Stop running? Stop blogging? Stop my love for smut reality tv? No, no and heck no!
I've made the decision to stop nursing Mr. Mister.
My breastfeeding journey was an uphill battle, as most are. Pledged with problems from the beginning, it became an almost everyday battle. But I'd say I won the war.
I don't know when it became so important to me to breastfeed our son. I knew it was best, but I distinctly remember going to the breastfeeding class while pregnant and thinking, "Hummmm, I don't know if this is really for me."
But out comes that baby and you only want what is best for the little one. And by God, I was going to give him breast milk.
It's been a journey and I'm so glad we went through it. The ups, downs, good and bad. I can't say I fully enjoyed the experience, it was hard, hard work, but I'm so glad I did it.
In fact, it's kind of like running a long run. You don't really enjoy the run, but once it is over you feel awesome. Strangely, that's how I feel about breastfeeding. Just being honest.
I remember sitting in the rocking chair at 3 a.m. thinking how 'just a little formula' might be ok and talking myself out of it just like I would talk myself out of eating a non diet friendly food. Everyone has an opinion on supplementing. I had supply issues so supplementing was a slippery slope that I didn't want to go down.
We did on occasion have to supplement, but did so with breast milk I had pumped. So this means for the first 2 months all I did was change diapers, feed baby, pump, wash pump parts and repeat. Feedings took so long those first few months, I remember thinking how much I wanted to just pump and bottle feed. I'm so glad I was advised not to because of my supply issues. It really does get easier and IS more convenient to not be an exclusive pumper.
I was relieved that Mr. Mister always gained weight, I took him for weekly weight-checks at a breastfeeding mom's support group at my local hospital just to make sure
we were doing ok. I highly suggest this if you're having issues. Going calmed my fears, gave me reassurance and made sure I got out of the house at least once a week.
I also joined a
Facebook support group. It's a closed group and if you're a breastfeeding mom, check it out and request to join. I can not even begin to tell you how much that group helped.
I learned so much, they answered questions any time of day or night, lifted me up when I got discouraged and gave me a place to celebrate every nursing milestone. Every nursing mother needs this. It's hard. Very hard.
In the spirt of helping, I put together a lists of what I'm calling: 10 Tips for Breastfeeding Moms from a Breastfeeding Mom. Disclaimer, I'm no expert!
1 - Pump parts. Toss them in a zip lock bag and put them in the refrigerator, then pull them out and reuse them without having to wash every single time. Feel free to rinse them off after each use before putting in the refrigerator. I never did at work and would reuse the same ones three times a day for two days before taking them home to wash and sterilize.
2 - Dressing rooms & nursing rooms. Nursing in public (NIP) is wonderful and I fully support it. However, I wasn't that comfortable with it at first and as baby gets older, distractions are too abundant. So dressing rooms became my best friend. Target was always great about letting me use one to feed Mr. Mister, just tell the dressing room attendant you need to feed the baby. Department stores are good too, usually there is no attendant so you don't have to explain anything and can just walk in.
Nursing/Mother's rooms. These really do exist. Babies R Us has a 'mothers room' and for you locals, Peninsula Town Center (at both public bathrooms
) and Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Sesame Street Place and the Land of the Dragon area) have nursing rooms. They generally have a rocking chair, changing area and sink all in the room. So be sure to ask when you're out and you just might get lucky.
3- Want to NIP but timid? Nurse in front of a mirror one day at home. You might be surprised at how little is exposed.
4 - Necklaces make great distractions. My little guy LOVED to play with whatever necklace I had on and it would generally hold his attention long enough to get a full nursing session in. Just be prepared and wear one you wouldn't mind breaking. Those little guys are strong!
5 - Support groups. ASK for help! Check your local hospital for a breastfeeding support group. Generally, you don't have to have delivered there to attend. The best part about going are the weight checks. They will weigh baby before you feed, you feed, and they weigh baby again. This helps you know how much milk baby is getting and know how much they are gaining week to week. There are also lots of great online support groups. Again, the one I used this
Facebook support group.
6 - Dairy allergies are common in babies. If you suspect your little one has one (lots of spit up, gassiness, green frothy diapers) and you cut out dairy, know it can take TWO weeks to get out of your system and there is hidden diary in things you wouldn't even think of, so READ labels.
7 - Milk boosters and killers. Every nursing mom worries about milk supply. Know what can help you boost supply and what can kill it. Here's a short list that worked for me---
Boost --
- Water - drink, drink, drink. But just drink to thirst, you don't have to drown yourself.
- Oatmeal - Has to not be instant. I'd pump 1-2 oz more a day when I ate oatmeal for breakfast
- Malted ovaltine - it has to do with an ingredient in the malt. If you're dairy free, mix it with almond milk or put in your coffee. Comes in regular and chocolate. I preferred the chocolate.
- Motherlove supplements. The hospital lactation consultant suggested I check into these and I'm so glad I did. I took the More Milk Special Blend capsules, but read through the info to see what supplement would be best for you. If you aren't sure, email the company. They were very responsive and helpful when I had questions.
Killers --
- Not eating enough calories
- Not drinking enough water
- Stress
- Eating anything with peppermint including chewing gum
8 - Scarves make great nursing covers. I often wore one when we traveled. Made feeding him on flights, in the back seat of the car or in the airport easy. I didn't have to dig anything out of the diaper bag and was somewhat covered. Again, don't feel like you have to cover, you don't, but it was a personal preference for me.
9 - If you are going back to work, have a conversation with your boss prior to coming back to talk about where you'll pump and all that jazz. Know your rights, most likely they are legally required to provide a private space for you to pump that is NOT a bathroom.
10 - Milk Storage. General rule of thumb. Breast milk is good at room temp for 4 hours; in the refrigerator 4 days; and in the freezer 6 months.
You can combine milk from multiple pumpings, just make sure they are the same temperature. So if you pump in the morning and place it in the refrigerator and pump in afternoon, just place the afternoon pump in the refrigerator to cool it down and then combine with morning pump and then freeze.
When you go to freeze breast milk in the storage bags, lay them flat, you'll be able to store more this way. Also, you might want to freeze a few 1oz servings in an ice cube tray. Each ice cube is right at 1oz. Then put several in a freezer bag. This is really nice on days you might be just an ounce or two short from what you've pumped. You can drop a breast milk ice cube into the bottle to make up the shortage without defrosting an entire bag of breast milk.
Once you defrost a bag, you need to use in within 24 hours.
EDITED I've added a few more things I forgot about, especially for those who need to bottle feed from time to time.
1 -
Don't shake breast milk. I didn't know this at first and have found it's very common thing people don't know. When using pumped milk in a bottle, do not shake. It damages the milk.
Swirl it to get the milk fat mixed back in. If you are transferring from bottle to freezer bag, just let it sit out for 10-15 minutes and then swirl. Letting it sit and warm up a bit should allow for the milk fat to come off the sides of the bottle and into the milk to freeze.
2 - If you are bottle feeding, check into
pace feeding. It really does make a difference. And don't change from slow flow nipples on bottles. The flow of your nipples never change, so neither should the bottle nipples you are using.
3 - Good online recourse is
Kellymom.com. I especially love their
calculator to figure out about how much milk baby should be getting in bottles if you are bottle feeding.
Hope these help! I'm so grateful to those who helped me out and passed along their wisdom and experience. We're all in this crazy journey of motherhood together.
And, above all, enjoy every last minute. They really are only little once so just enjoy the experience and remind yourself that it is short lived and someday, you will miss it.
What are other tips you'd give? I'd love to hear from you!
