Today I am sharing a post from a fellow momprenuer. Autumn Bonner is the co-owner and co-founder of My Tailored Fitness, an online video-based fitness program for moms. Through her program, moms can build their own custom workouts based on how much time they have and the intensity they want. It’s like having your own custom workout video! The exercises are created specifically for moms and use limited equipment so you can squeeze in a workout at home during nap time. Autumn is passionate about helping moms be healthy so that they can be examples for their kids. She talks with each member monthly to give suggestions and provide support to reach their goals. You can try her program free for 30 days. Just visit www.MyTailoredFitness.com or like her Facebook page www.facebook.com/mytailoredfitness for helpful fitness tips and great healthy recipes.
Help a Mama Out: What to Do When Your Baby Refuses a Bottle
What tricks have worked for you when your breastfed baby refused a bottle?
Michelle La Plante: Bottle boot camp with daddy! I left the apartment for the day, leaving baby and daddy there with plenty of expressed breastmilk and a bottle. By the end of the day, they had figured it out. (Kudos to hubby for this – it was tough on him to see her cry and fuss…. But, then again, his breasts didn’t leak at the sound of the baby crying!)
Amanda Garfinkel Young: Early and often worked well with my second. With my first, the nanny had a good trick. She held him facing out, looking out the window and fed him with the bottle in the other hand. A little awkward, but it seemed to distract him from the fact that he wasn’t looking up at mama while eating.
Danielle Smith: Try lots of different bottles.
Stephanie Lorenzen: After trying a number of different bottles, we used a spoon and a shot glass. We then moved on to a straw cup after 4 months of age.
Julie Chapin: As a nanny, I went through this. Had to have mama away at first. Plus, baby had to be laying or sitting out of arms… could not resemble nursing at all. First successes were warm bottle given in a drowsy state as baby was waking in her bassinet. Windows and toys distracting baby at other times or in a bouncy chair. Had to use droppers and spoon feeding with a few babies leading up to the bottle.
Natalie Quebodeaux Cavender: Sippy cup! Turns out he hated the warmed milk and not the bottle. He likes mama’s milk cold when not from the tap!!! LOL!
Jennie Bever: My first one took a straw cup fine. Second one reverse cycled. Now that he’s older, he’ll also take breastmilk warm in a straw cup. He would also drink out of a regular cup, although it’s a bit messier!
Liz Anderson Weaver: At daycare, we have had to resort to using medicine droppers with two babies. Then we tried ERERy NIPPLE EVER until we found their perfect bottle combo. Both suck ‘em down like champs now!
Stacey Singh: I read that if you have the person who is feeding your baby wear the robe or another article of clothing you wear frequently, it can really help. I had my husband try it and my baby actually did take a little from a bottle. We’re still working on it though.
Sylvia Padilla Sullivan: We tried different bottles. Because he is older (4.5mos), one with a pretty fast, easy flow worked better than the ones we had been trying (like when he was tiny and still learning to suck.)
Thanks to everyone who responded to our questions on our San Diego Breastfeeding Center and The Boob Group Facebook pages. Check back every Tuesday for a new Help a Mama Out tip!
Help a Mama Out: Tips for Breastfeeding the Distracted Baby
Over the past few months I have been posting readers' questions on our Facebook page and have been blown away by the fantastic advice and support you have shared. The downfall with Facebook, though, is that eventually the terrific advice will work its way down the wall and succumb into Facebook oblivion, never to be found again.
Well, that's just a travesty!
So, here is what we're going to do....
Each week I will post a topic and question (or maybe a few!) on the San Diego Breastfeeding Center and The Boob Group Facebook pages. At the end of the week, I will collect all of YOUR fabulous breastfeeding mama advice and tips and place them into a blog post, which I will share the following Tuesday! Now your breastfeeding expertise and support will be documented and saved for moms to cherish and learn from, even years from now!
Creating a Sense of Community When Using Donor Milk
In an effort to demystify milk sharing, for the next few weeks we will be sharing stories from breastfeeding moms who either donated their excess breastmilk or supplemented their baby with someone else’s milk. For more information about milk sharing, both informal and through milk banks, please visit our article: Supplement Options: Donor Milk, Milk Banks, and Formula, as well as our Boob Group podcast episode, Low Milk Supply: Donor Milk, Milk Banks, and Formula.
Today on the San Diego Breastfeeding Center blog, I am honored to share Cara's story, which demonstrates how a sense of community can blossom through supplementing with and donating breast milk. If you would like to submit your story to be shared with our readers, please email me at robinkaplan@sdbfc.com. Thank you so much, Cara, for sharing your inspiring story with us! Your daughter is so lucky to have you as her mother!
Mustering Courage to Accept Breastmilk From a Friend
In an effort to demystify milk sharing, for the next few weeks we will be sharing stories from breastfeeding moms who either donated their excess breastmilk or supplemented their baby with someone else’s milk. For more information about milk sharing, both informal and through milk banks, please visit our article: Supplement Options: Donor Milk, Milk Banks, and Formula, as well as our Boob Group podcast episode, Low Milk Supply: Donor Milk, Milk Banks, and Formula.
