Ask the Lactation Consultant Blog

Breastfeeding Journal : ramblings from a lactation consultant

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:21:19 GMT

Breastfeeding Journal : random ramblings from a lactation consultan

You lift me up

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:00:19 GMT

Last week I was feeling down about my practice as a lactation consultant. The TIME article came out and I had a horrible discussion with my sister about it. The comments the general public had about it as well were so discouraging. I was feeling hopeless. Like perhaps my work was futile. Then, this week rolled around. Within a two day window, I received either a question OR a HI from 3 recent clients. One who is nursing her 10 month old, one nursing a 9 month old and one a 5 month old. I should also count one that is nursing a 3 week old that REALLY struggled that first week who is now glowing with mommy success. I am beaming with pride for these moms. I am not responsible for their success but I am on their support team. I am available when they need help. I am here to be their cheerleader. I am energized by them. I literally get a lump in my throat every time someone tells me "I would not be nursing had it not been for you." It touches me deeply. It means so much to me to know I have helped a baby get mommy's milk. That perhaps my impact on my small community of mom's is indeed changing societies opinions about breastfeeding ONE BABY AT A TIME. Liz Pevytoe, RN, IBCLC

You lift me up

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:58:32 GMT

Dos Boobies

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:49:47 GMT

My husband for weeks has been asking me to caption this photo. We just moved and hadn't hooked up the computer so I have been putting it off. Finally,

Pure Green Coffee Bean Extract

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:41:55 GMT

My daughter is almost 3 months old and I'm still breastfeeding exclusively. I want to know if taking a pure green coffee bean extract pill is safe right

Low Breastmilk Supply

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:18:19 GMT

Regardless of why one might be experiencing low breastmilk supply, I have found one product to work better than any other on the market. Motherlove's More Milk Plus Special Blend. The goats rue gives it that extra UMPF to kick supply into high gear. Please note these are not magic pills, you must be breastfeeding or pumping 8-12 times per day and be making SOME milk for these to work.

I was a milk cow in a previous life!

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:26:43 GMT

I breast fed my daughter Hayden right out of the womb and was doing great, well at first it took awhile for my milk to really come in but when it did-

Mothers Day 2012

Sun, 13 May 2012 22:16:08 GMT

My day started at midnight. I work from home as a telephone triage nurse. I got off shortly after midnight. Ran myself a bath, and tried to go to sleep. As of late, I am unable to go to sleep for hours after I get off work. Apparently, my brain needs time to unwind, which is very annoying. When I finally felt tired, at 2am, I found my youngest daughter asleep in my spot in the bed. I was too tired to deal with moving her because she usually rouses and requires me to comfort her for a bit. So I went to her bed which she shares with her older sister. When I plopped into the bed my oldest daughter decided she wanted to sleep on the couch. Off she went, I stayed. I woke frequently during the night, boy is their bed uncomfortable. I really should get them a pillowtop. And it was COOOLLLD in there. But I was too tired to hunt for another blanket so I wrapped up like a burrito. I woke up at 730am because my back hurt. Back to my bed. Musical beds. Husband left for his 24 hour shift at 0630. I slept (well sort of, getting woke up ever 15 minutes or so by one of the kids) till 11. Called my mom, met her for lunch at 1, across town. Returned home at 315. My triage shift started at 4, I will work till 10pm. I will wrangle the kids between calls, feed them, do laundry, clean the house, work on my websites ect. This is my typical day. Yes, it is chaos. But it is exactly what I prayed for. Well maybe not EXACTLY but pretty close. I would prefer not to need to work at all but the financial needs demand otherwise. I prayed HARD for children. My husband did not want children, not at all. After 5 years of marriage, we almost divorced. He relented, in order to keep ME. They are my treasures. I am thankful Mommy is one of my many names. On this day, I am blessed, and that is all.

