#SheInspires: A breastfeeding career mom
Who inspires you?
My good friend Maricar, a breastfeeding career mom
What does she do?
Maricar works full-time as a business manager. She has a 5-year-old son whom she breastfed and a 1-year old daughter whom she is still breastfeeding.
Why does she inspire you?
Maricar and I sat a few meters apart at the company where we both used to work years ago. At certain times during the day, she would throw her trusty blue sarong around her shoulders, secure it with a bulldog clip, bow down, fiddle with her breast pump, and switch on the machine. Brrt… Brrt… Brrt…
It was a scene so bizarre to someone like me who was seeing it for the first time. Maricar never got tired of explaining what she was doing: “Oh, I’m pumping milk for my son.” More importantly, she was never apologetic. And why would she be? She was providing the best nutrition possible for her son despite being at work.
She raised my awareness of breastfeeding so that when I became pregnant, I already knew I also wanted to breastfeed my child. Knowing my competitive streak, Maricar told me, “If I can do it, so can you!”
She shared with me resources that would help me prepare to breastfeed my baby. After I had given birth and was struggling with the early weeks of breastfeeding, she was very generous with her words of encouragement.
If we were still officemates, I know she would be proud to hear me say in the same nonchalant manner as hers, “Excuse me, I have to pump milk for my son.”
I would never have discovered the joy and reaped the benefits of breastfeeding if not for Maricar. I owe my breastfeeding success to her.
Kate is a mom, wife and daughter. She loves sleeping but doesn't mind waking up early to hear her son's giggles. Follow her on Twitter at @katemoves.
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Read other #SheInspires stories:
My boss is also my guardian angel | The professor who inspired an ‘aktibista’ to work for the greater good | My blind aunt | The woman who served the poorest of the poor | The seductress who gave birth to wireless technology | Pinay nannies in Kazakhstan |The younger sister I bullied |Community leader Ka Sario |Breast cancer survivor Ate Gigi |My dad’s friend Tita Lyn | 87-year-old farmer Lola Dolores
Share your own #SheInspires story:
Other than your mother, tell us about the woman who inspires you to change for the better. What does she do? Why does she inspire you?
Email your answers to team_yph@yahoo.com, subject line #SheInspires.
Attach 3 high-resolution horizontal photos of the woman who inspires you.
And tell us a little something about yourself.
