Boob Scoop

Boob Scoop: While it might not be as much fun to talk about as all the cute things your baby is doing, Thrush, which is a fungal infection affecting your breasts and your baby's mouth is more common than you think and an important condition for new moms to know about. Thrush can cause painful tenderness on the nipples and can be passed back and forth from you to your baby if not treated in time. Two great natural therapies for thrush, which have been used successfully by mothers over the years, are oil of oregano and garlic. For topical use, place two drops of oil of oregano in a teaspoon of olive oil and rub on your nipples and your baby's diaper or mouth, where thrush is normally present. To use garlic, chop up 4-5 cloves a day, air out for 20 minutes, and swallow as pills or sprinkle over a favorite salad. (Airing out garlic helps to bring out its antimicrobial powers). Sharen Medrano, Yummy Mummy Support Group IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)/

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, Yummy Mummy Support Group IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com) http://yummymummystore.com/blog/

The best time to introduce your baby to a bottle is during the daytime, not the evening. With fussiness and cluster feeding likely to peak during the evening hours, trying a new method of feeding in the evening may not go as smoothly as it might earlier in the day. Once your baby is more comfortable drinking from the bottle, you will figure out what time works best for you and your baby.

Sharen Medrano, Yummy Mummy Support Group IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

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, Yummy Mummy Support Group IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

Boob Scoop: When it comes to breastfed babies, gaining too quickly is generally not a concern since breastmilk is intended for their growing bodies. Breastfed babies tend to gain more quickly in the first three months (4 - 8 oz per wk) and then begin to lean out as they become more mobile. By the end of the first year, most have tripled or are close to tripling their birth weight. After year one, weight gain slows down but remains steady.

Sharen Medrano, Yummy Mummy Support Group IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

Boob Scoop: The idea that certain foods, like broccoli or beans, in a mom’s diet will cause gas in her baby is quite common to hear but is not supported by research. If certain foods in moms’ diets were an issue for most babies, we would expect that cultures that emphasize those foods would have more gassy and fussy babies, but fortunately this does not occur. Therefore, rest assured that there is no "list of foods" that every mom should avoid while breastfeeding unless there's an obvious reaction in your baby every time a particular food is consumed.

Sharen Medrano, Yummy Mummy Support Group IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

Boob Scoop: Many full-time breastfeeding moms think that they should be pumping four ounces or more at each pumping session. However, it is not unusual for a nursing mom to need to pump 2-3 times to get enough milk for one bottle feeding. The main reason for this is that if a mother is nursing full-time, "extra" breastmilk that is pumped is more than what a baby needs, and the amount she gets pumping will be small. Moms who can pump more milk per session may have an oversupply of milk, may respond better than average to the pump, or may have been able to increase their output with practice.

Sharen Medrano, Yummy Mummy Support Group IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

Boob Scoop: When it comes to breastfeeding, watching for milk transfer is more important than keeping track of how many minutes a baby is at the breast. Like adults, babies vary in how long they take to complete a meal. So put aside your watch and instead watch your baby. Swallowing is signaled when the throat drops like a bull frog and oftentimes when you hear an audible gulping sound.

Sharen Medrano, Yummy Mummy Support Group IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)