Once I decided that nursing was important enough to stick it out I found myself in need of a good breast pump. After trying a borrowed hand pump first I realized that I needed something better and considerably more expensive. Now after two years of use I have gotten my money’s worth several times over.

What to look for:

Ask to use the hospitals while you are there, see how you like it.
The hospital even gave me the parts to take home so I had kind of a “starter” kit and they showed me how to clean and care for the pieces. (Don’t wash the tubing!)

How long will you be using it?
If you are only going to pump for a few months it might be more economical to rent one from the hospital. Maybe you are not sure you want to nurse for the long run, this will give you an idea of what it takes and how wonderful it can be.

How often will you pump?
If you are dedicated to the cause and want to avoid formula at all costs I highly recommend an electric double pump. If you look at the cost of the (pump + milk bags + breast pads + a few extra poopy diapers) and compare that with the cost of (formula per month + a few more doctor visits + lots of bottles + a bottle warm for late nights) you can see the pump is a bigger investment to start, but far less expensive in the long run.

Do your homework.
Read up on the different features, ask friends, go online, maybe borrow a friends if you have that option. They are super easy to clean and sterilize the parts so don’t let sharing scare you.

Personally I use the Medela Pump In Style Advanced over the shoulder bag. I like that it works quick and has a special feature to get the milk flow going. They also have excellent phone support even for problems you might run into nursing. I have used mine at least once a day for almost two years now and it is still pumping strong.

How about a free pump?

Yeah! This is for those moms who wouldn’t mind donating a few extra bags of milk (a shipment is about 20 bags of 6oz of milk) to The National Milk Bank. You can see the link on the side. My sister and my friend from work both got pumps from them and they are excellent hospital grade pumps. The only side note to make is the one they sent my friend from work cannot run on batteries so be sure you have a good outlet if this is the path you choose. It’s great to get something so expensive for free, plus the milk you donate goes to help babies in the NICU so you can feel good about it too. I’ve been donating for over a year now and it’s great to see Emily’s extra milk go somewhere good.

The benefits start from day one and build as you go

This is from the I Make Milk, What's Your Superpower facebook page. The administrator took it from her local paper.

"What If I Want To Wean My Baby? taken from a *Babies First* article printed in my local paperIf you breastfeed for a few days, your baby will have received your colostrum or early milk. Packed with optimal nutrition and antibodies, it helps get your baby's digestive system going and give him his first - and easiest - immunization.If you breastfeed for four to six weeks, you will have eased him through the most critical part of his infancy. Breastfed newborns are much less likely to get sick or be hospitalized and have fewer digestive problems than artificially fed babies.If you breastfeed for three or four months her digestive system will have matured a great deal and she will be much better able to tolerate the foreign substances in artificial baby milk. If you breastfeed for six months, she will be much less likely to suffer an allergic reaction to artificial baby milk or other foods. A new study indicates that nursing for more than six months may greatly reduce the risk of childhood cancers as well. If you breastfeed your baby for nine months, you will have seen him through the fastest and most important development of his life on the most valuable of all foods - your milk.If you breastfeed your baby for a year you can avoid the expense of artificial baby milk. Many health benefits during this year of nursing will last her whole life. She will have a stronger immune system, less chance of childhood and adolescent obesity and will be much less likely to need orthodontia or speech therapy.If you breastfeed your baby for eighteen months, you will have continued to provide the highest quality nutrition and superb protection against illness at a time when illness is common in other babies. The US Surgeon General says "It is the lucky baby that nurses to age two".If you breastfeed your baby until he is ready to wean, you can feel confident you have met your baby's physical an emotional needs in the most natural, healthiest way possible. In cultures where there is no pressure to wean, children tend to nurse for at least two years. Mothers who have nursed for two or more years have a lower risk of developing breast cancer.Don't worry that your child will nurse forever. All children wean eventually no matter what you do and there are more nursing toddlers around than you might guess."

