“I am Esther Leal, mom of Iria, 31 months old, whom I breastfed very happily until she was 28 months old, and triathlete of 11 years. Although this has not been my profession, triathlon is part of my life, and adapting it to my new life as a mother has not been easy. Still, by learning and listening to my body, I have achieved the best results of my life, including first place in the women’s amateur category in the…
What is the one-year breastfeeding crisis? When breastfeeding babies approach their first birthday, they might be entering the one-year breastfeeding crisis. Have you heard about it? At this stage, you might assume that your child will be eating a little more each day and, perhaps, breastfeed a little less. If your baby has already been eating* solids with some ease, he or she may now suddenly refuse to eat or eat very small amounts of only a couple of foods…
Let’s help all those relatives, friends, neighbors, and complete strangers who come across breastfeeding mothers in their lives. It turns out that when they come face to face with a mother, they don’t know what to say and end up saying any nonsense that, in the best of cases, can end up with the mother’s eyes rolling. Here is what you should NEVER say to a breastfeeding mother: 1. “You’re not doing it right.” Here, we include phrases such as…
Breastfeeding support groups are a fundamental resource for any mother who wants to breastfeed. They are an important meeting point for mothers in very similar situations. What is a breastfeeding support group? There are many different support groups for mothers, and among them, there are those that are dedicated breastfeeding support groups. There are also more general groups about parenting and maternity. In a breastfeeding support group, you can find: Other mothers like you who are interested in breastfeeding, either…
“My baby is 4 months old. Two weeks ago, I had to start giving him formula as he was not gaining enough weight. The first days were fine, but now he doesn’t want to breastfeed anymore. Every time I approach him to my breast, he gets angry and cries. I feel very bad, I am so sad. And when I talk about it to my family, nobody understands me.” When something like this happens, and it is unexpected, when a…
When you are breastfeeding, there seems to be a certain moment on the horizon that you are waiting for. It’s like passing stages in a videogame and wanting to arrive at the long-awaited moment when you are told (and start to believe) that the baby will supposedly breastfeed less and space out their feeds. So, is it true? Does a baby’s demand for breastfeeding decrease as they get older? Well, no, it doesn’t. Demand for breastfeeding does not decrease as…
Is there an 8-month breastfeeding crisis? Your baby has grown a lot in the last months, not long before they reach their first birthday, and there are still many things they have yet to learn. When babies are 8-9 months old, many changes happen, which can surprise and worry us at the same time. Is this also one of those stages called a breastfeeding crisis? So what happens at this stage? The first thing that is usually noticed is that…
“My baby actively breastfeeds and then seems to fall asleep. I think she stops eating and just uses me as a pacifier. Everyone tells me that I shouldn’t let her do this, and if she has already eaten, I must stop the feed. What should I do? It doesn’t hurt or bother me that she does this” As breastfeeding mothers, one of the things we are told the most is: your baby uses you as a pacifier. Apparently, this is…
Hypergalactia (oversupply) is defined as breast milk production (or supply) that exceeds the volume required to meet the nutritional needs of a healthy infant. Symptoms The referred symptoms are centered on the sensation of hyperproduction (or breastmilk oversupply). Derived from this, physical complications appear, such as breast discomfort and/or pain, obstructions of milk ducts, increased mastitis episodes, spontaneous milk leakage, or even a painful ejection reflex. There are also a number of signs and symptoms in the newborn, such as…
The second breastfeeding crisis comes between 6-7 weeks of your baby’s life. Again mothers may feel anxious about their baby’s behavior, and the comments from surrounding people do not help: your baby refuses the breast, it seems that she doesn’t want to nurse, maybe you don’t have enough milk… And all of this because when the baby feeds at the breast, they suddenly seem to be unhappy: What’s going on? It is obvious that your baby is uncomfortable and shows…
