October 15, 2025 • 38 mins
Host Jenn Seay and Valley girls Jess and Melaine talk to nurse and lactation specialist Elizabeth Freize about what's normal and what's not when it comes to lactating.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:21):
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Speaker 2 (00:42):
This is TMI Talking Medical Information with Value Health.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Hi there, welcome back to another episode of TMI Talking
Medical Information with Value Health and I am your host
gen C from iHeartRadio and I've got my Value girls
with me once again. Just Staples, Hello, how are you
very good?
Speaker 4 (01:04):
And Melanie Atkins my friends.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
So we are going to be talking to LPN Elizabeth Freese,
and she is also a certified lactation specialist. Now all
of us are mothers, so we are not shy in
this area. We know how it went down, we know
what it's like, and we want to know more information
(01:27):
from you.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
Elizabeth sounds great, She's like, bring it on, perfect, bring
it on all right, So let's just jump right into it.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Then, what exactly happens when milk comes out your body?
Speaker 6 (01:41):
So it starts right when the placenta is delivered, so
there is a huge drop in progesterone and then a
huge surge of prolactin and oxytocin. So those are the
key players in producing milk. So that is why we
encourage everyone to breastfeed as soon as possible after delivery.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Okay, yes, I did as soon as Leo came. That
was the first thing.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
Oh, I thought it was mostly to sue the baby
baby and bond. But chemically your body gets going right then.
Speaker 7 (02:14):
Yes, it's going, So the sooner you start, the better.
Speaker 5 (02:17):
In the end, breastfeeding was easy for me, but it's
not easy for a lot of folks.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
So what can you do to help yourself?
Speaker 5 (02:24):
I mean, I'm my mom. I watched my mom do it,
so I wasn't afraid. But a lot of people don't
have that experience. So what do you find is super
helpful if someone wants to give it a go.
Speaker 7 (02:34):
I think, honestly, early education.
Speaker 6 (02:37):
So we started offering the breastfeeding classes, so that provides
education early on. So that helps a lot. But just
seeking out help, like in the first few weeks. I
always tell all of our ob patients like, I am available,
please call me if you need me.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Oh, I wish I had you, I will say in
the hospital, obviously just had a baby. I'm a little
emotional and he's not latching and I'm getting upset.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
And I didn't even like cry cry.
Speaker 5 (03:07):
It was just a teared streaming down my face.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
And the nurse that was with me said, well, first
of all, you need to stop crying.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
I was like, h that didn't know.
Speaker 8 (03:16):
Yeah, it sounds like my experience, but they had a
whole bunch of nursing students with them.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Oh may it's been more fun, even more ful.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
So that's not helpful really. So So what would you
tell a mom that is struggling. You can see that
she's a little upset and frustrated and she just needs
that extra help.
Speaker 7 (03:32):
What do you tell her, Well.
Speaker 6 (03:34):
I like to see him in the office just to
evaluate what is going on. Is the baby latching good
sometimes you might think so, but it might be a
more shallow latch.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Yeah, well walk that back because people may not even
realize that there's a good latch and there's a bad latch.
So let I mean a bad latch is a bad latch.
I mean the area of your body that is latched
badly onto can be very sore. So let's start there.
What does that look like?
Speaker 6 (03:59):
So we want the baby's lips to be nice and
wide and philanged out, and most of mom's breast, like
most of the areola even is inside baby's mouth. So
if it is like a tiny the baby's lips are closed.
If it's just the nipple alone, that's going to be
very painful for very very bad.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Good to know.
Speaker 6 (04:18):
Yelp, And even I say early on, the first few
suckles is still painful. So after that first fifteen to
twenty seconds, if it's still painful, you want to readjust baby,
try to lash again, Try again.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
Okay, and there is a way.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
I'm just saying because this is my My dad likes
to give breastfeeding advice, which I find pressioreusay, none of
but but there were four of us, and then you know,
there are fifteen grandkids in the kit in the family,
so he's seen a thing or two. So, but there's
a way to break section and not break section. So
please be a deer and tell them how to do
(04:55):
it the right way.
Speaker 6 (04:56):
Yeah, yes, please do not pull the baby away.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
And because they will take the nipple with them. Yeah,
they will all coming back.
Speaker 7 (05:06):
And as they get older they still do that.
Speaker 6 (05:08):
I was breastfeeding a toddler and she would take my nipple.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
Oh wow, you learned the real meaning of elasticity then.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
But just putting a clean finger in the side of
baby's mouth and just breaking the section before moving the
baby got it.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
Good to know.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Wow, I am not doing this again, thankfully.
Speaker 8 (05:31):
So with the newborn, how often should mom be nursing?
Because I know with both my kids I found.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Very different patterns.
Speaker 6 (05:41):
Yes, so at least eight to twelve times a day
you want baby to be feeding. But supply and demand
is what I stress in my classes. So the more
baby is on the breast, the better your supply is
going to be. So I remember with both of mine,
I swear they lived on my breast the first few
weeks of their life.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
They were just attached to me.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
We want to avoid passes as well, So I think
I was kind of the pacifier. You were it, Yeah,
I was it, So I was food, I was a
passy the comfort. So they just kind of stayed on
my breast and it can be stressful at first, but
they do get used to it. They will start to
go farther without eating, and it does get better.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Okay, I do like that.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
I swear throughout my entire as soon as Leo was born,
and probably for the first I don't know, nine months,
everybody kept saying it's gonna get better. I promise you
it will get better because you do, you get a
little bit more used to the schedule and the routine
of it.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So, yes, it does get better.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
But I will say too, for those that pump, So
you said, like you said, if you're feeding every day,
your supply is gonna be better. So what about pumping?
Does that take over too? Does that help with the supply?
If you pump more often, will there be more milk
to come.
Speaker 6 (06:57):
Yes, So it's the same thing just supplying to man.
The more nipple stimulation, the more milky're removing, the more
your body will make.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (07:04):
I found myself in a situation where I would with
my first I wasn't producing enough.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
So with my second, I was like, oh, here we go.
Speaker 8 (07:10):
So she would eat and then I would pump, and
then I was like it was making too much because
it was a constant, like I was having to pump
all the time because otherwise it was a situation.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
Oh yeah, my goodness.
Speaker 6 (07:22):
So there's a balance there, Yes, definitely a balance. We
want to say, like feed the baby and then if
you are still like uncomfortable, just get enough off till
you're comfortable because you don't want to pump and completely empty,
because that's going to tell your body, oh I need more,
when in fact you do not.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
Yeah. I was trying to drain it all the way out.
Yeah you don't know. You didn't think I get it.
Speaker 5 (07:44):
Yeah, but that is good advice. I mean a lot
of people might not even know that that's a possibility.
And I know some people get nervous, you know, they
worry that maybe your baby isn't getting enough to eat,
so then they start to supplement, but that can also
how does that work to their detriment?
Speaker 6 (08:00):
Yes, supplementing is kind of a hairy situation. I mean,
we want to make sure baby is fed first and foremost,
but if we give formula early on, it's going to
be detrimental because it is a supply and demand. So
if you're giving that baby a feed and it's formula
and it does it breaks down a whole lot slower
(08:21):
than what breast milk does. That means the baby's not
going to be to the breast and getting the supply
off and then not telling your body, Oh, well, we
don't need to make it anymore right now because baby's obviously
not needing it.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
So yeah, not a good thing.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
Yeah, it's tricky.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
I know.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
I've always been was always told to hold off as
much as you can, Yes, as much as you can.
How do you know if your baby's getting enough milk?
I mean, what are things that can reassure mom?
Speaker 6 (08:46):
That is definitely the biggest concern that I get. How
do I know baby's getting enough? So what we want
to say is when baby is on can you hear
them swallowing, there is hunger cues, so baby is just
very agitated. Their fists are closed. They're bringing their fists
to their mouth and then satisfied. It's kind of the opposite,
(09:08):
so their hands just fall to the side. They're not
in the fist, they're very relaxed. They're taking a nap.
So that is a good way. Also diapers, so even
when you go to a pediatrician, you need to keep
track of your diapers. They will ask that at every visit.
So diapers, wet diapers goes per day until we get
(09:28):
to day six. So day one you want one wet diaper,
day two, two, and by the time six we want
at least six wet diapers a day and then three
or four stools. Breast milk makes you poop a lot,
and it has a specific color. Sometimes babies poop after
every single feeding with breast milk because it digests so fast,
so it is normal for that. So wet diapers is
(09:51):
a great way to say, okay, well baby's clearly taking
in because we are seeing that output.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Yeah, milk coma and output, yes.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
Got it exactly.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
So obviously they always say that colostrum is like liquid gold.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Tell me why they say that it is.
Speaker 6 (10:08):
Just full of so many antibodies and good things for baby.
Colostrum comes in a very little so you're not getting
a much volume of it, but it is packed full
of everything baby needs in those first few days before
mom's milk comes in.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Okay, So what exactly is colostrum If people are like, hmm,
this is the first I've ever heard of it.
Speaker 7 (10:28):
It's just called mom's first milk.
