This week I am discussing Breastfeeding

One of the things I decided at the outset of my pregnancy is that I was going to breastfeed. To me it seemed like the most convenient and healthy option for my baby. One thing I had heard though is that the so called “most natural thing in the world” is not so natural. And in fact 95% of women who attempt breastfeeding have some level of difficulty doing it. I my fellow readers fell into the 95%.

My first feed, where the baby gets its colostrum (the yellow highly nutritious substance that comes in before your milk) was fed to my baby with no problems whatsoever. I had been leaking since my 28^th week of pregnancy so when he fed shortly after birth it was an easy feed. In the first 24 hours the baby is tired and adjusting to life outside the womb, so if they feed once during the first 24 hours most child care professionals are content. I thought I had done my job within the first hour. However the medical nurses at my hospital insisted I feed my baby every three hours. This was so that they could check my latch and ensure we would form a habit right off the get go. However this constant feeding only created a problem for me because my little guy is a very strong sucker and it left me bruised and chapped and grimacing in pain. Remember I gave birth au nautral and as such have a high pain threshold so when I was crying during feedings on the second day of feeding my child my husband was the  one who voiced concern. He knew I was in pain and that we were having a problem... Our temporary solution was to go buy a breast pump and bottle feed our little one while I took a 24 hour booby break. At first I felt really guilty and cried, but my hubby and mom reminded me I was still feeding our little one breast milk it was just coming out of a bottle and that I needed to take care of myself in order to take care of him. That helped and so did the rest period. During this time we set up an appointment with a nurse who specialized in breastfeeding and from her got some tips. Today I am feeding normally, there is the initial discomfort when the little guy latches on but it gets easier as soon as he starts to feed. As for the pump I do use it to relieve engorgement or when I start to leak but the little one does not want to feed. Also it is convenient to store some breastmilk for when daddy or grandma wants to feed the little guy.

Tips for breastfeeding:

·         Don’t expect that the first latch will be perfect and that the whole process is trouble free. There will be hiccups and discomfort and low moments, but you can get through it, and eventually come to enjoy it.

·         Two great resources are the video “Follow me Mum” by Rebecca Glover it is a video that breaks down breastfeeding into chapters, it shows great clips and easy tips. Secondly the book “Guide to Breastfeeding” by Dr. Jack Newman has chapters for all the hiccups you can encounter and offers solutions to all kinds of breastfeeding problems.

·         Make sure that your baby has a wide yawn prior to latching.

o   Next hold your breast like you are going to squeeze toothpaste above the areola this forces it to be squeezed and fits better into the baby’s mouth. If your baby starts dozing off during the feeding you can squeeze your breast and it will get more milk into them and make them more alert.

o   Support your breast and your little one’s head during the whole feeding.

o   Put the nipple way back into his mouth ensure that the latch is good. It should reach the area between the soft and hard palate on the top of his mouth. If your latch is not comfortable or if he is just sucking on your nipple use your CLEAN pinky finger put it in the corner of his mouth (like a fish-hook) and release your breast.

o   When there is a successful latch the baby’s mouth should be on your ariola not just your nipple for sucking and should be fairly comfortable. His face looks buried in your breast. Don’t worry he can breathe J

o   If you can keep him on for a feeding on one breast he gets the hind milk which is highly nutritious and high in calories. Think of it as the equivalent of cream.  If you switch breasts after only a few minutes it is like the baby getting two servings of skim milk.

·         Milk comes in around the third day of breastfeeding prior to that it is colostrum.

·         Engorgement happens a few days after your milk comes in, it is your body’s way of boosting supply of milk. It is a supply and demand cycle, so the more you feed the more milk comes in. Engorgement makes your breasts very full and can be uncomfortable, feed your little one and if you feel comfortable with it use a pump. Engorgement goes away after a couple of days. If you are really uncomfortable use a leaf of cabbage for a MAXIMUM of 20 minutes, it has properties that combat swelling. Using cabbage for any more than 20 minutes can compromise your milk supply.

·          Seek help from a nurse, lactation consultant or La Leche league if you continue to find it difficult. http://www.llli.org/

CAREER ADVICE

 Saving up:

When going on maternity leave your income is reduced. There is an optimal ratio for your income and it is outlined below. If you have the opportunity to plan your pregnancy and maternity leave, save up to live comfortably and still keep to the percentages below. Make sure to pay down debts prior to going on maternity leave and boost your savings as you will likely dip into them for baby expenses. There are the expenses of diapers, clothing that everyone thinks of. However there are additional expenses people forget about like birth certificates, passport applications, baby photographs, for some families with boys circumcisions. These expenses really add up too.

