World Breastfeeding Week

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, Nizo Wear is offering 30% off any nursing bra purchased from their website http://www.nizowear.com/! Simply pick out what Nizo Wear nursing bra you cannot live without and enter coupon code: worldbfweek. You must hurry because this sale is only valid from Sunday July 31st thru Sunday August 7th!

What is World Breastfeeding Week??
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF policy-makers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

This year’s theme established by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy (WABA) is: “Talk to Me: Breastfeeding, a 3-D Experience.” Their focus is on the importance of connection between mother and baby (2-dimensions) but also the third dimension of support from the health care provider, friend, family member, or citizen. I LOVE this theme. Support is such an important aspect of breastfeeding, as those of you who know my story know that I could not have continued to breastfeed without it!

Breastfeeding is the best way to provide newborns with the nutrients they need. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is six months old, and continued breastfeeding with the addition of nutritious complementary foods for up to two years or beyond.

The challenge

Malnutrition is responsible, directly or indirectly for about one third of deaths among children under five. Well above two thirds of these deaths, often associated with inappropriate feeding practices, occur during the first year of life.

Nutrition and nurturing during the first years of life are both crucial for life-long health and well-being. In infancy, no gift is more precious than breastfeeding; yet barely one in three infants is exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life.

The response
The World Health Organization recommends that infants start breastfeeding within one hour of life, are exclusively breastfed for six months, with timely introduction of adequate, safe and properly fed complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond.

Promoting sound feeding practices is one of the main programme areas that the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development focuses on. Activities include the production of sound, evidence-based technical information, development of guidelines and counselling courses, provision of guidance for the protection, promotion and support of infant and young child feeding at policy, health service and community levels, production of appropriate indicators and maintenance of a Global Data Bank on Infant and Young Child Feeding.

Tips you always wish you knew on how to get the right bra fit

Tips you always wish you knew on how to get the right bra fit:
1.The bra should be quite firm around the body, and ideally fitted on the 3rd eye adjustment.
2.Shoulder straps loosened or tightened as necessary.
3.Breasts well enclosed within the cup.
4.Center front going back reasonably well to chest wall.
5.Snug fit at neck and underarm edges (not too tight and not gaping).

Your bra doesn't fit quite right if...

If the back rides up,
try going down a band size, but up a cup size for similar cup capacity i.e. 36C to 34D.

If you are spilling out of the cup,

try going up a cup size or two, keeping the band size the same i.e. 34B to 34D

If your bra looks like this your cup is too big,

try a smaller cup size, keeping the band size the same i.e. 34D to 34C.

Spill-over

Gapping

Low milk supply journey: Part 2

Low Milk Supply Journey: Part 2-

"Our journey towards weight gain continues. At my son's 4 mth check-up his doctor noticed a decline on his growth curve. For the next week I was instructed to start taking fenugreek as a supplement and to breastfeed my baby more often. In addition I was told to give him a 2 oz supplemental bottle after each nursing session.

I am incredibly fortunate to have an overproducing sister with a baby 2 months older than my son. She supplied me with frozen breast milk! After the first 9 days my son gained 14oz! The next week I was instructed to follow the same regime. After that week he gained an additional 6oz.

Then came the true test - stop the supplemental feeding, but continue the herbal boosters. The hope was to gain 0.5oz every day. Half way through this week I began taking Motherlove's More Milk Plus. My doctor - who is also a lactation consultant - was familiar with their products and pleased I was starting them.

I had been emailing with Motherlove's local representative and she was fabulous in helping me get going! I can tell the More Milk Plus has been increasing my supply - my breasts have been feeling fuller in between nursing session and I just felt like I was producing more. I was very hopeful going into our next weigh-in.

On our own he did ok, but not great. His next weigh-in showed a 2oz gain. That puts us on the 2 week weigh-in plan, opposed to the weekly one we were on. I admit to being frustrated with the situation - this is my 4th baby and the first time I've had to go in for so many weight checks!

