LLLI | 10 Tips to Breastfeeding for a Year

What an amazing week it has been here at Joyful Mama's Place as we celebrated World Breastfeeding Week 2010!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment, and for the flood of e-mails from passionate, breastfeeding moms! In fact, these posts have been so popular that I will continue sharing on the topic once a week for the remainder of August.

Today's post is an article that appeared in New Beginnings, a publication of La Leche League International, in the January-February2006 edition. I found the article to be informative and very helpful, and although I support the World Health Organization's recommendation that babies should  ideally be breastfed until the age of two or beyond, this article will hopefully give new moms the neccessary encouragement to take the first steps towards establishing a good breastfeeding relationship with their baby. You can access more great articles on the Breastfeeding Answers page on the LLL website - just click here.

10 Tips to Breastfeed for a Year

by Christine Foster

   The recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups is clear—babies should be breastfed until at least their first birthday. But few mothers and babies make it that far. Although more than 70 percent of new mothers in the USA breastfeed just after birth, just 16 percent are still breastfeeding at one year (Ruowei et al. 2005). The reasons that so few make it to that goal are complex— a society that doesn't always support breastfeeding; alternatives that can seem easier during difficult times; a lack of education or understanding about the significant differences between the health of breastfed babies and bottle-fed babies. But most mothers who really want to can make it to a year, and beyond. This article provides some tips to help you get there.

1. Find Support

Although many mothers initiate breastfeeding after birth, it's still unusual for a new mother to have a lot of experience with seeing breastfeeding in action. The changes a new mother experiences after the birth of a baby are hard to anticipate and oftentimes surprising. The theoretical notion of planning to breastfeed can be radically different from caring for a real, live baby at the breast. For that reason, it's comforting to be around people who know about breastfeeding.

One of the easiest ways to find supportive people is to attend La Leche League meetings during your pregnancy. Experienced Leaders often note that mothers who are involved with LLL before the birth tend to have an easier time because they are more educated about the normal course of breastfeeding. Plus, if there are unexpected issues, mothers who have already attended meetings are often more comfortable calling a Leader they already know.

It can also be helpful to educate family and friends about your goal. When Unity Dienes, a Leader in New Hampshire, was expecting twins, she made sure that her husband, Klee, understood her goals by writing up a list of reasons why it was so important for their boys to get her milk. Unity's advance work meant that when they encountered challenges in those early weeks, she had his full support. "He was amazed at how many different reasons there were," she says.

2. Learn to Breastfeed in Public

Learning how to breastfeed in public can be a big challenge—especially in communities where breastfeeding isn't as common. Women who can't get comfortable breastfeeding in public generally find it harder to make it to a year or beyond. If she doesn't want to nurse in public, a mother would either need to limit her excursions or pump her milk for bottles. Either of those can be frustrating and can limit the breastfeeding relationship.

Some mothers find nursing clothing to be helpful when they need to nurse in public, while others find it just as easy to breastfeed discreetly by lifting their shirt from the bottom and making sure their baby covers all of the exposed skin. Many mothers gain confidence by practicing in comfortable environments —such as a La Leche League meeting—or by watching themselves in a mirror so they know what they look like to those who may be watching. Sometimes enlisting a friend to come along for early outings can make a mother more comfortable. "Even if someone can tell you are breastfeeding, it's not a big deal," says Unity. "Try to develop that mind set. You are feeding your baby. You are comforting your baby. That's what your breasts are for."

Often a mother will actually be encouraged in her breastfeeding relationship by strangers who see her breastfeeding. "I was very nervous about breastfeeding in public with my first baby," says Dawn Burke, a Leader in Georgia. Once, when her daughter was about eight months old and the pair was out at a farmers' market, her baby became desperate to breastfeed. Dawn found a secluded spot on a milk crate at the edge of the public/employee area and sat down to breastfeed. An older male employee approached and loudly praised her for breastfeeding. "It is good to see you nursing your baby!" Dawn remembers him saying. "I am from India," he continued, "and breastfeeding is very important there. You keep nursing your baby. It's very good!" Now, Dawn says, "I tell mothers at meetings to take support wherever they find it!"

3. Limit the Use of Bottles and Pacifiers

Some babies clearly do use bottles and pacifiers and manage to continue breastfeeding for at least a year. But, as stated in THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK, getting sucking needs met somewhere other than the breast is a risk factor for early weaning. Using artificial nipples during the early weeks can interfere with a baby's ability to breastfeed effectively.

La Leche League suggests limiting pacifier use in the early weeks, which can seem confusing to some mothers in light of the recent recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics that babies should sleep with pacifiers to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. LLL believes that the recommendation did not take basic breastfeeding management into account and could threaten the development of longer-term breastfeeding relationships. According to a statement issued by LLL:

Pacifiers are artificial substitutes for what the breast does naturally. Breastfed babies often nurse to sleep for naps and bedtime. The recommended pacifier usage could cause a reduction in milk supply due to reduced stimulation of the breasts and may affect breastfeeding duration.