Speaker 6 (10:30):
It's very yellow in color, that's why they called it
the liquid Gold. But it gives all the nutrition and
needs that baby needs in those first three to five
days until mom's milk fully comes in.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
And is it thicker, kind of sticky or is it
like milk. I'm just trying to describe it because people
might think, you know, they start breastfeeding it immediately it's
like whole milk coming out and it's not quite like that.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
It's not that.
Speaker 7 (10:53):
No, it's just very yellow in color.
Speaker 6 (10:56):
It's still very liquidy, I would think, but it does
start to transition. There's what's called transitional milk. So the
time you get to like day three, it's starts to
turn and then by day five you're getting that really
creamy whole milk.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Looking at rest milk right right.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Okay, Let's take a quick moment to hear about other
services at Valley Health.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
From women's health and pediatrics to senior care, critiology, dental,
and behavioral health. Valley Health provides complete care for every
stage of life, quality healthcare close to home. Learn more
at Valleyhealth dot org.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Let's talk about when things might get painful.
Speaker 8 (11:32):
Can you tell us what engorgement is and what that
might look like to brand new mama or you know,
seasoned mom.
Speaker 6 (11:40):
It's just going to be very, very full. Some people
explain it like gravel. Your breast feel like hard gravel. Oh,
bless those bogs. I mean you want again, I said
about pumping after a feed, just to your comfort level,
making sure that you're getting just enough off that you're
not going to gettinue to have this some moms usually
(12:03):
in the first two weeks when the milk comes in,
you do feel that gravelly filling, but it does subside
and goes away. You might wake up wet a lot
of times at night. You do leak in those first
few weeks because of engorgement, but it does get better.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
So what is it when the ducks get clogged. What's
that called?
Speaker 4 (12:24):
So you can just get a.
Speaker 6 (12:25):
Clog duct and it is not anything. But if that
gets infected, that's mestitis.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
That's mestitis.
Speaker 7 (12:32):
That's so there's clear differences.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
So a clog duct, you can have pain a little
bit of redness and discomfort. But mastitis is when it
turns into you have a fever and flu like symptoms.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
So you have those like body aches.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
So if you have those, that's definitely contact your health
care provider and get some medicine.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Oh yeah, that's common.
Speaker 6 (12:54):
Some people have it with every baby that they have.
I don't know what exactly causes it or what makes
more people more prone, but some do and some don't.
I didn't have any mesiitis until I didn't with my
first at all, and then my second.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
She was eighteen months old, and I'm like, what happened?
Speaker 5 (13:14):
Oh wow?
Speaker 4 (13:15):
With that?
Speaker 8 (13:16):
Is it still safe to breastfeed or do you just
avoid the one side and not the other?
Speaker 4 (13:21):
How does that work for a mom?
Speaker 8 (13:22):
Like, if you're still needing to feed the baby and
you don't want to supplement, what do you do during
that time?
Speaker 4 (13:27):
For sure?
Speaker 7 (13:27):
Steal breastfeed?
Speaker 6 (13:28):
Okay, so the baby is the most sufficient way to
remove that milk and remove that clog duct. So no
matter if it is a little blood tinged, it's still
safe for baby to have. So okay, it is best
if baby continues to breastfeed as normal.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
On that, that's very good to know.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
Gosh, we've talked about a lot of the things that
can go wrong, but can we talk about why. I
just feel like I don't want to scare people away
because it's a great thing to do for baby, right,
So let's maybe hit some of the health benefits that
we haven't talked to about to this point of why
it's a great thing to breastfeed. Why do doctor still
feel like it's the best way to feed your baby
if you can do it, choose this.
Speaker 6 (14:08):
There's a lot of health benefits to it, not only
for baby but also for mom. Baby bonding with mom
was first and foremost that they recommend decreases your risk
of like sickness, infections, ear infection, stuff like that, because antibodies.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
To the baby. Yes, Mom, okay, just yes, yes, we
are talking about draining fluid. But I was like, I've
never heard that one before.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
Yes, just because mom's milk changes as babies need. So
if baby's sick and it is a direct memmory feed
pumping moms, it doesn't work as well. But if it
is directly on the breast, baby feeding, mom's milk will
change to what baby needs. So you will see like
a change color in your milk. Maybe if baby is sick,
(14:54):
it might be a little more yellowly color. And those
antibodies coming out for the baby.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Word, our bodies are absolutely incredible. We can we literally
produce what our child needs to survive.
Speaker 5 (15:05):
I'm insane. It's incredible that they were that in tune
to each other. You know, it's amazingly. I mean clearly
they came from our body, right, but they're like not
curly in so you would think my body would not
adapt to that. So that's amazing. I know, it is
so cool.
Speaker 8 (15:20):
What are some ways that moms can get more comfortable
with breastfeeding in public? I know it's looked, you know,
upon whatever way, but you still got to do it.
So what's the way that maybe a mom's unsure I
was unsure at first until I wasn't that you can
get comfortable with it and like just normalize it.
Speaker 6 (15:37):
I stress in my class that you can breastfeed wherever
you feel comfortable.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
That's right, glove it.
Speaker 6 (15:43):
So, wherever your comfort level is, feed your baby. If
you want to cover up, cover up. If you don't, don't.
If you want to go to a separate room, do so.
If you want to set right there, do it. So
whatever your.
Speaker 7 (15:54):
Comfort level is, it is completely fine to do it.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I love that answer. That is fantastic. You're absolutely right. Now,
what about breastfeeding and mental health for the mom? You know,
how can that take a toll or even maybe improve
your mental health?
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (16:10):
So mental health I feel like after a baby in
general is kind of rough. With my first I think
I was crazy. I mean I was nuts too. I
needed medicated and I was not. Just a lot of
anxiety and just worrying about everything, constantly crying, and that
can affect your milk supply. So you being anxious and
(16:32):
worried all the time, it can really affect the amount
of milk that you will produce. So seek help, seek
your ob do i NS. They can provide medication and
it really does help. And don't feel bad for doing it.
You know, some people think this.
Speaker 7 (16:47):
Is supposed to be the happiest time of my life.
Blah blah blah. I just had the baby.
Speaker 6 (16:51):
Were supposed to be happy, but it is completely normal,
and ultimately we just want a happy mom, a happy baby,
and that is the end result.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (17:00):
I don't think you can discount exactly what tired it
does to you too, Like it totally alters your mood.
It's like how much can I handle? And when you're
running on just a few hours of sleep those first
couple of weeks, no one can explain to you what
that's really like until you do it. Like you're thinking, oh, sure,
I've stayed up late to night, I've skipped I've only
like slept all three or four, I've pulled all nighters.
(17:21):
It's fine, but having it those first couple of weeks,
that that's the way you live.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
You can't describe. There's no tired like mom, there's.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
No tired like newborn tired. So I give yourself some grace,
find somebody to watch the baby and hold the baby
while you take a nap.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
You need assistance those first couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
I will say, I remember when Leo, it was just
a couple weeks in, like you said, and you are
running on that no sleep. I was rocking him to sleep,
and I just kind of was dazed off. He was
already a fallen asleep, and I looked down at him
and I thought I saw spiders crawling on him. So
I started like wiping his forehead and I was about
to wake him up, and I was like, Jack, you're
(17:59):
losing your mom.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
I need some sleep.
Speaker 8 (18:03):
Can you talk to us a little bit just about
going back to work?
Speaker 4 (18:07):
So we're not I know, it's the hard time.
Speaker 8 (18:09):
I'm dreaded the days of coming back to work, although
I love it here, but just about how to continue
to pump or feed the baby and what that looks like,
and then how you like, what do you do with
your milk after you get done pumping at work?
Speaker 6 (18:22):
So what we want to say is don't bombard the baby.
So a couple of weeks prior to going back to work,
start trying to offer a bottle. We don't want to
be like, Mom's gone. Now I got this bottle. I
don't know what I'm doing.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
Yeah, Grandma, our husband is gonna be like, wait a second,
what'd you do to me?
Speaker 6 (18:42):
Yes, So start early, just pumping a little bit, maybe
after a feed, and just offering the baby a bottle. Also,
with a bottle and a breastfed baby, you kind of
want to paste bottle feed. So breast milk comes out
a whole lot swallower than what a bottle does. So
they're gonna get kind of if you give it to
them like normal. So you kind of hold them to
(19:03):
their side, hold the bottle like horizontally where it's not
directly going into their mouth, and it's a lot easier
for them.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Oh, that's an interesting idea. Otherwise it would sort of
just rush down. Yes, then you have a lot of
burping and spitting up.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
So when you say, go out for a weekend with
your girls and maybe you drink a little bit, how
much do you need to pump to get that out
of your system?
Speaker 6 (19:28):
Okay, so what we advise is none is best. But
if you are going to one glass will not hurt.
So say you feed the baby and then directly after
you have the glass of wine, there is no need
to pump and dump. After that, you can feed the baby,
you know, the two three hours later. It would be
completely fine. If you were going to drink more than that,
(19:49):
I would probably pump and dump at least once to
get that out of your system.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Okay, at least once. Okay, that's good.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
And since you're talking about dumping, but what about storing
because we kind of touched on that you're pumping at work, everybody,
everything's going, well, how do you how do you package it?
