myself because there were days when I do not eat "malunggay." During those days, I observe that my baby never seem to get enough milk from me. So I would tell my husband to get me some "malunggay" and include it with my meals. And it works like magic. The following days, I have more than enough milk for my baby.

Even though I am a certified malunggay-lover, still we need to prepare it in variety of ways to make it more appetizing for me. My favorite is "malunggay' cooked with coconut milk. Another all-time favorite is fish soup with "malunggay." Sometimes I just like it boiled with some tomatoes and onion. I also love it cooked together with instant mami.

Anyway I prepare it, "malungagay" always does its job for me. I thank God that our place was spared by the recent typhoons, so our "malunggays" stay leafy

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Dry Breasfeeding

During the first few days of breastfeeding my Baby Fiel, I was concerned about her water intake. I usually let her have water after breastfeeding her. So I always have a bottle with distilled water beside me every time I breastfeed her.

But then, I became worried again because whenever I give her water she chokes. So I thought that the nipple I'm using for her has a very large hole that makes the water flow out in larger quantity than she could swallow.

But after changing the nipple with a smaller hole, she still chokes on it. Then I used medicine dropper to give her water. She only chokes occasionally with it so I thought that the choking will completely disappear when she get used to drinking water.

When my niece, who is a nurse, happen to visit us, I mentioned to her about my baby's choking incidents with water. She suggested not to give water anymore. She explained that breastmilk contains everything that my baby needs in order to stay healthy. It's called dry breastfeeding where no water or other liquid is given to the baby as food.

She explained further that milk, especially breastmilk, contains enzymes that make it slippery so it can be easily swallowed even by newborn babies. Water does not have these enzymes so my baby is having a difficult time swallowing water.

So now, I just give my baby my milk and nothing more. As I can see, she is growing very healthy and beautiful.

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About Me and My Blog

Thank you for visiting my personal blog. My name is Ellen, a Filipina wife, and mother.

Me and my husband have been together for more than two years now.

Last August 20 of this year, we were blessed with a baby girl we named Fiel. She is the most beautiful thing that happened to us.

Before my marriage, I am teaching in a private school in Manila. When we got married, we decided to go home to the province because my husband is a college professor here.

From my husband, I learned how to surf the internet, send emails, and chat with my friends and relatives. When I gave birth to Fiel, motherhood occupied most of time.

I still go online once in a while, especially if I want to learn something about my baby's growth and development. But my best teacher is my own experience with motherhood.

I learned about blogging through my husband because he is blogger thought not very serious about it. I thought of having my own blog too. One that will record my personal experiences and lessons about being a Filipina mother. So he created me this blog.

I have no idea about coding, formatting, and other technicalities of a blog. My husband took care of that. So all I have to do is to write and he will be the one to publish it. He also makes edits. I'm not good in English and he is an English major.

Before this blog was born, I am only thinking of a private diary type of blog. My husband suggested that I should make it public so I can share the lessons I learned to other mothers, especially first-time mothers. I hesitated at first because I do not if my thoughts are worth reading by other people, but I'll have to give it a try.

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