How can I be sure I will make enough milk? When you are separated from your baby during the workday and can not follow his cues for feeding, you need to give some attention to keeping up your milk supply. Here are some ideas to insure that you have ample milk for your baby, even […]
How to Spend More Quality Time With Baby
Focus on Quality Time During Your Time Together If you must be away from your baby for many hours each day, you’ll want to make the most of the time you have together. Make baby and breastfeeding your number-one priority during your non-working hours to increase your quality time together. Quality Time In the Morning […]
Selecting A Breastfeeding-Friendly Caregiver
Finding a caregiver whom you can trust to parent your baby in a sensitive way is vitally important to your baby’s welfare and your peace of mind while you are working. You also want a caregiver who is supportive of breastfeeding. Share information about the benefits of breastfeeding and about how your baby is growing […]
Making the Most of Your Maternity Leave
Tips to make the transition back to work after maternity leave easier During the weeks after birth, when you are caring for your baby full-time, you can also begin to plan for your return to work. But don’t let concerns about leaving your baby get in the way of enjoying this special time. Here are […]
Giving Formula Instead of Pumping
Breastfeeding is not an all-or-nothing deal. While many mothers who combine nursing and working do supply all of their baby’s milk feedings for many months, others use formula as a back-up when they are unable to pump enough milk. In other cases, baby nurses at the breast when mother is available and gets formula when […]
Getting Enough Milk? How to Tell
I’m worried my baby isn’t getting enough milk. How can I know for sure? Rather than worrying and wondering about whether your breastfed baby is getting enough milk, check the following signs: NUMBER OF WET DIAPERS • A baby who is getting enough milk will have 4 to 6 wet diapers a day by the […]
Increasing Milk Supply
Increasing Milk Supply with Help From Baby Remember the three B’s of breastfeeding: the breast, the baby, and the brain. For increasing milk supply, the breast needs more stimulation from the baby and making that happen will require some adjustments in your brain. To increase your milk supply, you have to make breastfeeding a priority. […]
Giving Pacifiers
My baby nurses so often that my nipples are getting sore. Is it okay to give her a pacifier? Babies are born with an intense need to suck. Some infants even suck their thumbs in the womb. Babies not only suck for food, but they also love to suck for comfort. Pacifiers are just what […]
Breastfeeding and Fertility
Understanding Natural Family Planning through Breastfeeding and Fertility Rates You may have heard that you can’t get pregnant while breastfeeding because of the impact of breastfeeding and fertility rates. This is true, as long as you nurse according to the rules of natural child spacing. The same hormones that make milk suppress the release of reproductive hormones. While breastfeeding full-time most […]
Engorgement
Two to four days after birth, mothers may awaken to find their breasts have grown two cup sizes overnight. It’s those milk-making hormones at work! “Has your milk come in yet?” asks the nurse. Mom can answer with a definite “yes!” This dramatic increase in breast size and fullness is called physiologic engorgement. It is […]
Bites Breast
Our five-month-old bites while breastfeeding and it hurts. How can I stop her? Babies do bite the breast that feeds them. As soon as those pearly whites begin to painfully bother her gums (can begin as early as three months), she naturally turns to her favorite pacifier – mom. What’s even more startling is the […]
Best Breastfeeding Positions
Helpful Breastfeeding Positions Besides the cradle hold, three other helpful breastfeeding positions are the clutch hold, the side-lying position, and the reversed cradle (also known as cross-cradle) hold. The first two positions are especially useful in the early days of recovery from a cesarean birth, when you may not want to lay baby over your […]