Bra's

• Where and when should you get a bra? You want to wait close to delivery before getting a bra, but you don't want to wait too long, and find that you went into labor before you had a chance to get a bra.
• I got sized at Victoria Secret. I just knew they had friendly service. It made me feel even more relief when I went in, and one of the workers was pregnant too. I didn't actually get a bra that day. I really wanted a nursing bra, and Victoria Secret doesn't have them.
  
• I went to get sized for a bra 3 weeks before I went in to have each of my babies.
• Once I knew what size I needed, and what brand(s) I liked, I happily shopped from the comfort of my own home at Break Out Bras. They have free shipping, good prices and a lot of selection!
• The only thing I don't like is their website design.
  

Engorged?

• I remember a few days after I got home from the hospital after Mica's birth I had engorged breasts. I was even running a low grade temp.
  
• Being a new mom, I had no idea what to do.
• At the time I saw this as a negative thing. Now I know that it was a positive because my body was trying to tell me that I was indeed producing milk.
• I called my mom who is a nurse that nursed two children herself, and Mica's pediatrician for advice.
• The BEST thing you can do is to nurse frequently, and if your baby isn't hungry pump in small intervals. I found it worked best for me to pump for 5 to 10 min. and then nurse. Pumping first would soften the areola, and allow Mica to latch better.
• Cold packs help relieve the pain and swelling.
  
• I had to wake Mica up to nurse every 2 hours to prevent engorgement. He was a very sleepy baby.
  

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, Chery Chip Lactation Cookies

• I know a long name for one of my favorite cookies!
  
• Trust me they are delicious!
  
• This recipe is great for mothers who are nursing.
  
• It helps to keep your milk supply up and/or increase your milk supply. Use more brewers yeast and oatmeal if you are wanting to increase your supply.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup butter
2. 1/2 cup sugar
3. 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4. 4 tablespoons water
5. 2 tablespoons flax seed
6. 2 eggs
7. 1 teaspoon vannilla
8. 2 cups flour
9. 1 teaspoon baking soda
10. 1 teaspoon salt
11. 2 1/2 cups oats
12. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (Optional)
    
13. 1/2 cup chocolate chips
14. 1/2 cup cherry chips (you can substitute with more chocolate chips if you'd like)
    
15. 3 tablespoon brewer's yeast

Directions

1. Preheat the over to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the flax seed and water, let sit for 3 to 5 min.
3. Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar well.
4. Add eggs and mix well.
5. Add flaxseed mix and vanilla, beat well.
6. Sift together flour, brewers yeast, baking soda, and salt.
7. Add dry ingredients to butter mix.
8. Stir in oats, chips and walnuts.
9. Scoop onto baking sheet.
10. Bake for 12 minutes.
11. Let set for a couple minutes then remove from cookie sheet or baking stone.

Disney's Efforts

• I was really happy to run across this article about Walt Disney animal experts and their efforts to ensure mother-child bonding between animals.
• Being a mother and a child once, I feel that it's so important to have someone to look up to! I feel that other animals should be able to build a bond with each other as well.
• Let nature take its course.
  

Matching with Your Newborn

• Old Navy has the cutest sets for mom and baby!
• They are not expensive either $32.50 for everything pictured: Pj's for mom, gown and hat for baby, and a little bag for everything to fit into!
  
• These adorable sets only come online.
  
• I bought one that was different colors (blue and white striped) because I bought it 2 years ago.
  
• I loved how the baby's gown had extra fabric by the hands that flipped over, so that my baby Isaak didn't scratch is face.
• The pajama shirt for mom is a nursing shirt.
  

Cover Up While Nursing

• My younger sister did nurse in public many times. She had a cover up that looked somewhat like:
  

• People would come up, ask to see the baby and she'd just say, "Oh he's sound asleep". She was actually nursing. I was envious that she could nurse without anyone knowing.
  
• I once asked my sister, "If you were me, would you have nursed in public?" She said, "No".
  
• She knows I had problems latching in the beginning, and active babies towards the end of nursing.
  

In Regards to the Previous Post

• I have no problem with people nursing in public.
  
