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Introducing Solids & Maintaining Supply

Boob Scoop: When introducing solid foods close to or after the 6 month mark, as is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, it's suggested to breastfeed first then offer the solid food. Approaching the introduction of solid foods in this manner will help maintain a mother's milk supply and reinforce the catchy nutritional statement that solids before age one are mainly for fun.


Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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Minimize Pumping Time at Work

Boob Scoop: Minimize the time you allocate for pumping at work by having extra flanges and bottles so that you don't have to head to a sink after each pumping session. Also, since breastmilk lasts up to 6 hrs at room temperature, you can use the same flanges and bottles for two consecutive pumping sessions. So, if you pump at 9am and again at 12pm, only 3 hrs will have passed which meets the 6 hr room temperature recommendation. At the end of your work day, bring everything home and wash all your pump accessories.


Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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Engorgement and Latching

Boob Scoop: Between 3 -7 days post birth, some mothers experience engorgement, which causes the breasts to become very full and warm to touch. The full breasts also cause the baby not to latch on well. So breastfeeding that started with no pain can become painful simply because of the engorgement. In such a case, try pumping or manually expressing for a few minutes to relieve the pressure and to get the baby to latch on better. Oftentimes, 1 or 2 sessions of pumping or manual expression is just what's needed to reduce the fullness and lead to better breastfeeding for both mom and baby.


Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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How Often Do I Feed My Baby?

Boob Scoop: One of the biggest questions breastfeeding moms have is “how often should I feed my baby?” It’s a tricky question to answer because breastfed babies tend to not feed at fixed intervals or schedules, primarily because a baby does not receive the same amount of milk at each nursing session. Rather, she drinks just what she needs at each feeding. In addition, the composition and volume of breast milk changes throughout the day, so for one feeding a baby may drink 4oz while for another she’ll drink 2oz, yet feed equally satiated. More importantly, these breast milk properties help babies self-regulate their feedings. They feed until they feel content and slow down or delatch once they are done. Interestingly, learning to self-regulate by breastfeeding has been linked to a decrease in obesity in infancy and later on in life.


Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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Breastfeeding and Night Waking

Boob Scoop: Kathy Dettwyler, a leading anthropologist who studies breastfeeding and night-waking from a historical, cross-cultural, and biological point of view, has found that human children are designed to nurse very frequently for their first few years. In fact, it is normal for children to nurse at night up to 3 or 4 years of age. However, since it may not be doable or realistic for some if not most mothers to feed at night for 3 to 4 years, it is helpful to know that there are gentle ways to go about night weaning. For some helpful tips, check out Night Weaning: KellyMom and read a mom's sweet and encouraging experience when it came to weaning her 2-year-old son. http://kellymom.com/ages/weaning/considering-weaning/nightweaning_jack/.


Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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Easing Fullness

Boob Scoop: If your baby has started to sleep for longer stretches but your breasts are feeling too full to allow you to get much sleep, manual expression or using a manual pump can help ease the fullness. Manually expressing or using a manual pump can be a lot easier than setting up an electric pump during the wee hours of the morning. If you decide to keep the expressed breastmilk in your room, just remember that it can stay out in room temperature for up to six hours.


Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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Hungry or Soothing?

Boob Scoop: After about the first month of breastfeeding, it can sometimes be tricky to differentiate between a hungry baby and one that has just discovered his hands or is using them for soothing. When in doubt, it never hurts to put your baby to the breast. Breastmilk is always changing in composition and volume throughout the day and these important changes eliminate the concern of overfeeding. If your baby is breastfeeding for soothing you will notice suckling at the breast. If your baby is hungry, you will hear him make "eh" sounds or notice the deep swallows that accompany a feeding. In either situation, your baby will likely be happy to breastfeed since nursing will have met his need to soothe or feed.


Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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How Often Do I Need To Feed My Baby?

Boob Scoop: One of the biggest questions breastfeeding moms have is “how often should I feed my baby?” It’s a tricky question to answer because breastfed babies tend to not feed at fixed intervals or schedules, primarily because a baby does not receive the same amount of milk at each nursing session. Rather, she drinks just what she needs at each feeding. In addition, the composition and volume of breast milk changes throughout the day, so for one feeding a baby may drink 4oz while for another she’ll drink 2oz, yet feed equally satiated. More importantly, these breast milk properties help babies self-regulate their feedings. They feed until they feel content and slow down or delatch once they are done. Interestingly, learning to self-regulate by breastfeeding has been linked to a decrease in obesity in infancy and later on in life.

Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

Read more

Sleeping Longer Stretches

Boob Scoop: If your baby begins sleeping longer stretches, your body will adjust to produce less milk during those times.However, if initially the fullness is keeping you awake, it would help to manually express or pump to soften your breasts in order to relieve the fullness. Pumping to empty the breasts would not be recommended since it would keep milk production the same. It can take a few days or sometimes a couple of weeks for production to level off, but just be patient. Eventually your supply will regulate to your baby's needs.

Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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Nursing Tips for Flying

Boob Scoop: When booking a flight and traveling with your nursing baby, try to reserve bulkhead seats for a more comfortable flight. These are the seats located where the airline separates its sections (i.e. business, economy) and typically allow for more legroom, which can make it more comfortable to nurse. If these seats are not available, sitting by a window is another good option. Window seats offer a nice view while you relax and sit back to breastfeed.


Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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