Using Breast Milk as Medicine

Image by dfb via Flickr

I was awaken in the middle of the night by my hubby asking me “what are we going to give her, she is complaining that her ear hurts and her right eye is red. “ Ok so half asleep and got to think fast. The Poor little thing was in pain. By this time the baby is up, so we all trek downstairs. I warmed some garlic oil and  dropped 2 drops in her ache, then I checked out her eye and it was indeed red. I drop some breast milk in the eye and sent her to bed. The next morning the earache was gone and the eye was a little red. I wiped the eye with warm water and added some more breast milk. Within two days the pink eye was gone. I have always used breast milk in the kids eyes not antibiotics… and for some reason I started to think what I am going to do when my little one are no longer nursing. Of course there are other remedies but breast milk is free and readily available. I will surely miss it.

 Breastmilk  has white blood cells which are responsible for defending the body against infections and diseases;  it can be used to heal and cure illness.  Breast milk is good for diaper rash, pink eye, cuts, scrapes, sore cracked nipples, ear infections  and I recently informed that it can be used to kill certain cancer. So while breast milk provides nutrition for babies, remember it is great to keep some for the occasional cuts and scrapes or minor illness.

Where are the Nursing Dolls-Toy r us

 

Image by muscolinos via Flickr

 I recently saw an ad by Toy r us for ciccibello doll. When the baby cry’s you have a choice of three bottles to give the baby and one of that choice is juice . Say what! Juice for a baby! I understand that sometimes you may need to feed your baby milk from a bottle but juice for a baby then off course comes the pacifier. Maybe I am overreacting but children live what they see. They learn about parenting base on what they see their parents and other people around them care for babies and they replay the scenarios with their own toys. What is this doll really reinforcing about the way to comfort and soothe a baby. As I said, I might be over reacting.

 

Cicciobello is doing poorly, He cries and his cheeks glow red, Check his temperature with the special ear thermometer, Maybe he needs a drink? Find the right one to make him feel better, it could be his milk, juice or he may need some medicine, Maybe he needs an injection?, When he is feeling better he stops crying, Give him his dummy and he’ll fall fast asleep. 1 Cicciobello Doll, 1 ear thermometer, 3 bottles (milk, juice and medicine), 1 dummy, 1 syringe and 1 stethoscope

 

My daughter is always walking around the house nursing her baby but recently grandmother gave her a doll with singing baby bottle and it drives me up the wall. Problem is now my daughter is interested in bottle feeding instead of nursing her doll the way she used to and I feel she is getting confused. I asked her the other day, where does milk comes from and she says bottle then corrects herself and says mommy’s breast. This christmas I wanted to get her a nursing doll and there is none in the big retail stores. I know that they are available at natural stores but they are quite expensive.

So why does this upset me so much…the absense of nursing dolls in major stores says alot about us as a society and our views on breastfeeding. We are subconsciously teaching our kids how to be afraid of their bodies and its natural functions by giving them dolls with bottles. Consequently, we have a society that is afraid of nursing mothers and their breast. Every mammal nurse their young…but we question mother nature’s wisdom. So if you think I am overreacting then why doesn’t any of these big toy retailer stores sell nursing dolls…can you imagine the backlash they would recieve…that’s my point we have a problem with mom nursing  her baby. It should be done in secret behind closed doors. Selling nursing dolls would mean we as a society would have to come to terms with our fears of the breast. Hence the dolls with the bottles.

Mastitis-do you need antibotics

I was out enjoying walking with my little one when my friend call me and gave me some disturbing news. I went home and decided to fold some laundry when I suddenly felt sick. I thought it was the flu for a few seconds but then remembered that you just don’t get the flu within a few minutes. My husband came home later and I told him I didn’t feel well. By the morning, my right breast had a huge lump that was hard as a rock and ached badly. I just wanted the sore, red, hot, hard, lump and pain to go away. I nursed and nursed and nursed and tried every possible nursing positions to try to drain the breast.

I was scared so I call the doctor and got an antibiotic prescription as a back up plan but I was determined to find a way to get rid of the mastitis without antibiotics. I looked up doctor Jack Newman and Kellysmom and found out that if I took care of the mastitis within 24 hours I may not need to use antibiotics.

