anekantsquick & Mama - The Bun Blog

15 Quality Breastfeeding Tips

2018-04-02T13:43:00-07:00

Something that crosses the mind of almost every new mother is how they are going to go about feeding their newborn baby. While bottles and formula are one way to go, many women are more interested in breastfeeding their child for the first several months to the first year (or even more) of their lives.

While breastfeeding is indeed a highly personal choice for new mothers, many more mothers are choosing the breastfeeding route as the way that they wish to feed their newborn babies. Having said that, many first-time and expectant mothers also find themselves a little bit apprehensive about breastfeeding and how it is going to work for them.

The following are 15 great tips that expectant mothers can use to help them feel a little bit more comfortable when it comes to breastfeeding their newborn child:

1. Wear Nursing-Friendly Clothing:

Wearing clothes that are meant for breastfeeding can help make the task much easier when it comes time to feed your baby. Seek stylish "non nursing" looking clothes with pieces of material that simply snap in place and hidden under panels to keep your chest warm and covered. All you have to do is detach or lift the piece of material and you are ready to feed your baby. Place the material back when your baby is done feeding. These clothes that are available with nursing a baby in mind include everything from tanks to t-shirts, or hoodies and sweatshirts. This is especially helpful when dealing with unsupportive family that may make comments. They are hopefully sure to compliment you on your savvy and smart attire and keep their negativity to themselves when they see how current nursing style has truly become.

2. Utilize Bra Pads If Necessary:

If you find your breasts leaking in between feedings, invest in some "breast pads" that go inside your bra. They will soak up the excess milk between feedings and keep the milk from leaking out onto your clothes. There are even milk collectors that fit in your bra to literally collect "spilled milk" so you can add that to your stash.

3. Expect Your Child To Nurse Frequently Soon After Birth:

Most babies will nurse 8-12 times per day for the first several months of life. Offering enough feedings to your baby each day will be paramount to your child getting adequate nutrition and to ensuring your baby is gaining weight appropriately during the first months of life. A side bassinet for the bed is helpful in nursing your baby for those frequent night feedings.

4. Get A How-To From The anekantsquick Nurses:

Ideally, the first time you breastfeed your baby will be within the first hour of their life. For a first time mother, a great way to learn about breastfeeding can be to take a how-to from a anekantsquick nurse, lactation specialist, or doctor right at the hospital where you are giving birth. Most will be happy to show you what they know so you are more comfortable doing it yourself when you have to. Try to book a breastfeeding class or consultation at a reputable lactation support center near your home to give yourself the extra information you may need so you can continue nursing with confidence and enjoyment.

5. Allow Your Baby Time:

Understand that every child will breastfeed at a different rate. Just because one person's child can feed in 15 minutes doesn't mean your child will. Your child might be a quick eater and be done in 10 minutes or they may take 30 minutes to truly be finished breastfeeding. There is no "one time" that it should take your baby to breastfeed. Let the baby set the pace that is right for them.

6. (If Possible) Let The Baby Sleep In Your Room:

For the first year of life, most pediatricians will recommend that the child sleeps in the same room as the parents. This provides quick access when the baby needs to be fed during the night. It also saves you from stumbling down the hallway to your baby's room for a feeding every 3-4 hours during the first few months. In addition, sleep in the same room is said to help avoid SIDS...and that peace of mind may be worth it.

7. Hold Off On Pacifiers:

Many very young infants can have trouble distinguishing between a pacifier and their mother's breast. Giving infants pacifiers too early can mix up their ability to sense if they are sucking on a pacifier or mom's breast. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting to give a child a pacifier till they are at least 3-4 weeks old, once breastfeeding is a well-established habit. Again, a paci at night is said to help reduce SIDS, but still avoid overuse of the paci during the day.

