How do I love you, my children?

I love you by enduring the cold and pain on my back as the air conditioner blows. I could not turn it off because you perspire even in cold temperature and especially when you snuggle close to me.

I love you by giving up precious sleep just to let you breastfeed as much as you can all through the night... I would have loved to sleep uninterruptedly but I chose to show you my love by allowing you to disturb me from my sleep.

I love you by forcing myself to get up this morning to think of what you can eat so you don't go hungry. I do this in spite of my terrible headache.

I love you by forcing myself to get up and prepare your food even though I'm suffering from severe pains on my neck, back and hips.

I love you by forcing my hands to have the strength to hold the bread knife and bread just to make you a sandwich even though I could hardly sit up because of my body pains.

This is how your mother loves you. 

One day, I hope God the Father would let you know that that's how your mother loved you when you were small, when there was no one else who did these things to you but her... When no one else cared enough not to let you go hungry, not only on Valentine's Day but every single day of your young life.

Celebrations on the 4th Day of Christmas

The fourth day of Christmas gave me and my family more than one gift to be thankful for.

 

First, our baby Georg Daniel (Geordan for short) celebrated his first month of life. I was amazed to realize that he's already one month old. I still feel like it was just yesterday when I gave birth to him. Time flies so fast indeed!

 

 

 

Second, our baby has been gaining weight steadily. We had been weighing him every week and so far he has gained weight every week. His biggest weight gain so far was last weekend! He gained 1.6 pounds! Hurray! This was surely an encouraging development for me as I strive to give him the best milk to nourish him.

 

Third, I was able to breastfeed our baby exclusively in the past month! Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of milk! I thank God for helping me endure the early challenges I experienced. Just like in my previous breastfeeding journeys, I had sore nipples again during the early days. I thank God for the grace and strength to persevere and endure the pain. I survived the crucial first month! Things are better now and I'm happy to see my baby growing bigger as I nourish him with my milk.

 

 

I have mentioned previously in one of my blog entries here that Georg Daniel's birth (he was born on November 28) inspired me to move our traditional family outreach to street children from Christmas Day to December 28, which is also the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The brown bags that we make will be like his and Jesus' loot bags and the street kids who will receive them will represent the poor children who were massacred on that same day more than 2,000 years ago.

 

 

 

I involved our two older kids in preparing our loot bags. I asked my husband to look for a photo of the Nativity scene in the internet and to print it in pink paper. I cut the photos and asked our older kids to glue them in front of the brown bags.

I also asked our 3-year-old to help sort/group the food that we will put inside the brown bags. When my eldest child finished sticking the photos in our brown bags, he helped his younger brother in adding the juice to the food that he has grouped/sorted.

I asked our maids to prepare the sandwiches and wrap them in napkins. I punched holes on our brown bags and cut the yarn which will be used to close our brown bags. My husband and older kids placed the food and juice inside the brown bags while one of our maids placed the sandwiches inside after they have finished preparing them. We also added some chocolates and candies inside them. Then, I tied our brown bags with pink and blue yarn.

 

Then, we all rode our vehicle and drove around the city to look for street kids. On our way out of our village, I prayed in my heart that God would lead us to the street kids who need these brown bags the most. It took us around an hour to distribute our brown bags.

 

I thank God for this fourth gift: the gift of family bonding over doing an outreach or work of mercy/act of charity towards our homeless, hungry and thirsty brothers and sisters. 

 

After that, we had some snack before going to Mass in our parish. Incidentally, it was also the Feast of the Holy Family. I thank God that we were able to go to Mass as a family. What perfect way to celebrate this wonderful day!

 

Our parish priest blessed our family after the Mass then we went to the Nativity Scene in our church and had our family picture taken there.

 

 

 

How is your Christmas celebration coming along? Hope you'd find time to savor the gift of Christmas.  

World Breastfeeding Week in October and St. Patrick Baby Breastfeeding Statement Clothes (Plus Raffle)

World Breastfeeding Week in October

 

It's World Breastfeeding Week again! You might be surprised to read this but you read it right! 

 

The official date of World Breastfeeding Week is from August 1-7. Most countries, including the Philippines, celebrate in August. But there are countries like Canada, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and UK  who organize their breastfeeding campaign on the 40th week (in October) to increase public participation and media attention because most people are on holiday in August in these countries.

 

Canada adapts the theme for the year, BREASTFEEDING: A Winning Goal - For Life!, as it celebrates World Breastfeeding Week this week from October 1 to 7. This theme asserts the importance of increasing and sustaining the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding - in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) countdown, and beyond.

