Is Your Breast Milk Good Enough?

Penelope nursing 5 months old 1 771

The short answer:  Yes and no. There has been hot debate on the internets these last few weeks about the quality of a woman’s breastmilk. Breastfeeding advocates got up in arms, guns blazing at some things that a Real Food and Village Green Network (VGN) blogger said as well as what Sally Fallon, founder of… [read more]

The Most Important Post Partum Skill-Nursing Lying Down

nursing lying down 301

One of the most important post partum skills to learn is how to nurse laying down.  I remember when Penelope was about 6 months old, a friend had just had a baby and I went over to drop off a meal.  While I was there I was able to help her with breastfeeding and taught… [read more]

Bottlenursing My Toddler

DSCN0917

Today’s post is written by Cassandra about the ingenious idea of bottlenursing, where she set up a routine that mimics breastfeeding in every non-nutritive aspect and allowed for the bond with her daughter to grow and flourish in the most basic of ways.  I did bottlenursing with my daughter for the first 5 months of her life until… [read more]

How To Increase Your Milk Supply

storemilk

As most of you know Penelope and I were gifted with the breastfeeding equivalent of the perfect storm. It took us five months to be able to get Penelope to latch on and nurse.  And it was and is only comfort nursing, but I am extremely grateful for that.  By the time she was 10 months old… [read more]

Breastfeeding a Toddler

toddler

This is picture of Penelope nursing in the middle of her 2nd Birthday party, she got a little overwhelmed at times and knew the safest spot to reconnect. I originally imagined this post planned to be a how-to, but then it seemed kind of silly.  There is a ton of information about it online already… [read more]

Nursies When the Sun Shines

nursies

Nursies When the Sun Shines, a book about night weaning, was sent to me by the author (who also has a very cute blog) to review, early in the summer.  I started thinking about night weaning back then, but only in the last month or so, did I really get the courage to get serious… [read more]

Why Penelope Couldn’t Nurse

breastfeeding2092-1

Yesterday, I started typing up this blog post and by the time I stopped to take a breath, it was almost book length.  It is far too much information for one blog post.  I really think our full story deserves to be told in book form.  How that is going to happen, I am not… [read more]

HUTH and PPD

huth

HUTH is code for Hanging Up the Horns. I had no idea what this acronym meant until I became an Exclusive Pumper, also known as an EPer. Never in a million years, would I have guessed that this would be the card I was dealt. For me, not being able to breastfeed like normal, was… [read more]

This Moment: Bottle AND Boob

bottleboob

This pictures speaks very clearly to what my breastfeeding relationship with Penelope has been like. The bottle is in focus and me and Penelope are in the background, slightly out of focus. I love how you can see me doing hand compressions. If I want to her to get milk, this is what I have… [read more]

Thank You For Nursing In Public

nip

Last weekend, my husband and I went out on our third date since Penelope was born.  We went to a lovely, outdoor, paella cooking demonstration with live flamenco music.  We ate good food, drank wine and had a really nice time. Except for one thing.  We had to share tables with other guests we didn’t… [read more]

How to Really Store Breast Milk

storemilk

I know everyone is pretty familiar with the breast milk storage guidelines.  They have been the standard guidelines for a long time and anyone who’s anyone in the breastfeeding world stand by them.  Here is Kelly Mom’s standard page and here is the La Leche League’s. I have found them to be conservative in some… [read more]

What To Do if Your Baby Won’t Nurse

babynurse

If you are reading this and trying to find information you have come to the right place, but I am sorry you are here.  Having a baby who wont nurse, when you desperately want them to, is a cruel, cruel joke and honestly it feels like grieving a death.  So treat it as such and… [read more]