Blogging for Babies, Breastfeeding and Mothers

If you knew that your baby was born a year earlier than she needed to be born based on her neurological development, how would this affect the way you care for her?

Dr. Nils Bergman, a medical doctor in South Africa, talks about babies needing an extra year to reach the level of neurological development of other mammals at birth.

...We understand that the baby is extremely immature, and that its well-being is dependent on continuing its gestation in skin-to-skin contact with mother, and that the mother's milk is uniquely adapted to the immature gut.

Biologically, we know that the newborn is born with the skills and behaviours it needs to grow and be well, all it needs is to be undisturbed in skin-to-skin contact with mother, and it will breastfeed.  

This is what Dr. Bergman has coined Kangaroo Mother Care. He is not suggesting you do this for a year. Skin to skin contact is extremely important in the early days and weeks and is ideal for all infants. When asked, "How long?", he replied, "As long as the baby needs it." Some babies need it longer than others and the benefit is duration related -- aim to do it as long as you can.

What exactly is KANGAROO MOTHER CARE?

• Kangaroo Position - maternal infant skin-to-skin contact
• Kangaroo Nutrition -early and exclusive breastfeeding
• Kangaroo Support - never separate mother and baby, and ADD ON available technology as needed

Could you practice this the first week of your baby's life? The first 40 days? Are you interested in learning more about Kangaroo Mother Care? This is one of my passions and I would love to tell you more, just ask me!

Our Mothers are Amazing, Our Babies are Awesome and

Breastmilk is Phenomenal

Recently we have had some great conversation on Facebook about breastfeeding classes, which, by the way, I love to teach. Insightful and varying opinions came in from many moms. So I started thinking that I'd like to hear from more women. And why not find out what you guys are looking for in breastfeeding education and support.

I am not the only one that has left a breastfeeding class begging the question, "Now how is this going to work?" My class is certainly not perfect and I am always looking for feedback to improve it. I like to start by telling parents that learning to breastfeed is like learning to knit; you can't learn it without your ball of yarn. It would be like going to a knitting class and they give you a plastic ball and two needles and give you all the instructions to make a detailed sweater. "Now," the knitting teacher says, "go home, wait four weeks, then get a real ball of yarn and you will be able to knit this beautiful sweater I have on." 

Uh? Really? Knitting is that easy? Uh? Breastfeeding is that easy? "Great, I'll do it! Honey, you got all that? We're going to breastfeed our baby and live happily ever after." Sigh of relief... until the real thing arrives. You look down at your beautiful baby, she latches on the breast, no pain, she drinks until she is full and continues to do this every hour and a half or so and all is well. You are amazed at what you learned in your two hour breastfeeding class. How we all wish that were true.  

• What is your story? 
• Were you able to pick up the "real" baby and breastfeed her without pain or worry? 
• How prepared were you to breastfeed?

Do you need to give your baby Vitamin D? Experts have debated the need for Vitamin D supplementation for breastfeeding babies for years. I, for one, thought, "Breastmilk is perfect. How could breastfeeding babies need vitamin D or any other supplement?" It's not quite that simplistic. Most of us in the US get very little sun exposure. Sunshine is what your skin uses to make vitamin D. We stay indoors a lot and use sunscreen when we are out. I wrote a blog about this last year; I think you will find it helpful, also.

Now, a study released on March 22 shows that about 9 out of 10 breastfeeding babies are not consuming the recommended amount of vitamin D. This study,, found that few US babies get enough. This is also looked true for formula-fed babies.

As stated in my previous blog, there are newly recognized disease risks associated with vitamin D deficiency as documented in a report published in December 2008 Breastfeeding Medicine. In a paper entitled, "Does Vitamin D Make the World Go ‘Round'?" the authors state that "vitamin D is now viewed not simply as a vitamin with a role in promoting bone health, but as a complex hormone that helps to regulate immune system function. Long-term vitamin D deficiency has been linked to immune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes, and cancer."

According to Ruth A. Lawrence, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine, from the Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, "Vitamin D is a hormone not a vitamin and it is not just for kids anymore. Perhaps the most startling information is that adults are commonly deficit in modern society. Vitamin D is now recognized as a pivotal hormone in the human immune system, a role far beyond the prevention of rickets."  

