My motivation

At two years of nursing the question has been poping into my head often, "When should I wean my daughter?" I decided that when she is ready we will wean and not before, I believe that my working leaves a little hole in both our hearts which we both fill up a little with our one on one nursing time. Not to mention the added benefits when she is sick because all she will do is nurse and if she wasn't still nursing she'd get no nutrition at all during those times.

For added motivation I found this little blurp on a sheet in my buildings lacation room. I have highlighted it and posted it to my wall so I remember.

"Breastfeeding is more than just nourishment. It is a special relationship between mother and child. Babbies have a need to suck well into the second year of life and continue to need the physical cuddling and holding associated with nursing. It is recommended that you breastfeed for your baby's first year of life of even longer if you and your baby wish."

public nursing

This is a huge art display at the American History Museum in Washington DC. I thought it was great to see of all the displays they could have put up for early American immigrants, they chose one of a mother nursing her infant. Hurray for public nursing!

breast feeding a toddler

We are quickly approaching my daughters second birthday and subsequently our two year anniversary for breastfeeding. For some strange reason I assumed the longer we nursed the easier it would get. In some ways it has, my daughter and I are pros and reading each others signals and communicating. I have found though that it is a constant re-dedication and commitment I have to make each day.

Here’s a few thought about making the continued commitment, if you chose to do so, and some things to expect.

Raised eyebrows – expect people will ask you how old your little one is when carting around your breast pump at work – expect they will give you a second glance and perhaps and raised eye brow when you say “two years old” or older.
New problems – I’ve found that nipples crack just as easily after two years as they did after two days – lanolin cream is still a good friend – I’ve also encountered some new problems such as blisters – ¼ teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water and soak for three minutes (please don’t laugh, although the picture you are thinking of is pretty close to how it was, windows closed of course)
Self doubt – I find myself still enjoying our moments and then at other times wanting to postpone nursing requests– sometimes my daughter will go all day without wanting to nurse and I think she is done and get sad and other nights I am an all night buffet (very infrequent now, but with the occasional cold comes a less that restful night). The self weaning process takes time and I find that if I trust my daughter will know when she is done nursing for good then I feel I am actually building a trust relationship with her that will last for her whole life (that probably only makes sense to other mom’s of nursing toddlers).
Good doctors are harder to come by – when you find a good gynecologist (in my opinion every woman should have one she is comfortable with) you go out of your way to keep that doctor. Right now a good doctor is one who does not tell me to stop nursing. For whatever reason I feel it is important to continue until we are both ready to quit and my daughter is certainly not ready (at least most days) to quit. I was very lucky and found a doctor out here that thinks my decision is great and told me I’m amazing for working and still nursing (A+ in my book of doctors), so now I have someone to call and ask what to do about blisters and new cracks and re-occurrences of thrush, etc.
Make some friends – I think making friends with other nursing mom’s (big plus if they are believers in toddler nursing) is important for the support, especially with the increase of raised eye brow syndrome you will suffer from. La Leche League is a great way, I haven’t found a group yet, but I am making friends in the buildings lactation room, it is always nice to run into another mom carting around a breast pump (it’s like an instant bond).

I hope that this proves helpful for someone. Nursing is great and nursing a toddler is not only great, but also a fun adventure (most of the time). I suggest any mom considering it to at least give it a try for a couple of months, you might find you really like it.

Nursing on the move

We just completed a cross country move and even though it was very stressful and breastfeeding added just one more thing on the “to do” list we kept at it. I found that it helped my daughter to relax a little and sleep better, plus it helped me knowing she was getting some extra nutrients along with those French fries and chicken nuggets. We are still going strong coming up on 21 months. Here are a few things I learned nursing on the move.

Don’t be shy, you can’t afford to. Nurse when the baby wants to when you are out of the car. The first few times it is hard to be discrete, but I quickly became an expert at discrete nursing while shopping, ordering food, checking out of hotels, and everywhere in between.
It is possible to nurse in the car. It’s easier in a rear facing car seat, but possible in a front facing one also. You will be surprise how versatile your nipples really are. In either instance I suggest sitting next to your child (otherwise it ain’t gona happen sister-our nipples are versatile, but they don’t stretch…hehe). You have to only wear the lap portion of the seat belt for it to work so I would put the shoulder part behind me. I would then get my breast our and ready and lean towards my daughter, pulling the car seat a little towards me also. My daughter did the rest. The only down side is one breast gets lots of attention while driving so when we stopped I would nurse off the other side to keep things even.
Drink lots of water when you can. I have what feels like a very small bladder so I wouldn’t drink much while we were driving, but I would when we stopped for the night and before we’d stop for lunch. You will want to drink some in the car and risk those stops (the little one will need them anyways) and you don’t want to get dehydrated or your supply will drop.
Don’t expect to do more than 8 hours a day driving. Plan your trip that way or maybe with a little leeway (we planned for only 6 hours of driving time and ending up with 8 each day got to our new home a little early) that way you don’t have to get stressed for getting behind.

It is possible to nurse through any difficulty so just stick with it and the closeness will be a familiar comfort to you and your child through a stressful period.

On a non-nursing note, if you are moving from family your child is close to I strong recommend taking everyone’s picture and bringing them along in a little photo album in the car. Our daughter is only two, but she misses her grandparents terribly and I wish I had though of that before we left. We had to make an emergency run to a print shop to get photos of everyone printed up. Calls home to the family left behind help too. Your little one may not talk much to them, but just hearing their voices will help calm anxieties and fears.

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”.