The Boob Group
Breastfeeding While Pregnant
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Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.
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Robin Kaplan: Guess what! “You are pregnant and you are still breastfeeding”. Maybe this was the surprise of your life or maybe you plan to tandem nurse, regardless breastfeeding while pregnant can definitely feel different to say the least. I am so excited to welcome back today’s expert Andrea J Blanco, a private practice International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in Miami Florida with Loving Start Lactation Services. Today we are discussing “Breastfeeding While Pregnant”. This is The Boob Group, episode 74.
[Theme Music/Intro]
Robin Kaplan: Welcome to The Boob Group, Broadcasting from the Birth Education Centre of San Diego. The Boob Group is your weekly online the on-the-go support group for all things related to breastfeeding. I am your host Robin Kaplan. I am also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and owner of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center. Did you know that all of our episodes are now free? YES ! You heard me correctly, we have opened up our archives so that our listeners have access to all of our episodes anytime anywhere. Just download them from our website, www.theboobgroup.com , you can use our Apps which are available on iTunes and Amazon market place or you can subscribe to our podcast through iTunes and have our episodes automatically added to your account each week. Today I am joined by two lovely panelists in the studio, ladies would you please introduce yourselves.
Stephanie Persinger: I am Stephanie. I am 26.
Robin Kaplan: I know I forget my age all the time too.
Stephanie Persinger: I am a stay-at-home mom and I have one boy who is 28 months and I am 25 weeks pregnant.
Robin Kaplan: Awesome! Thank You!
Miranda Harris: Hi, my name is Miranda Harris. I am 21 and I stay-at-home with my 20 month-old son. I am also 20 weeks pregnant.
Robin Kaplan: Awesome!
Catie Griffith: Hi, my name is Catie Griffith. I am current a stay-at-home mom, taking off time from been a special education teacher. I am staying at home with my son who will be 2 at the end of the month and my daughter who is 5 weeks-old today.
Robin Kaplan: And she is in the studio, so if you hear any little hiccups or some little koows, that is because we got a little cutie pie in this studio today. I also like to just welcome Mj our producer to the show. Mj tell us a little bit about yourself as well as our Virtual Panelist program.
Mj Fisher: I am Mj. I am 37. Stay-at-home mom to Jason who is 27 months and I am just doing what I love. Taking care of him and also got the opportunity to help you mammas with breastfeeding. So I am super excited and one of my jobs is to kind of bring the online community into our shows and if you can’t be in the studio with us you can still be a part of the shows by giving your opinion and sharing your experiences wherever you are by being a Virtual Panelist. We are during the shows posting live updates and questions that we are actually asking our in studio panelists so you can actually answer them as well and give your advice. We are going to provide information about the topics and we are also going to pick a winner at the end of the day to receive a one month subscription to The Boob Group Club where you get extra content and special give aways and if you are on twitter just use the #boobgroupVP.
Robin Kaplan: Awesome! Thanks Mj.
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Robin Kaplan: Well, so before we get started with our interview with Andrea we are going to talk a little bit about some headlines that have been making their way around the internet and this one actually hits quite close to home so the headline is “Poway mother says school district discriminated against her for breastfeeding her baby and this incident happened actually in April but it’s just kind of coming to a head right now. So a local mom who has actually been on our Boob Group multiple times, her name is Rachel Rainbolt. She was nursing her 1 year-old in kind of like a Parent Teacher Meeting when the teacher started to say that she couldn’t do that.
When Rachel told her that it was her right and that she was able to breastfeed in public, She went so far to say that her older child who the meeting was about, her 7 year-old would not be able to participate in presentations with his classmates if she was going to breastfeed her 1 year-old at these presentations. So Rachel has taken this to social media and after trying to go through the state which is not working for her too well yet we are actually hosting a Nurse-In this coming week. Well actually by the time this airs, I guess it will be a couple of weeks past.
The question I am trying to throw out to all our panelists right now is that the District says and this is kind of what they are holding on to, that they are abiding by the civil code and the education code in California and in balancing the rights of mothers to publicly breastfeed with their responsibility to provide a classroom environment that is safe and supportive of all student learning and that is what they are holding on to. My question for you all is that do you think breastfeeding is impeding on a child’s right to have a safe classroom environment? What are your thoughts on it?
