Changing the View - Putting the "Eats" Back into BrEAsTS!

Everyone wants to do their best for their baby, but with so many conflicting opinions and social pressure to "get your life back," many moms find it hard to find the time, energy, and willpower to go the distance as far as breastfeeding is concerned.

Change is Coming

Things are changing. While the formula companies of the 40s and 50s were successful in getting women to think their boobs were not as good as their substitute, we are slowly gaining our lost ground. Organizations like the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) are taking on the misinformation from the formula companies and we are starting to see more normalization of a perfectly normal, ordinary, and beautiful bodily function. With breasts on the cover of Time magazine, used in the way that they were intended, you can see how far we've come. Natural does not equal dirty, no cover-up is needed.



Still the battle wages in the pediatrician's office. Instead of a list of donor moms whom mothers of slow weight gain babies can go to in case of an emergency, they are handed a can of dried powdered chemically altered cow's milk loaded with additives in an effort to try and match what has been found naturally in mama's milk. The problem is that these additives are in a chemically made form, and are not as good as the bio-available form of the nutrient found in boob milk. The formula manufacturers cannot duplicate what is in mother's milk, and trying to do so may be more dangerous than we think.

Duped AND Degraded

From 2001 to 2009, I was one of those misled mamas. Even though the World Health Organization announced that donor milk is preferred over formula, I was chastised by my pediatrician for using donor milk from a single trusted source. I left the office with my 5-day-old with a sample can of formula and tears streaming down my face.

This was 12 years ago, but I still remember the shame I felt from the doctor's uneducated stance on milk-sharing. With the formula shortage front and center in current news, we finally may see a permanent turn to milk-sharing as the primary source of infant supplemental feeding.

So the battle for thoughts wages on, including battling the opinions that come out of the mouths of our health professionals. The facts are clear though, breastfeeding cuts healthcare costs, decreases the likelihood of cancer for both mom and baby and cuts the rates of infant mortality and illness.

Now we just need to convince the public so moms aren't shamed for doing the best they can for their little ones.

New Reality TV Show About "Extended" Breastfeeding

A recent news story by the New York Post covered a production company's plan to make breastfeeding moms the topic of a new reality television show. Collins Avenue, creators of "Dance Moms" and "American Stuffers," are basing the show on "extended" breastfeeding mothers, or mothers that breastfeed over the 12 month milestone.

This inticed many comments on how long is "best" to breastfeed. Some were perplexed. "Why do I get the feeling that this has something more to do with the mom's needs than the child's? And if it is really the child's desire, then isn't this the same as having a "security blanket"? Do you want to let a 7-yr-old have a pacifier in his mouth? I get the impression that these mothers are "exploiting" the healthy idea of breastfeeding to cover up for some other issue," says P.


Others were defensive. L responded, "Obviously you've never been a nursing mom of a toddler. It's SO not about the moms needs lol. Trust me, most every mom I know nursing toddlers or preschoolers would be thrilled if their kids weaned but they continue because they're smart enough to see that it's natural and healthy and their kids deserve it."


Many agencies, such as WHO and AAP, agree. The WHO recommends babies be breastfed for at least two years, "and beyond." While the upper limit is not defined by these agencies, many sociologists suggest the upper limit of 7 as a biological norm. 

In our western culture this "limit" has been lowered drastically by the use of commercial formulas and factory dairy farms designed to "replace" what our ancestors did for thousands of years. These marketeers were so successful in creating a market for these replacements, many mothers in the 40s and 50s felt their breasts did not make what their child needed. "I bought that good formula when I could afford it," Anne remembers her mother telling her as a child. Anne is in her 60s, and her mother was having children in the 50s, during the height of the formula marketing "boon."

The trend back to what is normal is now called "extended" breastfeeding. Most children do not have their whole set of primary teeth until the age of 3, however many mom's say they feel pressured to quit breastfeeding their infants as young as 4 months. "My mother wanted me to quit," says one mom. "She didn't understand why I was so passionate about providing the best for my kids." Many of today's moms in western culture are faced with this same family backlash when they choose to let their child self wean, which generally happens between the ages of 3 and 7. Sadly, many simply quit because they do not have the support they need to continue.

This reality show may make great strides in "re-normalizing" breastfeeding. Many health officials are eager to get breastfeeding numbers up because of the multitude of scientific findings that say it decreases disease risk in both mother and baby. Creative ways such as this TV show may make a greater impact than organizational messages. It may also help keep funds in service areas rather than used for buying expensive print and television advertising.

Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/breast_in_show_UJ99xlSY22H5kBwI7kAZCI

Breastfeeding Comfort Survey

Breastfeeding incites a range of emotions in people from disgust to feelings of nurturing. In order to more fully understand what people belive about breastfeeding, I'm asking my readers to complete this survey at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DD98KJ7

Please complete this survey and send a link to your friends, family and anyone else that has a Mom!

Post a comment here to let me know you've completed the survey or fan me on Facebook and I'll send you a free thank you gift.

So You Want to Try Something New...

Rice cereal is usually the doctor's first recommendation when it comes to solid food. If you are successfully breastfeeding a happy baby, you may not need to start "solids" like rice cereal until 6, 9 or even 12 months. If your baby is having trouble sleeping through the night, seems hungry after feedings, or is watching you intently while you eat, it may be time to start something else.

While the only way to know for sure if your baby is ready for rice cereal is to talk to your doctor, and pay attention to your baby's individual cues, trying a little cereal watered down with hefty amounts of breastmilk makes for a fun experiment for babies over 4 to 6 months of age.



