Posts Tagged ‘Breastfeeding’
Weaning a Toddler
February 4th, 2011 | 
Author: By Brook, Staff Writer, Baby and Sofia (@babyandsofia)
This past month my baby and I passed a major milestone: I stopped nursing him and have exclusively moved to cow’s milk. I had read that weaning your baby could be a little challenging, a little emotional. For me, though, it has been an enormous adjustment. And not only for me, but for Paolo, too; at fourteen months he was completely attached to nursing.
After Paolo was born, I did not experience even a moment of post-partum depression. I had never been happier or more fulfilled in my entire life. I felt like I finally had found the perfect place in my life. Last month, though, I decided it was time to wean the baby. He used nursing not only as his primary source of nutrition, but also as his primary method of soothing. Besides falling asleep during a car ride, the only way I could get him to fall asleep was to nurse him. I started to realize that Paolo would not be one of the babies who would naturally grow out of breastfeeding. Or, if he did, it would be as a 3- or 4-year-old. And while I loved the closeness and bonding during nursing, I know that it would not be practical for me to nurse Paolo for the next 2 or 3 years. Especially as I’d like to have another baby, and nursing while being pregnant does not sound like a walk in the park. (My last pregnancy was not exactly super easy.)
So, last December I cut nursing sessions down to twice a day. After a few weeks, I cut back even further, to only before bed. (Which made naptime a real struggle, but Paolo eventually got used to it.) With the New Year, I took away the bedtime nurse. Paolo was none to pleased about. After a few days of crying fits, he finally started to learn that a sippy cup with chocolate milk while cuddling with me was relaxing enough to fall asleep.
(Side note: I found that using half chocolate milk/half whole milk worked like a charm; Paolo started asking for it instead of nursing. I’ll start cutting less and less chocolate milk as he adjusts to not nursing.)
In addition to the struggle of trying to teach Paolo our new routine, I started feeling very hormonal. Extremely hormonal, really. It was a very weird and uncomfortable feeling. As I weaned Paolo, my hormones levels shifted, leaving me with emotional changes. And it really took me by surprise. And I don’t think that the dark, cold winter weather has been all that helpful. In short, it hasn’t been easy.
As time goes on, we are both getting more used to this adjustment. It’s been really hard for both us to not have our special time together. Paolo still gets fussy at night; I can tell that he’s not sure what he wants, but he knows he’s missing something. Hopefully soon this will pass, too.
Weaning a toddler is tricky, but now that I’ve gone through it, I hope to be more prepared the next time around.
If you nursed your baby into toddlerhood, what was your experience like?
Extended Breastfeeding
By Kristi, Contributor, Live and Love…Out Loud (@TweetingMama)
Breastfeeding is a journey. One that’s riddled with challenges, setbacks and at times, criticism.
Early on in my pregnancy, I made a commitment to give breastfeeding a valiant effort. Twenty-one months later, what started out as a valiant effort has become what I consider one of my proudest moments in parenting. It’s been an amazing journey – one that I’m still on, in fact – but it hasn’t been easy. Through trial and error and with the help of some amazing folks, my journey through breastfeeding has been a successful one.
Navigating My Way Through Challenges and Setbacks
Like most expectant mothers, I spent the majority of my pregnancy preparing for the arrival of my baby. Purchasing a slew of baby clothes, getting regular prenatal care and learning everything I could about breastfeeding – proper latch-on technique, various nursing positions and the amazing health benefits for both mother and child. I was pumped about breastfeeding, so to speak, and genuinely ready to give it a go.
Then my daughter was born.
The thing is, when it comes to breastfeeding, all the preparation in the world can’t prepare you for the real thing. Breastfeeding is really hard work. It requires commitment, support, practice and patience. And a desire to work through the challenges and setbacks that will inevitably present themselves along the way.
Eleven months into breastfeeding, I hit a major road block: biting, teeth-scraping and painful nipple tears threatened to bring my breastfeeding journey to an end. After many tears and a whole lot of trial and error, I learned that if baby was latched on properly, it was impossible for her to clamp down on my girlie bits. In order to heal my painful tear, I stopped nursing from the injured breast and at the advice of a friend I turned to hand expressing my milk through the duration of the healing process. Within a couple weeks, I was able to nurse from both breasts again.
As most women who’ve breastfed through the teething stage can attest, biting and teeth-scraping can be a huge challenge to overcome. The pain associated with these types of injuries can be a deal-breaker. I’ll admit that one point, I considered throwing in the towel. Boy am I glad that I didn’t.
