The Mom Crowd

I recently started pumping breastmilk for my second baby and I love the freedom it brings me. I never pumped for my first child. It was a source of pride for me that a bottle nipple never touched the lips of my baby and she went straight to a straw cup. I have since gotten over that pride.

Why I Didn’t Want to Pump

I was concerned about nipple confusion with my first baby. The breastfeeding class I went to was very clear that my baby could get nipple confusion and refuse to nurse from me afterwords. Also, I had heard stories from friends who started to pump and then the babies only wanted a bottle afterwords. These friends even felt certain that nursing was established and it would be okay to introduce a bottle.

Another reason why I didn’t pump with my first was because I didn’t want to shell out $300 for a pumping system. I knew Medela was the best, but it wasn’t cheap. I didn’t need it, my baby was always with me and I got very proficient at nursing in public with my nursing cover.

I also thought it was too much work to pump, store, and clean all the equipment. There seemed to be so many rules about how to store it, how long to store, how to heat it up. It was just another system that I didn’t want to take the time to learn.

Why I Pump With My Second Baby

With my second child I felt like a lot more confident breastfeeding, so I wasn’t as worried about nipple confusion. I also don’t have the same pride about not using bottles as I once did. I decided I wanted to pump, because I was invited to an evening wedding where kids weren’t allowed. The bride told me I could bring my son, but I wanted to enjoy an evening out with my husband without kids. My baby was 2 1/2 months old at the time.

Thankfully a friend (thanks Natalie!) loaned me her Medela pump that she wasn’t using. Some people discourage borrowing pumps, but I felt that it was okay to use. I found my book from the breastfeeding class and read up on the rules of storage. It wasn’t as complicated as I thought it would be.

I questioned what to do with leftover milk in the bottle that the baby doesn’t drink. After taking a survey of friends I decided that I would put the milk back in the fridge to only be used one more time only if the next time was soon after. I know that some of the nutrients may be gone, but I am okay with that. It is very rare that my son won’t drink everything now.

Now I don’t pump every day, but once a week or so to keep up demand. I love the freedom to be able to leave without my little buddy. I like to pump before church, so I can feed him in the sanctuary without having to miss the sermon nursing in the cry room. There is so much freedom in pumping. If you are about to nurse and are afraid to pump, you should at least try and see if it works for you! I am certainly happy that I tried it!

P.S. I just pumped this morning so I go to a Coldplay concert tonight with my husband. I wouldn’t have been able to go with him if I didn’t pump.

How about you? Have you tried pumping? Did you hate it? Did you like it? Did you have any concerns about nipple confusion?

- photo courtesy of webchicken

There is a great discussion over on PhDinParenting.com about breastfeeding and blogging about it. After reading PHDinParenting’s post and the comments I believe that there is a difference between supporting breastfeeding mothers and promoting breastfeeding.

Supporting breastfeeding mothers is encouraging moms in the decision they have already made. While promoting breastfeeding is trying to encourage new moms to breastfeed even if they don’t want to. My hope is that I can encourage those moms that want to nurse or are nursing, because breastfeeding moms need encouragement.

There is not a lot of support for new moms that want to nurse. I needed encouragement.

• Older generations didn’t breastfeed and my mom doesn’t encourage me.

• My former Pediatrician wasn’t active in supporting me.

• When I left the hospital with my first child I was given a diaper bag sponsored by a formula company loaded with formula in it.

• While outprocessing the nurse gave me a long speech how I was going to have to give my baby formula at some point. Now that I think back I may have made every effort to nurse my first baby without ever giving her formula just to prove that nurse wrong. And I did. Now I wish I knew her name so I could tell her she was wrong. I guess my personal challenge didn’t matter in the end. Ha!

The truth is that breastfeeding is dang hard. It took me 3 weeks with my first baby before I didn’t have any pain nursing. With my second baby I thought the pain wouldn’t last as long since my boobs were used to it and I knew what I was doing, but I was wrong. I still had immense pain for the first 3 weeks. I called a lactation consultant and she told me that I was doing everything right and that it would get better. Thankfully she was right, but I needed to hear that encouragement from a Lactation Consultant at that time.

