Blogging for Babies, Breastfeeding and Mothers

Again from Dr. Smillie's talk on Baby-led Breastfeeding: why do babies want to eat?

Internal Cues

1. The blood sugar drops, like it does in adults, and the baby starts to feel hungry.
2. The blood becomes more concentrated and it triggers the baby's thirst.

External Cues

1. The smell of mother's nipple and/or milk
2. Baby feeling his mother's body against his triggers the natural feeding sequence.

What satisfies the external cues for baby? Kangaroo Care

1. Being naked with your baby- skin to skin, chest to chest, cheek on the breast
2. Baby having free access to the breast so he can grasp and feed whenever he wants.

Did you know that babies can not recognize the breast by sight? They recognize it by feeling with their cheeks and lips.

Did anyone tell you to get naked with your baby?

Do You Want to Breastfeed with Confidence and Joy?       Follow me on Facebook & Twitter.

Dr. Christina Smillie had three take-home messages for us:

1. Babies have the innate ability to seek the breast and self-attach for months not just the first 24 hours.
2. Mothers and babies are hard-wired to breastfeed as long as they have uninterrupted interactions together.
3. Instructions and rules can interfere with these innate abilities.

In other words, are we disrupting the normal sequence of events with our "How-tos" and "Do it this way" and using our hands to guide the baby? I'm guilty of reaching in sometimes to help things along. I need to sit on my hands and zip my lips and let mother and baby have calm, relaxing time together. That is always my goal during a consultation.

It is certainly true in the first few days that moms and babies are constantly interrupted. That is when many different hands and voices are telling mom to do this or that and the baby is being handled by "professionals" instead of mom and dad. I tend to see moms and babies that are 3-4 days old or older. They are overwhelmed, exhausted and oftentimes underfed (mom and baby). So many interuptions have happened by that point that some intervention needs to happen. That's where a baby-led (or Dr. Smillie trained) consultant knows what to do and what to say.

What was your experience with breastfeeding those first few days? Was it relaxing? Were you and baby calm? What about your experience with the lactation consultant?

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What a great conference put on by BACE and Nursing Mothers' Council this past Friday in Boxborough, MA. 180 people registered and by the looks of the packed room, most must have attended. And who wouldn't want to hear Dr. Smillie, Pediatrician and Breastfeeding Medicine Specialist, speak about babies and how to support breastfeeding? I try to never miss her. She is my mentor, indirectly. My practice, handouts and breastfeeding webinar are Dr. Smillie centric. She truly revolutionized my understanding of mothers and newborn babies.

What did she talk about at the conference?

• Baby-led Breastfeeding
• Baby-led Breastfeeding: Practical Applications
• Make It Easy- Beyond Pumps and Galactogogues

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC did some workshops also and Kerry Kokkinogenis and Suellen Slater spoke on Breastfeeding Acroos the Cultures, but I only heard Dr. Smillie. I can't wait to share points from each of these talks in the days to come.

The day after I saw a mom and her new born baby and put into practice many of Dr. Smillie's "ways".

Thanks to everyone that took the time to stop and talk. I met many amazing women and saw many wonderful old time "breastfeeding" friends:

Jenn Dziejma, Ann Marie Lindquist, Suellen Slater, Cynthia Mesh, Kristin Yaroscak, Donna Stanger, Lori Holden, Maryann Carroll, Katie Barefoot Herrick, Gene Hill, Sharon Watstein, Deborah Chochrek, Wendy Mercy Gold, Maria Bianciardi, Teresa Coyle, Susan Rosenberg, Katherine Rodriquez, Lee Ann Bristow, Shannon Lynch, Kate Sweetser, Jeanette Frem, Sonja Schaffer, Lori Brazell, Melissa Warwick, Marie Hayes, , Michelle Stolow, Anne-Marie Jensen Rohrberg, Morgan Henderson, Joanne Folkins,Elizabeth, Randi Booth, Katrina, Cindy, Janice, and others that my brain is not recalling right now.

Were you there? What did you gain from the conference?

Do You Want to Breastfeed with Confidence and Joy?       Follow me on Facebook & Twitter.