Taking care of baby when you’re sick is no fun… but can you breastfeed when you’re sick? What about breastfeeding with swine flu (H1N1)?

Breastfeeding, in almost all cases, should continue when mom is sick.

Most illness in mom is caused by a virus, which are typically most contagious before mom even knows she’s sick. That means baby has already been exposed. Most of the time, sudden weaning causes more problems than it solves – both for baby’s physical and emotional well being.

When you’re sick, all you want to do is lie in bed and watch movies or read a book. But, you’ve got a baby to feed. Unlike formula-feeding moms, you can resume lying in bed while nourishing your child. So think about that whenever you complain about nursing a baby: at least you don’t have to get up.

The best thing you can do when you’re sick with a cold, flu or another common illness is to continue nursing your child.

Breastmilk contains antibodies that are specific to your illness.

If you have the flu for example, your milk will protect your baby against the flu or at least lessen the severity of it. How cool is that?! Often, the nursing baby in the house doesn’t get sick at all, especially if the baby is still exclusively breastfed and not eating solid foods yet.

It is very rare that you’ll have to discontinue breastfeeding because of an illness.

As always, consult with a breastfeeding supportive health care provider about your specific condition. For some serious illnesses, you may be advised to give your child expressed breastmilk for a short time because you are taking medication incompatible with nursing – or you’ll have to nurse on a particular schedule so that the baby is eating when the drug isn’t present in your milk.

But, in the vast majority of instances, you can breastfeed just fine.

Here is a link to an article published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on the topic: Can I Breastfeed With Swine Flu (H1N1)?

In a nutshell, the article discourages weaning even in the case of mom being sick with swine flu. It suggests mom pump her milk and have someone else feed baby, so that baby can continue to receive antibodies she has produced.

Even though this is a manual pump and not an electrical one, it has been my favorite breast pump thus far. I use it for times when I’ll be away from baby for a night or during out of town trips away from baby where I’ll need to relieve the pressure and keep up my milk supply until I return. This pump costs around $25 and comes quite in handy for those who need a pump just some of the time rather than on a consistent basis.

I like how portable this pump is. There are three parts that must be assembled for each use. It is the base (with the breastshield), the handle and the bottle. The handle snaps right on top of the base and the bottle screws into the bottom to fill with milk. The breastshield is a soft, flexible plastic that fits over the breast. These can be unassembled and placed in a small travel bag which is easy for storage or for traveling.

The Medela manual pump is very easy to use and quite effective, too. I find that I can get more milk out with this than electrical brands. The handle has two methods of extracting the milk, called a 2-Phase Expression. One is to mimic the natural sucking that a baby does as soon as he latches on, which is rapid. The other has longer sucking strokes to mimic the natural rhythm of a baby as he drinks milk. The two of these are able to effectively extract the milk.

Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump

Medela sells another manual breast pump that utilizes a long spring that attaches to the base, instead of the handle of the Harmony one. Be aware that this isn’t the same hand pump and this one actually works horribly and is not worth your money. The Harmony one, however, is the one I always recommend to other breastfeeding mothers who have tried various pumps and can’t seem to catch a break. They agree this one is easy to use and does work.

“I was wondering when my milk will come in? I had my little girl on Tuesday and still no milk. I’ve had to supplement with formula now because she isn’t getting enough.”

Two things here.

First we need to establish whether the baby actually isn’t getting enough.

Sometimes mothers assume they don’t have milk, or don’t have enough milk, when the truth is their milk supply is just fine.

Second, we need to talk about what it means for the milk to “come in”.

My first question is, how do you know your milk hasn’t  “come in” and that your baby isn’t getting enough?

How old is she and is she producing wet and dirty diapers? What comes out must have gone in.

While we often use the phrase “come in” when we’re talking about a postpartum mother’s milk supply, that term is somewhat misleading and inaccurate.

Your breasts have milk even before you give birth.

Typically, sometime in the last trimester your breasts start producing colostrum (the early milk that is rich in immune factors), so the term “come in” really isn’t accurate.

What happens when someone refers to a mothers milk “coming in” is when the milk turns from colostrum to mature milk and changes in volume (it dramatically increases) and in color.  Colostrum is a clear to yellowish color and then turns to mature milk which is a milky white – typically around 3-8 days postpartum. It’s at this time that some mothers experience engorgement.

photo credit: jessicafm

It’s very important to not limit a newborn infant’s time at the breast. The more time the baby the baby spends nursing, the more quickly the colostrum is removed and typically the faster the mature milk comes in.

