Take it from someone who's been through being a new mom and learned from experience - not to mention heard from many other moms who gave a manual pump a chance, that they would never go back!  From one mama to another: go get yourself a hand pump and stick it in your purse, or your hospital bag if you haven't had your baby yet, right now so you'll always have all your bases covered - at least as far as pumping is concerned!

1. It is just so much smaller and more simple (read: less intimidating to the new - and sleepy - mom in you)

2. Much less expensive than those fancy shmancy electric pumps

3. The learning curve is easier with a hand pump

4. Many women get more milk, faster, with a hand pump than with an electric pump

5. There aren't a bazillion tubes and pieces to worry about and set up before you're ready to pump

6. You don't need to be near an outlet, or use batteries either, so you can literally pump anywhere (Trust me, I've done it - I've pumped in a neonatal resuscitation class because I couldn't miss anything but still needed to pump.  I even pumped in the bathroom in one of my client's rooms while she was in labor - it was great that I could pop in there, pump real quick, and get back to providing labor support in a flash!) 

7. You can pack it in your bag for the hospital so that just in case for whatever reason your baby doesn't get to be with you right away you can already start pumping and stimulating your milk production instead of waiting to see how long your baby will be away and if you're going to need a hospital grade pump.  Also in case it takes your busy nurse a while to get an order for a pump from the hospital, and then even longer for that pump to end up delivered to your room

8. If you are super engorged and so your baby is having a hard time latching, it is much easier to just grab your hand pump and express/pump a little milk to soften your breast just enough for your baby to be able to latch, instead of having to get your whole electric pump out and set up and ready to pump, with a hungry and crying baby right there waiting for his lunch

9. The first few times you are away from your baby for a few hours, toss your hand pump in your purse and take it along with you just in case you unexpectedly get painfully "full" or end up out longer than you expected.  Having that pump right there with you allows you to be so much more flexible without having to lug around a whole other bag with a heavy electric pump and all its parts and pieces (not to mention find somewhere discreet and comfortable to plug it in and pump wherever you happen to be)

10. You have direct control over how fast or how slow to pump.  The rhythm you find yourself pumping at may even be more similar to your baby's sucking pattern, so you could get more and better let-downs of milk than you might with an electric pump where you have to just keep playing with the settings

11. Whenever you travel by air and need to take your pump along, you can have your little hand pump right in your purse and airport security won't even have to check it out because it doesn't have a motor to make them suspicious

12. You won't feel like you're being "milked like a cow" because you'll be the one in control and doing the actual expressing/pumping

13. If you end up actually NEEDING an electric pump because you and your baby are unable to nurse and you are going to spend any time pumping exclusively, you'll want to be using a hospital grade pump anyway, so you'll be glad you didn't spend the money on a regular electric pump that's just going to sit in your closet (at least that's where my electric pump now lives - and yes I did need a hospital grade pump for the first week or so of my daughter's life)

If you're like me, you'll try your hand pump once and never look back!  If anyone had told me to just get a hand pump in the first place I would have skipped the electric pump altogether and maybe spent the money on something more essential (or more cute and fun!) instead.

Click here to see the hand pump I have.

Here's the one I might get in the future.  Not the best reviews in the world, but I've seen it in action and want it!

Warning: If you had low supply issues please just skip this post so you don't end up hating me!  My experience was just on the opposite side of the spectrum.

So by the time I had my baby and started breastfeeding, I had probably assisted somewhere around 100 women in breastfeeding their babies.  Most of these were initiating breastfeeding on the first day of the baby's life and then a follow up, or 2, or 7 all within about the first week.  I felt like I was pretty prepared (although, maybe I'll write about my initial challenges in another post soon) but there was one thing that I just didn't see coming:  he Niagara Falls of the voluptuous mother.  Now, first let me tell you that if you're pregnant and you think your boobs are out of control humungous on your particular body right now, you ain't seen nothin' yet!!!

Hopefully, for your sake, you won't get too engorged after you have your baby because that's just no fun - it hurts to touch, not to mention the kind of yucky feeling that you get if you happen to get that low grade fever along with the soreness.

Anyway, when I was engorged all I'd have to do was accidentally touch my breast and then both sides would just start flowing... and when I say flowing, I mean FLOWING.  If I wasn't careful I'd have milk EVERYWHERE.  I remember getting undresed to take a shower one day and just on my way to the shower from the bedroom I literally left a trail of puddles of milk.  It got a little ridiculous!  I soon realized that I just shouldn't take my bra off because the pressure of the bra and nursing pad was what was keeping me from feeling like a constant leaky faucet. 

