Battling a cold or flu while chest/breastfeeding can be overwhelming, especially if symptoms or dehydration cause a dip in your milk supply. Fortunately, there are safe remedies to help you recover while maintaining your chest/breastfeeding journey and milk supply.
When it comes to chest/breastfeeding, parents often wonder whether on-demand feeding or scheduled feeding is best. Explore the differences and find what works for you.
Wondering what breastfeeding/chestfeeding look like when your baby is 6-9 months? Get tips for nursing an older baby from our team of San Diego lactation consultants.
Is your breastfed baby refusing bottles? Don’t panic! Dive into some reasons a nursing baby rejects the bottle and some tips to remedy bottle-feeding aversion.
How much breast milk does my baby need per feeding?
What is common nursing behavior for a newborn?
How will I know that my baby is getting enough?
As a new mom, these are common questions that you may ask your pediatrician, midwife, postpartum nurse, family, and friends and GUESS WHAT..... they may all have a different answer!
Since Winter Break has descended onto our homes, Ashley and I are taking the next few weeks off from blogging to spend some quality time with our families. However, that doesn't mean that you'll be left without our breastfeeding support until the new year! We have over 300 articles on the San Diego Breastfeeding Center blog, which means there is no reason for you to google 'sore nipples' at 3:30am. Just check out our extensive article list and you will be well on your way!
Almost 2 years ago, a dear friend of mine found out that her 19 month old daughter had type 1 diabetes and was fighting for her life. Here's Theresa's triumphant story of how she was able to preserve her breastfeeding relationship while healing her daughter.
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About a month ago a friend alerted me to a Facebook post that brought a wave of memories flooding over me from a day that changed my life forever as a parent. A day that I will never forget, even though I wish I could. It was literally the worst day of my life, but one that I will always be grateful for because it was the day my daughter’s life was saved.
Over the next few weeks we will be sharing stories of triumphant breastfeeding mamas and their biggest supporters who helped them reach their personal breastfeeding goals. If you would like to share your breastfeeding story and thank your biggest breastfeeding cheerleaders, check out the details in our recent blog article.
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Here is Stephanie's story.
It has truly taken a village to help me be successful in nursing both of my babies! I knew I wanted to breastfeed, but, after the birth of my first son, my passion and commitment to it were a surprise to even me. I was also caught extremely off-guard by the difficulties both of my boys encountered as we began our breastfeeding journeys together. Tongue ties, lip ties, low weight gain, low supply, poor latch, pain/cracking/bleeding, overactive letdown, and more were all hurdles we had to cross. There is absolutely NO way I could have made it to 13 months formula-free with my first son and still going strong and formula-free at 6 months with my second without these amazing people.
Over the next few weeks we will be sharing stories of triumphant breastfeeding mamas and their biggest supporters who helped them reach their personal breastfeeding goals.
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This story is from Dawn.
I have to thank my hospital TEAM for my breastfeeding success!
When I gave birth to my son 5+ years ago, it wasn’t what any first time mom would like to experience. I was having problems with maintaining my blood pressure and when my little boys’ heart rate dropped too low, I was rushed into an emergency c-section. It was an extremely frightening process that didn’t even enter my mind as a possibility. The months that followed were hard. We struggled at finding a proper latch and feeding became such a difficult task, I dreaded it.
It never occurred to me that our difficulties at latching could have been because of the birth experience .
Any woman who has ever had a breastfeeding challenge or has breastfed longer than than someone else deems ‘normal’ has been asked this question at one time or another.
Sometimes this question is passive aggressive with undertones of “I can’t believe you have breastfed your baby for THIS long.” Other times it comes from a place of love meaning “You seem like you are in pain... are you sure you still want to try this?”
Regardless, if you are anything like me, the snappy comeback or educated response that I SO desired to say only comes after the situation is long gone and I am kicking myself for not defending myself and my choice to breastfeed the way I wanted to.
Help a Mama Out Topic of the Week: What are your favorite ways to nurture your breastfeeding relationship when you work outside the home?