In other words, if pacifiers are good for babies, why not use the best—the breast?

4. Find Ways to Involve Dad

One of the most common reasons new mothers give for pumping milk is that they want their baby's father to be able to give the baby a bottle. Frequent bottles, however, can lead to early weaning, so finding another way for daddy to connect with his baby can be crucial. In many families, bath time or an infant massage is a special daddy-baby bonding opportunity that offers skin-to-skin contact and comfort.

Cindy Howard, a Leader in California, recalls that her husband disliked giving their daughters bottles because his daughters seemed to behave as if they were getting second-best. When their youngest daughter, Gwen, was a baby, John connected with her by rubbing her feet to comfort her when his wife attended an early morning exercise class.

Jennifer Moquin, a Leader in Pennsylvania, let her husband, Anthony, take the late shift with their night owl baby. She would breastfeed the baby and then lie down to sleep a bit while daddy walked the baby around, played special songs to her, and showed her pictures on the wall. "She was mellow, but wide awake," Jennifer recalls. "It was always a really nice time for them."

5. Create a Daily Rhythm

Strict schedules can make it hard for a mother to respond to her own baby's cues. They can also lead to decreased milk supply, because milk is removed from a mother's breasts less often. It can be confusing for mothers to hear that babies are "supposed to" breastfeed eight to 12 times in a 24 hour period or that babies "should" breastfeed for 10 or 15 minutes on each breast when their baby is doing something different. According to THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK, "Length of feedings varies with the baby's personality and age. A baby's breastfeeding style also may change as he grows." Many mothers find it helpful to spend less time looking at the clock and counting the number of times their babies go to the breast. As long as your baby is gaining enough weight, simply watching his or her cues is enough.

For some mothers and babies, though, having some sort of predictability to the day is important. A mother can gradually provide some structure by giving her baby predictable cues. Having a specific order to the day—a time for baths, walks, or books, for example—can help the baby and the mother find a rhythm that works for them. Some babies will fall into a more regular breastfeeding pattern as they grow older. Others will continue to want to breastfeed frequently throughout the day.

6. Breastfeed for Comfort

Some mothers worry that offering the breast for comfort when baby is upset will create an inappropriate emotional connection with food. They worry that their child will turn to food for comfort, rather than eating to satisfy physical hunger. They might believe that it's better to try to separate food from emotions. If we are honest with ourselves, though, we will realize that all of us associate certain emotions with certain foods. Cindy Howard, who is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, gives the example of the traditional birthday cake. There is rarely much nutritional value in the cake. It's the emotional component of celebrating with others that matters.

When you offer the breast for comfort, you are encouraging your baby to turn to you for comfort instead of a non-human object. The human contact matters more than the milk. Plus, breastfeeding for comfort keeps your supply plentiful and reminds the baby that by breastfeeding he can help himself to feel good again.

7. Recognize the Signs of a Nursing Strike

Babies often have periods during which they seem more or less interested in breastfeeding, but it is very unusual for a baby to actually choose to wean before one year. It is not uncommon, however, for a mother to say her young baby is "weaning" when the baby is actually in the midst of a nursing strike or making a developmental leap that is distracting him from breastfeeding. According to THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK, the most typical age for a nursing strike is between three and eight months.

The key to avoiding weaning inadvertently is to recognize and deal appropriately with a nursing strike. Molly Remer, a Leader in Missouri, remembers that when her son, Lann, was five months old, he stopped breastfeeding during waking hours for a week due to having a cold. Apparently frustrated because he was congested and having trouble breathing while breastfeeding, Lann simply refused. Molly breastfed him while he slept and tried various tricks to get him back to the breast during the day. Breastfeeding while in motion worked best, so she walked and breastfed. Lann is now two years old and still breastfeeding regularly.

Another very typical time for something that can look like weaning, but isn't, is the second half of the first year as babies start to move and be more aware of their environment. Some are so distracted that they never stop to breastfeed. Some mothers find that offering to breastfeed more often, bringing a baby into a dark room to breastfeed, or taking advantage of nighttime nursing opportunities can get them through this stage. Frequently, when babies refuse to breastfeed, though, there is something else going on that has upset the babies' lives, such as an illness or teething or a big change in the family, such as a move. And, sometimes, rarely, babies will wean naturally before a year. The benefits of breastfeeding to a baby's health are so strong, however, that it is worth efforts to make sure that a baby is not simply going through a short-lived stage before stopping breastfeeding.

8. Handle One Day at a Time

Some mothers are planners: they want to decide how long they will breastfeed before their baby is even born. They think, "I don't really want to nurse a three-year-old, so I will wean now." Others may plan to breastfeed until a year or beyond, but may feel overwhelmed during the early days and fear that they can't possibly make it to their goal.