I knew sudafed would lessen any one's milk supply; through my experience I've also learned that sage is to be avoided while breastfeeding for the same reason. Throughout this whole ordeal I feel so fortunate to have a doctor who supports breastfeeding and all the natural ways available to keep that going! I also am impressed by companies like Motherlove who share the common goal with excellent representatives. There is hope for low milk supply!!" -Lisa

Here is a link to other herbs that may affect milk supply: http://www.babycenter.com/0_breast-milk-interactions-chart_8788.bc?page=1.

I was surprised to see peppermint, menthol and parsley on there! This shows you how naive I was when I breastfed. I knew to stay away from alcohol and caffeine but herbs were so not on my radar! I guess since I did not have a problem with that I did not research it. Plus, being a new mom we all have so many other things to worry about :).

I want to send a BIG thank you to Motherlove who continues to impress me with the quality of their products and the kindness and integrity of their company! Good luck to those of you out there struggling with low milk supply. We hope this helps you on your own journey!! - Nicole, Nizo Wear

10 things your breastfeeding boobs would say if they could talk

I was reminded that yes, breastfeeding can be hard! So, here is a little boob humor to pick up you breastfeeding mamas! (If you have any additions to this list we would love to hear it. Please SHARE :) My favorite's are number 4 and 10! What is yours?

found in "If these boobs could talk" by S. Seip & A. Hedger:

1. Since when are we open twenty-four hours?
2. Get the soothing gel. Get it now.
3. Sir, this is a "Babies Only" zone.
4. Kid, how can you not see our nipples when they're the size of paper plates?
5. Woo Hoo! We're spraying across the room!
6. Wow, we look spectacular!
7. Wait, now we look like old gym socks.
8. Hmmm, do we hear a baby crying somewh....and there's the milk.
9. Hey, we dont get paid enough to work this hard.
10. Oh great. A tooth.

Low milk supply journey

I have said many times that yes, breastfeeding is simple but it is not always easy! There are so many factors that come into play to make it difficult, like a poor latch, or low milk supply, or getting thrush or multiple other infections, or simply lack of support etc...

Recently I found out a good friend was having trouble in an area I had no problems with...milk supply (I was a milk machine, so much so that if I did not regularly feed every three hours or pump if I was away from my baby I would get a plugged duct.) But, there are many women out there that do have trouble with this issue. So many in fact that there are tons of products out there to assist these women. Since I am not the expert in this area my amazing friend has agreed to share her journey to boost her milk supply and her baby's weight with us! I will be posting the progress here so stay tuned!

My friend Lisa, who is a wonderful breastfeeding mother of 4, thought she would have nursing down to an art by now. But, she recently discovered that her fourth baby is falling on his growth chart. This is not something completely new to her as either her first or third baby prompted her to take fenugreek to help get her milk supply up. She is back on fenugreek now and with the help of Motherlove's More Milk Plus, her sister's excess milk and a strict regiment from her doctor she hopes to boost her lovely boy up the weight charts. Here, in her words, is the start of her milk boosting journey.

"I'm ready to up my dose (as per my doctor) and to also include Motherlove's More Milk Plus. We are on week 2 of giving supplemental milk after each feeding. I am so thankful to my sister for giving me her leftover pumped/ frozen milk! In 9 days my son gained 14 oz!!

He has a weight check next week, after which I will stop the supplemental milk and give it another week before yet another weight check. This week my instructions are to up the number of nursing sessions and also to try to get some pumping sessions in my day - not necessarily easy to do!

This is the most aggressive instruction I've gotten for feeding any of my babies; 2 others also had weight-gaining issues. I am somewhat annoyed at all the extra attention I have to give to feeding my baby - breastfeeding is supposed to be so easy! But I am thankful to have a plan to get us back on track. Until then I will continue to thaw extra milk every night and wash bottles daily in anticipation of maintaining a milk supply that will satisfy my hungry little baby!


