6.5 Month BabyWise Update

I really want to get better at posting my BabyWise updates. I plan to once a month. Here's where we're at now. Elijah had a growth spurt around 5 months old. It felt like it lasted FOREVER. He started waking up one to two times at night. My middle of the night(MOTN) pump went out the window, but luckily I was able to get enough milk for Elijah's bottles until I was done at my old job.

I took two weeks off and was basically pump free. During this time, Elijah stuck with his normal schedule:
7 a.m. WEP
8:30 a.m. Nap
11 a.m. WEP
12:30 p.m. Nap
2:00 WP (When we pick him up from the babysitters)
2:30 BF
3:30 Nap
5:30 WEP
7:30 BF, Bed

Around 5.5 months we started solids. Slowly, but with Elijah's growth spurt and waking up twice at night-I was hoping solids would help. They did a little. I quickly increased solids from once a day to 3 times a day, about 1-2 ounces per feeding (usually 4-6 oz. per day).

Right now at 6.5 months, we're in a transition phase. I'm researching appropriate 6 month schedules. Elijah was still waking up around 3 a.m. until last Friday. I decided that it became habitual since it was the same time every night and we let him cry it out (CIO). CIO lasted about 30 minutes then he went back to sleep. The next night, he woke up around 3 and only cried 5 minutes before going back to sleep. He's been sleeping through the night (STTN) ever since (about a week now)!

Now that that is fixed, I'm working on fixing his bedtime/morning wake time. I need him to wake up around 7:30 so that his 1st wake time isn't over 1.5-2 hours. Sometimes he'll wake around 6:20, and we don't get him down for his nap at his sitters until 9:10 (that's almost 3 hours!). So I'm trying to put him down for bed at 7 p.m. I have to admit for this working mom-that's tough. I'll try this for a week and see what happens. If it doesn't fix it, I'll try 8 p.m. and see if that works.

Once that is fixed-hopefully soon-I'll work on his wake times (WT), so I can drop his late afternoon nap. We have a lot to fix! Here's his messy 'routine' now:
6:20-6:30 WT (this is supposed to be 7-7:30) I BF at this time.
8:45-9:10 Nap (this depends on his sitter)
10:30 WT (This is supposed to be 11). I go to his sitters at 11 to BF.
12:00 Solids
12:30-12:45 Nap (we're going to try to extend this a little later to hopefully get him to sleep longer)
1:30 WT (This is supposed to be 2:00).
2:30 BF (I think I'll extend this to 7)
3:00 Solids
3:45 Nap
5:30 WEP (He'll usually actually sleep until this time!) I BF when we wake him up.
6:30 Solids
7:30 BF and Bed

As you can tell-it's really messy! When we created the first schedule listed, it was completely 100% accurate. It's crazy how a growth spurt and a month can switch everything around. It's true that as soon as you get used to something, it changes!!! I'll post soon once we get a good 6-7 month schedule in order. Wish me luck!

Is Your Breastmilk Effected By Your Period?

So you know on the last post about breastfeeding, I mentioned that my little boy was perhaps getting too distracted to nurse efficiently? While I do think that's becoming a problem, I actually think the problem was something else. I've noticed the past few months around my period (sorry guys!) Elijah gets really fussy while nursing. I remember that I heard the hormones can maybe make the milk taste different, so I did a little research. From what I've found, your period actually effects your supply! It's a little lower, or harder to access-so that explains the fussy baby!

He's still only nursing about 10 minutes total, but he's a lot less fussy about it. I think it's back to it's normal milk flow. I also read that taking calcium & magnesium before and during your period can help your supply! I plan on trying this next month. I'll also need to remember to drink extra water!

About Bread

So I've been researching bread a lot lately as I've been creating my Utah County Shopping List. At the grocery store there is usually only one brand of bread that would possibly fit the Real Food rules (if that!). So I went on a hunt to find the best kind for my family. Here are the things to look for:

1. Whole Grains Stamp- The most helpful tool to start with would be the 100% Whole Grains Label managed by the Whole Grains Council.  Here is the information from The Whole Grains Council website.

Basic Stamp or 100% Stamp?

There are two different varieties of Stamp, the Basic Stamp and the 100% Stamp.

