Do you have any breastfeeding questions that no one has ever been able to answer? Do you have a question that you hear all the time? Let me know and you may get included in the book!
Happy Nursing!

Happy Nursing!

As seen in Parents magazine, a brow rub can be an excellent stress buster to use before pumping. Here’s how it works – Take 30 seconds and slowly rub and squeeze your eyebrow from the inner corner to the outer corner. Switch sides and repeat.

It sounds a little crazy, but I tried it and I definitely felt less stressed. I don’t know that it helped me produce more milk, but it definitely self-soothed. Now I know why my kids suck their thumbs!

Happy Nursing!

Here’s milk in your eye. My son had pink eye – probably from my 21 month old poking him in the eye and saying, “Eye”, despite my best efforts. I remembered from some reading that women in Africa put breastmilk in cuts and I vaguely remember my doctor saying that it would be good for pink eye(from my first child poking my 21 month old in the eye and saying,”Eye”, a year ago). So, I tried it. I mean, it’s not like I have never done it by accident, so I figured on purpose couldn’t hurt. My son also had a sniffly nose, so I squirted it up his nose as well(this one was absolutely doctor recommended). It’s pretty weird, but it actually worked. The pink eye was gone the next morning and the sniffly nose significantly improved. I should bottle this stuff! Oh wait, I do.
Happy Nursing!

So lactating ladies, let me tell you about how to avoid mastitis and how to treat it.
1. Plugged ducts – About the time your baby stops eating as often and you sigh and begin to think, “Hey, this isn’t so bad”, you may notice some lumps in your breast. Not to worry, they are just plugged ducts. Catching them early on is the best way to prevent mastitis, since they can be eliminated by hot showers and pumping.

2. Showers – What, you say? I can barely brush my teeth! It seems impossible, but squeezing in a hot shower every day or every other day will help not only with your sanity and hygiene, but will reduce the likelihood of developing mastitis. If you absolutely can’t do it, try to change your nursing pads every day.

3. Sterilize that pump! – This is actually how I got mastitis. I washed the pump, but was in a hurry and said, “Aw, it’s clean enough.” The little bacteria that I didn’t sterilize away proved me wrong.

4. Treating Mastitis – So, you’ve done everything right, but all of a sudden you feel even more tired than usual, your breast has developed red patches, and you feel like you may be getting the flu. Call your doctor! Doctors are pretty pro-active on this one so you will likely be given antibiotics. Then beg someone to watch your baby and lay down. Drink LOTS of water and nurse or pump every two hours. You WILL be bedridden for at least one day while you have a fever. I also recommend taking probiotics while you are on penicillin(found in kefir) as it seems to help prevent secondary infections.

Good luck and happy nursing!

This is also the best time to get fitted for a nursing bra. Your milk will continue to come in over the next few weeks, but it’s a good idea to have one nursing bra ready, just in case baby decides to come early!
Happy Nursing!

However, our brunch did have fun “pregnancy cocktails” or as my husband calls them”Looza Cocktails” after our preferred brand of peach nectar and the fact that they contain no alcohol. Our visiting friend called them nursing cocktails, as she is nursing her seven month old. Tomato, tomahto. Whatever you call them, my husband’s concoction will certainly make your brunch(or happy hour) more fun whether you are pregnant, nursing, or just not drinking alcohol. See below and enjoy!

Ingredients
1 part lemon Perrier(if you can only find regular Perrier, then add a splash of fresh lemon juice)
1 part Looza brand peach nectar(apricot is also good)

Add Perrier, then top off with peach nectar. Done!

Happy Nursing!