And for anyone reading this who thinks that only first time moms make rookie mistakes, last week I was nursing my baby while enjoying crushed red pepper on my pizza. Somehow some of the pepper fell into my son's eye! He was quite upset, his eye got puffy and the skin around his eye was blotchy. The on-call pediatrician suggested to rinse his eye with contact solution and call Poison Control. The nice woman at Poison Control said to take a shower with him and let the water run down his face. We happened to be traveling so the shower was not an option. After a good 5 min my son finally stopped crying, opened his eyes and actually smiled at me! The puffiness went away and I am thankful he will not remember this incident as an adult." - Lisa

What is a bad latch?

I was very familiar with a bad latch, as that is what inspired me to create Nizo Wear Nursing Bras. My sweet son appeared to have a good latch from the outside and he did not make any smacking sounds while nursing, but oh did I experience the nipple pain!

There was a point, about a week into my first breastfeeding experience, that I would cry every time I put my hungry son to breast. I felt like I was at my wits end and since he looked like he had a good latch I did not know what was going on or what to do to fix the problem.

Luckily I had a wonderful contact who came to my house, took one look at my nipple (all modesty was out the window at this point) and told me the problem. My son had a shallow latch and was not getting his tongue under my nipple far enough and was therefore brushing it with each suck. It felt as it someone had sandpapered my nipples raw and now I understood why.

This wonderful public health nurse showed me how to train my son to suck correctly and armed me with a nipple shield and miraculously I healed and went on to breastfeed my son for 15 months. Here is a great video showing you where your nipple should land in your baby's mouth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zln0LTkejIs&feature=player_embedded#at=52)

So, to help other breastfeeding moms out there I have found some tips from a great lactation consultant and thought I would share them with you. If you are having pain, I hope these help (check out the videos), and seek help immediately as there is nothing like personal touch. I also recommend a few products below.

Breastfeeding should not be painful. Good luck!

Below are listed the signs of a bad latch or a breast latch that might cause injury.

#1 SIGN = PAIN!!! Breastfeeding Pain is NOT normal. Breast feeding should not hurt. If it does, SEEK HELP TODAY.
Lips rolled in or circle “o” lips
Clicking, popping or smacking sounds at the breast.
Dimpling of infant cheeks
Mom reports “biting” sensation during feed
Compression stripe on nipple after feeding
Lipstick shape nipple after feeding (beveled)
Nipple easily slips out of mouth when baby pauses
Bleeding or injured nipple after feed
Baby is not gaining weight
Baby is not satisfied (this one can be tricky, because newborns can feed every hour to help your milk come in so until your milk comes in frequent feeds can be totally normal)

Uncorrected latching can quite frequently lead to nipple injury. Nipple injury can make mommies want to quit breastfeeding. So, avoiding injury is important. If you are having any of the above signs, please make an appointment with your local lactation consultant as soon as possible.

Some products to help you now!

Three products I found to work wonders to get you through this painful period:

1. Motherlove Herbal Nipple Cream found at http://www.motherlove.com/ (to help your nipples heal)

2. Smart Choices Breast Soother warming and cooling packs found on http://www.nizowear.com/ (for immediate pain relief)

3. Nipple shield found at many stores like Target (this is great in extreme cases to let your nipple heal while still continuing to breastfeed. Some mothers have good luck pumping instead of nursing while they heal, but my case was so severe that this product was the only thing that helped me)

What mom should be doing for a successful breatfeeding experience:
Has Good posture Sitting upright or lying on side
Is Comfortable - starting out uncomfortable is not good
Well-supported with pillows (pillows are usually more managable than a nursing pillow in the first 24 hours)
Lap flat or slightly elevated
Cups breast with fingers off areola

Check out this video to see firsthand what this should look like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oQHe1eYsnE&feature=player_embedded

What should baby look like?

Tummy to tummy or Chest to breast
Ear, shoulder, & hip aligned
At breast level, nipple to nose
Body slightly flexed with head relaxed slightly backwards (drinking position)
Body supported on pillows and by mother
Mother supports infant’s neck, base of head, shoulder girdle

Information from this post was based on personal experiences and information was collected from askthelactationconsultant.com

Surviving Colic

If you are trying to survive colic and breastfeeding, like I was, here are some tips!

