Crazies...

Do people ever comment on your choice to breast feed. Sometimes I wish they would keep there opinions to themselves!
Yes: I do breast feed
Yes: My baby is almost one
No: I don't think its weird!
No: I don't care about the sacrifices I make to breast feed my child....
If your ignorant to the benefits of breast feeding and make comments without doing your research, please keep them to yourself! I hope this hits home with other moms experiencing the same thing. Its our choice, and personal preference to breast feed. Not to mention the benefits to the baby, the amount of money you'll save. I don't know how many times I've been asked, Isn't your son too old to still be breastfeeding, isn't it weird for you, aren't you getting tired of pumping. Well the answers are no hes not too old since my goal was to do it for his first year of life. No its not weird hes my child, I created him. And Yes I am tired of being hooked to a pump, but Ill do it until we've reached our goal!
So this is to all those mommies looking, needing support.... You've got it here.

Inching towards that one year mark!

I will be celebrating when my son crosses over the one year mark and is still breastfeeding! To me that was my goal I set out the day he was born. Inn actuality its probably a little longer than that, to transition him to cows milk, but all in all I'll be a happy camper!

Many people don't understand the stress, commitment, patience and determination it takes to breast feed for a year while maintain a full time job. That's why a support system is so important. Reach out to mom's who have accomplished it already. Ask what worked for them and not.

One of the best tips I ever got was to create a "Special Bag" for my 2 year old to have when I was breastfeeding on my maternity leave. What a wonderful idea! Its a bag that is always in sight but out of reach full of toys that your child can only play with while feeding your other child. It takes the negative out of situation all together. The key to the whole thing is to make sure when your done breastfeeding the special bag goes away. I kept mine on top of our fridge...

Mommies helping everyone! Whose helping mom?

Being a mom most of the time has its rewards. But sometimes when everyone's sleeping and your the last one to sleep and the first one up, it makes you think.....whose helping me? We know that when we signed up for this job we wouldn't get the thanks deserved for a long time, or maybe never. But we don't do it for the thanks.... We do it because it's our job, and we want to do it! Whatever it takes to make our household run smooth and whatever is best for our kids. That's why we choose to breastfeed too!
How do you make pumping a quick and efficient task? A couple ideas for you are, stick to your babies schedule.
Use a double pump.
When pumping, focus on pumping.

Give yourself some mommy time too! We sometimes forget just a little time to ourselves is all it takes to have a fresh look out on the day!

Lack of support the workplace

Why is there no support for breast feeding moms who are working. Breast feeding is becoming more common every day that passes. With the hospitals no instituting lactation consultants, teaching classes, and educators on the benefits of choosing this, why haven't all employers followed suit?

Yes there may be a few companies that truly support this movement for the right reasons, but most's attitudes are just to put up with it. And that's just a shame. If companies would take the stand of building a healthy country, community and employee staff, they should realize that this is where it starts.

Breast feeding babies their first year of life has monumental benefits that out-weigh any argument. An employer should support this choice and embrace it. But for most its a daily struggle to get in pump time at work, and not feel guilty about the time. Its a hassle to remind your employer what lawfully is required to provide as a comfortable space to pump. Its an extra strain on mom's sleep habits to choose to nurse. But in the end its all worth it!

Learn your states requirements for your self and know you always have a choice

Supply getting low?

It is very normal to go through surges and dips in your milk supply throughout the time your breast feeding. We all have to realize that its our own actions as well as the food we eat to the amount of water we consume that will effect our supply. You may notice that when your baby changes sleeping habits your supply may dip or surge for a few days before auto correcting itself.
If your experiencing a large decrease in your milk supply there are a couple quick questions to ask yourself. One: am I getting lazy at pumping frequently. Skipping pumping hurts your milk production. Two: am I consuming enough water? Especially if your a person who exercises frequently. Three: have you not been sleeping? Lack in sleep will decrease your ability to produce milk. Four: are you eating enough?
Your milk supply will not return immediately. It'll take a good week to recover completely.

If your experiencing a surge in milk. Take advantage of the situation by pumping and storing the extra milk. Even though you may be greeting sore more often it's good to build a frozen supply just in case of a future dip in supply.

