CITRUS LANE

I am kinda excited. I just ordered citrus lane subriptions for both my kiddos. I will do a review next month after they come.

Want to sign up to? Use this link to get 10$ off your first box
https://www.citruslane.com/invitedby/citrus.lane.868222

Currently you can also use the code TAKEHALF, for a 50% discount.

Not sure what it is. It is a suprise every month. The company selects a handful of products that are age appropriate for you kiddo. Every month for a $25.00 fee they select new, different iteams, and producers for you to try. It can introduce you to new and wonderful discoveries you may have never even heard about.

Walking and Nursing and Nursing in Public

Sometimes my son needs my to walk while nursing him. I think its when hes very gassy and needs a little extra movement. I do this in two ways.

1- if i happen to be cradle holding i canusually just tand up and go. I let is little bum slide down a bit and nurse him kinda upright. I usually find myself needing to hold my breast so he can keep his good latch. This however is not a problem if we are walking and nursing n the moby.

2-  other times i will cross over feed. I use the arm opposit my nursing breast to support baby, and i upport the nursing breast with my same side hand. This method is a little harded on my arms but i usually feel more balanced.

Fivetips for nursing in public

1- use the moby. It makes it easy. There is enough fabric to keep yourself covered, and you are not fully supporting baby. You can keep walking around and doing your thing. No one usually even notices im nursing baby.

2- always wear two shirts. I almost always wear my nursing tank with a second shirt on top. Ten im not expossing my whole body, and the upper shirt i use to cover my breast up. My babies dont do nursing covers.

3- be confident. Baby reads your cues. If your feeling flustered they will too and achieving a good latch may be harder and may draw un wanted attention to your chest.

4- i always latch facing away from the crowd.  Once im covered and good to go i come out of my coner and keep doing whatever i need to. If your eating out try nursing on the breast thats toward the inside of the table, a booth works best for this.

5- if things get crazy try latching in the opposite of what your doing. I.E if your sitting stand if standing sit.

Bonus tip- dont let baby get too hungry. Try and predict when baby will need to eat. A overly hungry baby will be a crying attention grabber. Also read up on your states nursing laws knowing how the state sees public nursing may put you at ease.

Cradle and Crossover Nursing

Future Post Coming Soon

Football Hold Nursing

I have found cradling my baby like a foot ball when they are at ther littlest is the easiest. Heres what to do.

1- place a boppy or other support pillow so that it hits you at waist level.

2- place baby back down ontop of the pillow. 

3-may sure baby is comfy. Check to make sure feet are not too bunch up etc

4- using the smae arm as the breast you are going to nurse on, place your arm to the outside of baby's body and place your hand under baby's head

5- with you free hand cup your breast.

6- bring baby to the breast, and make sure you have a clean latch.

7- add support under your hand if needed. 

A few notes. 

My breast always just laid on top of babies cheast. Depending on the sizes of your breasts this may or may not be the case. Do not stress about the baby being uncomfortable under your breast. It is a nice warm secure spot. Keep babys chin stright make sure they dont have to bend their neck too much. Try to rest your back as much as possible on whatever you are sitting on. Add support as needed.

Nursing Side Laying

Five tips for nursing side laying

1- put babys head in the crook of your arm. This helps you manuver them as needed.

2- put there arm under you breast. It needs to be out of the way. Also it insures baby is also fully on their side. Your breast is not going to hurt their arm. Atleast my DD breast have not hurt my baby.

3- keep baby low. Dont try and force your breast up. Your arm should feel comfortable too. 

4- give yourself support. I stuff extra blanket under the space between my arm and the bed and also under my hips and back.

5- keep that little nse clear. I usually have to depress my floppy mama boob down just below baby's nose. You dont have to press hard just lightly enough to create some  space for air flow. Baby can not eat if he cant breath.

Nursing with a Boppy Pillow

The Boppy is such a great invention. I love that you can use it or so long and so many things. I have not tried the new boppy. This is all in regards to the original. I have tried the my best friend but i perfer the boppy personaly as i feel i can manipulate it better. Plus there are so many uses for a boppy. My two year old now sleeps with hers. 

My five boppy tips.

1- play with it. Like i said it can be manipulated so easily. Squish it, turn it, use itwith other pillows theres so many options.

2- take advantage of the C shape. I use the boppy with the opening to my side instead of my back. It gives a little extra back support and still supports baby. Having it on your side is great for the football hold which i did constantly.

3-use it just for back support. I found this very useful when my babys got bigger and i did not need them boosted higher. It is great for late night nursing while sitting in bed. 

4- travel with it. I found it great for using in the car when on long car trips. It seems like car seats slant backward and the boppy made it easier for me to do i quick nursing session in the car.

5- use the crack. As my babys got bigger i found i really only needed the boppy to help my weakling of an arm holf their hard boney heads. I found it more comfortable to use the boppy in the front and let babys legs and bum lay between my tummy and the boppy, but kept babys head on the pillow.

Using and Nursing in a Moby Wrap

One of my most favorite baby care iteams has been my moby wrap. There are a couple big reasons why. One it is very comfortable, and doesnt cause back strein. Two because of how easy it is to nurse in it. 