So the answer is a resounding YES. Give your baby the recommended 400 IU of vitamin D supplement. 

• What are your thoughts?
• Has anyone told you that your baby needs vitamin D?

Even if the mothers got longer maternity leaves; I would be happy. My niece lives in Germany. She got three years off for each child and... they had to hold her position in the company for the first three years and at least some position for the second three years. This gives mothers much more time to carry their babies. The movement is really important for the baby's development. I know daycare providers have too many babies to do this. But maybe they could divide their day up so that each baby is carried for a portion.

• How would you feel about letting your daycare provider 'wear' your child?
• What is longest length of time you have worn your baby in a day?
• Do you ever wear two babies at a time?

Do you or have you struggled to exclusively breastfeed your baby? Low milk production is one the biggest causes of early weaning. But, it is rare that a woman does not have the capacity to make all the milk her baby needs, unless... she gets poor information and support in the first 48 hours. 

Here's a beautiful story of struggle, sadness and now jubilation!

Enter the mom of her second baby who is less than 24 hours old. Mom is in a panic. She didn't produce all the milk her first baby needed 20 months ago, though he is still breastfeeding:) The lactation consultant walks into her room carrying a bottle of formula saying, "You will need to supplement with formula today because your baby was born at 35 weeks."

Anytime you have difficulty making all the milk your baby needs, your confidence is blown away. But this time around mom refused to start formula as I coached her along: watch the diapers, the feeding cues and give your baby lots of skin to skin contact -- Kangaroo Mother Care. She rented a scale to keep a daily watch on her baby's weight, which increased by an ounce a day consistently. Was mom convinced that she was making plenty of milk? No. She was still nervous. But she continued to feed on demand and snuggle her close.

Her baby is now 3 weeks old and when I talked with her the other day, she told me she thinks she has too much milk! Wow! And she is tandem feeding her 20 month old. She looks back at her previous situation and realizes that she was not given proper information to get her milk production off to a great start on her baby's birth day.  

For some, if the baby is not drinking the colostrum regularly and thoroughly removing it from the breasts (or you are hand expressing in the case that baby isn't doing this) in the first six hours after birth, the body slows down the production. Those early hours may mean the difference between plenty of milk or not. 

• How is your milk production? 
• Should we talk?
• Send me an email with your phone number or call me directly.

Do you keep your baby in a carseat at times other than riding in a car? What about a swing? Pressure on the back or side your newborn baby's head can permanently flatten it out over time; it is called deformational plagiocephaly. This can lead to decreased hair growth over that area and now pediatric researchers are looking at developmental delays associated with this. From a recent article published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediarics:

DP,[deformational plagiocephaly], seems to be associated with early neurodevelopmental disadvantage, which is most evident in motor functions.... These data do not necessarily imply that DP causes neurodevelopmental delay; they indicate only that DP is a marker of elevated risk for delays. Pediatricians should monitor closely the development of infants with this condition.

The most fun way to prevent this from happening is to wear your baby in an upright position and to give her lots of tummy time. Wearing your baby is 'natural' tummy time, as long as she is upright. Another great way to do tummy time is to have your baby tummy to tummy with you while you are lying down. Works great. Dads love it. And your baby will be much happier. My colleague Cathy Watson Genna says, "Carrying time is tummy time."

• Do you wear your baby? 
• What is your favorite wrap/carrier?

A great breastfeeding story from a mother of two boys: 

This is our extra stand up freezer; well, our first one. We've had to remove all the food and recently, had to get another freezer in anticipation of the growing over flow - thank goodness for craigslist.

December 15th 2009 Phineas Marcus was born, our second son. Shortly after he was born it became apparent he was caught in a bit of a vicious circle: he wasn't sleeping long enough to have the energy to feed for long enough, which kept him from staying asleep long enough, which meant he did not have the energy to eat. He hadn't pooped in two days-- He was a grumpy little dude.

