Giving the breastfed baby a bottle

Ideally, babies feed from the breast. However, for mothers who must spend time away from their babies, and for mothers who must occasionally miss a feeding, it is important that the baby will take mother's milk by another method. These tips assume that the baby is being fed his mother's expressed milk. If this is not available, ask the baby's health care provider for advice.

Here are some helpful tips, adapted from an article by Janet Jendron. This article can be found here on llli.org.

1. Have someone else give the bottle. Many breastfeeding babies won't take a bottle from mother, since her smell and presence remind the baby of breastfeeding. One of the best people to give a bottle to a reluctant baby is an experienced bottle feeder. Someone with experience has confidence, and conveys that to the baby.

2. Gently stimulate the mouth with the artificial nipple, as is done for the first nursing at the breast. Let the baby "mouth" it and become familiar with it.

3. Try different kinds of nipples. Some babies like a nipple designed for premature infants, because it is so soft. Consult a health care provider for ideas about artificial nipples to try.

4. Try varying the nipple temperature. Put it in the refrigerator (teething babies like this) or run warm (not hot) water over it.

5. Use lots of cuddling by the person feeding the baby.

6. Some babies take a bottle better in their favorite breastfeeding position; others do better in a totally different position. Try propping the baby in your lap with the baby's back to your chest. The baby will see the room while drinking from the bottle (don't forget eye contact later). Or prop the baby on your slanted forelegs, like in an infant seat, and give the bottle while looking at him.

7. It may be best not to try to give a reluctant baby a bottle when he's gone a long time between feedings and very hungry. Anticipate.

8. Try to feed while moving rhythmically, calming the baby and distracting him from the different nipple.

9. If all else fails, try doing without a rubber or silicone nipple. For a tiny infant, alternative choices include an eyedropper, spoon, periodontal syringe, medicine spoon, special cup for infant feeding, tiny paper cup (the kind given out to hold condiments in fast-food restaurants), training cup or a regular cup.

To cup feed, place the rim of the cup on baby's lower lip and tilt the cup until the milk approaches the baby's lip. The baby's tongue will explore and find the liquid. On the first few attempts, this may take a few minutes. He will then lap or sip the milk. Do NOT pour the milk into the baby's mouth. Keep the level constantly by his lower lip and allow the baby to rest and pause while drinking, but do not remove the cup. When the baby has finished, he will let you know by turning his head away, or by other obvious cues.

Babies who can sit up may prefer to feed themselves (well supervised) from a regular cup or a covered "sippy cup."

When the baby is fed by one of these methods, be sure to breastfeed often when mother and baby are together, to satisfy the baby's sucking need.

Ten Tips for a Normal Birth

One of LLL's Ten Concepts is: Alert and active participation by the mother in childbirth is a help in getting breastfeeding off to a good start. Today Rocio led meeting number two, Baby Arrives: The Baby and the Breastfed Family in a discussion based on Lamaze International's Ten Tips in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding that were printed in New Beginnings. Here are the ten tips as seen in New Beginnings 2009, Issue 2.

• Choose a place that supports normal birth, a place where you will be comfortable. This may be at home, in a birthing center or in a hospital.
• Choose a health care provider who supports the practices that promote normal birth.
  
• Don't request or agree to induction of labor unless there's a medical indication for doing so.
  
• Plan to move around freely during labor. You'll be more comfortable, your labor will progress quickly, and your baby will move through the birth canal easily if you stay upright and respond to the pain of your labor by changing positions.
• Consider hiring a doula or professional birth/labor supporter.
  
• Ask that your baby's heartbeat be monitored intermittently, rather than continuously, as this restricts your movement in labor.
  
• Eat and drink as your body tells you to give you energy and prevent dehydration.
  
• Use non-medical pain management strategies, such as focused breathing and comfort measures such as warm baths and showers, massage, and birth balls.
  
• Don't give birth on you back! Upright positions (sitting, squatting or standing) on all fours or on your side enable you to work with gravity to push when your body tells you to.
• Keep your baby with you after birth. Skin-to-skin contact keeps to regulate your baby's heartbeat and breathing and helps get breastfeeding off to a good start.
  

