zenaida's posts with tag: testimony
|  | Hi Zeny,
i am attaching jackjack's latest picture. just to give you an update, he weighs about 5 kilos now. he's still a bit underweight for his age (6months) so while i'm breastfeeding him, his pedia prescribed an infant formula medicated with additional growth boosters to help catch up. as you remember, we rushed him again to the hospital last april due to severe malnutrition and dehydration which were complications following colostomy. again, it was breastmilk that saved his life. while he was hooked up to IV, breastmilk was flowing non-stop thru a tube on his nose to help repair his damaged intestines. thanks to breastfeeding moms like jane cu and rachel lingao, there was always breastmilk. on the third day from admission, he was strong enough to nurse. a month after that, his intestines were reconnected and was on the road to recovery.
thank you for all the support you have given us during this trying time. i highly encourage every mom to exclusively, if possible, breastfeed her baby as long as she can. it can do wonders for mom's soul and greatly help her baby.
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Hi Zeny,
i am attaching jackjack's latest picture. just to give you an update, he weighs about 5 kilos now. he's still a bit underweight for his age (6months) so while i'm breastfeeding him, his pedia prescribed an infant formula medicated with additional growth boosters to help catch up. as you remember, we rushed him again to the hospital last april due to severe malnutrition and dehydration which were complications following colostomy. again, it was breastmilk that saved his life. while he was hooked up to IV, breastmilk was flowing non-stop thru a tube on his nose to help repair his damaged intestines. thanks to breastfeeding moms like jane cu and rachel lingao, there was always breastmilk. on the third day from admission, he was strong enough to nurse. a month after that, his intestines were reconnected and was on the road to recovery.
thank you for all the support you have given us during this trying time. i highly encourage every mom to exclusively, if possible, breastfeed her baby as long as she can. it can do wonders for mom's soul and greatly help her baby.
Wonderful moments in breastfeeding I love when DD has fallen asleep at the breast. She usually has one hand resting on top of my breast and is using it as a pillow.
I love knowing that every bit of growth is due to me.
I love when she lunges at my breast when she's hungry. I call it the boob dive. Kristy looking at my daughters chubby little thighs and double chin quite confidence inspiring. My body did that. I did that as a mother. My baby is healthy because I am feeding her the best way I know how. It gives me the confidence to handle other things as a mother as well. Luv I thought it was simply amazing when DS turned one year. He didn't eat really at all or drink anything. It was my breast and my body that grew him and sustained him for the first year of life. Powerful stuff!
I loved the nursing sighs, the drunk nursing look, the smiles and giggles while nursing. The hand wrapped around my nursing tank or bra. The frantic head bob when they want to nurse so badly but you just aren't getting it out fast enough. How it always soothed him. I could go on... I can't wait to nurse again! Apelilae Seeing them grow and know YOU and YOU alone are what is making them grow that you're giving your child all they need, oh and I love it when he nurses and wants to just touch my face and look at me its so sweet, oh and the convienience IDK why on earth I ever bothered bottle feeding my first 2 at all bc man was it a pain trying to find warm water or something to warm the bottle and carrying around a can of formula and bottles just a PITA to do when w/ bf'ding you can feed them whenever wherever on the spot w/ no worries its just the most awesome thing ever. Ellymay I have a pic on my cellphone of my little chubbykins' face before she latches on. Her mouth is wide open, and her eyes are smiling. It's that little face that makes the challenges of breastfeeding worth facing.
Oh, and pinching her fat thighs while she's nursing! Monique
mama papa & tim papa, mama, caitlyn & timothy There are many things that you as parents can do to promote the health of your family—it's not always about making trips to the doctor. Changing habits, learning about other holistic approaches and considering alternative and complementary medicines are also wonderful ways you can nurture your family's well-being. But on top of it is trying to do the natural thing and bond to your child as you start it right by breastfeeding your baby even its full of confusion, frustration, pains, sleepless nights....and more! Jenn was referred to me by her sister-in-law who gave birth a few weeks ahead of her. I'm seeing them in one roof and both have one big goal.... to breastfeed their sons and each one are determine to empower one another and share every differences they encounter each time. I am so grateful to be of help to both moms and boys! they're now 7mos and never tasted formulas. Congrats Jenn! and even you are working you still do it. And I am sure, you will do it as long as you can.
| | Hi Zeny,
Below is my testi for you...=)
I am glad and lucky to have found out about Zeny thru Chiqui's site.
Being Chiqui's student, I would regularly visit her site to check any updates. When my son Akio has just been brought home from the hospital two months ago; he learned how to cup feed with my expressed milk there. He was left behind for three more days due to bacteria.
I contacted Zeny and she promptly answered my message. At that time, I had difficulty directly breastfeeding my son as I thought he got used to drinking from the cup. I was so frustrated as I really wanted to start continuously increasing my milk supply and bond with my son.
With just one phone conversation with Zeny, my problem was instantly solved! She asked me a series of questions about how I was doing and finally hit what I was doing wrong! I was offering the cup to my son, and because of this he was getting confused as to whether I am Mommy the one who feeds him by the cup or Mommy breastfeeding. Then on I stopped offering the cup and asked my husband or my mom to feed him.