• I massaged and combed the breast while taking a hot shower then nurse the baby with baby’s nose right over the sore site. This took some special maneuvering but helped. I would also masage the breast while nursing. Be care not to over massage because that can cause soreness to an already sore breast. 
• I nursed very often, for long periods of time and after nursing, I applied a cold ice pack 
• I used cold cabbage leaves
• I used compress from grated potatoes …only if I knew about earth mama angel baby bosom buddies.
• Drank a ton of water and rested mostly in the couch all day

I can’t say for sure which method worked the best but I do know my mastitis was gone within 24 hrs of vigilantly working on the breast. I never experienced mastits or plugged ducts again but it was one breastfeeding experience I do not want to live through again. not have to.

The Guilty Nursing Mom

This post is part of the Breastfeeding Blog Carnival hosted by The Leaky
B@@b. It’s World Breastfeeding Week and the carnival theme is
“Perspectives: Breastfeeding from Every Angle.”  Visit The  Leaky B@@b for
more perspectives on breastfeeding.

 

 I knew before we had our baby that I was going to breastfeed so when our
daughter was born there was no question of how she would be fed. Nursing
proved  to be a challenge in the first 3 weeks as I battle engorgement, sore
and  cracked nipples. We saw a lactation consultant, and with her help and that of my husband, I was on my way to becoming a nursing pro. I nursed my daughter everywhere including while standing in lines at Disney. We had a very strong nursing  bond and nursing seemed to solve all our problems. 

When my daughter turned 18 months, we began trying for another baby and got pregnant immediately. I  wanted to nurse during pregnancy and my midwife approved as long  as I kept myself hydrated and ate well which I did. I nursed for the first 4 months and we were all fine. But by the time I got to five months, I did not want to nurse anymore. My nipples were sore, I hated every moment that I had to nurse. I also noticed I would get very aggressive with my daughter when she would try to  nurse. I soon started to feel very angry at myself for not wanting to nurse her and  was even confused about the intensity of emotions that I was feeling. Pretty soon, I weaned her and replace nursing with reading, singing, rocking and wearing her in the baby carrier. I hoped that we would be able tandem nurse once  the baby was born even though that mean i would have to hear about it from my in-laws.

When our 2nd daughter was born, Ambroisa  would occasionally ask to nurse but I found I was too exhausted to tandem  nurse and by the time I was ready, she had forgotten how to latch. She would  look at me and say mommy, they don’t work. We tried several other times but she completely lost the ability to latch on and would bite me instead. We finally gave up on tandem nursing and for many reason I was  not willing to try to  teach her to nurse. I still find that I am upset at myself for weaning her when I was pregnant even though I knew  it was the right thing to do then. I  feel the guilt of weaning her will haunt my for a very long time.

Breast milk supply-Do you make too much milk?

Image by hoi polloi via Flickr

We talked a lot about low breast milk supply but what about those moms who have an oversupply of breast milk. I had so much milk that there were times that I thought about  donating milk to a milk bank for less fortunate babies. My daughters would choke at every feeding and come up gasping for air.  Now my toddler when she nurses her dolls she says “mommy my baby choking on my milk” and does the back blows because that’s what I would do with her sister.

How do you know if you have too much milk?

• Your baby chokes a lot while drinking especially during a let-down and will let go of the breast.
• Spit up a lot of milk
• May cry a lot because because he/she cannot settle down to nurse and as a result  gets hungry
• Nurses on and off during a feeding session so as to be able to the handle the strong milk flow

How to handle too much milk?

• Offer one breast per feeding. Some moms do the same breast for 2 feedings before offering the other side. The other breast will get full which will signal to the brain to make less milk since the milk is not being removed.
• Do not let the breast get too engorged as the baby will have a hard time getting a proper latch and will have too much milk which will of course lead to choking.
• If you have to pump, pump when the baby would normally feed.
• Change your nursing position.  Try a more semi-upright position with the baby’s head  position higher than the breast. I would use a recliner and put the baby upright on me to nurse. I also found nursing while laying down helped as she would allow some of the milk to leak out on the side.
• Some herbs like peppermint and parsley are known to slow milk production. Sage is also good but should not be consumed in large doses or for long periods of time.
• Stay away from milk producing herbs like fennel, alfalfa, fenugreek, blessed thistle, nettle etc

As the baby gets older, they also learn to deal with the supply issue and the milk seem to have a way of regulating itself too as the months go by.

Based on several mom suggestion I am updating this post to include donating your milk. A few places to start

• milk banks-check out http://www.hmbana.org/ for more information
• http://milkinmamas.com/
• http://milkshare.birthingforlife.com/
• share with a friend in need if they don’t mind

Please share any other links you might know of

La Leche League Conference/Exhibition 2010

This was our first LLL Conference and it was a great experience. We met a lot of great families and exhibitors there. The hotel was filled with nursing moms and tons of baby wearing dads too.  Our 6 months old daughter, Madison, was with mommy all day which was fun. I wore her in our moby and ergo, nursed her at our booth. She slept in the carriers and when she was awake, she charmed everyone with her coos and squeals.