Stephanie Persinger: Not at all! It seems pretty atrocious that she is being put through all of that and it has been blown up so huge. It’s amazing…
Robin Kaplan: We have over a hundred people know who have said that they are coming to the Nurse-In
Stephanie Persinger: Yeah! I’ll be there!
Robin Kaplan: Awesome!
Stephanie Persinger: I also agree that I do not think that it’s impeding on education, especially since this occurred in a meeting, not in the middle of a school day, and also usually children don’t even notice it’s going on. It’s not something
that I feel affected anybody.
Catie Griffith: I actually think adults probably make a bigger deal out of it than children do.
Miranda Harris: Kids are usually just curious and they are like “Hey what are you doing?” “Oh, I am feeding my baby” “Okay!”
Robin Kaplan: If anything,
Miranda Harris: It’s an education moment. It’s a learning experience; it’s something that is normal and occurs around children in public everywhere and they probably don’t even notice half the time it’s going on.
Stephanie Persinger: Unfortunately, adults want to compare it to this huge sexual thing that’s happening when you can easily say, “Well it’s just like how a kitten nurses.”
Robin Kaplan: Exactly! We were at the Dunmore fair once and my kids saw a pig feeding her little piglets and they were like, “Look mom, the pigs are breastfeeding” and I was like, “She is honey!” It’s going to be really interesting. We’ll provide an update on our Nurse-In on how this whole thing turns out, especially since Rachel’s been such a great panelist on all of our shows. Thank you for sharing your opinions ladies, we’ll be right back.
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Robin Kaplan: Today on The Boob Group we’re discussing “Breastfeeding While Pregnant”. Our expert is Andrea J Blanco. She has been on our show a few times this year chatting about breastfeeding toddlers and we just adore her and couldn’t wait to have her back. Our expert, just to tell you a little bit about her, if you haven’t heard her on our other episodes, she is a private practice, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in Miami, FL with Loving Start Lactation Services. I first met Andrea when she was a guest writer on my blog for the San Diego Breastfeeding Center, talking about breastfeeding toddlers. Thanks for joining us Andrea, and welcome back to the show.
Andrea J Blanco: Thank you so much for having me back, I’m so happy to be here today.
Robin Kaplan: That’s great! Well Andrea, Sunny had posted on facebook, “Can breastfeeding make it more difficult to conceive?” So let’s start right there, even before they are pregnant, is it going to make it harder to conceive?
Andrea J Blanco: The short answer is that for some mothers it may. Since one of the benefits of breastfeeding is natural child spacing, it can affect the mom’s ability to conceive. It depends on the breastfeeding patterns of the child, how often the child is breastfeeding, and for how long each session. For those moms who are having some difficulty, changing the frequency and duration of the breastfeeding without completely weaning maybe enough to conceive.
Robin Kaplan: Okay, and then once they conceive, what are some of the first symptoms that a breastfeeding mom will experience when she first becomes pregnant?
Andrea J Blanco: Breast tenderness, nipple sensitivity, irritability, and possibly a dip in her supply, even though that usually doesn’t come later but there are some moms that notice right away based on that.
Robin Kaplan: What are some tips to keep the nursing baby or toddler interested and happy if mom’s supply takes a bit of a dip in this first trimester? Are there herbs she can take? How can she really keep up her supply?
Andrea J Blanco: So if the baby is taking solids already, offering more to combat the lower production may help keep the baby satisfied with whatever is available at the breast. An older baby would’ve already established reasons for breastfeeding other than just food, so keeping the baby interested may not be much of an issue. An older toddler might wean because of the decreased supply or because of the taste change but might ask to nurse again once the baby is born.
Robin Kaplan: Are there any herbs that are safe for her to take?
Andrea J Blanco: Some of the traditional herbs that we use to help moms increase their supply when they’re not pregnant should not be used during pregnancy. There are however, formulations on the market geared specifically for the pregnant nursing mom which the mom can discuss with her healthcare provider. There are also some foods that are lactogenic which I feel much more at ease referring to, things such as: oatmeal, fennel, barley and raw nuts, to name a few.