Housing 35%

Transportation 15%

Life 25%

Debt Repayment 15%

Savings 10%

Housing: When it comes to rent or mortgage payment you can only afford 35% of your take home income. Any more than that will stretch you out and is not sustainable in the long run. This is what one calls house poor because it will cause you to skimp out on other life's necessities.

Transportation: This includes your car payments, gas and insurance and thus should not eat up more than 15% of your income.

Life: This includes your groceries, pet food, clothing and entertainment as well as other expenses in life. This should make up no more than 25%.

Debt Repayment: Whether consumer debt to your credit cards, consolidation loans, or student loans 15% of your income should go to debt repayment.

Savings: your parents told you about this one but most of us ignore it. It is important to save up part of your pay check for emergencies, retirement or investments. So save up that 10%

 Here is how it breaks down for your take home income

Income	$1000	$2000	$3000	$4000
Housing	$350	$600	$1,050	$1,400
Transportation	$150	$300	$450	$600
Life	$250	$500	$750	$1000
Debt Repayment	$150	$300	$450	$1,400
Savings	$100	$200	$300	$400

Last week I gave birth to a healthy happy baby boy. He weighed in at 8 pounds 5 ounces. I was nervous about giving birth, so I attended classes, read books and watched videos in preparation for the most intense experience of my life. Funny thing is, I ended up doing something I never thought I would be able to do… a natural birth!

I had a birth plan, a doula and a labour coach. In the end I asked my labour coach to give up her spot to my hubby who was a very supportive partner during the whole experience. In my birth plan I stated that the most important thing was the healthy birth of our baby boy. I did make concessions for medication and said if really needed a caesarean was ok. However none of that ended up being applicable.

Here is what happened during my birth. I felt contractions at 11 pm on Thursday evening and went to the hospital and was advised that although soft my cervix was not dilated and it could happen any time. I had heard the advice to labour at home where one feels most comfortable (unless there were complications or a lot of pain) so we did, we stayed at home. I got some sleep that night occasionally interrupted by painful contractions, then in the morning had food and watched a movie with my husband. While watching TV saw a commercial for Babybell cheese and decided that we needed some for the hospital stay. So we walked to our neighbourhood market to get the cheese, and startled an 18 year old checkout girl during one of my contractions who panicking asked “why are you shopping during labour?” to which I replied “we have to eat”. Well it also turned out that a local radio station was doing a cross promotion with the grocery chain and ended up asking us to take a picture for their website, so there I am with my husband a bag of groceries and in full labour posing for an adult contemporary radio station’s website.

We continued our walk once we dropped off the groceries and on the way back noticed that my contractions were closer together. We called our doula and once she arrived we went to the hospital where we found out that we were five centimeters dilated. Over the course of five hours I used the ball, breathing techniques, and shower to get through contractions. I discovered the gas when I was 9 cm dilated and was only allowed to use it for 15 minutes before they took it away. This was a big surprise to me when I started being in real pain and I asked for morphine and the nurses said “Morphine? Honey you are way past it we give that to women who are 4 cm dilated.” Oh said I “how about the epidural?” to which they replied “you’ll have the baby before the anaesthesiologist gets here”. It then set in I was going to do this au natural to which I said “I am having a natural labour… I feel like such a granola mom!” But I did it, did not think I could but our son was born after 29 hours of labour and he came out screaming.

So I offer these tips to any labouring woman… but before I go on. I must say PLEASE CONSULT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL; this is from personal experience and is not meant to substitute medical advice. It is just what worked for me.  Please note this is not medical advice, consult with your doctor nurse or midwife for best labour practices. This is a few pointers of what worked for me personally and may or may not work for you.

·         Find a good support team. It may be your partner, parent or a friend, also may be a doula a birth companion who will assist you in comfort techniques.

·         Go to the place you feel most comfortable during labour. If you want to go to the hospital right away do so, however if you feel comfortable in your own house and want to labour at home (barring any complications) it is a good thing to do.

·         Know when you can ask for medication and intervention if you choose to have it.

·         Focus on your breathing during contractions, you can monitor them on a clock, visualize a happy place, or even focus on something else entirely. Towards the end of my labour I focused on eating a fruit salad. I would get through a contraction take a couple of bites of fruit and then wait to get through the next contraction to take another couple of bites. Important part to note is that once the contraction is over it is done, let it go relax take a breather until the next one. Don’t wait in anticipation and anxiety for the next contraction. This will wear you out.

·         Take an iPod with your favourite music, some visual aids and some food and drink (coconut water is amazing for labour) for those breaks in between.  Also take some extra food for after labour hospitals provide you with a minimal meal, but it is not enough for you and your partner and you may want different options then the ones provided by the hospital.

·         Know that you can do it! It is hard work but very rewarding in the end.

Career:

During labour you are likely not focused on your career goals. So give yourself a break for a few days. After that evaluate when you will go back to work. We will discuss some work options in the next post.