This should bring you back to the days in school when you talked about supply and demand. And its no truer than right here with your production of milk. The last feeding of the night your body will read what youll need to make for the next day. So try to not skip this feeding. If you need a boost in milk add another feeding in around this time to double up.

Is Pumping a Chore?

I feel like sometimes taking my pump and throwing it out the 9th floor window of my office! I love what breastfeeding does for my children. And will continue to breastfeed them til age 1. But I wish i didn't have to pump.

Maybe its not the pump that frustrates me, maybe its the constant repetition of being hooked to a machine, every three to four hours. Its very different than actually breastfeeding...but your shooting for the same result. (milk for food, and in this case your bottles for the next day) At first its not that bad... but eventually it becomes that annoying black bag, that makes that quietly annoying sound that you have to pack for work with everything else... yeah you said it, its just irritating!

In all seriousness though. How do you make your pumping time the most efficient.
First: Relax... sometimes hard to do if your in a work setting. (each state has different laws defining a comfortable setting.)

Second: Bring a picture of your baby with you to focus on the task at hand.

Third: Make sure you are hydrated... people forget that water is super important while breastfeeding.

Fourth: Match your schedule to your babies. Pumping when your babies due for a bottle keeps both of you in a routine.

Fifth: Using a double pump, can decrease time you need to take to pump. (I like only one at a time though, i believe i get more milk that way)

Time is a big deal for most! So making pumping quick, easy and efficient is the key.

Water anyone?

How many of us actually track and focus on the amount of water we are in-taking during breastfeeding?

Answer: Probably not many!

Water is so important in my experience to producing an adequate amount of milk. It also is the most overlooked! We watch what we are eating, we limit our consumption of alcohol, we watch when we eat products that contain or drink caffeine. So why not Water?
I think its just an assumed easy drink that we take for granted. I have found you should be doubling the amount you would normally be drinking in a normal day if you are breast feeding.
If you are a person who exercise, you in-take of water should increase even more!

So the Focus this weekend is WATER! So drink up!

Super mom

More likely than not your a working mom, whose trying to fit everything on your todo list for the week into just that... the week! I don't know about you but I'm barley getting everything done. from cleaning the house, doing laundry, grocery shopping, to quality time with the kids, time with the spouse, time for me, cooking dinner, actually getting my 40 hrs a week in, and I'm sure theres stuff I missed. Not to mention, having to work in pumping time for my little one. I think I'm going to give moms like me a new name.... SUPER MOM! People forget how tedious it is and how much focus you need to breasts feed for more than a couple months. You need to know your daily timing, work in pumping at work, know when and what will be needed for you baby the next day. So I think super mom is a fitting name for us moms. We are juggling everything and should be giving a title to reflect it!
So to all you super moms out there... Keep up the good work, and good job! What your doing is a selfless act for your little darling!

Any Man of Mine!

What does it take to get to one year of Breastfeeding? A lot of support and understanding from the man in your life. I have to say my husband is very good about trying to understand the in's and out's of making it to the one year mark of breast feeding. The emotional roller-coaster that I'm on... the night feedings and the lack of hormones that us as breastfeeding moms will have.
Even though they may not fully understand the inner workings its the effort and empathy that is truly appreciated. Dads sometimes don't get enough credit being the supporting role in breastfeeding? This post is dedicated to those husbands, boyfriends, spouses, partners that support us and our choice to breastfeed.

Is Working..... Working?

Many of use get to that point after we have kids that we think to ourselves is working in the workplace really worth it? Here's a couple ways to see if your on the right path... Maybe its a choice, maybe its a need -- where do you fall?
One of the biggest concerns is can we make ends meet with only one income? Learning how to calculate you debt-to-income ration is important for your household.
http://www.ehow.com/how_7226_calculate-debt-income.html

http://hffo.cuna.org/12433/article/316/html
If you follow the above links it'll walk you through the easy way to do that!

Another concern is what to do when the kids go to school and how to get back into the work field. Many people think taking off so much time, they will have to start at the bottom and work there way up.

Who will be watching your kids if you are not? In-Home or out of home nanny service, daycare, grandparents, or relative? Which is the better fit for your family. Every choice has positives and negatives attached to it.