Father's First Steps: 25 Things Every New Father Should Know

Enrichment meeting tomorrow at 10am!
Community of Grace Presbyterian Church
2015 E. Newcastle Drive (8890 S.), Sandy, UT.
(NE corner of Highland Drive and Newcastle Drive)

Benefits of Breastfeeding

Today we talked about the benefits of breastfeeding! Here are a few things we came up with...
B- BONDING
R- REST (helps mom rest)
E- EASY
A- AFFORDABLE
S- SMELL (breastfed babies smell good!)
T- TASTES BETTER THAN FORMULA
F- FIGHTS DISEASE
E- EVERYTHING!
E- EAR INFECTIONS (fights against)
D- DELAYED FERTILITY
I- INCREASED IQ
N- NUTRITION (perfect!)
G- GREEN

Series Meeting Tomorrow

Don't miss out on the advantages of breastfeeding! Tomorrow, September, 8th at 10am!

Breastfeeding Cafe is coming!

The Breastfeeding Cafe opens in the atrium of the Main Public Library (210 East 400 South) at the start of World Breastfeeding Week. Come celebrate breastfeeding daily with a community of support August 1-31.

Fertility Talk

Thanks to Salt Lake Leader Christy Porucznik for the enrichment meeting on Tuesday on fertitlity awareness. We discussed Lactational Amenorrhea, Calendar based methods, Bio-marker based methods, and Symptothermal based methods.

Here are some helpful links to find out more about natural family planning.
Natural Family Planning
Standard Days Method
Cycle Beads
Billings Ovulation Method
Taking Charge of Your Fertility
Natural Family Planning/Marquette University

July 28 Enrichment

Join us tomorrow for Fertility awareness with Salt Lake Leader Christy Porucznik @ 10am!

Welcome Rocio!

LLL of Sandy is proud to announce a new leader, Rocio Altamirano! Among many great qualities, she is Spanish and English speaking! We are happy to have her as a leader in our group! Welcome Rocio!

Breastfeeding around the house

Thanks to Kathy for leading Tuesday's meeting about breastfeeding around the house. We discussed all the different rooms in our homes and how they change when you have a baby. From safety in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room to sleeping arrangements in the master bedroom mothers shared how they made adjustments for baby. Many mothers agreed that what you have intended for each room before baby is not necessarily what that room ends up being after baby arrives.

One mother used a baby jumper toy for baby in laundry room to keep him out of the laundry piles. Many mothers shared new uses for unused nurseries such as spare room or play room. Keeping baby out of toilets and dishwashers is another feat. Some mothers use safety locks and others opt for keeping baby out of certain rooms altogether. Overall, mothers said that keeping an open mind and being willing to rearrange are important when it comes to baby!

Join us for our next enrichment meeting on June 23, 2009. Discussion of the book How to Talk So Kids Will Listen with Timbra from LLL of Murray.

Meeting Tomorrow!

Series Meeting 2: Baby Arrives: The Family and the Breastfed Baby
Preparing for birth, establishing nursing in the early weeks, & including dad, sibling/s, & grandparents
Tomorrow, June 9, 2009 @ 10am

Disadvantages of Breastfeeding?

There are many sources for lists of the advantages (and disadvantages) of breastfeeding and artificial milk (formula) feeding. Yesterday we discussed many of the so called disadvantages and discovered that many are a state of mind. Here are some of the things we came up with:

What "they" say: Ties Mother down
Our take: Gives mother freedom to go anywhere with baby and doesn't require any extra equipment.


What "they" say: Father can't feed baby
Our take: There are many things a father can do and allows working fathers to get much needed sleep!


What "they" say: Makes babies too dependent/hard to wean.
Our take: Babies are dependent, they are babies. Babies, like adults, can learn and change.



What "they" say: Takes too long
Our take: Babies require attention, and should be held regardless of how they are fed!


What "they" say: Environmental pollutants are too high in breastmilk
Our take: The good still outweighs the bad & formula has been shown to have higher levels of heavy metals, phytoestrogens and badteria


What "they" say: Painful
Our take: Although some discomfort in the early days is to be expected, breastfeeding should not hurt! Despite this, many women do have trouble in the early weeks do to improper latch or other physical problems. Most mothers who encounter these problems find that making through this time is highly worth it!

Meeting Tomorrow!

Come at 10am for Series Meeting #1: The Importance of Breastfeeding
Nursing benefits for baby, mother, father, families and the world...
See you there!