What's the best way, how do you transport it? How
long can you free? Give us a lowdown it tell
us the rules.
Speaker 6 (20:13):
So honestly, it's just preference on what you want to
put it in. I usually just put money just in
the bottles that they came in. I would just store
it in the bottles because usually the next day.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
The baby was going to be eating it at my
mom's house.
Speaker 6 (20:25):
So that some people bring the bags already and go
ahead and pour those in it and store it in
the refrigerator, or you can bring like a cooler with
ice packs. I want to say that the there's a rule.
So there's four hours room temperature, so if you've just
freshly pumped milk, they can be out room temperature for
four hours okay, and then in the refrigerator for four days.
(20:48):
So you either have to use it within that four
days or freeze and then it's good in the freezer
for about six months.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Oh wow, Okay, as soon as you can stockpile a
little bit. If you're going to be away from baby
for a extended period of time, yes, it's.
Speaker 6 (21:01):
Best six months, but it will last a year, but
it's best to use within six months and then when
you thall it. So once it's thawed, it's only good
for twenty four hours.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
Okay, okay, so use it rapid fire. Uh huh. Yeah,
you don't want to waste that stuff, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Right now, tell me a little bit you did say
earlier about the passifire.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
You don't want them to use a pasifier? Why? Necessarily?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
So?
Speaker 6 (21:22):
Sometimes the pacifier is used to prolong a feed. So
when you think of formula, you're thinking, okay, the baby
just had formula. They still got an hour, hour and
a half until they're ready for their next feed. But
breast milk and breastfeeding is not like that. You know,
they might eat three or four times between that period
just because it digests so much faster. So we don't
(21:44):
want to give them a passy so much throughout the
day to prolong the feeds because that can be detrimental
to the milk supply.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
Oh okay, I got let's talk weird milk. I know
we talked about. We mentioned like if your nipples crack
or whatever at the very beginning, it doesn't lie forever.
I promise, our promise, our promise. Don't freak out. But
if you have a little blood in the in the
breast milk, it's okay. But sometimes it smells different, sometimes
it's different colors. So talk about weird milk. What is
(22:13):
in the realm of possibilities and what's okay.
Speaker 6 (22:16):
So as long as you are storing properly, keeping the
four day rule, freezing appropriately, it's all good. There's like
what we call blue milk, so that's like it has
a lot of fore milk in it, so it's very
watery down. So even when you put it in the refrigerator,
it kind of separates.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
Like oil and water wood.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
And that's okay.
Speaker 7 (22:38):
Yes, the top is all the.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Fat layer and then the bottom is the blue color,
watery color, and you just want to mix that up
when warming up.
Speaker 8 (22:47):
I've never it's all coming back to me, but I
didn't realize it in the moment.
Speaker 5 (22:51):
Yeah, yeah, but it's good to know that you don't
have to like you might look at that in the
refrigerator and be like, oh, that's gone bad.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
I've got to pitch it out. But it's still okay
to use. Yes, locate to use. And then with warming,
that is another big thing. Do not ever put breast
milk in the microwave. Do not ever do that. It
will get too hot, it will ruin the breast milk. Really,
don't put cook over the stove. Honestly, it heats up
so fast because it's so thin. I just always put
(23:18):
mine under the hot water in the sink and it
was good within three minutes.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Let's take a quick moment to hear about other services
at Valley Health.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Your heart deserves expert care. The Valley Health Heart and
Vascular Center offers advanced imaging and comprehensive cardiology services, and
it's open to all patients in our community. Learn more
at Valleyhealth dot org.
Speaker 8 (23:39):
What are some tools that you can let parents or
moms specifically know about that might just make the whole
experience easier, whether it's a pump or nipple shields or
whatever it is.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
What are some things that you would suggest for moms to.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
Make the whole process easier for them. Pump definitely, if
you're going to be away from bait. If you're going
to have to go back to work, I do recommend
the electric pumps, double pumps. I mean, they are just
much more sufficient about removing milk appropriately fast.
Speaker 5 (24:11):
They're fast, I mean you're not in there for like
two days. You're like you can really work it in
on your break though.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Oh yeah, yes, a lot of times.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
I just if we didn't have a lot of people
in clinic and I was just sitting on a desk,
I'd just be there doing my phone calls with the
pump one. But yes, they are much better about removing milk.
Some people like to do like the hands free ones,
and I will say that sometimes they just don't remove
milk as well as the double electric pump does, so
(24:40):
you kind of got to be careful with those.
Speaker 8 (24:42):
And are those available through most insurances or no? Yes,
so most insurances do cover. There's like a sight aer flow.
Speaker 6 (24:50):
We get five hundred a day of the prescriptions coming
in for the doctor to sign, so it is very fast.
You fill it out, they send us the script, doctor
signs it, and you have your restaurant within a week.
Speaker 8 (25:03):
Oh that's amazing because I didn't realize at first until
somebody like Elizabeth came to me and said, do you
know this is available?
Speaker 4 (25:08):
And I was like, no, I had it on the
baby register. I really didn't have a clue.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
It's big, and a double electric can be a little
bit expensive, so it's nice. But to think of all
the money that it could save you formula wise, it
makes sense that insurances will cover it.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
So absolutely.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
They do send periodically, so like every three months, I
would get a text like, hey, you steal breastfeeding.
Speaker 7 (25:29):
Do you need replacement things?
Speaker 6 (25:30):
So like the little duck bill that's inside that is
the suction of the pump.
Speaker 7 (25:35):
They would send me that. They would send me new hoses,
and then they.
Speaker 6 (25:38):
Would throw in like some bags or some breastpads here
and there.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Amazing all the extra help.
Speaker 8 (25:44):
And I know you talked a little bit at the
very beginning about the classes that you all are offering.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
Now can you tell us a little bit about what
those classes look like.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
We have a power point mostly it has a few
videos on it, but mostly it's me talking. I do
have some stuff set out on the table of different
bottles and it shows like the color of the colostrum,
or how much you would get the first day versus
(26:14):
a few days in of milk, I have diapers.
Speaker 7 (26:17):
It shows the color of like breastsped milk or formula
fread milk.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
And then I have our special baby doll, Breasty Betsy.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Very nice, love the name.
Speaker 7 (26:30):
Yes, Breasty Betsy.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
I show all of the physicians to hold and breastfeed in,
and I will pass Breasty Betsy around and let people
get a fill for it. I remember my first baby.
I was like, I don't even know how to hold this,
Like what do I hold with the boob?
Speaker 4 (26:47):
What do I hold with the baby?
Speaker 5 (26:48):
Like?
Speaker 4 (26:49):
I was like, I literally don't know what I'm doing right,
throwing a pillow and it gets real weird.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
Right, So I feel like holding the baby at least
and then explaining, okay, you hold this with the breast,
this with the baby, and it it makes it easier.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
So absolutely just show.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
You what, yeah you need, Yeah you need some tricks
right to make it successful.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
That's really cool.
Speaker 6 (27:13):
So we go through the class and we give them
a lot of handouts as well as resources for mental
health services. They get pediatric services and then all the
lactation services that we offer a Valley Health with all
of our numbers, and we tell them please call us
with any questions or concerns that you'd have.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
I love it.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
Questions always do come up, that's for sure.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
How often do you anticipate that we're going to offer
classes like this one?
Speaker 6 (27:38):
We're going to try to do one every month to
every two months.
Speaker 8 (27:42):
Okay, so all of our kind of Valley health service
areas what you're looking at right now.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
Yes, So wherever that we offer the obgyn services, we're
going to try to do a class in that location
to just cover all of the OBI moms.
Speaker 8 (27:55):
Perfect And we're going to have all that information on
both at the website and also on our Facebook and
social media pages, so we'll be able to share that
out to new and expectant parents.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Wonderful, Neil.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
I do remember earlier you saying, oh about obviously if
you've never breastfed before, you don't realize that your nipples
will hurt and they will get sore, and they will
crack even sometimes they can. What is the best remedy
to try to topical wise anyways that's safe for the baby,
but also what actually give you some relief.
Speaker 6 (28:26):
Lanolin cream is safe for a baby, and it really
does help and soothe. I recommend like right after feeding
the baby, putting that landolin cream on and giving it
time to soak in before the next feed, and there's
no need to wipe it off. Baby can breastfeed right
with it on.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
It's safe.
Speaker 5 (28:43):
So is there anything you can do when you're pregnant
to kind of get your body ready so you're not
so sore?
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Not really, I'm sorry, but not really, just so all
the Old Wives tales?
Speaker 7 (28:55):
No, not so much.
Speaker 6 (28:57):
No, we don't need to be rubbing our nipples and
all that trying to get them ready for the Super
Bowl or anything like that.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Good to know how long does that?
Speaker 5 (29:08):
How long can this soreness?
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Like?
Speaker 5 (29:09):
What's normal soreness? And when is it? You're like, okay,
I need to call Elizabeth because something's not right here.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Normal soreness in the first couple of weeks is pretty
common if it continues, if you get like open sores,
if you're like bleeding, there's these things called like blebs
on your nipples. It's kind of like a little blister.
