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Breastfeeding: Advice, Tips, Weaning & Resources {Episode 21}
107 Plays6 years ago
Bonnie and Audrey tackle the topic of breastfeeding in today's episode. With a combined total of 23+ years of experience, they cover advantages of breastfeeding, difficulties in breastfeeding, breastfeeding twins, extended breastfeeding and tip and resources. Oh, and don't miss the hilarious outtake at the very end!
Bonnie recommends:
Audrey recommends:
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Chaos of Motherhood
00:00:06
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Outnumber the Podcast. I'm Bonnie. And I'm Audrey. And we're homeschooling moms to a combined total of 18 children. We know firsthand that motherhood is full of crazy chaos and overwhelming obligations, but it should also be full of love and laughter. Regardless of where you are on your journey, come join us as we work together to find joy in the chaos of motherhood.
Focus on Breastfeeding: To Breastfeed or Not?
00:00:31
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to episode 21. We're talking about breastfeeding today. And this topic, today's topic is intended for moms who are or who want to breastfeed. If you're using formula and you're feeling some guilt about that or whatever, go listen to our episode on mom guilt and skip this episode. Yeah, that's right. Nobody needs yet another thing to feel guilty about. So you just be confident in your decisions. But if you've chosen to breastfeed, this is the place for you.
A Humorous Tale: Cashew Confusion
00:00:57
Speaker
We're going to have some great tips. All right, let's start with a humor segment.
00:01:02
Speaker
Okay, so I've got a kid quote for today's humor segment. And my five-year-old was outside playing and I had, well, because I'm breastfeeding, I'm trying to come up with nutritious snacks and also my baby's a little sensitive to dairy, so I'm not eating that. And so I've been trying to come up with nutritious, high-protein snacks. So I found this recipe for curried
00:01:23
Speaker
cashews. And so I mixed them up and I'm roasting them in the oven and enjoying the smell, you know, the roasting smell of nuts and the curry with it. And it's like these smells. And my five year old walks in the house and he starts screaming at the top of his lungs. Ew. Ew, this smells so gross. Ew. Did somebody forget to flush the toilet? It smells like poop in here. Thanks, kid.
00:01:51
Speaker
I always want to poop those children, I tell you. Oh, no. Boys, right? Yeah. That's funny. Did you eat them anyway? I did. But I kind of, you know, like if you think about it just right, like you can't think about. Thanks, kid. Thanks a lot.
Listener Appreciation: Relatable Motherhood
00:02:10
Speaker
Okay, so we are also going to start sharing some of our favorite reviews. We appreciate each and every review you guys leave for us. So thank you so much. If you haven't yet, we'd love one left for us on iTunes. This one today is by user STIHANIED. She says, thank you for your great stories and insights. I have started listening to everyone to catch up. Love the chores one. Keep it up. Mamas need to hear your stories.
00:02:34
Speaker
Thank you for your honesty. I was cracking up about not licking yogurt off the carpet. We have this issue with drinking out of the dog bowl. So thank you so much for that review. I think that it's so important that we all realize we are not alone in the craziness of motherhood. So thanks. Thanks so much for that.
Our Breastfeeding Journey
00:02:54
Speaker
Okay, today's topic is breastfeeding and Bonnie and I are experts on the topic of breastfeeding because with nine kids and having breastfed all of them, you can imagine that we have quite a lot of experience. I've been breastfeeding for, I've kind of lost track, but I tried to count it up, I think 183 months or about 15 and a quarter years.
00:03:19
Speaker
You win a giant gold star for that one. Goodness gracious. Yeah, I haven't been doing it quite as long because I needed breaks between my kids if I hadn't had at least a couple months where someone wasn't inside me or attached to me. I think I might have gone crazy. But it's probably been about seven or eight years for me. So yeah, good times.
00:03:40
Speaker
Yeah.