Nutrition and Weaning

Thanks to Kathy for leading this Tuesday's series meeting on nutrition and weaning. She passed out index cards with myths about food and breastfeeding, such as "I love chocolate so I shouldn't breastfeed" and "My milk has turned green so I shouldn't nurse." (Green milk can be caused by mom drinking lots of lime Gatorade: watch out for food dyes!.) Another card was "I shouldn't eat onions and garlic when I'm nursing." The group talked about weaning, substitution, distraction, and nursing lying down.

For more information on nutrition in breastfeeding and weaning please visit La Leche League's website!
How do I wean my baby?
Are there any foods I should avoid while I'm breastfeeding?

Remember there is no Enrichment meeting this month! See you next time for Topic 1: The Importance of Breastfeeding on Tuesday, May 12th!

Yoga for Moms

Thanks to Rachel Vaden for presenting her yoga in pregnancy, labor & beyond. Tuesday's meeting was fun and informative. We learned that yoga can help your body & mind in pregnancy, labor and postpartum. Here is the 10-15 minute yoga routine that Rachel presented for pregnancy & beyond.

-Mountain
-Rocking
-Standing cat-cow
-Forward fold
-Downward facing dog
-Come down onto all fours
-Spinal balance
-Hip circles
-Puppy or child's pose
-Hip circles/figure 8 both sides
-Squat and kegels
-Seated straddle split
-Ankle circles & flex & point
-Butterfly
-Head to knee
-Sacral stabilizing, interlacing fingers reach up both sides
-Gentle sacral twist
-Switch sides & repeat
-Cross-legged &/or side lying position, choose breathing technique and mantra* or meditation to practice at least 5 min. If sitting, place blanket under sit bones for hip & low back support if needed.

Namaste

*Helpful mantras:
-My body is stronger and more flexible than I ever thought possible
-I surrender to the wisdom of my body
-My baby feels calm, peace & serenity
-(breathing in)Trust in your body, (breathing out)Surrender to the experience

Benefits of Yoga

Come to our enrichment meeting tomorrow at 10am and learn the benefits of yoga in labor, childbirth, postpartum & beyond! Don't forget to wear something comfortable & bring a towel to kneel on. Although tomorrow's meeting is not an official class, Rachel Vaden will be able to show us all some poses. See you there!

The Well Ordered Home

Tuesday's enrichment meeting was led by Kathy on the book The Well Ordered Home. We discussed many ways of making our homes more organized with children, or accepting the disorganization that can come along with having children!

Some quick clean up tips moms offered were:
*Putting useful items in active storage close to where you need and use them i.e. bathroom cleaners in bathroom, printer paper next to printer, etc.
*Using different colored expanding folders for kids paperwork
*Taking pictures of children's artwork instead of keeping originals
*Having under the bed storage bin for keepsakes/artwork children want to keep
*Using bins and trash cans in your vehicle
*Changing our expectations of what a clean home with children really is!

Next week is enrichment!

Tuesday the 24th! Don't miss "The Well Ordered Home"

Books For Sale

LLL of Sandy has quite a few books for sale. Please see the bottom of our blog for the list. If you want to purchase a book, contact Kathy Grossman at hkgrossman@gmail.com.

February Series Meeting

During this month's series meeting the first two concepts of LLL philosophy were discussed. Here is a look at the 10 Concepts of LLL Philosophy.

The ideals and principles of mothering which are the foundation of LLL beliefs are developed in THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING. This book has provided answers and inspiration for the rewarding and challenging job of parenting to several generations of mothers. LLL philosophy is summarized in the following ten concepts:

* Mothering through breastfeeding is the most natural and effective way of understanding and satisfying the needs of the baby.
* Mother and baby need to be together early and often to establish a satisfying relationship and an adequate milk supply.
* In the early years, the baby has an intense need to be with his mother which is as basic as his need for food.
* Breast milk is the superior infant food.
* For the healthy, full-term baby, breast milk is the only food necessary until baby shows signs of needing solids, about the middle of the first year after birth.
* Ideally, the breastfeeding relationship will continue until the baby outgrows the need.
* Alert and active participation by the mother in childbirth is a help in getting breastfeeding off to a good start.
* Breastfeeding is enhanced and the nursing couple sustained by the loving support, help, and companionship of the baby’s father. A father’s unique relationship with his baby is an important element in the child’s development from early infancy.
* Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible.
* From infancy on, children need loving guidance which reflects acceptance of their capabilities and sensitivity to their feelings.