• If a product bears the 100% Stamp, then all its grain ingredients are whole grains. There is a minimum requirement of 16g (16 grams) – a full serving – of whole grain per labeled serving, for products using the 100% Stamp.
• If a product bears the Basic Stamp, it contains at least 8g (8 grams) – a half serving – of whole grain, but may also contain some refined grain. Even if a product contains large amounts of whole grain (23g, 37g, 41g, etc.), it will use the Basic Stamp if it also contains extra bran, germ, or refined flour.

I don't use this too much because the bread I buy is usually local, so they're not a member of the WGC. It's a great tool though. Be sure to pay attention the 100% on the stamp!

2. Ingredients- My main tool is the ingredient list. I want less than 5 ingredients. Anymore, I put it right back on the shelf. These ingredients should be flour, water, yeast, possibly salt and a possibly a sweetener. 'Flour' is okay as long as it is 100% whole wheat flour. I believe this would just mean they possibly didn't grind it themselves.

3. Technique- The first ingredient I want to be is 100% WHOLE GRAIN. Stone-ground is even better. Wondering what the difference is? First, let's look at the anatomy of the grain. There are 3 parts. The Bran, the Endosperm, and the Germ. The Germ contains valuable nutrients and fats. Here's how I understand it:

There are a few ways to grind wheat. I'm going to talk about two of the most popular. Stone grinding goes back as early as the third century B.C.  It uses the whole grain, and just simply grinds it up. Because it's slower than the modern milling processes, the wheat germ is not exposed to high heat, which would cause the grain to become rancid and the vitamins to be destroyed. Stone grinding avoids this problem. It also evenly distributes the fats from the germ which causes less spoilage. So, 100% stone-ground whole wheat flour contains all 3 parts. The Bran, the Endosperm, and Germ. You get the WHOLE GRAIN.

The other way is Roller milling. This is the technique most large commercial mills use today. The bran and the germ is removed from the endosperm, they ground the bran and the endosperm separately and then are recombined. You usually don't get the germ (and the nutrients along with it).

So in summary, Stone-ground will give you the most nutrition because the Germ is included.

4. Sugar- The fourth thing I look for is the grams of sugar and sweetener that is used. I like to make sure it is as natural a source of sugar as possible. Honey or Raisins are two I've found that I like. The grams of sugar is important as well. Remember 4g of sugar equals 1 teaspoon. I want to keep my daily sugar to under 5 teaspoons if possible, which is 20g of sugar. If I eat a sandwich from bread that has 6g of sugar a piece, that's already 3/5 of my daily sugar allowance. So keep this in mind as well!

5. Local- I also like my bread to be local. This is important when you're purchasing 100% stone-ground whole wheat bread. Because the germ is included in addition to there being no preservatives, it will go bad faster. The fresher the bread (meaning made this morning and limited travel) the better!

I hope this helps you pick out a great loaf of bread for your family and takes out the research for yourself. If you live in Utah County, check out my listing of products I've found to fit my Real Food Charter.

My Friend, The Breast Pump...Whaaa???

..whaaaat?? I know what you're thinking. "You just posted about how you thought it was your evil nemesis." Well, if you are a pumping or even a breastfeeding mom-you can admit that the pump has it's place. I'm actually EXTREMELY grateful to this little contraption. My baby boy wouldn't be as big, healthy, and thriving without it {in my opinion, nothing against formula}.  He's always had a great spot on the charts (between 50 and 80 percent)-not that the charts mean anything though, lol. He's never gotten sick! Since I'm a working mom, I have had no choice but to bottle feed him for a few feedings. I went back to work at 12 weeks, and stayed at that job until he was 5.5 months old. It was too far to go feed him 3 times a day. So I chose to pump, and pump I did. And more pumping. Did I say I pumped?

I pumped 3 times a day at work. I had to pump for at least 30 minutes each to get enough milk since I had an irregular let down pattern (at least from what I can tell). Oh and this was in my car, since my company didn't have anywhere for me and I didn't want to make a big deal. Even though my car wasn't the most set up, it was actually quite comfortable. I had my heater (it was winter), music, i could take off my shoes. It was actually a nice quiet time to myself. Occasionally I had to pump after I got home from work. Once Peanut started sleeping through the night, I had to start pumping in the middle of the night to keep up my supply. This was a milk-saving pump session. It wasn't fun to get up when I could be sleeping, but not only did it keep up my supply for my 6 oz. bottle eating 4 month old, it gave me at least 6-10 oz of milk. That would usually make up for a what I was short the next day. Adding it all up, I've pumped about 156 hours in the past 6 months.

