Breastfeeding: It Can Be Tougher Than They Tell You

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THE BEST MEDICINE

There are a few amazing feature about breast milk that can’t be reproduced. Breast milk is a cure-all. You can apply it to a rash, put in up the baby’s nose if they have a sinus infection or in their ear for an earache. I’m serious. It is some good stuff. Breast milk also has antibodies. This is what provides your baby with all the codes and answers to childhood diseases and any kind of sickness. The amazing thing is that the breast milk changes daily and even with each feeding.   The baby connects to mother and mother’s body will sense what the child needs and the breast milk will deliver the goods to the baby.

DON’T ASSUME BREASTFEEDING WILL BE EASY

Another misguided assumption I had about breast feeding was that I assumed breastfeeding would be easier since I am larger in that department, I figured I should be a huge milk producer. Well that’s not true; the size of the breast doesn’t determine how much milk one produces. I think that my initial problem was that no one caught that Addison was tongue tie. Which means that the part of the tissue that attaches the tongue to the bottom of your mouth was too much.

This causes issues because the tongue needs to elevate in order to suck from a breast. With a bottle they only have to use the tongue to stop the milk from coming out. Bottle feeding is a passive way to eat whereas breastfeeding is an active way. The best way to resolve this is to find a local doctor in your area and have them laser the extra skin that didn’t separate well. This doesn’t hurt the baby at all as there are no nerve endings to this area. This is done with the baby is a few months old. Look into this if it hurts when you are nursing the baby. Pain typically is a signal that something isn’t quite right with the baby’s tongue or mouth position.

Many times after a harder labor the baby’s head and face can get shifted around. I recommend a seeing a doctor that is confident in working out the cranials in the head and in the face. Sometimes an occiput adjustment to the newborn can help the baby open their mouth wider in order to take in the proper amount of breast tissue for feeding which then causes less pain.

There can also be other issues that can be related to low milk supply. For adequate supply you need to drink about a gallon of water a day. Also make sure that you are taking enough salt, which I covered in an earlier post. After having the baby your hormones and your body go through a bit of readjusting, this is where a functional endocrine doctor, especially one that specializes in applied kinesiology, can really help out.

GOOD FOR YOUR CHILD, GOOD FOR YOU TOO

Breastfeeding is great for the mother! It reduces postpartum depression because every time that you nurse oxytocin, the love hormone, is released. It also reduces your risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Breastfeeding burns lot of fat and calories. Plus, if you are exclusively breastfeeding it can naturally provided 98% contraceptive protection in the first 6 months after birth.

Many times when the mother goes back to work she quits nursing. It is tough using breast pumps, and to be honest, even though many of them are $400 they don’t even come close to getting as much milk from your breast compared to your child. Hospital grade pumps are great to help increase supply of milk and to get more milk.

I struggled. I had to formula feed her a little and substitute with goat’s milk at times but the majority of her nursing history she got breastmilk. It wasn’t easy but I’m glad I fought through my insecurities, and my inadequacies and used those struggling times to improve and let go of lies that I probably had for a long time. I’m thankful for my Applied Kinesiology Doctor that helped me physically, mentally, and emotionally overcome. I am happy that part of my job is to do the same for others mothers.

There are a lot of naysayers out there about nursing and some of them may even be in your own family. When you and your baby decide to stop nursing please make sure that it is your decision and not the negative pressures of family or society. You are doing a wonderful thing for your baby and plain and simple the negative voices just don’t get it. These are your breasts, and if you want to use your breasts for what they are made for, then rock it out!

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