Pumping and holding

When your baby needs to be held she needs to be held. Thanks to my hands free PumpEase band I can pump and hold Elaina on my chest in between my breasts. I just place a cloth diaper on top of the band to cover the clasps and tuck her in under my chin. If I were more well endowed with larger breasts I don't think I could pull this off. Elaina always goes straight to sleep when I hold her like this. I bet the swooshing of the pump sounds a lot like the rushing blood she heard in the womb.

I am just taking breastfeeding one day at a time. It is frustrating that professionally I help moms with the problems I am facing all the time. I have all of the answers to help them and I know how to help myself but theory and practice don't always go hand in hand. Elaina's mouth is so small and I am still sore so we are still having some latch issues. I ordered some of my favorite bottle nipples to help with latch training. I have had a lot of luck with the latex nipples made by Playtex. They are a bit hard to come by. I ordered some off of Amazon instead of running all around town looking for them. I prefer the latex because it is not as stiff as the silicon nipples. Nothing comes close to mom but these seem more natural. They just don't last as long. They are wide and help train little one to use a wider latch and suckle instead of just a lip based suck on the tip of a nipple. They go along with the drop in bottle system. I guess those bottles have a place but I think they are a bit wasteful. I will use them for a little bit till I get Elaina's latch under control

Using a breastpump is not the end of the world....

Elaina has been nursing OK but no matter how hard I try to encourage a good latch I am still sore. My milk has come in really well too. So as a result I decided to pump some. I have a manual pump that was given to me at the hospital. I am hoping to receive a better one from the health department in a month. I was able to pump a little over 3 ounces from both sides. The little bit in the second bottle is what leaked out on the opposite side while I pumped. For a little inspiration I took this picture with some of my Mother figures in the background.

I have been thinking about how promoting pumping can be detrimental to the breastfeeding relationship especially with a newborn. A lot of lactation professionals really discourage pumping so early. (Elaina is only 3 days old.) They believe it just sets up a mom to end the nursing relationship. It can interfere with milk supply and set up a mom to supplement with formula. I do think that does happen with a lot of mothers but I know my body and what I need to succeed at breastfeeding. I am a member of a group on Facebook that consists of moms who pump a lot for their child or are even exclusive pumpers (those who provide all of their child's milk by way of pumping). I joined the group when I was exclusively pumping for Ben for 3 months. The women in this group are awesome. They are very supportive and without them I would have felt so alone. Now I enjoy supporting other moms in the group who are going through what I did. I thought of them as I pumped for the first time for Elaina. Instead of feeling like my body has failed me by having sore nipples I felt empowered. I am not afraid Elaina will forget how to nurse if I offered a bottle. I celebrated the fact that Elaina enjoyed my milk in a bottle and I was able to heal a little. I pumped enough to save a few ounces for a back-up feeding just in case. I like to think of myself as an attached parent but I am not set in stone by black and white AP principles. I use modern gadgets to read books, wash laundry, and yes to help support my breast feeding relationship....

Lactation counseling at the library

I met up with a mama at the library for a lactation session. Her baby is 3 months old and in a few months mom will be going back to work. Little one nurses well but is not taking a bottle and mom is concerned that she will have trouble at daycare when mom goes back to work in a few months. Mom brought in all the bottles and cups she has been trying at home. I showed mom how to offer the nipple like you would a breast. A lot of moms try to put a bottle in a baby's mouth straight. I showed her how to to angle it more towards the roof of her mouth and to get as much of the nipple in her mouth as possible. I think the trick that will work for this family will be to start offering the bottle when little one is happy and not wait till she is starving and only wants mama milk. I am so happy to be able to help moms gain confidence with their breastfeeeding experience. Besides it is fun!!!

The skinny is....

