The answer was really hard. I had problems with latching, which required a shield, problems with milk supply, and a multitude of other worries. The biggest problem for me was that breastfeeding didn’t have that relieved feeling of contentment where I could hear my baby making large gulping sounds as his jaw made that large movement with each swallow. I felt completely inept and a failure as a mother because I found breastfeeding to be very stressful. All the worries that I had came bubbling to the surface whenever he didn’t latch and I spent the breastfeeding time in near tears as I watched the breastfeeding consultant fix him to my breast properly.

Breastfeeding was not fun but my experiences with breastfeeding does not have to be the normal experience for first time (or even subsequent) mom’s. Today, I am going to talk about some of the holds that you can do when you breastfeed and over the weeks to come, I will have other helpful tips for breastfeeding.

Before I go on to describe the holds, I do want to mention that not every hold works for every woman and you shouldn’t feel pressured to try them all. If a hold works for you, by all means use that hold. There is no reason to mix things up since it can throw off your breastfeeding routine. I am going to describe four holds that are commonly used for breastfeeding. Feel free to add any holds that you can think of in the comments.

The Holds:

The First hold that I am going to look at is the cradle hold. This is one of the most common and for many women it is one of the most comfortable holds that a mother can use. A nursing pillow is recommended for this position but you can use a regular pillow. Before you begin breastfeeding, place the pillow around your waist. Lay your baby on his side so that his stomach is against your stomach with your arm curled under him and his head resting in the crook of your arm, face level with your nipple. Tuck his lower arm under your arm and bring him to your nipple.

The second hold that I would like to describe is the cross-cradle hold. This is very similar to the cradle hold except you will be holding the baby with the opposite arm than the breast that you are nursing the baby from. This is an excellent hold if you need to see what the baby is doing and to help position your breast. The baby is laying the same way as in the cradle hold but your opposite arm is across her back and your hand is supporting her head while she nurses. A nursing pillow is also recommended for this position.

The football hold was one of my personal favorites and it is a position that is usually recommended for women with large breasts or women who had cesarean deliveries. In this position, the baby is placed on his side a nursing pillow that is positioned against your side. His feet should be slightly behind your arm and his head should be level with your nipple. Your arm should be against your baby’s back and his head should be supported by your hand. If your breasts are large, you can hold the underside of your breast with your free hand but be sure that your baby is getting enough of the breast into his mouth for a proper latch. To help with the latch, try to keep baby’s hands out of the way by tucking one arm under your breast and the other beside his chest.

And last but certainly not least is the lying down position, which is a wonderful way to snooze while baby is nursing. For this position, lay down beside your baby with your lower arm tucked under your head while your baby is positioned onto her side with her tummy against yours and her head is positioned in front of your nipple. Place your free arm behind your baby’s back for support or hold your breast while she nurses if it is necessary.

Hopefully, out of these four positions you will find one that works for you but if at any time you feel uncomfortable with breastfeeding, please contact a local lactation consultant, La Leche League, public health nurse or your doctor.

All the best,

Sirena Van Schaik

Photo Credit

Clipart Credits

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

If you breastfeed your baby, chances are there will come a time when you need to store breast milk. This can be when you return to work or even if you are only planning a few hours out.

Storing breastmilk can be one of the most confusing things for new mother’s and it is good to know how long it lasts, and how to properly store it. I have heard countless mother’s ask how to do this and at one time I was in this position, although for not very long obviously.

Even though my time breastfeeding was short, I can still offer some advice on storing breast milk. Most of my knowledge on breastfeeding and everything to do with it comes from organizations such as the La Leche League and the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Lactation Committee. The rest of my knowledge came from my experience as a mother and an Early Childhood Educator, especially the parts about using stored breast milk in centers and also the public health nurse and the lactation consultants who worked with me when I had my children.

So now that I have highlighted a little bibliography, I thought I would give you some tips on storing breast milk.

How to store breast milk:

After you pump, there are several things that you should do if you are planning on storing your breast milk and these are standard practices regardless of the type of breast pump that you are using.

