My daughter is now about 2 1/2 and I had to take another business trip away from her. I wasn't sure we would be able to continue our nursing, but I know it means a lot to her (moms of nursing toddlers will understand) so I decided I would at least pump during my trip and let her decide as soon as I got home if she wanted to continue. Once again it was a grueling add on to an already packed work trip, but I somehow managed to make it a priority and kept up my supply while transversing the globe (I flew to Singapore and back). I had similar problems this trip, soreness that comes from exclusive pumping, slight engorgement, and exhaustion, but I knew what to expect and I had promised my daughter that even though I had to go she could continue nursing when I returned if she wanted to.
Our reunion was a joyous one, she is always so happy to see me and of course I cried upon seeing her and my husband. I guess the tears were for the time lost, and in just 8 days she really had grown and is talking a lot clearer. I offered her time to nurse as soon as we sat down for the metro ride home and she gladly accepted. She then surprised me by nursing almost non-stop for three hours while I rested (jet lag finally got me). She's still nursing a little more than usual (I think it helps her feel closer to me), but she's settled down a lot and seems to be as happy as ever.
Any working mom who is considering pumping while away on a trip should definitely try it, I truly believe nursing makes our separation easier, it keeps me attached and committed to my daughter and it gives her a little comfort before and after that only nursing can provide.
Hopefully I will not have to repeat this experiment for a while, and yes we are self-weaning so we'll just have to see how long that goes. For now I take it one day at a time and enjoy our closeness because I am sure all too soon she will be an independent little girl and no longer my nursling.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
strawberry milk???
When I first started nursing I remember reading a note that went something like this; if there is blood in your baby's spit-up, don't worry. It is probably your own blood. I then thought, oh how nice (not really I was in pain). Anyways I had a bad case of thrush a couple weeks ago and ended up bleeding again, but I didn't realize I was. I was pumping along minding my own business when I realized at the end one side of milk was apparently strawberry flavored. I know what you are thinking, ew gross, but for some reason I found it funny. Who else can say their breasts have made strawberry milk? So I took a picture to prove it and once I got my thrush cleared up, again, started using a vinegar and water solution which seems to be working fairly well to prevent new outbreaks (but if you start using it too use a little lanolin cream once a day as well to keep your nipples from drying out).Every stage of nursing is a new adventure. For you moms that have nursed over two years or decide to go that long you'll find out, but it's still just as rewarding. Recently we had an outbreak of the stomach flu and the one person who caught it last and had the easiest time of it was my nursing daughter. Not only did she catch it three days after the first outbreak, she was drinking milk (mama's milk) and holding it down after only five hours of the stomach flu. It took us adults a whole 24 hours to start holding down liquids again. For me that proves the benefits more than anything. I know it did for my husband too, we been having low estrogen issues and after many doctor visits was told I have to either suck it up or quit nursing (because there are no other options for our particular issues) so I asked my husband if he wanted me to stop (before the stomach flu he would have said yes), but to my surprise he said "no, she's (our daughter) the healthiest of us all, no reason to stop doing what is keeping her so healthy". He's absolutely right, although I am cutting my pumping sessions down to once a day to see if that helps clear up some of our issues.
PS: The recipe for the solution to avoid thrush is 1 part vinegar 9 parts water.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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."
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."
Sunday, December 21, 2008
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!Monday, December 8, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
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.
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.
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