Category Archives: Breastfeeding

New mothers and sleeping!

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everyone

I had not had much time to write since I have been back from my trip but today I wanted to touch on sleep when you are a new mother.  I had a long discussion at the clinic with a mother regarding sleep. This poor mom was so tired and exhausted she did not know what to do! This is a very sensitive subject for people. Is your baby sleeping through the night? Do you let your baby cry it out ? So many books have been written on the subject as well!

What is interesting is that one of the latest research actually says that moms that are exclusively breastfeeding actually have more sleep then non-breastfeeding mothers.  We had been saying this for a long time!  Mothers that are breastfeeding benefit from all the physiological aspects if breastfeeding. The hormones usually help you feel more rested! You can actually go read the explanation of this study if you are curious using this link: http://www.scienceandsensibility.org/?p=3618

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Nursing in public!

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everybody


I hope you are getting back in your routine following the holidays! We sure are!! School is busy and the ski season is in full swing. So I do not know if you heard on the news about this controversy last week. There was a situation where a mom was nursing her baby in a baby clothing store in Montreal and she was told that she could not nurse her baby there. Amazing that in 2011 people are still told not to feed there baby in a public place or are sent to the bathroom. Would you eat in a bathroom?? Anyway the mother got angry and blogged about it and it got picked up by the news. The store finally sent her an official apology letter and the mother accepted the apology. Some nursing moms have also decided to organize a Nurse-In on January 19th at 1pm. So if you are a nursing mother feel free to join them on this day!

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Nursing twins

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everyone

I just had the visit of one of my patient who was expecting twins with her babies that are now 13 days old. It brings back such memories for me to see these little babies!! It seems like yesterday I had my twins in my arms, tiny little chicken like I used to call them. The mom was visiting me to consult on nursing her twin babies.
Nursing twins brings many challenges but it is doable. With a good support system!!! Moms can do it. How many time have I heard you will not be able to nurse your babies !! One of the tricks that worked for me was to nurse them together. It made it alot easier with a good twin breastfeeding pillow. Moms of twins are tired but I say it is like a marathon take one day at a time and you will get there. It can only get easier from here. Try to have two naps at the beginning, one in the morning and one in the afternoon so that you can cope a bit better with the sleep deprivation. Accept that you can not do everything alone and you need help.

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Blocked ducts during breastfeeding

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everyone

I wanted to talk quickly about blocked ducts when mothers are breastfeeding. I am seeing quite a few mothers with this problem, so I wanted to mention what to do if you find one. Blocked ducts happen sometimes when the mother is very tired or there is a change of routine i.e. skipped a feed or baby started solid food or is drinking less. Another cause could simply be your bra. Bras with underwire should not be worn. They can press on the breast and create pressure. Moms will feel a lump in their breast that is tender and sore. The important thing to know is to make sure you are not having mastitis. With a blocked duct you have NO fever NO redness. It is very important to know the difference.

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Latch is key!!!

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everyone

The week end is almost over and tomorrow I am heading to the breastfeeding clinic. I wanted to talk briefly about the subject of latch. So many issues stem from a bad latch. Some research actually says that 80% of problems in nursing are related to a bad latch. When I help moms, the first thing we always do is to look and correct the latch. Also remember that if you are experiencing pain during nursing there is something wrong. It should NOT HURT!!!. When nurses tell you the latch looks good but you are still in pain then you must do something. It is not normal. A few simple tricks to remember is to point the nipple towards the nose so that the baby has to reach up and open his mouth very wide. Remember that the baby’s neck also needs to be in extension or looking up. It will be a lot easier for the baby to move his tongue down and swallow as well.

Another thing that we seem to have forgotten is that babies are programmed in their brain to nurse and to latch well. At the clinic and what I use a lot in my practice is called self latching. We place the baby in an upright position between the breasts of the mother and we do not touch the head or force the baby on the breast. The baby will then move around and find the breast by himself and attach in a much better position with a wide mouth. A great web site you can visit for more information on that is http://breastcrawl.org/ I encourage you guys to view that video and to see how amazing this little baby is.

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