Donate Your Extra Breastmilk!

We said goodbye to the last of my milk stash last wednesday. Stay strong preemies! Milk's on the way through PCMC! #breastmilkdonor #breastfeedingpinays

A photo posted by Inno Eats The World! (@innoeatstheworld) on Feb 19, 2016 at 3:27am PST

We have been putting off this donation run for ages because we have been too lazy to drive over and bring our milk stash, or call the hospital for pick-up. But we finally did it last wednesday, mainly because we had to temporarily evacuate the house to make way for a 2-day termite fumigation.

Not a lot of people know that you can donate breastmilk. I only found out myself because I was googling what to do with my extra breastmilk. But as soon as I figured Inno's cycle and my pumping output, I started donating. I donated because I want to be able to help other babies have a shot at life. Giving birth to your first child really does open up your eyes and expand your feelings of empathy for those who are less fortunate.

How did you get so much milk?

A lot of moms out there have a great supply of milk. Their pumping output is really outrageous! If you search online, there are a lot of different tricks to increase breast milk supply - food diet, pumping timing, pumping practices, etc.

In my opinion, my supply is only sufficient enough for my Inno. I wasn't able to fill bags and bags of milk with every pumping session. I even had to pump longer at work just to make sure I had enough milk pumped to build up my milk stash. I was constantly worried I might run out - especially between the 4th and 7th months.

Miraculously, however, around Inno's 10th month, he started rejecting drinking expressed milk. He would not take milk from a bottle, nor from a small glass, despite whatever his yaya and his dad did. He only wanted to drink milk directly from the breast.

Since I was still working, and still worrying about milk supply, I continued my regular pumping schedule at work. This is where the milk that I donate come from.

Out of all the advise I've read, and observed, though, is that you can encourage oversupply through pumping by starting to pump milk early. I have noticed that some of my friends who had to rely on pumping almost as soon as they gave birth seem to have more milk than I do.

How much milk should you donate?

There's no limit to how much milk you can donate. You can donate all of your expressed milk, if you like!

What I did, however, was keep a stash of around 64oz of milk. All of my milk stash above that is donated. This is because I wanted to keep some emergency milk for Inno in stock in case we had to be separated, in case I will be restricted from feeding him because of illness, or in case he suddenly decides to switch back to milk.

Where can you donate milk?

You can donate milk in two ways:

1. Direct to the baby in need of breastmilk

There are several facebook groups that cater to breastmilk donation, or you can also ask around in your neighbourhood.

I can't remember the facebook groups I visited anymore, so I cannot recommend any. If anybody here is reading this and want to share, please share your FB groups in the comments section and I will add them here.

I do remember that when I did look for groups, majority of those asking for donations were too far from me. That's why I chose a different method.

2. Through a milk bank

A milk bank is a good way to make sure your breastmilk goes to the babies we know need it the most. But not everybody is comfortable with going through institutions for their charitable endeavors.

From my research, there are several milk banks here in the Philippines. I was looking for a good place to donate my breastmilk and I finally found that Philippine Children's Medical Center has a milk bank! A lot of the articles and recommendations I've read recommended donating to the Philippine General Hospital because they have a pasteurizer, but I found it too far. PCMC is just along Quezon Avenue and was on the way to my office, so it was just right.They also had a pasteurizer!

Philippine Children's Medical Center also accommodates pick-up of your milk donations, if you don't have the time or means to go to the center. Here's the contact details for those who are interested:

Telephone: 588-9900 local 288
Contact Persons: Ms. Rose or Ms. Cecilia
Working Hours:
8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday

I might go through some research again and make an updated compilation of milk banks and breastmilk donation centers. In the meantime, please spread the word and help promote breastfeeding!

Recipe: Pesto

I love making pesto. Although, with a bit of online research, the original method of making pesto involves pounding or crushing the leaves, I don't mind eating fast processed pesto. In fact, I like it better that way.

I make pesto in batches, and store it in the ref with an extra layer of olive oil on top. This gives me a stock of pesto sauce I can use anytime I want to glam up my meal.

When To Give To Baby

Standard pesto uses ground nuts, originally pine nuts but can locally be swapped for cashew nuts. Nuts are not recommended for babies below one year old, so if you include nuts in your recipe (or buy a store-bought brand), do not feed this to your baby until he is AT LEAST one year old.

However, if you are making your own pesto, you can remove the nuts from the recipe and still feed it to your less than a year old baby. Just make sure your parmesan cheese is pasteurized. Parmesan cheese is commonly pasteurized, so this is technically safe, but make sure to read the labels.

Cheese is usually not recommended until the baby is at least 8 months old, so pesto should only be served when your baby has hit that age.

How To Prepare It

Ingredients:
Citron Basil
Parsley
Ground nuts (I prefer pistachio, but cashew works just as well)
Ground Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil (I use extra light)

Tools:
Blender or a Chopper (one capable of mincing leafy vegetables)

Directions:
First, wash all the vegetables and let them dry.

Second, we make the pesto.

The objective is to blend all the ingredients together. I do a partial blend of the basil first with a bit of olive oil, then follow with the parsley, the nuts and the cheese. Every so often, I add a bit more olive oil to help the blending go smoother.

I also usually just guess the ratio between ingredients. But my common ratio is this:

0.12kg Basil to 0.06kg Parsley
I usually buy my veggies from Landmark-Trinoma, and their basil and parsley comes pre-packaged in 0.06kg bundles. So I usually buy 2 bundles of basil and 1 bundle of parsley

Nuts & Cheese
If both are already ground, around 3 tablespoons of each is enough for the batch of veggies above. However, you can change this if you prefer the taste to be nuttier, or cheesier, or if your package of veggies turns out to have less leaves than expected.