Robin Kaplan: Fantastic! There’s also a book called “Mother Food” I know that I really like that has information about lactogenic foods as well. So how can a mom keep up her supply then, if she does see this dip?
Andrea J Blanco: That’s a tough question! During pregnancy, milk supply is not controlled by supply and demand as it is when you’re breastfeeding only and not pregnant. The hormones are played during pregnancy override the milk production process. In addition, the mom is limited in what she can do to try to increase her supply because of the pregnancy. In some moms, despite their best intentions, the pregnancy does affect the supply.
Robin Kaplan: Do you find that it can sometimes rebound after this dip?
Andrea J Blanco: Not usually until much later in the pregnancy when the colostrum-production ramps up in preparation for the upcoming birth.
Robin Kaplan: When is that usually?
Andrea J Blanco: It varies tremendously; somewhere between the fourth and the eighth month is what I’ve found.
Robin Kaplan: Wow! That is a large discrepancy. All right well I would love to open this to our panelists as well. The minute I asked what the first symptoms were and you said “nipple tenderness” they all nodded their head like “Oh yeah.” So ladies, what did breast feeding feel like for you in the first trimester and did you notice that there was a dip? Catie!
Catie Griffith: I did not have a dip in supply during the first trimester but I definitely noticed the irritability and I think the exhaustion that comes from the first trimester, morning sickness and then also nursing. I had some nipple tenderness but it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. Pretty much it was the exhaustion that got to me the most I think.
Robin Kaplan: How about you, Miranda?
Miranda Harris: I didn’t have a supply dip either, not too much sensitivity or pain while nursing, I just had a really hard time at keeping up with my active toddler.
Robin Kaplan: Oh my God, that’s the worst. All you want to do is take a nap and they’re like running circles around you.
Miranda Harris: And so I was really glad that I was still nursing because sometimes I just could stay on the couch with him and he just stay there with me and nurse for a while.
Robin Kaplan: That’s awesome and how about you?
Stephanie Persinger: I definitely felt a supply dip.
Robin Kaplan: Did you?
Stephanie Persinger: Yeah.
Robin Kaplan: Around when?
Stephanie Persinger: God! It was really early on probably around six to eight weeks, somewhere in that timeframe. It was incredibly obvious and not just in the way that my toddler is eating... nursing but by his eating habits. He was horrible at eating solids and then all of the sudden he started eating so much more food and I knew he needed to fill up that empty space. I did have nipple tenderness as well. It got really bad towards the end of the first trimester. I was like, what’s wrong with me and just a reminder you’re pregnant.
Robin Kaplan: Mj, did any of our virtual panelists have anything to share?
Mj Fisher: Yeah, Shelly, I hope I say it right, Hovisroger, she said I nursed throughout my pregnancy and nursing was teeth grating at times all nine months but I pushed through it, my supply dropped to zero in my second trimester but my colostrums came in at about 35 weeks. And then, Rebecca Spurrow, she says, at first she had a supply dip but she’s entering her second trimester and going strong.
Robin Kaplan: Nice! Alright! Andrea, how did most breastfeeding moms feel in the second trimester? Do things tend to get a little bit easier and a little less tender then?
Andrea J Blanco: Yes, they absolutely do tend to. Pregnancy in general becomes much easier in the second trimester whether the mom is nursing or not. Morning sickness, tenderness, sensitivity others do tend to subside and the mother will generally have more energy to keep up with the nursing child as well.
Robin Kaplan: Ladies did you find that breast feeding became a little bit easier once you hit the second trimester?
Catie Griffith: I definitely think it did. I think getting to a routine became much easier for me and the morning sickness slowed down so I wasn’t stressing my calorie intake as much and it was just then the growing belly getting in the way. So, then that starts.
Robin Kaplan: Nice! Does that makes probably some very unique latching and breastfeeding positions?
Catie Griffith: Absolutely.
Robin Kaplan: How are you Miranda?
Miranda Harris: My dip actually came in the second trimester and so I think for a couple of weeks I didn’t really hear my son swallowed all and then maybe like a week ago I think my colostrums came in.
