So Your Kiddo Hates Tummy Time…. What Can You Do?

In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics started the Back To Sleep campaign.  The hope was that placing babies on their backs to sleep would reduce the amount of infants who succumbed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS.)  The second component of this Back to Sleep campaign was Tummy To Play; doctors knew if babies were going to be spending so much time sleeping on their backs that they had to counterbalance that with time on their tummies while awake.  Yet, somehow Tummy to Play has really taken a back seat, which has led to a significant increase in head molding, head flattening, and developmental delays.

Why is Tummy Time so Important?

• Improves motor milestone achievement

• Helps prevent skull deformities and helps round out a baby’s head

• Helps remedy torticollis

• Improves head control

• Decreases reflux

• Helps with digestion and gastric emptying

• Helps improve range of motion in a infant’s tongue

• Provides fantastic interaction between parent and infant

So, your kiddo hates tummy time…. What can you do??????

It’s all about how you do it!  Want to know the secret???

In late April 2018, our SDBFC staff attended the Tummy Time Method training.  Up until then, many of us were just placing our infants on their tummies, directly from holding them upright on our chests.  Then our infants would start to fuss almost immediately, so we thought that they hated tummy time. In all actuality, it was the transition to tummy time they hated, or better said…. The lack of easy transition into tummy time.  We were initiating their fight or flight reflex from the drastic movement from upright to tummy. In our training, we were taught that rolling an infant onto his tummy actually limits stress or overstimulation for the infant, making tummy time much more enjoyable.

So check this out!  We have been demonstrating this new rolling method to our patients and their babies are LOVING it!  Like full 180 from hating tummy time to totally digging it!

Here is a video, created by our awesome instructor, Michelle Emanuel, on how to roll your baby into tummy time.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgeJM3u3_Tw&list=PL9hKPtJid7hRIlxJXwzmLXikP0DXCXjDi

Components of an super fun tummy time routine:

• Designate a tummy time area on your home - should be on the floor (with carpet or blanket)

• Roll your infant (2 weeks old - crawling) into tummy time 4 times per session, about 4-5 sessions per day. For reference, the video shows the baby rolled into tummy time once.

• Make sure to get down on the floor and interact with your baby.  Have older siblings join in on the fun, as well!

• As soon as your kiddo starts to fuss, roll her out of tummy time, pick her up and hug her close.  Then start again, if the session isn’t complete.

• Choose times when your infant is calm and relaxed, like right after a feeding session.  Tummy Time shouldn’t cause him to spit up more.

 

Are you excited to join us in the Tummy Time revolution?

If your kiddo is still struggling with tummy time, we offer Tummy Time consultations, both in-person and in-office! Click here to book an appointment!

Meet SDBFC's Newest Lactation Consultant - Michelle Clookie!

We are so thrilled to introduce you to our newest lactation consultant at SDBFC! Michelle Clookie joined our team in September 2017, as a lactation consultant intern.  Since then, she has joined our SDBFC Foundation Board, is one of our support group leaders, and started to see her own patients on May 7th. Here is my interview with Michelle.  We can't wait for you all to meet her!

Michelle, tell us about yourself! 

I grew up in Southern California, and moved to San Diego 11 years ago after living in Austin, TX for 2 years. I met my husband, Jeremy, shortly after moving to San Diego and we have been married for 7 years. After 8 years in non-profit, where I focused on training, development and content writing, I decided to stay home with our little girl Charlotte when she turned 1. I fell in love with all things motherhood: the community, the support, and soon starting working for the Postpartum Health Alliance part time to help support Mamas. After having our son, Beckett, who is now two, I realized I wanted to go even further into supporting families. I decided I could combine my love for training, and supporting families, by becoming a lactation consultant. Supporting people through empowerment has always been my passion and my work, and this has by far been the most fulfilling. I work part time and then spend as much time as I can with my kids and husband at the beach! 

What inspired you to become a lactation consultant?

I had breastfeeding challenges with both of my children, and because it was so unexpected with my first baby, it took a long time for me to accept the situation. I tapped into a lot of support, and these struggles allowed me to see an incredibly supportive side of the San Diego mom community.  I quickly began doing all that I could to help normalize breastfeeding and motherhood challenges. This just feels like the most natural next step in my support of all things mom/baby/family. 

What are you most excited about working with SDBFC? 

I have been a patient of the SDBFC two different times, and I am most excited to offer the same quality care I received to the families I work with. I am also really proud that SDBFC supports so many military families. I have a deep respect for the sacrifices military families make on a daily basis, and I feel honored to be able give back to their families anyway I can. 

What are your top 3 tips for a brand new breastfeeding family? 