So if any of that happens, I would want you
to definitely call in and see because maybe the baby's
(29:35):
latch just isn't quite right and we might need to
fix that a little bit.
Speaker 5 (29:39):
Sure, we've talked a lot about how to do it,
but we haven't really talked about how long, what would
be the gold standards, like what should be our goal
for breastfeeding or is there one? Is there a mark
we're trying to meet or do you just do your best?
Speaker 6 (29:54):
So it honestly depends on the mom. But it is
recommended to go until two years old. Yes, it is
recommended until two. And I did make it till two
on the second one, and I am very proud myself.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Goldstart would be startling the world.
Speaker 5 (30:11):
Already used to be one year, I thought, but now
it's two years.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
It's a mouthful of teeth. Yes, So how do you
deal with that? Thanks Jess?
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Yeah, like your toddler comes up to you with two
with teeth and his mouth coming like mom like naaha,
back up.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
It only happened a couple times to me that she
did like actually bite down, but just not you know,
throwing her off kind of thing because she's going to.
Speaker 7 (30:36):
Take your nipple with you, so don't do that.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
Full so just saying like no, that hurts, you can't
do that, and then taking the baby off and explaining
you're not going to get it right now, because we
can't do that. Just kind of setting those boundaries, and
then they know if they do it again, you're going
to do the same thing and they're not going to
get what they want.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
So you go until too How long should you exclusively breastfeed?
When should you introduce cereal or oh, formula or baby food?
Speaker 4 (31:08):
When does that work?
Speaker 5 (31:09):
Because are you supposed to exclusively breastfeed for two years?
Speaker 6 (31:12):
No, So exclusively breastfeed is till six months old, So
no water, no food, nothing like that. Exclusively breastfeed for
six months and that's when you start introducing the.
Speaker 7 (31:25):
Purets, the cereals.
Speaker 6 (31:27):
That kind of thing, and moms will notice that their
milk supply might go down a little bit at that
point because you're not the sole provider of their nutrients
at that point.
Speaker 5 (31:35):
Okay, then you just continue mixing other foods in until
two years. And at two years, because we're all gonna
hope that everybody can accomplish that. That's a lot, it's amazing,
what an amazing gift for everybody. How do you start weaning?
How do you?
Speaker 4 (31:50):
I mean, because at that point your baby's talking to.
Speaker 7 (31:53):
You, oh yes, oh yes, would you like to hear
what happened to me. We're in the middle of church.
Speaker 5 (32:00):
That sounds so fun. I want to embarrassing church story
light on me.
Speaker 6 (32:05):
We all lean back like here we got in the
middle of church when it is quiet. She tries to
pull down my dress and starts yelling boobe boobe.
Speaker 8 (32:18):
That was an embarrassing at all, bobe, middle of like
heads bowed and eyes clothes kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Yes, Yes, and that's when it you realized you needed
to start weaning.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Is that what it was.
Speaker 6 (32:31):
I don't think I really put boundaries on her. I
just kind of let her do it herself. And she
did end up just doing it herself because I was like,
I don't know this in my last baby, my mama
heart can't handle it.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
I ain't gonna tell him no, right, What's one thing?
Speaker 8 (32:48):
Because we all have well meaning family members, mothers in law,
people that love us, other women in our lives, sometimes
our dads who want to give advice. But what what
are some ways that are people can help us through
this because sometimes it's hard, and sometimes it's challenging, and
a lot of times it's emotional.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
So what are some key things that they can do
for us.
Speaker 6 (33:09):
So what we recommend is maybe they come over and
help you with chores, cooking you dinner, doing the laundry
for you, just letting you relax on the cash with
the baby instead of having to worry about everything else.
If you have older siblings, taking the older sibling out
to play to make them feel special because it is
a burden MND, you're always attached to the baby, and
(33:32):
then the older sibling might be a little jealous of that.
So just a lot of help and support during that
helps a lot.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
I think that is the one thing that I was
a little worried about when I first started breastfeeding was that,
oh my gosh, I still have to get laundry done,
I still have to make dinner, I still have to
do dishes.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
And I would freak out about it.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
But then that's when my mom stepped in and was like, listen,
I know that that is your job.
Speaker 4 (33:54):
You are the only one that can do that.
Speaker 5 (33:56):
I can do the dishes, I can do your laundry.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Let me come over. I was like, oh, okay, hey,
come on. Helping is very good. Yeah, very very good.
Speaker 8 (34:04):
Yes, And we as moms have to be able to
let people do it for us.
Speaker 5 (34:07):
You don't have to do it all. You're not supposed
to do it all. It's fine, you're not supposed to
do it all. You're not supposed to always possible to
do that's impossible to do it all. And we go
back and we talked about weaning for a second. But
let's talk about a little bit of vice on how
you do it. If your child is not saying I'm done,
we're doing this together. What are some ways that you
can start that weaning process.
Speaker 6 (34:28):
So maybe just start taking a feed away at a
time kind of thing. So like if they're still doing
it throughout the daytime, usually when they're awake and playing,
is the easiest ones to take away at first, sure,
because you can distract, you can play, you can go outside,
you can do all the things to distract. So the
hardest ones are the nighttime feeds before bed. And the
(34:50):
hardest one for my daughter was when she first wakes up.
She was not a morning person and she just wanted
the baby in the morning.
Speaker 5 (34:57):
She just needed some mama cuddles exactly.
Speaker 6 (35:00):
So just taking one feed away at a time daytimes
and then night times, so just one at a time
until you get.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
There, until you get there. And that's the thing too.
I think a lot of women might think, Okay, well
I'll try this and it should work.
Speaker 5 (35:13):
Right.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
No, listen, just keep like you said, give yourself grace,
keep trying, keep it consistent, you know, and just keep trying.
I think just same thing with ferberizing or trying to
get Leo to sleep at his crib alone kind of
thing without crying for us. You know, it just took
some time, you know. The first night is off all,
the second night is no one great, The third night
(35:34):
got a little better, you know it. Just you gotta
keep with it and try your hardest and listen. If
tonight's not the night and you give in and say
forget it, I'm tired. I'm going to go ahead and
let them feed, then let it happen tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
You can try again.
Speaker 6 (35:48):
Yes, some people think maybe just stop cold turkey. I
do not recommend because of engorgements, the chance of mestitis
and all of those things. So we don't want it
to be painful. And then you're also dealing with the
child who also wants the breastfeed, and then that is
stressful too. So definitely a gradual ween is definitely what
(36:09):
we recommend.
Speaker 5 (36:09):
Yeah, what are your final thoughts? What would be your
final words of encouragement for someone a new mama, a
pregnant mama, a mama who's in the middle of it.
Speaker 6 (36:17):
Yes, I say, once you make it through those first
couple weeks, it does get better. So just willing to
try different things, willing to seek help. All those things
are really crucial in the first week to two weeks.
But once you get past that point, I promise it
does get better.
Speaker 7 (36:35):
It is stressful at first, but just.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
Keep going and ultimately we want a healthy mom and
healthy baby.
Speaker 7 (36:42):
Fed baby is best.
Speaker 6 (36:43):
I know we do recommend breastfeeding, but if it has to,
you can give formula because all we want is a
happy mom and baby ultimately, And.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
I think too, don't expect your story to look like
your friend's story, or your mom's story, or your sister's story. Oh,
he's realized that your baby and you are completely different
than anybody else. So got to do what works for you.
Speaker 6 (37:05):
And every baby is different as well. I had a
completely different with my first than my second. I first
only made it six months doing it. I said he
was the hoss cat and I just did not have
enough for him. I tried, but I was also a
nervous wreck. I told you, I was anxious. The supply
was not there, so I did have to supplement a
lot with him and then with my daughter. I was like, Okay,
(37:28):
I got this. I'm gonna get medicated. I ain't gonna
be crazy this time. I knew what to do and.
Speaker 7 (37:35):
It worked out for two years.
Speaker 6 (37:37):
So wow, every experience can be different, absolutely.
Speaker 5 (37:40):
And we get better at things, you know, thank first
child to your second child, and even I don't know,
first run to your second run. It's you know, whatever
you do when you go out it a second time,
it can be easier, better and your your nerves are down,
and nerves can really play a huge part into it.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Yeah, that was our chat about lactation and about what
to expect when you do have a baby and you
want to breastfeed. Our LPN and our certified lactation specialist,
Elizabeth Freese, thank you so much for talking with us
today and really opening our eyes to a lot because
not everybody has the same experience as either, so that
was very helpful.
Speaker 4 (38:14):
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Speaker 7 (38:16):
And so that is.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
A wrap today, but we will be back again next
month with another tm I and I am your host
Jen C from iHeartRadio and I've got my Balley girls.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
Jess, Hello anybody, and Melanie. See you next time.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Guys, we will be right back with you on TMI
talking medical information with Bally Health.
Speaker 4 (38:38):
See you next time.
The content shared on this podcast is for informational and
educational purposes only and should not be get strewed as
medical advice. While we strive to provide accurate and up
to date information, the host and producers make no representations
or warranties regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the
information presented. Medical information this constantly evolving, and what is
discussed may not reflect the most current research or guidelines.