Benefits of Breastfeeding: Health and Happiness
00:03:41
Speaker
I was in a doctor's office one time looking at a chart of your, it had a bar chart of how, you know, if you breastfeed six months, you're, we're going to talk about the benefits here of breastfeeding, but your, your risk of cancer, breast cancer goes down, you know, by a little bit and then one year goes down and then it showed the bar chart. And basically if you breastfeed for longer than, uh, well, you know, if you've got a cumulative breastfeeding
00:04:06
Speaker
of eight or 15 years like we do, then basically you're in the negative territory on your percentage chance of ever getting cancer. So they might not be as perky as they used to be, but gosh, dang it. We're not going to get cancer.
00:04:20
Speaker
They'll be with us for life. OK, some advantage of breastfeeding for mom, first of all, are lower risk of female cancers, like we were talking about. So not only breast cancer, but a lot of the uterine and ovarian and those kind of cancers are eliminated or a lot lower risk if you breastfeed. You lose the baby weight faster with a small asterisk that many women keep the last 10 pounds of their weight they gained in pregnancy.
00:04:50
Speaker
as to be able to breastfeed. There is less duration on postpartum depression, or maybe not even at all. It delays your menstruation, which can be a natural child planning method.
00:05:12
Speaker
It saves time and money over using formula. You release good hormones when you breastfeed. So at first that helps your uterus contract back down and go to the right size and then also it
00:05:26
Speaker
is good for that mother-baby relationship, probably tied in there the less postpartum depression. And then there's some other diseases that you are at a lower risk for too, like type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol were some of those that were listed when I was researching it.
00:05:47
Speaker
And then last but probably pretty high up there is the feeling of maternal fulfillment. You're attached to the baby and it's like
00:05:57
Speaker
you feel fulfilled because you're doing what your body was made to do, what your breasts were made to do. And then one final thing, it's also an economically superior choice if you are concerned about the environment. Yeah, you know, I didn't know about any of those other benefits you mentioned. I'd heard the cancer benefit, but the other disease prevention that's really interesting to me.
00:06:19
Speaker
And I have to say that honestly, for me, my biggest motivator was just that maternal connection. I'm sure my husband is grateful that we didn't spend money on formula. You know, we bought formula here and there for some kids that did better on it, or when we finally weaned them. But yeah, just connecting with my baby has been a huge pro for me. The thought of not being able to breastfeed my baby was really sad. And when I've had challenges, because I just really liked connecting, it was really fun for me.
00:06:47
Speaker
So, to move on, we'll talk just a little bit about the advantages of breastfeeding for babies.
Breast Milk: Nature's Perfect Formula
00:06:52
Speaker
So, one of the coolest things about breast milk is that it's perfectly formulated for your baby. So, scientists have done some research on this and they have found that the body, that the baby's saliva actually somehow communicates with your body to tell your body exactly what it needs, which I just think is mind-blowingly awesome. That is so cool.
00:07:16
Speaker
Yeah, if your kid has a little deficit nutritionally here or there, then your breast milk can adapt for him or her, which is really, really cool. That's like magic. It is total magic. Total magic. It's just amazing. Bodies are so stinking amazing. Then there's colostrum, which is that
00:07:32
Speaker
That first really thick creamy substance that comes out when your baby's brand new, just those first few days before your milk comes in, it is really, really nutritionally dense and is just perfect for what baby needs to transition into the world. They have better immunity because they get a lot of your immunity from you through your breast milk.
00:07:52
Speaker
fewer diseases, less instances of SIDS, ear infections, respiratory disease, gut and intestinal problems, allergies, asthma, celiac disease, diabetes, we could go on and on and on. There are just a lot of benefits that they've shown from giving babies this magical milk.
00:08:10
Speaker
Studies have also shown that babies poop better, they tend to be smarter, they have fewer cavities, proper jaw and teeth development, emotional benefits, et cetera. So if you're looking for a reason to do it, there are seriously thousands. Yeah.