Robin Kaplan: Does he seem... was he upset about it or was he happy to be there and just not necessarily doing a lot of swallowing?
Miranda Harris: He seemed fine with it. He just started biting a little.
Robin Kaplan: Oh did he?
Miranda Harris: Yeah.
Robin Kaplan: To add to the nipple tenderness. How about you?
Stephanie Persinger: The second trimester definitely was a huge improvement in many ways, morning sickness and what not. Just probably a couple of days ago I finally got my colostrum and I noticed him making swallowing noises and I was like “Are you getting milk?” and he was like “Yes”.
Robin Kaplan: Awesome!
Stephanie Persinger: He’s been incredibly attached lately and I’m assuming he’s pretty happy to be actually getting something.
Robin Kaplan: Oh very cool, and he stuck through the whole time as well?
Stephanie Persinger: Yeah! I don’t see him weaning at all, he still nurses quite frequently.
Robin Kaplan: Fantastic! When we come back we will discuss with Andrea what happens to breast milk when mom is pregnant as well as what to do when your child or you decide it’s time to wean. We’ll be right back.
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Robin Kaplan: We’re back to the show and thank you for being here, we are here with Andrea J. Blanco who is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in Miami, Florida with Loving Start Lactation Services. Andrea, what happens to a breastfeeding mother’s milk during a pregnancy? Does it change overtime? Does it change in flavor? What exactly happens here?
Andrea J Blanco: Aside from the decrease in supply, the taste of the milk does begin to change as the composition of the milk shifts. It’s important to note that there are some moms who don’t experience this decrease, but that’s very rare.
Robin Kaplan: And how does it change over to colostrum in the beginning? What’s ready for the little one?
Andrea J Blanco: It becomes saltier. Some of the things that make the milk sweet, like the glucose and lactose, the ability of that shift to more sodium and protein which is very colostrum –like.
Robin Kaplan: So, when the new-born is born that colostrum is back ready for them.
Andrea J Blanco: It is absolutely there and actually there’s no need to limit the colostrum before the baby gets here. The mom that is breastfeeding that feels like she has colostrum and has not yet given birth to the baby, there is an unlimited supply until once the baby is born.
Robin Kaplan: Then it’ll switch back over just like after any other birth.
Andrea J Blanco: Right! Then at that point the colostrum does being emitted until the mature milk comes in at around day 3 to day 5. At that point and that’s probably the only point when mom has to worry about the new-born getting first dibs and once it shifts over to mature milk, then whatever ends up working for mom and baby and the other nursling is what goes.
Robin Kaplan: That’s a really important point to recommend as well, so it does become limited enough where new-born needs to have first dibs and after that you can kind of come up with whatever plan that fits best.
Andrea J Blanco: Correct!
Robin Kaplan: Cool! Are there times during a mother’s pregnancy where weaning commonly takes place?
Andrea J Blanco: This is so individual for each mother and nursling pair. I was actually surprised with the panels that you have. They’re nursing older toddlers and anybody else would tell well at that age the toddlers would be likely to wean because of their age. I remember embarking on my tandem nursing journey because everybody, my midwife, my OB and anybody else who knew I was still breastfeeding, they were adamant that my son would wean. I was like, great he's got to wean we'll just do it until he wants to and I really bang on him weaning. However, that never happened. I do think that some things such as the child activity, what type of a nurser the child is, some nursers… some children are comfort nursers, some are business nursers, they go, they eat, they are done.
How much other food their taking in and how they react to the decrease in supply and the change on the taste are all factors which may affect one and even if weaning takes place.
Robin Kaplan: All the ladies were totally nodding their head while you were talking as well so we actually have a very unique panel where all these ladies nurse throughout their pregnancies. What keeps you motivated to power through, the tenderness, and some of you had a dip in supply and specially the morning sickness in the beginning. Stephanie you want to start?
Stephanie Persinger: My morning sickness didn't even let up until maybe a few weeks ago, so, it was awful but I guess I don't know what kept me motivated, I love my relationship, my breastfeeding relationship with my son, it's very sweet he's not a very affectionate kid so when he's nursing he strokes my face and looks me in the eyes and it’s just… it's so nice to get that when you have an active toddler so I think that really was a great motivator to let him nurse because sometimes I would tell him no but…
Robin Kaplan: For the most part it was actually very enjoyable…
Stephanie Persinger: It was!
