Breastfeeding

I always imagined that breastfeeding would be the easiest and most natural thing in the world. Even though I researched *everything* when I was pregnant, and read about issues like Mastitis, I never thought that I would be the one to get them. After all, babies are meant to breastfeed.

I had a c-section so I was *lucky enough* to get to spend 4 days in the hospital. This was a blessing in disguise because I had a lactation consultant available to me literally at all hours. Even with all of this help and support, my baby had some latching issues, and I didn’t know enough to fix his latch. They told me it should never hurt, even so I wouldn’t break my baby’s latch. (That is the piece of advice I really want to broadcast to the world…if it hurts, break the baby’s latch, otherwise you’re in for it

My nipples developed milk blisters and it looked like chunks had been taken out in certain places. I’m very proud of myself that I never even considered giving up. It hurt, but it was bearable at this point.

My milk came in pretty early, about 3 days after giving birth. This was exciting for me! I really think the realization that I would be providing the nutrients for my baby’s health, growth, and development got me through. We went home on day 4. Me with sore nipples, but so determined to do the right thing.

A couple days later I got engorged. The right side wasn’t so bad, but the left side seemed like it had *grown* about 8 sizes. It was sore and throbbing. Then I started to feel freezing cold. It was the middle of August, in a house with only window units, so I knew something must be wrong. I took my temperature, and it wasn’t too high, but enough to warrant a call to my OB. He had me come in to the office right away to make sure I didn’t have another problem, and determined that I had Mastitis.

Mastitis is an infection in the breast that usually occurs because of a plugged milk duct that gets infected. It is very sore and painful, and can look like a red arrow sort of pointing to the nipple in the infected area. That’s what mine looked like. I took that round of antibiotics and felt *ok* within a couple of days. However, I was having other problems as well and ended up getting a UTI. By this point, I was very stressed and not feeling well at all, plus having had the c-section I was in poor shape. I wanted to be able to do everything and feel good for my baby, it just wasn’t happening.

About a week later, the Mastitis returned in full force and I was on a second round of antibiotics. Finally, it and my UTI was cleared up and I was able to breastfeed with much less pain and discomfort.

The moral of this story is, I feel that my Mastitis could have been prevented if I had taken the simple advice to break my baby’s latch if it ever became painful. If you are constantly experiencing pain when your baby nurses, something is wrong and you need to check latch, positioning, or a combination of the two. Another mistake I had been making was using the same position to feed the baby all the time. We used the cross cradle hold ALL the time. His latch wasn’t developed enough to suck efficiently at that point, so using other positions would have helped him drain the milk ducts. I was lucky that my boughts of Mastitis did not cause extreme fever or other problems.

What Helped Me

• Do not let your breasts get too engorged
• If you are having an oversupply try block feeding (feeding on 1 side only for as long as the baby wants to nurse within a specified period, i.e. 2 hours block, 4 hour block, etc.)
• Breastfeed frequently enough to empty the milk ducts, but be careful to not build up an oversupply if you have this problem.
• Get plenty of rest!
• Try different positions.
• Do NOT stop nursing, this will make the problem worse, and won’t be good for your baby.
• Massage the tender area.
• If you feel that you have developed Mastitis-SEE A DOCTOR! Antibiotics may be in order

See Dr. Sears for more information

Breastfeeding is the biological norm, but for years, and sometimes still today, infant growth curves used by doctors have been compared to charts based on formula fed babies. Article by Barbara Behrmann.

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This resource gives a summary of breastfeeding laws in the United States, by state. Thirty-nine states have laws specifically allowing women to breastfeed in any public or private location. Twenty-one states exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws. Thirteen states have laws related to breastfeeding in the workplace. Four states have implemented or encouraged the development of a breastfeeding awareness education campaign.

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We went for my son’s pediatrician appointment a couple of weeks ago. It was just another well child visit to see how he’s growing and all. I was not prepared to hear that he had gained about three pounds (apparently he’s gaining weight 3X faster than average!). I was a little alarmed at this. The pediatrician believes that I have an oversupply and overactive let-down.

The doctor told me that my son is getting too much and to limit his feedings. I said “ok”…after all, doesn’t doctor know best? However, when I got home I realized, hey, didn’t everything I’ve ever read say NEVER to limit a breastfed baby’s feedings as their bodies know what they need?

I did a little more research and my suspicions were confirmed. I could find NO supporting evidence that limiting and scheduling a breastfed baby’s feedings is ever a good idea. I hate going against his doctor but my *mommy sense* tells me to continue feeding him on demand. In fact, my dad sent me this article which states that one of the biggest mistakes parents make is trying to feed their newborn on a schedule.

So where is the disconnect here? I really like my baby’s doctor, but they gave such old fashioned and wrong advice. There is no evidence to support that gaining this weight in a newborn is unhealthy. In fact, research shows that breastfed babies simply gain weight faster, but end up trimmer later in life. My baby doesn’t throw his meals up, just spitting up here and there like any newborn. I think that feeding him on demand is the best thing for my child and am going to *ignore* the pediatrician’s advice on this matter. The La Leche League is the foremost source on breastfeeding, and they fully encourage demand feeding! At least I know my little man is healthy

What do you all think? Am I doing the right thing?

When I was a kid “feeding the baby” meant preparing a bottle of formula. My baby dolls all had bottles, what else was there? I am saddened that this was the image portrayed to children of my generation. Granted, they had not done the research at that point, but what did everyone think boobs were for???

When I found out I was pregnant, I immediately knew that I wanted to breastfeed. The realization surprised me only because breastfeeding had never really been presented to me before. Yet, I just *knew*. It really just felt like the natural and right thing to do.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding because it provides the exact nutrition our babies need. It also provides them with immunities to illness. Studies have shown that the aptitude of breastfeed babies is higher than that of formula fed babies. Honestly, if you’re able to breastfeed, I don’t see how you can argue with the research. It is clearly the best thing to do for your baby. Now, I realize there are some women out there who are unable to breastfeed. But I’m not talking about those women, they do the best they can. I just hope the message gets spread to those who think that breastfeeding is “icky” and gross. Breasts have become so sexualized (and rightly so!) that some cannot see their *other* intended purpose.

We now know that it is the best choice for every baby. It’s not without it’s hardships, but it is so worth it to continue nurturing your child in the world as you nurtured him in the womb.