This podcast is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis,
(00:21):
or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or
other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have
regarding a medical condition or treatment. If you are experiencing
a medical emergency, please call emergency services immediately. By listening
to this podcast, you acknowledge and agree that the host
and producers are not liable for any decisions or actions
taken based on the information provided.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
This is TMI Talking Medical Information with Value Health.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Hi there, welcome back to another episode of TMI Talking
Medical Information with Value Health and I am your host
gen C from iHeartRadio and I've got my Value girls
with me once again. Just Staples, Hello, how are you
very good?
Speaker 4 (01:04):
And Melanie Atkins my friends.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
So we are going to be talking to LPN Elizabeth Freese,
and she is also a certified lactation specialist. Now all
of us are mothers, so we are not shy in
this area. We know how it went down, we know
what it's like, and we want to know more information
(01:27):
from you.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
Elizabeth sounds great, She's like, bring it on, perfect, bring
it on all right, So let's just jump right into it.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Then, what exactly happens when milk comes out your body?
Speaker 6 (01:41):
So it starts right when the placenta is delivered, so
there is a huge drop in progesterone and then a
huge surge of prolactin and oxytocin. So those are the
key players in producing milk. So that is why we
encourage everyone to breastfeed as soon as possible after delivery.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Okay, yes, I did as soon as Leo came. That
was the first thing.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
Oh, I thought it was mostly to sue the baby
baby and bond. But chemically your body gets going right then.
Speaker 7 (02:14):
Yes, it's going, So the sooner you start, the better.
Speaker 5 (02:17):
In the end, breastfeeding was easy for me, but it's
not easy for a lot of folks.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
So what can you do to help yourself?
Speaker 5 (02:24):
I mean, I'm my mom. I watched my mom do it,
so I wasn't afraid. But a lot of people don't
have that experience. So what do you find is super
helpful if someone wants to give it a go.
Speaker 7 (02:34):
I think, honestly, early education.
Speaker 6 (02:37):
So we started offering the breastfeeding classes, so that provides
education early on. So that helps a lot. But just
seeking out help, like in the first few weeks. I
always tell all of our ob patients like, I am available,
please call me if you need me.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Oh, I wish I had you, I will say in
the hospital, obviously just had a baby. I'm a little
emotional and he's not latching and I'm getting upset.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
And I didn't even like cry cry.
Speaker 5 (03:07):
It was just a teared streaming down my face.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
And the nurse that was with me said, well, first
of all, you need to stop crying.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
I was like, h that didn't know.
Speaker 8 (03:16):
Yeah, it sounds like my experience, but they had a
whole bunch of nursing students with them.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Oh may it's been more fun, even more ful.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
So that's not helpful really. So So what would you
tell a mom that is struggling. You can see that
she's a little upset and frustrated and she just needs
that extra help.
Speaker 7 (03:32):
What do you tell her, Well.
Speaker 6 (03:34):
I like to see him in the office just to
evaluate what is going on. Is the baby latching good
sometimes you might think so, but it might be a
more shallow latch.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Yeah, well walk that back because people may not even
realize that there's a good latch and there's a bad latch.
So let I mean a bad latch is a bad latch.
I mean the area of your body that is latched
badly onto can be very sore. So let's start there.
What does that look like?
Speaker 6 (03:59):
So we want the baby's lips to be nice and
wide and philanged out, and most of mom's breast, like
most of the areola even is inside baby's mouth. So
if it is like a tiny the baby's lips are closed.
If it's just the nipple alone, that's going to be
very painful for very very bad.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Good to know.
Speaker 6 (04:18):
Yelp, And even I say early on, the first few
suckles is still painful. So after that first fifteen to
twenty seconds, if it's still painful, you want to readjust baby,
try to lash again, Try again.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
Okay, and there is a way.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
I'm just saying because this is my My dad likes
to give breastfeeding advice, which I find pressioreusay, none of
but but there were four of us, and then you know,
there are fifteen grandkids in the kit in the family,
so he's seen a thing or two. So, but there's
a way to break section and not break section. So
please be a deer and tell them how to do
(04:55):
it the right way.
Speaker 6 (04:56):
Yeah, yes, please do not pull the baby away.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
And because they will take the nipple with them. Yeah,
they will all coming back.
Speaker 7 (05:06):
And as they get older they still do that.
Speaker 6 (05:08):
I was breastfeeding a toddler and she would take my nipple.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
Oh wow, you learned the real meaning of elasticity then.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
But just putting a clean finger in the side of
baby's mouth and just breaking the section before moving the
baby got it.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
Good to know.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Wow, I am not doing this again, thankfully.
Speaker 8 (05:31):
So with the newborn, how often should mom be nursing?
Because I know with both my kids I found.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Very different patterns.
Speaker 6 (05:41):
Yes, so at least eight to twelve times a day
you want baby to be feeding. But supply and demand
is what I stress in my classes. So the more
baby is on the breast, the better your supply is
going to be. So I remember with both of mine,
I swear they lived on my breast the first few
weeks of their life.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
They were just attached to me.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
We want to avoid passes as well, So I think
I was kind of the pacifier. You were it, Yeah,
I was it, So I was food, I was a
passy the comfort. So they just kind of stayed on
my breast and it can be stressful at first, but
they do get used to it. They will start to
go farther without eating, and it does get better.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Okay, I do like that.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
I swear throughout my entire as soon as Leo was born,
and probably for the first I don't know, nine months,
everybody kept saying it's gonna get better. I promise you
it will get better because you do, you get a
little bit more used to the schedule and the routine
of it.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So, yes, it does get better.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
But I will say too, for those that pump, So
you said, like you said, if you're feeding every day,
your supply is gonna be better. So what about pumping?
Does that take over too? Does that help with the supply?
If you pump more often, will there be more milk
to come.
Speaker 6 (06:57):
Yes, So it's the same thing just supplying to man.
The more nipple stimulation, the more milky're removing, the more
your body will make.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (07:04):
I found myself in a situation where I would with
my first I wasn't producing enough.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
So with my second, I was like, oh, here we go.
Speaker 8 (07:10):
So she would eat and then I would pump, and
then I was like it was making too much because
it was a constant, like I was having to pump
all the time because otherwise it was a situation.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
Oh yeah, my goodness.
Speaker 6 (07:22):
So there's a balance there, Yes, definitely a balance. We
want to say, like feed the baby and then if
you are still like uncomfortable, just get enough off till
you're comfortable because you don't want to pump and completely empty,
because that's going to tell your body, oh I need more,
when in fact you do not.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
Yeah. I was trying to drain it all the way out.
Yeah you don't know. You didn't think I get it.
Speaker 5 (07:44):
Yeah, but that is good advice. I mean a lot
of people might not even know that that's a possibility.
And I know some people get nervous, you know, they
worry that maybe your baby isn't getting enough to eat,
so then they start to supplement, but that can also
how does that work to their detriment?
Speaker 6 (08:00):
Yes, supplementing is kind of a hairy situation. I mean,
we want to make sure baby is fed first and foremost,
but if we give formula early on, it's going to
be detrimental because it is a supply and demand. So
if you're giving that baby a feed and it's formula
and it does it breaks down a whole lot slower
(08:21):
than what breast milk does. That means the baby's not
going to be to the breast and getting the supply
off and then not telling your body, Oh, well, we
don't need to make it anymore right now because baby's obviously
not needing it.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
So yeah, not a good thing.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
Yeah, it's tricky.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
I know.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
I've always been was always told to hold off as
much as you can, Yes, as much as you can.
How do you know if your baby's getting enough milk?
I mean, what are things that can reassure mom?
Speaker 6 (08:46):
That is definitely the biggest concern that I get. How
do I know baby's getting enough? So what we want
to say is when baby is on can you hear
them swallowing, there is hunger cues, so baby is just
very agitated. Their fists are closed. They're bringing their fists
to their mouth and then satisfied. It's kind of the opposite,
(09:08):
so their hands just fall to the side. They're not
in the fist, they're very relaxed. They're taking a nap.
So that is a good way. Also diapers, so even
when you go to a pediatrician, you need to keep
track of your diapers. They will ask that at every visit.
So diapers, wet diapers goes per day until we get
(09:28):
to day six. So day one you want one wet diaper,
day two, two, and by the time six we want
at least six wet diapers a day and then three
or four stools. Breast milk makes you poop a lot,
and it has a specific color. Sometimes babies poop after
every single feeding with breast milk because it digests so fast,
so it is normal for that. So wet diapers is
(09:51):
a great way to say, okay, well baby's clearly taking
in because we are seeing that output.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Yeah, milk coma and output, yes.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
Got it exactly.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
So obviously they always say that colostrum is like liquid gold.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Tell me why they say that it is.
Speaker 6 (10:08):
Just full of so many antibodies and good things for baby.
Colostrum comes in a very little so you're not getting
a much volume of it, but it is packed full
of everything baby needs in those first few days before
mom's milk comes in.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Okay, So what exactly is colostrum If people are like, hmm,
this is the first I've ever heard of it.
