I had mentioned before that I’ve gleaned some pretty amazing advice from lactation nurses – some of which I’ve yet to find on the internet. I thought I would share what I’ve learned and see what you guys have learned, too.
1. You can flip an infant car seat upside down to use as a footrest to save your back when nursing in a chair in public.
2. As soon as you touch the germ ridden pen at the supermarket, your body starts creating antibodies to pass on in your breastmilk to protect your child.
3. When the baby’s nose is pointed in one direction, it effectively drains the ducts in the opposite direction. So if you’re having lumpy ducts, you can reposition your baby to help out, in addition to manually compressing the area yourself.
4. We have breast tissue way up near our collar bones and in our armpits! Those first few days post partum I thought I had hugely swollen lymph nodes in one of my armpits, and then a lactation nurse told me it was engorged breast tissue that may or may not subside with time. Thank goodness it did.
5. When I was worried about going back to work at 4 months and not being able to pump more than twice in a 10 hour time frame and possibly losing my supply, a lactation consultant told me not to fear, because by four months the cells are well established and your boobs are a highly sophisticated machine.
6. Many people believe that as long as they’re breastfeeding and don’t have their period back, they can’t get pregnant. However, breastfeeding is only effective as contraception if:
- The baby is exclusively breastfed. That means no bottles (not even pumped bottles), no solids.
- The baby is not sleeping through the night. And sleeping through the night means 5 hours straight, not 8-12!
- The baby nurses every 2-3 hours and does not have a stretch of more than four hours without feeding.
- You are not having any spotting.
- Baby is under 6 months old
7. Rice cereal was developed with iron in response to post partum women entering the workforce much earlier during the war and not being able to afford formula; the cow’s milk in the fridge was a much cheaper alternative, but it frequently caused GI bleeds in infants, which led to anemia. Rice cereal is still fortified with iron today despite affordable formula and the absence of these widespread GI bleeds.
What pearls of wisdom has the internet hidden from you?
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
Great idea about the overturned car seat – would have never thought of that!!
pear / 1657 posts
Wow., these are wonderful tips! I am in the thick of learning the ins and outs of breast feeding my almost 4 day old son. When I got home from the hospital yesterday, I found one of those swollen lumps in my armpit and was pretty freaked out. The on call doctor told me the same thing about the breast tissue there – I had no idea!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
Great post!
pomegranate / 3791 posts
#6 makes me nervous because I totally know multiple people who have gotten pregnant while breastfeeding despite having all three of those things apply to them. If you aren’t ready for another baby, birth control other than breastfeeding is a must! Just ask my mom who took a year to conceive me and then wound up pregnant by the time I was three months old
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
I didn’t know we had breast tissue up to our armpits till my milk came in and my right boob still felt super full after a pumping session. Come to find out, I had a clogged duct near my arm pit. D’oh!
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
Interesting! Yeah, we’re not big fans of rice cereal around here. It’s interesting to know the history of it!
nectarine / 2771 posts
I find #6 fascinating!
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
#6 – GREAT TO KNOW! Didn’t know any of that!
blogger / clementine / 998 posts
@wonderstruck @mrs. Checkers @Yerpie110 — Ooops I did not mean it to sound like, hey, we don’t have to worry about using birth control….I added a few points, and i first included it because too many people think that just because they have amenorrhea means they won’t get pregnant, but there are so many other factors that can cause ovulation.
blogger / cherry / 113 posts
Love the overturned car seat trick! I always see the nursing stool when I’m at BRU – I’ll need to pass along to my breastfeeding friends that there’s a great (free) alternative!
guest
#6 is generally solid advice, but as mentioned, even these things are no guarantee!
On the other hand, my baby slept through the night at 8 weeks (super lucky, I know!), was fed at least 1 bottle of expressed milk per day from 5 weeks on (including more when I returned to work at 12 weeks pp), and started solids at 6 months. But I didn’t have a return of fertility till 10 months.
The problem is – you will ovulate before you first period, so you may not know you are ovulating and conceive before you experience a post-partum period. If you really don’t want to end up pregnant, use birth control. Otherwise, know that you are rolling the dice!
cherry / 175 posts
Ha! I wouldn’t count on #6. I think of this as a myth! Breastfeeding (along the lines of 1-5) or not – there’s always a chance! I would not count on it as conception unless you are prepared for another baby!
Great tips! I love #5. Because stress is more likely to cause a supply issue and this fact should reduce stress!
guest
In the early weeks of breast feeding my daughter, she gained super slow although I had milk and fed every 2-3 hours. My LC advised me to keep her on one breast for at least 20 mins rather than using both for 10 each. By doing this, she was able to get hindmilk, which is fattier. She shot up in weight when I started doing that. I also massaged the milk down from the armpit and chest areas while bf’ing.
blogger / apricot / 335 posts
Whoa really interesting about #6! I guess we should be extra careful with that and not count on it just in case.
guest
Oh my goodness. I remember turning my son all different ways to get an odd duct drained!
blogger / kiwi / 675 posts
wow- interesting facts… especially about the baby’s nose and the rice cereal.. thanks!
pear / 1846 posts
About number six, according to creighton charting, if you are breastfeeding full time you can only count the first 56 days after birth as infertile, after that you have to keep looking for fertile cm. I think they er on the safe side though.
cherry / 160 posts
I’ve learned a ton in the past couple years. My best tips: if you are having trouble producing enough milk change your diet, add lactation tea, drink a dark beer (at night when baby goes longer between feedings), try laying down and letting lo latch because the night feedings suck as is and it’s SO much more comfy esp if you have ginormous boobs! Drink as much water as humanly possible, invest in things such as a GOOD/ NOT cheap pump (Medela rocks), good nursing bras and hands free pumping bras (the only way I get to eat with toddler and newborn) and most of all hang in there because after 6 weeks it gets easier and much less painful! !
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Great tips!! And YES to #6 – I know too many accidental pregnancies from this, and refused to take any chances even though I was breastfeeding round the clock.
blogger / clementine / 750 posts
I knew some parts of #6, but not all of them. Excellent, excellent information right there! I also love the car seat trick—so smart!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
great tips! that overturned carseat one is genius!
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
There’s some great little gems in there!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
Wow some really interesting info. Why so may parameters for the birth control thing? I never realized that at all. Also I got the lymph node in my armpit (both times with both kids) Its awful and hurts! Im always relieved when it goes away
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
Here’s mine: You’re SUPER fertile when you wean, even if it’s waaaaay late in the game, you’re only nursing for a minute once a day, and you suffered through IF before your first. Good protection is SO FREAKING IMPORTANT if you’re not ready for another!!!