My son was born on March 21st 2009. I breastfed him from the start. It was a little difficult at first. He had a good latch and a great suckle reflex. The only problem was that he wasn’t far enough on the breast. Of course, I didn’t know that. I let him nurse whenever he wanted for as long as he wanted (of course, with in reason because new babies love nursing). My nipples hurt, became dry and bled. I used lanolin (a life saver) and my own breast milk to heal the nipples. (only took a day!)

We saw the lactation consultant within 3 days of giving birth and she showed me what I was doing wrong. After that moment, everything was perfect! I love nursing him. He always put his hands in his mouth right before we tried to nurse. So we swaddled him until he understood to keep his hands away from his mouth while nursing. It worked very well and relieved some of the stress I felt when he was small.

I did go back to work at 6 weeks. It was a bit of a relief. Staying home with him and Daddy was kinda hard. I was use to working and not being home all the time. So we bought a breast pump. (double electric breastpump, best thing I have ever purchased) I pumped 4 times a day. After a long night of not nursing (he slept through the night at 3 weeks) and 3 times at work. It was quite easy because I changed jobs. I use to work in a shipping warehouse full of germs and dirt. I now work in an office with a private office to pump in. I soon became very consistent about pumping and nursing and my supply flourished. Using an electric breastpump allowed to express so much breast milk that we bought a separate deep freezer for storing breast milk.

I am military and I received word I was going to deploy. I was relieved to know I had such an extra supply of breast milk. However, due to complications from giving birth (4th degree tear) I wasn’t able to deploy. (He would have been 8 months when I left and I wouldn’t return until he was 18 months) So I decided to donate the breast milk to someone else. I found another military couple who had twin preemies who couldn’t tolerate formula. She was still nursing them but she only had enough for one full-term baby. I gave her the majority of my ‘extra’ milk and she let me know how much better her babies are doing. (Less spit-up, less gas, and gaining weight) I was so happy that storing breast milk helped other babies thrive.

I am still nursing him full time and he is doing so well. Everyone says how happy he is all the time and how smart. Breast feeding REALLY makes a huge difference.

Christina’s Breastfeeding Story – Using a pump helped me get back to work. is a post from: Natural Nursery Blog

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“The Starter Wife” Star David Basche Goes from Boob Man to Breastfeeding Fan

Is it possible to go from being a “boob man” to being a breastfeeding fan?  In honor of Father’s Day, the awesome David Alan Basche shows us how it’s done.  David starred as Debra Messing’s ex-husband Kenny on the hit TV show The Starter Wife, and played the recurring character of Mike Harness on Lipstick Jungle.  He starred as Todd Beamer in United 93 and stole Tom Cruise’s wife in The War of the Worlds.  He has a daughter, Liv, with his wife, actress and Best for Babes Champion Alysia Reiner.

Hottie David Alan Basche is now a breastfeeding fan!

1.  What did you think about breastfeeding pre-baby?  Did that change post-baby, and if so, how?

I hate to admit this, but before we had a baby I was kind of weirded out by breastfeeding. It looked strange and I was always like “look away! Ignore it, ignore the boobs in the room, move along, nothin to see here!…” But you know what? The first moment I saw my wife breastfeed our daughter minutes after birth, I was hit with a thunderbolt of understanding and awe for the miracle of it all, and I still feel that way.

2.  Did you take a breastfeeding class with Alysia?

I never went to the actual breastfeeding classes with Alysia. But I remember sneaking a look at that section of all the books she brought home while educating herself about it. And I did participate (as much as I physically could!) in the breastfeeding parts of the general “birthing and holy crap we’re having a kid” classes that we took together.

3.  What’s the coolest thing you’ve learned along the way about breastfeeding or human milk?

First of all, who knew that an actual baby can survive on it’s mother’s milk alone. Not this dimwitted male, I have to tell you. I mean that’s freakin’ amazing! No other kind of milk, no formula needed, no energy bars or burritos or mac n’ cheese. Just Momma’s Milk. Absolutely astounding. Oh, that and the fact that breast milk changes it’s makeup to adapt to a baby’s changing nutritional needs as the baby grows. One day more fat, less carbs, then whammo! a month goes by and it’s more carbs, less fat, still completely nutritionally PERFECT. Incredible, right?