Pumping is much harder than I expected. Here's a few tips for you (and for me if I have to start again!):

1. Drink PLENTY of water. Meaning more than your usual 8 glasses gals.
2. Eat OLD FASHIONED oatmeal in the mornings. This will up your supply naturally.
3. Pump longer than you would nurse your baby(even if milk isn't coming out!). Wait for the second letdown. Mine usually happens around 20-25 minutes. Most women has this happen around 15 minutes from what I hear. Remember the pump (no matter how expensive) will never be as effective as your little professional nurser, so be patient and work hard to get that milk!
4. Massage, massage, massage. Keep compressing and massaging to pull that milk out. Sometimes I would have to do it the full 30 minutes.
5. If you have problems letting down, keep a photo of you baby with you, a blanket that smells like them or brings sweet memories, or I even have a 'let-down' song that I play each time I pump. It's like ringing the bell for dinner. Your body knows what it means.
6. If you need to increase your supply, pump 5-10 minutes on each side after nursing or add on this time to your pumping session, again even if milk isn't coming out.
7. Remember, your milk is a supply and demand deal. If you demand it, your body will supply it. It works the other way too. If you stop demanding or reduce your demand, you body will reduce or stop your supply. This is why I believe most mothers dry out earlier than they wanted to.
8. If you're bottle feeding during the day, which most pumping mothers are, make sure to stick with the smallest nipple-size 0 ladies. Even if your baby gets frustrated with the flow, don't increase it. The faster the milk comes out of the bottle, the less they have to work. Our nipples require work, so we don't want our little ones to get lazy with the breast and prefer the bottle. Also, try to keep to the wide nipples. I made the mistake of getting the narrow Dr. Browns (even though they have the wide) and my little guy now nurses with a very narrow latch.
9. Try out some pumping accessories. I like the Pumpin' Pals Super Shields. I feel they really do bring more of the breast in the shield to get a wide 'latch'. If anything, at least you don't have to lean forward. I wasn't too fond of the strap though-I'll explain why. Since I have larger breasts (D's), I need inward pressure. The strap gave good lift, but not inward pressure, so I stuck to my nursing bra. I like the Simple Wishes one.
10. Have an extra set of accessories. If you can afford it and know you'll be pumping a while, get a few extras. An extra bra, so you can use one while the other one is getting washed. Extra collector bottles, regular bottles, and shields. I hated how every night I had to wash everything for the next morning. Once I had a lot of bottles, I did bottles every other night-which was great!
11. Now, I'm not guaranteeing this tip is the most sanitary, but I felt comfortable with it. Instead of washing your pump parts after each and every pump, throw all the parts in the fridge then you can use them again the next time without washing. If the milk is good, the milk on the parts should be fine too right? My little guy never got sick and this saved me time and sanity. I had a friend who liked the idea, but still wanted to rinse the parts-that works too! Whatever you're comfortable with. I only did this during my work pumps though. I washed it after that.
12. Invest in a good pump. If you're going to be using it every day, multiple times a day-you need a good quality pump that will help you pump fast and efficient. I decided on the Hygeia Enjoye LBI. It has an external filter that you can change in between babies or mothers! Did you know the average pump isn't approved for multiple users?? It's because you can't change the filter! Also the LBI has an internal battery that you can charge so you don't have to have it plugged in. I only have to charge mine about every other night.  This was how I pumped in my car! I would HIGHLY recommend the internal battery if possible. You can pump anywhere!
13. Here's a tip from a reader that I forgot-eat A LOT of protein!!!  String cheese, yogurt, even plant based protein is great.
14. If you're nursing as well as pumping, and one breast produces less-make sure your baby nurses on the lower-producing breast first. Usually a baby is a little more 'ferocious' when they first latch and they'll drink more-thus creating the demand.

Well I think that's probably enough for now! Let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to help.