Breastfeeding Tips & Breast Pump Guide | Lactation Connection

You may have heard of good baby syndrome which is when a baby is content and doesn't ask to be fed.  (This can happen with good-natured babies who are content to play while mom tends to other siblings and not get enough feeding in by the end of the day which can lead to slow weight gain.)  But have you heard of Good Mom Syndrome?  This is the new mother who wants the very best for her baby so she is gritting her teeth and accepting the pain of a poor latch. STOP THE MADNESS! Normal breastfeeding should not hurt.  A good latch is one that encompasses at least an inch of the areola so that baby is latched on behind the nerve ending.  A poor latch is one where the baby is on the end of the nipple either initially or has slipped down and is causing pain.  I hate to be a lactation nerd, but I here is a diagram of the breast. It is so important that moms have this information because you can see where the nipple and areola are in relation to the milk (l...

2015 is drawing to a close.  Many of you have benefits left in your insurance accounts, especially FSA, HSA and FLEX spending accounts.  If you are breastfeeding,   breast pumps   and   breastfeeding suplies   qualify as medical expenses.  Here are some suggestions to help you use it before you loose it! 1.   Electric Breast Pump  If you hate lugging your pump around, having one at home and one at work is such a luxury.   Or if you are struggling with a manual pump, a good electric pump is a necessity, especially one like the Hygeia Enjoye LBI that has a rechargeable battery pack for travel. 2.   Breast Pump Replacement Parts Most pumps have filters or diaphragms that need to be replaced every few months and valves that need to be replaced every few weeks.  Having extra sets of breast flanges or getting additional sizes to see which one helps with optimal milk output is another way to use your allotment. 3. ...

Having a basket of necessities near your favorite nursing spot is not only nice, but essential. After all, moms only have two hands.  To get you started, here are 6 recommendations for building a breastfeeding basket of must-haves for yourself or as a gift. 1.  Breastfeeding Book Let's face it. Moms have questions and a Lactation Consultant is not always available to answer those questions especially at 3 am.  We recommend books endorsed by La Leche League and Lactation Consultants such as The Nursing Mother's Companion by Kathleen Huggins and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by Weisinger, West and Pitman.  2. Water Bottle Although the amount of water you drink does not translate directly into the amount of milk you make, your body functions better when it is hydrated.   3.  Nursing Pads Your breast milk lets down bilaterally, which means especially in the early weeks of breastfeeding, when you are nursing on one side, you are leaking on the o...

I get this statement all the time as a lactation store owner, " Getting a free breast pump from my insurance company is harder than I thought."  I hear it from moms every day.  Many insurance companies  representatives tell moms to find out who takes my insurance instead of giving them an accurate list.  Or if they do offer a list, the insurance company does not have the pump they wanted in stock or offer that model at all.  Another issue is that when the mom does get her pump, it doesn't come with any extras.  No cooler carrier to take back and forth to work or breast pump replacement parts are provided.   In other words, the insurance companies pare down the pumps to keep costs down leaving moms unprepared when their valves go down the disposal. Lactation Connection offers the largest selection of breast pump replacement parts around including brands like Ameda , Hygeia , Spectra , Bailey , ARDO to name a few of the more popular brands. ...

Our previous post gave information on how to increase your milk supply while pumping,  In addition, there are ways to increase the milk output from the supply mothers already have.  1.  Massage While Pumping.  Using a hands-free pumping bra or using the pledge of allegiance hold pictured here can give you the freedom to massage your breast while pumping.  This can assist your milk output provided that you are doing it in a relaxed manor and not watching the bottles anxiously. Mother using pledge of allegiance hold with Ameda Elite Breast Pump .  2. Reposition Breast Flanges.  Instead of just sitting and double pumping for 10-15 minutes, take advantage of the anatomy of your body.  You can engage more milk ducts if you re-position your breast flanges a.k.a. breast shields every 3-5 minutes during your pumping session. 3.  Pump Up the Volume.  Studies on mothers of premature babies show that lis...

Every Lactation Consultant will tell you breast milk quantity is based on supply and demand, but with today's busy mom taking the baby to bed with you all day to suckle is not an option.  You can increase your milk supply while at work or with your breast pump at home. First make sure you are already getting the appropriate stimulation for your baby's age.  If your nursling is under 6 months, you should be nursing and/or pumping at least 8 times per day while using a quality double electric pump such as the Hygeia EnJoye or Ameda Purely Yours or Ameda Platinum breast pump for a full 10-15 minutes per session.  If your nursing is 6-12 months, you should be stimulated at least 5 times per day.  For over 12 months at least 2-3 times per day.  If you are already following the above protocols for sufficient stimulation of the breast, you will need to increase the number of pumping sessions to increase milk supply using a breast pump.  Research i...

     After the Affordable Care Act took effect more moms are getting a "free" breast pump.  We get a lot of phone calls asking us which pumps on their insurance are best so we thought we would give you a review of the common ones out there.  After all, I personally have over 20 years experience using and selling different breast pumps and have seen breast pump companies come and go so you may benefit from my experience. 1.  Hygeia EnJoye Breast Pump - This is the number one choice for insurance company breast pumps because even the least expensive Q model has higher suction than most pumps at 250 milligrams of mercury and faster speed at 80 cycles per minute on it's highest settings.  Hygeia offer a closed system with a bacteriostatic filter so no bacteria can reach the milk and qualifies it for multi-person use.  So in that regard, you get a quality breast pump for free.  What you don't get.  Insurance companies do not give you ...