4.  How did you feel about Alysia donating her milk to a friend’s baby?

I loved the idea, for a lot of reasons. It seemed to me, first and foremost, very loving and generous. And it felt very personal; a very intimate gift between women, and a very important one, of course. Also, I knew how healthy Alysia was eating, no drugs, no smoking, regular exercise, and our baby was certainly thriving, so I knew that her milk would be REALLY good for this other baby. And lastly, we donate blood and bone marrow without being squeamish about it, so I figured “what’s the big deal?  Share the boob juice!”

David & his babes: Liv & actress Alysia Reiner

5.  Alysia told us that she never would have breastfed as long as she did (over 2 years!) without your support.   What support did you give her that helped the most?

I just tried to be there and be supportive and keep things light. Also, she had a bit of trouble at first, I remember our daughter’s latch-on needed some “adjusting.” If it really hurt Alysia or didn’t feel right to her, I’d say “okie dokie, pop her off and let’s start again, I’m staying awake here with you, we gotta get that latch, you can do it sweetheart, you’re doing great.” PS – I gotta admit I was jealous there for a while, I mean when would it be ME playing with those boobs again? Hang in there, partners, you’ll be fumbling with a bra and feeling like a teenager in the back seat of a car again soon enough.
One specific thing I did was go out of my way to bring the baby to her Momma to breastfeed, no matter where Momma was, anything just to keep that bond going. Instead of giving a bottle, I brought the baby to Alysia while she was filming a prime time TV show in Brooklyn one day, then to Soho while she met a director at Balthazar the next day (all French pastries are better with milk).

6.  What would you say to encourage a friend who doesn’t want his wife or partner to breastfeed?

Well you have to respect everyone’s feelings, so I wouldn’t want to come off sounding preachy about it, but I probably will anyway, so screw it: I believe that if a woman can breastfeed her baby it’s the absolute best thing for that kid and will make them smarter, stronger, and healthier. To a spouse or partner I’d say learn about it, read about it, see a couple boobalicious videos (not THOSE kind!) to really get a sense of the awesomeness. Then just support your girl and bask in the divine miracle of it all. And hey, after some major effort if it turns out that for whatever reason they CAN’T breastfeed, then you have to support that too, you have to just be there, no judgement, just acceptance.

Babes, don’t you just love this guy?   How did your Boob Man become a Breastfeeding Fan?

You can leave comments on the best for babes website or tell us here!

How did your Boob Man become a Breastfeeding Fan? is a post from: Natural Nursery Blog

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Clothes
Come in sizes according to weight and don’t last very long at all in the beginning. You will need a slightly larger size if you use real nappies. Some babygros have integral gloves that fold back – very useful for babies that want to scratch their faces off. Things that fasten at the front are easier than things that go over heads. All socks are sacrificial; they don’t stay on feet for long so I prefer things with feet for colder weather.
Nappies
Cloth nappies rock and I like the smell of the Weleda nappy cream which is brilliant stuff. It is a good idea to research nappies, and there are some helpful tips on this blog.

www.naturalnurseryblog.co.uk/how-easy-are-cloth-nappies-to-use

www.naturalnurseryblog.co.uk/why-use-cloth-nappies

Toys
My child at 3 month liked noisy things, mirrors and things he could hold with his tiny fingers. Brightly coloured board books are good too.  If you buy anything musical remember that you will have to listen to it too.

Feeding
I used a pump to express milk and I pumped in the morning while feeding after the small had triggered off the let down reflex. Thinking milky thoughts of waterfalls made the milk come out faster! My son never took to a bottle but he would use a sippy cup. Pumping was just in case of emergencies. I boiled cups and the pump to sterilise them, it’s not a hassle and I don’t think the sterilising equipment is really necessary, though it may make life a bit easier. I have read that the sterilising solution can increase the risk of thrush.
Sleeping
I had a Moses basket for small but didn’t like it ‘cos I had to peer in to check his breathing. I bought a cot because it seemed to be the thing to do but in the end decided that I am a fan of co-sleeping. There are guidelines for safe co-sleeping that are well worth looking at. Grobags are brilliant and my small sleept much longer when I got one.

Bathing
I think a bath thermometer is vital, what’s warm to me is boiling for the small. We shared the bath and he loved it. You also need a soft sponge and ducks!

I hope some of these hints are useful, I found it daunting and confusing trying to work out what I needed and what was clutter and I hope my tips can help you.

What I wish I’d known when I was pregnant is a post from: Natural Nursery Blog

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1. Bonding With Baby
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