 

Photo source here.

In Ireland, the theme for their National Breastfeeding Week this October is Every Breastfeed Makes a Difference. This year's theme reminds moms that every breastfeeding session makes a difference in the health of the baby as well as the mom. It also reminds moms that every breastfeeding session brings a mom closer to the achievement of her breastfeeding goal. Isn't that beautiful? This message is close to my heart because that's what I advocate in my book BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking.

 

HSE National Breastfeeding Coordinator Siobhan Hourigan  said:  "Support can really help mothers to get started with breastfeeding and to breastfeed for longer."

 

WABA, which stands for World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, exhorts everyone to Protect, Promote and Support breastfeeding because it is a vital, life-saving goal!

 

Here's an infographic from the WHO website that tells us
how family members and friends can help support breastfeeding moms.

 

St. Patrick Baby Breastfeeding Statement Clothes

 

Aside from the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week in the countries mentioned above, October is also a special month for me and my family because it's the birth month of our eldest son, whom I breastfed for at least two years.

 

In line with these celebrations, I have partnered with St. Patrick Baby to run a raffle promo this October for all the buyers of the paperback edition of my book BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking.

 

I first learned about these products by St. Patrick Baby last year in August through a Breastfeeding Group that I was a part of. Breastfeeding moms from our group ordered and bought these breastfeeding statement clothes for their breastfed babies. I wanted to order too but it was already too late when I found out. The stocks have ran out.

 

This year, I'm glad that I was able to get these breastfeeding statement clothes for my upcoming (3rd) baby. I'm excited to let him wear these clothes when he comes out sometime in late November or early December!

 

Early baby shower presents/Christmas gifts from St. Patrick Baby!

You may check out the photos and details of these nice baby clothes by clicking this link.

 

These products are also available at the following SM Department Store branches (infant section):

SM Megamall
SM Mall of Asia
SM North EDSA
SM Makati
SM Las Pinas
SM Aura
 

Let me share with you 3 main reasons why I like these products:

 

1. These baby clothes are 100% made from organic cotton. This means that the cotton used in these baby clothes were grown and harvested without the use of harmful chemicals. Thus, these baby clothes are gentle and are not a threat to our baby's delicate skin.
 

 

2. I love the illustrations and statements on the baby clothes that helps raise awareness on breastfeeding and its benefits. Through these clothes, breastfeeding moms and advocates can help promote breastfeeding in their own personal way.

 

3. Last but not least, since there were no chemicals used in the growing and harvesting of the cotton used for these baby clothes, these products help save/preserve Mother Earth. Supporting products and advocacies that protect and preserve the environment are also close to my heart.
 

 

As I've mentioned earlier, we will raffle off a St. Patrick Baby Statement product as part of our celebration this October. All buyers of my book's paperback edition who will purchase it directly through me (via email or the book's Facebook Page) will get a chance to win a singlet romper from St. Patrick Baby. Each paperback copy bought entitles the buyer one raffle entry.

 

 

 

If you do not have a copy of the paperback edition of BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking, I encourage to buy your copy this month. If you already have one, I invite you to help other moms by giving away a copy of this book as a present to your pregnant or breastfeeding friends or relatives. You can also make this a wedding or bridal shower gift to future moms or a Christmas present.

 

The raffle promo will run from October 1 to 26, 2014 and is open to all residents in the Philippines. Also, please make sure that you have liked my book's Facebook Page to make your raffle entry valid.

 

Place your order now! Email me at teregmps@yahoo.com or teresa@fulllifecube.com or send me a PM through https://www.facebook.com/BreastfeedingJourneyWorthTaking.

The Power of a Story Plus Giveaways

Stories are powerful. The greatest speakers are mostly, if not all, great storytellers. Even Jesus used stories a lot to proclaim about the kingdom of God.

 

Stories help people, especially ordinary ones, understand even the most complex of concepts. Stories help establish connections between people that once were not there. Stories inspire, encourage, motivate and change lives.

 

That is why I chose to include a number of breastfeeding stories in my book BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking. Aside from sharing my own breastfeeding story, I gathered moms from different walks of life to share their breastfeeding stories as well. I wanted moms who will read my book to find at least one story they can relate to... a story that will touch their hearts and make a difference in their breastfeeding journey and their family.

 

I believe that with just one story, the course of a life can be changed. With one man's story, humanity has been saved from their sins. With another man's story of bravery, a nation got the courage to rise against a dictator and staged a peaceful revolution.

