Oatmeal: The Galactagogue

Steel cut oats with strawberries and brown sugar lovin'.

Did you know oats are a galactagogue, a.k.a. they can increase your milk supply.  Many lactation consultants recommend women start eating oats after delivery.  Some will even say "buy the steel cut oats."  I've found this specific recommendation can be confusing, so I decided to do some research and came across an informative website by Coach Levi.

Steel cut oats are the raw version of oats.  Rolled oats are literally what they say, oats that have been rolled flat, and quick rolled oats have been partially cooked.  The little packets of pre-sweetened oats are typically not recommended because of the artificial ingredients. 

I decided to try steel cut oats to see how practical this recommendation truly is, and to be honest I personally did not find it to be realistic for myself, let alone a new mom.  Quick rolled oats can be made in the microwave in 1 minute, while steel cut oats require at least 30 minutes of stove top time and leave you with a dirty pot.  Water has to boil, oats have to simmer, and many of us, specifically mothers of newborns, do not have the time to spend 30+ minutes on a simple bowl of oatmeal. 

All will work as a galactagogue for you and possibly the "raw" version is the best, but I find it too time consuming to be practical for a new mom.  Whether you're lactating or not, I think we can all agree oats of some sort are good for you!

The stats. The guilt and the anger.

Thank you, Dr. Bartick, for doing this research and for responding with this article!  I strongly encourage you to take a peek at this research (even if it's just a quick review of the abstract).  Here's a taste to wet your appetitie:

"If 90% of US families could comply with medical recommendations to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months, the United States would save $13 billion per year and prevent an excess 911 deaths..."

And if you are one of the many moms that is carrying around guilt or anger associated with your breastfeeding experience, I urge you read this article and respond!  We need to stand up for our rights as women and mothers - Peaceful Revolution!

A tongue tied week...

I had one of those weird weeks where every where you go everyone is struggling with the same problem. It just happened to be a tongue tie week. Mom's were screaming in pain, nipples were sore and damaged and all because of that little piece of skin that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth. A tongue tie (or short/tight frenulum) isn't always an issue, but for some mom's having that little piece of tissue cut can make all the difference in the world for the breastfeeding relationship.

 

Do you think your baby is tongue tied?  Is your MD not convinced this is "breastfeeding" problem?  Are you worried about having a procedure done to your baby this early?

Here's some information for you and your physician from a variety of sources:

A dentitst:

http://www.brianpalmerdds.com/bfeed_frenulums.htm

The American Academy of Pediatrics:

http://www.aap.org/breastfeeding/files/pdf/BBM-8-27%20Newsletter.pdf

Some great examples:

http://www.drjain.com/examples.htm

And if you still want more information Kelly mom always has it: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bfhelp-tonguetie.html

Breastfeeding disease

I'm wondering today how you all in the breastfeeding world cope?  Right now my mind is flooded with lactation, lactation, lactation.

I feel asleep last night thinking of how I should respond to the controversial question of "co-sleeping for breastfeeding moms".

(And I came up with a brilliant answer, coming soon.)  I'm constantly having these internal debates with myself.  "What else could I have done for that mom?  Who can I call to help this friend get her baby's tight frenulum (tongue tie) cut sooner?  Why is that baby sucking so poorly?"  Breastfeeding management is really like playing detective.  We explore, we research, we try this and then that, and then bam the case has been cracked.  Well it's not always a "bam", but hopefully we can make things better.  I feel like breastfeeding is an all consuming topic, whether you're a professional or a nursing mom there's a good chance breastfeeding is on the brain most of your days.  It's like a pesky brain disease that slowly takes over your mind - a good disease though - breastfeeding disease.  If I have to have a disease, I'm happy it's about healthy baby food.

Same Stroke for Different Folks

I occasionally enjoy an episode or two of the Duggars' 18 and Counting TLC show (I know many of you probably find this show to be insane, but hang in there with me for a minute).  Have you noticed that Michele (the mom) breastfeeds her babies? She walks around with a "My Brest Friend" pillow strapped to her and a blanket over her shoulder. The average person probably wouldn't think anything of this, but my trained eye knows what is going on under that blanket.  P.S. Great tip for multitasking/feeding in public!  One night while enjoying this fine show, my husband made an interesting point.  We were watching the episode where Anna Duggar (the daughter-in-law) decided to have a home birth.  The Engineer (as I lovingly refer to my husband in the blog world) said something along the lines:

"The natural childbirth and breastfeeding crowd are two very different groups of people.  On one hand you have the ultra conservative gang (a.k.a. the Duggars) and on the other hand you have the ultra liberal hippies (dare I say, La Leche League)."

Two very different groups with two very different approaches reaching same conclusion.  The conservative folks are just keeping things simple, saving money, and sticking to more traditional gender roles.  The hippie folks want to be natural, let their body do its thing.  They tend to advocate for themselves and others...maybe slightly feminist.  In some strange way I consider myself 1/2 of both of these.  I'm one part conservative and one part hippie, which doesn't entirely make sense, but I guess either way it works for being a breastfeeding advocate!

What do you think?  What are you - conservative, hippie or a mix?

Who doesn't love free stuff?

This is exciting stuff - MY FIRST GIVE-A-WAY!!!  To enter:
All you have to do is leave a comment.  If you want to be really nice you can follow my blog.  Just click on the "Follow" button to the right.  (I know, it does appear that your being bribed to be my friend...)  And if you really really want to be nice you can share this give-a-way with your friends :-)  On Thanksgiving (the most appropriate day of the year to give thanks to any readers out there, right?) I will randomly select a winner. 