I am currently nursing my 10 week old and it isn’t easy to watch my diet. I stay away from caffeine and alcohol and I try to eat healthy. My second baby is a boy and nursing a lot and that makes me really hungry. Since I am eating extra food, I am confused on how I should diet and exercise to lose my baby weight. I would love to have my body be mine again, but the trade off is worth it. If I didn’t believe that breastfeeding was better for my baby then I don’t think I would do it.

Breastfeeding is not always encouraged by professionals or older generations. Learning to nurse is difficult, time consuming, and can be inconvenient. My aim is to encourage my friends and those who ask for my help and support in their breastfeeding efforts. It is never my intention to always promote breastfeeding to those that choose formula or to judge them. I may look at them funny while I am observing what they do, because formula is foreign to me and I am watching and learning in case I ever have to do it one day.

One way that I like to support my friends in breastfeeding is by giving them a Brestfriend Pillow as a baby shower gift along with a copy of an article that I wrote titled, “7 Things You Should Know Before You Start Breastfeeding.”

Other ways to support your breastfeeding friends:

• Be a listening ear when they are going through the first few tough weeks.
• Encourage them to see a Lactation Consultant if they need help.
• Don’t be weirded out when they nurse in front of you.
• Share about your own breastfeeding experience.
• Buy them a nursing cover for a baby shower gift.

Have you ever encouraged a friend that wanted to breastfeed? Has breastfeeding vs. formula feeding ever came in between a friendship?

Vanessa is the mother of two children, a boy and a girl. I’ve known her for 8 years and I find her fascinating, talented, and devoted to everything she loves. You can catch more of her stories on motherhood at It’s Called Guilt.

“I’d do anything for my kids!” We repeat this motherhood mantra over and over. For some of us, it’ll mean giving up a much-needed vacation so Junior can go to soccer camp. For others, it’ll be piano lessons instead of a plasma TV. Whatever the sacrifice, we’re glad to do it…mostly.

My turn at sacrificing came in December when my daughter was just three months old. Our little one had had troubles from early on. She continued to plateau on her weight even after we remedied tongue-tie, colic, and an oversupply of breastmilk. One poopy diaper revealed the harsh truth: baby girl is allergic to milk (and possibly soy) protein. The pediatrician came in with the news and my alternatives — put baby on formula or start a dairy-free, soy-free diet.

My first reaction was, “Okay! Bring on the formula!” But the more I thought about it, the more the mantra replayed itself in my mind. I knew I had to give this new meal plan a try. That first day I hunted around my house, looking for something, ANYTHING I could eat. I didn’t come up with much.

But for the last three months, I’ve devoted myself to learning about “hidden dairy” ingredients, finding new recipes, and investigating every morsel of food that touches my lips. I can’t say it’s been easy. I have dreams about accidentally ingesting ‘contaminated’ bread. I go to restaurants only to learn I can order a garden salad with no croutons and oil & vinegar for dressing, or else mandarin orange slices. That’s all.

I miss cheesecake. And ice cream. And getting to eat whatever I want without thinking about it. But I’ve learned discipline through it all. I don’t think I ever could have done this just for me. But for my baby? That’s another story altogether.

By Christmas everyone said she was a different baby. Gone were the days of one hour fine, one hour in pain, one hour of sleep, and repeat. Her smile now lasts throughout the day. That’s the silver lining in all of this. That and the weight that’s just sliding off. Hey – it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

How have allergies affected your family? Have there been other sacrifices you’ve had to make as a mom?

March is a big month for your contributors at The Mom Crowd: Amanda, our founder, just had her second child, and McKenna is going to Eastern Europe for the first time to meet her new daughter (for the first time!)  When Amanda asked for guest posters to step in and share their wisdom, the response was phenomenal.  Keep coming back to The Mom Crowd every day for fabulous information, tips, stories, and inspiration! 