 

As the National Breastfeeding Awareness Month comes to a close, I'd like to ask the readers of BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking which breastfeeding story in the book moved, inspired or encouraged them the most and why it did so.

 

This will be my last blog giveaway in celebration of breastfeeding awareness month. I will choose 2 lucky winners via Rafflecopter who will win 1 box each of Obi tie-side and pajama set.

The first to leave a comment/tell us which breastfeeding story moved her the most will get these prizes.

The second to comment will get this prize.

The first three (3) to join (leave a comment on this blog post) will win prizes from MomBabyFabric. 


This giveaway is open to all Philippine residents who have read my breastfeeding book.

The third to comment will get this prize.

I will announce the winners next week. Join now!

UPDATE:

The winners for our MomBabyFabric items are the following:
Nappy Pouch - Darl Corral-Piquero
Bib and Clean up cloth - Nor Ann Balatbat
Madison Pouch - Yen Morales

The winners of our Obi tie-side and pajama sets are Mommy Que and Mommy Sigrid!

Congratulations to all our winners!
 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Breastfeeding Awareness Month Plus Blog Giveaways Courtesy of Mama Chows

The month of August has been designated as National Breastfeeding Awareness Month in the Philippines in order to protect, promote and support breastfeeding as the normal, natural and preferred method of feeding infants and young children. According to the bill introduced by Senator Pia Cayetano, it has been reported that 16,000 babies die every year because of the harmful effects of bottle-feeding/formula-feeding.

 

Moreover, breastfed children have at least six times greater chance of survival during their early months than children who were not breastfed. This was based on the 2008 report by Lancet, a renowned medical journal.

 

 

Let me share a few more things about breastfeeding.

 

1. Did you know that children who were breastfed have a 20% lower risk of dying between the ages of 28 days and one year than children who weren't breastfeed? This was based on a study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in the US.

 

2. Did you know that breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in mothers? And that studies have shown that the longer mothers breastfeed, the greater is their immunity to these two kinds of cancers?

 

3. Did you also know that breastfeeding helps a family save at least P4,000 each month (could vary depending on the kind of milk formula bought per household to feed their child)?

 

These are just a few of the benefits of breastfeeding to the child, mother and the entire family. You may read and learn more about breastfeeding and its benefits when you buy a copy of BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking. You may purchase a copy here and here.  

One of my reasons for writing this book is to help educate more women, especially Filipinas, on the benefits of breastfeeding. I want to inspire more moms to breastfeed their babies and to equip them as they take on this challenging but rewarding task.

 

The paperback edition of this book was first published last year in October while the Kindle/eBook edition was published in July of this year. With the launch of the eBook edition, it is my hope that I would be able to help more moms in their breastfeeding journey through this book.

 

And since it's National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, we are celebrating it with a blog giveaway. We were blessed to have Mama Chows as our major sponsor for this blog giveaway. We are giving away five (5) gift certificates for a one (1) week supply each of oatmeal cookies from Mama Chows to five (5) lucky winners. It's so easy to join! Those who have read the book BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking simply need to tell us by leaving a comment on this blog post how the book helped them in their breastfeeding journey or how the book enabled them to win over their breastfeeding challenges. We will pick five (5) winners through Rafflecopter at the end of this week. Also, we will be giving one gift pack each, consisting of 1 box of malunggay capsules and 1 box malunggay tea, from Moringana to the first three (3) moms who will join our blog giveaway by leaving a comment on this post.

 

Do you already have a copy of this bestselling book? Are you done reading it? Join our blog giveaway and tell us how this book helped you?

UPDATE:

Congratulations to our winners!

The 3 winners of 1 gift pack each from Moringana are the following:
1. Sally Yu
2. Darl Corral-Piquero
3. Kehrin Morales



Kindly email your complete name, address and mobile number to teresa@fulllifecube.com so we can ship your prize. Thanks!

The 5 winners of 1 GC each from Mama Chows are the following:
1. Yen Morales
2. Christine Plata
3. Aegeane Brioso
4. Marites Panio-Rojas
5. Jenina Tuazon

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What God Gave Me After I Gave My All

I wanted so much to write a blog post right after the 3-day promotion of my book ended yesterday afternoon (Philippine time) but I was too tired already. I also had so many insights. I could not decide what to focus on as I reflected on the wonderful results of my eBook's virtual launch.

 

Today, as I was asking God for direction, He led me to pick up a book that I read long ago. I was moved to reread the conclusion of the book. I couldn't help but smile as I read these lines.