Robin Kaplan: Emotionally and physically was….
Stephanie Persinger: And I know for him, he is a huge, huge comfort nurser so he definitely needs it.
Robin Kaplan: Cool! How about you Miranda? How did you power through?
Miranda Harris: For us we just had a really hard time in the beginning so I didn't want to wean him. I wanted him to decide when he's done and he doesn't seem like he'll be done anytime soon.
Robin Kaplan: And you said you were how far along?
Miranda Harris: 20 weeks.
Robin Kaplan: Alright! Awesome by half-way through! Wonderful! How are you Catie? You're the only one who's on the other side now so no longer pregnant because you got your kiddo in your arms, so how did you power through?
Catie Griffith: I've always said from the beginning that we would take breastfeeding one day at a time. I will breastfeed today. I don't know what tomorrow will bring but we'll get through one day. My son is also a comfort nurser who never showed the sign of wanting to wean and that's also the only way he'll fall asleep. So if I needed to sleep I needed to get him to sleep and unfortunately he's still will not fall asleep without nursing, it's also our special time, he's a very active little guy and he calms down, he snuggles and that's our time. We still are just taking it one day at a time, so when he is ready I think I'll know but he is definitely not ready yet.
Robin Kaplan: That's awesome! Andrea, are there certain circumstances where it will be recommended for a mother to wean while pregnant?
Andrea J Blanco: The general recommendation is that breastfeeding while pregnant is not contraindicated in healthy pregnancies of healthy mothers. If we start to analyze the information a bit we can see that the main concern over breastfeeding while pregnant from a medical perspective is the fact that the uterus contracts while breastfeeding. It is assumed somewhat incorrectly that those contractions will bring on pre-term labor.
This is not something that has been widely studied but it has been found that the incidents of pre-term labor or miscarriage are not necessarily greater in breastfeeding pregnant women than in the general population of pregnant women. This is something obviously that the breastfeeding mom needs to discuss in detail with her healthcare provider.
I encourage her to do her own research before broaching the subject so that she feels empowered and knowledgeable to what the healthcare provider is telling her. But I do feel it's important that her and her healthcare provider be on the same page and working together during the pregnancy.
Robin Kaplan: Andrea if a mom has been told to wean by her OBGYN and her midwife what tips do you have for gentle weaning? Is it possible to tandem nurse the older child if the older child weans before the baby is born?
Andrea J Blanco: My first tip would be to make sure that the mother and the healthcare provider are making an informed decision especially if the weaning is not what the mother wants. I think that healthcare providers will always tend to err on the side of caution and good majorities are going to recommend weaning.
Secondly I would consider the time frame she has to work with. Unfortunately gentle weaning is usually done over a longer period of time than a woman who was pregnant and needs to wean out of let's say a medical necessity might have.
With time on her side or not she can and should still wean with love replacing breastfeeding time with lots of cuddle time and endless amounts of patience and understanding knowing that this is a difficult process for both the mother and child are probably the most important suggestions that I have. As far as tandem nursing as the older child weans before the baby is born, most children when they see the mom nursing the new born will become very curious and will at least want to try.
This is a situation where if mom wants to tandem nurse she can absolutely monopolize on that but if she doesn't she can also distract the child from doing that. A lot of times the easiest times to distract is to give in to the request and once they are flooded with the amount of milk that mom now has which tends to be copious, some of them will be completely grossed out by it and won't want to continue and some will be like woo-hoo party! I think it's important to make sure that you know what you want before you give in to the request.
Robin Kaplan: That's fantastic advice! Ladies did your OBGYN and your midwife … first of all do they know that you that you are breastfeeding while pregnant or did they know while you were pregnant and did he/she recommend that you should wean or were they like keep on going? Stephanie what’s your personal saying?
Stephanie Persinger: I saw an OB and also a midwife and they both knew and they both saw... my son's [unclear], he always comes with me wherever I go and both of them were perfectly okay with it. They said as long as you have a healthy pregnancy and everything is going fine.
Robin Kaplan: Perfect! How about you Miranda?
