Tag: milk

How can I make more breast milk?

- Julie Matheney

The best way to lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit. Choosing the right foods, protein, fruits and vegetables with moderation of carbs, sugars and starches is guaranteed for most to lose extra pounds. Sure, exercise helps. It helps burn calories, again contributing to calorie deficit. But exercise alone won’t help you lose weight if you’re still eating a high calorie diet. Sure, going vegetarian or vegan or doing Weight Watchers or Atkins or any other “diet” helps. It helps you monitor intake to be in a calorie deficit. But even on any diet plan, if you’re not following it correctly and still eating high amounts of foods you won’t lose weight. Certain people do better on certain diets or with specific exercise programs because of how their specific body handles and processes food, vitamins, stress, movement, and all of the other factors like environment and genetics. Finding a nutritionist, weight loss coach, or personal trainer helps you look at your specific body and goals and helps you reach them. You can absolutely get there in your own, having someone counsel you through often gets you quicker results from their experience and wisdom. But the principle remains: calorie deficit is the number one way to lose weight.

The best way to make breast milk is to empty breast milk. Whether that’s your baby or a high quality breast pump, moving milk multiple times a day tells the body to make more milk. The more often milk is removed, the faster it is made. Sure, supplements help. They support your thyroid and blood with the extra nutrients and hormones needed to produce milk. But supplements alone is no replacement for moving milk. You can take the best lactation bars and drink all the tea you want, but without emptying the breast every few hours routinely I wouldn’t expect the majority of us to make enough milk to feed baby. Sure, hydration and nutrition are important. It takes calories to make calories and hydration help with that process. But even the research shows women who are malnourished in famine torn countries make plenty of milk for their babies when baby is allowed unrestricted access to the breast. Yes, adding in chia seed, flax seed, oats, nuts and nut butters, and coconut water helps make milk. Certain people do better on certain herbs and foods because of how their specific body handles and processes food, vitamins, stress, hormones, and all of the other factors like anatomy and genetics. Finding a lactation consultant, peer counselor, or trained doula helps you look at your specific body and goals and helps you reach them. You can absolutely get there in your own, having someone counsel you through often gets you quicker results from their experience and wisdom. But the principle remains: emptying milk from the breast is the number one way to make breast milk.

Pumping while away from baby helps maintain your supply

Pumping for a toddler

- Julie Matheney

The number one complaint I get my mothers going back to work is a drop in supply when they start to pump. They go from seeing tons of milk to very little. Pumping at work is a PITA. You have to be very committed to it and depending on your job it can be stressful or difficult to get away to pump. What most women don’t seem to understand about Breastfeeding is that the more milk you remove the more milk you will make. You can’t just will your body to make the same amount of milk whether you pump once or six times. The science doesn’t work that way.

Through the first year of life, I recommend mothers pump three times on an 8 hour shift and four times on a 12 hour shift. Remember, I recommend leaving the same number of ounces as number of hours you will be gone. If you’re gone 8 hours, you only need to leave 8 ounces. Make sure your caregivers are doing paced bottle feedings and not accidentally sabotaging your milk supply. Mothers can add in additional pump sessions by pumping in the car with the battery operated pump. Once your baby turns a year, and his or her milk needs decrease; as long as they are taking a healthy amount of solid foods mom can drop down to pumping twice or three times a shift.

As your Toddler continues to grow, you can make the decision to add in another milk/milk substitute, continue to pump, or just breastfeed when you are home and have caregivers give water depending on how much you are gone from your older toddler.

My last pump session at work. cheers.

Breastfeeding will working is a large commitment. I know this full well. These are the guidelines I followed with my own daughter. Up until she was 12 months, I pumped 3 times on my 8 hour shift. I had decided at 17 months to stop pumping while at work and just feed my daughter when I was home. However she had other plans 🙂 she constantly asks for May May, which is her word for my milk, while I am gone. So I was back to pumping just once a day and mixing my small amount of breastmilk with flax milk. She eats off of me like a barracuda when I walk in the door. (I think she just wants the snuggles). At 18 months I am now no longer pumping at work. She will nurse when she wakes up, when I come home, around bed time at 6:30, and every once in a while she’ll still wake up around 4am for an early morning snack. This is what my tiny human does. You have to figure out what works best for your tiny human, your family, and your health. Happy pumping!