When you give, you create a vacuum.

That vacuum — that empty space — attracts blessings! What blessings? The stuff that you gave away will be returned to you, only of far better quality and greater quantity.

The more you give, the bigger the vacuum you create. The bigger the vacuum, the stronger the magnet — and the more blessings you'll attract into your life.

That's why giving your all is the secret of big returns.

There's magic when you give your all.

Because you also attract all that God wants to give to you.  

I read these lines from the book Take Charge, Give All by my favorite Bestselling Author Bo Sanchez.

 

Two more lines in the book's conclusion struck me.

And don't look down on how small your all is.
Nothing is too small for God.

Wow!

 

I think those lines sum up what had just happened to me as I worked on the release  and virtual launch of BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking's Kindle Edition. I gave my all in the entire process. Many times, I felt that my all wasn't enough to give me my desired results. But at some point, God assured me that giving my all was enough. He would supply the rest. I need not do everything that other people or experts say I should do to make my endeavor a success. (You may read more about my struggles and reflections while working on this project here , here and here.)

 

True to His Word, God responded overwhelmingly to my humble offering of my all.

 

The Gospel last Sunday spoke volumes to me. I felt like I was the little boy with the five loaves of bread and two fish. I felt that my meager contribution isn't enough for the overwhelming need of the people around me.

 

Yet as the priest shared in his homily that evening, "Share the little that you have and let God multiply it to bless many!"

 

That's what God did with my five loaves and two fish. He happily accepted my contribution in spreading the benefits of breastfeeding to families and introducing Him to families, beginning with mothers who embark on this worthwhile journey. Then, He blessed and transformed it! He multiplied my efforts and He used my eBook to bring His message of love and hope to mothers and families all over the world.

 

I thought I was just carrying out God's Will as a dutiful servant and daughter. I forgot that when we obey God, our loving Father, we also open ourselves to His many blessings. And like what Brother Bo said in his book, when we choose to give our all in loving God and in loving the people around us, we attract God's blessings into our lives.

 

Truly, God cannot be outdone in generosity! He surprised me big time with the results of my breastfeeding book's virtual launch. When I gave my all to God in this project, God gave me back blessings beyond my expectations! My book BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking hit the #1 spot on Amazon's Best Sellers List, Top 100 Free in two subcategories — Motherhood and Child Care! It stayed on the #1 spot for most of the 3 days that my eBook was on promotion. Thus, I got #1 Amazon Bestselling Author ranking for August 1 and 2 — those were the first two days of the promotion. (I didn't see the ranking report on the third day of the promotion because there was an error in the report on the third day.) Aside from that, my book's ranking went up to #3 in two bigger categories — Family Relationships and Parenting. (Read the details of this wonderful news here.) 

 

 

I'm so grateful to God for the courage and grace He gave me to give my all to Him. If I have not given Him my all, I would not receive this hundredfold blessing from Him.

 

Is God moving you to give your all to Him at this time? What makes you hesitate? What scares you? Ask God to help you grow in faith and to give you courage to face your fears. Open your life to God's miracles! Give your all to Him and wait with expectant faith that God will give you bigger and better blessings in return.

   

 

 

I'm linking tis post to the Catholic Bloggers Monthly Link up Blitz for August.



BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking (Kindle Edition) is Now an Amazon Best Seller

It's now time to celebrate after all the hard work and challenges I went through in making BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking available in Kindle edition on Amazon. (You may read about some of the challenges I experienced here in one of my previous posts.) My breastfeeding book's Kindle edition was listed in Amazon's Best Seller List! Hurray! I also got a bonus from God. I got Number 1 Author Ranking because of this on August 1 and 2!!! Amazing!!! Wow! This is one BIG surprise indeed from Him! (Read my previous post about my decision to let God surprise me here.)

 

I will praise the name of God in song,

and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:31



My author ranking as of August 1





I've been monitoring Amazon closely, hours before the start of my 3-day Free Book Promotion. I even got tensed around past 3 PM (Manila, Philippines time) when I did not see the regular price of my book change to $0.00. It was already August 1 Pacific time which is the time when the first day of the promotion should go live. I kept hitting the refresh button to see if the price would be updated. Almost an hour has passed, the price has not changed still. I was already very stressed. I sent an email to ask Amazon's help line why the price hasn't changed. I kept looking at my Amazon KDP account and wondered why the status of the Free Book Promotion was reflected there to be ongoing but the price of my book on the different Amazon marketplaces continued to reflect the regular price. There were already people inquiring in my book's Facebook Page if they can already download the eBook for free. So, I posted a few lines from Amazon KDP's website where they mentioned that due to system latencies and differences in time zones, there could be some delays in the price update.