Breastfeeding Challenges and Solutions
00:08:27
Speaker
Now, Bonnie and I also acknowledge that there are difficulties in breastfeeding. It's not
00:08:34
Speaker
You can run across some problems or some hard times, but because of all those advantages that we listed, we think it's the best to keep going. Some difficulties I've experienced in breastfeeding is I have a tendency to get breast infections. If I get a little overstressed or I let my nutrition slip, I try to catch it right away so it doesn't develop into mastitis.
00:08:59
Speaker
cause then that knocks you down for days. Uh, another little difficulty that I have is, um, I kind of have an oversupply of milk and it's a little bit uncomfortable for me. And like, you know, as your body, as you were saying, how your body adapts, what's in the milk, what it's formulated, um, your body also adapts your supply, but somehow I always seem to have a little bit too much. In fact, I think I shared in a different episode, how I was able to pump milk for
00:09:29
Speaker
One of my husband's family members who had cancer and couldn't feed her baby breast milk, but wanted breast milk. So anyway, the reason this is a difficulty is it's a little bit painful, but also when I do let down, my milk comes out very fast. And sometimes I just have to pull off the baby and just let that first fire hose let down. I'm so excited. Your baby doesn't drown yet?
00:09:57
Speaker
In fact, I was talking to my husband about it the other day, and he says, why is the baby crying? And I explained it to him, and he says, oh, so he objects to being drowned. So picky, baby, honestly. I'm giving you this great milk. Just drink it. Yeah, that's not necessarily a problem you would think would be a problem, but it definitely can be. Too little milk, too much milk, has to be just right, Rame.
00:10:21
Speaker
Yeah, we have both come to this realization that it's the best decision for us. But one thing that I want to mention is that a lot of people will say, well, it's just so natural, which it is. Your body is naturally designed to make this milk and your baby is naturally designed to drink it. But just because it's natural doesn't mean it's easy or simple.
00:10:40
Speaker
So I just want to say that right up front because a lot of people encounter difficulties in breastfeeding. In fact, I don't know a woman that hasn't experienced some sort of learning curve and then they think I'm not meant to do this or I need to give up or this is the worst. So just want to put that out there. Everybody has struggles at some point or another.
00:10:58
Speaker
One quick example was with my last baby, Alice. She was my eighth baby and so I didn't even have a lactation consultant come in and see me. I thought we got this and within three days I knew something was seriously wrong and I had no clue. I'm like, I'm doing everything the same. Well, it turned out she had a tongue tie we needed to get fixed and she just couldn't get the milk out that she needed. So she was basically starving.
00:11:21
Speaker
So there are a number of things that can go wrong, but just I just put that out there so that if you're determined to do it, you can find a solution. It just might take a little bit of research. Yeah. So in my experience, some of the difficulties that we've had are a bad latch, namely like a too shallow latch or maybe it keeps coming on and off the breast. That can be painful.
00:11:40
Speaker
Baby has to work harder for breast milk than to get formula out of a bottle. So sometimes there's trickiness if you're transitioning, if baby gets both the bottle and breast. There are tongue and lip tie issues, like I mentioned that. I really think every baby should be evaluated for this because so many have it and it doesn't cause any problem. But if there are issues and they have it, then chances are good. There's just not a great function for the tongue and they can't empty the breast, which causes a bunch of problems.
00:12:09
Speaker
There's also the inability to take certain medications. So if you struggle with depression or a number of other illnesses, sometimes you cannot breastfeed on the medication that you need. And so that's a very personal decision, whether you can give up that medication or change to something else or whether your health needs to come first and you put your baby on formula. And then finally, separation from baby. So obviously, baby has to be with you to be nursed.