• I have never felt comfortable nursing around people myself. I have nursed in front of family, and the Baby and Me Group that I went to.
• I would have been more open minded towards nursing in public if I did not have so many struggles in the beginning. It was just so hard latching both of my newborns. I really had to see what I was doing.
• When both of my babies got older, they were too active to nurse in the public eye.
• If you are someone who is like me and feels uncomfortable nursing in the public eye...dressing rooms in the mall work great to sneak into. Many malls also have a Mother's Room outside the restrooms.
  
• Sometimes I'd just pump before hand, and give my baby a bottle in public.
  

What Would You Do?

Nursing Bracelets

• There are a lot of nursing bracelet's on the market.
  
• They are an excellent idea! Really any bracelet will work. You just switch arms to know which breast to start on for the next feeding. Believe me, it's easy to forget!
  
• The first few weeks you can nurse on one side the whole feeding. Then you switch sides for the next feeding.
• When they get a little older and are nursing more, you'll want to switch sides during one single feeding.
  

• I really like the Milk Bands Nursing Reminder Bracelets that are sold at Mom4Life!
• They are great because they maintain an accurate log of their baby's feeding time. This would of been so great for doctor appointments. The nurse always asked me, "How much does he eat?" I was always like, "Humm?"
• A side indicator lets the mother know which breast should be used when starting a feeding session by simply flipping the Milk Band inside-out once during every nursing session.
• A time tracking device is included, which can be used for many different purposes including:

1. Record single feeding sessions to the nearest 5 minute increment
2. Record multiple feeding sessions over a full day period
3. Record the number of times the baby fed in one day
4. Record the number of diapers a baby soiled during the day
5. Reminding the mother what time the baby last fed
6. Reminding the mother roughly what time the baby is due for another feeding

Getting Pregnant and Sex while Nursing

• Topics that many are afraid to discuss.
  
• There is a myth that breastfeeding its self is birth control. You can get pregnant while nursing, but it is harder to get pregnant since a woman's cycle is not consistent.
  
• A woman's sex drive can be lacking while nursing. I have to admit that I loved not having a period for a long while, but I was not in the mood for sex at all. There were many factors that can lead to a low sex drive.
  

1. Nursing its self and being on the pill both change your hormones.
   
2. Many woman are scared of having sex after for the first few times after giving birth. I had two c-section's. It burned when I had sex.
3. There's also the lack of sleep. Your husband may get up with you to help out in the middle of the night, but you're the one staying up to nurse, and you are literally getting your energy sucked out of you.
   
4. You are also busy with taking care of a new little person.
   

• The crazy thing is that the boy's pediatrician talked to us more about having a low sex drive, when my OB doctor didn't even mention it.
• Talk to your husband. It may be hard to do, but you have to talk about the issue.
  

Period.

• I got my period a few month after my oldest son Mica was born. Then it was another few months before I had another one. With Isaak I didn't get a single period until he was 5 or 6 months old.
• Breastfeeding causes hormonal changes leading to the lack of menstruation, or to irregular bleeding.
  
• Nursing and getting or not getting a period varies from woman to woman.
  
• Birth control can tamper with your cycle as well. Talk to your OB doctor about what birth control pills to go on while nursing.
  

Do You Need to Take Prenatal Vitamins When You are Nursing?

• It is a good idea to take prenatal vitamins during the first 2 to 3 months of breastfeeding. I was told to keep taking prenatal vitamins with my youngest, but not with my oldest.
• With my oldest I took a Woman's One a Day vitamin. You should continue to take of woman's vitamin after you are done taking prenatal vitamins.
  
• This makes sure you're getting essential vitamins and minerals. Most women can get all necessary vitamins and minerals if they are eating a well-balanced diet.
  
• But that can be hard to do when you're taking care of a baby, a home, perhaps another kid and career as well.
• Iron is the main mineral women lack. Women who give birth lose quite a lot during delivery and loose blood every month when they menstruate.
  
• Also, you need a lot of calcium a day when nursing. You need about what you'd get in three 8-ounce glasses of milk. It can be hard to get that much calcium from food.
  