Instead of making a firm decision in advance, try taking it one day at a time. When your baby is a newborn the idea of breastfeeding an enormous 12-month-old can seem daunting. When you are helping her blow out her candles on her first birthday, your baby won't seem nearly so huge.

Ariel Valencia, a mother in California, has used the "one day at a time" approach to help her continue to give her son, Evren, only her milk. Ariel works outside the home and finds it difficult to pump enough milk for him while she is away. She sets two-week goals and has already made it to five months.

9. Don't View Breastfeeding as an "All-or-Nothing" Proposition

Occasionally mothers introduce formula—perhaps to cope with a supply deficit while they are working or because they choose not to pump milk when they are separated from their baby.

Julie Nelson, a mother in New York, introduced formula to her son, Nicholas, at nine months when she stopped being able to pump enough for him while she was at work. She continued to breastfeed during the evenings and on weekends and Nicholas continued to breastfeed through his first birthday.

10. Enjoy the Moment

Remember, it's okay to fall in love with breastfeeding. "It's going to be your heart, not your mind that makes you continue," says Unity Dienes. So prime your heart to love breastfeeding. Unity suggests that mothers:

•Make sure breastfeeding doesn't hurt—you can't fall in love with something that hurts.

•Avoid having anything in between you and your baby, including a nipple shield or a bottle with pumped milk. Whenever something is between you, it makes things more difficult.

•Snuggle with your baby. Savor his sweet smell and his fuzzy head. Watch to see the milk your body made dripping out the corner of his mouth. Falling in love involves all the senses.

When a mother embraces breastfeeding, it becomes that much easier to breastfeed for a full year and beyond. That's the true "secret" to breastfeeding. If a mother enjoys breastfeeding or commits herself to it, it's likely that it will be easier for her to allow comfort nursing, figure out how to nurse in the presence of others, and get the support she needs.

This period in your baby's life is fleeting. As you adjust to this new experience, remember to take things as they come and try to enjoy the moment.

References
Mohrbacher, N. and Stock, J. THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK. Schaumburg, Illinois: La Leche League International, 2003.

Ruowei, L. et al. Breastfeeding rates in the United States by characteristics of the child, mother, or family: The 2002 national immunization survey. Pediatrics 2005; 115(1):e31-e37.

NUTRITION FOR BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS by guest blogger Linnie

Welcome to day four of our World Breastfeeding Week 2010 celebrations here on Joyful Mama's Place!

Today's guest blogger is an amazing lady who is also a very precious friend of mine, and it is an absolute JOY to welcome her to my blog!

Linnie is the mother of eight beautiful children, two girls and six boys - so far! - and has all the right credentials for writing a blog post about nutrition for breastfeeding moms: she was trained as a dietician, her husband owns a successful health shop, and she is a breastfeeding mother who is single-minded about providing her family with nutritious food.

To learn more about Linnie and her beautiful family, be sure to visit her blog, Back to Ancient Ways.

Christo and Linnie's eight blessings!

I am the mother of 8 children and I breastfed each child for at least 15 months. Over the past 16years (my oldest turns 16 in two weeks) I’ve breastfed exactly 12 years (144 months), and non-stop since June 2005. What I’m sharing with you about nutrition while breastfeeding, nobody has taught me, neither did I read it in any book. It is knowledge I’ve acquired through many painful days and nights trying to comfort fussy and colicky babies.

Photo below: Three of Christo and Linnie's boys - look at those beautiful big eyes!

Contrary to what your pediatrician, dietitian (trust me on this one - I was a dietitian) or clinic sister will tell you, everything that you eat has an influence on your baby. Not only coffee, alcohol and maybe chocolates! Anything you eat or drink gets digested and absorbed into your breast milk. Baby drinks that and depending on if it is easily digested, unknown to the digestive system or too complex to be digested yet, you will have a content, uncomfortable or, in most cases, colicky baby!

There is a small spectrum of food available for breastfeeding mothers, and finding foods that are good for both baby and mother is by far the hardest part of breast feeding, and thus one of the main reasons why mothers stop breastfeeding their babies, against their knowledge that breast is best! It is important what condiments you use during cooking. The brand of a product i.e. Soya sauce, salt etc is extremely important, as some brands add ingredients that gives baby cramps very easily and mother a difficult night.

So what do I avoid during the first three months of a newborn baby? There are so many foods to avoid, it is easier for me to tell you what I’m allowed to eat, but I will still try.

1. I avoid all wheat. Even ‘organic wheat’. Organic wheat is still altered and now contains 21 genes in comparison to the original 7 genes of the God-made-wheat and thus the body doesn’t have the enzymes to digest it correctly. We bake our own bread from Spelt.

2. The next big no-no is, diary products. That includes milk, cream, cheese, cottage cheese, yoghurt, etc., but butter is OK.