Today on the San Diego Breastfeeding Center blog, I am honored to share Christine McCarty's story about how she mustered up the courage to ask a friend for extra breastmilk for her baby. If you would like to submit your story to be shared with our readers, please email me at robinkaplan@sdbfc.com. Thank you so much, Christine, for sharing your inspiring story with us!
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My story starts several months ago, when my daughter was about 5 months. I have a friend who has Raynaud's disease and pumps constantly to continue to give her son the best nutrition she can. We were having a conversation about breastfeeding (as most of our conversations are about, lol) and she mentioned she produced 80-120oz PER DAY! A few weeks later I was off to see my favorite IBCLC frantic and in tears because for 2 days I had only pumped 1.5oz (from both breasts total, not individually) per pumping session at work. I remember hugging my lactation consultant, crying in her shoulder, telling her "I'm losing it, I'm losing my daughter's lifeline, I'm such a poor mom, I just can't keep up." After much reassurance, we got back on the right track, but I still had the issue that my production hadn't gotten back up to speed for the next day I had to go to work.
Breastfeeding in Public is Legal in California, Right?
Recently San Diego, California (aka America’s Finest City) has been hit with some pretty obnoxious breastfeeding-in-public harassment situations. While I assumed that most Californians knew that breastfeeding in public was legal in our wonderful state, apparently, most people don’t. Even my husband, who is an attorney and married to a lactation consultant, was unaware that there was actually a California law that protected a woman’s right to nurse in public.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE????
First and foremost, it is shocking to me that we actually need a law to protect a woman’s right to feed her baby in public, but yet, I must remind myself that most people think breasts are for fun rather than functionality.
Secondly, why don’t most people know that this law exists?
Third, how is it possible that EVEN WITH a law stating a woman can breastfeeding in public, mothers are STILL being harassed for doing so?
What does the California law actually say?
Supplement Options: Donor Breastmilk, Milk Banks, and Formula
This past week, we released one of my most favorite episodes on The Boob Group: Low Milk Supply: Donor Milk, Milk Banks, and Formula. I had the esteemed pleasure of interviewing Amber McCann, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, fierce supporter of all things mothering, and dear friend. I wanted to know what options were out there for mothers who needed to supplement their babies, as well as the pros and cons of each.
I pulled out the most salient points for this blog article, but you can click here to listen to the Boob Group episode in its entirety: Low Milk Supply: Donor Milk, Milk Banks, and Formula.
What are your options if you need to supplement your baby?
When feeding an infant, the World Health Organization lists a hierarchy:
- Milk taken directly from the mother’s breast
- Expressed milk from baby’s mother
- Expressed milk from another mother (wet nurse, donor milk, milk from a milk bank, etc.)
- Breastmilk substitute (formula)
Toddler Nursing Part III - Super Breastfed Baby!
Written by guest blogger, Andrea J. Blanco, IBCLC
My seven year old is really, really into the Super Diaper Baby series. So much so (embarrassing story for which I will pay for dearly in 10 years coming up right now) that the other day, he fished through all the dirty clothes to find 8 (yes, 8!!!!) underwear to put on simultaneously along with a cape so that he could reenact parts of the book. I’m not entirely sure why clean underwear couldn’t be used, but hey, welcome to the gnarly world of 7 year old boys. I’m still getting adjusted. Anyway, whenever he yells “SUPER DIAPER BABY!!” all I hear is “SUPER BREASTFED BABY!!!” (you better have read that in your booming announcer voice; if not, please go back and reread).
Does Breastfeeding Cause Cavities?
Article written by guest blogger, Leigh Anne O’Connor, IBCLC
I don’t know many people who love going to the dentist. You know, you are reclined in the lounge chair, told to relax, and keep your mouth open as someone takes metal mirrors, mini ice picks, and drills and plays around inside your mouth for 30-45 minutes.
Now you want a toddler to do this? Did you see the latest installment of the Twilight Saga? Toddler vampires are illegal because they throw tantrums and kill entire villages.
Oral hygiene is very important. It can affect your entire health, good or bad. Poor oral hygiene has been linked to diabetes and heart disease. So what are we to do about oral health of our nursing preschoolers?
The first thing to do is find a child friendly dentist and bring your baby around his first birthday. Make sure the atmosphere is fun, yet not too overwhelming that they have pintsized sunglasses and silly stickers.
What Advice Do You Wish You Had Heard Before You Started Breastfeeding?
This is a question I hear quite often, so I thought I would share my favorite tips, as well as share the amazing comments we received from our Facebook page when we asked our fellow breastfeeding mamas!
My Top 5 Pieces of Advice Every Woman Should Have Before She Breastfeeds:
1. Find a lactation consultant in your area before you have your baby.
No one should have to google this information at 3:30 in the morning when you feel like your nipples are going to fall off. Instead, spend a few minutes on the computer, in between your stroller and diaper research, to find an international board certified lactation consultant who seems like a really great person. Check out her Yelp reviews and ask your friends who they would recommend.