First, find the right rice cereal. I used Happy Bellies Organic Rice Cereal with DHA and Pro-biotics. It was tastier and more easily mixed than the other brand I used, and it also went down easier. I eventually cut costs by mixing this with Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Rice Cereal, which was just about as good, but didn't have the DHA or pro-biotics. I would mix about half HB's and half EB's and little curly locks ate it all up. If they had had this on the market when my others were little, I certainly would have used HB's. The regular white rice cereal was never an option for me, but I can bet that stuff tastes a little like cardboard.

For their first feeding, mix according to the package directions. You'll get something that looks more like milk than like cereal, but this is where it starts. Expect there to be a mess. I tried to use disposable bibs or paper towels (be sure you watch closely when using paper anything for possible choking) to try to soak up the stuff that would run down this little one's cheek and into the multiple chubby chins where stuff was hidden for a between meal snack.

Before you know it, you'll have a teenager scarfing down a 1/2 a pizza. Hopefully you will have endowed a love of some type of vegetable so as to include it on the pie. :)

God bless you as you embark on a new wonderful mothering adventure!

Nursing through Nerosurgery - How I continued to breastfeed even after 5 days in the hospital Part 1

Breastfeeding while your baby is separated from you for an extended period of time is difficult, especially when you are taking all sorts of drugs. But when the doctor says you need to stay in the hospital, you usually have no other choice.

This is what happened to me last month. I was quickly diagnosed with a herniated disk that caused my left foot and calf to go numb, not to mention it was almost impossible to walk, sit or stand. I'm not even going to tell you what it was like to visit the potty. After being sent home from one hospital, I was sent to another, fully expecting them to do the same. They didn't. I was left full of milk and no one to feed.

This was less of an issue for my 8 month old, especially since she was already getting supplements of formula through the supplementer. But I was not ready to let go of the relationship just yet, despite the urging of my mother. Concerned about the undue hardship that breastfeeding would cause on my healing body, I was told to "just stop!"

It did take some work to get things going again, but I'm so glad I didn't listen to my mom. What she may not have taken into consideration is the hardship the hormonal drop would have caused if I did stop nursing. I'll detail how I did this in my next post!

Lilypie Breastfeeding Ticker

I love this. My friend Rachael is using the Facebook app Lilypie to track her breastfeeding relationship with her little one. She has plastered above the ticker "Mommy Milk Rocks!" and the little ticker icon has "booby baby" on the little heart! I normally don't do FB apps but I may have to add this to my profile! You can find yours at http://lilypie.com/Breastfeeding.php. Of course you can put this ticker on blogs in email signatures and other select networking sites as well. When I get the code, I may place it on here too!!

I'm So Excited...and I Just Can't Hide It

I feel as if I finally found my blog. Breastfeeding is near and dear to my heart and with all my issues I can literally write for years on the subject.


Take Lactation failure for example, most women who experience it for the first time don't know they have it, but only know something is wrong. They think they might not have enough, but with all the conflicting information, it's hard to know what to do about it.

Then there are herbs. Some herbs help induce lactation, like fenugreek and goat's rue, and some diminish supply, like sage, parsley and peppermint. Some are safe during pregnancy and not lactation, others are not good for either stage, and some are good for both stages of a woman's life.

I've also explored the social stigma surrounding nursing. While I fall somewhere in the middle of full-frontal nudity and locked in a public bathroom stall, I still think we westerners need an education as to why God put those two round things on our chest. Sorry Pamela Anderson, your boobs are not for the guys at the beach to drool over, He put them there to feed babies.

In the months to come I plan on taking pictures of my SNS, or supplemental feeding system, during its use and sharing how I clean and take care of this handy little device. This took a while to get used to, but I think it is the single most important item I’ve used to maintain my supply.

Thanks for visiting, gotta run the baby is crying!!

Did you Try Alfalfa?

Seriously, I’ve tried almost everything to increase my supply, especially after having four chances to make this work. I’ve read tons of breastfeeding books and information, talked to about a dozen lactation consultants, had my prolactin level checked, drank water til I floated, relaxed and did nothing, did a nursing vacation (actually three), took fenugreek, blessed thistle, goats rue, alfalfa and domperidone all at the same time, pumped every 15 minutes with a double hospital grade pump, and drank ginger ale, the real stuff. I simply don’t have the faculties to produce the amount of milk needed to feed my babies.


Thankfully I have always had some milk supply. The challenge has been to maintain that milk supply despite nursing difficulties, such as thrush and nipple confusion. Actually my babies didn’t get confused; they were smart and just refused the breast after realizing there was little there. My first fought me so hard to take the breast, she knew the bottle was soon to follow the nursing session and she seemed to get increasingly impatient while nursing. At the tender age of 7 months, I gave up the fight and just let her have the bottle, which just about killed me.

My never-ending search for the one thing that would force my body work the way God designed led me to read Dr. Newman’s breastfeeding information. I even had several emails back and forth from him and considered traveling to Canada to see him in his office. But I found out later that this Canadian doctor cannot treat an American patient. I instead took his advice to my city’s breastfeeding clinic and discussed the suggestions with the doctor-lactation consultant team and we developed an action plan…for my fourth baby.

I had my hopes up that the plan would work this time. It didn’t. Even though the previous three babies had shown an increase in supply each time, by the fourth I had hit a plateau. I was left with questions, guilt and a feeling that I was defective, yet again. These feelings surprised me, even though I’d been through it so many times before.

If we are blessed with another child (Sorry God, but we are really trying to avoid this) will I put myself through this again? Will I dare hope that my boobs will work THIS time? Will I drive myself insane reading all the new research about lactation failure? Will I dare to hope, only to be disappointed again? Yes. Yes I certainly will, because God is in the business of miracles, and maybe next time will be my turn.