After a while I figured out that I had an overactive milk ejection reflex coupled with a hindmilk/foremilk imbalance too, and that was part of the problem - and also why Daliya's poops were so green and foamy (check out what I like to call Dr. Gordon's Poop Page - this is really an incredible resource for new parents).  Once I started nursing her on one side for multiple feedings before switching to the other breast, the engorgement got worse for a day or 2 and then got soooo much better! Plus Daliya's poops normalized and she was happier too.

From that point until Daliya was probably practically 6 months old I just kept wearing my nursing pads and figuring there was nothing I could do about the leaking from one breast whenever Daliya nursed on the other one.  I figured, hey, this was better than leaking all the time and like a floodgate was constantly open like had been happening before.

Somehow no one thought to let me in on this little secret:
You can stop the leaking!  And it is so easy too!!  Whenever you have a let down on one side, if the other side is even partially full, chances are you will have a let down on that side too - which is great if you are nursing 2 babies at once and one is a weaker nurser than the other - but if you only have one baby to nurse, you wonder what to do about that other breast!  Pressure is the answer.  Now, let me be really clear here... I don't mean really strong pressure on your breast or nipple, cuz that is just not pleasant at all when you have milk in there, plus could potentially encourage plugged ducts; I just mean enough pressure to stop the flow in its tracks.

I still do this to this day.  I just put my forearm against my breast when I feel the let down coming and rest the palm of my hand on my upper chest for a minute or two until the let down is over.

And the really really cool thing that I learned recently about this is that when you have that let down, but then the milk has no room to come out, it actually gets pulled back up through the ducts and back into the deeper part of your breast, so you won't have to feel super full on that side until the next time you switch to that side to nurse.

If you have a similar story or other tips for moms with an abundant supply, feel free to post in the comments below.  I  love to hear from all you mommies out there!

Hi Mommies!

I'm back with more on what to think about and what to do when you feel like your milk supply has dropped off the charts.  We talked about growth spurts and hormonal changes in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.  Once you've got those two bases covered, and even if one of those two reasons is obviously the culprit, you still need to step back and ask yourself if you are nurturing your own body as well as your nursing relationship with your little one.  (And since you are already taking a harder look at your own nourishment, you can also make sure that you aren't overdoing it with any of the herbs that you should be avoiding while breastfeeding: Sage, Parsley, Black Walnut, and Yarrow.)

When you were first a new mom - sleep deprived and barely able to think about nourishing your own body - you might have had people reminding you to make sure you were drinking enough water and also at least snacking throughout the day, in order to support your body's healing process and also create the ideal scenario for your body to produce lots and lots of milk!  Now that you are either running around with a demanding little person on your hip or literally running around after an energetic toddler that is exploring anything and everything she can get her hands on, you may once again not even have the time or energy to focus on what you are feeding yourself.  Well, let me tell you, if your milk seems to be dwindling, this is the time to pay some attention again and make a point to have a glass of water each time you nurse, and also make sure you are eating a minimum of 3 times a day - kuddos to you if you can get 5 snacks and meals in each day!  Not only will you support your body in making milk, but you will also find that you feel more balanced and have more patience with your little one once you are eating often enough throughout the day.  Your baby may even notice a shift in your attitude when you are well hydrated and well fed and may follow in your footsteps and seem more settled and happy herself.

This brings us to your nursing relationship.  Sometimes this is the factor that gets completely overlooked (don't worry, we've all been there, but you can turn things around)!  When you had a teeny tiny newborn who was completely dependent on you for survival, you were probably a pro at prioritizing spending quality time with her during "feeding times."  Chances are you got all set up on the couch or in bed with a pillow or 2, or 4!  You may have even taken your shirt off and undressed your baby, and really soaked up all the skin to skin time you could when you didn't have company over.  You might have done this instinctually, or maybe someone told you that this would help bring your milk in and strengthen your breastfeeding relationship.  Well, guess what - even if it feels like everything has changed and you could literally nurse upside down with your eyes closed while on the phone with your hubby and not even have to look at your child, these same principles still hold strong.  Nursing still has a whole lot to do with love hormones, with connecting, with having that close and cuddly relationship.  Even if you have been having a hard time balancing your life and taking care of this little person, if you are still interested in nursing, then do what you need to do to keep your nursing relationship strong.  Take some time - 10 minutes twice a day at a minimum - and make a point to focus 100% on your nursling.  Set yourself up in a comfy spot, with no TV, no phone, no computer, just you and your child, and nurse.  Nurse and interact with your baby organically - do what feels right, play with her fingers, run your fingers through her hair, sing her a song, tell her how much you love her.  You can even talk to her about how you feel about spending time nursing with her and ask her how she feels.  If you are really lucky she might even respond to you with a smile without ever unlatching.  These moments are so healing and so incredibly valuable, not only for your baby or for your milk supply, but also for you to feel truly connected as a mom.  These moments are my favorite moments.

