Breastfeeding and Siblings

29 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by cross2000varga in Breastfeeding Tags: ,

Maybe this isn’t your first go at breastfeeding.  What is it like to breastfeed a baby when you have one or more other small children running around the place that you need to care for too?  Well, it ain’t always a piece of cake!  It’s not your quiet, peaceful bonding moment that it was with baby number one.  Truthfully, I think with additional children, those middle of the night feedings are easier and sweeter, because you and baby can finally get some one-on-one, peaceful time with each other!

There are pros and cons.  One of the pros is when your other children get a little older, 4 or so, they make good helpers!  While you are sitting, trapped, nursing a baby, they can fetch you things like the phone or a burp cloth or remote and such!  One of the cons are, there is often a lot of noise, which can be distracting for the baby and make nursing more difficult to keep them focused, especially when the baby gets a little older and wants to see what’s going on!  Latching on and off and on and off is not very fun!

Another problem is if your other child needs you.  Maybe they need a refill, or they fall down and hurt themselves, or there are discipline issues that need immediate attention.  Sometimes it is hard to choose which child needs more immediate attention!  It is a give and take.  If the two are close together in age, it’s hard to explain to the older one why the baby has to have your attention right now.  They don’t really understand why you can’t just put the baby down and get them some more juice.  All they understand is that they are thirsty and you are not getting them a drink.  Of course this is an example, but sometimes whether they understand or not, the older sibling just has to wait.  On the other hand, I have learned that it doesn’t kill a baby to cry!  Pretty incredible huh.  The baby will not starve to death if the feeding has to be stopped or delayed for a couple of minutes if your older child(ren) need your immediate attention.

I’ll give you an example that happened to me.  While nursing one of my babies an older sibling was about to do something that they were told not to do.  The baby was a couple of months old, so they knew the routine that I was stuck in the chair and couldn’t do anything at that moment.  I told them firmly not to do what they were about to do (which for the life of me I can’t remember what it was!).  They gave me a look that said ‘you can’t do anything about it!’ and did it any way.  Well, I popped that baby off my breast, laid it down in the pack-n-play and dealt with the sibling.  Obviously not every discipline issue needs immediate attention and there are times when the sibling simply gets an I’ll deal with you later.

There’s also mischeif.  While you are nursing your baby is a prime time for a sibling to get into mischeif.  This is the time that you will find them dumping four all over the floor or squeezing all the toothpaste out of the tube or things of that nature!  It’s always good to keep and ear open if you can’t see them!

Us mommies are not all powerful.  We really don’t have x-ray vision or eyes in the back of our heads!  Things are going to happen.  Just be ready for them to happen so you will be less likely to lose your cool when they do.  Spills will happen and will just have to sit there until you are done.  The sibling will enjoy playing in them in the mean time!  There will be times that older child needed you, but at the moment you couldn’t leave the baby and they had to wait.  The important thing is that when you do have the time, like during the baby’s naptime, you make the most of your time with your older child(ren).  Sometimes you just have to walk across the house with the baby attached to your boob!  Though I try not to do it often, there were times when cartoons were my friend as well.

Do whatever works best for you.  I know it can be done and it really is still fun, just in a different way than baby number one.  There were times when I had a baby nursing and two other kids just curled up in my lap.  Sure it was a juggling act, but we were all together and those were sweet moments for me.  Just enjoy your babies.  All of them!

If you have any sibling stories I’d love to hear them!  Feel free to comment!

Why Do I Breastfeed?

12 May 2012 Leave a comment

by cross2000varga in Breastfeeding Tags: , , , , , ,

There are numerous reasons to breastfeed obviously.  I stopped to think for a moment though and asked myself the question “why did I breastfeed?”  I think for me the main reason was because I felt that it was the best thing for my baby.  God designed my body and made my milk especially for my baby and I knew it was the best thing for them and I was very determined that no matter what we were going to do this!  I have a bit of a stubborn streak in me (ok if you ask my husband he would say more than a bit) and I won’t easily take no for an answer when a challenge is presented to me.  Though we have faced rough patches I have loved nursing my babies and am very proud to have exclusively breastfed 4 babies to at least 12 months old or more.

There were several other reasons as well that led to my decision to breastfeed.  For one thing my breasts were always handy when the baby got hungry.  All I had to do was lift up my shirt and, viola, there the milk was already mixed and warm and ready for baby!  I liked this very much because I am a little lazy and mixing and washing bottles was not at all appealing to me.

Another major factor in the decision to breastfeed was the price of formula.  It was just not in our budget at the time.  I know that programs like WIC can provide you with formula if you need it (even a little if you breastfeed too), but it was just something I didn’t want to start.

Breastfeeding has also been a great calming tool as well.  If your baby gets hurt or doesn’t feel well, often a few minutes at the breast can make everything all better.  Something about the act of nursing releases calming chemicals (which is why we both often fall asleep together while nursing too I guess).

Breast milk also has antibodies in it that help keep your infant healthier which is a major plus.  A sick baby is miserable for all parties.  Some studies suggest that it also reduces your risk of getting breast cancer too.

I asked my husband the question and he said that husbands like it too because it makes our boobs nice and big!  Although on the flip side they are mostly hands off though due to the risk of being shot with milk!  Real sexy.

One of the best things about nursing though is looking down at that precious gift from God and feeling their tiny body pressed up against yours and knowing that they are a part of you and feeling the bond grow between the two of you.  It’s an awesome thing.  I just love my babies.

