30 Days of Thankful (Day19)

My 30 Days of Thankful

Day 19

I am thankful for my breastfeeding journey.  It was not an easy road.  Starting with abusive doctors and nurses in a NICU to tongue tie and thrush.  Today marks 14 months of breastfeeding Magnus.  He is a very chunky happy baby. Ok.. toddler.. but he's still my baby.  Breastfeeding is not easy but it is rewarding.

My best tip. Get a scale that measures ounces as well as pounds. Watch with pride as the ounces and pounds pile onto your little baby from the milk your body produces.  Don't give up find a support system.  Go to a lactation support group, visit a lacatation consultant. (some insurances even cover it)

Tongue Tied Troubles

Did you know that midwives of centuries past were reported to keep a fingernail sharp to slice the membranes under the tongues of newborn babies.  It was reportedly done to prevent speech impediments.

This blog post on Strollerderby is why I am grateful to my amazing Pediatrician for quickly disgnosing and resolving Magnus' short frenulum.   Baby Magnus had been under the constant care of doctors and nurses for the first few days of his life in the NICU but no one noticed the tongue tie. I wish I could have gotten a picture before it was clipped but it was diagnosed and treated in a matter of minutes.  After a quick touch of the gauze it had stopped bleeding. (never saw another drop)  Magnus latched easily and nursed immediately.  It was like night and day.  There was no struggling at let down.  His latch was no longer painful.

Not all tongue tie are severe enough for most people to even notice.  Like on here on the Booby Whisper

Have you ever had an experience with tongue tie?

A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities

"A baby will make love stronger,

days shorter, nights longer,


bankroll smaller, home happier, 


clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, 


and the future worth living for."


I love my little man and can't believe how fast he is growing.


Going from the 7 pound little guy in the NICU with tubes and wires to over 12 pounds at just two months old. He loves time in the moby wrap, luckily big brother got over it being his carrier. We are still going strong with our breast feeding.  Stuck it out through strictly pumping for the first few days, and then both of us getting thrush.   it was a rocky start but is very rewarding. Having a supportive family makes a huge difference in breastfeeding.  Even my kids will offer me a glass of water when I am sitting down feeding the baby.

Already a Biter

My son Maxx got his first tooth at one week shy of being 8 months old. I am positive my daughters all had multiple teeth by 8 months. I'm not complaining. I was actually dreading the day his teeth would come, they always want to test their chompers out on human flesh like little zombies. It's usually my poor defenseless Mommy flesh that is on their menu. My husband believes that Maxx was holding back on growing them in because when teeth appeared was when I stopped breastfeeding with the Nadia.

It wasn't the teeth appearing that scared me off breastfeeding. I had stopped breastfeeding Nadia after getting repeatedly being bitten while nursing her. It was so bad on many occasions that I was left bleeding and dreading the next time I would need to bare my tender bits to her. At the time I didn't know any better that she wasn't nursing but instead messing around when she would hurt me with her chompers. I didn't know I had never breast-fed a child that had teeth. With each baby I have breastfed I have been able to nurse longer and longer with each one.

Appearance of the tooth

I was sitting around after dinner watching tv while the little man cruised around the front room in his regular super army crawl. He pulled himself up on our coffee table as he always does to see what he could throw to the ground or check for any papers he could attempt to eat. Instead he started chewing on the edge of the table, so I pull him away and began playing with him. He grabbed my hand and started gnawing on it as usual. I felt something scratching me, so I inspected his mouth thinking he had some contraband. I was in shock to see a tooth since not even minutes before he had no teeth at all.

I started yelling OMG a tooth! My oldest kids come running and ask if I had lost a tooth. (being stuck in the losing tooth mode) Which is understandable considering in the past two months my two oldest daughters have lost around 10 teeth combined. (leaving our 4 yr old jealous of the all tooth fairy earnings) Once they found out it was baby Maxx's first tooth, they instantly started cheering. This little man is gonna wonder why he feels the need to have lots of cheering and applause.

I was going to wait until daddy got home from work to tell him but I can't keep a secret/surprise. Daddy was on speaker phone when I told him about the new tooth. After crowing with pride about his little man becoming such a big boy, he then asks me if this means breastfeeding will soon be coming to an end. Before I could get a response out Maxx was vigorously shaking his head no. When hubby didn't get a response because I was giggling too hard, he repeated his question and Maxx shook his head no all over again when daddy mentioned breastfeeding ending. We have our answer and will continue to breastfeed hopefully to 1-year-old. Little man shows no signs of wanting to give it up. Hubby says it is the boobies addiction that most men have it's just starting early.

Abuse of tooth power

That little tooth was not even 24 hours old and Maxx had try it out on my poor defenseless nipple. This time I knew what to do though. I still said ow because it still freaking hurt. I immediately told him no bite and set him down away from me and ended the breastfeeding session. He startled at me screeching ow but then laughed. As soon as I told him no bite and set him away from the boob you would think it was him that had just been bitten. Maxx was howling down the moon, all while giving me the most pitiful looks. For the sake of my poor nipples I stuck to my guns and again told him no bite and handed him a toy to play with instead. Less than a minute later, he had given up the howling and had turned his pitiful looks to glares of indignation.

Have you had to handle a biter? How did you overcome it?

Tip: When breastfeeding and your child bites you, tell your child "No Bite" and end the nursing session.  Set them down away from you. (near toys to play with since they were not eating but playing when they bit)  Try again in 10 minutes. 

Related Articles

• The Tooth Fairy Drops By (lauramaly.wordpress.com)
• Breastfeeding tips - All Information (umm.edu)

Be the Right Kind of Village

They say it takes a village to raise a child.