3. Food containing MSG make babies cry for hours! That means there are no soup powders, aromat or tinned food in my kitchen cupboards. I also avoid any commercial mayonnaise, chutney, soya sauce, tomato puree, tomato paste or tomato sauce.

4. Sugar is also a stumbling block on your way to an easy baby! Sugar is a mind-altering-drug and will make your baby more irritable. Be especially careful of breakfast cereals. During the first six months of a new baby I also avoid honey in my food. I’ve noticed it caused blocked noses and colic with some babies.

How does one know if there are wheat, diary, MSG or sugar in food? You start by reading the food labels!

5. The next thing we’ve noticed is the effect of pesticides and chemical treatment in fresh fruit and vegetables on Newborn babies. We currently only eat organic fruit and vegetables. If you are in the Western Cape Peninsula you can look into the Ethical Co-op for organic fruit and vegetables. Now, you may ask, what if you don’t have access to organic fruit and vegetables or cannot afford it? We have only had access to organic fruit for the past 4 months. Before this, I just avoided fruit during the first 3 to 6 months of my new baby and only ate certain vegetables. For fruit, I’ll have an organic apple, pear or peach. I avoid banana (as it causes constipation and mucus in babies) and citrus fruit. I’m careful of prunes, watermelon, grapes, strawberries, pawpaw and mango. For vegetables, I stay safe with butternut, sweet potato and squash. From all other vegetables - especially the onion family, cabbage family, beans and peas - I stay away.

6. For starch I only eat rice and stay away from potatoes. We make our own pasta with spelt flour (recipe below).

7. For protein I have eggs, lamb, mince (I make sure it is medium fat beef mince and contains nothing else than beef) and chicken. NO pork, beacon or any sausage. We buy all our meat products (lamb, chicken, mince, 'boerewors' - sausage, fillet) from the Boesmanland and they are totally organic! [You can order organic meat via Eirene health shop - Joyful Mama]

8. I also avoid any tea, especially rooibos tea![For our international readers, this is a herbal tea that is grown in the Cederberg mountains here in South Africa, and it is very popular throughout southern Africa]. Rooibos tea causes the intercellular cellular fluids to become very acidic, which caused me to take longer to recover from labour. Typical symptoms from being acidic is an aching body. I only have one or two organic, decaf cappuccino's, made with rice milk and a little brown sugar a week.

9. The golden rule is to prepare your food from scratch and throw out your microwave. You can read about microwave cooking here.

10. We also follow the blood group diet of Dr. Peter D’Adamo The blood group diet doesn’t only benefit your baby, it has the benefit of you getting back in shape in no time! I’m an O-blood type and eat meat with breakfast, lunch and supper. I eat butter and certainly don’t avoid fat. But I do avoid sugar! Contrary to what you may have been told or believe, it isn’t fat that make you fat, it is sugar and too much fruit! Michael is one month old and I’m only 3 kg from what I weighed before I fell pregnant. And that has been the case with every baby.

South African readers can order this book by clicking here.

By the same author:

Click here to order.

So what do I eat?

I eat as simple as possible, no fast foods, only food prepared from scratch in my kitchen. This way I know exactly what is in every meal.

I bake our own bread with spelt flour, an ancient wheat imported from Europe. It isn’t genetically modified and is grown organic. I have a Panasonic bread machine, which makes baking bread no big deal.

For salt I only use sea salt or Himalayan salt.

Available at health shops.

We love pasta and we make our own with spelt in the Kenwood Chef with the pasta accessories.

Whenever we need milk, we use rice milk powder.

Breakfast:
2 baked eggs and spelt bread.
or
scrambled eggs (seasoned only with rice milk and sea salt) and spelt bread.
or
an egg omelet (egg, salt and water) with left over mince from supper and spelt bread
and
Carrot juice made in our Oscar Juicer.



I eat only St. Dalfour’s apricot jam on my spelt toast.

I avoid any form of sausage and bacon with breakfast.

Lunch:

We always try to have left over food from the previous night’s supper for lunch.

Spelt bread with chicken fillets (Sautee free range chicken fillets in a little butter, then add some water and cook with sea salt and 1 -2 fresh, organic tomatoes and fresh basil and thyme from my vegetable garden.)
or
Spelt bread with thin slices left over leg of lamb (see recipe under supper).
or
Spelt bread with cooked egg.

Supper:

Always prepare from scratch!