Hi Nurtured Mommies! 

In my last post I shared that there are a few easy explanations and solutions that should bring your milk back in at full force within a few days, even if you feel like you are "drying up."  I mentioned that we have to talk about growth spurts, hormonal changes, and of course - is mommy nurturing her own body as well as her nursing relationship with her little one?  We already discussed growth spurts here and touched on the subject of your hormones affecting let down (also known as The Milk Ejection Reflex, in case you were curious!)  And to answer a question you might be wondering - no, not everyone feels their let downs, but yes, they are still happening! 
Now let's get down to business.

#2: Hormonal Changes

There could be a number of reasons that your hormones are shifting, and any of these could cause your milk supply to suddenly drop without an obvious explanation.  We will address the one that might be the hardest to wrap your head around first. 

You could be pregnant.  Yup, I said it.  You could be pregnant.  Take it in, and even if you haven't gotten your period back after having your baby, think for a minute about whether or not you recently had a stint with your lover where you were just so much more into it and better lubricated (and I mean naturally lubricated) than you've been since you gave birth.  Well, if you automatically picture a certain private little "get together" with him that happened in the last month or two, go get yourself a pregnancy test and see if you can rule out the possibility of being pregnant again.  Even if you are not pregnant, brace yourself because that night (or day) you were picturing there for a minute could be the only warning you'll get that you are ovulating again and could get pregnant, or could get your period at any moment.

That brings us to the other hormonal shifts that can cause a temporary drop in your milk supply (make sure you read on to the end of the post too, because it will depend on your actions whether it really is temporary or not). 
You could be ovulating, or you could be about to start your period - if you haven't already. 
Now, if you recently started supplementing with formula or if your baby is 6 months old or older and you have recently started solid foods, then this is no surprise.  While some women get their period back a few months postpartum, and others don't get it back for a year or two, the vast majority of us will start ovulating and get our periods back around the time we start supplementing, and thus nursing less often and more sporadically.

On a side note, if you are hoping to avoid ovulating and getting your cycle back for as long as possible, but are thinking about starting solids with your baby, here is some advice for suppressing your baby-making cycle for as long as possible:  Any time you are going to give your baby food, nurse first.  Get in a full nursing session before putting any food in front of your baby.  This will keep your milk-making and cycle-suppressing hormones more stable and your body hopefully won't catch on to the fact that other food is being introduced.  Fortunately, from a health and nutrition standpoint, you can get away with this system until your baby is a year old.  Up until he is one the only nutrition he really needs to grow and thrive is your breastmilk.  The solid food introductions are there more to get him used to the different tastes and textures of (*healthy*) foods, and to let him get excited about learning to feed himself.  Keep an eye out for a post in the future about how to know when your baby is actually developmentally ready to start solids.  Hint: it is not necessarily at 6 months!  

Ok, back to the good stuff about keeping your milk supply up!  I said that hormonal shifts can cause a temporary drop in your milk supply.  I say temporary because as long as you keep nursing on demand (and often enough!) your milk supply should jump right back up after a few days.  If you don't keep nursing even though you feel like there is very little, if any, milk there, you will be telling your body that it is ok with you to stick with that smaller amount of milk.  And yes, your little one still is getting at least some milk each time he nurses, so you don't have to worry about a few days of snacking almost non-stop because pretty soon you two will get back on a more normal "meal" schedule.  Now, if you are still enjoying breastfeeding often and you want to advocate for yourself here, just keep nursing!  And nurture your body while you're at it, too! 

More to come on the topic of nurturing your own body and your nursing relationship in Part 3 of this series.