 

After around two LONG hours of waiting, the price of the book became $0.00! I posted an announcement right away on my book's Facebook Page as well as on my personal Facebook account. I was so relieved!!! 

 

Click here to go to my book's Amazon page and to download it for free.

 

What followed was a continuous monitoring of my breastfeeding book's performance in the different categories and subcategories where it was classified. My husband, my virtual assistant (Clarice) and myself worked together to monitor the developments (book ranking, number of units downloaded, posts or articles written about the eBook and the Free Book Promotion, mentions of the book and the promotion on social media sites, etc.) and to promote the eBook Promotion as widely as we can. It was quite challenging to monitor the performance of the book and the effectiveness of the promotion because of the difference in time zones. The Free Book Promotion started around 5 PM already in the Philippines. I stayed up until around past 12 MN to check and document the developments. The result so far of the virtual eBook launch was worth the sacrifice! The many late nights that I worked on this project these past weeks were overshadowed by the outcome! 

 

This was my breastfeeding book's ranking on August 1 before MN in Manila, Philippines and on August 2 until around after lunch (same time zone).

 

One of my goals when I decided to work on this project of making my breastfeeding book available in Amazon is to see its title included in Amazon's Best Sellers List. I know that there are tens of thousands of books being sold on Amazon. I did not dare dream to be on number one spot in any of the natural categories where my book would be placed. I simply dreamed and desired to be included in the Best Sellers List. But my God had greater plans... as usual. :) He surprised me once more by giving me more than what I prayed for. 

 

BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking became Number 1 in the subcategory Motherhood!!!

 

When I was still studying the categories and subcategories on Amazon, I did not plan to put my book in a big category like motherhood because there were too many books competing in that category. (I got this advice from many authors whose posts I read online.) I was thinking of putting it in smaller subcategories like breastfeeding and family health which had over 200 titles and less than a hundred titles respectively. But when I finally uploaded my book on Amazon, I could not find those subcategories in the choices. The only categories I could find which closely matched my book's topic were motherhood and family relationships. I added some keywords hoping that these would help my book get classified in those subcategories. I added breastfeeding, child care, pregnancy, family health, nutrition, parenting and nursing. I was not very optimistic that I would top the subcategories I have chosen even though I'm running a Free Book Promotion for 3 consecutive days. There simply are too many free books competing.     

 

My breastfeeding book landed on this spot on the night of August 1 
and continued to be in that spot as of this writing. 

 

God reminded me however that He can work wonders and miracles! The task of monitoring the performance of my book during this 3-day promotion became more exciting when it started showing in Amazon's Best Sellers List, Top 100 Free. Then, I became more excited as I saw its ranking go up until it hit the Number 1 spot for the subcategory Motherhood. It was surreal!

 

On top of that, it also went up in ranking in another subcategory -- Child Care. It hit the Number 2 spot!

 

 

 

I thought these were already awesome news but my AWESOME GOD also made it possible for my breastfeeding book to hit the Number 3 spot in the bigger category Family Relationships, Number 4 on Parenting and Number 6 in the much bigger category Parenting & Relationships! I believe that only God can make this possible. Looking back, I realized that God really made it happen that way that I could not find the smaller subcategories in the choices as I uploaded my book on Amazon so that He can demonstrate once more His power and glory in my life as an author. I feel so grateful and honored. I thank God for fulfilling my dream, for helping me achieve and even surpass my goal.

 

 

I'm so happy I was able to document these milestones! The first time a book that I authored landed on the Best Seller List, I was not able to take pictures. It happened to my first published title, When My Bridegroom Comes. I wrote it when I was still single and it was in National Bookstores Best Seller List when I first launched it. It also became Number 1 for its category. Sadly, I do not have pictures of that milestone. I was still working full time then as Training Manager in a multinational company. I just learned the news from my mom who was the one checking the displays of my books in the bookstores. One of National Bookstore's staff at SM MOA shared that good news to her while she was going through the bookstores to check my book's performance. At least now, even though I do not have a camera on hand, I was able to take screen shots of my latest book's milestones and document all these here in my blog. :)

 

 

 

There are over 300 downloads already of BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking as of this time. You can still avail of the FREE eBOOK PROMOTION since it will run until tomorrow, August 3. Click here to download your copy.

