Breastfeeding Tips & Breast Pump Guide | Lactation Connection

If you are considering relactation, your foundation for success is frequent, effective milk removal.  And the good news is that your breasts have made milk previously and mammary tissue and prolactin (milk producing hormone) receptors are established. It can take time to re-establish milk supply so be ready to put the effort in for the length of time that it has been since you last nursed.  For example if it has been two weeks, you may be able to relactate in as little as two weeks.  If it has been two months, it may take that long.  However, the protocols below may help expedite this process. Protocols Frequent pumping or nursing (8–12x/day, including overnight when prolactin levels are highest) Latch your baby on if possible.  Feeding tubes allow you to supplement your baby at breast until milk comes in. Get skin to skin with your baby often as it increases oxytocin (milk ejection hormone) Lactation Aids A high quality electric breast pump such as a S...

Once your newborn is at least 6 days old, there are some guidelines to help you be sure of your milk supply.  Note that insufficient milk supply is rare.  What is more common are practices that can hinder your milk supply or baby's feeding which I will detail at the end of this post. To assess good milk transfer, answer the following: Is the baby  wetting 6-8 diapers in 24 hours ? (Disposable diapers are so absorbent, that it might be hard to tell.  If you are unsure, take a clean diaper in one hand and the removed diaper in the other and you should be able to tell by the slight weight difference.) Yes  |  No Is the baby having  3-4 bowel movements in 24 hours  that are mustard yellow with curds in them? (These shold be silver dollar size or larger, not just a stain.) Yes  |  No Do the  breasts feel full before feeding  and  softer after feeding ?  Yes  |  No Do you  hear swallowi...

Your body makes milk on a supply and demand basis. Although we don't need ounce markers on the side of our breasts to know the baby is getting enough, we tend to fret over milk supply.   Here is a comprehensive guide to ease your worries and address your concerns. Is my baby getting enough? When your baby is first born, his wet diapers should increase daily. On day one, he should have at least one, day two, he should have two, up until day six. After six days of age, they have six to eight pale wet diapers daily and three to four "cottage cheese and mustard" stools. Other ways we can tell the baby is getting enough milk is that he makes quiet swallowing sounds at the breast. The breast feel full before the feeding and softer afterward. The baby seems satisfied after twenty minutes of swallowing. Babies may loose 7-10% of their birth weight, but begin regaining at day 6 and gain 5-7 ounces per week on the average until 6 months of age. The stools can change at 4-6 we...

With today's easy to use breast pumps, moms sometimes think they just need to pump at work at lunch and break and then just go about their business.  Pumping, just like breastfeeding should be intentional.  We don't choose to breastfeed because someone said it is better for your baby.  We breastfeed because we educate ourselves to want the best for our child.  Pumping should also not be so haphazard. First choose a quality hygienic breast pump. There are many breast pump out there that while commonplace, are not the best choice.  You need an auto-cycling breast pump that does at least 60 cycles and has a closed system like Hygeia , Ameda and Spectra offer.  Double pumping increases the prolactin levels as well as save you time. Prolactin is the milk producing hormone. Next determine your pumping schedule. A mother of an infant under six months should pump at least every 3 hours that she is away from her baby.  That time frame is from the begin...

I often get moms who want to exclusively pump instead of breast feed directly.  If you choose to pump exclusively, it is very important that stimulation starts in the hospital within 1 hour of the baby's birth.  Moms should double pump with a hospital or professional quality pump like the Ameda, Medela or Hygeia hospital grade rental pumps or a brand new (not used) professional quality pump like the Ameda Purely Yours ,  Hygeia EnJoye Breast Pump  or  Spectra S2 Breast Pump .   To initiate milk supply, pump every 2-3 hours with a 5 hour stretch at night for a total of at least 8 times per day of 10-15 minute double pumping sessions.  Many pumping moms get discouraged during the first 3-5 days as it is hard to see much going into the bottles as colostrum comes in teaspoons, not ounces.  Do not let this dissuade you, but draw this liquid gold up in a syringe and give it to the baby as it is chalked full of antibodies.  This schedu...