Speaker 7 (10:28):
It's just called mom's first milk.
Speaker 6 (10:30):
It's very yellow in color, that's why they called it
the liquid Gold. But it gives all the nutrition and
needs that baby needs in those first three to five
days until mom's milk fully comes in.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
And is it thicker, kind of sticky or is it
like milk. I'm just trying to describe it because people
might think, you know, they start breastfeeding it immediately it's
like whole milk coming out and it's not quite like that.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
It's not that.
Speaker 7 (10:53):
No, it's just very yellow in color.
Speaker 6 (10:56):
It's still very liquidy, I would think, but it does
start to transition. There's what's called transitional milk. So the
time you get to like day three, it's starts to
turn and then by day five you're getting that really
creamy whole milk.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Looking at rest milk right right.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Okay, Let's take a quick moment to hear about other
services at Valley Health.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
From women's health and pediatrics to senior care, critiology, dental,
and behavioral health. Valley Health provides complete care for every
stage of life, quality healthcare close to home. Learn more
at Valleyhealth dot org.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Let's talk about when things might get painful.
Speaker 8 (11:32):
Can you tell us what engorgement is and what that
might look like to brand new mama or you know,
seasoned mom.
Speaker 6 (11:40):
It's just going to be very, very full. Some people
explain it like gravel. Your breast feel like hard gravel. Oh,
bless those bogs. I mean you want again, I said
about pumping after a feed, just to your comfort level,
making sure that you're getting just enough off that you're
not going to gettinue to have this some moms usually
(12:03):
in the first two weeks when the milk comes in,
you do feel that gravelly filling, but it does subside
and goes away. You might wake up wet a lot
of times at night. You do leak in those first
few weeks because of engorgement, but it does get better.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
So what is it when the ducks get clogged. What's
that called?
Speaker 4 (12:24):
So you can just get a.
Speaker 6 (12:25):
Clog duct and it is not anything. But if that
gets infected, that's mestitis.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
That's mestitis.
Speaker 7 (12:32):
That's so there's clear differences.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
So a clog duct, you can have pain a little
bit of redness and discomfort. But mastitis is when it
turns into you have a fever and flu like symptoms.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
So you have those like body aches.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
So if you have those, that's definitely contact your health
care provider and get some medicine.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Oh yeah, that's common.
Speaker 6 (12:54):
Some people have it with every baby that they have.
I don't know what exactly causes it or what makes
more people more prone, but some do and some don't.
I didn't have any mesiitis until I didn't with my
first at all, and then my second.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
She was eighteen months old, and I'm like, what happened?
Speaker 5 (13:14):
Oh wow?
Speaker 4 (13:15):
With that?
Speaker 8 (13:16):
Is it still safe to breastfeed or do you just
avoid the one side and not the other?
Speaker 4 (13:21):
How does that work for a mom?
Speaker 8 (13:22):
Like, if you're still needing to feed the baby and
you don't want to supplement, what do you do during
that time?
Speaker 4 (13:27):
For sure?
Speaker 7 (13:27):
Steal breastfeed?
Speaker 6 (13:28):
Okay, so the baby is the most sufficient way to
remove that milk and remove that clog duct. So no
matter if it is a little blood tinged, it's still
safe for baby to have. So okay, it is best
if baby continues to breastfeed as normal.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
On that, that's very good to know.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
Gosh, we've talked about a lot of the things that
can go wrong, but can we talk about why. I
just feel like I don't want to scare people away
because it's a great thing to do for baby, right,
So let's maybe hit some of the health benefits that
we haven't talked to about to this point of why
it's a great thing to breastfeed. Why do doctor still
feel like it's the best way to feed your baby
if you can do it, choose this.
Speaker 6 (14:08):
There's a lot of health benefits to it, not only
for baby but also for mom. Baby bonding with mom
was first and foremost that they recommend decreases your risk
of like sickness, infections, ear infection, stuff like that, because antibodies.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
To the baby. Yes, Mom, okay, just yes, yes, we
are talking about draining fluid. But I was like, I've
never heard that one before.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
Yes, just because mom's milk changes as babies need. So
if baby's sick and it is a direct memmory feed
pumping moms, it doesn't work as well. But if it
is directly on the breast, baby feeding, mom's milk will
change to what baby needs. So you will see like
a change color in your milk. Maybe if baby is sick,
(14:54):
it might be a little more yellowly color. And those
antibodies coming out for the baby.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Word, our bodies are absolutely incredible. We can we literally
produce what our child needs to survive.
Speaker 5 (15:05):
I'm insane. It's incredible that they were that in tune
to each other. You know, it's amazingly. I mean clearly
they came from our body, right, but they're like not
curly in so you would think my body would not
adapt to that. So that's amazing. I know, it is
so cool.
Speaker 8 (15:20):
What are some ways that moms can get more comfortable
with breastfeeding in public? I know it's looked, you know,
upon whatever way, but you still got to do it.
So what's the way that maybe a mom's unsure I
was unsure at first until I wasn't that you can
get comfortable with it and like just normalize it.
Speaker 6 (15:37):
I stress in my class that you can breastfeed wherever
you feel comfortable.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
That's right, glove it.
Speaker 6 (15:43):
So, wherever your comfort level is, feed your baby. If
you want to cover up, cover up. If you don't, don't.
If you want to go to a separate room, do so.
If you want to set right there, do it. So
whatever your.
Speaker 7 (15:54):
Comfort level is, it is completely fine to do it.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I love that answer. That is fantastic. You're absolutely right. Now,
what about breastfeeding and mental health for the mom? You know,
how can that take a toll or even maybe improve
your mental health?
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (16:10):
So mental health I feel like after a baby in
general is kind of rough. With my first I think
I was crazy. I mean I was nuts too. I
needed medicated and I was not. Just a lot of
anxiety and just worrying about everything, constantly crying, and that
can affect your milk supply. So you being anxious and
(16:32):
worried all the time, it can really affect the amount
of milk that you will produce. So seek help, seek
your ob do i NS. They can provide medication and
it really does help. And don't feel bad for doing it.
You know, some people think this.
Speaker 7 (16:47):
Is supposed to be the happiest time of my life.
Blah blah blah. I just had the baby.
Speaker 6 (16:51):
Were supposed to be happy, but it is completely normal,
and ultimately we just want a happy mom, a happy baby,
and that is the end result.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (17:00):
I don't think you can discount exactly what tired it
does to you too, Like it totally alters your mood.
It's like how much can I handle? And when you're
running on just a few hours of sleep those first
couple of weeks, no one can explain to you what
that's really like until you do it. Like you're thinking, oh, sure,
I've stayed up late to night, I've skipped I've only
like slept all three or four, I've pulled all nighters.
(17:21):
It's fine, but having it those first couple of weeks,
that that's the way you live.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
You can't describe. There's no tired like mom, there's.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
No tired like newborn tired. So I give yourself some grace,
find somebody to watch the baby and hold the baby
while you take a nap.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
You need assistance those first couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
I will say, I remember when Leo, it was just
a couple weeks in, like you said, and you are
running on that no sleep. I was rocking him to sleep,
and I just kind of was dazed off. He was
already a fallen asleep, and I looked down at him
and I thought I saw spiders crawling on him. So
I started like wiping his forehead and I was about
to wake him up, and I was like, Jack, you're
(17:59):
losing your mom.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
I need some sleep.
Speaker 8 (18:03):
Can you talk to us a little bit just about
going back to work?
Speaker 4 (18:07):
So we're not I know, it's the hard time.
Speaker 8 (18:09):
I'm dreaded the days of coming back to work, although
I love it here, but just about how to continue
to pump or feed the baby and what that looks like,
and then how you like, what do you do with
your milk after you get done pumping at work?
Speaker 6 (18:22):
So what we want to say is don't bombard the baby.
So a couple of weeks prior to going back to work,
start trying to offer a bottle. We don't want to
be like, Mom's gone. Now I got this bottle. I
don't know what I'm doing.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
Yeah, Grandma, our husband is gonna be like, wait a second,
what'd you do to me?
Speaker 6 (18:42):
Yes, So start early, just pumping a little bit, maybe
after a feed, and just offering the baby a bottle. Also,
with a bottle and a breastfed baby, you kind of
want to paste bottle feed. So breast milk comes out
a whole lot swallower than what a bottle does. So
they're gonna get kind of if you give it to
them like normal. So you kind of hold them to
(19:03):
their side, hold the bottle like horizontally where it's not
directly going into their mouth, and it's a lot easier
for them.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Oh, that's an interesting idea. Otherwise it would sort of
just rush down. Yes, then you have a lot of
burping and spitting up.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
So when you say, go out for a weekend with
your girls and maybe you drink a little bit, how
much do you need to pump to get that out
of your system?
Speaker 6 (19:28):
Okay, so what we advise is none is best. But
if you are going to one glass will not hurt.
