BFM 29

This will be the last post for Breastfeeding Month, because quite frankly, I just didn't have time to source any more facts. I kept seeing the same ones over and over again. I will hopefully in a week or 2, continue with the Thought of the Day posts. I am giving myself a little vacation time off, so I can concentrate on some things going on around my household that need to be looked into or completed.

Fact # 29

Kangaroo care is the best for the first few weeks after baby arrives. Keep baby skin to skin with you to not only help regulate baby's body temperature, but to also give baby unlimited access to nourishment.

BFM 28

Fact # 28

Engorgement stinks, but with some extra rest, make sure you are staying hydrated, your baby, and possibly a hand pump, you will get through it, just like you got through labor.

BFM 25, 26, & 27

Boy, I am so sorry. Life is just not going well right now and if my head wasn't attached, I'm sure I'd have lost it by now! Gere is yesterday, today, and tomorrow's post.

Fact # 25

Make sure you are getting enough calcium, b-12, vitamin D, and water in your diet daily.

Water is extremely important. You are not only hydrating yourself, but your baby as well. I have heard many moms say they feel like their mouth is a desert. Well, if that is you, then you have already started to become dehydrated and need to up your water intake. I carry my glass water bottle around everywhere I go. I also drink only reverse osmosis water.


Fact # 26

Don't diet, eat whole natural foods and the baby weight will come off as it is supposed to.

I read somewhere that it took 9 months to put the baby weight on and it should take 18 months to take off.


Fact # 27

Do your research while you are still pregnant. Do not expect anyone else to be able to show you how to breastfeed, especially if you are having your baby in a hospital.

The best book to read is The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.  I also suggest searching out a LLL group in your area. I am not highly fond of my group, which seems to act like a high school click, but I did learn valuable information from them. Go 1-2 times while still pregnant, so you can get to know the leaders, so if you need middle of the night help for any reason, you will not be calling a complete stranger. Also, check to see if there is an IBCLC in your area. They can be a huge support in the early days also, although, unlike LLL, you will have an hourly fee to see them, but it is worth ever penny spent to have a wonderful nursing relationship with your child.

BFM 23 & 24

Sorry I forgot yesterday, but what a time to forget. Now I can group 2 food type facts together!

Fact #23

A few foods to avoid: High mercury fish, alcohol, caffeine, peppermint, sage.

It's the same as if you were pregnant.

Fact #24

Help increase milk with oatmeal, kombucha, almonds, apricot, salmon, yogurt, beans, spinach, dates, sesame seeds, brown rice... not all will help everyone, but they are all worth a try if you really do need a milk boost (Hmm, maybe this is why I don't seem to ever have this problem, as I eat most of these food regularly).

BFM 22

Fact #22

A “breastfeeding high.”

 

A nursing baby triggers the release of the hormone oxytocin, which relaxes both you and your baby .

BFM 21

Fact #21

Breastfeeding can help prevent cancer and reduces risk of osteoporosis.

In countries were breastfeeding rates are higher, the most common female cancers, ovarian, uterine and breast, are reduced.

Breastfeeding also helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

BFM 20

Fact #20

Breastfeeding helps create to a better environment.

Breastfeeding is energy efficient. No need to boil water, wash, or sterilize.

There is also little to no trash. Some moms require breast pads to help with leaking. If you use reusable ones, there is no waste. There is also no waste because with formula, there are premade cartons and cans.

BFM 19

Fact # 19

Breastfeeding exposes your baby to many different tastes and smells.

What you eat while nursing, influences what they may or may not like when they are older.

BFM 18

Fact # 18
82% of mothers use a breast pump.

Going back to work is a necessity for most moms in the USA unfortunately. And for them, it is a valuable tool.


Thanks to Motherjones.com for the image.

It really is sad that the USA is so far behind on this most important issue. If we did have maternity leave, the breast feeding numbers would be higher and there would be less need of having to buy those expensive industrial machines for something that should be practically free.

There are many types of breast pumps. The brand that I hear most often is Medela.