00:12:33
Speaker
And sometimes that's possible and sometimes it's not. If you have to go back to work and it's not an environment conducive to pumping, then that could also be a difficulty. Right. I really admire women who go back to work and pump also to continue getting the breast milk to their babies. My neighbor did it for a year and it was like she just spent a lot of time pumping. Yeah. That's a lot of dedication. Yeah. Yeah. Kudos.
00:12:56
Speaker
Okay, so now we're going to share some tips. My first tip and probably like my only tip is drink more water. That's it for today's episode. No, just kidding.
00:13:09
Speaker
No, but that's like my number one tip, is more water. Like, seriously, if you don't have enough liquid and hydration in your body, there's absolutely no way you can produce milk. My husband is always joking about this when I say, oh my gosh, I'm so thirsty. I need a drink. And he's like, is your milk coming out powdered? And he laughs and laughs. He's got the funniest thing that my baby would be, would latch on and get a mouthful of powdered milk. He's such a dork. Oh, funny.
00:13:36
Speaker
No, it does make you more thirsty when you're breastfeeding. Okay, my first tip on breastfeeding, I mean after drink more water, but is to start within 30 minutes after you give birth and get the baby latched on right away because they have a really, really strong innate sucking urge. And if you get started right away, the sooner the better. They get that taken care of.
00:13:56
Speaker
Then, eat healthy. For me, I also discussed this in that other episode on sleep, where I eat a high-fat diet and it promotes better sleeping in my babies. I think that's what it is, that they sleep through the night. A high-fat diet will help not only ... You have enough milk supply, but
00:14:17
Speaker
help them sleep better. Then when I do get a breast infection, I take the homeopathic belladonna and we'll link that in the show notes, but it almost always clears it up right away for me.
00:14:29
Speaker
And then if one of your babies is having a hard time, if you lay down or try different positions for the proper latch, for me and my little bit of a fire hose, that if I lay down, then gravity helps and it doesn't come out as fast so they can get latched on better. And then just remember to eat more food. This baby at first, we'll talk about how long to breastfeed later, but
00:14:56
Speaker
This baby is 100% dependent on you. So it's not really much different than having it inside of you. So you have to eat almost as much as you were when you were pregnant. Don't think, okay, the baby's out and I'm going to lose the baby weight. And no, no, hang on. You're still supplying all this baby's needs and you need to eat accordingly.
00:15:13
Speaker
Yeah, agreed. I know a lot of friends that try to restrict calories really quickly after birth. And I just feel like saying this is just a phase. Times and seasons for everything. You might not be comfortable in your postpartum body, but it will pass to just enjoy the phase and eat the nutrition necessary to fuel yourself and your baby. And oftentimes your milk supply will suffer if you're cutting too many calories. So just be aware of that. And then part of my tips are
00:15:43
Speaker
you know, connected to yours in looking for different positions. So I just wanted to show that with my first baby, I was totally determined to breastfeed. My mom had breastfed all my siblings and I just knew it was the best decision for me. But I had a serious problem on one side with one of my breasts. It was super, super sore. We made it about
00:16:02
Speaker
10 days and I thought I was going to die. It hurts so bad. I thought this cannot be normal. By the way, that's not, it's not normal. You should be tender for a week or two and then it should go away. If you're still in pain, that's not normal. And so I happened to, I didn't know about lactation consultants at that time or know even where to find one, but I did have an aunt who'd worked in labor and delivery as a nurse for years and she came over and said, all right,
00:16:23
Speaker
Take your shirt off. Let's see what's going on. So I did. And it just happened that my breasts were shaped differently. And one side was pulling weird in my traditional cradle hold, how I was holding him. So she just had me changed to a football hold, which you can look up if you're unfamiliar with, but that's one of my favorites for little teeny babies. And I'd had a C-section too. So that one was a lot more comfortable for me in avoiding my incision. But that, I mean, it solved the problem within like,
00:16:49
Speaker
30 hours. I just thought, oh my gosh, you're a lifesaver. So, you know, if you encounter a difficulty like that, just seek some help. Look for a lactation consultant, watch videos online. There are so many YouTube videos and tips online that chances are good that you will find, you can find a solution there.