So say you feed the baby and then directly after
you have the glass of wine, there is no need
to pump and dump. After that, you can feed the baby,
you know, the two three hours later. It would be
completely fine. If you were going to drink more than that,
(19:49):
I would probably pump and dump at least once to
get that out of your system.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Okay, at least once. Okay, that's good.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
And since you're talking about dumping, but what about storing
because we kind of touched on that you're pumping at work, everybody,
everything's going, well, how do you how do you package it?
What's the best way, how do you transport it? How
long can you free? Give us a lowdown it tell
us the rules.
Speaker 6 (20:13):
So honestly, it's just preference on what you want to
put it in. I usually just put money just in
the bottles that they came in. I would just store
it in the bottles because usually the next day.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
The baby was going to be eating it at my
mom's house.
Speaker 6 (20:25):
So that some people bring the bags already and go
ahead and pour those in it and store it in
the refrigerator, or you can bring like a cooler with
ice packs. I want to say that the there's a rule.
So there's four hours room temperature, so if you've just
freshly pumped milk, they can be out room temperature for
four hours okay, and then in the refrigerator for four days.
(20:48):
So you either have to use it within that four
days or freeze and then it's good in the freezer
for about six months.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Oh wow, Okay, as soon as you can stockpile a
little bit. If you're going to be away from baby
for a extended period of time, yes, it's.
Speaker 6 (21:01):
Best six months, but it will last a year, but
it's best to use within six months and then when
you thall it. So once it's thawed, it's only good
for twenty four hours.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
Okay, okay, so use it rapid fire. Uh huh. Yeah,
you don't want to waste that stuff, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Right now, tell me a little bit you did say
earlier about the passifire.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
You don't want them to use a pasifier? Why? Necessarily?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
So?
Speaker 6 (21:22):
Sometimes the pacifier is used to prolong a feed. So
when you think of formula, you're thinking, okay, the baby
just had formula. They still got an hour, hour and
a half until they're ready for their next feed. But
breast milk and breastfeeding is not like that. You know,
they might eat three or four times between that period
just because it digests so much faster. So we don't
(21:44):
want to give them a passy so much throughout the
day to prolong the feeds because that can be detrimental
to the milk supply.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
Oh okay, I got let's talk weird milk. I know
we talked about. We mentioned like if your nipples crack
or whatever at the very beginning, it doesn't lie forever.
I promise, our promise, our promise. Don't freak out. But
if you have a little blood in the in the
breast milk, it's okay. But sometimes it smells different, sometimes
it's different colors. So talk about weird milk. What is
(22:13):
in the realm of possibilities and what's okay.
Speaker 6 (22:16):
So as long as you are storing properly, keeping the
four day rule, freezing appropriately, it's all good. There's like
what we call blue milk, so that's like it has
a lot of fore milk in it, so it's very
watery down. So even when you put it in the refrigerator,
it kind of separates.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
Like oil and water wood.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
And that's okay.
Speaker 7 (22:38):
Yes, the top is all the.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Fat layer and then the bottom is the blue color,
watery color, and you just want to mix that up
when warming up.
Speaker 8 (22:47):
I've never it's all coming back to me, but I
didn't realize it in the moment.
Speaker 5 (22:51):
Yeah, yeah, but it's good to know that you don't
have to like you might look at that in the
refrigerator and be like, oh, that's gone bad.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
I've got to pitch it out. But it's still okay
to use. Yes, locate to use. And then with warming,
that is another big thing. Do not ever put breast
milk in the microwave. Do not ever do that. It
will get too hot, it will ruin the breast milk. Really,
don't put cook over the stove. Honestly, it heats up
so fast because it's so thin. I just always put
(23:18):
mine under the hot water in the sink and it
was good within three minutes.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Let's take a quick moment to hear about other services
at Valley Health.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Your heart deserves expert care. The Valley Health Heart and
Vascular Center offers advanced imaging and comprehensive cardiology services, and
it's open to all patients in our community. Learn more
at Valleyhealth dot org.
Speaker 8 (23:39):
What are some tools that you can let parents or
moms specifically know about that might just make the whole
experience easier, whether it's a pump or nipple shields or
whatever it is.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
What are some things that you would suggest for moms to.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
Make the whole process easier for them. Pump definitely, if
you're going to be away from bait. If you're going
to have to go back to work, I do recommend
the electric pumps, double pumps. I mean, they are just
much more sufficient about removing milk appropriately fast.
Speaker 5 (24:11):
They're fast, I mean you're not in there for like
two days. You're like you can really work it in
on your break though.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Oh yeah, yes, a lot of times.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
I just if we didn't have a lot of people
in clinic and I was just sitting on a desk,
I'd just be there doing my phone calls with the
pump one. But yes, they are much better about removing milk.
Some people like to do like the hands free ones,
and I will say that sometimes they just don't remove
milk as well as the double electric pump does, so
(24:40):
you kind of got to be careful with those.
Speaker 8 (24:42):
And are those available through most insurances or no? Yes,
so most insurances do cover. There's like a sight aer flow.
Speaker 6 (24:50):
We get five hundred a day of the prescriptions coming
in for the doctor to sign, so it is very fast.
You fill it out, they send us the script, doctor
signs it, and you have your restaurant within a week.
Speaker 8 (25:03):
Oh that's amazing because I didn't realize at first until
somebody like Elizabeth came to me and said, do you
know this is available?
Speaker 4 (25:08):
And I was like, no, I had it on the
baby register. I really didn't have a clue.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
It's big, and a double electric can be a little
bit expensive, so it's nice. But to think of all
the money that it could save you formula wise, it
makes sense that insurances will cover it.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
So absolutely.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
They do send periodically, so like every three months, I
would get a text like, hey, you steal breastfeeding.
Speaker 7 (25:29):
Do you need replacement things?
Speaker 6 (25:30):
So like the little duck bill that's inside that is
the suction of the pump.
Speaker 7 (25:35):
They would send me that. They would send me new hoses,
and then they.
Speaker 6 (25:38):
Would throw in like some bags or some breastpads here
and there.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Amazing all the extra help.
Speaker 8 (25:44):
And I know you talked a little bit at the
very beginning about the classes that you all are offering.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
Now can you tell us a little bit about what
those classes look like.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
We have a power point mostly it has a few
videos on it, but mostly it's me talking. I do
have some stuff set out on the table of different
bottles and it shows like the color of the colostrum,
or how much you would get the first day versus
(26:14):
a few days in of milk, I have diapers.
Speaker 7 (26:17):
It shows the color of like breastsped milk or formula
fread milk.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
And then I have our special baby doll, Breasty Betsy.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Very nice, love the name.
Speaker 7 (26:30):
Yes, Breasty Betsy.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
I show all of the physicians to hold and breastfeed in,
and I will pass Breasty Betsy around and let people
get a fill for it. I remember my first baby.
I was like, I don't even know how to hold this,
Like what do I hold with the boob?
Speaker 4 (26:47):
What do I hold with the baby?
Speaker 5 (26:48):
Like?
Speaker 4 (26:49):
I was like, I literally don't know what I'm doing right,
throwing a pillow and it gets real weird.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
Right, So I feel like holding the baby at least
and then explaining, okay, you hold this with the breast,
this with the baby, and it it makes it easier.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
So absolutely just show.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
You what, yeah you need, Yeah you need some tricks
right to make it successful.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
That's really cool.
Speaker 6 (27:13):
So we go through the class and we give them
a lot of handouts as well as resources for mental
health services. They get pediatric services and then all the
lactation services that we offer a Valley Health with all
of our numbers, and we tell them please call us
with any questions or concerns that you'd have.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
I love it.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
Questions always do come up, that's for sure.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
How often do you anticipate that we're going to offer
classes like this one?
Speaker 6 (27:38):
We're going to try to do one every month to
every two months.
Speaker 8 (27:42):
Okay, so all of our kind of Valley health service
areas what you're looking at right now.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
Yes, So wherever that we offer the obgyn services, we're
going to try to do a class in that location
to just cover all of the OBI moms.
Speaker 8 (27:55):
Perfect And we're going to have all that information on
both at the website and also on our Facebook and
social media pages, so we'll be able to share that
out to new and expectant parents.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Wonderful, Neil.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
I do remember earlier you saying, oh about obviously if
you've never breastfed before, you don't realize that your nipples
will hurt and they will get sore, and they will
crack even sometimes they can. What is the best remedy
to try to topical wise anyways that's safe for the baby,
but also what actually give you some relief.
Speaker 6 (28:26):
Lanolin cream is safe for a baby, and it really
does help and soothe. I recommend like right after feeding
the baby, putting that landolin cream on and giving it
time to soak in before the next feed, and there's
no need to wipe it off. Baby can breastfeed right
with it on.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
It's safe.
Speaker 5 (28:43):
So is there anything you can do when you're pregnant
to kind of get your body ready so you're not
so sore?
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Not really, I'm sorry, but not really, just so all
the Old Wives tales?
Speaker 7 (28:55):
No, not so much.
Speaker 6 (28:57):
No, we don't need to be rubbing our nipples and
all that trying to get them ready for the Super
Bowl or anything like that.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Good to know how long does that?
Speaker 5 (29:08):
How long can this soreness?
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Like?