First i'll break down how I wear the moby, then I will break down how to nurse in it. 

1- i use the gather method. Pinch and gather the fabicand center the tag at you belly button.

2- pull both ends around your waist and then up and over the opposite shoulder, to form a X.  Where the X is on your shoulders is what determines how high or low baby will sit. I always make sure my X is between my shoulder blades. You should try different heights to see what works for you.

3- place both ends under the front flap of fabric, behind the tag. And cross them to orm a secound X on your front.

4- wrap around your waist as much as possible and tie a knot, i do two nots just to be safe.

5- get ready to place baby

A- face baby to you and lower them into the X. They should be chest to chest with you. Spread the fabric closes to you between their legs from knee to knee, then do the same with the other. Pull the front flap up and over babys bum and to their shoulders. Legs can hang out with fabric resting under babys bum or legs can stay covered, i usually base this on weather.

MORE COMING SOON

Nursin Hold

Choose the breast your going to feed with and lift the fabric fold on that side above you breast.

Place baby on the shoulder of the same side. Open the opposite fold and stretch it over babys whole body as you lower them in. 

Pull the front fabric over the topof baby's body. Unlike the other holds you will have to support baby's head as you nurse.

My personal nursing story.

I knew when I was pregnant with my daughter I was going to breastfeed. When I made that choice I had no idea how much work it would be! There is so much you dont think about until after baby comes and you actualy start breastfeeding! My impression was you have baby, you hold baby, baby sucks the end. Easy peasy! ..... Nope.

My first tip for anyone considering breast feeding is to learn all you can now. Although I took a WIC class it was not enough to reallygive me a clue! I recommend the site http://kellymom.com/ . Its a great Resource. Also talking with other moms who have sucessfully breastfed is going to be one of the best things you can do. Ask questions it one of the best ways to learn.

When my daughter was placed on my cheast I did not realize how hard it would be to juggle a 8 lbs baby and my breast. At first it was so uncomfortable to try and line up this little body and my breast. As she got bigger nursing did become less of a juggling act. I know when of the best things you can do to make breastfeeding easier is to nurse within the first hour of birth, but nursing a liitle tiny person with your knees to your ears still is pretty challenging. I recommend nursing as soon as you can, it will be ackward, but it will get easier later. Don't judge breast feeding based on your first time. Just do the best you can and make changes ever time, and as needed, and it will get better. Listen to your instincts, they are usually right. When my son was born nursing was once again a crazy balancing act and I had to re learn what worked for me. Dont forget though every baby is different so figure out what works for you and your baby..

Some of the things I struggled through was extreme nipple pain, low supply issues, engorgment and latching issues. My babies both latched great from the start, with one minor issue. They both are terrible at flarring their lips. With my daughter I was able to get her lip to flip out instead of curling in after latching. She would stay that way the entire nursing session. After time I did not have to correct this any more.  My son however seems to have a much more shallow latch. He just won't keep his lip flarred. Luckily it has not caused me any pain. From time to time,  I get "pinched" but a simply unlatch re latch fixes that issue.

With my daughter I experianced very intense nipple pain. Luckily. Never suffered mastasis but this must have been close. Although the Inital pain was extreme nursing was the only thing that helped this pain. I'm so glad to say this round I have not had that pain.

With both babies I experianced some amount of engorgment. I just allowed my ever eating babies to eat when ever they wanted to.  My engorgment equaled out on its own.

There are so many things that affect suspply. With my daughter one week of several issues left me lacking in supply. Taking fenegreek for a few days brought my supply back to where I needed to be. I have just returned to work. I am carefully watching my supply and pumping the same amout my little guy eats at night. I also make sure I very rarely remove baby from breast. Even if  he falls asleep I give him a long time to delatch before I do it for him. He knows what he needs so I follow his lead.

So far this round of nursing has gone easier then the first and I am hoping it keeps going that way. I think I learned the first round. So this time I will bring readers along on my journey. I will show you things I learned and answer any questions I can. Lets learn together! Thanks for reading.

A beginning

Welcome Mamas! This is a blog I am starting to serve as a guide, and a place of support for nursing mommy everywhere. I am a mom of a 2.5 little girl and my new 7 week old baby boy. As a new mom I have done something lots of other moms do. Watched read and followed birth club boards. On these boards there are always woman struggling with nursing. I wanted to create a place anyone who needed help could find it. 

I nursed my daughter for a little over a year. She pretty much lead the weening process or I may have continued longer. I am now also nursing my newborn son. I believe in all the benefits of nursing and love the process although it is a labor of love for sure! Because of my experiences in nursing my babes I have discovered a passion for breast feeding and one day hope to become a lactation consultant.

On that note please know I have no medical traing or schooling. If you need medical help please seek counsil with a doctor or other medical proffesional. I am just a mom trying to help other moms.

My plan for this blog is simple. I will explore with you, guide you and be there for you. I will post pictures, maybe even videos at times, and I will be detailed and yet easy to follow. I will also listen to you the reader and do my best to help you in anyway I can.