Last Call!

Why do mommies hide their feelings about how they feel about becoming a mother? Coming home with your first child, especially mothers who are a bit older and are set with a career and an active social lifestyle, can be very confusing, even a downright depressing time for new moms. However, we hide these feelings through quiet guilt of all the little things that we wish we could do, but know that “good” moms don’t.

I loved reading this wonderful article about longing for that one wonderful drink that you wish you could have, but are too terrified to indulge in, especially when breastfeeding for that new little one. 18 Months, One Night Out ... and I Feel Guilty brought back memories of one evening when I indulged in a couple of wonderful glasses of homemade amaretto. I was reluctantly “peer-pressured” into sipping a glass of the amaretto by one of my best friends as a number of moms got together with our babies one evening. As I relaxed and enjoyed the evening with the other moms, I’d noticed that warm sensation of tipsiness that I had not felt in well over a year. After I’d gotten back home that evening, I cried to my husband about the terrible guilt that I felt about the evening and having to throw out my baby’s breast milk.

How long did I have to throw out this precious breast milk and should I even take the chance of going through it again? I am quite sure that many moms give up breastfeeding for the very reason of wanting to enjoy a drink every once in a while without experiencing the guilt that accompanies each occasion.

FREE Breast Milk!

When I was breast pumping for Gabrielle, it was extremely important for me to donate my extra breast milk to sick babies in need of breast milk for their health. A milk bank in Texas was the closest place for me to donate my breast milk; therefore I had to ship my breast milk, which was an ordeal in itself.

I didn’t understand why it was such an important mission for me to donate my breast milk. However, after reading this article, Seal Beach Company Makes Best of Breast Milk, I can see that there is a profound link between mothers that have an experience with a loss of an infant or severely ill baby and helping other babies when the opportunity arises in some way.

Like Alyssa Gordon from the article, I too breast pumped and froze my breast milk for several days waiting for my sweet baby to become well enough to start using my breast milk. After Zachary passed away 8 days later, I could not even bring myself to get close that freezer that held my frozen milk, let alone find some place to put it.

Therefore, when Gabrielle was born 3 years later, in my own mind I was determined to get that breast milk back and give it to a baby that could use it to help grow bigger and stronger. Over the several months of pumping for Gabrielle, I was able to donate hundreds of ounces of my breast milk to the milk bank in Austin. I guess in some way it was a process of helping a baby that I could not help 3 years earlier.

With the expanding use of breast pumps, my hope is that more mothers who have the ability to pump extra breast milk will go that extra mile and donate to help those babies and parents that are in dire need of assistance.

Daddy's Pumping?

Okay, this video is great. Doesn't every breast pumping Mom wish that Dad could be in your place, at least just once ( perhaps during that midnight pumping session when all you want to be doing is sleeping). Well, this video may give you a little satisfaction.

These guys are just great sports. And having done the pumping thing for a year, I truly appreciate his attempt at breast pumping and getting that little taste of what moms have to go through.

However, the most important thing to realize from this video is if it feels like that, you are not doing it right.

The Breast Milk Massacre

Well, more than likely it is blood in pumped breast milk. That’s right - blood. All you have to do is look down and notice the cracks in your nipples to realize why your breast milk is pink.

If your nipples are cracked, painful, and bleeding, then you are pushing your breasts too hard. Some things that you may need to do are:

• Use a healing cream. It is very good to keep your nipples from cracking and bleeding. Using a wonderful soothing cream that is healthy for your baby is very important. One of my favorite all organic creams is Natural Nipple Cream. (Get information about Natural Nipple Cream).
• Slow down the suction on your pump. Sometimes we get a little anxious and just want to get as much milk out as fast as possible. If your pump allows you to change settings, you should begin at the highest suction that feels comfortable. As you pump, you will increase the suction and slow down the speed, just as a baby would. But most importantly, PUMPING SHOULD NOT HURT. If it hurts, something is not right.

Now, back to the blood. This can be perfectly normal. Can you give it to your baby? I was told by my lactation consultant that it is fine. Besides mothers that breastfeed also get cracked nipples and the babies will also receive the blood. It is up to you. But, continue to pump, whether you keep the milk or not. In addition to the cracked nipples, you could have an infection inside the breast, and you should contact your doctor or lactation consultant.