Having had great difficulties with breastfeeding our first born gave me an idea - I decided to pump and bottle feed him just to get enough into him to satisfy him and allow him to sleep and hopefully poop. My older son had latching difficulties and my lactation consultant had broken the myth for me that a baby who is fed with a bottle will never go to the breast again. The other thing she taught me was to trust myself - listen to others; sure - but ultimately trust that I would know what to do for my child.

So I carried through with my plans, despite one of the doctor's objections. The doctor kept insisting that perhaps I should supplement with formula; oddly enough she kept saying that she wanted me to do that so that I didn't waste the milk I had pumped. At any rate, my plan worked, he ate an ounce and a half; slept; pooped . . . and repeat.

I had planned on pumping at least by the time I went back to work, maybe sooner. I had overproduced the last time and I had found that pumping could add a certain convenience to my life. So, after pumping in the hospital, I just kept going. Last time someone had given us a 5 foot standup freezer to deal with the overflow and that was sufficient.

My son generally feeds from a bottle during the day and then breastfeeds late evening to late morning. And the bottle definitely has not turned him from the breast. Despite the frequency of bottle feeds - he will not accept anything but the breast at night.

A few weeks ago it became apparent the standup freezer would not be enough. Thank goodness for craigslist.org we found someone giving away a standup freezer; this one is monstrous, 6 feet tall and maybe twice as deep. I've come just shy of filling the 5 foot freezer. I'll let you know if I manage to fill the larger one too. :)

The picture you see is just shy of 400 storage bags - 6 ounces a piece. My son generally eats 4 - 5 bags a day in addition to breastfeeds. I put away somewhere between 8 and 12 bags a day.

I use the Lansinoh breast milk bags and I'm plugging them here - they are definitely the best out there in my opinion and they have excellent customer service. Each bag has six ounces and I have just shy of 400 bags in storage. 

• What's your storage story? 
• How much milk do you pump?

Many moms struggle with their milk production. You often think things are going well until the doctor's visit reveals no weight gain or weight loss. This shock is very traumatizing to a new mom. It undermines your confidence to take care of your baby. Then you are handed samples of formula and sent home to bottle feed your baby, while in the background you faintly hear; "Oh, and you can still breastfeed."

Oh really? Under whose direction? With what confidence? Are you kidding? You are scared to death that you are starving your baby. How can you continue?

There are wonderful doctors in my area that hold off on formula and recommend first that the mother come see me. Thank you, thank you to doctors that value breastfeeding and the mother's emotional well being. Once traumatized it is difficult to gain the confidence you need to breastfeed your baby. With your first experience breastfeeding, how do you know that breasts really work? You don't even know that babies don't break and that it's okay not to bathe them every day - actually better:)

Breastfeeding is a social behavior; we learn from being with people that are doing it. So many people have never seen anyone breastfeed or even know someone that breastfed successfully. This includes health care professionals.

• What happens when you are traumatized by people that care for you and your baby?  
• How did you cope with breastfeeding trauma?

Here's the story of the week.

I will keep this short and to the point, I know you are a busy person...BUT I just drove to FLORIDA with my three kids and husband (no I"m not crazy). I ended up nursing my 7 month old during the ride while he was still strapped into his carseat. It was a bit uncomfortable for me, BUT he loved it and he was much happier (as was I not having to pump!!) I just thought I'd share that story. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done that but it worked like a charm!!!

I'm going to miss breastfeeding when he's done. He is my last  :(

"Did it hurt?" I asked.

NO it didn't hurt, actually the weird thing was, I could barely feel it at all. He is big enough to lean forward to the breast and find it, so I just leaned kind of across his car seat and he nursed. My neck was what really got uncomfortable and one of my legs fell asleep almost every time (just with how I was leaning on it). He didn't nurse long each side, maybe 5 minutes at most...I had to nurse more frequently but again, it beat pumping and then TRYING to get him to eat from the bottle..AND it made our gas/stretch stops much better because he could stretch too instead of me nursing him the whole time we were stopped. The benefits out weigh the "uncomfortable stance" I had to be in while he nursed :)
Can't wait to see if I am alone on this one :) 

• Is she alone?
• What is your most creative breastfeeding story?