• Containers: All containers should be sturdy, and clean. They should also be single used containers and are usually glass and plastic, although with the warnings regarding hard plastics, it may be safer to only use glass containers. Never store breast milk in plastic bags or bottle liners.
• Labelling: Make sure you label each container with the date and time that the milk was expressed. This will make it much easier when you are using it and will ensure that you do not use the breast milk after the expiration.
• Mixing: It is important to never mix breast milk. Each time you express, the milk should be placed in a new bottle or container. You should also never mixed any breast milk left in a bottle after feeding with a fresher bottle. Simply dispose of the breast milk since bacteria is pulled back into the bottle with each suck from the baby. Also, you should never mix breast milk and formula. Everything baby needs is in the breast milk and there should be no need to use formula. If you are concerned about supplementing, speak with your pediatrician first.
• Storage Length: Breast milk can usually last for 24 to 48 hours in a refrigerator. After that time, you should dispose of it. If you freeze the breast milk in a freezer that is attached to the fridge, it can last for about 2 weeks to about 3 months with a good freezer, although I would stick with the lower numbers for safety reasons. If you store the breast milk in a deep freezer that is not attached to any fridge, you will find that the breast milk can last for 6 months.
• Heating Stored Breast milk: When it comes to heating, the best method and really the only method you should use, is to heat it up in cup of warm (not hot) water. If the breast milk is frozen, place it in the fridge for about 24 hours before you use it. Never heat the breast milk in a microwave since it can create hot spots and nutrients will be lost in the heating process.

And there is a run down of storing and using stored breast milk. If you have any other questions, please email me at sirena_vanschaik@yahoo.ca or post a comment here.

One last thing before I sign off for today, when breast milk is left in a fridge, you will find that it separates with the thinner milk on the bottom and the thicker fatter milk on top. You may also find white flecks in the milk after you heat it but don’t worry, that is completely normal.

All the best,

Sirena Van Schaik

Lactation Photo Credit

Bottle Photo Credit

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Breastfeeding really is best for a child but not everyone is able to breastfeed for various reasons. For my own children, I was able to breastfeed for roughly one month but neither of them were breastfeeding well.

My oldest was not latching and I was losing milk production very quickly. My youngest latched perfectly and gulped down long pulls of milk, but he stopped gaining and even dropped a few ounces. After trying to pump my breast milk so I could skim it and feed him the fatty part between breastfeeding, all the while I had an active 3 year old who didn’t understand why breastfeeding took up roughly 21 hours of my day, I had to give up the ghost and switch to a bottle.

It was a heartwrenching experience and I equated it to being a failure as a mother, something that wasn’t true at all but I will go into that on another day. The main point is that by a month old, both of my kids were bottle fed. This meant that at a year old, I had to start thinking about weaning them from the bottle.

I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t as difficult as I have heard and it all came down to how I approached it. I have listed a few things to do to make the transition from bottle to none much easier.

• Never start with a bedtime bottle. Give your baby an evening bottle and then let him stay up for an additional half hour before settling him down for the night. When your baby is young, you won’t have much choice but as he ages and his bottles become further apart, drop out that bedtime bottle first. Trust me, not having to use a bottle to get him to sleep will be a life saver for when he is older.
• When your child begins drinking juice, never place it into a bottle and use a sippy cup instead. This teaches him from the start that the only thing that goes into a bottle is milk. He won’t get used to asking for juice in a bottle.
• When you are weaning your child, stop the evening bottle first. Instead, offer him a bedtime snack and a cup of milk. This will leave the afternoon bottle and the morning bottle.
• The second bottle that you should remove is the afternoon bottle. By the age of 14 months, my oldest was only offered the morning bottle and it was not associated with any sleep routines such as bedtime or nap time.
• Lastly, take the cues from your child when you decide to take the morning bottle away. You may find that you will need to take it if your child is not giving it up but it is much easier to distract him if he is not using it as an aid for comfort or sleep.

My youngest son didn’t want anything to do with his bottle by the time he was 13 months old, even before I was ready to have him give up the bottle but I took his cue and put the bottles up. My oldest was 15 months when he gave up his morning bottle but he didn’t give any cues. I simply didn’t give it to him one morning and he never seemed to notice. He just took the sippy cup, had a nice big drink and then ran off to start his day.

So weaning does not have to be a huge battle and can be fairly easy if you plan for it from a young age. If it is a struggle, don’t worry, you will soon get through it.

Sirena Van Schaik

Photo Credit

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.