One of the items I recommend to moms for their Conscious Breastfeeding tool-box is a journal. 

I am one of the Kodak generation.  In large families, the  number of photos taken of you were often a function  of where you fell in the line of children.  The moments of our babyhood were not nearly as well catalogued as those of modern babies. Thanks to the digital revolution, the potential exists that every detail of their lives will be captured in vivid detail.

A hard-copy memoir of your time as a breastfeeding mother should be part of the time capsule of your baby’s life.  It will give them insight and understanding into your life as a mother, wife, partner,worker and of their development as a unique individual.

It is remarkably revealing to read my mother’s letters written, in her own hand, to my father before they were married.  Those were the days when people really wrote letters.  Separated by an ocean and without the luxury of cheap phone calls, those missives were their only means of communication.  There, in my mother’s handwriting, I am able to read of how much she was looking forward to having her first baby.  She hoped it would be a girl and was right; I was born the following year.  I wish that the trail didn’t end there.  I would love to know how she felt in those early days as a wife and mother raising me in a new country.

We have all heard of how having a baby seems to alter our ability to remember things.  Your journal will ensure that those precious memories will never fade.

Although it could be kept in a digital form. I recommend that mothers do this the old-fashioned way. 

On the most practical level, you will observe the patterns of your babies life.  You will be looking at feedings and how the breastfeeding is unfolding.  Knowing when and how well feedings are going will give you information to help you optimize your breastfeeding experience.

1. Pick a notebook, album, scrapbook that is beautiful and durable.  You will be filling this with your memories of this time in your life.  It will be a window into how you were growing and feeling as a mother and of the changes you observed in your breastfeeding baby.

2. It might be a great practice to begin writing a note or letter to your baby on a regular basis.  The art of writing can connect us more deeply with our creative, authentic selves.   

3. Take tons of photos of course.  Print some and include them in the pages.  Cut out photos that appeal to you in magazines and periodicals.   You will be creating a sort of vision board for your life as a mother as you document the memories of  breastfeeding your baby .

4. Include inspirational quotes and what you are grateful for on a daily basis.  You will be able to expand upon these ideas as your child grows up.

5. Include calendars and and document important occasions that were experienced during this time.   

6. Include locks of hair, etc. as the mood strikes.  Audio and video (cd/dvd) can be added to supplement the written word. 

Your breastfeeding journal can be so much more than just a way of managing and gaining  insight into your breastfeeding experience.   It can be an opportunity to engage in a creative expression of your life with your baby.  It will capture your  unique handwriting, thoughts and memories for posterity. 

It will serve as a legacy- a time capsule item to share with  future generations of your family. 

Such provenance is priceless!

Single-use, high quality electric pumps have been available for consumer purchase since the early 90’s.  During these intervening years, the amount of pumping has increased exponentially in the United States and across the industrialized world.  Pumping is very much part of the popular culture, often being featured in sitcoms and instructional media geared to expectant parents.  There is a not too subtle imperative to own a deluxe pump before the baby is even born.  Doctors, Nurses and Lactation Consultants encourage pumping as a way to both evaluate and to increase a mother’s milk supply. 

Pumping for some women is their idea of Breastfeeding.  Are you all Pumped Up?

Symptoms include, but are not limited to the following: 

• You Breastfeed and pump after almost all feedings
• You wake up in the middle of the night to pump
• Your are pumping weeks worth of extra milk, just in case
• You “power pump” if you get less milk out than usual in order to increase your supply
• You pump whenever you feel something is wrong with your breasts
• You pump to “empty” your breasts

I field inquiries in all my venues about pump management.  Mothers have been sold on the idea that the pump tells the whole story about their Breastfeeding.  They worry when they can’t extract the same amounts as their friends or in volumes that compete with ready-made formula bottles. 

Those women who do obtain copious amounts of milk when they pump will often have issues in their breasts while breastfeeding.  They tend to be out of sync with the baby and often contend with excessive leaking and engorgement.  Some will report having had Mastitis which was the result of inadequate drainage from only pumping or mixing pumping with direct, but inconsistent patterns of Breastfeeding.

Pumping can actually compound any problem brewing in the breasts.  Women who have sore nipples and engorgement are often advised to pump, rather than to correct the latch.  Congestion can build up and if not relieved the mother will spike a temperature leading to a course of antibiotic therapy.  Whenever, the health of the breast has been compromised it is essential to use the baby and not the pump to solve the problem.

Of course there is a time and place for Pumping…

• Premature Delivery
• Illness of mother or issues with the baby or babies that require a delay or interruption of direct breastfeeding
• To obtain human milk if supplements are medically indicated
• Returning to Work outside the home

Other reasons cited, may include:

•  Mom needs a break from breastfeeding
• Dad/partner wants to participate in feedings
• To know how much the baby is getting at feedings

Since the mother is the only one pumping and Breastfeeding, it is not exactly a vacation.  Pumping will increase her workload and can create additional anxiety as her milk output can vary greatly depending upon when she pumps.  The mother who feels overwhelmed and worried about her milk supply may begin supplementing and make decisions that lead to early weaning. 

If you are pumping or have pumped what has been your experience?  Are you all pumped up?…or more aptly all pumped out?  I invite your comments and concerns related to pumping.