Our Mothers are Amazing, Our Babies are Awesome, and

Breastmilk is Phenomenal

Thanks to Jennifer Lance and her blog Eco Child's Play, I have just learned about an incredible study. Scientists are beginning to look at breastmilk from many angles- not just the nutritional and immunologic properties, though these are critical for the health of our babies. As I have mentioned before, breastmilk composition is driven by the nursing infant's brain. There is no way I can wrap my brain around that. Now scientists are studying the milk of the rhesus monkeys- looking for clues that the mother's milk may play other significant roles in the development of their young.

As a mother of three, I have marveled at the differences I see in my adult children. Nature versus nurture? Birth order? Male versus female? Now a group of researchers have studied the milk of 59 rhesus macaque monkeys at one month and again at three and a half months post delivery. The findings? 

Rhesus monkeys that weigh more and have had previous pregnancies produce higher quantities and richer breastmilk.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of California, Davis are using this natural variation in breast milk quality and quantity to show that a mother's milk sends a reliable signal to infants about their environment. This signal may program the infant's behavior and temperament according to expectations of available resources and discourages temperaments that prove risky when food is scarce." American Journal of Primatology Feb. 16.

Breastfeeding and breastmilk- more than meets the eye.

• What have you noticed about the temperaments of your children? 

• Did your milk production increase with each child?
  

Many mothers climb great heights to make breastfeeding work. I see it everyday; oftentimes against the doubt and negativity of those around them. When breastfeeding gets off to a great start, even in the worst conditions, it can continue effortlessly.

Lane Hartill wrote a lovely article about a woman named Exeline living in Haiti. Wait until you see the picture of her 4 month old breastfeeding baby Christine! This cheerful young mother is living in dire conditions, but that hasn't interfered with her breastfeeding relationship with her baby. How fortunate for mother and baby that they are breastfeeding. With water being extremely scare and living conditions far from clean, making an uncontaminated bottle of formula is very difficult. How wonderfully comforting for Christine to connect with her mother intimately every time she eats and drinks.

We are only on the cusp of understanding the complex emotional connection between a mother and her breastfeeding baby. Scientists know that the baby's brain drives the composition of the milk, but now they are beginning to look at how the mother's milk may program the baby's behavior and temperament. I'll talk about that tomorrow.

Pat yourself on the back; applaud your fortitude; continue in your perseverance to mother your baby from your breast. Breastfeeding is amazing indeed.

Our Mothers are Amazing and Our Babies are Awesome and Breastfeeding is Phenomenal!

Mia Moja gave birth to the first gorilla born in North America this year (2010). This 20 year old Western lowland gorilla delivered her second baby on February 26 at the Louisville Zoo. This not yet named baby- a naming contest will take place soon- will afford an awesome opportunity for people to observe breastfeeding. Sometimes people forget- and children may not know- that the human race, as well as all mammals, have survived through the ages by staying in close contact with their mother and breastfeeding. 

While writing this blog, I learned some fascinating facts about gorillas from the Primate Info Net : 

• From birth to 5 months of life, mountain gorillas remain in constant contact with their mothers. Female gorillas stay close to their resident silverback for protection. 
• Infants, dependent on their mothers for food, suckle at least once per hour, and sleep in their mothers' nests at night.
• After five months, the baby separates from it's mother for a few seconds at a time.
• By 12 months, infants begin to wander up to 16 ft away from their mothers, but only for a few seconds.
• By 18 to 21 months, the distance between the mother and child increases.
• At this time, the infants begin to nurse about every two hours.
• By the age of 30 months, infants spend half of their time with their mothers.
• The juvenile period is from three to six years.
• During this time maternal grooming decreases, the infant no longer shares a sleeping nest with the mother, and weaning takes place.
• Female gorillas do not ovulate until the infant is weaned at three or four years- lactational amenorrhea.
• Ovulation resumes shortly after weaning and the female becomes pregnant again.
• Gorillas are cohesive in nature. The juvenile gorillas are surrounded by playmates including the silverback, which scientists believe decreases the weaning conflict between mother and infant.