Leg of lamb and rice cooked with sea salt. (Cover leg of lamb with fresh tomato puree, fresh basil and thyme - from your own vegetable garden or organic if possible and sea salt. Pour some water in bottom of oven pan, cover with foil. Bake for 3 hours at 180 degree C. Take foil off and bake until brown and crispy)

or

Lamb chops on rice baked with sea salt (Put lamb chops in oven pan, pour some water in bottom of oven pan, cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 180 degree C. Take foil off after 1 hour, season with sea salt and bake for another 30 min. or until brown and crispy)

or

Mince on spelt pasta, with white sauce. (Mince - sautee in little butter. Add sea salt, fresh tomato puree, basil, thyme and rosemary and cook for about 20 minutes; Spelt pasta - enough for our family of 9 - 600g spelt flour, 4 beaten eggs, 5ml salt. Mix together for 1min on medium speed in Kenwood Mixer. Make pasta of choice with Kenwood accessories; )

White sauce made with 70g butter, 60g spelt, 10ml sea salt, 1l rice milk.

or

Chicken fillet burger. (Sautee free range chicken fillets in a little butter, add some water and cook with sea salt and 1 -2 fresh tomatoes; Spelt buns - dough made in Panasonic bread machine on Pizza method, shape round buns, put in oven - not pre-heated at 180 degrees C until light brown.)


For vegetables:
Butternut cubes in oven pan with butter and salt, baked at 180 degree C until soft and tender.

or

Squash cooked only in salt water, add butter cube after cooked.

or

Sweet potato baked in oven at 180 degree C.

and

Fresh carrot and pineapple salad (made by Josua with our Oscar juicer)

and

Fresh green salad (made by Heidi-Mari), lettuce, tomatoes and avocado - all organic, from our vegetable garden, except for avocado.

Supplements for the Breastfeeding Mother

We all know a mother who was advised by a clinic nurse or mother-in-law to give her baby extra bottle feeding, due to her ‘weak’ milk or insufficient milk. By taking a few essential supplements you can ensure STRONG and ENOUGH milk for your baby.

   As a breastfeeding mom, your baby takes a lot from you. This is natural and your body is made to handle it. With today’s stresses and generally depleted foods, it has become necessary to take a few supplements to your general diet. Again, your dietician, paediatrician, gynaecologist or GP is not trained to advise on these and other natural supplements. As far as their training goes, you get everything you need from the food you eat. The fact that modern day agricultural methods deplete foods of essential micro-nutrients is not part of their thinking.

[Note: These supplements can be bought from most good health shops, or visit Eirene Health Shop in Durbanville - Joyful Mama]

1. Start by taking a good multi-vitamin formula. I recommend High 5 from Viridian. One capsule with breakfast should be sufficient.

2. Take Omega SLO. I recommend this particular omega 3 as it contains alkoxyglycerols, a natural substance found in mother’s milk. This will strengthen your milk and aid baby’s development, as well as protecting and nourishing your own body.

3. Drink PLENTY filtered water, drink PLENTY filtered water, drink PLENTY filtered water, drink PLENTY filtered water – you get the picture? You also need to get minerals to aid all the processes in your and baby’s body. I recommend adding one coral calcium bag to every 1.5L of water. A breastfeeding mother can easily drink 4 liters of filtered water daily – to supply in the lactation needs of baby.

4. If you are taking the above but the stress of a new baby and life in general is getting you down, you may want to add Mindset to your supplementing regime. Mindset is 100% natural and safe for you and baby. Stress also makes it difficult for your body to produce enough milk. It supplies food to the brain, thus aids the body’s ability to regulate stress response, focus and sleeping patterns. Best taken away from your meals.

5. If you are doing everything I mentioned, but your milk supply is still struggling, try supplementing with Fenugreek capsules. This aids greatly in stimulating lactation. Avoid taking Eglonyl for lactation stimulation. Contrarily to your doctors advice, Eglonyl is a dangerous Schedule 5 mind-altering drug, that goes through your milk to baby and can adversely affect brain development.

As you can see, there isn’t a great variety in my diet and it does get boring after a month, but coping with a fussyy or colicky baby during the day, and even worse, at night, isn’t easy at all. It all depends on how desperate you are to have a contented baby!

With love

Linnie

SE7EN TIPS FOR NURSING IN PUBLIC by guest blogger Se7en!

We are celebrating World Breastfeeding Week 2010 in style here on Joyful Mama's Place this week! Today's guest blogger is a mom to eight beautiful blessings, and the brains behind the fabulous blog SE7EN - The life and times of a homeschooling mother of se7en + 1! She and her family live in one of the most beautiful parts of Cape Town, and whenever she posts a picture of her children exploring rock pools in the middle of an *ordinary day*, I am green with envy!

Please pop in for a visit to her blog - I guarantee you will leave inspired.

Nursing is an art, and nursing in public is a fine art. With my firstborn it took ages for us to "get it" but once we did I have never looked back. For me it wasn't so much about whether it was legal or not, of course it is, your baby has a right to food. For me it was all about discretion. Now I know moms who have given up on nursing because they didn't want to spend the rest of their baby's life tucked away in a public bathroom, the threat of that was enough motivation for me to "master the art of nursing in public."