There are a lot of great resources out there, if you are on facebook they have a few breastfeeding groups where you can post questions and get answers from other moms. Plus it's fun being a member and talking about what you love.

Flush with Thrush

I thought it might be a good time to tackle some common problems I’ve faced throughout my 19 months of breastfeeding. Thrush wasn’t the first problems, but it has been the most persistent one so I choose this to discuss first.

What is Thrush?
Oral thrush is a condition in which the fungus Candida albicans accumulates on the lining of your mouth.
Oral thrush causes creamy white lesions, usually on your tongue or inner cheeks. The lesions can be painful and may bleed slightly when you scrape them or brush your teeth. Sometimes oral thrush may spread to the roof of your mouth, your gums, tonsils or the back of your throat.
Although oral thrush can affect anyone, it occurs most often in babies and toddlers, older adults, and in people with compromised immune systems. Oral thrush is a minor problem for healthy children and adults, but for those with weakened immune systems, symptoms of oral thrush may be more severe, widespread and difficult to control.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/oral-thrush/DS00408

What and the symptoms?
Oral thrush usually produces creamy white lesions on your tongue and inner cheeks and sometimes on the roof of your mouth, gums and tonsils. The lesions, which resemble cottage cheese, can be painful and may bleed slightly when rubbed or scraped. Although oral thrush symptoms often develop suddenly, they may persist for a long time.
In severe cases, the lesions may spread downward into your esophagus — the long, muscular tube stretching from the back of your mouth to your stomach (Candida esophagitis). If this occurs, you may experience difficulty swallowing or feel as if food is getting stuck in your throat.
Signs and symptoms in infants and breast-feeding mothersHealthy newborns with oral thrush usually develop symptoms during the first few weeks of life. In addition to the distinctive white mouth lesions, infants may have trouble feeding or be fussy and irritable. They can also pass the infection to their mothers during breast-feeding. The infection may then pass back and forth between mother's breasts and baby's mouth. Women whose breasts are infected with candida may experience the following signs and symptoms:
Unusually red or sensitive nipples
Shiny or flaky skin on the areola
Unusual pain during nursing or painful nipples between feedings
Stabbing pains deep within the breast
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/oral-thrush/DS00408

Personally my symptoms where subtle and we first saw them in my daughter. She had to have an antibiotic shot for an infection and about a week later I noticed her tongue has white splotches on it. About the same time she started having problems at the sitter, being very fussy and clingy. At first I just dismissed it for the natural separation anxiety infants begin to feel at about 6 months, but I finally took her to the doctor where he said part of the problem might be the thrush which could cause her a little pain and discomfort.
I found about two weeks later I started having some subtle nipple pain while pumping. Then I noticed little tiny bleeding spots on my nipples and a little blood on my breast pad after I would pump. Finally came the unbearable itching, I would want Emily to nurse just to soothe it as scratching your nipples isn’t the best idea.



What is the treatment?

At this point I made several mistakes. The doctor told me to get her some infant probiotics, which I had a very hard time finding. I asked is Acidophilus would be ok, but the doctor told me if I couldn’t find it them don’t worry about it. Well it only got worse. I was finally able to find infant probiotics in powder at a Whole Foods store and began giving her one serving a day. These are perfectly safe to give more than once a day and I didn’t see any improvement until I gave her three servings a day. My next mistake was not insisting on getting her treated with some medicine (Nystatin or similar). The thrush had gone so long that I finally had to get her doctor to prescribe something. This goes into my third mistake, not treating myself. The thrush will transfer from mom to baby and back if both aren’t treated at the same time. The best way to do this I found is take a little of the medicine prescribed for your baby and put it on your nipples. Also use cotton nursing pads and be sure they get washed in hot water and clean all the toys your baby puts in his or her mouth until both your symptoms are gone. You’ll have to be sure the sitter does this also otherwise you will have multiple outbreaks.

Can I prevent this fun experience?