When I was pregnant with Tabitha, we went to an open house at the hospital that we were going to have Tabitha at. I was told that I would most definitely have to have a breast pump. This infuriated me and I refuse to buy one, since I knew I would be staying at home. Unfortunately, I did have so much milk one night in the first week, that I broke down and had Eric buy a hand pump, and used it a couple times to relieve engorgement. I still have it and it has been used probably 15 times now. At this current moment, I have 4 tiny bags of milk in my freezer for my piece of mind, but in the end, like my older children, the milk will go bad and eventually have to be thrown out, but at least I did have that tool to help get through the first week of engorgement.
 

BFM 17

Fact #17

73% of mothers get outside help for breastfeeding problems.

It is very important to ask for advice or help if you need it. If you need help, I would highly recommend an IBCLC. You can find one here: www.iblce.org.

 

I am blessed I have never needed someone. I always relied on my LLL book. I do highly recommend Betsy at The Breastfeeding Center in Massillon to anyone I come across that may need help. I have been there for nursing bras, amber teething bracelet, and participating in the Guinness World Record cloth diaper event a few months ago.

 

It is pretty cool that Emmett will be named in the 2013 Guinness Year Book.

 

BFM 16

Fact # 16 Your milk sprays out of many holes, not just one

The average amount of holes in the nipple are 9, with up to 18.
 

BFM 15

Fact #15 Breast size is not important!

No matter what cup size you are, you’ll make plenty of milk for baby.

BFM 14

Fact # 14 Babies breastfeed until they’re full, not until they 'empty' your breast.

Babies eat approximately 67% of the milk available. Amounts vary widely among mothers.

Bottle feeding a baby will generally feed until the bottle is empty, which set the infant up for over eating as he grows, which leads to obesity.

BFM 13

Fact # 13 Your baby controls your breast milk flow with an instinctive action that includes sucking, swallowing and breathing

Milk flows best when your baby moves his tongue a certain way. Baby is also able to pace himself and only suck and swallow when needed.

BFM 11 & 12

Sorry again for the missed day. I'm getting bad at that during the weekend. When Eric is home, I want to get as much done around here as I possibly can, so that usually means I am not on the computer as much. I have so much stuff to do around here, with our yard project and Eric's computer crashing and trying to find files that I need, that I have started getting headaches from pushing myself so hard.

Fact # 11 Breastfeeding reduces the exposure to sugar.

The only sugar a baby should have or even needs, is lactose. This is the harmless sugar found in breast milk. Sucrose is the alternative and can cause damage to erupting teeth

Fact # 12 About a third of moms can’t sense 'let-down'.

A 'let down' is when your milk starts to flow.  It can also be called the milk ejection reflex. The average time it takes for let down to happen is 56 seconds (pretty cool huh?).

BFM 10

Fact # 10  Babies instinctively know how to get your milk quickly and efficiently.

They start breastfeeding with a faster suck for stimulation until you let-down. Then when your milk is flowing, they switch to a slower, deeper suck and eat until they’re full.

BFM 9

Fact # 9 Almost three-quarters of moms produce more milk with their right breast.

 It makes no difference being right or left handed, it's just a fact.

BFM 8

Fact # 8 Breastfeeding burns calories.

When breastfeeding you burn up to an extra 500 calories per day.  Also, while you sit and relax with your baby you are also burning calories. So, it's the ideal way to lose weight with out the exercise!

BFM 7

Fact #7 You only produce a small amount of milk in the first few days.  This milk is called colostrum.

 

Many people just don't understand that when a baby spits up, it means they have eaten too much. Their stomach pushes out what is not needed. My babies spit up very little to what I remember, when I was around formula fed babies.

BFM 6

Fact # 6 Breast milk is the ideal food for newborns and infants.

Why use anything else, other than what God gave to us?

Even if someone could not breastfeed for some reason, there are ways to get breast milk through sharing groups.

If you can't stand the thought of someone sharing their milk, the only alternative is something that comes from a lab that is most definitely GMO and sugar. And we wonder why in the world we have such a problem with obesity in America?