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LaLeche League Conference

I have being missing in action for a while now.  Life has being really busy and overwhelming for the past few weeks. There were days I logged into WordPress to blog and the page remained there untouched for the entire day. So I decided it was time to step back, take a break and enjoy my family. I am slowing starting to get back to work and this weekend we are going to the LLL Conference in CT. I am excited and hoping all goes well.

my daughter breastfeeding dilemma

My 2 1/2 yr old stop nursing around 2 because I was pregnant and couldn’t nurse anymore. She decided today she wanted to try the booby milk and I told her after her sister was done. She kept asking so i gave it a try. She latched on and sat there waiting then looked up at me and said mommy it won’t work- I was dying with laughter. She then said let me try the other one of course with the same results.  It don’t work.  Wow she does not remember how to nurse.

Breast milk Supply- do you have enough milk?

Breast milk supply is always a hot topic.  I often hear women say they quit nursing because they don’t have enough milk. However, according to midwives and doctors, all women have enough milk to nurse their babies unless they have a serious medical condition that would prevent them from producing enough milk. Well, I must say milk supply goes up and down depending on a lot of factors such as stress, being away from baby too long, illness, not drinking enough water, not experiencing a let down ete

When a mom doubts herself , one of the first things she will probably do is to pump so she can measure how much milk the baby is getting. The problem with that is formula fed babies and breastfed babies have different eating schedule. Breastfed babies eat more often than formula fed babies.  So don’t try to measure how much milk your baby is getting by using the bottle but by how many wet diapers your baby has. a baby should be wetting at least 6 diapers a day…better yet most babies wet their diaper about every 2 hrs or so or after a nursing.

How do you know when a breastfed baby is full?

Breastfed baby will stop nursing when they are full by falling asleep on the breast,  letting go of the breast, do what is call a non-nutritive suck where they are not really drinking just comfort sucking,  they will unclench their fist and relax their bodies.

Simply things to do to maintain adequate milk supply

• The more a baby suckle at the breast, the more milk you will produce period.  So nurse on demand,  not on a schedule and don’t the watch the clock.  Most newborns will spend anywhere from 10-30 minutes at the breast. It is all about supply and demand.
• Make sure you have a proper latch and the baby is actually swallowing milk. If the baby is not removing enough milk due to improper latch, milk supply can be low.
• Drink alot of water
• Know the baby growth spurt periods, baby becomes very hungry and fussy. They to want to  nurse every hour and looks like they are always hungry. You begin to feel as though you can’t supply enough milk to keep them full.  This is the time when moms doubt that they have enough milk to feed their babies. The babies are just growing so they need to eat a little more often. This is not the time to give formula and some dr will tell moms to supplement the milk. Supplementing your milk will only cause milk supply to drop.  Just  let the baby nurse as often as he or she wants. Milk supply will increase and growth spurts last for only a short times.  Society also puts undue stress on a mother by telling her baby is a burden because she has to sit  nurse the baby and you got stuff to do around the house or babies should be able to go without food for4  hours, put them on a schedule so you can have free time etc. Remember they are only a baby once and soon they will be talking back to you. Enjoy this time and use it as a time to relax.

What to do if you really start experiencing a low milk supply?

Low milk can start anytime but most moms may experience low supply around six months when baby is more active and mom nurses less,  baby may start some solid, mom returns to work and away from baby for long periods of time, pumping at work less than every 3 hours,  stressful time ete.

Let baby nurse more often during the day and at nights. If you are working during the day, be sure to pump at least every 3-4 hours and let the baby nurse at nights. (if working see pumping and working post http://wp.me/po6Jt-1S) Sleep in with the baby especially if working during the days.

Make sure baby empties the breast and you are getting letdowns.  If milk is left back, breast signals to brain to produce less milk.

Drink alot of water, try to drink a cup before each nursing session and do breast compression.(see Dr. Jack Newman on breast compression) If milk is still low, drink tea containing fenugreek, fennel, blessed thistle, nettle just to name a few 1-4 times a day. You can buy tea made specially to increase your milk like  motherlove more milk   at your health food store or online.  Start with one cup and see how full you get then increase by a cup if needed till you get enough milk. There are herbs that can increase milk supply but be careful to read side effects if making your own blend.

What if you tried all of above and baby is not gaining weight, Sometimes it is not that the mom does not have enough milk, it is the baby that does not know how to nurse properly.