Yes you sure can. I personally believe if I had been better informed and knew what I was doing I would have not had problems with it at all. First I read to take Asidophilus while taking antibiotics to replace the good bacteria that is getting killed along with the bad. A good way to help your infant is getting the power probiotics and including it once a day while on antibiotics. This can also help to prevent the antibiotic diarrhea that seems to accompany some treatments. If anything just eat one yogurt a day, it is packed with the healthy organisms you need and good for you too. You can even find infant yogurt now. If you are still concerned, or like me have bad luck with reoccurrences, you can clean your nipples a couple times a day with a solution of vinegar and water. I used about a half mL of vinegar to 10mL of water or more water if that seems to irritate your skin. Just dap it on once or twice a day. This will dry out your skin though so I also suggest adding a dap of Lanolin cream after each application to avoid a different kind of soreness.



On an ending note these are just my personal experiences, yours may be different. It is common to get, but you will probably find a lot of nursing moms who have never had problems with it. Everyone is different. You can find lots of good tips and information online too, I just did a Google search and found a plethora of information in just one search on “thrush”.

World Breastfeeding Week

http://www.lllusa.org/wbw/index.php

It's so nice to have a full week dedicated to celebrating such a wonderful thing!

Donating Milk

I have plenty of extra milk from pumping at work and my daughter refusing anything except straight from the tap so I donate it all. First I used the National Milk Bank, which is a great service, and then I decided I wanted to help someone locally so I found a family in Tucson looking for milk and they get all my extra. It's never been a problem donating, I know I am perfectly healthy and I am happy to help, but my friend asked me the other day "Would you take someone else's milk if your baby needed it?" I had to stop and think of it and I realized how heart wrenching it must be for a mom who wants to nurse, but for whatever reason can’t. In the end my final answer was yes, I know breast milk is the best and if I couldn’t provide it I would hope I could find someone who could.

Looking back

My friend just told me of her friend’s first experiences with breastfeeding and I found myself wishing that nurses and hospitals were more educated on the matter. If you have had your child in a hospital it is very easy to see why breastfeeding is not a normal practice in America. The night Emily was born I tried to feed her, but of course she was too tired from being born. Then started the parade of nurses every two hours, “Did she eat yet?!?” “She has to eat!” Of course she wasn’t hungry yet. Breastfeeding is something mother and child has to learn how to do together maybe with the help of an experienced mother who has been there and done that. Not a 22 year old, childless nurse who has the rule memorized if the baby doesn’t nurse feed it a bottle. I had no idea what I was doing and was so worried my baby wouldn’t eat we gave her a bottle. Seeing her chug that milk down was so satisfying I can see why most moms give-up. Breastfeeding you can only see the time go by, there is no mL measurement on your breast showing it full and then empty; just our own mothering instincts. Unfortunately as a new mother the nurse’s insistence on feedings drown out the quiet whisper of our divinely appointed instincts and more often than not we relinquish to the louder noise.

My daughter took three bottles of formula total; one in the hospital and two at home in the middle of the night when I was desperate to get her to sleep longer. It was so difficult getting the formula made and warmed up while she cried and cried I finally gave in and just nursed. To me it was easier; I couldn’t stand hearing her cry because it just seemed to pierce my heart. The real motivation for my continued breastfeeding success was the advice I got from a nurse as we parted ways, “buy The Breastfeeding Book by Dr. Sears, it will tell you all you need to know about breastfeeding”. Well the day after we got home my husband was sent out to buy it, I was having such a difficult time getting started it seemed hopeless to me, but somewhere beneath the postpartum blues I felt a deep need to breastfeed my daughter. I read The Breastfeeding Book in about a week, I looked forward to late night feedings to read which fed my desire and gave me the power to overcome all the obstacles I was to face; bleeding, mastitis, a nursing strike, thrush upon thrush with more thrush, pumping at work, and even two weeks apart.

Of course there are plenty of moms out there who overcame those problems with no help other than their desire to breastfeed. Those are truly amazing moms.

Toddler nursing

Anyone who has nursed a toddler knows how fun this is :)
Milk seems to taste better upside down.