 

I still have so much to share but I'm feeling tired and sleepy already from all the monitoring and work that I have done in the past days. I promise to share with you more insights, learnings and tips in my upcoming posts. So, make sure you come back or better yet subscribe to my blog.

 

I need to sleep early tonight because tomorrow is the last day in my 3-day book promotion. It will be another busy and exciting day for me.

 

Good night and sweet dreams! May your dreams come true as well! Remember, dreams do come true when you choose to pursue them with God by your side.

 

Breastfeeding Mom On A Mission

I encountered a lot of humps and bumps on the road in my breastfeeding journey with both of my sons. There were many times when I thought of quitting. But I chose not to give up because I knew that achieving my breastfeeding goals for each of them is worth the fight.

 

My boys whom I breastfed 
beyond 2 years old.

I chose not to focus on my bruises as I stumbled along the way. I kept going, got up on my feet after every fall. I fixed my eyes on my end goal and celebrated my short term victories as I achieved them. Before I knew it, I already hit my short term goal (to breastfeed for at least 6 months). I even surpassed my stretch goal (to breastfeed each child for two years).

 

I realized that those difficult years -- when I was still breastfeeding my children and I was going through a number of breastfeeding challenges -- formed my character and strengthened me as a mother. Also, God planted a mission in my heart after I succeeded in achieving my breastfeeding goals for each of my sons. At first I didn’t understand why I had to go through many tests in my breastfeeding journey, especially with my eldest son. Looking back however, I realized that God allowed me to experience those tests because He will eventually use my passing of those tests as my testimony to inspire and empower other moms in their breastfeeding journey.

 

Thus, a dream and a mission were planted in my heart. That God-sized dream was to write and publish a book that will help moms like me to win over their breastfeeding challenges. It was a dream that consumed me with passion for I knew firsthand how difficult it is to persevere in this noble path. I was very grateful to God and to the people who have helped me in one way or another to succeed in this journey. I wanted to pay it forward. I wanted to move from success to significance. I didn't want to be content with enjoying my success and the fruits of my decision to breastfeed my kids. I want to help other breastfeeding moms to be successful as well.

 

By the grace of God, that God-sized dream was fulfilled last year and the paperback edition/print book for BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking was successfully launched January of this year. (You can read about the launch of the paperback edition here.) Aside from sharing my own breastfeeding success story, I also featured the breastfeeding success stories of moms from different walks of life — stay-at-home moms, work-at-home moms, moms working outside the home and mompreneurs. My goal was to help each reader find a story she can relate to and inspire her to persevere as she faces her own challenges. I discussed breastfeeding basics also, which I thought would be most helpful to first-time moms or first-time breastfeeding moms. It's not a technical book. It's a breastfeeding book written by a breastfeeding mom for fellow breastfeeding moms. I wanted it to be very easy to read and understand.

God has moved me though to keep going in this mission. A few months later, I embarked on making an eBook version of my breastfeeding book to be available on Amazon so I can share the inspiration to more families and make a difference in the lives of more children.

 

I made it my goal this year to release the eBook version of BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking before World Breastfeeding Week 2014. Moreover, I scheduled a 3-day book promotion to make the Kindle edition of my book FREE for download on the first three days of World Breastfeeding Week 2014 as my way of supporting it. This is my gift to moms as we celebrate World Breastfeeding Week this year. (Click here to download my gift to you, your FREE copy of my eBook.) This makes this year's World Breastfeeding Week celebration memorable to me. A couple of weeks before the release of my breastfeeding book's Kindle edition, I found out that the theme for this year's World Breastfeeding Week is Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal for Life! My heart skipped a beat after I read this in their website. I felt God affirm me that I made the right decision to work on this book project and to schedule my 3-day book promotion on August 1-3. I was excited to help more breastfeeding moms become winners for life!

 

Photo from my book's Facebook Page.

It's now day 1 of World Breastfeeding Week 2014! My hope and my prayer is that in my own unique way, I would be able to inspire and empower moms all over the world to win over their breastfeeding challenges. I hope that by reading my book, more families would choose to take this path. 

 

Let me close with these lines from my breastfeeding book:

 

Breastfeeding can be challenging.

But in spite of the humps and bumps
on the road,

breastfeeding is a journey
definitely worth taking!

 

HAPPY WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK! 

P.S.
I'm linking this post to the #WBW2014 Blog Carnival hosted by 5 Degrees of Chaos and Handbag Mafia. Hope you can visit the other blogs who joined.