1. Surround yourself with people who have similar goals. There are many different ways to parent a child, and I have found it easier to achieve my parenting goals when I surround myself with others who share my same vision. Breastfeeding can bring on unexpected challenges, but when you are surrounded by people that understand your goal, it will be much easier to reach it! 
2. Have a plan, but keep your expectations flexible. I LOVE planning, and learned within the first 24hrs of parenthood (actually birth) that sometimes your kids have other plans. That’s ok. I have found it much easier to offer myself grace (and others grace) when I am flexible with my expectations. Things may not look the way you wanted them to, but there is still beauty there! 
3. Ask for help! There is a running joke not to ask me if I need anything, because I will gladly tell you my Costco shopping list. Motherhood wasn’t meant to be done alone, ask for help without shame. San Diego has the most incredible resources for families, if you are in need of support in any way, I can almost guarantee you that there is a loving person waiting to help you! A great place to start making those connections is in Breastfeeding support groups, baby classes (sign language, tummy time etc.), and baby wearing groups! 

WELCOME TO THE SDBFC TEAM, MICHELLE!

It's Here! Our DIY Breastfeeding YouTube Channel

Ever wish you could actually watch a mama breastfeed her baby in a laid-back position because you couldn't picture it in your mind from the blog article you just read?  Wonder how you can tell if your pump flanges are fitting correctly? Well, look no further!

Today, we are beyond excited to annouce our newest baby, DIY Breastfeeding!  

 

What is DIY Breastfeeding?

On our DIY Breastfeeding YouTube channel, you will find 2-3 minute instructional videos about different breastfeeding topics, ranging from positions to latching to pumping and more!  Each video was recorded with one of our lactation consultants and some super cute local moms and babies.  

Which topics will be included on DIY Breastfeeding?

A few months ago we started collecting video topics from all of you and your ideas were AWESOME!  We are proud to say that today we are launching our channel with 10 stellar videos fitting into 5 different categories. Here are our current categories:

• Breastfeeding While Babywearing
• Latching
• Breastfeeding Position
• Pumping Strategies
• Breastfeeding Twins

Lastly, we would like to share a HUGE amount of gratitude to our DIY Breastfeeding partner, New Mommy Media!  Without Sunny's awesome video shooting and editing expertise, these videos would look completely amateur and out of focus!  Sunny, we adore you to pieces and we cannot wait to create more videos with you!

So head on over to DIY Breastfeeding!  Let us know what you think about the videos and share your ideas for additional topics/categories you would like for us to include.

Which other topics/categories would you like to see included? 

Help a Mama Out: Tips for Talking with your Boss about Pumping

'Help a Mama Out' Topic of the Week:

Tips for Talking with Your Boss about Pumping

What's your best tip for discussing your pumping rights/schedule with your boss? 

Shelly Hovies Rogers: Be assertive with your rights, but be flexible and willing to work with your boss and coworkers.  I found my workplace to be quite accommodating to me when I nicely, but matter of fact, told them what I needed.  Also, although I didn’t have to quote the state law, I familiarized myself with it, just in case I needed to use it. 

Kelly Reyes: Before I left for maternity leave, I discussed my need to pump with my boss and then HR, just to make sure we were all on the same page.  When I had issues with the way the ‘wellness room’ schedule was being managed, my boss went to bat for me and fixed the problem that day! 

Marie Bishop: My best advice is to know the law and stand up for yourself and your baby.  In states, such as California, it is required by law that your employer provides a non-restroom space that is private for you to pump.

Meggin Dueckman: We just talked about it!  We’re all pretty close at work, so it was no problem.  I was the first of our staff to want/need to pump at work.  Mind you, here in Canada we get a year of maternity leave, so it’s not as common for people to want to pump as frequently when they return to work.  I only pumped 1 times a day at work, more for my own comfort!

Jamie Howell Swope: As a teacher at a school, it wasn’t an easy process, but I went in knowing the law and advised my principal ahead of time why I wanted to meet with her.  That way she had time to think about how to make it work, too.

Kat Picson Berling: I was really lucky in that 2 of my coworkers were pumping moms, so they had paved the way.  I told my boss that I was going to take 2 pumping breaks at x and y time and I will be in this office and it will take 15 minutes.  He was fine with it.  I’m not going to lie…. Because I had a cubicle at work, it was sometimes difficult to find a place to pump.  Even our HR coordinator wasn’t sympathetic for me.  Just make sure to know the law. 

Chantel McComber: My advice would be to put your fears aside.  Sometimes it’s hard as a working mom to ask for things because not everyone has them.  Remember that you are doing this for your health and your baby’s health and those are two things that should always come first.

Jennifer Haak: When I discussed my date of return, I told my boss that I needed a lock installed on my office door and I explained why.

Andrea Blanco: First, know your right.  Be sure that your company falls under those rights.  Then file that information away and try *not* to use it as it can be perceived as a threat (and no one likes to be threatened.)  Second, have a plan in place.  I find that if you’re willing to have the conversation in advance, go into it as sweet as possible, and have it all planned out as to how it will work for you (with consideration given to work environment/demands/pumping law.)  Then, it is much harder for your employer to say no. 

For the United States Lactation Accommodation laws, check out Break Time for Nursing Mothers