Fact of the Day

- Julie Matheney

Babies are the best pump. They empty the breast better than either hand expression, manual or electric pumps. Even as the most efficient pump, babies never completely empty the breast. Breasts work on what could be called the “80:20 concept.” The 80 percent is the average amount of milk removed by your baby each day. The 20 percent is the residual amount of milk that remains in your breasts. If more than 80 percent of the milk is removed, supply increases to maintain the 80-20 ratio. If less than 80 percent is removed, supply decreases to maintain the 80-20 ratio. Even though this is an over-simplification of a very complex process, as new research emerges this core principle proves true.

Fact of the Day

- Julie Matheney

Fact of the day: Babies actually control how much milk is in the breast through milk removal. The more that is removed, the more the breast makes. Research shows that the mother’s diet, her fluid intake, and other factors have little influence on milk production. If the “milk removal” piece of the puzzle is in place, mothers make plenty of good milk regardless of dietary practices. If the “milk removal” part isn’t there, nothing else can make up the difference.

Myths and Old Wive’s Tales

- Julie Matheney

We all have questions about what “normal” and “typical” feeding looks like for our babies. We also have lots of questions about when things go different than we anticipated or we run into problems with breastfeeding. So often we turn to other mom’s experiences that we find on social media or internet blogs. We think we’re doing something wrong or we inadvertently pick up the bad habits of others. Some of us learn fact from fiction by trial and error. Others turn to family and friends for help, but they each may have a very different answer and it can be extremely confusing. How do you make the right decision? By getting your information from the right, trusted source, you can save yourself from experimenting with things that may work in the moment but will set you up for feeding failure in the future. Here are common breastfeeding myths.

Myth #1: Breastfeeding is supposed to be the most natural thing in the world, so it should come naturally to me and my baby, right?

There are many reasons why you or your baby could experience difficulties breastfeeding, from anatomical differences to coordination issues. Babies are just as brand new to feeding as you are and it can take some time to learn the skills needed to effectively eat. Many moms see happily breastfeeding infants with their smiling mothers and just assume it will be easy. Due to poor education and lack of support, they can become easily frustrated or discouraged when challenges arise.

Take time before your baby comes to learn how to breastfeed and all that accompanies. Don’t wait to ask for help. As soon as you notice any problems with feeding, call for help. There is no stupid question. Even if you took a class before birth, you aren’t expected to know everything. We are here to help!
Myth #2: My body knows how much milk to make

Actually, you have to tell you body how much milk to make, which is why it is so important to stimulate milk production in the first 24 hours. The more you breastfeed, the more milk your body produces. The less you feed, the faster your milk decreases. Frequent breast stimulation tells your body that milk needs to be produced.

If baby is having difficulty latching and nursing early on, your baby has difficulties staying awake during feedings, or your baby sleeps for a long time, pumping or hand expressing will continue to facilitate milk production until your baby gets the hang of feeding and gets into a more regulated sleep/wake cycle.

As I always tell moms with babies in the NICU, if you’re away from your baby and your goal is to breastfeed, you still need to feed something or you will see a decrease in milk supply. If you can’t feed your baby because you are at work or your baby is in the NICU, feed your pump until you can feed your baby.

Myth # 3: Breastfeeding will be painful

Many new mamas try to muscle through nipple pain, cracks, blisters, and bleeding because they think it’s all part of the process. This is one of the biggest and worst myths out there!  While this is the experience of many women, it doesn’t have to be yours! Pain is not normal!

In my classes and consultations, I will teach you how to differentiate between the pressure and sensation of a proper latch and the pain associated with an improper one. What you should feel is something moms describe as a “tugging and pulling”. What you should not feel is pinching or sharp pain. Pain is always a good indication that something isn’t right! This is most likely a signal of a poor latch and you need to break the latch (you can slide your pinky finger in the corner of the baby’s lip between his lip and your areola to break the latch) and start over, repositioning the baby to improve the latch.

Myth #4 I can just get all the information I need at the hospital

Giving birth is one of the most emotionally and physically exhausting experiences you can have as a woman. If you give birth in a hospital, there is actually little time to rest. Nurses will come in every two to three hours to check on you and your baby. Then they will go over a whole laundry list of information, from umbilical cord care and monitoring poops, to symptoms you and your lady bits might experience and what to do about it. They will talk about car seat safety, birth certificate information, diaper care and follow up appointments with your physician. Do you really want to try to squeeze in even more information about the essential task of feeding your baby? Being prepared ahead of time will lighten the load your brain will have to process and let you focus more on just enjoying your new baby.

