Chest/Breastfeeding
Robin Kaplan
Breastfeeding the Older Baby - What to Expect ...

Wondering what breastfeeding/chestfeeding look like when your baby is 6-9 months? As our little ones continue to grow physically {begin to roll over, sit up, crawl} and developmentally {sleep longer stretches at night and interact more with the world around them}, we notice the impact of these changes on their feeding patterns.

Breastfeeding the Older Baby - What to Expect at 6-9 months
Chest/Breastfeeding, Pumping
Robin Kaplan
Help! My baby won’t take a bottle!

So your breastfed baby is refusing bottles.  Isn’t the typical concern that a breastfeeding/chestfeeding baby may prefer bottles over nursing and not the other way around?  While breastfeeding refusal can happen as well, any type of feeding rejection is your baby’s way of communicating that something is feeling challenging.  So let’s dive into some of the reasons why a nursing baby rejects the bottle and some tips to remedy a bottle feeding aversion.  

Help! My baby won’t take a bottle!
Bottle Feeding, Pumping
Robin Kaplan
Bottle Feeding the Breastfed Baby FAQs

Did you know that lactation consultants not only help with breastfeeding, but can also help with bottle feeding?  It’s true! We are here to offer guidance with all aspects of feeding (introducing solids, as well!) and know a ton about bottles and how to balance them with breastfeeding.

Bottle Feeding the Breastfed Baby FAQs
Chest/Breastfeeding
Robin Kaplan
How Long Does My Breast Milk Stay Fresh?

Breast milk storage guidelines can be incredibly complicated to decipher.  With each pump company and breastfeeding website having its own storage and handling recommendations, how's a mother to know which one to follow?  Plus, throw in whether the baby is full-term, pre-term, healthy, or in the NICU, and we have quite a confusing situation.

After delving into our lactation consultant guidelines for human milk storage, I think I have the definitive list for you….at least for this year!

Tongue Ties

The Lip Tie/Tongue Tie Challenge

To help parents understand a bit more about how tongue and lip ties can affect breastfeeding, over the next few weeks we will be featuring stories from moms whose babies experienced these challenges.  We would like to extend a HUGE thank you to the brave mamas who submitted their stories for our blog!  We know you went through a ton of challenges and we are so appreciative that you were willing to share your stories!  If you have a story you would like to share on our blog, please send it to robinkaplan@sdbfc.com.

For more information about tongue and lip ties and how they can affect breastfeeding, please see our article: Does Your Baby Have a Tongue or Lip Tie?

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Written by Julie Sanders

My issues with breastfeeding my daughter started pretty much as soon as we left the hospital. I started experiencing a lot of pain in my nipples. Not just while she was nursing, but all the time. I was told it was normal for her to nurse 8-10 times a day, but my daughter was nursing 20+ times a day. Essentially, she was constantly nursing, with maybe a 10-20 minute break between sessions. I found that since any side-lying, cradled position was extremely painful, only the football hold position worked for me. I went to a breastfeeding support group her second week, and I learned that my daughter was chomping my nipples while she nursed, and that’s why they were in constant pain. Nipples are supposed to come out of a baby’s mouth just as round as when they went in, but mine were shaped like a football after a nursing session. No wonder! Someone suggested I try nursing her lying down because she was perhaps trying to stem a strong flow of milk into her mouth, but that didn’t help. On top of it all, I also got a clogged duct, which was painful and scary. I was in such excruciating pain I would cry when my daughter wanted to nurse because I just wanted a break for my poor nipples to heal. I didn’t know why it was so hard or what was wrong. The only thing that got me through this period were gel pads. The moist, cold combination was wonderfully soothing.

Does Your Baby Have a Tongue or Lip Tie?

Painful, cracked, compressed-after-breastfeeding nipples.  Baby not gaining weight well.  Constant breastfeeding sessions that seem to take over an hour.  Excessive baby fussiness and gas.  These are some of the many signs that your child may have a tongue and/or lip tie.  So, what is a tongue and lip tie and how do they affect breastfeeding? What are ways to fix them and improve breastfeeding?

With several fantastic articles already written on this subject, we are going to give brief answers to these questions and link to our favorite comprehensive resources.  Also, over the next month, we will be sharing stories from breastfeeding mothers whose babies had tongue and/or lip ties.