• Check if the baby has a proper latch. Most newborn have a hard time latching because their mouths are tiny.  If the baby is smacking, clicking or making weird sounds then the latch is not good and then baby might not be getting enough milk. Make sure that the bottom lip is out and not tucked in.  refer to http://tinyurl.com/ylmqj8y  and http://tinyurl.com/ykygsdj
•  Check to see if baby is tongue-tied.  A tongue-tied baby cannot stick their tongue out. They cannot nurse well and will lose weight because they cannot get the milk out.  Ask you pediatrician if you suspect that the baby is tongue-tied.
• Make sure your ped is using a breastfeeding weight chart and not a formula weight chart.
• Consult a lactation

A breastfed baby is a happy baby. It is worth the effort. Good luck.

why do moms fail at breastfeeding?

Image via Wikipedia

Breastmilk is best for the baby but breastfeeding is definitely a learned art.  One of the MOST important rule for a successful breastfeeding relationship is to make sure the baby has a GOOD LATCH.

If the baby latches on incorrectly, you will have sore, crack, or bleeding nipples and that hurts like crazy…. and you will be afraid of the pain every time you go to latch the baby on. You can treat sore nipples aloe vera just apply on the nipple after feeding. For crack nipple you can use calendula gel or cream to heal the nipple. Calendula is great because it will heal the nipple quickly so you won’t really need to resort to getting antibiotic cream to prevent infection. You can use a natural nipple butter such as motherlove nipple butter or earth mama nipple butter to soothe and heal the nipples.

Another rule to remember if it hurts badly when you latch the baby on, baby is not latching correctly. You should only feel a little discomfort at first when the baby latches on not severe pain. The nipples will be naturally sore once the baby start nursing because they are sensitive and not use to the constant sucking but should not be painful.

What is a good latch?  Baby’s mouth should be on the areola and NOT the nipple. Tickle the baby’s upper lips so he open wide and then put the breast into his mouth. Some midwives advocate letting the baby root and find the breast for themselves. I could spend the day trying to tell you how to do it correctly but a picture or video is better. Please check out www.drjacknewman.com  He is an expert in breastfeeding and has tons of videos and photo on breastfeeding as well as breastfeeding issues of every kind.   This website also has excellent resources on breastfeeding www.kellymom.com  If all fails, before you go to the Dr, please see a lactation specialist, who can show you how to latch correctly, help you with engorgement ete. Most dr unless they breastfed or their wives did, are totally clueless about breastfeeding as it is not taught to them in school. They will likely tell you to use formula. Please don’t ever let a dr tell you to use formula because your baby is allergic to your milk. Babies are not allergic to their mom’s milk but rather what the mom ate. Some food that bother babies are diary, soy,wheat.

Tongue Tied babies will have problems latching on correctly and will have problems gaining weight. You can or have a professional lactation specialist check to see if the baby tongue tied. Tongue tied babies can have their frenulum clipped which will allow them to be able to stick their to tongue out and latch correctly.

Support from your spouse is also vital to a good breastfeeding relationship. There is nothing worst than a mom having problems nursing and a husband nagging her to quit, bottle feed or asking her when are you going to stop nursing for older babies. In laws as well as parents can also be a source of frustration if they are  not use to nursing. Get your spouse on board. My hubby actually latches the baby on for me because I was having so much problem until I got it right.  Find breastfeeding support groups or go the La leche  group meetings.

Establishing a good milk supply is important especially in the first 3 weeks. Some moms produce a lot some moms don’t but, we still can all feed our babies. Breastmilk will increase the more you nurse… so scheduling feeds are not good for building milk supply instead nurse when the baby is hungry. Pedatricians are known for telling moms that they need to supplement the milk. Breastfed babies growth chart are different from formula fed babies so be sure to check before supplementing.

Another problem too is we are told to breastfeed for at least 6 months so when moms nurse longer than six months, people give you the look. I nurse mine daughter until 23 months and that was because I was 4 months pregnant and getting too exhausted. When my daughter got to 6 months and I looked at her there was no ways I could give her just food and there was no way i was going to give her cow’s milk when her mother had her own milk. She was still a little baby and needed good nourishment. My daughter refuse food until she was 13 months and then she did not look back.

Here is a list of website on  breastfeeding.  www.kellymom.com,  www.drjacknewman.com,  http://www.llli.org/WebUS.html and don’t forget mom’s support groups example www.mothering.com  or yahoo support groups in your state. Mothering magazine had a great article on mastitis just in case you need help(it may be archived on mothering .com)