L.A.T.C.H Seminars

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A few weeks before I gave birth to Nara, I was invited by Buding Aquino Dee, the wonder mama behind Saya Baby Carriers and one of the founders of L.A.T.C.H, to attend a private breastfeeding seminar hosted by the organization.

Some of the participants having a chat before the seminar began.

L.A.T.C.H is a local breastfeeding support group led by trained peer counselors who have also been breastfeeding mothers. Their services include:

Breastfeeding workshops
Hospital or home visits
Phone, SMS, and email support
Pre-natal and post-partum classes
Mom & Baby Success Programs
Mom2Mom Hookups
LATCH-Pro Pedia Pool
Peer Counsellor Training
Pro-LATCH Membership Perks (Discounts on products and services)

Introducing myself to the other parents.

I’ve written in the past how breastfeeding wasn’t exactly easy when I had Fin, so I was more than happy to accept Buding’s offer and take a refresher course with a lovely bunch of soon-to-be parents.

Buding and Amelia Alba teaching us some position basics.

Dolls were used to practice.

It was really wonderful how dads participated as well.

Our afternoon together was spent eating delicious food, learning from the personal experiences of other LATCH mothers, and being prepared for breastfeeding basics and potential difficulties from birth onwards.

The food (all prepared by Amelia) was so good!

These delicious brownies by Mommy Treats are my ultimate fave. Every nursing mom should try them!

These nursing bras by Blissful Babes are so comfy. I plan to purchase more.

Amelia teaching us some helpful breastfeeding positions. This one is a favorite for sleepy moms

Jenny Ong’s blog: www.chroniclesofanursingmom was such a help to me when I had Fin

Charmaine Wang led us through a hilarious shopping list of items we don’t need.

Andi Manzano-Reyes and I going at it during the thumb wrestling exercise.

Here are some tips I found very useful to be reminded during this seminar:

A baby barely needs any milk during the first few days of life. With stomachs the size of a marble, a newborn is happy to have highly nutritious colostrum for the first few days. Don’t panic if it takes 3-4 days for your supply to come in.
A baby naturally loses around 10% of their birth weight during his/her first 10 days. Don’t panic if you see during your first week check up that your baby has lost weight, that’s really all extra fluids from being in the womb.
Latch, latch, latch: a baby during his/her first few weeks of life doesn’t really have a set feeding schedule. What’s important is that you just latch him/her on as often as possible to get your milk supply going.
Crying is already the last stage of a baby letting you know he or she is hungry. Look for earlier signs like turning the head from side to side with mouth open.
Breastmilk is also anti-bacterial: sore, cracked nipples? Squeeze a little breastmilk on them and let air dry. Forget any other expensive nipple creams.