• Even prenatal supplements contain only about 200 mg of calcium, so you still need to drink your milk, calcium-fortified orange juice, and eat dairy products such as yogurt, cottage cheese and cheese.

Micro-Steam Bags

• Another great new product! This is the Medela Quick Clean Micro-Steam Bags.
• You just place your pump parts and bottles in one of these reusable bags with some filtered water, seal the bag and place it in the microwave for less then 3 min.
• It works better then cleaning your parts in the dishwasher, or boiling water to steam clean them.
• Eliminates 99.9% of all harmful bacteria and germs from most breast pump parts and feeding accessories.
  

Pump Wipes

• I wish I would of known about pump and accessory wipes when I was pumping with both of my babies.
  
• This new product would of been so handy while pumping at work!
• It cleans Breastshields, Valves and Membranes.
• It's Alcohol-Free, Bleach-Free and Scent-Free.

Ending the Pacifier

• It really annoys me when I see kids that can talk clearly, and still suck on a pacifier.
  
• I guess the same could be said about nursing, but I feel nursing is natural. It still gives your child antibodies to fight off colds.
• I got rid of the pacifiers as soon as my kids started throwing them out of their crib. I saw it as a sign that they were done with them.
  
• The same goes with potty training. If a kid starts to wiggle and be difficult with getting their diaper changed, they are probably ready to start potty training.
  
• I don't go by an age with these things. I simply try to read my child's cues.

Starting the Pacifier

• I waited to start my babies on a pacifier until they were well established nursers.
  
• Breastfeeding requires a baby to use more muscles in their face to complete the task then sucking on a bottle or pacifier does.
  
• If they are introduced too early with an artificial nipple, they may get lazy and go on a nursing strike.
  
• Don't get me wrong...I owe a lot to pacifiers. They were great when Mica had to get an MRI, and couldn't nurse all morning long. They are a soother. Just don't start them too early.
• What pacifier do you get?
  
• I really wish I would of known about the Raz Baby Keep it Kleen pacifier! It closes before it drops on the floor!
  
  
  
• I always wondered if Isaak might of gotten his meningitis from his binky. I don't know for sure how he got it. This is just a guess.
  

Sibling's Role

• I was really nervous about what to expect with a newborn baby, and having a toddler at the same time.
• With nursing it wasn't so bad. My oldest, Mica and I did a lot of reading. We read, while Isaak nursed.
  
• I showed Mica where the spit up rags were, and he'd get me them when I needed one.
• Mica was pretty apprehensive when it came to his new baby brother. I had to teach him how to touch Isaak softly.
  
• He tried giving him his binky when Isaak was old enough to take one. Mica would put it in Isaak's mouth upside down. Isaak didn't seem to care.
  

Daddy's Help

• One thing that I've heard some people say about breast feeding, "I really wish I could of breast fed, but I wanted Daddy to share some responsibility and be able to bond with the baby as well."
  
• A breast fed baby can bond with the father. It may be a different type of bond, but everyone bonds in different ways.
• Some of the things my husband did to help out are:
  

1. He got me drinks of water while I was nursing.
2. He changed diapers.
3. He fixed some meals while I was nursing.
4. He burped the baby.
   
5. He cuddled with the baby.
   
6. When the baby was old enough Daddy gave him bottles during the day while I was at work.
   

• These are all important things.
• I really would of had more trouble nursing if it were not for all my husband's help.
  

Ever Been Walked in on While Pumping?

• I have been walked in on while pumping at work and in the hospital.
  
• In the hospital I was sort of ok with being walked in on. There really wasn't any other room besides the hospital room I could go to pump for my newborns, and when my babies were sick. Hospital staff just seem ok with stuff like that.
  
• But when it happened at work I was embarrassed!
• We have no rooms with locks on them at work. I made a sign that said, "This room is in use, Please do not open. Come back in about 15 min." It was in bold big letters, and hung right by the door handle.
  