Riding the Wave of Criticism
I’ll never understand why the same people who get excited when they hear about mothers nursing their newborn babies, become critical of those who choose to nurse beyond 6 months and into the toddler stage.
“You’re still breastfeeding her? Are you kidding me? How old is she now? When are you going to stop? Doesn’t she have TEETH?” Famous words from my mother.
And your mother, her next door neighbor, your best friend and that little old lady at the mall. You get where I’m going with this. When it comes to breastfeeding everyone has an opinion, many of which are fueled by misconceptions. Fortunately, the only opinion that matters is my own and that of my child.
Yes, I’m still nursing my 21-month old toddler. We’re both reaping the amazing benefits and enjoying the special relationship that comes from breastfeeding. My daughter is happy and healthy and we’re both extremely comfortable with our decision to continue to nurse. In fact, we plan to do so until one of us waves the white flag. Until then, no amount of criticism will bring this journey to an end.
Sure, this breastfeeding journey has been riddled with challenges, set backs and even criticism. But with commitment, support, practice and patience I’ve succeeded in what has become one of my proudest moments in parenting. I wish the same for you.
How long have you been breastfeeding? What type of criticism or challenges and setbacks have you’ve faced?
Kristi’s navigating a sea of teenage hormones, dirty diapers and a family with ever-changing needs while blogging about it all at Live and Love…Out Loud.
From Breast to Bottle
By Julia Magnusson, Staff Writer, It’s Not Like a Cat (@notlikeacat)
When my first son was born, I knew I would breastfeed him and any subsequent children. It wasn’t even a decision; it was just something I took for granted.
It wasn’t easy. Latching was hard, the demands of a nursing newborn were a shock and my supply was in constant question. My husband would get stressed out whenever I left home, because he was never sure how much feed our son (I’d leave pumped breast milk). I didn’t really know, either.
Pumped milk was at a premium; if I felt my husband had used too much, I got mad at him. We were both so new to parenting and to babies. The sound of the crying baby was stressful for both of us.
Needless to say, I didn’t get away from the baby much and when I did, it was stressful for all involved. But it never occurred to me to use formula. Breast was best and I wouldn’t have done it any other way. I intended to breastfeed him for a year. Maybe 18 months. Maybe by the time I was four months pregnant with my second child. Maybe by the time he turned two.
His second birthday and my due date approached, less than two weeks apart and I hoped he wouldn’t want to nurse even more after the baby arrived.
Thankfully, he decided boobies were for babies and he stopped nursing by the time his baby brother was a month old. Now I just had a suckling infant at my breast.
Suddenly I was trapped again, struggling to latch the baby on in the sling while walking to the playground with the toddler, unable to leave home by myself for more than two hours. On weekends if I had to run errands it was just assumed that the baby would come with me.
Postpartum depression hit harder this time. Plus I could never get away. Whenever the baby cried, my well-meaning husband would ask, “When did he eat last?” and hold the crying baby out to me, even as I was trying to brush my teeth or hurriedly change into PJs so I could crawl into bed for the night with the baby.
When my doctor prescribed an antidepressant for me, I didn’t think twice. It’s a judgment call whether I should fully wean or not, but it is definitely preferable that I don’t nurse the baby for at least four to six hours per day. We have struck a comfortable balance of bottles by day, nursing at night. My precious, organic, wholesome, pure baby boy is now drinking powdered food made in a lab, stuff that has been widely recalled (well, not his brand, obviously), stuff based on corn syrup solids and other ingredients I’d never feed my kids.
To my shock, I loved it—at first. I loved the fact that I was no longer chained to the baby, no longer the sole provider of all his food. My body is a little bit more mine. My husband was empowered to just grab a bottle and feed the baby when he was hungry instead of waiting for me to nurse.
Of course, now that I’m feeling better, I’m sad about using formula and feeling a little wistful that I am not the exclusively breastfeeding mother I’d hoped to be and that I was with my first child. I regret that I’ve had to leave the ranks of women I thought I’d always be part of—women who grew their babies entirely from their breasts not from bottles, women who exclusively breastfed and never used formula.
But I’m feeling much more whole and happy and functional again. My marriage feels better. My husband is relieved and more relaxed. Our toddler is happier, because his mommy isn’t crying and cranky. Our baby has a happier, more capable, calmer mother.
So I’m grateful to have formula available. And despite my sadness at no longer being able to exclusively breastfeed my baby, I’m grateful to be healthy and happy and loving motherhood again, and my children reap the benefits of that.
And in the long run, that’s what really counts.
Did you breast feed or formula feed? Did medication factor into your decision? How did you come to it? Tell us about it in the forum.
