In the Mother hood: Breastfeeding

 

Once upon a time I took a class in collage called Women’s Health. I had no idea what we would discuss, I guess I knew that we'd cover reproduction and birth control, but I didn't think we'd go over breast feeding. The first time in my life that I realized what a challenge breastfeeding can be was in this class. I had never heard anyone talk about the challenge that can be breastfeeding.

 

My professor went on to tell the horrors of trying to breast feed, how in her first two weeks her nipple bled, and almost fell off (or so she said). Mastitis, engorgement etc... It painted a nasty picture of horror!

 

I thought back to a cat that had ten kittens at the animal shelter. She was locked in this small room with them, and she actually ended up losing a nipple. She couldn't get away from them. It was so terrible, but so is life at a shelter in general.

 

 

 

Anyway, let’s fast forward,

 

I remember the month I was due thinking about nurturing a baby with my boobs. The thought of nursing kind of made me feel weird, not like panicked or afraid although maybe I should have been. It just kind of freaked me out that milk would come out of my body.

 

Once Ryker was born, he wasn't able to try nursing until a day and a half later, during this time I had to pump every three hours, to get the colostrum, and try to bring in my milk. By the time I got to try nursing him, he had been given a bottle, and because of how bruised his head was, they didn't spend a lot of time trying to help me get him to latch, it was to frustrating for him, and maybe painful? We had to be really careful of his head. So what we had to do was use a nipple shield, and then do something called SNS, where they placed a tiny little tube that was connected to a syringe filled with milk, into the side of his mouth and every time he'd latch and suck we'd slowly give him some milk, once I was producing milk, and not just colostrum we didn’t use the syringe and tube any more. This worked to get him to latch, but unfortunately he was eating so much more than I was producing that he could only nurse with the shield for a little bit before he'd need to be topped off with a bottle.

 

It was frustrating, and it's something that I'm still bothered about. Of course my baby needed to eat, but did he really need to be eating 3 oz. before leaving the NICU?  Most newborns are only eating maybe a teaspoon of food every couple hours for the first couple days of life until moms milk comes in.

 

So what I've learned about breastfeeding since then

 

• Latch is important, and even if you have a good latch your nipples will be sore. Guys, they've never seen so much action in their lives, it's going to hurt at first. It DOES get better though.
   

• Ask your doctor for prescription strength nipple cream, my midwife prescribed some and it is so nice! 
   

• Something else, when your milk first comes in, you may get engorged, it could hurt, hopefully it won't (it didn't hurt me), but make sure the baby is actually getting milk. My boobs were huge and I kept thinking "why is my baby fussing so much? Why does he need a bottle after I just fed him?! I swear I have more than enough milk!" well I did have a ton of milk, but I also had a lot of clogged milk ducts because of how much milk I had all of a sudden, and my baby not being able to drain my breast all the way. Anyway, I figured this out after I tried to pump and only got like one oz. out of the side that was super engorged!  
   

• If this happens you have to get into the tub or shower with really hot water, and massage your boobs until they are pretty soft. It hurts, but it prevents mastitis and that is miserable I've heard! After I massaged I fed my baby and then pumped and I got a lot of milk! At least 3 oz. per side!  
   

• Your milk supply will be out of control for a while, until your body figures out how much your baby needs, then it may seem like you're losing your milk supply. Really it's just supply and demand. It evens out. For me this happened around 4-5 weeks. 
   

• The nipple shield makes feeding your baby take longer, and it’s harder for them to get all the milk out to empty the breast completely. So there is more risk of plugged ducts. HOWEVER, the nipple shield, as inconvenient as it can be, is more convenient than pumping, it is also cheaper than formula. I also found that it helped reduce as much nipple soreness. I think it's worth a try if breast feeding is really hard, or baby won't latch on you, but will latch on a bottle.  
   

•  Ryker and I were able to stop using the shield at about six weeks, I just kept trying to get him to latch before every feed, and one day he did. I also googled more about nursing and getting a good latch.  
   

• It hurts mildly when he latches still, but once he's started nursing it doesn't hurt at all. It’s important to unlatch them and make them re-latch if it is really painful once they have sucked for a little bit. 
   

• Expect to be kind of glued to your house, bed etc... For the first couple weeks, not only do you just feel exhausted because you'll be recovering, it's just nice to be able to focus on nursing and not wear a bra! Once you're energy comes back, and you and baby have the hang of things, it will be easier to go places. The first two weeks are tough, breast feeding or not!  
   

• If you do decide to pump, or you’re pumping at work or for work etc… get a nice pump! The Medela is worth the money, it’s hospital grade, and quiet. I think that you can get your insurance to cover it too at least that is what I’ve heard. I rented one from WIC for the first two weeks Ryker was home, and I loved it, as much as you can love a breast pump, anyway.
   

• Another thing I've learned about, that helps keep milk supply up, besides drinking lots of water and eating enough, is lactation cookies! They work! My doula made me some, and I loved them. Here is the recipe .
   
  Lactation Cookies
   
  Yield: Makes 20 to 22 cookies, depending on the scoop          total time: 45 minutes
   
  Ingredients:
   
  3 cups old fashioned rolled oats, or oatmeal
   
  1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
   
  5 tablespoons brewer’s yeast
   
  3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
   
  ½ teaspoon baking soda
   
  ½ teaspoon baking powder
   
  ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
   
  ¼ teaspoon salt
   
  12 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used plain Greek yogurt for this instead)
   
  4 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
   
  1 ½ cups sugar
   
  1 large egg + 1 Large egg yolk
   
  2 teaspoons vanilla extract
   
  1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips/chunks (I like Ghirardelli)
   
  Directions:
  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
   
  In a small bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, yeast, flaxseed, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt.
   
  In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and coconut oil on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and beat on medium/high speed until fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the egg and egg yolk, beating until combined, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the vanilla and beat until combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined and mixed. Stir in the chocolate chip with a spatula until evenly dispersed.
   
  Scoop the dough into 1-inch rounds (an ice cream scoop works well) and place on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-14 minutes, or until the bottoms are just golden. Let cool completely before storing in a sealed container.
   
  1. You can easily freeze this dough - scoop the rounds on a baking sheet, place the sheet in the freezer for 2 hours, then place the dough
   
  Rounds in a zip lock bag and store in the freezer. Bake at the same temp - they may or may not need an extra minute or 2 - your
   
  Preference!
   
  2. You can use all butter if you don't have/can't find coconut oil. If you swap any butter amount for more coconut oil, the cookies will
   
  Spread a bit more. If you decrease the fat (butter/oil) amount in total, these cookies will be drier. It's up to you!
   
  3. You can use 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour with similar results - anymore and the cookies with be drier and grittier.
   
  4. You can probably decrease the sugar by 1/4 cup without issue.
   
  5. I do not have experience in making these vegans, so I can't say what it would be like without the eggs or with vegan butter. I also am
   
  Not sure how the consistency would be with gluten free flour.
   
  6. I personally think you can increase the brewers yeast amount by 1 to 2 tablespoons
   
  5/29/2016 The Best Lactation Cookies! | How Sweet It Is
   
  http://www.howsweeteats.com/2015/02/lactationcookies/
   
  print/ 2/2
   
   
  Anyway, I hope this helps some new mom out there. I'm obviously no expert, but I think breast feeding isn't something we talk about with new moms before baby is born. It's harder than you'd expect, but becomes really easy and convenient once you get the hang of it. It's also free, nutritious and free!