What you get?  Your pick of one of the two breastfeeding covers featured above!  The blue plaid is made out of flannel...perfect for the chilly winter and the bright green one is regular cotton fabric.  Both feature boning at the neck line, an adjustable strap, and a pocket on the inside for nursing pads or pacifiers.

Stay tuned for November 26th!

2nd night syndrome

I try to warn new parents of a phenomenon that has been titled "2nd night syndrome".  It sounds so dramatic, but parents who experience this so-called 2nd night syndrome are relieved to have a "diagnosis".  There are few factors involved with this "syndrome":

1. Babies are typically on the opposite sleep/wake schedule as their parents.  For example, some women notice that during their pregnancy their baby is less active during the day when they are moving and more active at night when the mom is still.  The movement is lulls the baby to sleep and when momma is still baby is on the move. 
2. Because of this schedule parents tend to find that newborns are up more at night and interested in feeding more during the night.  This is why it is so important to nap during the day while you can!!!
3. Newborns usually have a good feed right after delivery (this should be initiated as soon as possible), zonk out for about 24 hours, and then wake up on that 2nd night.  When they wake up they realize they are away from momma and want to be no where but on her chest (a.k.a. their comfort zone...the closest thing to the womb).  They want to hear your heart beat, feel your skin, feel you breathing, and be all snuggled in right next to the food source (this is known as skin to skin - look it up if you're not familiar - it's uber awesome for both moms and dads, whether your breastfeeding or not).  

So, this is the basic recipe for 2nd night syndrome.  What I often see happen is mom feeds baby, baby falls asleep at the breast, mom swaddles baby in hopes of catching a few ZZZs and baby immediately starts to cry, mom puts baby back to breast, baby settles, falls asleep and this picture is on instant replay all night.  Mom becomes upset that she doesn't have any milk, her baby is never satisfied, and everyone becomes slightly delirious.  The solution is:

1. Be prepared for this and sleep when you get a chance during the day.
2. Feed baby and then hang out skin to skin taking turns with your partner (that is with skin to skin), so that you can get some sleep.   
3. Remember it's going to get better!

Getting hosed down...

Here's a story for you from my dear friend and mentor, Margaret.  Margaret is a lactation consultant at a local hospital.

One day I assisted a mom to latch on ber twin baby at about 33 weeks...they were born at 26 weeks and his big brother had been breastfeeding well for 2 weeks. Our little boy showed everyone that he was just as efficient as his big brother and in fact latched on and was breastfeeding very contentedly. Suddenly his eyes shot open and I realized that mom had had a let-down so I "delatched", him rapidly, just in case he choked. Mom's breast continued to spray his whole face. I wish I had had a camera to record the expression of shock, surprise and hurt. I could imagine that he thought, "Here I was cuddling and enjoying my lunch, when they not only open the hose in my mouth but proceed to spray my face, You hurt my feelings!! I am not sure if I trust this plumbing!! But it was great so perhaps I will try it again." He then tentatively re-latched and mom slipped backwards to reduce the pressure somewhat. I suggested that she pump for a few minutes to reduce the over-active let-down in future!! So sweet and trusting.

Do you have an overactive let down? Does your baby come off your breast coughing and sputtering with milk running all down his face? Some moms have a powerful let down that is overwhelming to their baby. In these cases moms may need to take extra steps. As Margaret said they can lean back while feeding to allow gravity to decrease the flow. Moms can pump for a couple of minutes until their milk lets down and then latch baby. Another option is use your hand to compress the breast slowing down the flow for baby. For more info check out http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html.

Happy Breastfeeding! 

How I got my Boob Job

I'm sitting here pondering how I ended up in the lactation world and thought I'd share with you all my journey (well my begining more than journey since I'm still a newbie).  In Spring 2006, I was sitting in my Maternal and Child Health graduate class and the lecture for the day was breastfeeding.  I honestly don't recall ever thinking about breastfeeding prior to that point.  I finished undergrad and moved to the big city to continue with graduate school, because I just LOVED college and wasn't ready to let go.  One week into grad school and I quickly realized I NO LONGER loved school.  I was working full-time, going to school full time in the evenings, and trying to keep a long distance relationship going.  I was studying Public Health, which I really enjoyed, but I was trying to find my "niche".  I had an on-going list going in my planner with ideas and interests.  On that day I added "Breastfeeding Counselor", the last item to be added to the list.  But why?  Why did one lecture effect me so much?  It wasn't the fact that breastfeeding is perfect nutrition.  Most of us agree that human breastmilk is the optimal food for human babies.  It was this statistic that hit home with me: 99% of women can breastfeed, but 80% experience problems.  I was shocked.  Doesn't breastfeeding just come natural to everyone?  I immediately couldn't learn enough about this field.  Whether this statistic is correct anymore or not doesn't matter, because once again I think most of us would agree that breastfeeding can be tough!  For someone who loves maternal and child health this is the perfect problem to tackle.  That's what this is all about for me - it's not to shove information you already know down your neck, it's to say it can be hard at times and if you decide to breastfeed there are people out there to help you. 

If you're new to the breastfeeding world, here are some resources to get you started:

Books

Online

www.kellymom.com

http://www.drjacknewman.com/

www.llli.org