Speaker 5 (29:09):
What's normal soreness? And when is it? You're like, okay,
I need to call Elizabeth because something's not right here.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Normal soreness in the first couple of weeks is pretty
common if it continues, if you get like open sores,
if you're like bleeding, there's these things called like blebs
on your nipples. It's kind of like a little blister.
So if any of that happens, I would want you
to definitely call in and see because maybe the baby's
(29:35):
latch just isn't quite right and we might need to
fix that a little bit.
Speaker 5 (29:39):
Sure, we've talked a lot about how to do it,
but we haven't really talked about how long, what would
be the gold standards, like what should be our goal
for breastfeeding or is there one? Is there a mark
we're trying to meet or do you just do your best?
Speaker 6 (29:54):
So it honestly depends on the mom. But it is
recommended to go until two years old. Yes, it is
recommended until two. And I did make it till two
on the second one, and I am very proud myself.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Goldstart would be startling the world.
Speaker 5 (30:11):
Already used to be one year, I thought, but now
it's two years.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
It's a mouthful of teeth. Yes, So how do you
deal with that? Thanks Jess?
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Yeah, like your toddler comes up to you with two
with teeth and his mouth coming like mom like naaha,
back up.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
It only happened a couple times to me that she
did like actually bite down, but just not you know,
throwing her off kind of thing because she's going to.
Speaker 7 (30:36):
Take your nipple with you, so don't do that.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
Full so just saying like no, that hurts, you can't
do that, and then taking the baby off and explaining
you're not going to get it right now, because we
can't do that. Just kind of setting those boundaries, and
then they know if they do it again, you're going
to do the same thing and they're not going to
get what they want.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
So you go until too How long should you exclusively breastfeed?
When should you introduce cereal or oh, formula or baby food?
Speaker 4 (31:08):
When does that work?
Speaker 5 (31:09):
Because are you supposed to exclusively breastfeed for two years?
Speaker 6 (31:12):
No, So exclusively breastfeed is till six months old, So
no water, no food, nothing like that. Exclusively breastfeed for
six months and that's when you start introducing the.
Speaker 7 (31:25):
Purets, the cereals.
Speaker 6 (31:27):
That kind of thing, and moms will notice that their
milk supply might go down a little bit at that
point because you're not the sole provider of their nutrients
at that point.
Speaker 5 (31:35):
Okay, then you just continue mixing other foods in until
two years. And at two years, because we're all gonna
hope that everybody can accomplish that. That's a lot, it's amazing,
what an amazing gift for everybody. How do you start weaning?
How do you?
Speaker 4 (31:50):
I mean, because at that point your baby's talking to.
Speaker 7 (31:53):
You, oh yes, oh yes, would you like to hear
what happened to me. We're in the middle of church.
Speaker 5 (32:00):
That sounds so fun. I want to embarrassing church story
light on me.
Speaker 6 (32:05):
We all lean back like here we got in the
middle of church when it is quiet. She tries to
pull down my dress and starts yelling boobe boobe.
Speaker 8 (32:18):
That was an embarrassing at all, bobe, middle of like
heads bowed and eyes clothes kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Yes, Yes, and that's when it you realized you needed
to start weaning.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Is that what it was.
Speaker 6 (32:31):
I don't think I really put boundaries on her. I
just kind of let her do it herself. And she
did end up just doing it herself because I was like,
I don't know this in my last baby, my mama
heart can't handle it.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
I ain't gonna tell him no, right, What's one thing?
Speaker 8 (32:48):
Because we all have well meaning family members, mothers in law,
people that love us, other women in our lives, sometimes
our dads who want to give advice. But what what
are some ways that are people can help us through
this because sometimes it's hard, and sometimes it's challenging, and
a lot of times it's emotional.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
So what are some key things that they can do
for us.
Speaker 6 (33:09):
So what we recommend is maybe they come over and
help you with chores, cooking you dinner, doing the laundry
for you, just letting you relax on the cash with
the baby instead of having to worry about everything else.
If you have older siblings, taking the older sibling out
to play to make them feel special because it is
a burden MND, you're always attached to the baby, and
(33:32):
then the older sibling might be a little jealous of that.
So just a lot of help and support during that
helps a lot.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
I think that is the one thing that I was
a little worried about when I first started breastfeeding was that,
oh my gosh, I still have to get laundry done,
I still have to make dinner, I still have to
do dishes.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
And I would freak out about it.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
But then that's when my mom stepped in and was like, listen,
I know that that is your job.
Speaker 4 (33:54):
You are the only one that can do that.
Speaker 5 (33:56):
I can do the dishes, I can do your laundry.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Let me come over. I was like, oh, okay, hey,
come on. Helping is very good. Yeah, very very good.
Speaker 8 (34:04):
Yes, And we as moms have to be able to
let people do it for us.
Speaker 5 (34:07):
You don't have to do it all. You're not supposed
to do it all. It's fine, you're not supposed to
do it all. You're not supposed to always possible to
do that's impossible to do it all. And we go
back and we talked about weaning for a second. But
let's talk about a little bit of vice on how
you do it. If your child is not saying I'm done,
we're doing this together. What are some ways that you
can start that weaning process.
Speaker 6 (34:28):
So maybe just start taking a feed away at a
time kind of thing. So like if they're still doing
it throughout the daytime, usually when they're awake and playing,
is the easiest ones to take away at first, sure,
because you can distract, you can play, you can go outside,
you can do all the things to distract. So the
hardest ones are the nighttime feeds before bed. And the
(34:50):
hardest one for my daughter was when she first wakes up.
She was not a morning person and she just wanted
the baby in the morning.
Speaker 5 (34:57):
She just needed some mama cuddles exactly.
Speaker 6 (35:00):
So just taking one feed away at a time daytimes
and then night times, so just one at a time
until you get.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
There, until you get there. And that's the thing too.
I think a lot of women might think, Okay, well
I'll try this and it should work.
Speaker 5 (35:13):
Right.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
No, listen, just keep like you said, give yourself grace,
keep trying, keep it consistent, you know, and just keep trying.
I think just same thing with ferberizing or trying to
get Leo to sleep at his crib alone kind of
thing without crying for us. You know, it just took
some time, you know. The first night is off all,
the second night is no one great, The third night
(35:34):
got a little better, you know it. Just you gotta
keep with it and try your hardest and listen. If
tonight's not the night and you give in and say
forget it, I'm tired. I'm going to go ahead and
let them feed, then let it happen tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
You can try again.
Speaker 6 (35:48):
Yes, some people think maybe just stop cold turkey. I
do not recommend because of engorgements, the chance of mestitis
and all of those things. So we don't want it
to be painful. And then you're also dealing with the
child who also wants the breastfeed, and then that is
stressful too. So definitely a gradual ween is definitely what
(36:09):
we recommend.
Speaker 5 (36:09):
Yeah, what are your final thoughts? What would be your
final words of encouragement for someone a new mama, a
pregnant mama, a mama who's in the middle of it.
Speaker 6 (36:17):
Yes, I say, once you make it through those first
couple weeks, it does get better. So just willing to
try different things, willing to seek help. All those things
are really crucial in the first week to two weeks.
But once you get past that point, I promise it
does get better.
Speaker 7 (36:35):
It is stressful at first, but just.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
Keep going and ultimately we want a healthy mom and
healthy baby.
Speaker 7 (36:42):
Fed baby is best.
Speaker 6 (36:43):
I know we do recommend breastfeeding, but if it has to,
you can give formula because all we want is a
happy mom and baby ultimately, And.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
I think too, don't expect your story to look like
your friend's story, or your mom's story, or your sister's story. Oh,
he's realized that your baby and you are completely different
than anybody else. So got to do what works for you.
Speaker 6 (37:05):
And every baby is different as well. I had a
completely different with my first than my second. I first
only made it six months doing it. I said he
was the hoss cat and I just did not have
enough for him. I tried, but I was also a
nervous wreck. I told you, I was anxious. The supply
was not there, so I did have to supplement a
lot with him and then with my daughter. I was like, Okay,
(37:28):
I got this. I'm gonna get medicated. I ain't gonna
be crazy this time. I knew what to do and.
Speaker 7 (37:35):
It worked out for two years.
Speaker 6 (37:37):
So wow, every experience can be different, absolutely.
Speaker 5 (37:40):
And we get better at things, you know, thank first
child to your second child, and even I don't know,
first run to your second run. It's you know, whatever
you do when you go out it a second time,
it can be easier, better and your your nerves are down,
and nerves can really play a huge part into it.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Yeah, that was our chat about lactation and about what
to expect when you do have a baby and you
want to breastfeed. Our LPN and our certified lactation specialist,
Elizabeth Freese, thank you so much for talking with us
today and really opening our eyes to a lot because
not everybody has the same experience as either, so that
was very helpful.
Speaker 4 (38:14):
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Speaker 7 (38:16):
And so that is.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
A wrap today, but we will be back again next
month with another tm I and I am your host
Jen C from iHeartRadio and I've got my Balley girls.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
Jess, Hello anybody, and Melanie. See you next time.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Guys, we will be right back with you on TMI
talking medical information with Bally Health.
Speaker 4 (38:38):
See you next time.
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