Here are se7en tips I wish I had known, the first time round:

1. Look and Learn: I never realized that I hadn't actually seen other mom's nursing until I had a baby of my own and even then you never see brand newborn babies out in the world. The best place to find other nursing moms is at your local La-Leche League Meeting. I wish I had gone to one of their monthly meetings before I had my firstborn and I have to say that when I finally got there, totally desperate, it was the haven of like-minded moms that I was looking for.
2. Practice makes Perfect: This is true for most things. When my firstborn and I finally got nursing right (it doesn't always happen instantly) he was about six weeks old. Before that I could only manage nursing sitting topless on a bed with a bazillion cushions. I was convinced I was housebound forever. Not so... we got better at it really quickly and we managed to nurse sitting on the couch and then in front of friends and eventually out in the world. By twelve weeks I nursed him through my graduation ceremony and no-one sitting around me had any idea... Only that I had a very well-behaved baby!!!
3. You Don't Need Special Equipment: You can buy special nursing shirts, you can use special covers. Frankly I have never had a baby who wanted to nurse under a sheet - ever... and since I have never eaten a meal under a tablecloth I can understand that!!! I also found that a lot of "special nursing" shirts were a whole lot less discreet than I wanted to be. I have always worn baggy t-shirts to nurse in public, my baby lies against my tummy and I lift a corner for them to nurse. Try it with a cushion - nothing is exposed!!! And that's the way I like it thank-you very much!!!
4. Newborns Need Special Mention: Call me uncoordinated but I have always needed two hands to nurse a newborn. They don't automatically latch on and nurse discreetly for hours. They do sputter and gag and very often battle to get it right... their mouths are tiny and their heads flail. The peaceful vision that one sees in magazines isn't always the reality!!! Nursing takes practice for moms and their babies... the babies you see out in the world are generally not newborns, they are slightly older and the mother and babe have found their rhythm. In the great comparative study we call mothering make sure you compare yourself to moms with babes the same age as yours!!! It is all very well to think you can't do this when you have a tiny two week old in your arms and you are looking at a mom with a three month old... be yourself and don't compare it will stand you in good stead!!!
5. Don't Wait: When your baby starts to make hungry noises, just settle down and nurse - trust me on this. When you are out in public everyone will notice a screaming hungry baby but no-one will notice a contented baby snuggled in its mother's lap. In fact there are many times when people haven't noticed that I was nursing and came to say what a sweet quiet baby I have!!!
6. Just Nurse: Don't even think about trying to express milk and give your baby a bottle when you are out. Initially, getting out is stressful enough without trying to fill bottles for the great event. Your milk is just where it should be for when your baby needs it. When you have a newborn I really recommend that you focus on getting the supply and demand balance of breastfeeding right before you try and introduce bottles. And seriously, the expression "Don't cry over spilt milk" was coined specifically with new mothers in mind. When you have a baby who nurses two hourly and then takes an hour to nurse you really don't want to be trying to master expresing milk at the same time. Really if you spend all your free time trying to express and after ages you have 15 ml of milk in a jar and you spill a drop of it - trust me you will cry!!! Wait till your baby is bigger, there is time!!!
7. It Isn't Just Food: Trust me on this, when you are nursing an older baby, and since the World Health Organization recommends nursing at least until the age of two, dare I say a toddler. Sometimes they just need a little comfort to get through a tricky situation... We traveled overseas in a crowd with a toddler and when he began to melt down at nap time we quickly nursed. A toddler is a very efficient nursing machine and can be done in seconds compared to a newborn who takes hours. He would nurse quickly and seconds later he would be napping or just content. I am always surprised that people don't mind seeing a child walking around with a pacifier in their mouths but might disapprove of nursing. We are generally discreet enough that folks don't know we are actually nursing.
and the Se7en + 1th thing:
8. Your Baby has Rights: People have no problem with older children drinking bottles in public or using pacifiers to keep them content. Don't be put off nursing your child when they need to nurse. When your baby is a couple of months old and everything distracts them it is often easier to take them somewhere quiet to nurse them. But don't feel compelled to. I have never had some one come up to me and say "You may not nurse here..." but I have had people not like me nursing out. It is not in my nature to be terribly confrontational I just sort of stare into space and they generally just wander on!!! I have seen two women being told to move on in a shopping mall, they were from the local township and were seeking air-conditioned refuge for their babies in the heat of summer... I joined them on the bench and nursed my babe... no-one came near any of us!!! I guess a mother with eight trailing children may be a little bit intimidating!!!

I say amen to that! And I end off this inspiring post with another badge from http://www.lactivist.co.uk/ Enjoy!

WHY BREASTFEED by guest blogger Georgia from Love and Lollipops

Welcome to my good friend Georgia from Love and Lollipops!

Georgia and I actually met at a La Leche League meeting about a year ago. I took her card because I was interested in some of her photo stickers, and finally got around to calling her about it at the beginning of this year. She came to drop off some vouchers for me to include in the goodie bags for one of my Mom's Workshops, and as we stood chatting in my driveway on the way out, we discovered that we shared a lot of passions and pleasures! A week or so later we visited again, and the rest is history!

