To cap off the breastfeeding month celebrations, let me share photos taken by The Stork Studio's Stanley Ong and Sofia Genato which LATCH used for the exhibit during Breastfeeding Week at Eastwood Mall.

Karen and Ino

Celebrity mom Tintin Bersola-Babao with her 2nd born baby Nio at 4 months.

This was shot for Working Mom Magazine

Palawan-based Monica with Santi

LATCH President Buding with Colby

Benz with 4-month old Laya

Charmaine with Cameron

Host Amanda Griffin-Jacob with Caleb

This was shot for The Farm at San Benito

Claire and Ranyag

Coykee and Amara

and of course, Naima and me.

This photo was taken when she was just 7 months old. Since then, we have amassed a number of breastfeeding photos which I really should compile!

You & Me & Mommy at SM Megamall

One more last hurrah for breastfeeding month! On 27 August 2010, SM Supermalls with Department of Health, World Health Organization and UNICEF will be organizing a breastfeeding celebration entitled Bosom Buddies: We all support breastfeeding mommies. It will be at the Activity Center, Building A.

The event will comprise a press conference in the morning, a talk show in the afternoon and a whole day exhibit. The exhibit will be of 10 mompreneur businesses that have products/services that support the pregnant and/or breastfeeding mom.

Meanwhile, the talk show will be hosted by Patricia Bermudez-Hizon with a range of topics and activities. There will be a talk by certified breastfeeding counselor Abbie Yabot on Benefits of Breastfeeding for Baby and Mom with Ten Tips for Breastfeeding Success, a sharing by 2 dads (Jen's Stan and Maybelle's Kenneth) of their experiences with breastfeeding, a testimonial by former Ms. Maja Philippines Iza Bungubung on Beauty, Brains and Breastfeeding and tips and tricks by me on sustaining milk supply and continuing breastfeeding at the end of maternity leave.

Apart from the talks and sharing, there will also be various activities interspersed with the talk show - Touch Therapy by Johnson & Johnson, a Diaper Dads Game, Expressing Milk at Work - Packing the Essentials by Candice Yaw and a Mommy in Style Fashion Show by Mommy Matters and Mothers En Vogue.

Save the date and hope to see you there!

(Breast)Milk and Cookies

photo from art.com

I previously shared a recipe for oatmeal lactation cookies which I got online and tweaked according to my preference and local ingredients available. So I was quite amused to read this article on breastfeeding cookies now available in the market. I did some online research and found 2 cookie brands:

1. Milkin' Cookies

Created by The Mommy Doctors Bakery, this brand was developed by 2 mommy physicians. Comes in two flavors - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Almond and sells for $20.99 for 14 cookies or $119.99 for a 3-month supply of 30 cookies per month.

2. Milkmakers

Created by a mom of 3 who comes from a family of bakers, this comes only in 1 variant - chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and sells for $44 for 1 month supply of 30 cookies or $132 for a 3-month supply of 30 cookies per month.

So what's so special about these cookies? If you check the ingredients list of both brands, the special ingredients would be oats, brewer's yeast and flaxseed - which are known galactagogues and are included in every lactation cookie recipe you can find on the internet. Milkin' Cookies has an additional ingredient - wheat germ which contains Inositol (Vitamin B8), deficiency of which is said to cause lactation problems.

At about Php70 per cookie, I probably would just make my own oatmeal lactation cookies!! Would you buy? Hmm... business idea for local breastfeeding homebakers!

Don't forget to visit the Rockwell Tent this Weekend!

Don't forget to visit All About Baby and Belly Mama Fairs this weekend at the Rockwell Tent! I will be there along with Stan plus a lot of mompreneur friends! Check out the list of exhibitors below:

Mama.Baby.Love

The Stork Studio

Mamaway

Chubby Cheeks Baby

Nursing Mom

The Eco Baby Boutique

Pinoy Baby Store

Prepimom

Tyler Marketing

Mommy Matters

Kinder Company

Brussel Sprouts

LAJ Marketing

Babinski Baby

Tiddle Tots

Precious Herbal Pillows

The Little Red Shoe

Learning is Fun

Obsidian Trading

Kiddie Tunes

Paez Shoes

Zaigen Ventures

Oasis

Kinder Music

Boogie Bear Boutique

Momtrepreneur

Tot Couture

Hoola Enterprises

plus more!!

See you there!

Pumping Restraints on your type of Job

photo from ohiolaw.com

Sometime in May, I came upon an article about a receptionist in New York who was fired for pumping at work. Actually, she was permitted to pump up until her child was 1 year old (although NY state law allowed moms to pump for up to 3 years after baby's birth). She wanted to continue and was eventually fired (even before her child turned 1).

This article made me think about the Pinay working moms who are restricted from pumping because of their type of job. I'm talking about bank tellers, security guards, janitors, receptionists and the like. These employees are required to be on their posts the entire time they are on duty. How about a shop girl who is the only person in a store? If you haven't noticed, a lot of boutiques, mail shops, laundry shops are manned by only 1 person. Will the shop girl be closing the shop during the 15-20 minutes break she uses to pump? Probably, these employees could choose to pump at the workplace (near the cash register or telephone perhaps) and just wear a nursing bib. Hmm.... how to entertain customers who walk in while the shop girl is pumping though?