Establishing Good Feeding Habits
00:17:07
Speaker
Don't settle for pain. Like I mentioned, something that I have had issues with in my last few babies is
00:17:12
Speaker
my own laziness. So what that means is I'll latch a baby on and be so tired and realize that there's some pain because the latch isn't right, but I'll be too tired to do it again. And my midwife, this birth said, now remember, a healthy nipple is just one bad latch, one feeding away from
00:17:34
Speaker
like cracks and bleeding and some trauma. So don't let even one feeding go by with a bad latch. If it feels painful, pull that baby off and relatch as many times as needed until it feels comfortable so that you don't do damage to yourself because then you have to deal with that. That's good advice. Yeah.
00:17:50
Speaker
I also wanted to share just quickly two other things that moms have talked to me about having problems with and I've experienced a little bit. One is biting. So that's not obviously an issue with a new baby. But as soon as your baby gets teeth, I mean, they do gum your nipples sometimes and it can be painful. But as soon as teeth come in, that is a whole different ballgame. And having a baby that bites can be like a deal breaker. Oh, so what are your tips?
00:18:19
Speaker
Well, yeah, I think different things work for different babies. For me personally, if a baby has, usually the first time a baby bites, it scares me so much and startles me and it hurts that I scream, not on purpose, it just, ah, you know, it's a reaction. Yeah, exactly. And sometimes I like pull the baby off real fast as a reaction and usually that's enough to freak them out and they tell them to do it again in my experience anyway. That is my exact experience with biting too, is the, yes.
00:18:47
Speaker
It's the exact same response. And then sometimes I've even, you know, popped them a little bit with my hand because, you know, it's just like, yeah, yeah, yeah. A little flick on the foot or something. Yeah. If that doesn't seem to solve it, usually a baby is old enough to understand consequences. So you pull them off the breast, you say no biting, and then you just put them down and they'll cry and cry. And if you want, you can put them back on the breast. But if they do it again immediately, same thing, pull them off, no biting. And they learn really quickly that if they want milk, they have to not be mean to mom.
00:19:19
Speaker
And then lastly, the last tip I have for you is disinterest. So what happens if a baby gets uninterested in breastfeeding? Now, sometimes in the later months, it can mean that they're done. If you personally are not emotionally ready to be done with breastfeeding, then there's a couple of different things you can do. You can make sure you offer it before any solids or any other sort of anything, even just little baby snacks that you give them, offer milk first, try to eliminate bottles or pacifiers, anything else that might
00:19:48
Speaker
distract them or confuse them. And then just hang in there. Like I said, it's really kind of emotionally upsetting to have your baby not choose you, but usually it's just a phase.
00:20:01
Speaker
Right. I wanted to mention real quick about nipple confusion. Like at the very first, if your baby is breastfeeding or having a little trouble breastfeeding, you want to avoid nipple confusion. So only offer the breast for them to suck on. Don't offer a pacifier or a finger or a bottle or anything. But if they're only offered the breast at first, then that'll avoid some of that nipple confusion that can enter in.
00:20:27
Speaker
Right. Right. And because it's such a unique, your baby has to latch really uniquely to the breast. It's different than any other thing that they might suck on. Um, you really want to get that, that habit down pat and get them that, that latch really established before you introduce anything else. Yeah.
00:20:44
Speaker
I have had kids that wanted extra sucking time without the milk, but I try not to introduce a pacifier for that extra sucking until they're at least three or four weeks old and they've got it figured out where milk comes from. Right, right. And they know that they're not going to get anything from that.