Breastfeeding :Lewd and lecivious behaivor

Fri, 11 May 2012 21:13:58 GMT

A bit of a rant to follow. Today is my sisters birthday. We are all gathered at my house. My father asked me in front of the entire family what I thought of the Time Magazine cover. ( a mother nursing her toddler). Before I could even answer my 37 year old sister chimes in " It is lewd, I mean that kid has a full set of teeth, it is digusting and you can see her entire breast." Although I was shocked I was quick to respond. "Please do not EVER use the word lewd and breastfeeding in the same conversation around me again." She continued, " I mean, breastfeeding is private and should not be exploited on a cover like that. Sex is normal between a man an woman but that should not be on the cover." Um, yeah, that made it worse. The old RIDICULOUS comment of comparing eating to sex. Or eating to urinating, ect. It all makes me equally nauseated. Breastfeeding is not private it is a means to nourish a child. But before my head and mouth could explode... This is when proudly my 11 year old daughter chimed in, "If it is wrong for him to eat in public then it is wrong for us to eat in public too" (thats my girl) A few more words were said but I wont bore you. Let me say, the photo did EXACTLY what Time magazine intended. It is making people talk. I just never thought people within my own sphere of influence would have the same sexist ideals as the rest of our society. Apparently, my own breastfeeding experience was insignificant to my own sister. It is also apparent she has never taken the time to read any of my articles or listen to my passionate support of breastfeeding. My heart is aching. Just as I felt I was perhaps making a small difference, I am shot down.

Left breast only has foremilk

Fri, 11 May 2012 21:01:25 GMT

My right breast does great but my left breast is much smaller and has so much foremilk coming out and hardly any hind milk. The foremilk is very watery

consult

Tue, 01 May 2012 20:59:45 GMT

consult

Breast Feeding Schedule, what to expect with a breastfeeding newborn

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:33:45 GMT

Breast Feeding Schedule, what to expect with a breastfeeding newborn

Breastfeeding after reduction mammoplasty

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:40:22 GMT

My son was born 10 1/2 months ago, and I got a lot of very bad information. I was only 10 months postop after reduction mammoplasty, so I was told I probably

A moment of clarity

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 21:22:09 GMT

Andy was 3 month old and was crying because he was hungry. I was in the mall and decided to get out of the store to find a bench where I could seat to

Using a breastpump for the first time

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:15:02 GMT

I remember when I first got the breast pump for my baby shower. I had never really thought seriously about breast pumping. I was in school at the time

Breastpump Rental in California

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:11:45 GMT

Hygeia Breastpump Rental in California

Pumping and Thrush

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:27:32 GMT

My first experience with a breast pump I was terrified. I was supposed to hook up an electronic device to my breast and the milk would just magically flow

lot of milk supply, baby being fussy not able to sleep

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:47:06 GMT

hi i am a mother f 5 weeks old baby. i have lot of milk supply when i feed from one side the milk leaks from other side. the breasts are always full and

Body Wrap and Breastfeeding

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:34:09 GMT

My concern is this. I am currently breastfeeding my 5 months old. I also give him formula since my milk supply is not enough. I went today for a seaweed

Let-down difficulty when pumping

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:37:17 GMT

I have a 5 week old baby that has been exclusively breast-fed every 2.5 to 3 hours. I struggled with severe engorgement in the beginning and have been

Determined to breastfeed this time

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:16:25 GMT

I'm a 29 year old mommy of three beautiful kiddos, my oldest son is 13, my little princess is 2 1/2 and my youngest son is 5 months. So I was 15 when I

Inducing Lactation Question

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:20:33 GMT

Hello, I have a surrogate carrying my baby. I started the Goldfarb protocol to induce lactation so I could breastfeed. I used yasmin birth control and

Relactating Question

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:55:43 GMT

I got pregnant about two months after giving birth to my precious daughter, and delivered my baby boy only 7 days before my daughters first birthday.

Severely damaged nipples

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:46:15 GMT

I have a 2 week old who I began breastfeeding in the hospital. We had some initial latch issues that only got worse when I became engorged at home. When

Breast Woops

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:30:17 GMT

I had just delivered my daughter named Evelynn Tianna Jade and they finally gave her to me to start breastfeeding. I was so scared but anxious at the same

Here we go, Im going to give it my all

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:06:36 GMT

I am a first time mom and I am Due in 4 days. I never thought I could breastfeed due to inverted nipples and small breasts. Now knowing neither have anything

Cheap breastmilk Storage Idea

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:51:04 GMT

This is just about the cheapest way I know to store your breastmilk. Supplies needed: old fashioned ice cube tray freezer safe storage bags or container.

