Preggie Pals

milk

Remedying Excess Lipase

April 22nd, 2013 by Jennifer Garvic

Like many women, I began building a freezer “stash” of breast milk in advance of my return to work.  During the last few weeks of my maternity leave, I pumped nearly every evening after I put my son down for the night.  I was able to express several ounces each time I pumped and slowly amass nearly one hundred ounces of frozen milk.  One of my favorite activities was to tally up the number of ounces I had in the freezer!  It felt great to not only be providing for my son’s everyday needs but to also have an abundance of back-up milk.

Little did I know that my fresh breast milk would go into the freezer like a lamb and come out like a lion!  (more…)

Breastfeeding Toddlers: Night Nursing and Weaning

Episode 48 | April 5th, 2013

We’re continuing our popular discussion on what it’s like to breastfeed a toddler. What are some great night nursing strategies as well as ways to get your little to sleep without breastfeeding? What’s the difference between producing less milk and not enough milk? Plus how to you start the weaning process if that’s something you’re hoping to do. (more…)

Breastfeeding the Dairy Intolerant Baby

Episode 44 | March 8th, 2013

If your baby is super gassy or colicky, he may be dairy intolerant. How does a breastfeeding mother’s dairy intake effect her child? What symptoms should you be looking for? And if you suspect your baby may be allergic to dairy, what’s the next step? (more…)

Breastfeeding After Previous Low Milk Supply

Episode 28 | November 9th, 2012

When a mother experiences a chronic low milk supply with one of her babies, she may wonder what she could do the next time around to have a greater milk supply. What are some possible causes of low milk supply? What are some recommended ways to increase supply? And how do you handle the constant worry and possibility of not being able to provide enough milk for your little one? (more…)

How Breastfeeding Changed My Life

October 7th, 2012 by Shannon Stubbs

When we first discovered I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to breastfeed.  To be honest, I’m not sure why I knew that, but using formula never occurred to me.  When my daughter was born, we jumped on the breastfeeding train.  But we hit some bumps along the way.  A huge bump – like a struggle with low supply.  I remember sitting there for those first few days when we were home bawling my eyes out!  My sweet little girl was losing weight – over a pound.  They told me, breastfeed her, pump, feed that to her, offer her formula.  This consumed my day, not to mention exhausted me!  But I would do anything to get her to gain weight.

John kept telling me, it’s not a big deal.  Who cares?  Just give her formula.  He didn’t get it!  As if my hormones weren’t already off the chart, I couldn’t stop crying.  I mean, how could I be a good mom if I couldn’t even make enough milk to feed my baby?  This poor girl had no chance because I was failing already!  That is when it really hit me – I didn’t just want to breastfeed my baby, I had to breastfeed my baby!  If it didn’t work, I felt I was failing.  So we nursed, and pumped and offered her formula. (more…)