Supplementing A Spiral This is a delicate subject, I know. In terms of a full-term, otherwise healthy baby, this cycling as described below is mostly the reason why breastfeeding does not work out to the mother’s expectations. Mom feels she is not producing enough milk → Gives bottle of formula to “top off baby” → Baby overeats and falls asleep → Their stomach has stretched and is full, causing them to [...]
Tips for Exclusive Pumping Maximizing Output: Technique Technique is always something worth exploring and improving when pumping. It feels redundant, but worth repeating: pumping is not just about suction. The best way to look at pumping is baby simulation. What does a baby do when breastfeeding? They first stimulate the nipples with gentle and repetitive tugging. They push and knead on the breasts. Sucking and swallowing then take up the majority of the [...]
Breastmilk Storage Breastmilk has a wonderful shelf life. Unlike most foods and beverages, breastmilk retains live cells and enzymes that actually fight off foreign microbe growth. If left out, environmental bacteria and other microbes that land in the milk are eliminated by these cells. For this reason, unpasteurized human milk can be left out for up to 4 hours at room temperature before needing to be refrigerated, unlike most other items at 2 [...]
Postpartum Depression Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious problem experienced by as many as 4 in 5 mothers within a few days after giving birth, and in some, continues past the first weeks. While “baby blues” can be described as trouble sleeping and anxiety, tearfulness, and dysphoria, PPD is much more severe, causing disturbances in eating habits, self care and hygiene, and even troubling thoughts and/or actions. Some are more at risk [...]
Color Variations in Breastmilk If pumping or expressing milk, you may occasionally notice that your milk is not always white. While this can be confusing or even upsetting to some, it is actually quite normal to see color variances, and rarely is it cause for concern for baby ingesting or an indication of something wrong. Gold or Yellow Colostrum is the first milk the mother makes, available upon birth of the baby. [...]