Mommy Must Have: Itzbeen
By Mommie V, Staff Writer, My Little Slice of Mommie Heaven, (@mommiev1)
When you’re on bedrest in the hospital for almost three weeks you have lots of time. Time to do things like search the internet for all the last-minute baby stuff you MUST HAVE. Because, you know, your nesting instinct is also kicking in about this time and you’re stuck miles away from your nest with strict instructions to only get up to go the bathroom.
This is how I came to have the Itzbeen. And I’ll tell you, I used that damn little thing for months!
It’s a great little gadget. It has four count-up timers and little buttons next to them, so you can use one for feedings, one for diapers, one for sleeping and one for whatever else you might need a timer for. To start the timer, hit the button.
It’s the middle of the night and I’m in a dead sleep. “Waaaaaaa” from the cosleeper next to me. Immediately I’m awake, but in a fog. When we the last time she nursed?
I check the timer; she’s right on schedule, three hours and counting. Hit the button to start again, nestle her in the bed next to me, snooze while she nurses.
To be honest, I used it the first few days to track diapers, sleep and feedings. Once I started to fall into a routine, I really only used it to track feedings. I was really trying to get her to eat a lot, and then get to two hours (and then three hours!) between nursings. I could keep an eye on the timer during a nursing session to see how long she had nursed, and then look at it later to see how long it had been since she nursed.
Sure, it seems silly to get a timer to keep track of that. But when you look at the clock and you can’t remember if it’s only been two hours, or two-and-a-half, did she start nursing at 1:30, or was that when she was finished? Or was that when she was supposed to nurse but she didn’t wait and we nursed at 12:30? Or was that when she napped?
If you’re OCD Mommie, you can use all four timers to track everything that’s going on. For most people that might be overkill, but you can totally do it with this device.
If you’re just normal Mommie, you probably have one thing that you’re trying to keep track of. Does the baby have a rash and you want to remember (or want Daddy to remember) to change diapers every two hours? Leaving the baby with Grandma and you want to know how long she slept when you get back?
Not sold yet? It has a bright LED light that you can use for diaper changes when you don’t want to turn on a big light. I used the light to help with latching on in the middle of the night darkness before I could do it by feel. It has a L/R switch to help you keep track of which side you last began nursing on if you are breastfeeding (and can’t tell by your fullness and leaking). It has a clip on the back so you can wear it around the house to keep it handy to refer to.
And when I headed to the doctor with my teeny little 5-pound-something baby, I could tell him exactly what our nursing schedule had been thanks to this handy little gadget. It might seem crazy, but to a brand-new, sleep-deprived mama, it was worth its weight in gold!
Posted in Mommy Must Haves | 
Tags: Breastfeeding, Mommy Must Haves, new mom struggles | 
4 Comments »
Helping a New Mom
By Megan M., Staff Writer, All A Bunch of Momsense (@taxmegan)
I contemplated a career change recently. Only for a minute, because the reality is that I love my job and the flexibility it provides me, but I had a moment.
You’ve been there, too, I’m sure of it. That moment where someone does something or says something and you think, “They have NO idea what they’re talking about. I could totally do that job and do it WAY better than they are.”
Sadly, the job I was watching someone do so poorly was the lactation counselor at a local hospital. A dear friend of mine had delivered her first child and wanted desperately to nurse. I had come to visit and was present for the “session” with the counselor.
I listened as my friend described the attempts made so far (baby girl was not quite 24 hours old at this point) and the soreness she was already experiencing. She demonstrated how they were latching, when, to my horror, the lactation counselor was “called away” without providing any further help, just a promise to return.
The counselor had not explained to my friend how much of the areola should be in the infant’s mouth, so the end result was a raw, sore nipple and a hungry, cranky baby. We worked on it a bit together, and her first truly successful latch happened just a few minutes later.
It made me wonder how many moms give up on nursing because of a lack of good instruction. I nursed all three of my kids, with varying degrees of success. Eventually they all got formula as well, but I was determined to nurse as much and for as long as I could. My own stubbornness along with some good guidance from friends who had experience kept me nursing the kids through an assortment of common challenges including infections, thrush, inability to latch, returning to work; we did it all. I never felt guilty about using formula, either. My goal was to make sure my children were fed; sometimes I was able to do that, sometimes I needed help.
I was glad I was able to provide some of that same guidance to this new mom. With a little more practice, she felt a lot more comfortable with what she was doing, which made it much easier to keep nursing.
What tips and tricks did you get from friends that really helped you out as a new mom? What things do you wish someone had told you? Tell us about it in the Our Mommyhood forum!