Kristi has an admitted coffee addiction and lately has been indulging in an occasional spoonful of chocolate frosting straight out of the can.  When she is not chasing her 1 year old around the house, trying to keep him from eating electrical cords or learning about the life cycle of frogs with her 3 year old, she enjoys teaching ladies’ Bible studies, talking about Biblical womanhood, and blogging at Run the Earth, Watch the Sky. 

I am one of those crazy people who make their own baby food.  Yes, one of those.  You know the kind:  I pull out my baby food at restaurants and grind up steamed carrots (ordered with no seasoning, no butter, please!) while my friends look on with an incredulous look that says, “We knew you were weird, Kristi, but this…?”

Why did I do this (for two babies, so far)?  Obviously, every new mom is a little fanatical when it comes to health and safety.  We dutifully pick up every single thing that falls on the floor and sanitize it.  We carefully boil or sterilize everything that will enter our child’s mouth.  I was no different, and the thought of feeding my baby unrecognizable vegetable-based substances that are who-knows-how-old from a jar that has been who-knows-where did not sit well with me.

These thoughts were confirmed the first time that I tasted jarred baby food – wow!  That stuff is bad!  I was used to tasting my daughter’s homemade purees, and I was shocked when the jarred butternut squash tasted more like dirt than anything resembling a fresh vegetable.  She obviously agreed, because she wanted nothing to do with that orange muck coming toward her mouth!

So, I chose to make my own baby food for health reasons and taste.  That, and let’s face it: we are extremely cheap.  Those little jars of baby food seem cheap when you’re standing in the grocery aisle, but when your baby starts eating 3 or 4+ jars a day, suddenly that adds up fast!  For example, you could buy a five pound bag of carrots for $2.99 and end up with 36 servings of baby food.  If you buy carrots in the cute little plastic containers, it would cost you $18.00 for that much!  Yikes!

So, here’s what to do:  (it’s very complicated, so take notes)

1. Get some vegetables or fruit
2. Cook them until they’re soft
3. Puree them in a blender or food processor
4. Freeze them in ice cube trays
5. Pop them into labeled plastic freezer bags

Presto!  Tricky, isn’t it? 

Most people seem to feel more comfortable with the little jars and containers for some reason.  I am frequently asked how you know what to feed the kids.  My suggestion?  Go to the grocery store and look at “level one” foods.   What are they?  Buy them.  Cook them.  Repeat the steps above.  You can even buy one jar to check the consistency if it makes you feel more comfortable.  Trust me, Gerber does not have some magical formula for carrots.  They use: carrots!

Another great benefit to making your own baby food is the ease of transition to other foods – once they are ready for ‘chunkier’ foods, just do a quick, coarse puree and freeze them in ice cube trays.  I have also found that silicone muffin cups work great once they start eating larger servings.  Once they’re ready for finger foods, just chop the vegetable/fruit into chunks and freeze them.  As your children get older, start grinding/mashing up whatever you’re eating for dinner, and they automatically learn to eat what the rest of the family eats.  I will usually pull a portion out before I add salt, etc.

You can do this!  Your baby will thank you (well, maybe not.  But you’ll feel good about it!) and so will your wallet!

If you want a book that spells out what to do when, and gives you more specific ideas and pictures of the purees, I love First Meals by Annabel Karmel.  I also like www.wholesomebabyfood.com.  In addition, you can check out Amanda’s post on making baby food.

Do you make your own baby food?  Do you have any qualms about taking the plunge?

I have always been blessed with an easy-going and happy baby until this past week when Godzilla Toddler appeared in the body of my sweet 20 month old daughter. Last week Annabelle got the 24-hour stomach bug that was going around. We cuddled and held her for 2 days caring for her every need. Then when her health returned she emerged into a brave new world where parents don’t hold toddlers in their laps while they eat and booster seats are hot molten rocks not to be sat upon.

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