Now, we have another quest. Since my son has gotten much used to breastfeeding, he now prefers it more. Three weeks from now I will be going back to work and I will have to practice my son to drink from the cup.
I have been assured by both Zeny and Chiqui that it is possible to retrain my son and they also fully support and agree with my decision to cup feed rather than use an artificial nipple. Despite being told by many that after some time my son will no longer be confused. I am still adamant and still don't want to risk him getting confused.
I can go on and on about this and it still scares me knowing that my son will be crying and looking for me when we start training him. Although as for now, this is the best I know I can do for him.
My advice to those who will be going back to work is once your child has learned to drink from the cup. Practice doing this at least two feedings a day so you won't have a difficult time getting him back to it.
I perfectly understand that mothers would like to spend as much time with their little ones, but it'll be harder in the end. My son now spits the milk and rolls his tongue just as babies do when breastfeeding; which makes it difficult to cup feed.
I am very glad to have known about Zeny and finally been able to meet her yesterday. I am definitely going to continue promoting breastfeeding and be part of the support group as much as I can.
I am also very lucky to have a very supportive husband. We are both advocates of breastfeeding, and plan to do so for our family, friends and anybody who needs support.
Marika
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| | hi zeny!
sorry for the late reply.. have been busy lately since i've started working.. all is well with me and aidyn :) he turned 7 months last june 14 and is such a happy and healthy baby. thank you so much for your help! because of you, i've been able to nurse aidyn successfully and need not worry about BPAs and other chemicals which could harm my baby. i've also been able to sleep better when i started breastfeeding him directly so i am more functional now, though i still get run down in the afternoons coz he is so active! crawling and standing and rolling over everything! haha! He has such a healthy appetite too! so easy to feed with solids, much to our surprise! coz his cousin is such a picky eater, she'd just eat rice and not more than a spoonful, and she's a year and a half old!.. dahil siguro changing ang flavors ng BM, wala masyado adjustments sa taste ng solids.. Galing talaga ng breastmilk, he is advanced for his age.. he has more vocab than his cousin (purely formula fed), and has better motor skills compared to when his cousin was the same age.. i've no doubt that breastmilk is far superior than formula! :)
he also isn't sickly despite being vaccine-free, thank you for reassuring me that i'm doing what's best for baby :)
you are a blessing! :)
much love,
thenielle and aidyn
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| | hi zeny,
here's my testimony to the power of breastmilk. i hope my story would encourage other moms to breastfeed their baby from the time they are born...
on january 5th of this year, i gave birth a baby boy. we named him john cedric, jackjack for short. he was a bit underweight for his age, just 4lbs for a 39-weeker, and had low blood sugar. since the hospital did not consider him a "well baby", he was not roomed in with me. he was hooked up to an IV and was given formula whenever he got hungry. when i came to, i was told of his situation. we went to the nursery a couple of times so i can nurse him, but since he was small and nobody really taught me how to, he couldnt really latch on to my breast. he was able to suck the colostrum, but that's it. from then on, i pumped my milk and put it in a bottle for him to drink.
we were discharged from the hospital 3 days later; his blood sugar stabilized in time. we settled on a routine of feedings and diaper changes. we fed him formula and my pumped breastmilk. since i wasnt able to nurse him (less stimulation), i was not able to produce much milk, just 3 ounces a day on the average.
thanks to the formula, jackjack gained weight. in 2 weeks time, he was a 6lb baby. a month after he was born, he weighed in 8lbs. we shifted from formula to formula, from S-26 to nestogen to bonna, in the quest of finding the perfect one for our baby. we even tried the one for the lactose-intolerant. there was nothing wrong with him. we even brought him for his immunization shots a week before it happened.
on feb 16, he just pooped 3 times. he had excellent bowel movement. he was never constipated. then, all of a sudden, he only pooped 3 times. we thought he was just constipated, not drinking enough water. he felt relieved whenever he burped, so we thought it was just gas. earlier in the week, he threw up some of the milk he just drank. we thought he just had too much to drink.
the next day, i woke up to the sight of my baby sporting a huge tummy. his tummy had swollen as big as a melon and had veins all over it. his cries indicated that he was in pain. i gave him milk when he got hungry but he threw it all up. when he burped, a yellowish/greenish substance came out of his mouth. i bought glycerin (a pediatric suppository) in the hope that it was just that, constipation. when nothing came out, we brought him to his pedia at asian medical center. one look at him and the pedia said he had to be admitted. she gave us instructions to proceed immediately to makati med. she didnt even explain what was going on. considering the traffic going north (we live in munti) and that it was an emergency, pappy decided to bring him to medical center - muntinlupa for immediate treatment. an xray showed his swollen intestines. a pediatric surgeon arrived at 1230am to discuss his case. there was an obstruction, he was sure, which was the reason why his bowel did not pass. he wanted to operate on my boy on that basis alone: his experience and the xray. we wanted a second opinion, so we signed a waiver and travelled to delos santos med center in quezon city , where i gave birth.