Can you work part-time or flex time? If you've been at your position or company for a while, sometimes they will let you work a flex schedule or part time hours to accommodate your families schedule.

Can you or your spouse handle the demands of staying home? Staying home is an unpaid full time job, that never gets as much credit as it deserves!!!

Smarter than the average parent!

I feel like babies are so much smarter than us as parents! Especially when it comes to transitioning them from breast feeding to bottle feeding. If your a working mom you know the feeling of needing your baby to take kindly to a bottle. And when it doesn't happen, true panic sets in!

"Ever think about what would happen if your maternity leave runs out and your vacation and personal days are all used up, and baby will not take a bottle?" Then what???


Start the transition as soon as your infant is nursing well. Obviously you want to avoid nipple confusion, so let your newborn get the hang of it first. But don't wait to long to introduce a bottle, you might get into a tough situation. I've talked to some moms, where they never actually made the transition. They went from breast to sippy. Some babies just wont take the bottle! Where others first try and they got it.

Positions???

What position works best for you when you are breast feeding? Is it Cross-cradle, Cradle, Football hold or the Side-lying position. Every baby is unique and different as to there preference.

So if we know what position works for breast feeding, then what position should you bottle feed in?

Try holding the baby in a different position than you would breast feed him/her in. If that doesn't work, try facing the baby outwards and bring the bottle around to the front of babies face. This part of the equation can be tricky when trying to introduce a bottle. If baby has been fighting you on taking a bottle try to catch them right when they are waking up from a nap.. and still a little groggy... give a bottle then... and see if that helps!

GOOD LUCK

It's hard to keep focused pumping during the holidays

With so much happening during the holidays, its so hard to make time to pump. At work you have your year winding down. Holiday parties! and more holiday parties..... shopping, wrapping, celebrating! Its just a busy time. Its OK to use some of your storage but don't forget that if you don't keep pumping consistent, your body reads that as a lower demand for milk. In turn your body produces less! We've all been there where we are struggling to pump enough for the next days bottles! Here are some tips to help with your time management:
- Make a schedule and stick to it. -- eventually this becomes second nature if you stick to it
- Put an extra feeding in at night before bed, to help with better production, if you've missed a feeding or two during the day.
- Keep taking your prenatal! (don't get lazy here)
- Don't skimp on your pumping time.
- Understand that if your milk production drops its a good week to two weeks of hard work on your part to get it back up.

Who should be giving the bottle.

There's a saying that your baby can sense you up to 20 feet away! I don't know how true that is, but I do know that when we started giving my son a bottle if I was any where around, he refused and held out for the real deal. There are a couple things you can do, to better your chances on baby taking a bottle. First have someone else give the bottle. A spouse, family member, even a future caregiver. Any one other than mom. Some moms end up having to leave the room or even the house entirely the first couple of times. Eventually once your baby gets the hang of taking a bottle you (mom) can start to give the bottle. Don't forget though if you are using expressed milk, you cannot forget to keep your breast stimulated and producing. (your milk production is like supply and demand, so if your not demanding it supply will decrease.) this will make a tough week to work on getting production back up.

The ABC's about bottle feeding expressed milk

Baby Bottle Nipples

There are two things most nipples are made from. One is silicone the other is latex and they come in various shapes. They also have different "flow rates," which correspond to the size of the nipple's hole. The flow rate will correspond with your babies age and or the way he/she eats.

2. Make sure you sterilize all your bottles

When using your bottles for the first time, sterilize them in a pot of boiling water for 5- 10 minutes. washing bottle after that initial sterilization is easy.. you can soak the bottles and nipples with detergent and hot water, or in the dishwasher.

3. Breast Milk or Formula that's it!

Avoid water or juice in a bottle. Your baby really only needs pumped breast milk or formula. For folks who are intermixing formula with breastfeeding, make sure your reading the directions carefully.

4. Warming Expressed Milk

Remember never to put your breast-milk in the microwave... it'll kill all the nutrients! Rather take your frozen milk and place it in warm water and let it thaw that way.


5. Avoid overfeeding...

A few signs that your baby is done eating will be: They will turn away from the bottle, stop sucking, or may even refuse the bottle and push it away. Once the baby starts to give you these signs, he/she is most likely finished.