The second issue is figuring out whether the baby is getting enough milk.

If your baby is producing enough wet and dirty diapers then you don’t need to supplement. Supplementing with formula may not be necessary, and can actually decrease your existing milk supply.

My advice to this mom is to speak with a lactation consultant or a La Leche League leader who can observe her baby nursing to see if there are any obvious problems with positioning or latch. A baby who is not latched on well may not get enough milk at a feeding and also won’t sufficiently stimulate the mother’s milk supply.

I also suggested that she allow plenty of time for her baby to get her tummy filled. Some babies are quick eaters and some aren’t. Especially during the early weeks, it may take 20 minutes or longer for baby to get enough.

Make sure she isn’t sleeping at the breast and is actively nursing (sucking and swallowing) for the entire feeding before allowing her to nap. And don’t attempt to schedule a breastfeeding baby, especially while she is still learning how to feed.

More tips for increasing milk supply can be found here.

Breastfeeding, most new moms think, should come naturally. After all, that’s what breasts are for, right? But breastfeeding doesn’t always come easily for new moms, especially if they’ve never been around other moms who’ve breastfed. New moms may wonder, “What is a lactation consultant and how do I find one?”
photo credit: EraPhernaliaVintage

You’re in luck! Lactation consultants aren’t elusive; in fact, they want to be found. How do you find one? Actually, there are a number of avenues you may want to consider when trying to find a qualified lactation consultant:

1. Ask your obstetrician/gynecologist or midwife if they know of any lactation consultants. If your OB/GYN is a female, she may be able to recommend someone she’s used personally.

2. Read the flyers in your doctor’s office. There may be a flyer explaining about lactation consultants and how to contact them in your area. Of course, if you live in a smaller community, you may find them in a larger city near you.

3. Child birth educators quite often have a list of available lactation consultants. They will either pass out these lists during a child birth class or make them available to class participants at the end of your classes.

4. Ask around at the hospital where you plan to deliver if they can recommend a lactation consultant. Some hospitals even have a lactation consultant on staff.

5. Call local pediatricians’ offices to see if they can refer anyone or what their recommendations are for women wanting to breastfeed.

6. Look in your telephone book to see if there’s a lactation consultant near you. Quite often they are hired by hospitals first and then start working out of their homes.

7. Check the phone book for a La Leche League group near you. Larger cities generally have La Leche chapters so you can get information about which chapters are in your area by calling the national office. Hospitals, OB/GYN, and pediatricians should have access to their toll-free number. La Leche League leaders are breastfeeding mothers who volunteer their time to help other women. Lactation Consultants, on the other hand, are not always experienced breastfeeding women. Some of them are men! In addition, La Leche League leaders give their assistance without charge.

8. Search for lactation consultants on the internet. You may want to search using “lactation consultants (your city and state)” as the search term. If there are lactation consultants to be found in your area, a search engine will be sure to find them.

9. Strike up a conversation when you’re around other moms. This could be while you’re waiting in the doctor’s office, you’re grocery shopping, or if you attend worship services. If you know a mom who has breastfed they may have a name and number they can give you.

Most pediatricians are coming to the realization that breastfeeding is the best way for you to feed your newborn. If they can’t recommend a lactation consultant, don’t despair. You can use any of these ideas to find a lactation consultant to answer any questions you may have, encourage you, and help you to be a successful breastfeeding mom.

Plastic is still a good option to use, especially if you use BPA-free baby bottles, but you can never go wrong with glass.

Glass bottles can attach directly to your pump and be used for collection, storage, and feeding.

All you need are lids and nipples and—voila!—you have an all-in-one system that’s free of the common chemicals found in plastic.

Breast milk glass bottles are durable, recyclable, and easy to clean. On average they will last longer than their plastic counterparts. They also are the best for freezing milk because they pose less risk of contamination.

If you’re worried about your glass bottles breaking, opt for bottles with rubber sleeves or buy cloth bottle protectors. These come in a variety of colors and act as your bottle’s armor.

Buy glass baby bottles online

photo credit: helenmoverland

That’s not necessarily the case. If you’re concerned about milk supply, try taking a short nap with baby. Getting a period of sleep seems to boost milk supply. You could also try one of the popular brands of breastfeeding tea for a little boost.