Miranda Harris: I started seeing my midwife while I was trying to conceive and so “YES” she does know.
Robin Kaplan: And no worries from her perspective?
Miranda Harris: No!
Robin Kaplan: Fantastic! How about you Catie?
Catie Griffith: The only thing that was ever brought up when I went to confirm my pregnancy was increasing my calorie intake. Other than that my midwife didn't bring it up after that she you know...
Robin Kaplan: Probably midwife's are more used to it than OB's but even your OB sound okay with it so that’s fantastic to you Stephanie. How about you Mj, any of our virtual panel is sharing?
Mj Fisher: Actually the same thing as you just mentioned, Shelly, she had a midwife never suggested to wean; Jessica, same thing midwife never recommended that she stopped. One Jennifer Lavender, she says my midwife said that if I choose to wean, she would recommend finishing one month or before the new baby arrived that way they were less likely to face jealousy or relapse issues, other than that it was just matter of what they were comfortable with.
Robin Kaplan: Fantastic! Andrea, and what would say are the benefits of breastfeeding while pregnant?
Andrea J Blanco: The American Academy of Family Physicians position paper on breastfeeding have a section about breastfeeding during pregnancy and there it states that if a child is younger than two years-old then the child is at an increased risk of illness if weaned. It goes on to say that tandem nursing may help provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child. Two points I happen to wholeheartedly agree with. For me and some of the panelists have touched on this, the biggest benefit was being able to rest while nursing an extremely active toddler instead of finding other ways to keep him distracted or entertained when I was just too exhausted to handle.
Robin Kaplan: Ladies did you... what was your reasoning to kind of keep breastfeeding while you’re pregnant? Sounds like... you already... this relationship was not ready to go away. I mean you actually both of you really enjoyed it, both you and your child. But my question also is, was your goal to ever even before you conceived, did you ever envisioned yourself standard nursing or why did you decide to continue breastfeeding while pregnant? Stephanie do you mind starting?
Stephanie Persinger: I made the decision long before that I wanted my son to wean on his own terms since when the relationship would end and he didn't show any signs of it. And I actually do want to tandem nurse if he wants too. I think it would help a lot with possible engorgement.
Robin Kaplan: Absolutely!
Stephanie Persinger: That’s how I use it, I mean I had that last time so it’s nice thought that he could help me out in those moments and I know the bonding that would be present between him and his sister to be pretty awesome as well.
Robin Kaplan: Cool! How about you Miranda?
Miranda Harris: I never thought I would tandem nurse or nurse while I was pregnant but then my son was like 12 months and we decided that we wanted to have another baby and so while was trying I just decided, if I do get pregnant while I am still nursing him or just let him to decide because I don’t want to take that away for him, just to have just for a baby that might be.
Robin Kaplan: Exactly so and everything is going okay right now or do you intend to tandem nurse if he hangs on?
Miranda Harris: Yes!
Robin Kaplan: Cool! How about you Catie?
Catie Griffith: Similar to Miranda, I never thought I would tandem nurse, I assumed we decided to start trying for a second one when he was 15 months and got pregnant much easier than we never thought would be since I was nursing like around the clock and I just assumed he will whine and my supply will drop and when my supply dropped he kept nursing. Now we are 5 weeks into tandem nursing and he is one that is loving the increased supply. He is like this is awesome, perfect so, we are seeing a little bit of nursing jealously because he has cut back to nursing only about 3 times a day. When he sees his sister nursing more often, he asks but he has also decided that the right side is his and the left side is hers. He does not like if she nurses from his side and he tells me that you know he will point to the left side and tell me that that’s her sisters and other than that I mean we are just again like I said take it one day at a time and hopefully he will decide on his own when he is ready and I don’t have to wean him. You can chose when he wants to.
Robin Kaplan: That’s awesome! Mj what are our virtual panelist was saying?
Mj Fisher: Kindly the same things that are ensue your panelist are that they really didn’t think about weaning and could find a way to easily wean and that they are still nursing now. Amy Derise, she says I would have loved to tandem nurse but ended up weaning my 17 month-old when I was about 26 weeks pregnant. My milk must have just been changing; both her and I were finding nursing more frustrating than beneficial. We both had enjoyed our nursing relationship but it was painful for me and she was angry, smacking and biting me and crying. Things she has never done before and it has been 3 months and new baby will be here soon and I wonder that my tod little want to nurse again. She still snuggles my chest and signs for milk once in a while.
