Being Real & Open About What It's Like to Nurse a Toddler...

This post is not a debate of breastfeeding versus formula feeding, or when a child should or should not be weaned.  I am sharing my experience with you all as an extended nursing mama. Please keep comments respectful and kind. Thank you.

Extended breastfeeding.

Toddler nursing.

Breastfeeding past one year old, two years old, three years old...

It really isn't talked about much, is it?

Just like nursing in public, it is also often seen as a taboo topic of discussion.

But I have found that when I do talk about it, quite a few mamas come out and say, "Hey, me too!" or... "I am still nursing my two year old..." or... "I wish my son/daughter had breastfed past a year." or..."I nursed my now 18 year old until he was 3."

So many mamas out there silently nursing their one, two, three year olds... But we never talk about it.  And because we do not talk about it, I do not think we realize just how normal and common extended breastfeeding really is.

But today I am talking about it.

Cookies & Milk... makers! {Review & Giveaway!}

When my baby girl was about 2 months old, I was fortunate to win a daily giveaway for lactation cookies from milkmakers on their Facebook page.  You posted a cute pic of your baby, and everyday that month they chose one of the photos posted and the reader got a free pack of their milk boosting cookies.  I guess I need to thank baby girl and her irresistible cuteness for our win. ;)

Millmakers cookies come in two yummy flavors- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin (which is dairy free, by the way).  I am a chocolate fiend, so I went with the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.  

The cookies were delicious!  They were big, and chewy, and full of rich chocolate chips.  I kind of almost forgot that these cookies were also supposed to be functional. ;)

But after 2 or 3 days of treating myself to just one milkmakers cookie a day, I did notice a difference in the fullness of my breasts and in my milk supply.  I actually won these cookies just as baby girl was embarking on yet another growth spurt.  And as most of my breastfeeding mamas already know, that meant increased feedings and the infamous cluster feedings.

With the help of milkmakers, I was able to keep up with her demand for more breast milk much easier.

I am not going to lie.  I hid these cookies from my husband and my son.  When they discovered them, I referred to my milkmakers as the lactation cookies to deter them away. ;)  I knew that if they tried one, they would eat all my milkmakers, and I wasn't about to let that happen!

So, how can these yummy cookies actually increase your milk supply?  Milkmakers cookies are baked with three key ingredients- oats, brewer's yeast, and flax seed- all proven natural ways to get a boost in the breast milk department.  No iffy herbs or supplements.  Just all natural ingredients.  

Milkmakers cookies are perfect for the nursing mama who is anxious about keeping up with baby's demand.  Mamas who want to keep their supply up as they return to work.  Or really any nursing mama they wants a little extra boost in their breast milk supply.

Millmakers has been gracious enough to offer one of my readers the opportunity to win their own 10-cookie starter pack in their choice of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip or Oatmeal Raisin (a $19.99 value).  Just be a U.S. resident and use the Rafflecopter form below to get yourself entered!  Giveaway ends at 12:01am on October 8, 2012.  Good luck, mamas! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*The opinions above are strictly my own.  Yep, all 100% me, myself, and I.  I was not provided a product to review and was not compensated for my review or the related giveaway in any other way.  I was provided a product via a giveaway by the sponsor and contacted them.  If you are interested in having me review an item, please see my Sponsor Page for contact information.

A Clever Little Top Called Undercover Mama (and a Giveaway!)

I do not think it is any secret that I am huge advocate of a mother's and a baby's right to nurse wherever and whenever they need to.  Honestly, I just don't understand the ongoing debate on this one.  

The baby is hungry.  The mama makes the baby's food.  Baby eats when baby is hungry.  Mama feeds her baby. 

It really isn't rocket science to me.

And it really isn't anything more than that- a baby eating.  

That being said, there is absolutely no reason why us nursing mamas shouldn't be able to nurse in public comfortably and well, fashionably... right? ;)  I know some mothers use nursing covers or blankets when nursing in public.  And that works for some.  But if your baby is anything like mine, those covers and blankets just leave her hot and sweaty, and well... causing much more of a scene than if I had not used one at all.  This is where an Undercover Mama nursing shirt can save the day!

I have to say I was more than thrilled when I was offered the opportunity to review a Undercover Mama nursing shirt.  I can't lie- I have had my eye on one of these clever tops for quite a while.  This simple top can turn any shirt that you own into a nursing top.  How, you ask?  Easy.

You slip on your Undercover Mama nursing shirt much like you would a tube top.  See the nifty little hook hanging there?  

Yep, that slides right into the little loop on your nursing bra! 

(If I have failed to explain this clearly, please just CLICK HERE to see the ridiculously easy videos on the Undercover Mama website.)

See how cute the Undercover Mama shirt looks under my tank top?? ;) 

When I nurse, I just unhook the Undercover Mama top from my bra strap, unhook my nursing bra, and lift my tank on top.  

No more of the bare belly/side/lower back (ahem... muffin top) deal showing while breastfeeding your baby!  

My top tank is covering my breast and part of baby' head, but my mid-drift stays covered.  Clever, right?

There is also a handy little loop that you can attach to the hook on the nursing bra, and then unhook the bra and nursing top in one fell swoop!

Undercover Mama nursing shirts come in a variety of colors, and you can even get the black and white ones with a lace trim.  Plus, they are adding two new awesome colors to their line very soon! 

So, how would you like to win your own?  :)  Undercover Mama has been generous enough to offer one of my readers a $25 gift certificate to their online shop!  And, this giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents! (<<< You have no idea how thrilled I am for my Canadian readers for this one. They do not get very much giveaway love.)

