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The breast pump

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When you plan on nursing whether its from baby to breast, baby to breast and bottle, or just using bottles, its great to know how to use a breast pump correctly and most woman at some point will use a breast pump.  What is a breast pump and what does it do? A breast pump expresses milk using a similar rhythm of suction a baby would use to expel the milk.  Why use a breast pump?  Women use them for all types of reasons like if baby isnt emptying your breasts after a feed and you still feel full, you have a clogged duct and want to express as much milk as you can, to increase your milk supply by pumping before or after each baby to breast feed, having a over supply of milk so pumping between each feeding, moms who work away from baby and need relief at work while also having to have milk stored for the person with her baby, to build a supply of milk in your freezer if its for your baby or to donate, whenever youre separated from baby for a few hours but still need to empty yo
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Mom of the week, Elizabeth seckman

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Conner 19, Caleb 25, Carter 21, and Cole 23  My babies. As you can see, they are well past the age of diapers and car seats. But there was a time when these fellas were little and about as busy and destructive as a pack of feral puppies. There were days I would finally get ready to head to bed and I'd have to stop to think...did I brush my teeth yet today? Controlled chaos. It was my life. And I can say without the briefest hesitation, that I miss those days more than I ever would have imagined- especially if you'd have asked me at a 3:00 am feeding. Motherhood can be tough. You're perpetually tired. Constantly interrupted. Heck, you might even be a bit gross, especially if you also can't remember to brush your teeth.  But one day. One day, I swear, you will look back on those years and wonder how they flew by so fast. When my first son was born, adjusting to the intricacies of motherhood was... I don't want to say hard, because that's not quite
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Tandem Nursing

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What is tandem nursing? Tandem nursing is when a mother nurses more than one child at a time. An example would be nursing a toddler and a newborn or twins. Is it safe to nurse your toddler/baby while pregnant? If mom and baby are healthy with no medical complications during the pregnancy then yes, nursing while pregnant is totally safe. Some doctors recommend that you stop nursing once you've reached 20 weeks pregnant no matter what your health is. But as long as mom knows her options and feels comfortable then keep on nursing while pregnant. Baby is born, now what? Once your newborn is born your body will still make colostrum for the new baby, so no worries your baby will still get it! Your milk may still take 2-3 days to come back in. (Sooner sometimes) Chances are your toddler isnt staying in the hospital those few days youre there after delivery. Your newborn will be able to enjoy all that delicious colostrum! Now youre home with a newborn and toddler. Your toddler will
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Latching

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As a lactation consultant I am trained to assess a babys latch to the breast to be able to identify if the latch is good or bad. A good latch is key to breastfeeding especially during the first few days of babys life. For a lactation consultant when a noticeable bad latch is at hand you do what you can to help mom and baby turn the bad latch into a good latch. Here are proper steps to get baby to latch good. 1. Hold your breast with one hand and hold baby with the other, tilt babys head slightly back and have babys tummy up against moms tummy (this is called tummy to tummy) Moms nipple should he level with babys nose. 2. Stimulate baby's mouth with your nipple by gently rubbing the nipple on babys mouth. Dont slap babys mouth with the nipple, slow and gentle motions. Babys mouth should open wide with her tongue sticking out. (Looking like a yawn). If youre having trouble getting baby to open wide try expressing some milk on babys mouth. Once baby is latched on the babys chin
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Maintaining your breastmilk supply

I was recently asked about maintaining ones breastmilk supply. There are so many "tricks" advertised like lactation cookies to vitamins and certain foods. The truth is that stuff like that have very little to no actual effect on boosting milk production studys show. There are 2 proven way to increase your supply though. 1. Frequent feeding sessions 2. Skin to skin When it comes to frequent feeding sessions that means it starts the moment baby comes out and you latch baby on the breast until the desired time you and baby decide to stop nursing. Your body needs baby to latch mouth to breast for maximum breastmilk supply. (Some woman use nipple shields fpr pain, trouble latching, inverted nipples, or flat nipples, this can cause milk production problems but not always) Prolactin is needed to make breastmilk. The ultimate way to get prolactin is mouth to boob, the stimulation helps make the milk. Then oxytocin is responsible for the release of the milk and the milk letdowns.
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My own journey with breastfeeding

I would like to tell everyone about my journey as a breastfeeding mother. I got pregnant with my oldest when I was 23, the joys of becoming a mother and growing a little human is indescribable. But with all that joy comes the worries, is the babys heart rate normal, is the baby moving enough, is the baby suppose to have hiccups this often!? And that's just while being pregnant! Then the worries about do i need a crib or can i cosleep? Do i let the baby cry it out or cuddle everytime? Theres alot of pressure on moms and the biggest one i see is do I breastfeed or formula feed? I knew off the bat i wanted to breastfeed, i may have only been 23 with only knowing one person in my family who breastfeed for an entire year to all 4 of her children, (aunt Elizabeth Seckman) and my husband (then boyfriend) was completely supportive. I researched why breastfeeding was better than formula and everything just won me over. My husband was won over by all the money you save! I had lots of qu
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