Breastfeeding Twins: A Unique Experience
00:21:02
Speaker
Yeah, so I wanted to share a few tips in regards to my experience breastfeeding twins because breastfeeding multiple babies is a different ball of wax. Honestly, I have to say right up front and I'm a huge advocate of breastfeeding. I try to encourage moms to do it whenever they can. I love breastfeeding my babies. I try to breastfeed as long as I can. But if I had to change one thing about my twin experience, it would be that I would, if I could go back, I would supplement from day one.
00:21:29
Speaker
And there's a couple reasons for that. Yeah. Number one reason was that I almost killed myself just in overexertion. It was so exhausting. I had three other small children. They were six, four, and two. And these two infant babies, I didn't have any help. My husband went back to work after like four days. And I was nursing around the clock. I didn't have anybody to help with my other little kids. If I had just
00:21:51
Speaker
Even if I had decided to pump and give one a bottle while I was breastfeeding the other one, then they would have been on the same schedule. It was really hard for me to breastfeed them both together. Anyway, for me personally, I realized in retrospect that I was being a little bit stubborn and I could have made my life a lot easier if I had given... If I had like, this one gets a bottle of this feeding, this one gets a bottle...
00:22:11
Speaker
So just put that out there because regardless of where you're coming from, just be open to other solutions if something is not working for you. Don't kill yourself because you want to enjoy this experience as much as possible if there's something that's really making you suffer. Don't feel badly if you need to change your original plan, I guess. What that also means is that having multiple children
00:22:35
Speaker
equals more chances for pain and sensitivity. So if you notice anything out of the normal, if this isn't your first kid, or if it is your first kid, then just see a lactation consultant as soon as you can. In fact, I would recommend anybody with multiples see a lactation consultant multiple times, just straight out of the gate, because that will prevent problems before they start. Because once they start, then they just, they're exacerbated because there's two babies, et cetera. So just get help as soon as you can.
00:23:03
Speaker
Okay, cool.
Weaning: When and How?
00:23:04
Speaker
I am sure that other moms of twins are going to be able to relate with that, but I think that you say I get the price for breastfeeding the longest. I think you get the price for breastfeeding too at once because that's just like inconceivable to me. Okay, now we're going to talk about extended breastfeeding or how long to breastfeed, when to wean, because we get asked that a lot.
00:23:27
Speaker
Okay, so I have breastfed about two and a half years. I have friends who have breastfed quite a bit longer than that, but because of the spacing of my kids and things, that's the longest I've ever breastfed. And I do like to do exclusive breast milk until about one year old, and they do reach a point when they're about
00:23:48
Speaker
you know, it depends on the kid, but six, seven, eight months old, where they start expressing a really strong interest in food when everybody else is at the table and eating. And so at that time, I can just put them on, you know, put them on the floor or playpen or somewhere where they aren't around the food or
00:24:05
Speaker
I'll give them like an apple or a cracker or just something to gnaw on and be part of the whole family at the table eating experience. I don't like to do any replacement foods until they're about a year old. Now I do realize that I'm kind of lucky to be able to breastfeed that long and have that much supply and
00:24:23
Speaker
that healthy of kids and so on, but that's the way that we've done it and it's been successful for us. And then one other thing I'd like to do, as long as they're breastfeeding, I don't really like to introduce meat until they get molars. It just kind of seems a rational, logical conclusion like molars are for chewing meat, so their body isn't quite ready for it yet. And as high of a fat and protein diet as I eat, they're getting plenty of protein.
00:24:50
Speaker
Um, through my milk anyway. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. Um, I have loved breastfeeding. Like I said, um, each one of my children, I've gradually gone longer and longer, um, simply because I've, I've worked out solutions to problems that I've had in the past that have, that have caused me to stop breastfeeding in the past. Um, but the longest I've done was 14 months. Um, all my kids are two years apart. So for me personally, I'm one of those ones who maddeningly
00:25:16
Speaker
doesn't lose, um, the baby weight until after I wean. So that's been an emotional thing for me. Like it's really hard for me to not feel like myself, you know, um, like I'm, I'm not in my body. And I feel like that for a long time, I usually hang onto 10 or 15 pounds. And then once I've weaned my baby,
00:25:32
Speaker
in another two or three months, then my body goes back to normal. And again, I realized that that's a totally personal thing. It can be different for every person and some people don't mind that. But for me personally, it was an emotional kind of a roller coaster there at the end where I still didn't feel like I was in my body. And so that was a choice that I made to wean my babies at that point and feel kind of human again, I guess.