What do you have to do to enter?  It is a mandatory entry that you sign up for Undercover Mama's email newsletter.  Once you have completed that entry, the Rafflecopter will open up all of the additional ways for you to gain more entries.  The more you do, the better your chances of winning!  (And I do verify the winning entry, so make sure you actually do what you say you are doing!)

Good luck, mamas! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*The opinions above are strictly my own.  Yep, all 100% me, myself, and I.  I was provided a product in exchange for an honest review, and was not compensated for my review or the related giveaway in any other way.  If you are interested in having me review an item, please see my Sponsor Page for contact information.

Summer Blog Challenge, Day 39- Biggest Pet Peeves

IGNORANCE.

This is by far my biggest pet peeve. You know, when people have such a strong opinion about one topic or another, but have taken absolutely no time at all to educate themselves on the said topic?  Ignorance is not the same thing as stupidity.  Some very intelligent people can also be very ignorant.  They often are aware that there is other information out there, but often choose to ignore that fact because they have already framed their opinion and have no desire to read information that may contradict that opinion.  

Most notably I have seen A LOT of ignorance concerning breastfeeding and nursing in public.  People who have very harsh opinions on and judgments of when, how, and where a mother should breastfeed her baby.  People who have perhaps never breastfed, never considered breastfeeding, can't breastfeed (men), and/or who have never read one single thing about the benefits of breastfeeding versus formula feeding.  All they see is BOOBS.  They turn a very natural and loving act between a mother and her child into something sexual and perverse.  I cannot even tell you the utter exasperation and frustration people who think and believe those things causes me.  

I am of the school of thinking that if I don't know what I am talking about, I either keep my opinions to myself or I choose to research and educate myself on the topic in question before opening my mouth (or my Blogger account or Twitter, etc.).  

Our Bumpy Breastfeeding Start

It seemed as if some of my biggest worries were coming true as I sat in that hospital bed, cradling my not even a day old baby girl in my arms in the early, early hours of morning.  I was exhausted and tears were cresting the corners of my eyes.  And she wouldn't latch on.  I scoured my brain for all the words of advice and pointers I had read in my breastfeeding books over the past couple of months.  I tried to reach into the deep crevices of my brain and fish out what I thought might come to me naturally from the 9 months that I had nursed my son over 13 years ago.  But nothing was helping.  Or maybe it was just the sheer exhaustion from laboring and delivering her the night and morning before.  She was crying.  She needed to nurse and I just couldn't figure out why this was not working for the two of us.


For my son and I, it seemed like breastfeeding came so naturally, so easily for the two of us.  Or maybe that is just me looking through the rose-hued lenses of the sweet past of my baby boy.  Nevertheless, I didn't remember it once being this hard for him and I.  


Most pregnant women have birth related dreams about things that they fear.  Usually of delivering a small elephant or some other crazy fear surrounding the actual birth or new parenthood.  But all my "bad" dreams centered around breastfeeding- forgetting to breastfeed the baby in the first week and then afraid that she wouldn't take to it at all.  Or worst yet, dreams that she just didn't take to it.  At all. Ever.  The thought of that possibly happening broke my heart.  Honestly, being able to nurse, to provide all the nourishment my baby would possibly need for the first year was one of the things I was most looking forward to in becoming a mother again.  

The moments after I delivered our sweet girl and she was placed on my chest, she latched on.  I remember feeling the euphoria of knowing she was finally here, safe. And that she was nursing right away.  Relief and happiness.  But that relief over her initial nursing was short-lived.  We struggled all through the next day and then into the night.  I knew that this was beyond me at that point.  We needed help, and I did the only thing I could think of in that dimly lit hospital room holding my crying baby.  I pushed the Nurse button on my bed.  


Our night nurse spent hours with us that night.  She came into the room with all sorts of tricks and manipulations.  Nipple shields, tubing, sugar water and small amounts of formula just to get the initial suckling started.  To get her to take to the breast.  When she did nurse, this feeling of calm and bliss came over me.  My husband could see the instant change to my face and my body when she did occasionally latch on and eat.  Those few moments those first 2 days kept me going and wouldn't let me give up.  That and the memory of what it felt like to nurse my son all those years before.  Baby girl and I would not give up on this.  I was determined.  


And my day nurse was as well.

With one of our amazing nurses, Penny

She continued what our night nurse had started.  At one point during that day, I was alone in the room with my baby.  I started crying.  Crying from exhaustion.  Crying because of how difficult the nursing was.  Crying because the loss of my two babies before hit me like a ton of bricks that day.  The crying turned into uncontrollable sobbing.  And our day nurse came in right at that moment.  And she held me and let me cry.  Honestly, I am so appreciative of the two nurses who saw us through our hospital stay.  Sometimes people have a calling towards a profession and these two women had that.  In my deepest moments of frustration those few days I finally understood for the first time why some mothers give up so early on breastfeeding.  Had Carina been my first child, had those two nurses not been assigned to me... who knows if I would have endured.  

Looking at us now, you would have no idea of our early struggles with breastfeeding.  It seemed that most of our latching issues vanished when my milk fully came in.  Baby girl is now a little breastfeeding pro.  We have nursed successfully in just about every position and situation.  From side-lying in bed at night to in our Moby wrap while out to dinner.  She is growing and thriving.  

This post is not to make any mother feel bad for any choices they may have needed to make concerning breastfeeding their child.  Whether it wasn't for them or because they had to give up.  But I do hope that maybe one mother who is struggling or might struggle those first few days after giving birth may remember reading this and know that there is hope in perseverance and in asking for help.  Help from anyone and everyone who will listen.  Sometimes nursing just doesn't come perfectly natural to us all, and we need a little help.  It doesn't mean we have failed at being mothers or that our babies are rejecting us.  It just means that we are humans.  That we are mothers.  Don't give up if you can help it.