Breastfeeding tips/questions

First I'm going to be honest and tell you the truth. No sugar coating it:

1) you CAN get pregnant while breastfeeding!! Do not let your anyone tell you otherwise!
2) your nipples will become use to the joyful pain your going to endure.
3) if you eat gassy foods, drink through a straw(extra air) or drink more than 4oz of alcohol, it can/will transfer to your milk.
4) your pump bag is now your purse, so make it look good!
5) try to get an extra pump and keep it in your car/ work. Even if it's a manual one. You do NOT want to experience that kind of torture.

Health facts:
-You will slowly lose weight by breastfeeding
-Your milk contains extra fat, sugar, water, protein, antibodies, hormones that protect babies from illnesses; reduces risk of childhood diseases: asthma, ear infections, allergies, obesity, diabetes and certain type of cancer.
-Contain to take the prenatal vitamins
-yogurt, nuts, almonds, plenty of water, carrots, oats, dill and rice are just a few foods that can increase your milk supply.
- NEVER dump the milk, aka liquid gold. You can add the milk to babies bath water. It clears up acne, diaper rashes, craddle cap and helps is good for their skin.
- Breastmilk in a bottle: after your baby has drank as much as they want, you don't have to dump the milk. It is good for 1 HOUR.

Frequent questions asked:
-How long can you leave milk out?
              -4 to 5 hours if it's pumped milk
-How many days in the fridge?
              -3 to 5 days
-How many months in the fridge freezer?
              -5 months
-How long in a deep-freezer?
              -12 months from date of when you pumped
-What to do when you have a duct clogged up?
              -massage the duct from chest to nipple; get some sort of vibrating device (let's be mature right now guys) and place it on the duct for 3/4 min to loosen it out.
-can caffeine effect my milk supply?
              - most lactational nurses are going to say 750ml, 4-5 6oz of cups, will be OK and not cause a problem.
-When your nipples are sore what can you do?
              - get some nipple cream and then thank God for making that healing cream, ice packs if you need to cool the girls down (or any frozen item in the freezer will be sufficient) or put a warm clothes on them and let them rest. (ALSO- placing a warm cloth on your breast before nursing/pumping can help start the milk flow)
- how often do I need to pump/nurse?
             -if you have 1 baby, pump every 4 hours unless you can start feeling the pressure in you nipples, it becomes unbearable and it feels like they are about to burst open, then pump. If you have twins, or more- I'll pray for you, pump every 3 hours.
-What do if I have to get frozen milk out of the freezer?
              -  you can either: run warm water and let the bag defrost then warm your milk up in the bottle warmer; put frozen bag in a glass/bowl of cold water then warm in bottle warmer; (NOTE: if you defrost more than 1 bag, put it in the fridge and it is ONLY GOOD FOR 24 HOURS AFTER DEFROSTING).


Now, By no means am I saying I am a doc/nurse, cause I'm not. I've learned all these from my own experiences. I've enjoyed breastfeeding my kids and I hope you mom's enjoy it also. It's a great bonding experience for you and your little one/one's.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.