Breastfeeding is based on supply and demand: The less your baby nurses, the less milk you will make. Therefore, you may find yourself with a decreased milk supply at night if your baby sleeps through the night or sleeps in four to five hour stretches. In this case, you will want to wake baby up for a feeding.

Some parents try to night wean their baby in attempt to regain sleep. This may decrease your milk supply because your body is especially sensitive to breastfeeding hormones at night. Night weaning can also bring on the return of fertility, so if you’re relying on breastfeeding to protect you from pregnancy (as many women do during the first 6 months of nursing), you will want to be aware of this.

Many moms find co-sleeping an easy way to feed baby without having to fully wake up, but do whatever works best for your family. Keep in mind too that trying to do too much can also impact milk supply. Give yourself a break, put your feet up and nurse the baby.

Many new mothers wonder how often should breastfeeding babies eat, especially when they feel like they’ve been breastfeeding their baby constantly.

The standard advice for newborns is every two hours, or ten to twelve feedings in a 24 hour period.

This gets confusing for many moms because they wonder if the two hour countdown begins when the baby first starts feeding or when he finishes. The timer starts when the baby begins feeding. It goes from the start of one nursing to the start of the next, no matter how long it takes for baby to finish.

This means that a newborn will be spending a lot of time at the breast since they are just learning how to be effective nursers.

While every two hours is a guideline, breastfed babies should be fed on cue. This means that the baby may want to eat every hour or once every four hours. You should make sure your baby feeds at least every four hours, even if you have to wake him to do so.

Keep in mind that babies nurse for many reasons other than hunger, and that is perfectly fine. Babies have a strong need to suck, it comforts them. Your baby also wants to be near you. Breastfeeding meets so many of your baby’s needs.

While the maximum time during the day between feedings should still be only about four hours at night the baby can be left to sleep for six or even eight hours. Of course, not all breastfed infants (or formula fed babies, for that matter) are sleeping through the night at this age. All babies are different.

If your 3 month old is not sleeping all night, don’t offer solid foods in a mistaken attempt to make that happen. It won’t work. Sleeping all night is a developmental milestone, not really about hunger so much. 3 months is still too early for solids.

As long as he is being fed between eight and twelve times a day, doesn’t seem hungry after feeding, is producing wet and dirty diapers regularly and is gaining weight your feeding schedule is right on target, he’s nursing enough.

If you notice any of those things diminishing then you should increase the frequency of feedings and follow up with a nursing expert or your pediatrician to make sure your baby is getting an adequate supply of milk.

There really are no rules as far as how often any age baby “should” be breastfeeding. Babies nurse for many reasons, and have different styles. Some linger at the breast and are more dainty eaters, others like to “snack” a lot, others get right down to business and are off doing other things in a few minutes. Try to appreciate your baby’s unique eating style.

In order to get your breastfeeding questions answered, consider the “Bible” of breastfeeding:

However, if the baby is not getting enough milk during these feeding sessions you may need to look for ways to increase your milk production.

The easiest and most non invasive way to increase milk supply is to increase the amount of time and number of times the baby spends feeding.

Ideally you would take 3 or 4 days and spend that time breastfeeding more frequently to stimulate production. Try to nap and rest with baby if possible. Wear your baby in a sling to facilitate more breastfeeding session.

Once your milk supply has increased a regular feeding schedule should maintain it. If this is not an option then you can increase the frequency and duration of pumping sessions for the same affect.

There are also several products that can help increase your milk supply. The most frequently prescribed medication is domperidone. There are also a number of natural supplements that can be taken including fenugreek, a common ingredient of mom’s milk teas and liquid herb tinctures. Follow the directions on the container.

One product in particular that is getting rave reviews is the Milk Maid tea by Earth Mama Angel Baby.

If you are petite this shouldn’t be a problem. However, if your breasts are a C-cup or larger you may find it difficult to find a nursing bra that doesn’t have underwire support. Bravado designs are a good choice for fuller figures. They offer good support without underwire.

If the only type of bra you can find does have underwire support make sure the bra fits you perfectly. Having a bra that is too tight will only make the risk of plugged ducts or mastitis more probable.

Additional features to look for in a nursing bra include ease of opening. It is best to go to a store and try on the various bra models. At the store you can practice opening and closing the bra with one hand, a feature you will desperately want while attempting to hold your baby and trying to access your breast.