8. Gauge Your Child's Nourishment:

Gauging your child's nourishment is easier than many mothers think. Check to ensure that your child is sucking and not just biting or nipping at your nipple. That makes it more likely that your child is actually eating rather than just chewing or gumming at the source of food. Moreover, babies should be producing about 6 wet diapers each day and should have a loose, yellow, seedy-like stool while breastfeeding. These are great gauges as to how much nourishment they are getting. Also, check for steady weight gain throughout the first year of life to ensure they are getting adequate nutrition. Keep in mind babies loose weight the first week (up to 10%), but get right back on a upward track afterwards within days 10-14 of life.

9. Eat A Healthy Diet:

Ensure that while you are breastfeeding that you are eating a healthy balanced diet and drinking plenty of fluids. A healthy diet on your part will only make the milk you're providing for your baby of a higher, more nourishing quality to help them get a healthy start to life as well. Eat oatmeal, banana, avocado, smoothies, and other nutrient dense foods to boost milk supply. Stay super hydrated because without enough water you may struggle to keep up.

10. Don't Smoke/Drink Alcohol:

It's recommended that you avoid smoking and consuming alcohol while you are breastfeeding as well, so none of the contaminants leak into the breast milk and/or into your baby's food.

11. Check Your Medications With Your Doctor:

If you take any prescription medications, talk to your doctor to ensure these medications are safe to take before you begin breastfeeding. If they are not safe to take, determine if you can go without the medication or not. Talk to your doctor about options for feeding your child if you must continue to take the medication. Healthcare providers will be able to give you better advice on how to proceed without risking your child's health while doing it.

12. Understand Breastfeeding Can Be Exhausting:

It can seem like an endless task breastfeeding your child every 3-4 hours at the beginning of their lives. However, after a few weeks, it will usually get easier to survive breastfeeding in the first month. The more you breastfeed your child, the more used to providing milk your breasts become. You will produce more milk and it will get easier after a few weeks.

13. Get Plenty of Rest:

Understand how exhausting breastfeeding can be will help you gauge how much rest you will need. Getting enough rest is essential to allow your body to do the work it needs to do to nourish your baby properly.

14. If Breastfeeding is Painful See Your Doctor:

If you are finding breastfeeding a physically painful process to endure, it may be time to seek help from your doctor. Breastfeeding is not meant to be a painful process. You should not feel physical pain when nursing your child. Some discomfort can be common until you get used to breastfeeding, but pain is a sign that you need to see your doctor or IBCLC. It can be daunting at first, but a lactation specialist can work wonders for you and help you get the right latch.

15. If You Have Questions Talk To Your Doctor:

If you have any breastfeeding concerns on any level, feel free to call and talk to your doctor or schedule an appointment to drop in for a visit. It's always better safe than sorry, especially for a first-time mother who is just learning how their baby feeds and what normal eating patterns are. It is worth it to get answers in order to have a long and successful nursing relationship with your baby. One that both of you are happy with!

Don't forget, every child feeds differently and will develop different eating habits. The aforementioned ideas are simply advice on what is considered within the range of normal feeding behaviors for a baby. Long as your child is gaining weight, getting good reviews from a qualified pediatrician, and is producing wet diapers and having bowel movements on a regular basis things are likely fine.

Remember, when in doubt, your pediatrician and doctor can confirm that behaviors are normal and can let you know if you should ever be concerned about any your child's eating patterns or your ability to breastfeed properly.

Shop stylish and essential breastfeeding clothing here.

Is Dieting While Breastfeeding Safe For Your Baby?

2017-05-09T10:34:00-07:00

Breastfeeding moms usually have many worries as they try to figure out the well-being of their newborn.

One of those worries is whether dieting while breastfeeding affects the quality or supply of breastmilk in any way.

Many of us have been taught at home and in schools that "you are what you eat".

With that in mind, one can be forgiven for arguing that a mother with a poor diet would make less than perfect milk. The truth is you don't need to maintain a perfect diet in order to provide quality milk for your baby.

In fact, studies show that the nature of a mother's diet doesn't completely impact her milk.

Nature is very forgiving. Even in countries where the breastfeeding mom can't afford a balanced diet or regular meals, the baby thrives perfectly well on breastmilk.

