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TV host Bianca Gonzalez is feeling proud and at the same time sentimental over her breastfeeding journey which had ended, after daughter Lucia weaned herself from it when she turned 2 years old in October.
In the caption of her Instagram post, she recalls how the weaning happened: "By that time, she would only feed (direct latch) two times a day: before morning nap, and before sleeping at night. We had been traveling; and when you travel, nagugulo ang sleeping and eating schedule. And my guess is, she figured, 'Kaya ko naman pala matulog nang hindi na nag-mi-milk.'"
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWRelated to this experience, as she has done so in the past, Bianca again lamented on the fact that mothers these days have to deal with so much pressure, especially when it comes to breastfeeding.
"Til now I don't know whether I myself was pressured, or it was really something I wanted to do; it could be both. My original goal was to breastfeed my daughter exclusively for 9 months."
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In an interview with Smartparenting.com.ph in August, Bianca attributed this "pressure" to social media.
“Whenever I see posts it’s always the happy, beautiful, smiling, ‘this is the best thing ever’ side of motherhood. Pero when I experienced it the first three months—di ka naliligo, di ka kumakain on time. There are days that you cry. Sasabayan mo na lang yung baby mo kasi ‘di mo na alam kung bakit siya umiiyak. So I try to be more realistic about my posts kasi may culture shock, medyo may trauma talaga. I didn’t know what to expect,” she shared. (It is probably because of these truthful views about motherhood that Bianca was ranked 6th among the most followed Twitter accounts in the Philippines in 2017.)
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWOn her Instagram post yesterday, she also talked about the challenges that go with breastfeeding: "It was so difficult. Low milk supply was my number one issue. Then there is lack of sleep, sore nipples, going to work and pumping, wasted milk, the list goes on. And the struggle is real." She credits her husband JC Intal and their former and current household help for their breastfeeding success.
According to a 2015 survey, the struggles of breastfeeding get so hard to bear that a little over half of women quit just after six months.
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This morning, on a follow-up post, Bianca expressed her support to all moms, whatever their choices are when it comes to feeding their child.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW"I also would never judge a mother who chose to or who chooses to mix feed or give formula at some point. Yes, breastmilk is best, but I strongly believe that whatever is best for baby's health and whatever is best for mommy's health and well-being (and sanity, to be honest) is what is best. Every baby is different, and every mother is different."
She concludes it with a simple, but very powerful message: we moms should have each other's backs. "Motherhood is difficult enough and we definitely could use all the support and guidance we can get from other moms."