What they really mean is it takes a supportive village to raise a child.

There are many choices a mother has to make for their child.  These choices will not only affect the child but the mother's life as well. It is her job as a mother to make those choices for her child and your job as the village is to support her... or shut up and get out-of-the-way.

• Exclusively Breast feed or supplement with Formula
• Formula  or Breast feed
• Cloth diaper or disposable
• Co-sleep or cradle
• Circumcision or intact
• Vaccinate on schedule or Delayed schedule Vaccinations
• To vaccinate at all
• Home-made baby food or Store bought jars
• Attached parenting or CIO

No matter what the parents choose it is their child and their parenting choice.  What does it matter if they name their son Christian or Damien.  As long as they love and nurture that child.

Support a Mom! Motherhood is hard enough without the criticisms of others.

Most of all remember that unsolicited advice is really just criticism with a nicer name.

World Breast Feeding Week Aug 1-7

Imagine yourself after a long day finally sitting down to enjoy your long-awaited meal. When suddenly someone walks up to you irate. They proceed to tell you that watching you eat is offensive and you need to place a blanket over your head to finish your meal.  Ridiculous right?  Many people do this very thing to children being fed by their mothers.

Why in our culture is ok to sell every item imaginable using a woman's body, but the image of a child nursing is horrifying? Breasts are used to sell everything from beer, perfume, hamburgers, and even to increase box office ticket sales.  Yet, as soon as a mother uses her breasts for their natural purpose of nurturing her child there are people practically frothing at the mouth with hatred.

Set aside your judgmental ways and applaud those women for nourishing their child in a way as old as time.  Stop trying to shame them into nursing in filthy restrooms.  Would you want to take your lunch in a public restroom?

In honor of World Breastfeeding week show a breast-feeding mother your support not censure.

Dr. Seuss for Nursing Moms

I came across this today and had to share it.


Dr. Seuss for Nursing Moms

Would you nurse her in the park?
Would you nurse him in the dark?
Would you nurse him with a Boppy?
And when your boobs are feeling floppy?

I would nurse him in the park,
I would nurse her in the dark.
I'd nurse with or without a Boppy.
Floppy boobs will never stop me.

Can you nurse with your seat belt on?
Can you nurse from dusk till dawn?
Though she may pinch me, bite me, pull,
I will nurse her `till she's full!

Can you nurse and make some soup?
Can you nurse and feed the group?
It makes her healthy strong and smart,
Mommy's milk is the best start!

Would you nurse him at the game?
Would you nurse her in the rain?
In front of those who dare complain?
I would nurse him at the game.
I would nurse her in the rain.

As for those who protest lactation,
I have the perfect explanation.
Mommy's milk is tailor made
It's the perfect food, you need no aid.

Some may scoff and some may wriggle,
Avert their eyes or even giggle.
To those who can be cruel and rude,
Remind them breast's the perfect food!

I would never scoff or giggle,
Roll my eyes or even wiggle!
I would not be so crass or crude,
I KNOW that this milk's the perfect food!

We make the amount we need
The perfect temp for every feed.
There's no compare to milk from breast-
The perfect food, above the rest.

Those sweet nursing smiles are oh so sweet,
Mommy's milk is such a treat.
Human milk just can't be beat.

I will nurse, in any case,
On the street or in your face.
I will not let my baby cry,
I'll meet her needs, I'll always try.
It's not about what's good for you,
It's best for babies, through and through.

I will nurse her in my home,
I will nurse her when I roam.
Leave me be lads and ma'am.
I will nurse her, Mom I am.

Confession of an accidental Co-Sleeper

Yes, I admit it...  I co-sleep with my son.  Not throughout the night, but from his 4 am feeding to 7 or 8 am when my older girls wake up the household.  I fought co-sleeping when he was still that brand new little ball of cuteness and grossness all at the same time.  Not quite a real person, but a ball of needy loud mess.  (don't get me wrong I love all my babies, but I love them even more once they get more of a personality.. like he is now.)

Not just the fear of SIDS held me back from co-sleeping (although it was a HUGE one).  After listening to horror stories about my brother-in-law trying to sleep with his parents until he was almost 10.  Than the guilt hubby laid on me for buying a beautiful gliding cradle only for it to gather random baby stuff I needed to survive another night.

I held firm about not co-sleeping until baby Maxx was just over a 1 month old.  My  lack of sleep had caught up to me.  I was falling asleep at random times and my brain felt like it had short circuited.  I would find myself starting sentences only to end them in either a snore or some other completely random thought.

One night after another bout of marathon nursing I fell asleep with my son curled up next to me in bed.  I woke in a panic a few hours later. (it was the longest he had slept since being out of the womb) He was perfectly fine snoring away just like daddy.  I knew then that some major changes had to occur before I could sleep comfortably again...

I removed any spare pillows and even stopped sleeping with a blanket.  Maxx never ever sleeps in bed with us if either of us have had any alcohol. (I still haven't had my first drink since getting pregnant.) We always keep the ceiling fan running. (it's been proven to reduce SIDS) Even though hubby hates some of the changes, he goes with the flow knowing they are for my sanity.  These minor changes have made it so that I can comfortably and safely continue to exclusively breastfeed no matter the time he demands my attention.

I will admit that Co-sleeping has gifted me with the best Mother's Day I have ever experienced.  Just last Mother's day, I woke up to the smiling face of my 3 month old son.  He was just laying there watching me expectantly but with such joy.  When he saw  that I was awake his whole little body exploded with excitement.  It was the first time he had really smiled at me, Just for being me.. not doing something silly.  Just being his Mom.