Breastfeeding Fathers

04 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by cross2000varga in Breastfeeding Tags: , , , , , , ,

I wanted to talk to the daddies today.  While I’m sure I don’t have very many male readers I’m sure you moms will be glad to pass this info along.  Breastfeeding is hard for dads too.  For one thing the breasts that used to be his now are off-limits and belong to the baby.  The next problem is that they feel sort of helpless since there is not much they can do to participate.  There’s not a whole lot they can do during those midnight feedings or is there?  I wanted to share a few ideas about how a dad can help with breastfeeding.

Change the baby’s diaper.  Newborns poop a lot!  (Especially breast-fed ones!)  They will need to have their diaper changed almost every feeding.  It is very helpful to a sore and exhausted mom to have this task taken care of by someone else.  Then all she has to worry about is feeding the baby and hopefully go back to sleep.

Walk with the baby when the feeding is done.  If the baby is having trouble going back to sleep after a middle of the night feeding it is such a wonderful thing for a wiped-out mom to hear dad say “here, let me walk with the baby while you sleep.”  Hallelujah!!!  I’m telling you that there is something about the ‘daddy shoulder’ that works to put babies to sleep.  No it won’t always work and sometimes you will both need to tag team being up with the baby to keep your sanity, but a little break after the feeding is very welcome.

Check on mom to see if she needs anything.  As I’ve mentioned before breastfeeding makes you very thirsty and hungry.  While she is pinned down feeding the baby checking to see if there is anything that she needs or would make her more comfortable is always a great help.

Don’t hate me, but if dads would help out with the household chores it will remove a ton of stress from a nursing mom.  Just a load of laundry or dishes will help tremendously.  It is hard sometimes sitting there, pinned down while nursing with thoughts running through your head of everything that needs to be done that you can’t get to because you are pinned down!!  (It’s our crazy women brains.  We can’t help it!  We don’t have an off switch like men do.)  I know that it may not seem like a big deal, but it is to her and it can make a world of difference in the atmosphere of your home.

Feed the baby.  After the first few weeks mom can pump some milk and dad can get to enjoy the bond of feeding the baby.  Or if you are supplementing some with formula, which I’ve known several moms who have used breast milk and formula and have not had a problem.  I do suggest pumping and giving bottles occasionally when nursing has been established.  Somewhere between 2-4 weeks I think is a good time.  This will give mom a little more freedom to go and do things without always having a tag along.  I never gave the baby a bottle.  If it got a bottle, dad gave it so as not to confuse it.  That’s just how we did it.  Dad – bottle, mom – boob.

Rub her feet.  This will score some major brownie points (at least in my book it would!).  If mom isn’t fond of this maybe try singing to her or reading her a book or whatever might bring her pleasure while the baby is feeding that is not too invasive for baby.

Dad, if you will try to do some of these things you will be your wife’s hero.  Your help now I’m sure will be rewarded later (if you know what I mean!).  Talk to your wife.  Ask her if there is any way that you can help her with breastfeeding.  Ask her if there is any kind of support that you can give to help her to breastfeed.  My husband always supported me in my desire to breastfeed even when we hit rough patches and he’s probably part of what helped me to stay strong.  Remember new moms are very sensitive and need gentleness, help and support even though sometimes our pride keeps us from asking for it.  Take care of mom and baby for me and enjoy the ride!

Things You Need to Breastfeed

16 Mar 2012 2 Comments

by cross2000varga in Breastfeeding Tags: , ,

If you are looking at all the breastfeeding paraphernalia and wondering if you really need that or not, here are some of the things that I found helpful when I was breastfeeding.

Burp cloths.  I have had 4 babies and 4 out of 4 were spitters.  They spit up almost every feeding and I stayed covered in spit up it seemed like.  I hope you have better fortune!  I always have 4-5 burp cloths placed around the house in case of spit.  As I said in an earlier post, they are helpful when your breast starts to squirt milk everywhere when it lets down too.

Lanolin.  I usually had sore cracked nipples at first and putting some lanolin on them after every feeding was helpful.

Gel soothie pads.  You can ask for a pair of these at the hospital and they should be able to get them for you.  These help when your nipples are really sore.  They help to keep moisture in and help the nipples to heal.  You just wear them between feeding and they feel very good too.

Hydration.  Breastfeeding makes you SO thirsty.  I was always walking around with a huge cup of juice or something to drink.  If you can, try to have something close to your nursing spot so you don’t get stuck nursing while you are parched of thirst.

Snacks.  I think I was hungrier while I was breastfeeding than I was while I was pregnant.  It doesn’t hurt to have a few granola bars, or whatever your snack of choice is, close on hand while you are nursing either.

A pillow.  Or something to prop your arm and the baby up during the feeding.  A Boppy pillow or My Brest Friend or even a small bed pillow work well.  Personally I usually pulled my knee toward my chest and used my leg as a prop.

A cover.  If you are nursing in public you will probably want some kind of cover.  There are several covers on the market.  When I use a cover I usually use a receiving blanket.  If you pull the corner of the receiving blanket under your bra strap then drape the rest of the blanket around you it works well to keep it from falling off!  When I’m at home I don’t usually use one.  Truthfully I don’t usually use one in public either.  You can pull your shirt down far enough that nothing can be seen once you get the hang of it and that’s just one less thing to worry about.

A comfy seat.  Once you start a feeding session you are pretty much stuck.  Making sure you are comfortable before hand is very important.  Often times it is so relaxing that you fall asleep with the baby so a cozy recliner works well.

A good book.  Or magazine, or video game or movie.  Like I said you’re kind of stuck until the feeding is over and if you are alone with no one else around it can get a little boring sometimes.  I like to have a book nearby that I can read, or sometimes even the video game controller to pass the time.

These are the things I can think of that helped me while I was breastfeeding and I hope you find them helpful too.  I will talk some about breast pumps in a later post and when they are useful as well.