00:25:54
Speaker
Totally understandable. Yeah. I just say that to anyone who struggles with that or something similar. Don't feel guilty if you feel like it's just not working for you or your baby anymore. You do it as long as you can and as long as you feel like is a wonderful experience for you and then you don't look back and then you move forward. I've also prolonged introduction to food longer with each baby. So my first baby I was like chomping at the bit to, oh, I can't wait till he tries food. He was probably like three and a half months old and I gave him something random. I don't know why.
00:26:24
Speaker
I just thought that's what you're supposed to do. So now I wait till at least six to eight months to give them anything. And then it's usually just some fruits and vegetables here and there. So, as long as you have a good supply, there's really no reason to have to introduce food early. Yeah. When you start introducing food and they don't nurse as much, then your supply will go down and you will probably get your period back at that point. That's been my experience.
00:26:51
Speaker
Yeah, that's another thing that's interesting too, is each one of my children, and probably because I've waited longer and longer to wean, it's taken me longer and longer to get my cycle back, which is not a problem for me at all. I really like that actually. I like complaining. In fact, as soon as it comes back, I'm like, oh, time to get pregnant again, apparently, because I hate this. Yes, I'd rather be pregnant at that period. Same. Same.
Emotional Weaning: Beyond the Basics
00:27:17
Speaker
Okay, let's talk about weaning now. So I read that when you get pregnant, it will actually change the taste of the breast milk. And I don't know why, if this is by design so that your child will not like it anymore, but that's always when weaning has happened, started to happen for me naturally. So they kind of don't want it as much anymore because the taste is what I've read. And so then at that point, like when you get pregnant, your breasts are pretty tender too. I know we talked about that in our first episode on pregnancy.
00:27:48
Speaker
which is a good one. But anyway, then it starts to hurt too, breastfeeding. It's not as fun or comforting anymore to both sides. So then the first step I do is I start offering them food before I offer them the breast. So yeah, you can nurse right after you eat this little whatever. And then I go down and I limit breastfeeding just to nap or bedtime. So then yeah, then we make it, okay, well,
00:28:16
Speaker
Nursing is for when we're in bed. So if you want to nurse, let's go take a nap. And by that time, they're old enough like, ah, no, I don't want to take a nap. So then this is gradual over a few weeks time. But then the next thing we do is say, OK, we'll nurse right after we read this book. And you pick a long, boring book, and they fall asleep. And then it's down to just nighttime. And then eventually, you go a night or two without nursing them. And you start to dry up a little bit. And then they don't want any more and so on. It's just kind of the natural way that we've done weaning.
00:28:45
Speaker
Yeah, I would start off my tips about weaning by just saying it's okay to mourn the end of an era, right? So it's always been a little bit sad for me and more so with each subsequent trial just because I think in my older age, I realized that they just grow up so fast. It makes me sad to end that period of nursing maybe.
00:29:08
Speaker
But that's OK. It's OK to be sad about that and to look forward to the next stage, which is them being a cute toddler or preschooler or whatever.
00:29:18
Speaker
I've found also that it's important to replace those moments of breastfeeding with other ways to cuddle that little one and get one on one time. So like you say, if you limit nursing just to nap time or bedtime, then maybe earlier in the day, you can sit down and read a story with them. Or once they've weaned at bedtime, then you lay down with them in their bed or near their crib and offer to tell a story or sing a song or maybe even buy them a cute new blanket that's really soft that they can cuddle with instead of having mom.
