(Today's post is from Rebekah Hoffer, a former contributor for Breastfeeding Place and now author of Why Does My Breast Milk Taste Bad? She hopes that during this World Breastfeeding Week she can encourage and inform moms who may struggle with this issue.) I thought my breastfed daughter was picky. I thought she was stubborn. I thought I had the wrong type of bottle or nipple. Perhaps we didn't give her a bottle often enough or early enough. Again and again my daughter refused to take a bottle while I was gone. I was extremely frustrated. What was I doing wrong? And then I tasted the breast milk that was in her bottle. I was … [Read more...]
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Disclaimer: The information in this post is for educational purposes only. I am not a doctor. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. None of the opinions are meant to diagnose or treat any disease or illness. You should always consult your healthcare provider.
Essential Oils to Increase Breast Milk Supply
Essential oils can be mighty tools in our mom tool chests. I use them for all sorts of things including boo-boo's, cleaning, and cooking. Did you know that there are essential oils to increase breast milk supply? Essential oils work a little differently than the medications or remedies we may be familiar with. Oils support the body in functioning at homeostasis - at balance. We are meant to feed our babies, so essential oils can support us in adequately feeding them. When choosing a brand of oil, pay close attention to the quality. Because oils affect every cell in the body within minutes of use, it is important to get the best you … [Read more...]
Child Led Weaning: Lily’s Story
Child led weaning: what does it look like? Does the experience make you feel happy, sad, is it bittersweet, or freeing? The truth is, it is all of those things. Child led weaning is an intimate experience fraught with a wide range of emotions typically charged with a mixture of waning hormones, a rapidly growing independence that is blossoming from your child and the relationship between the two of you morphing into a completely new story. I want to tell you one of my children's stories. I want you to know what it meant to me, doing this child led weaning and allowing her to stop when she said it was time. I gave birth to a … [Read more...]
Guidelines for Breast Milk Storage
As if breastfeeding, pumping, and waking up every three hours or so isn't exhausting enough, sometimes we have to tack on the hassle of keeping up with the dates and times that our milk was pumped, fed, warmed, refrigerated and/or frozen. There's many different guidelines for breast milk storage, but most are pretty consistent with little variations. Sometimes people get overly paranoid about what's best when it comes to storing breast milk and keeping up with dates and times, but quite honestly breast milk is pretty good at holding up to its end of the bargain. Guidelines for breast milk storage all seem to be about the same no matter … [Read more...]
How To Produce Breast Milk When Your Supply Drops
So, you started out breastfeeding your baby and built up your supply. Everything was going well, but now you feel like your supply is dropping and you're wondering how to produce breast milk that is plentiful enough to keep your baby satisfied. Breastfeeding is all about supply and demand. If you are not putting baby to the breast, or regularly pumping, your supply will drop. Maybe you've started letting your baby have more bottles, maybe baby is now eating solids, whatever the reason, there are a few things you can do to get your supply back up. How to Produce Breast Milk When Your Supply Drops Eat Enough Calories As busy … [Read more...]
The Best Breast Milk Freezer Bags
When I had my twins, pumping became a way of life. I should have purchased breast milk freezer bags in bulk as soon as I found out I was having identical girls! Nursing newborn twins involved as much pumping as it did nursing and diaper changing. At times, probably more. The first three months with a toddler and twins were rough, but they were made much easier once I found products that worked for me. My favorite swaddles, awesome baby swings, and fabulous high chairs all served to make life with three kids under 3 run a lot more smoothly. Since pumping was such a big part of my life, happening after every single nursing session for the … [Read more...]
Does Your Breast Milk Taste Bad? We Need Your Help!
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Does your pumped breast milk taste bad? Does your baby refuse to drink it or perhaps they still accept the bad-tasting milk? If so, we need your help. If your breast milk is offensive in taste, it is most likely caused by excess lipase activity. Lipase is an enzyme that is in the breast milk of all women. It helps break down the fats in the milk during digestion. When lipase is a bit over-active, it starts to break down the fats in the refrigerator or freezer instead of waiting to break down the fats in your baby’s stomach. There are many things that can change the taste of breast milk including vitamins, medications, supplements, … [Read more...]
Pregnancy, Breast Milk, and Supply: 5 Things You Should Know
When you are expecting, your mind will be filled with all sorts of questions and thoughts, especially if you are a first time mom. One of the things that you may not know much about is breastfeeding and how pregnancy, breast milk, and milk supply operate with one another. If you are not a first time mom, but you are pregnant and still have a nursing child, you may also have unanswered questions about how to continue your nursing relationship. This simple guide should fill you in on the basics and give you an outline of what you can expect while you are expecting. Your breasts begin preparing for lactation as soon as you … [Read more...]
Ways to Increase Breast Milk Supply
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When it comes to breastfeeding, one of the biggest fears that a mother can have is whether or not she will make enough milk to nourish her baby. Sometimes it is hard to know whether or not we are making enough, especially if there is no pumping involved in the breastfeeding relationship. Chances are, you're making just what your little one needs. However, there are some instances and scenarios where you may feel the need to increase breast milk supply. Aside from low milk production in general, mothers can run into unforeseen problems that can cause a dip in milk supply. Anything from catching a bad cold or the flu to taking certain … [Read more...]
3 Advantages of Expressing Breast Milk by Hand
There are many ways to express breast milk. It can either be expressed by hand, with a manual pump, a battery operated or electric breast pump, or a hospital grade pump (which are electric). Even with all the different types of breast pumps out there, knowing how to express breast milk by hand is a useful skill. It might take a few tries to get used to expressing breast milk by hand, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't work the first time. The trick is to put pressure not on the nipple but on the milk ducts. Once you are familiar with hand expressing, it's sometimes easier and more convenient than using a breast pump. What are the … [Read more...]