Supportive Nursing Bras

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:23:13 GMT

I know of this site that will make any regular bra into a nursing bra. It's really great because you can even get the pretty bras made into a nursing bra.

Breastfeeding in Church

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:19:21 GMT

We had taken our 2 week old, Eli, to church for the first time a few days ago. I very cautiously worked our nursing schedule around the service time so

Latched On and Never Looked Back

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:12:03 GMT

My birth story was so ridiculous. All I wanted was my husband in there but with a very pushy mother-in-law and mother, I almost didn't get to have it that

Breastfeeding my boys

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:37:42 GMT

There are so many wonderful memories I have when I was breastfeeding both of my boys. From the first time I held them close and they latched on the right

Insufficient Glandular Tissue

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:17:59 GMT

At two and a half weeks old, and having lost 10% of her birth weight, our baby girl was struggling to regain any weight - and dirty nappies were not all

Breastfed baby now sleeping longer

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:41:13 GMT

I am a working mother with good breast-milk production and have been breastfeeding regularly in evenings/nights/mornings. During the day I pump quite

Breastfeeding in higher altitudes.

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:40:50 GMT

Hi Liz, I took your wonderful Breastfeeding class at NorthHills Hospital in August. I have been successfully breastfeeding my 8 week old baby girl, Adrianna,

My 12 month old won't nurse to sleep anymore, now what?

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:40:27 GMT

My daughter has been exclusively breast fed and has never taken a bottle. She will eat solids but I have chosen to practice baby led weaning and attachment

This page serves as the breastfeeding questions archive

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:18:25 GMT

This page serves as the breastfeeding questions archive for askthelactationconsultant.com

Breastpump questions archive page for askthelactationconsultlant.com

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:05:56 GMT

This page serves as an archive for breastpump questions answered by the lactation consultant

Induced lactation questions archive page for askthelactationconsultant.com

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:02:05 GMT

This page serves as an archive for induced lactation questions answered by the lactation consultant

Extended breastfeeding questions archive page for askthelactationconsultant.com

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:58:16 GMT

This page serves as an archive for extended breastfeeding questions answered by the lactation consultant

Breastfeeding Injury Questions archive for askthelactationconsultant.com

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:06:35 GMT

This page serves as an archive for breastfeeding injury questions answered by the lactation consultant

Low Milk Supply Questions archive for askthelactationconsultant.com

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:13:34 GMT

This page serves as an archive for low milk supply questions answered by the lactation consultant

Newborn Breastfeeding Questions archive page for askthelactationconsultant.com

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:48:38 GMT

This page serves as an archive for newborn breastfeeding questions answered by the lactation consultant

Use a good pump for goodness sake

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:44:51 GMT

Back in 1986 my daughter was born and I decided to breast feed her. Unfortunately I was to tense and the milk would not come out. I was told I could use

Sexy Nursing Bras

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:14:22 GMT

I often get asked, Are they any sexy nursing bras?, all the ones I see are HIDEOUS. This one kinda makes me laugh, I've never been one to thing clothing

Breastfeeding Adopted Children

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:49:51 GMT

Breastfeeding adopted children is absolutely possible and regrettably a little known fact. I spoke with a friend the other day who is planning on adopting

Priority of a newborn - COMFORT FIRST then feed.

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:55:33 GMT

It is quite annoying to hear how so many mothers struggle everyday with feeding their baby in at least the first month of birth. Over the many years I

Vitamins while Breastfeeding

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:20:45 GMT

Often moms ask me if it is ok to take vitamins while breastfeeding. Prenatal vitamins and breastfeeding go hand in hand. You should continue to take your

Pump and Dump

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:44:02 GMT

I am frequently asked by mom if they need to pump and dump their breastmilk while on certain medications. The answer is almost always NO. Quite often

Milky Grins

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:38:02 GMT

I have always believed that breastfeeding is the best choice, it is the most natural form of food for babies & has been done since the beginning of time.

From A cups to Dolly Parton.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:35:56 GMT

Being a mother for the first made me want to do everything i could that would benifit my daughter, so I opted to breastfeed. My family along with the inlaws