Everything else is done by estimation. :)

Alternatives:

You can replace citron basil & parsley with malunggay leaves. Malunggay is bitter, especially after being chopped, so I usually turn it into garlic malunggay pesto by adding garlic to the recipe.

Raw garlic might be too intense for your baby, though, so I suggest roasting or sauteing it first before adding it to your mix.

Some recipes still call for a portion of basil to the malunggay pesto to counter the bitter taste. It's all a matter of taste - you can balance out the bitterness with other flavors.

How To Serve 

Pesto is commonly known as a pasta sauce. Simply mix it with freshly cooked pasta, like shells.

You can also use it as a bread dip or a sandwich spread.

I once added it to some Nestle All Purpose Cream, and made a creamy sauce out of it for steak.

Personally, I like having my pesto mixed in with freshly cooked white rice. That's my version of pesto rice! A lot of people I've told this to have been scandalized by the idea, but agree that it does taste good this way. Try it!

Here's a bad close-up shot of Zensho's chicken pesto I took back in 2007, but it should give you an idea of what pesto should look like.

Are You Sure This Was Safe?

Pesto is composed of different ingredients. Because of that, you have to make sure your baby is ready to eat each of the ingredients noted in this list.

1. Nuts - only recommended for above 1 year old, to avoid development of nut allergies.
2. Cheese - only recommended for 8 months and above, and for babies without lactose intolerance
3. Basil/ Malunggay - only recommended for 8 months and above. There's talk about nitrates in dark leafy vegetables being bad for young babies, so it's best to avoid giving this too early.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, my main holy grail for information is the Wholesome Baby Food website. You can check this website out to see a list of food recommended for each age, and what the recommended method of preparation is. It is mostly based off american diets, though I did countercheck my facts against other websites and mom forums. If you are unsure, do not hesitate to ask your pediatrician! The doctor will be more familiar with your baby's development and can recommend if you can already give pesto to your little one.

Taste Test: Can My Baby Eat Okra?

Why yes! Yes, he can!

Okra is a nutritious vegetable and, despite whatever our vegetable-hating brain might think, has a slightly sweet taste. The slime can be a turn off for us adults, but it's a great sensory attraction for babies! 

Inno examining his okra at tonight's dinner

When To Give To Baby

I don't recommend giving okra as one of your baby's first foods. Depending on how quick your little one learns how to eats and explores his food, I would suggest you try this only when your baby at least 8 months old and you have observed that he has a good gag reflex already.

I gave Inno his first okra when he was 8 months old, and it was so much fun watching him puzzling over what the slimy food thing his mom gave him!

Inno's first okra at 8 months old

How To Prepare It

Just boil it or steam it!

I personally prefer boiling - you can use the remaining water as vegetable stock , and it's a sure shot way to make the okra soft enough for your baby, seeds and all!

After boiling or steaming the okra, cut it up in small chunks just link as if you would use it for pinakbet. About an inch long would be ok, in my opinion. It's long enough for our little' ones' uncoordinated hands to grip, but not too big for his mouth.

If you're cooking for the family, and don't want to have to cook a separate batch for your baby, try cooking laswa. It's a local dish that is also known as bulanglang or diningding/dinengdeng, with variations in the recipe depending on what region your recipe came from. I first learned of this dish from a kapampangan office mate of mine, and have since gotten a great recipe from Nurturers of the Earth/ Breastfeeding Philippines which I use to create my own version. I'll feature the recipe next time I make it for the house.

Make sure to always use young okra though! Tough old okra will be too fibrous for our bundles of joy and might turn him off the vegetable for good.

Are You Sure This Was Safe?

I always do a lot of googling before offering a new food item, but my main holy grail for information is the Wholesome Baby Food website. You can check this website out to see a list of food recommended for each age, and what the recommended method of preparation is. It is mostly based off american diets, though, so okra is listed under their exotic food page. But we both agree - no okra until 8 months!

The site also has a different recommendation for the okra serving sizes for babies. They recommend smaller serving sizes, of mixing the okra into a soup. That's not too bad too. Inno likes kinesthetic activities, so I don't mind giving him longer slices, but some babies might want to go directly to tasting so the smaller pieces would do better.

It Takes A Village To Raise A Child

This picture I saw on pinterest best described my interpretation of this african proverb. I believe it's true - the way a child grows is influenced by his experiences, and those experiences are given by the people who surround him. That's his village.

In this modern age, the concept of a village has evolved and is now very very different from what the original author of this proverb calls a village. A village is no longer tied to a geographical location. It is, however, still a group of people coming together for common causes.

This blog was created to share our journey with my first-born, Inno, and his immediate village - us, his grandparents and his extended family - and to invite you to be part of this journey. The internet has been a great source of information for me from the time I first found out I was pregnant and even up until today, that I hope our experiences with Inno will be of help to other "villagers" out there looking for information as well.

There's a lot of learning that can be gained from food, and boy, do we LOVE food. I found this quote online:

You have to taste a culture to understand it.
- Deborah Carter

Now I don't know who Deborah Carter is, but I've heard thousands of variations of this sentiment over the years. I believe it's true. And if it's anything about learning, I want it for my little boy!

So we will be sharing with you Inno's journey of learning through the wonderful landscape of food. We will probably talk about other things as well, but, as the blog says, we're here to see INNO EAT THE WORLD.