• Being a teacher, I know people don't always read before they do things. Sure enough I was walked in on twice. Luckily I had my back to who opened the door. One time I had nearly a whole tour get lead into the room I was pumping. Luckily the admission's rep saw I was in there before she lead them into the room.
• My answer to getting privacy at work if there are no locks on the doors, get a door stop. Put it in the door from the inside, so it stops people from coming in. A co-worker actually gave me this idea when I was complaining about getting walked in on. Most work places have them already. I just grabbed one from work, and put it in the outside pocket of my pump bag. I almost got walked in on one more time, but the door stop, stopped them from coming in.
  

Breastfeeding Ads

• These are by far my favorite breastfeeding ad's.
  
• I love how they are subtle, yet get the message across.
  

It Says, Breastfeed for six months. Help reduce your child's risk for ear infections.

It Says, Breastfeed for six months. You help reduce your child's risk for childhood obesity.

It Says, Breastfeed for six months. Help reduce your child's risk for respiratory illness.

• These ad's were put out by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• At the end of each ad it says, Call 800-994-WOMAN or visit www.4woman.gov to learn more. Or talk to your healthcare provider.
  Babies were born to be breastfed.
  

Live Chat

• I got this email from Medela about a live chat with a lactation counselor.
  
• The information is below if anyone is interested:
  

Medela is partnering with the Office of Women's Health in support of National Women's Health Week (May 9-15) and will be hosting a free live chat with lactation counselor Julie Hamilton on Thursday, May 13 at 11:30 a.m. EST via a toll-free number.

Julie Hamilton hails from Nashville, Tenn., and, in addition to recently earning her certificate in lactation counseling, is a mother of three breastfed children, including 21-month-old twins who are still nursing. Experienced in breastfeeding and pumping (at home and at work), Julie works in her community to help other mothers successfully breastfeed. As Mrs. Nashville, Julie works to spread the message of breastfeeding preparedness and is dedicated to helping moms and babies have successful breastfeeding experiences.

If you're interested in joining this live chat, please email medela@mommavens.com with the subject line "MMM Live Chat." Include your name and any questions you'd like to pose ahead of the call. We will provide dial-in information closer to the live chat date.

Have a pregnant or breastfeeding friend who'd appreciate advice from an experienced mom? Invite her to join the call, too! We welcome any and all breastfeeding questions. Our goal is to help you (and your friends!) successfully breastfeed. We look forward to seeing you there!

Regards,

The Medela Mom Mavens Team

Hair Loss, Is it Caused By Breastfeeding?

• The answer is no. It is caused by changes in a new mom's hormones.
  
• During pregnancy, changes in your hormone levels cause your hair to stay in a resting phase, so hair loss is less. You may have noticed that your hair seemed thicker maybe even shinier than usual.
  
• After you've given birth and your hormones have settled down, usually at about 12 weeks after birth, hair shifts into a shedding phase. It was alarming to me to put my fingers through my hair, and have hair come out by the handful.
• You start to lose your hair about the same time your baby loses his or her hair.
  
• Normally, you lose about 100 to 125 hairs a day. After delivery, you may be losing about 500 a day. This may be alarming, but you will not go bald.
• I had what I called, "Baby Hair" grow back. It started growing back when I noticed my babies hair was growing back.
  

Do You Have a Gassy Baby? I Certainly Did!

• My oldest was my gassy baby.
  
• Again...try and sit them up a lot like I mentioned in my previous post.
  
• Some people say they are gassy because of what the mom is eating. I've heard that's a rumor, and then I've heard it's true. If you have a kid that has to stay off of any cow's milk then yes you should watch what you eat for the first year of their life.
• With Mica we discovered gas drops a little too late.
  

• We massaged Mica's belly ever so gently to work out the gas. This really helped!
  

Do You Have a Spitty Baby? I Certainly did!

• Why do babies spit up? The most common reason is that they have an under-developed esophageal valve that doesn't function as it should when pressure is placed on the tummy or the baby is in a flat-lying position.
• My oldest Mica wasn't a spitter. He kept his milk down for the most part.
• My youngest Isaak was another story. I actually called him, "Mr. Spits" for awhile.
  