Georgia is a psychologist, photographer and mom of two charming boys, and is stillbreastfeeding her youngest. Thanks for the contribution, Georgia!

{Image credit: The cute cow image I used in this post comes courtesy of Lisa from http://www.lactivist.co.uk/ It is one of a series of badges she's created in support of breastfeeding moms and I could not wipe the grin off my face as I scrolled down to look at all her designs. Please visit her site, and make sure you check out her T-shirts, too! My favourite is the 'Care Intructions Label' for babies!)

*******

Georgia and her sweet little boy S!

    Hi, I’m Georgia from Love and Lollipops and I am writing about why you should breastfeed your baby. This is a HUGE topic and I’m going to give you just a few fantastic reasons to breastfeed. I think all moms hear about how “Breastfeeding is Best” but are not always aware of the facts behind this statement. I also think that knowing why you are choosing to breastfeed, can really help keep you motivated during the inevitable rocky patches.

  Let’s have a look at some wonderful health benefits that breastfeeding provides for you and your baby. Breast milk is perfectly designed for babies and provides all your baby’s nutritional requirements in exactly the right proportions. This fact always amazes me: Breast milk is alive and dynamic and it changes in composition during a feed and during the day to match your baby’s nutritional needs! Breast milk (human milk) is also more easily digested than infant formula, which is made from cow’s milk or other products.

     Breast milk provides antibodies (and more), which help boost baby’s immune system and prevent illness. Research has shown that breastfed babies have fewer illnesses and allergies, including a reduced risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, childhood cancer and diabetes. In fact, the effects on the immune system continue throughout life. Moms benefit too, with reduced risk of osteoporosis, breast and ovarian cancer.

     Brain development is essential during your baby’s first year. Breast milk comes up tops for the optimal development of your baby’s brain and nervous system. For example, breast milk contains higher concentrations of DHA and ARA (specific types of fat) than any brand of formula and these higher levels are associated with better visual and cognitive development. Research has shown that breastfed babies score higher on intelligence tests than formula-fed babies!

     But breastfeeding is not only about mom and baby’s physical and cognitive health, there are also wonderful emotional benefits. A breastfeeding Mom is in a different hormonal state to a non-breastfeeding one. Nursing moms have increased levels of the hormones oxytoxin and prolactin. These hormones are shown to stimulate nurturing, as well as feelings of well-being. Breastfeeding also provides a baby with comfort and security and they usually find immediate calm when they can suckle. Skin-to-skin contact (which is optimal during breastfeeding) produces a constant, elevated level of oxytocin in the baby, which in turn provides a valuable reduction in the baby’s stress-hormone responses.

   One last happy benefit is that breastfeeding nappies are less offensive than formula fed ones, which can have a very strong odour!

    And one last bit of research is that a mom's knowledge about breastfeeding is significantly linked to her decision to breastfeed and I would go on to say, her decision to persist with breastfeeding when she is confronted with difficulties.. So, in light of that, I hope that this small taste of why breastfeeding is best will convince you to research this topic more ... and keep reading this series of breastfeeding posts here at Joyful Mama's Place!

References:
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (La Leche League International) This book is essential reading for any breastfeeding mother. South African readers can order it from your local LLL leader - click here for contact information -  while international readers can order directly from the LLL website - click here.
Position Paper on Infant feeding (International Lactation Consultant Association)
Breastfeeding Does Make a Difference (La Leche League International Article)

Celebrating International Breastfeeding week, Joyful Mama Style!

Here is how it started: My younger sister - who also happens to be one of the greatest fans of my blog! -  is expecting her firstborn in October, and during a phone conversation last week she asked if I would consider doing some blog posts about things like To Dummy or Not To Dummy, How to Introduce Solids, etc.  It doesn't take much to inspire me, and since breastfeeding is a topic that is soooo close to my little heart {literally! :-)}, I decided to do a series of posts on that.

Now, once I get inspired, I need to let it overflow or I explode, so I called my good friend Georgia to see what she thought about contributing to my Very Exciting Little Project. Being a great friend and nursing mother herself, she needed no persuasion to jump on the band wagon, and then said she vaguely remembered someone mentioning that World Breastfeeding Week was coming up, and wouldn't it be perfect if we could publish our posts to coincide with that?! Well...as it turns out...

1 - 7 August 2010

is

World Breastfeeding Week!

So, for the rest of this week you can look forward to inspiring, humorous, practical posts on

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding!

(Yes, that's the name of the wonderful book by La Leche League, but it is so perfect, I couldn't resist using it as the title for these posts, too!) Some wonderful breastfeeding friends will contribute guest posts on the subject, and stay tuned, because there's a giveaway due by the end of the week!