Myth #5: I don’t want to bother anyone with my problems, I’ll just figure it out

No mama is an island. We all need support, and this especially true for breastfeeding. Research shows that the opinions about breastfeeding of those close to you (including the baby’s father and your mother) affect the duration of breastfeeding overall. It is so important to have support when it comes to breastfeeding. Without it, many mothers wean within a week of giving birth!

Successful breast feeders typically have at least two people they know they can turn to for breastfeeding support, be it a friend, aunt, or cousin. Bring your spouse with you to a breastfeeding class. Talk to those around you about your breastfeeding goals. Join a Facebook breastfeeding support group. Hearing about other moms’ obstacles and how they overcame them can be so encouraging. Find another mom whose baby is a few months older than yours that you can talk to about each stage you’re in and what’s to come. Let me help connect you to other moms in your area.

Myth #6: I’ll just use formula since it’s just as nutritious and so much easier

This one’s a big myth that many people believe! While formula companies would like you to believe they are as nutritious and convenient as breast milk, the truth is actually quite the opposite! The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Dietetic Association and the World Health Organization call recommend that breastfeeding is best for babies up through one year of age, as it helps defend against infections, prevent allergies, and protect against a number of chronic conditions. Breast milk contains antibodies that can lower the occurrence of ear infections, diarrhea, respiratory infections and meningitis. It contains the correct proportions of lactose, protein and fat, which are easily digested by a newborn baby. Babies that are formula fed are more likely to suffer from digestive problems, have a higher risk of childhood obesity and more likely to develop allergies and illnesses. They also do not receive antibodies from their mothers, which means they are less protected against infection and illness.

Not to mention formula is expensive. Feeding a baby exclusively formula can cost up to $3000 for the first year. There’s also the cost of time. Time to wash bottles, time to prepare bottles (especially at 2am this becomes a tedious task), time to buy formula ahead of time so you don’t run out (running out at 2am is the WORST!). And if you want to leave the house you have to consider carrying, storing, and preparing formula away from a full kitchen.

Myth #7: My baby has nipple confusion

The scenario is all too common. Mom has to go back to work or wants a night out so she offers the baby a bottle for the first time. The baby gets fussy, starts pulling off the bottle nipple and screams, spits our milk and gags or vomits. Mom tries fifteen different bottle systems and none of them seem to work. Both mom and baby are super frustrated. Let’s start with the truth. There is no such thing as nipple confusion. Your baby is not confused about what a nipple is. But she is confused about the rate that the liquid is flowing at from the nipple. The rate at which milk flows from the breast, in most moms, is significantly slower than a bottle nipple. Breastmilk flow is stimulated by the baby sucking, and goes through various rates depending on if the baby is just starting a feeding versus in the let down phase of feeding. Bottle nipples, however, are on demand and constant. As soon as that baby starts sucking there is milk available. And it’s always available as long as the baby is sucking. When babies are just born and/or exclusively breastfed, they can easily get overwhelmed by the high flow rate of the standard nipple that comes on most bottles. Signs of being overwhelmed by flow rate include pulling off the nipple, crying, arching the back, turning the head away, refusing to latch, hiccupping, coughing, gagging or choking, Starting with a slower flow bottle nipple, using positioning and pacing can all help the transition from breast to bottle. You can also learn other tips and tricks of the trade in my special breast to bottle feeding consultation.

Feeding Amounts

- Julie Matheney

Feeding amounts:
Did you know that when a baby is born her stomach is only the size of her own fist? That’s only ⅙th of an ounce! At one month her stomach is still only the size of her own fist! In other words, her stomach grows at the same rate she does. Her stomach does have the capacity to stretch and fill with the right amount of milk she needs at each feeding.

Proper feeding amounts ensures your baby’s optimal health. How can you tell your baby is hungry and how much should you give her? Hunger cues include lip smacking and tongue licking, rooting with the lips to find a nipple, hands up by the face, and becoming awake but still quiet. Late hunger cues include crying or fussing, arching of the back, and a decreased ability to latch onto a nipple. You can tell if a baby is eating well by achieving a good latch, listening for audible swallows, and making sure baby is given plenty of time at both breasts. A baby is getting enough milk if they are making enough wet and poopy diapers and gaining weight at each pediatrician appointment. For more information on achieving a good latch, knowing what a swallow sounds like, and other strategies for knowing if you’re making enough milk, sign up for one of my classes or personal consultations.

Frequency breakdown:
In the first few weeks after birth you will want to feed every 2-3 hours or sooner if baby is exhibiting hunger cues.
10+ feedings every 24 hours.
Alternate breasts each feeding.