I was once in the place where you are trying to manage both the colic and breastfeeding. My first tip: I completely recommend reading The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, MD. I found the 5 S's were the only long term solution. Yes, of course there were other tricks that often gave us brief relief like carseat on the dryer (yes, we held on the entire time for safety) or a car ride or running the vacuum cleaner. But when we did the 5 S's in order, no substitutions here people, it worked!

I know, some of you are saying "Ok, I can do four of the S's, but my baby loves to have his hands and legs free. I just do not feel right swaddling him". Well, I was one of you, before our colic got to the point of total frustration! Sure, my baby loved to explore with his hands but when it was time to settle down, he really needed the secure feeling that only swaddling could provide.

Now, I was given this book as a shower gift. I skimmed the important parts, dog-earring and highlighting. But when it came time to use it, I was so sleep deprived and crazed from the crying it took a while before I remembered I even had it! Then to find time to re-read to a point of retention so I could put the tools to use. Once we got the hang of it though, it was wonderful.

The most important thing for you to realize is that colic is not your fault and that breastfeeding is still the best thing that you can do for your baby. Switching to formula, as some people recommend, will only make it worse. In fact, some babies whose colic ends after three months seem to have it return when they are weaned from the breast!

What You Need to Know About Colic and Breastfeeding.

First of all, we need to understand what colic is. Colic is described as uncontrollable, extended crying in a baby who is well-fed, dry and otherwise should be fine. While every baby cries, some little ones cry for more than three hours a day, three to four days a week...these babies may have colic. My son was text book colic starting at about 5 weeks. Every night for about 4-6 hours he would just scream. No sitting the baby down to get anything done for us!

It is estimated that over 20% of babies have or get colic, and it usually starts around two to four weeks of age and can last for three months, or longer in some cases.

Tips: (I wish I had known this!!) If you are feeding from both breasts and have a fussy baby, I've been told that you may want to reconsider! Here is why, according to breastfeeding magazine: Breast milk changes during each feeding. One of the ways in which it changes is that the longer your baby feeds on a breast, the higher the fat content of the breast milk. (This higher fat milk is often referred to as hind milk.)

If mommies automatically switch the baby from one breast to the other during the feeding (before the baby has "finished" the first side) the baby may get a relatively low amount of fat during the feeding. Don’t be fooled by modern thinking…that is NOT good!

By doing this you are actually giving the baby less calories , and thus needing to feed more frequently. Also, if the baby takes in a lot of milk (to make up the low concentration of fat and calories,) she may spit up or cause acid reflux.

Due to the low density fat content of the milk, the baby’s tummy will empty quickly, and a large load of milk sugar (lactose) will arrive in the baby’s intestine all at once. The stomach proteins may not be able to handle so much milk sugar at one time. This will cause your baby to have some symptoms of lactose intolerance--crying, gas, and explosive, watery, greenish bowel movements. This may occur even during the feeding.

NOTE: These babies are not lactose intolerant. They are just victims of incorrect breastfeeding coaching and lack of awareness by moms. Learn more about breastfeeding oversupply here...

Don’t Blame Yourself! Many moms who are misinformed think it must be something the mom did or could be doing to prevent or cause colic. That is just not true! MOST cases of colic there is absolutely nothing that you can do to prevent it or stop it! Just remember that it is not your fault and more importantly--It will PASS!

If you feel your frustration getting out of control hand that baby off to your hubby or a good friend and to take a break…a bubble bath or a walk!! Both colic and breastfeeding can be hard on moms! If, or should I say when, it gets to you then give yourself permission to take a rest. Make sure baby is feed, changed and well-rested...and then PLEASE just take a break!

HANG IN THERE!

thanks http://www.breastfeeding-magazine.com/colic-and-breastfeeding.html for the helpful tips!