00:29:47
Speaker
mom to cuddle with before bed. So just some, some sort of substitute to make sure that everybody's getting their emotional needs met. It's like they were before.
00:29:56
Speaker
Yeah.
Recommendations and Remedies for Breastfeeding
00:29:57
Speaker
So now we'd like to recommend just a few resources to make your breastfeeding experience really positive. One I mentioned already is finding a lactation consultant. So La Leche League is a great place to go. Go to their website. You can find lactation consultants all over the world. And sometimes insurance pays for these. So if you look into that, that's an awesome resource. I will share that one of the best lactation consultants I went to was a woman who worked out of her home. So she had a little office space in her home. You went in there, weighed your baby.
00:30:26
Speaker
She had a little couch for you to lay on and try breastfeeding in front of her. Anyway, it was just a really positive experience. There's a lot of wonderful women out there, and there is someone that can help you, I promise, if you're having problems. So look into that. The other thing I would mention is, so Audrey mentioned breast infections. This is something that I remembered reading about, but had forgotten about until it happened to me, and they can be awful. So if it does progress,
00:30:53
Speaker
it really can feel like the flu. All of a sudden you just feel exhausted and really kind of sick, like you can't stand up, you're dizzy, you want to go rest and then usually one... Achy and all your joints. Yeah, achy, just really just like the flu. And usually one or both breasts will be red or inflamed. Sometimes it starts with a clogged duct and then evolves into a
00:31:16
Speaker
into a full-blown infection. So get help as soon as possible. Try that balladonna. If natural remedies don't work, go see your doctor and ask for some antibiotics because it can last a long time and it can make you really miserable and make you completely unable to care for your baby. So watch out for that. I will also show that if you do get a breast infection, I am a huge fan of cabbage leaves as a remedy. And even if you just have a clogged duct or any sort of redness or inflammation,
00:31:43
Speaker
So you break off a couple of the bigger leaves on a cabbage and use a rolling pin or a mallet or something to crush it. So you roll over it and allow some of those juices to break up and leak out and then stick it inside your bra right up against your bare skin. And something about it helps with the inflammation and really helps with the pain level. So that's my tip. Oh, and also if it's refrigerated, it's even better if it's cold.
00:32:09
Speaker
Okay, dude, I might go try that. Yeah, it's awesome.
Breastfeeding Supplies and Insurance
00:32:13
Speaker
Okay, my recommendations are, if you are having a supply problem, you might try Mother's Milk Tea. That's a really good one. And then Belladonna, I mentioned. And also, if you do have to pump, I can highly recommend the Medela Breast Pump Machine. It's really good and much more comfortable than a hand pump, which I tried in a couple of my earlier videos.
00:32:36
Speaker
breast feeding experience. And I'll also mention that many times health insurances cover breast pumps as well. My current health insurance, I just looked it up, covers a pump at a hundred percent, which is awesome because sometimes they can be two or three hundred dollars. So look into that if you're interested.
00:32:52
Speaker
Thanks so much for tuning in. If you've enjoyed this episode, we'd be so grateful if you'd leave us a written review on iTunes. If you have any questions or ideas for future episodes, you can reach us at OutnumberThePodcast at gmail.com and find us on Instagram at OutnumberThePodcast. See you next week. All right, let's talk about weaning. So I've noticed that
00:33:20
Speaker
No, I haven't noticed because I don't taste my breast milk. Let me start again. Well, you have extra. You can probably just put it on your cereal or something.
00:33:32
Speaker
I've heard in New York City you could get breast milk ice cream if you go to certain creams. Yeah, popsicles. Well, I had to put it in my kid's ear the other day. She had this persistent ear infection. It would not go away. And totally worked. It was awesome. But my boys were like, oh, boob juice. Oh, I'm like, shut up. There's boob juice in your ear. I'm like, you guys, grow up. Actually, they are growing up. That's why they're saying it. Exactly.