Ben apparently is too skinny. We went to a WIC appointment today and he hasn't grown a whole lot (by their records) in 6 months. His height and weight are proportional. The nutritionist asked me if he had an underlying condition that would account for his slight size. I thought she was kidding there for a minute. She asked if he was on Pedisure. No he is not. She asked if he drinks enough milk. I told her he doesn't care for cow milk too much but yes, he drinks plenty of human milk (from me of course). Ben is a lot heavier than his older brother Evan. Ben weighed 22 pounds and was about 26 inches tall. Everyone comments on his cute cankles and more than adequate thighs. Are you kidding me? Ben is just right!

Breastfeeding in public again?

OK does my backyard count? Ben is 16 months old today and I am so happy to say that he is still breastfeeding and doesn't seem to want to give it up anytime soon. He will drink from an open cup for Dad during the day but mostly he just waits for me to come home to get some "mama's milk". He is still waking up at night to nurse too. Since I am away from him during the day at work I don't mind that unless he just wants to play and not go back to sleep. I am proud of him for learning how to latch at 3 months of age. I was confident in him and my body. I am hoping he will continue to nurse till he is  at least2 years old. We all seem to forget that the medical community recommends nursing a year as the minimum not the maximum of breastfeeding duration.

The stars of the show!

Lyn is seen here holding Seamus. He was the youngest of my friend's kids and still breast feeding so he was along for the ride

I am so proud of my daughter.  I will add to this post..... OK, I am back. All last week I drove from Birmingham, Alabama to Columbus, Georgia every day. A friend of mine and I completed our formal training to become Certified Lactation Counselors. (Well, we took our tests and I am sure we passed.) So pass the word around if you are local and are in the need for support breastfeeding or are pregnant and just have questions. My friend has a website that you can go visit. Mother Nurture is it's name. I can be contacted through this blog if you need support.

Lyn was amazing. She learned a lot by listening to our training. She also grabbed the attention of the employees at the conference center. Of course everyone thought Seamus was her little brother. His mom has long red hair and honestly, Lyn fits in her family really well. I have added a slide show on the side bar to show off our week long training. take a look at the pictures if you like.

Postpartum Nightmares

I saw a show today on Discover Health Channel. It was called Postpartum Nightmares. It greatly disturbed me on several different levels. It showed several mom's stories and their struggles with postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. What bothered me so much was that it was obvious that a lot of the anxiety that led to their depression could have been avoided if they had better birth experiences without interventions, breastfed their babies successfully, and slept with their children. The show actually brought me to tears. Never once when the moms were trying to decrease their PPD were they encouraged by family, friends, or professionals to seek breastfeeding support or to put their babies in bed with them. So much of their anxiety was caused by having children that would not sleep in cribs in other rooms. The mom's actually took medication to make them stop checking on their babies at night. (They kept checking on them to make sure they were breathing.) With all of my 7 kids I was a bit obsessed with that too but all I had to do was listen for my babies's breath as they slept next to me. The whole show made me feel so sorry for those moms and babies. I have had PPD myself and I have even sought help with anti-depressants. I understand the feeling of desperation. I just can't understand not tucking my baby in next to me at night for my own peace of mind. This show was well made but the content was disturbing.

My little nursling

Ben is almost 12 weeks old. I have been pumping most of the time instead of nursing. He nursed most of the time today though. I love this picture because Ben is latched on great but you can see my breast pump in the background. I have been keeping a journal about my breastfeeding journey on another blog. Check it out. A link to it is on the side bar.

Free Book Giveaway

La Leche What?

I went to my first La Leche League meeting today. I have always known about the group and knew they offered a lot of information and support to breastfeeding mothers but I never attended a meeting. I know, I know... what does a mother who has successfully breastfed six children already need with a breastfeeding support group. You never know. I think I went to just be around other mothers to feel a connection with like minded individuals. Now, I think I might actually be able to help a new mom along the way. I plan on going to some more meetings and who knows I may try to be a leader of a new group. There are quite a few under served areas in Alabama that don't have regular groups that meet. This topic leads into what I've been meaning to do for a long time. I have a favorite book about breastfeeding that I want to share. I have a copy that I want t o give away. It is an older book but its format is great. It's simple and the color pictures in it are very helpful. All you have to do to win it is to comment on this post about breastfeeding. I would hope that your comments will be helpful and supportive of breastfeeding. But, I'll welcome any comments. They will be moderated first so don't worry if they don't show up right away. I'll give everyone some time to get some comments in. I will draw a winner Christmas Eve. Here is a description and a link to the book on Amazon.com so you can get a look at what you are trying to win. I have an old reader review on the book listed on Amazon.com when I had just 4 kids. Read at your own risk. Good luck!!!