6.How Long Can You Store Breast Milk?
Here are some general guidelines from La Leche League
- at room temperature (66-78°F, 19-26°C) for 4 hours (ideal), up to 6 hours (acceptable)(Some sources use 8 hours)
- in a refrigerator (<39°F, <4°C) for 72 hours (ideal); up to 8 days (acceptable)
- in a freezer (-0.4 to -4°F, -18 to -20°C) for 6 months (ideal) up to 12 months (acceptable)

Shooting for the one year mark!

How long do you plan to breastfeed? One month? Three months? Nine months? One year? This becomes increasing more difficult while trying to keep the normalcy in your life. I.E. - Work, Family, Me time if there is any thing to spare. Here are a few tips to try to keep you on the right path to hitting your breastfeeding goal. For starters make sure you are still taking your pre-natal pill! This is super important because your body is working overtime to replenish your milk supply all day. This also helps women avoid osteoporosis later in life.

WATER WATER & more WATER.
If your not hydrating yourself your milk supply may be suffering. Try staying conscious of what your drinking and how much. If you notice your supply is low for the day there are a few quick tricks that can be triggering the low production. (as long as your stimulating the breast every 3 -4 hours) With many women its easy to over look something as simplistic as water... but keep focused on hydrating yourself its super important! And even more so if your a person who workouts. You just have to pay more attention to your caloric intake along with your water intake. Make sure your getting enough to replenish your body and your milk supply. The first thing that will suffer when your body is tired is your production.

How much are you eating?
Well every person is different! I know that I am more hungry now breastfeeding than I ever was pregnant. Listen to your body and its demands! You need more to keep your body working the way it should!

Fenugreek is a herb that is said for Increasing Milk Supply. Ive never used it personally but I've heard this helps a little.
Some herbs are linked to decreasing milk supply in nursing mothers. Here are a few of the top ones listed:Black Walnut, Chickweed,Herb Robert,Lemon Balm,Oregano,Spearmint,Thyme,Peppermint,Parsley,Sage,Periwinkle Herb,Sorrel, and Yarrow.

The most important thing is to listen to your body! If your craving something... eat it, your body probably needs it. Drink tons of water and sleep as much as you can.

Many women struggle with transitioning baby from breast to bottle, take the MillionMomsChallenge, join the movement!

There are many factors that contribute to the struggle with transitioning baby from breast to bottle.
Here is why this is a growing situation that needs clarity.
1. Increase in Breast-feeding friendly hospitals and more and more careers in the lactation field. There are more moms than ever nursing today! This is such a good thing…
They can help get baby latched and eating. But who help’s get baby unlatched from mommy?
2. More and more moms return to the work force each year, to help support their family. The need to transition smoothly without giving up the right of using your own breast milk is growing with abundance.
My family struggled for a full two months before we had any success. Our daughter was a superstar with the bottle, first try, and she had it. So we just assumed our son would be the same. We were mistaken. 8 weeks later were at the same point we were day one... lots of different bottles, even more choices of different nipples and no success. After our trials and tribulation, if we can make this transition easier for parents and put a guide together on different things to try then we have won. Part of the confusion was getting different advice or tips on what to try.

3. There are many benefits to nursing, and moms just assume going from breast to bottle is a problem free transition. And for some this is! But for many there are many hurdles and roadblocks to over come.
Understanding that every baby is different and what works for one doesn't work for the other, but if we can compile a great set of guidelines and suggestions, along with a system, hopefully success for your family is also right around the corner.

4. When mom takes extended leave up (more than the six to eight weeks given.) Baby becomes much more attached and comforted by breastfeeding. Many babies have to relearn how to eat/suck because its a different movement for the breast than it is for the bottle.
Mom wants a break, dad wants to help and both do not get what they desire until baby is well adjusted to the bottle.

5. This is a big frustration in many households, lets all support each other and give tips on to what worked for you...

When introducing a bottle it cannot resemble breastfeeding

When introducing the bottle, everything should be different!
Different Room
Different Chair
Different Person
Different Position
Different Everything!

