Welcome, Kellymom Readers!

Dear Kellymom readers,

I'm so thrilled you decided to stop by and check out our blog!  If you loved our article about why infants use their hands while breastfeeding, we have a bunch more that might tickle your fancy!

For the new mamas, here are some of our most popular articles:

Laid-back breastfeeding: physically and mentally

My newborn is so sleepy

Common concerns while breastfeeding: Help!  I'm engorged!

For the more experienced breastfeeding mamas out there, here are issues you might be dealing with:

Do all exclusively breastfed babies need iron supplements?

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go: Part 1

Help!  My baby won't take a bottle!

We also have a ton of other parenting articles and personal breastfeeding memoirs you may enjoy!  

So, join our monthly newsletter, 'like' our Facebook page, join the conversation on Twitter @sandiegoBFC, and stay in touch by adding your comments to our blog articles!

We are so glad you stopped by!

Newborn Hands: Why are they always in the way while breastfeeding?

Oh, those sweet little newborn hands.  Such a love/hate relationship we breastfeeding mothers have with those hands.  We love to hold and kiss those sweet-smelling hands, yet when it’s time to breastfeed, those annoying little clawing paws won’t get out of the way!  The minute our breast is out and ready to feed, those newborn hands are like defensive linemen, blocking any entry into our baby’s pecking mouth.

So, what’s the deal with those hands? 

Why is it that immediately when our baby realizes he is starving, his hands get in the way?

 Fun fact #1: Did you know that your baby has been using his hands in this fashion while in utero?  Ultrasounds show babies bringing their hands to their faces before swallowing amniotic fluid.  This is actually a process in the feeding pattern, which explains why babies bring their hands to their mouths when they are hungry. 

Fun fact #2: Did you know that if your baby’s face is not touching your breast as you initiate a breastfeeding session, he will use his hands to find your nipple?  Newborns have incredibly poor eyesight and use all five senses to locate and latch on to the breast.  Those little hands are searching for your breast to help bring it closer to his mouth.

So, what’s a mom to do when her baby is crying to eat, yet his hands are blocking every chance she has to put her breast in the baby’s mouth?

• Let your baby suck on his fingers to calm himself at the breast.  When he moves his hands, he is already at the ‘restaurant’ and will be ready to breastfeed.
• Try not to tuck your baby’s hands under his body or swaddle him while breastfeeding.  Tucking his hands can disorient him.  Think about if you were trying to eat with your hands tied behind your back.  You would most likely feel off-centered and clumsy.  Babies need their hands to keep them stable, just like we need our arms to our side or in front of us when we eat.
• If you have sore nipples and the thought of your baby clawing them makes you yelp just thinking about it, then keep your baby’s face touching your breast.  Try laid-back breastfeeding to assist with this.  In this position, you can wrap your baby’s hands AROUND your breast and he will come in with his face instead.
• Catherine Watson Genna, one of the most amazing lactation consultants I have ever met (and also the head researcher in an infant hand-use while latching study) recommends this technique in the Lactation Matters article, An Interview with Catherine Watson Genna, “Sometimes babies do get caught in a ‘reflex loop’ of sucking their hand, moving away, and then sucking their hands again. Moving the baby slightly so his face touches mom’s breast can interrupt this loop and get the baby to move his hands away and look for the breast with his mouth again.”  More information can be found in her article, Facilitating Autonomous Infant Hand Use During Breastfeeding

So, maybe those roaming little hands are actually helping our babies to become better breastfeeders.  Who knew?

Have you experienced roaming, boob-blocking newborn hands? 
Did these techniques help you?

What Are Your Favorite Breastfeeding/Baby Products? (GIVEAWAY)

So, I have a fun project in the works and I need a little help from my readers. While I believe that most breastfeeding and baby products are not a necessity for successful breastfeeding/parenting, I am an unabashed lover of natural, yummy, eco-friendly products for moms and babies.  I mean, who doesn’t want to snuggle in a 100% organic cotton Robbie Adrian blanket?

Robbie Adrian blanket 

I know what some of my favorites goodies are, but I would love some recommendations from you!

So, here’s the deal.  Add your favorite natural, organic, and/or eco-friendly products in the comment section of this post and I will enter you into a drawing for a brand-new Earthlust Green Parsley Stainless Steel 20oz Bottle.  It’s super cute and I know that I drink a ton more water when I have a stylish container to bring around with me!

Earthlust Stainless Steel 20oz Bottle

Don’t forget to include your email address when you add your comment, so that I can contact you if you are the winner.  I won’t use your email address for anything promotional.

Your comments will be collected from 5/17/12 until 5/21/12 11:59pm (PST).  The winner of the Earthlust Stainless Steel bottle will be announced on Facebook and Twitter on 5/22/12 at 9am (PST).

Have fun and thanks for participating!!!

I AM Mom Enough!

Please welcome guest blogger, Cassidy Freitas, one of my most favorite breastfeeding mamas!  Cassidy, thanks for sharing your story with us at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center.  Here's to all of the amazing moms out there, doing a fantastic job being the BEST mom they can be!

Forgive me while I go on my soapbox for just one moment. It's a few days after Mother's Day and I need to get something off my chest...and it's about the breast.