As a mother, you can even have an occasional drink, take caffeinated beverages, and eat whatever you like and still provide the baby with all the required nutrients and immunological protection. All within reason of course and during certain times. A diet laden with caffeine, high saturated fat, or processed foods is most likely not a great idea.

What about weight loss? Is it possible to safely lose weight while breastfeeding?

After 9 months of pregnancy and weight gain, most new moms start thinking about dieting in order to shed off some pounds.

They wonder if dieting while breastfeeding would "get their bodies back" and at the same time provide healthy milk for the baby.

It's important to understand that your postpartum weight was not gained overnight, so it won't disappear in a fortnight. You gained that weight so as to have enough reserves to feed your baby.

The good news is that it is possible to safely lose weight while breastfeeding.

When it comes to postpartum weight loss, there are no right or wrongs.

It's up to each individual mother to do what she feels right based on her weight loss target and her individual situation.

However, it's important to know that your body needs more food than it needed during pregnancy. You still HAVE to intake more calories. This way your supply keeps flowing. It's the TYPE of calories that count.

Think of it this way. Your baby is now bigger and still growing and your body may be the exclusive source of nourishment for that baby, for the first 6 months. With that in mind, doctors recommend at least 500 extra calories per day. How will you do that without gaining weight? Clean, non-processed whole foods. Organic vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, grain breads, quality cheese, unsweetened organic almond milk, etc etc, and of course continue to feed and pump so the "supply and demand" keeps up.

Also, do not aggressively cut down on food intake to the point where you're quickly losing more than 2lbs per week. Doing so could mean you and your baby aren't getting the nutrients you need. This will halt your breastfeeding supply.

Now, if you need to supplement your baby's diet then do so. You will figure this all out as you go along in trying to balance a diet for losing weight and breastfeeding.

Read on for more...

Here are 5 Tips for dieting while breastfeeding

1. Wait until your newborn is 2 months old before dieting

Waiting for at least 2 months before you can start dieting is safer. This allows your body to recover from childbirth as well as establish good milk supply.

Dieting while breastfeeding should also not be done rapidly. It is a process that requires time and patience.

On average, breastfeeding your baby takes 200-500 calories per day above what you needed to sustain your pre-pregnancy weight.

So keep in mind that you'll still be burning extra calories even without a planned weight loss program.

Research also tells us that breastfeeding longer than six months and more frequently increases maternal weight loss.

If you have to go back to work, like so many of us, you can do pumping at work and still have breastfeeding success and weight loss.

2. Refrain from quick-fix solutions

Most first time moms would prefer a weight loss program that will quickly restore their shape in the shortest time possible.

Note that postnatal weight loss dieting is different from all the other weight loss programs. You don't want to do anything that could be detrimental to the life of your baby.

That being said, it is recommended that you avoid quick fix solutions such as weight loss medication and fad diets.

Low-carb diets and liquid diets are also not recommended while breastfeeding. Avoid jumping into intense exercise that you have never done before. Watch out for shake diets and trendy tea diets. Diet is a diet...it only lasts for so long. Only life changes and commitment will get you there.

Instead, begin your lifestyle change or starting to wean into the lifestyle you used to have. Fill it with CLEAN, and we cannot emphasize this enough, clean whole foods. This means no junk food. It's food you find growing from the earth like heaps of veges, fruits, nuts, and grass fed/free range meats. You can eat all your calories required, but you will not store fat like as if you ate the same amount of calories in ice cream and donuts.

Splurge Tip: We love sweets so if you are gonna have something do it only once a week and opt for a real gourmet ice cream made with REAL and natural ingredients (everything you can pronounce), and if you want cakes go to a specially natural foods store and grab something in their sweet section. Maybe try gluten free and vegan flourless chocolate cake from your local juicery and cafe. It may cost a bit more, but it won't cost you as much in fat as if you had went and bought something from a gas station that was prepackaged. If it comes in prepackaged plastic it's probably chock full of bad fat, preservatives and corn syrup. Say not to corn syrup!