If your baby is refusing the bottle change it up! Anything that might slightly resemble breastfeeding may cause them to refuse and hold out for what they really want. Babies are some times smarter than us. If you have a daycare/nanny set up for when you are returning to work try feeding the bottle there. Get your baby accustomed to where they will be taking the bottle. And if your baby doesn't take the bottle on the first, second or fiftieth try try keeping it as positive as you can.

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Picking out a bottle and introducing

Which bottle is which? ! Baby stores are ripping us off, it's a money pit for moms and dads!

After a month of trying I stood in a very prominent baby store and the sales woman said to me have you tried all the bottles on the wall? With the look of defeat I said yes. Since she had nothing else to sell me, she had no more advise to give.

--- Where do you go when everything else has failed? We went back to our original choice of bottles. Our trusty steed: Dr Brown's this is what worked for my daughter why was my son so different.

Always switching bottles and not being consistent in my opinion was one of the problems. He'd start sucking on one and then his tongue would get in the way, and then cry and cry and cry. Or he just wanted mom instead of any bottle. Babies are smart, sometimes smarter than us. They know what they want, and its not the bottle!

Here's a list of the major players both bottle and nipple choices:

1) Dr. Brown's (my personal choice)

They offer the Standard bottle, wide-neck, and glass. I like this bottle because of the Internal Vent System. Both my children took to this bottle the best.

2) Philips AVENT

3) Playtex

4) Nuk (orthodontic nipple has had good reviews)

5) Soothie – just like the binkies from the hospital

6) Tommee Tippee

7) First Years – breastflow bottle, has gotten many positive reviews from parents

8) EvenFlo

9) MAM

10) Born Free

11) Green Sprouts

12) Think Baby

All bottles have their positives and negatives. No matter what you choose be confident.

 Try to get your baby acquainted with whatever bottle you choose early, but seeing it, touching it way before you ever are going to use it.  

What is your preferred bottle and why?

LIQUID GOLD! Building a milk supply to work with

Once you and your baby have become comfortable with breastfeeding, that's a great time to start thinking ahead. I was much quicker to start pumping for a storage supply with my second child than my first. When you have an ample supply to work with whether its to try to transition to a bottle or to let dad take a feeding all are great. It allows you as mom to have a little more flexibility once baby has fully transitioned over to the bottle. I found that when my son struggled to take a bottle I felt helpless to have any sort of independence at all. That three hour window closes quickly when breast feeding a newborn, taking care of other children, taking care of your daily obligations and pumping. There never seemed to be enough time in the day. Here are some tips to pump less and get a bigger supply. It takes organization and effort, but can be done with one pump a day!

I found the best time to pump was in the morning one hour after that first feeding. My body had a surplus from the evening hours and was rested enough to replenish its supply quickly. Timing can be tricky those first couple of weeks (especially if your baby starts cluster feeding) Here was a schedule that worked for me: 1st feeding 4am, 7am then pump between 8 - 8:15 (FREEZE and label with ounces and date) feed at 10am so on and so forth.

Get a storage container to freeze bags flat so you can fit more in and organize it by date. This is very helpful, so you know which ones to use first before they expire. Thats a lot of hard work to throw out!

When dividing your milk into storage bags, you can split into 2/3/4 oz each. This also helps to provide baby with as much or little as they need in those early feedings. 
(do not use regular freezer bags, get the specialized bags made for human milk.)

Get a good pump! I use the Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breastpump - On-the-Go Tote
and absolutely love it!

This is one item i would tell you to spend the money on. It makes all the difference in the world when pumping is simple.
HINT: many hospitals offer pumps at a discounted rate so call and check!

The workplace and Breast feeding.

When working moms can continue breastfeeding, its a winning situation for all involved! (Babies have fewer illnesses, mothers have fewer days off to care for their infants, and companies benefit as well)


But How do you do this? And Have you even thought about how your going to transition your baby from breast to bottle effectively and before your maternity leave runs out! This issue is near and dear to many moms, especially when our little bundles of joy don't take kindly to a bottle. As the population of mom's in the workplace increase, this issue is also on the rise. 
I personally had a 8 week battle with my son before he would even consider a bottle. My family spent so much money on different types of bottles and nipples nothing worked.


This blog will address everything from the good to the bad about breastfeeding and the transition to the bottle.
GOOD LUCK ~ Feel free to comment and submit experiences the more moms that pitch in to help, the better!