If you are pregnant or a new mommy, I hope you find some good advice here. If you are a soon-to-be second time mommy who didn't have breastfeeding success with your first child, may these articles encourage you to try again, and provide you with better information this time around about where to find the right support. And lastly, if you are a seasoned breastfeeding mom, just enjoy, and I would LOVE to hear your favourite breastfeeding stories, too!

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I mentioned that the articles would be practical and so on, but since I have dips on the first one, I hope you will allow me a sentimental trip down memory lane, as I recall my first experiences with breastfeeding..

Being the eldest of four daughters, I have the priviledge of remembering when all three my younger sisters were born. The memories of the first two's births are well remembered probably mostly because of the great presents I was given on those occassions (a huge pink Mama Teddy Bear holding a matching baby bear rang in my first sister's birth, and when the second one arrived, my parents gave us two older ones a beautiful, life-size baby doll each. We instantly turned into little mothers, changing our babies whenever our baby sister was changed, and 'breastfeeding' them whenever she was due for a top-up!) I can't remember if we got any gifts when our youngest sister was born. I am sure my mom would have given us something, but everything else paled in comparison to that moment when the nurse pushed that tiny little girl out of the theatre for us to meet. I was ten years old, and my dad had taken us out of school for the first few periods so we could be at the hospital for my sister's Cesearean birth. We were pacing the hall, just like in the movies, giddy with anticipation about whether we were getting a baby brother or sister! Back at school, my teacher and class mates were also quite excited and cheered when I burst through the door with the announcement that we were now FOUR GIRLS in the family!

I have no recollection of babies crying at night, or my mom looking haggard after sleepless nights. But I do have gentle memories of Mom leaning back against the pillows on her bed, the soft glow of a small bedside lamp, and a nursing baby gently suckling herself to sleep at Mom's breast. I was therefore very much surprised, just before my own daughter's birth, to learn that Mom only breastfed us all until we were three months old, and then switched to bottles and cow's milk. She says she just didn't like breastfeeding.

It was about three weeks before Sweetpea's birth, and I was really amazed about how much this 'news' affected me. I guess it is slightly overdue to discover that your mother isn't perfect when you are 30 years old, but I was really hurt by this. I have read so much about the importance of breastfeeding, and I had such beautiful, comforting memories of Mom feeding my sisters! How could she not have liked it?! And what did that say about me and my prospects as a future nursing mother?

By this time I had read a lot about breastfeeding and my husband and I was of one accord that there was no other option for our children. I had head knowledge, but for the first time I started to wonder whether I would be able to actually do it...

The story of my daughter's birth will wait for another time, but suffice it to say that I ended up having an unscheduled epidural Cesearean. And for as long as I live, I will never forget the moment they laid that sweet little girl on my chest, huge, suprised eyes and a shock of pitch black hair. I cried the entire time I spent in the recovery room, because everthing in me was yearning for that baby, to hold her and kiss her and drink in her beauty (I am crying now. Will try not to splash tears on keyboard for fear of electrocution).

My sweet little angel, age 9 months.

And the moment I was wheeled into my room and my husband handed me our little girl, my world changed forever. I could not take my eyes off of her -she was so perfect. And instinct took over and I lifted my hospital gown and for a moment I was not sure what to do next. But then an image flashed in my memory of a video I had seen on a website - it could have been the World Health Organisation, or La Leche League - I can't recall. But I immediately knew what to do: I craddled my daughter in my left arm, put my right hand behind her head, and when she rooted at the touch of my nipple against her cheek, I firmly pressed her to my breast, making sure she had as much as possible of it in her small mouth. And that, my dears, was that: the beginning of a beautiful breastfeeding partnership that lasted for 15 months.

I weaned Sweetpea when I was almost six months pregnant with her little brother. He took to the breast with the same ease as his sister before him, and we are still happily breastfeeding at present (he turned one a couple of weeks ago). Although I never had any problems with Sweetpea, I did take a decidedly different approach with Arrow Boy:

Stealing a kiss from Prince Charming, when he was 7 months old.

* By the time he arrived, I had been to a few La Leche League meetings and understood the importance of demand feeding so much better, so I chucked the books that prescribed a four hourly schedule!

* Those same books had told me never to nurse a baby to sleep, since it becomes a bad habit (WHAT??!!) Well, I had done my share of trying to get a fussy little one to sleep without milk, and life is just too short to spend your nights listening to the sad wailing of your little one needing the comfort of your breast, so Arrow was fed whenever he was sad or restless at night, and this had such a comforting effect on him, that he very quickly turned into a baby who wakes up once a night max!

* I am also in no hurry to wean him befor he is ready. And who knows, if God chooses to bless us with another bundle of joy befor then, I may just try tandem feeding!!

That's it folks  - I am signing off to help a little thirsty customer to the milky bar: perfectly balanced, super-nutritious, warm milkies on tap, twenty four hours a day! Happy feeding!