3. Keep weight loss at less than 1.5 pounds per week

Most mothers can safely lose up 1.5 pounds per week after the second month without affecting the milk supply.

A 10-week randomized study on moms who dieted for 11 days revealed that short-term weight loss of up to 0.5 kg (1.1 pounds) per week does not affect the mother nor the baby.

Again, keep breastfeeding and pumping. Supply and demand will help your body continue breastfeeding success.

4. Adding exercise is essential

While diet alone can help breastfeeding moms lose weight gradually, research shows that adding exercises while nursing can be of great help. Tone muscles burn more calories and is a much better permanent solution. A diet will not help unless you make it a total lifestyle adjustment.

The findings further suggest that there is a possibility that exercises combined with usual care and dieting play a role in preventing future maternal obesity.

This is because exercise preserves fat-free mass and enhances maternal cardiorespiratory fitness while diet alone only reduces fat-free mass.

So if you are considering dieting while breastfeeding, be sure to include regular exercises in your program. Try the following and still be able to breastfeed...

Stroller walking. Walk briskly and for at least 5-6 miles. Choose a beach or park path and see the time move by quickly. Listen to your music and enjoy the outdoors. Do this 3-4 times a week. Believe it or not, being outdoors with your newborn will help with weight loss and increase bonding time.
Babywearing and Hiking. Choose a scenic hike path and depending on your fitness level take a good hike, either babywearing or with the stroller if it is flat. You can even nurse while babywearing.
Pilates and Yoga. These are killa in toning and creating lean muscle mass. See the pounds come off, shape start to tone, and feel stronger. Some gyms like Eqinox offer child care and top notch classes. If not, have your partner give you a break with breastfeeding and go do some self care at the closest class.
Cardio Barre or Spinning. These classes tone and shape and torch major calories. Make sure you eat even MORE than usual after these classes but keep your diet super clean and full of good whole foods so you don't waste away your workout. Be prepared to sweat and feel energized.

5. Eat at least 1500-1800 calories per day

Nursing moms are advised not to consume less that 1500 calories per day.

Studies show that consuming less than 1500 calories per day may put your milk supply at risk.

Consuming 1500 to 1800 calories per day will give you the energy you need to care for your baby and at the same time make you feel good.

A mothers baseline need for calories depends on many factors, including nutritional status, weight, and activity level.

As mentioned above, clean eating means a steady flow of milk, but not an increase in fat stores.

Try our delicious oatmeal blueberry lactation muffins recipe and try these healthy lactation boosting smoothies that don't have the "bad stuff".

Eating healthy while breastfeeding

As we have been mentioning, dieting while breastfeeding requires you to eat healthy foods.

Though a mother's diet does not affect the breast milk, it does affect the flavor of her milk.

This implies that what a mother eats may have an impact on her child's taste preferences.

In fact, research shows that infants' picky eating habits are linked to nutritional problems, which are attributed to the mother's breast milk.

Though proper diet does not affect the quality of the milk, you'll be healthier and better if you eat well.

It is recommended to eat when hungry, and drink plenty of water. Consume a wide variety of rich foods such as lean proteins, vegetables, dairy, fruits and whole grains.

It's also advisable to seek the advice of a dietician or a nutritionist prior to embarking on a postnatal weight loss journey.

Foods to avoid while breastfeeding

Practically, there are few foods that a nursing mother should avoid simply because they are breastfeeding.

However, it is suggested that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers should avoid certain types of fish such as swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel that have high levels of mercury. Mercury can affect an unborn child.

It is also recommended that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers should refrain from drinking alcohol and caffeine to a certain extent.

Summary

Now you know it. Dieting while breastfeeding is possible, and safe too.

However, you will be healthier and stronger if you eat well.

Remember, it's important not to lose weight too quickly so as to ensure a good health for you and your baby.

If you feel the need to lose weight quickly, be sure to seek advice from a medical practitioner or a nutritionist.

We hope this was helpful and please do share with a new mom or mom to be!