Time magazine. "Are you mom enough? Why attachment parenting drives some mothers to extremes..."

In the recent Time magazine, L.A. mom Jamie Grumet is pictured nursing her son. 

A mom nursing her (gasp) 3 year old son...

She chose to breastfeed, her son hasn't weaned yet, and as a parent who has the right to make these kind of decisions…she’s ok with that. So what’s the big deal?

Maybe breastfeeding until your child is this age is not for everyone. That's fine. Breastfeeding in general is not for everyone, and does not always work out. That's fine too! Thank goodness we live in a day where supplementation or replacement is available.

My issue, is with the negative outlook and publicity that breastfeeding is getting as of late. More often than not, I'm getting asked the question, "so when are you going to stop breastfeeding?" No one ever comments on how great it is, that although tough at times, I'm still breastfeeding. No, rather, let's all focus on when I'm going to take the babe off the boob.

Whether it's about nursing in public, breastpumps and airport security, or breastfeeding past the age of one...the boob and the babe are in the news, and not in a positive way. Don’t even get me started on Whoopi!

Breastfeeding is not always easy, and thank goodness I had a supportive husband and resources that allowed me to get through the tough parts so that I could continue to do so. We should be supporting new moms during this delicate time in their motherhood journey, not telling them to “cover up” or when to wean their child from the breast.

I’m a breastfeeding mom and I don’t care who knows it. I love the way Rylie looks up at me when I nurse her, plays with my face, and smiles when I munch on her little fingers. I love knowing that every little roll on her arms and thighs has come from something no one else can give her but me. I even love when she bites, and I tell her "ouchie Rylie," and she looks up at me with the most confused and curious look on her face. I love when I get home from work and she's just had a bottle, but all she wants to do is nurse because it's her way of feeling reconnected. I love the way she looks at other people who are talking while we nurse, like "Um. Hello? Can't you see mommy and I are busy here?"

In fact, when the day comes that she will be ready to wean from my breast, I will cry. I will be proud of her for becoming such a big girl, but it will be hard for me. So the last thing I need, is to feel rushed to stop something that feels so right.

Attachment parenting. Another topic that gets a bad rap. What is so horrifying about the parent that wants to feel close to their child? Dr. Sears has become titled the attachment parenting guru, and he encourages the 7 B's:

• bonding right after birth (such as practicing skin to skin contact), 
• breastfeeding (when you can), 
• babywearing, 
• bedding close to your baby and co-sleeping, 
• belief in the language value of your baby's cry (which means going to your baby when you feel in your gut that it's the right thing to do, which usually goes against the "cry it out" method),
• staying away from baby trainers (such as "the cry it out method" or the idea that your baby is trying to manipulate you), and 
• balance (hey, you gotta take care of yourself too). 

I'd like to think I practice my own style of attachment parenting. I'm not perfect, I strive to be good enough, and I do my best to provide Rylie with the love and security she would need in order to feel brave enough to explore the world.

So am I "mom enough?" I hope I am.

 

Ok...I'm getting off my soapbox now. Happy Mother's day to all the mommy's out there! Especially mine. She has given me the best example of how to be "MOM ENOUGH." I love you mom :)

My New Eco-Chic Ride

I come from a family of tree-huggers.  My brother has hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (multiple times) and has lived in the wilderness for months at a time, bathing only in nearby streams.  My sister has not shopped at a conventional grocery store in over a decade and studied to be an herbalist and yoga instructor.  Over the past 15 years, I have listened to them talk about organic food policy, and watch them bring their own containers as ‘doggy bags’ and bike to work.

Yet, it was finding out that my son was gluten-intolerant that spurred a slight obsession with improving the quality of the products we use in our home and the food my family consumes.  Over the past two years, we have taken baby-steps to make these eco-friendly changes, and every day I feel like I am teaching my children how to better respect our bodies, our community, and our environment.

We started out joining a CSA (community-sponsored agriculture), which has been completely awesome!  Never would I have eaten so many beets, kale, tomatoes, or berries had I just purchased them from the grocery store.  And while I love our local farmer’s markets, you can’t beat the price of our local CSA.  Plus, the taste….it’s like straight from the garden (that is, if I actually had a ‘green thumb’ and didn’t kill everything I try to grow on my own!)

 Next, I started to purchase more eco-friendly cleaning products and reusable, BPA-free storage containers.  My favorite website for reusable lunch bags, containers, and drink bottles is NaturalKidz.com.  I used this site so much that the owner even gave me my own discount code….Thanks, Kathryn!!!

So, after all of this change in our household, it only made sense that our eco-friendly consciousness would extend into my business. While I am still a few months away from going paperless and having electronic records, I knew there was one area where I could make a positive change, immediately!

I am proud to introduce the newest member of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center.

My new Prius V!

 

No more 20 miles to the gallon as I drive all over the city of San Diego.  I will now be getting up to 44 MPG….saving sore boobs and the earth one day at a time!  I’m completely in love!

I hope I make my siblings proud:)  And, I still have so much to learn!

Are you an eco-friendly mama? 
What have you done in the past few years to live more eco-consciously? 
What are your favorite eco-friendly resources?