Robin Kaplan: That’s awesome! Andrea did you ever in your wildest dream thought you would be tandem nursing, or is it something you been dreaming about?
Andrea J Blanco: I did not, and I have to tell you that, I credit that I have… one of my best friends who I had met online at that time who lived in Hawaii and her and I were pregnant at same time and she was dying to tandem nurse, and I was dying for my son to wean. We would talk everyday and we would discuss like you know he would be like “yie”, you know he is still nursing today and I will be like “Oh my god I can’t, he’s still nursing today”. But it was really one of the best things that happened to me because it was not a decision that I made other than feeling like he wasn't ready and like it would be detrimental to him if I did, and honouring that part of our relationship. I’m super duper happy to have spent many, many year’s tandem nursing both of them so I have a lot of good memories.
Robin Kaplan: Wonderful! Thanks so much, Andrea for being part of our show. We so appreciate it.
Andrea J Blanco: Thank you for having me Robin. I loved being here.
Robin Kaplan: For our Boob Group Club members, our conversation will continue after the end of the show. As Andrea will discuss if nursing affects the nutrition of the unborn baby? For more information about our Boob Group Club, please visit our website www.theboobgroup.com .
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Robin Kaplan: So here's a question from one of our listeners. This is from Danielle Tucker. I exclusively breastfeed my 4 month-old, but must work sometimes during the day and sometimes at night. When I have to be away from her, I pump bottles for her caregiver to give to her, but she absolutely refuses them. I keep getting the same advice to try different nipples. I have spent a small fortune on nipples and nothing has worked. Any suggestions? I can't stand being away knowing she and her caregiver are having such a terrible time.
Veronica Tingzon: Hi Boob Group listeners this is Veronica Tingzon I’m an IBCLC and I’m the owner of The Original Comfort Food Lactation Services in San Diego, California and also one of the guest experts on Boob Group. Sometimes if you don't start the bottle in time and don't keep up that secured every day or every other day trafficking they just get enamoured with the breastfeeding and wanted straight from the tap. So unfortunately she is really kind of has her mind set on solely breast feeding. And Danielle I know that you have tried many nipples and you stated that you have spent a small fortune on different nipples and it’s funny because this question actually takes me back to my own breastfeeding experience with my younger son who at 4 months also will refused to take a bottle, refused take any type of milk anywhere but from the source. So I also invested a small fortune in many different nipple types and one of the things that I say is that when we increase the size of the nipple, he actually got it better. But it still wasn’t a 100% the solution. What actually seemed to work for us was a slip top straw that he can just suck from. Something that doesn’t actually look like it is replacing the breast itself.
So whether that is a sippy cup or sippy top straws, straw sippy cup, believe it or not, they can get it out. So if they start differentiating between like this is not a mommy replacement, this is just something that quenches my thirst or satisfy my hunger, they might be more wannable to take it. But she will end up starting to take it. She won’t starve herself while you are gone. I know it is rough for the care takers, I know it is rough to hear a baby crying and what not but a little bit of patience and a little bit of working on it and it start to happen. It did with my son at the time he was about 5 months-old he did take not only the sippy cup but he started taking the bottle as well and then after that he was able to go back and forth between the cups, the bottles and my breast and he actually breastfed until he was 2 years-old . So there was no confusion after that point. I hope this helps, but really honestly it’s her that is going to make that decision and you need to have to keep trying and one little tip try not to escalate the situation by getting more and more stressed out. If you stress out, she is going to stress out more, so try to just keep everything even to calm her down, don’t force anything and then leave it as it is.
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Robin Kaplan: This wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to The Boob Group. Don’t forget to check out our sister shows, Preggie Pals’ for Expecting Parents and our show Parent Savers for Moms and Dads with Newborns, Infants and Toddlers. Thanks for listening to The Boob Group; Your Judgment Free Breastfeeding Resource.
[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. Though information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.
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