• Just about every time he ate, he spit up.
• Isaak's pediatrician told us not to worry about it, as long as the spit up didn't smell, was discolored, and he wasn't gaining weight. He surpassed all three, so I didn't worry about it too much.
• The nice thing about breast milk is that it doesn't stain like formula does.
  

A few things to do with a baby that spits up a lot:

• Sit them upright when you can. This is good anyhow because it helps with digesting. How would you like to drink a bunch of milk shakes and lay down afterwards? See what I mean?
  

• Feed them in small amounts. This is harder to do with breast feeding, but if you have someone watching your little one tell them to feed them in small amounts, but more frequently. We found this really helped Isaak.
• Stock up on cloth diapers. The Gerber ones are great; you can buy in any store and they are not expensive. They work great as spit up rags! They sell Gerber spit up rags as well. The spit up rags are a little more in price, and not as absorbent. Later on you can use them for pee accidents when they are potty training.
  

• If you have a spitter like I did with Isaak, you'll feel like he/she is never going to stop spitting up! They start to stop when they are eating baby food and can sit up better on their own.
• It was frustrating to me because I'd work so hard to pump, and he'd spit up 1/4 of it. That was just in his nature.
  

Baby Not Taking a Bottle?

• I never had a problem with my two children when it came to taking a bottle. They would of sucked on anything.
• My sister on the other hand had huge problems with her youngest taking a bottle. You'd think after he'd go hungry, he'd just give up and drink a bottle. After all it still had mommy milk in it. Nope! His Uncle, his Daddy and his Grandparents all had to deal with a screaming baby that wanted nothing to do with a bottle. We had to train him early on how to use a sippy cup, and even that was hard to do.
  
• They make a bottle I just recently learned about that is ever so close to a natural breast. I learned about it from Mom 4 Life. Right now they have a 5% coupon on the site, free shipping and tax always!
• The bottles are BPA and Phthalate free.
  
• There are 3 stages of bottles for a different flows.

1. Stage One is white (slow flow) is generally used for premature and newborn babies up to 3 months old.
   
   
   
   
2. Stage Two is blue (med flow) is generally used for babies anywhere from 3 to 6 months old.
   
   
   
   
3. Stage Three is orange (fast flow) is generally used for babies 6 months old and older.

How Long Can You Keep Breastmilk?

• You can refrigerate breast milk for three to five days.
• Freeze it for three to six months.
• Don't freeze milk if you plan to use within three to five days. Freezing destroys some of the antibodies. Frozen breast milk is still healthier than formula.
• You can keep milk that's been frozen and thawed in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but don't refreeze it.
• It can be in a deep freezer the longest because it is not opened and closed often. It can be stored 6 months, or longer. I got a deep freezer before we had Mica just because I knew I'd need it. I used it a lot!
  
• If you feel like you have too much milk, your supply will decrease as your baby gets older, or sick. It's a good idea to stock up for later.
  
• Hospitals do take donated milk.
• I found this excellent chart on a site called: Storing and Transporting Breast Milk.
  

• Breast milk contains live antibodies that kill bacteria. Since bacteria is what causes milk to spoil, the antibodies in breast milk will keep it fresh longer than formula.

Other Breastfeeding Blogs

• Motherwear's Breastfeeding Blog
  
• The Lactivist
• Breastfeeding Mums Blog
• Breastfeeding Magazine
• The Essence of Breastfeeding
  

Teething Necklasses

• One thing I've found helpful to prevent biting while nursing is when I wear a teething necklace.
• They make a lot of different styles. I got the Smart Mom Donut Shaped Pendent from Mom4 Life. I happen to have the grey one for $19. They have other pretty colors like the bronze one is pretty! They have bracelets that match.
  
• The great thing about the bracelets is that they can be used to switch from arm to arm to not loose track of what side you nursed on.
  

• Another necklace that Mom 4 Life carries is the Sonny and Reed Necklace for $29.50. It too comes in other colors.
  

• If your baby chews on this jewelry, it's ok because it's BPA and phthalate free.
  
• Mom 4 Life has no tax and shipping charges