Breastfeeding Your Baby

by: Sheila Kitzinger

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly

Readers will not be persuaded that a natural, commonplace activity like breastfeeding warrants an illustrated how-to guide, even if, as Kitzinger asserts, "women often lack confidence," and, hence, cause themselves unnecessary difficulties because of nervousness and anxiety. With a simple, short explanatory text and some 200 photographs (approximately 100 in color) of nursing mothers, the author of The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Child birth sets out to dispel fears about breastfeeding and conveys practical advice about positioning the baby, interpreting the baby's sucking rhythms, maternal nutrition and breast care. The most valuable parts of the book, however, are not on honing "technical skills" but those that treat aspects of the intimate communication between mother and baby--during breastfeeding and beyond. Kitzinger encourages the mother to involve the father in the burdens of infant care--as well as the rewards of nurturing--and to link up to a supportive network of women with children who can share both her positive and negative experiences and help her to maintain perspective during the emotional first months of a baby's life. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Nursing Connor

Connor is my third child and my second son. He was born December 21, 2000. This post is about his early breastfeeding adventures. I had already successfully breastfed my older two children. I was confident that I would have minimal difficulties nursing Connor. Connor's delivery was fairly uneventful. I labored as long as I could at home and made it to the hospital in time. As soon as he was born and cleaned up a little bit I put him to the breast. He had no trouble figuring out what do. He was almost a pro from the get go. We went home and continued to enjoy a productive nursing experience for a day or two. Then I noticed I was getting more than sore. No matter what strategy I tried nothing helped. I looked up all kinds of information and read every book I could get my hands on to try to figure out what was wrong. Finally I discovered that Connor had an unusually high palette. The roof of his mouth was so high that he was always pulling unevenly when he nursed. I tried rotating him around for each feeding. I tried to give each side a rest periodically and alternate pumping. My only hope was for him to grow into his high palate. As his mouth got a little bit bigger his seal was more even and everything healed up and we had a good stretch nursing. All of this took about two weeks. When Connor was three weeks Christmas break was over and I had to go back to college. I was one semester from completing my associates degree. I found a daycare that would accept infants 3 weeks old. He was the only baby in his class so he got a lot of attention. I hated to leave him but I did not feel that I had much of a choice at the time. He did well switching from the breast to the bottle. None of my kids ever had the "cursed" nipple confusion. My supply was pretty well established. He usually had mostly breast milk in his bottles. Occasionally he had half formula and half breast milk in his bottles. I did not let this trouble me. I have always felt that any amount of breast milk is better than none. I was waiting for Connor to reach 6 weeks old so that I could move him to his brother and sister's daycare. They did not accept children till that age. It was a fairly decent daycare and I was comfortable having the kids attend. Right before Connor was set to move to his new daycare a new nursing dilemma arose. Connor had thrush. This is a yeast infection that invades mucus membranes such as the mouth. Well, during breastfeeding Connor transferred this infection to his mama. And so the cycle began. I figured I needed to be aggressive to break this cycle. Creams just didn't cut it. My doctor and Connor's doctor both prescribed us an oral anti-fungal medication, (fluconazole). We ended up having to take four doses to knock it out. By now Connor was 6 weeks old. My milk supply was steady. School was going well and Connor was thriving. He was a chubby little boy. I always tell moms to be and new moms that ask that it usually takes a good solid 6 weeks to get to know your nursing baby and establish a good breastfeeding relationship. Connor was my most challenging beginning nurser but we enjoyed a good run till he was 11 months old.