Sarah – When I was working out of the home, I pumped at the times my daughter would take a bottle. Then, when I came home I would exclusively nurse her. She was fine with 2 or 3 small breastmilk bottles a day, then nursed the rest of the time. She always preferred the breast and when it came time to wean, I was nervous….but at 13 months she just did and that was that!
Alicia – Comfort nursing on the weekends and morning nursing cuddle time. I always nurse as soon as we get home from work/daycare.
Alyssa – My favorite part of my working day (as a teacher) was when I sat down in the glider at daycare and nursed my son before taking him home for the night. We were always so happy to see each other and it helped wipe away any headaches from the day. Plus, I developed a friendship with his teacher and got to hear all about what he did that day, which was way better than just reading a quick note on a daily info sheet!
Jeanne – Co-sleeping helped us and a feed before I leave and ASAP when I get home. I also pump 3-4 times at work and always demand feed when I’m home.
Katie – We nurse in the evenings, when she wakes up in the middle of the night, and at least once more before I leave for work. It’s funny, as soon as I pick her up after work, I think her mind lights up with ‘milk!’ because she immediately wants to nurse regardless of when her last feeding was. I can tell that she misses that when we’re a part, as do I.
Janell – As soon as I get home, he’s on the boob. The rest of the night, he is on the boob. We spend all weekend with him on and off the boob. Time consuming, but I love the connection time and it forces me to sit down and breathe with my son.
Rachel – I sit with my daughter every evening after work. Even if she goes to sleep, we spend the entire evening and night together because we co-sleep. I make a point to forget about all of the housework I have to do and just relax with her because I know that she won’t be little forever!
Rachelle – One of my favorite things is when I get home from work, I shower (I’m a paramedic). After I shower, I fill the bath and my husband brings me the baby and we usually relax and nurse for 20-30 minutes. It is my wind-down time and it is quiet with few distractions. I love it!
Sarah – If possible, try to arrange a mid-day nursing session. I used a local daycare that I was able to visit at lunch and nurse, rather than pump. It greatly helped my supply and we were able to EBF for 13 months without any supplementation.
Amanda – I asked out childcare provider not to feed our little one within 90 minutes of when I planned to pick up. That way I could nurse as soon as I got there.
How many times have you heard a so-called ‘fact’ from a family member, friend, healthcare professional, or online resource that has your ‘mama-radar’ going off at warp speed? Maybe something just doesn’t sound right. Maybe it goes against all of your mama-bear instincts. Maybe it is completely contradictory to what you heard the previous day. Well, it’s time to start busting those myths and misconceptions!
Today, we start our new series called Breastfeeding Misconceptions.
Every month we will be BUSTING common breastfeeding myths and misconceptions, hopefully making your breastfeeding experience that much easier!
Are you feeling a burning sensation in your nipples that creeps up into your breasts? Does this happen most often IN BETWEEN feedings, rather than during your breastfeeding session? Have you noticed that your nipples turn white as soon as your baby pulls off?
What you might be dealing with are vasospasms!
Raynaud’s syndrome, or a vasospasm, is a common phenomenon that affects up to 20% of women of childbearing age. It was originally described as affecting the body’s extremities (hands and feet), but now has been described as affecting many other vessels, including the nipples. The symptoms are often confused with thrush, as both cause a burning sensation in the nipples, yet they are completely different from one another.
Thrush is a yeast infection that can be treated with antifungal treatments (see your article Common Concerns While Breastfeeding: Yikes! Why are my nipples burning?). Vasospasms are constrictions of the blood vessels that usually occur as a result of exposure to cold and are not an indication of an infection. Vasospasms will not be resolved with antifungal treatments.
Welcome to our blog series…. Common Concerns While Breastfeeding. These aren’t the complicated, ‘come-to-my-house-immediately’ phone calls I receive. Rather, these are the questions that come from clients and friends in the middle of the night, by text or by email, that don’t necessarily warrant a lactation consultation. They can often be easily resolved with a few simple tricks. So, I would like to share those tricks with you!
Why Are My Nipples Burning????