it was 430am when we arrived in quezon city . by then, jackjack's tummy had swollen to 39cm. he was crying incessantly because he was hungry but threw up everything he drank. he was hooked up to an IV and we were admitted. that same morning, his pedia in that hospital took one look at him and came up with a team of doctors to take care of him. he was not allowed to drink anything. an xray and an ultrasound were done. a pediatric surgeon and an intensivist were summoned. things looked bleak, as the doctors finally explained to us what was going on. there was an obstruction. as to what type, ultrasound revealed no mass or twisting of the intestines. they said this was normally seen on premature babies who had congenital defects. he was neither premature and they ruled out congenital disorders. if it were congenital, his tummy would've swollen in days, if not hours after drinking his first dede. he had to be operated on immediately because every moment was critical. the swelling of his tummy was only controlled by antibiotics and the pressure was only relieved thru NGT.
that same night, they took my baby from my arms and wheeled him into the OR. jason was summoned into the OR. the surgeon showed him jackjack's small intestines, 15cm of which had necrotized and were beyond saving. they diagnosed it as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). the rest were also affected, but they decided against cutting it lest there'd be nothing left. they had to cut off the 15cm of his ilium. they did an illiostomy, which meant that a portion of his small intestines would be exposed where his poop would be coming out. it's like a colostomy, only it's a portion of his ilium. because of this procedure, he wont be able to absorb 100% of the nutrients.
he was wheeled into ICU post-surgery, where he stayed for 2 weeks. he still was not allowed to drink because they had to rest his digestive tract. he had numerous insertion attempts on both hands and feet because his veins kept collapsing. it came to a point that the doctors had to do a jugular vein cut-down to insert an IV for his parenteral nutrition. there was even a day when they woke me up at 6am, only to find out that he wasn't breathing properly since 3am and that they were trying to resuscitate him. his right lung was full of fluid and his left lung was not expanding enough to take in air. he was intubated and was wheeled into the OR for the third time for a CTT procedure to drain his lungs of fluid.
at this point, my breasts have stopped producing milk. the time away from him, when i couldnt even hold him, plus the stress contributed to it. about this time, they had to start feeding him breast milk through NGT. it was a blessing that one of the nursing aides at the hospital was kind enough to donate her milk to us. i even hired Zeny a lactation conselor-therapist to get my milk flowing again. she, then, referred me to some of her patients who were willing to donate their milk while i was re-lactating.
a couple of days later, jack-jack was removed from the respirator and his CTT pulled out. by then, the doctors finally allowed me to hold him. when i cradled him, his features changed. he looked peaceful and happy. his doctors commented that this was the first time they saw him like that and he was a fighter. the moment i held him, my breasts have started lactating again! i was so happy to be able to hold him after 2 weeks. i was so happy i was crying.
he spent a couple more days in the ICU but he was gaining strength, thanks to the breastmilk and power of touch. one monday morning, we were summoned to the ICU. his intensivist was there, determined to teach me how to breastfeed. i was determined that he would be feeding on breast milk. we were also informed that he was to be released from the ICU that same day.
we spent another week in the hospital; he was still being observed. he was still being fed thru a tube (inserted thru his nose) but was also being breastfed. the tube was removed a couple of days later.
we were finally discharged march 9. our hospital bills, plus the doctors' fee, amounted to almost P400,000. we were blessed, nonetheless, because we had our friends and families supporting us. his next operation, to reconnect his ilium, is still being determined depending on his physiological readiness.
a week later, i noticed his wound has closed and i remember the doctor telling me that it would close with nutrition. he has been feeding only on breastmilk. No medicines were prescribed.
Now, jackjack needs breastmilk and I’m not producing enough for his needs. We are still counting on the goodness of strangers, mommies who are willing to share their milk to my little boy.
This nightmare wouldn’t have happened if I had breastfed him from the beginning…
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Zeny was a big help to me when I had an engorgement problem. It was so painful, even worse than childbirth. I was so scared that I will not be able to continue breastfeeding. With just one phone call, Zeny was able to instruct me what to do with my problem. She followed it up with home visits until the pain went away completely.
I am a mom of premature twin boys. Breastfeeding them is my greatest achievement. I was able to see them grow from frail, small (2/12 pounds each only at birth) babies to the happy, healthy and playful boys they are now at 6 months.
I advise all mothers to breastfeed their babies as it makes all the difference in the world. They should also get plenty of support because they will really need it.
Marose Pascual
| | EJ, born 6 weeks premature to parents after 2
miscarriage and 11 years of marriage.
Determined to breastfeed for as long as possible, EJ
gains around 400gms per month. Ok but not very good.
When weight gain dropped to 200 gms a month, God sent
Zeny to "rescue" mommy.
After 7 sessions, mommy's breastmilk increased, and
with it EJ's weight. :)
EJ is now 14 months, and still breast feeding!
To all mommies who are determined to give only the
best to their babies. Zeny is the one to call when
you're in a bind :)
Melody |
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