More Breastfeeding Hip Hop!

So I ran into another breastfeeding Hip Hop anthem :-) Tell me what you think, cool or corny?  I am always happy to see educational material permeated in music whether its US history, Algebra or health related.  But I always wonder, would you bump this in your car?

Thank You Daddy!

Thank you for always supporting me as a breastfeeding mother, helping me build the confidence to nurse in public without shame, being there to help calm baby down as we weaned, washing my pump parts as I returned to work, and so so so much more.  I could not have made it this far in my breastfeeding journey without you!  Happy Fathers Day to my deal loving husband, I love you!

Our Weaning Journey

So this weekend we are about to celebrate 2 weekes of weaning!  Our baby is 22 months and I say we because this has truly been a join effort.  I have to give major props to my husband, because I know this would not be possible without his involvement.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I received mixed messages from the medical community regarding breastfeeding while pregnant.  The nurses told me I should stop because it could cause me to go into early labor, and my OBGYN said it was fine, but I would want to stop for my own sanity.  I didn't want to hear either of their voices because initially I felt fine nursing while pregnant.  But then the pain got worse.  And worse.  It felt like every time she latched she was bitting harder, but she was not, it was just that my breast were getting more sensitive.

I tried to start telling LO, no more nursing, and she would kick and scream and cry and throw a fit!  I tried to distract her with other activities, toys or a drink but she was not having it.  I tried rocking her to sleep and night and sometimes that worked, but then the next night it wouldn't.  So I would give in and nurse.  My darling husband, would tell me I had to be strong if I wanted to really wean her.  He has always been supportive of me breastfeeding from day 1, and never told me when we should wean, but he saw how much agony I was in every night.  We would be off again on again, weaning for a few days then nursing again.  I was not ready yet so we kept nursing.

Weeks later I realized I wasn't producing any milk.  I am not sure when my milk actually dried up, and I was in denial at first, but I tested it many times, and sho nuff, my milk was gone!  This caused another set of emotions to rise within me, which I will blog about later.  But once I realized the little one was dry nursing, I was even more encouraged to wean.  However this time, I took off night duty.

I discussed with my husband how I could not do this on my own and he had to put our baby to sleep at night, and he gladly took on this responsibility.  He put on some nature sounds, rocked her, and sometimes gave her a bottle of coconut milk, and I would leave the room until she fell asleep.  A couple of nights the hubby has been busy with work and she kinda just fell asleep on her own.  What a blessing, this felt like a miracle!

She still asks to nurse at night and during the day, but now she doesn't kick or scream when I say no or try to distract her with something else, she just moves on.  I keep thinking one day she will forget about nursing, but I don't think that will be soon.  This weekend will mark two whole weeks and this is the longest stretch by far we have ever gone without the boob!  I am proud of us, and feel blessed that the transition has been going smoothly.  Hallelujah!

Happy Father's Day

This Fathers day I want to give a shot out to my dear husband, a handsome, sexy, loving man who has been so supporting of breastfeeding.  He makes sure he washes all of my pump parts before we go to bed and helps me pack my pump bag in the morning.  He gently reminds me to pump when I am tired.  He encourages me to nurse in public!  He is very supportive of me nursing anywhere and is always there to comfort me when I feel insecure.  Also he was the first to enforce the policy that we not bring bottles for our baby if I am present to nurse.  He makes funny jokes about how our LO makes backflips while nursing and he jokingly but confidently lets people know that out LO may nurse as long as she wants.  Happy Fathers day to a loving husband who is an awesome supporter of breastfeeding. I love you baby!

In the Beginning...

Growing up I always knew my breast were different.  Looking at my mothers breast and other women in the locker room told me that my girls marched to a different tune.  However, I never talked about it to anyone and never really thought it was a big deal.  I just figured, hey my boobs are unique.  

It was 3 days after the birth of my first child, when I walked into the office of my Lactation Consultant.  I lifted my shirt as my husband held our baby, then the Lactation Consultant looked at my breast and said, “You got, FLAT NIPPLES and you’re engorged.”  My heart dropped as if I had been diagnosed with some terrible disease.  

She then went on to get the Medela Symphony pump, hooked me up to it  and watched as my liqid gold droped into each bottle.  “Wow,” my husband said as  he was impressed as the milk came in.  She then went on to bottle fed my baby 2oz of my breastmilk, and told me to take the other 2oz home.  

At the time I felt like it was a positive meeting: I was feeding my daughter breastmilk as opposed to formula.  But later on I realized that she wasn’t helping me all that much.  She never actually taught me how to BreastFEED my child with my flat nipples.  She handed me some nipple shields, that she didn’t show me how to use, and sent me home with several pump part accessories and a manual Medela Lactina pump which was too much manual for me to use.  I eventually figured it out with lots of trial and error and online research, thanks youtube!

This is my story and the beginning of my journey as I progress along as a mommy with FLAT NIPPLES.