Comments on: Easter Family Fun

By: emily

emily — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:53:44 +0000

I’ve been following your blog via the nest, and wanted to offer some late suggestions to your let down problem. My DS is almost 7 months old and can be as impatient as Jasper at the breast. For the last 3 months, I’ve had to stimulate let down prior to putting him to my breast to feed. If I don’t, he’ll suck for about a minute and then pull away and cry. And, the more upset he gets, the harder it is to achieve let down.

So, my no-fail let down trick includes pinching and twisting my nipple. Then, I place my palm on the nipple gently and make a circular motion. I alternate between these two movements, and usually I get let down in a minute or so (though sometimes in the evening it takes longer). I do this before all pumping sessions and before the feedings when I know my DS will be impatient. Hope this helps!

By: jbhat

jbhat — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:17:32 +0000

What a cute family. And I too wish your struggles a good outcome. I wish I had advice. I guess just try to relax about it and not stress too terribly much. And yes, a visit to your midwives certainly couldn’t hurt. Or a lactation consultant.

By: Merks

Merks — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:40:58 +0000

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your photographs. I look forward to seeing them every day. And my GOD Jasper is a freaking heartbreaker.

By: ariana

ariana — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:49:42 +0000

Tabitha, thank you so much for the compliments! The reason you just mentioned (not enough back up room) is why I got the Sigma, though I do love the 50 for those really tight crops. My canon 50 just returned from being adjusted and I will hopefully be able to do a side by side test comparison soon, but I’m pretty sure the Simga is sharper, even with my 50’s focus issues having been fixed. It also seems to hunt less in low light.

My thought is buy it from a place like amazon or somewhere else where you can return it and just try and see if you like it! Though if you get a sharp copy I doubt you’ll be able to part with it :)

By: ariana

ariana — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:39:05 +0000

Kari, “grandpa” is our Cousin charlie, who is only about 10 years older than us! You just gave Jeff a lot of good material to bust Charlie’s chops with. Love it :)

Marybeth, Meggin & Keri, thank you so much for your support. It does make a difference knowing there are people out there cheering us on!

Faith, thank you so much for taking the time to post your methods. And huge props to you for making it to 7 months dealing with this problem!! It’s been less than a week for me and it’s making me crazy.. I don’t know how you’ve dealt with it. Did you look into having your thyroid or hormone levels tested? Since mine was such a rapid change I’m wondering if I have some sort of post pardum thyroid issue which isn’t that uncommon. i’m thinking of making a trip to my midwives..

By: faith

faith — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:53:43 +0000

i’m de-lurking to give a boost to my fellow bf mom. you see i have a let-down problem too and i can get one with a lot of work. the following work for me but not all the time. i hope it helps you out.

to start the first let down i take a few deep belly breaths, holding them in for a few seconds and then slowly release it. meanwhile i close my eyes and think of my chunky monkey. also i get some heat pads and nuke them in the microwave and let them sit on the boobs while i’m getting the rest of the pump equipment ready (if i’m pumping) i use the gerber ones i got at target:

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp95372_333181_sespider/gerber/breast_therapy_warm_or_cool_relief_packs.htm

if things are rough, i have an emergency sock that i sniff and some pictures to look at. if the little guy is with me, i lean down and sniff his cheek/hair/ear/neck whatever i can reach with him latched on.

to get additional letdowns while pumping, i manually express and pinch my nipples till they tingle and that usually does it. i _know_ there’s milk there, but sometimes it just doesn’t want to come out!

if there’s an area that’s lumpy, i heat it with the gel pads, massage with a little cream and then pump, stop and pinch the tips to get any clogs out and pump again. it works but it took me 6 months to figure it out.

i hear your pain!!!! hang in there. my boy’s 7 months and i’m seriously thinking of weaning… it’s just so hard and there’s a lot of guilt.

By: Keri

Keri — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:21:10 +0000

I love the photos!! What a beautiful family! I hate that you are still having let down problems- I was so excited to hear that your weekend had gone better. We went through the same issues and I eventually had to stop bf at six months. Hang in there, though. It sounds like your issue may be trying to resolve itself.

By: Tabitha

Tabitha — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:19:46 +0000

Beautiful photos! Are these all with natural light? I have been looking to add a wider angle lens to my collection. The 50mm just doesn’t allow enough backup room sometimes. I was completely for Canon only brand, but after seeing your work with the Sigma it’s awfully tempting and worth further investigation.

BTW, I stumbled across your site from PG.org and have really enjoyed your PS tutorials. You have a way putting it in a plain english I can finally grasp. Thanks for help and inspiration!

By: Meggin

Meggin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:53:21 +0000

Photos are great!
Sorry about your feeding issues. Look on the bright side and think how lucky you are to be able to fully breast feed until now with little trouble. I never nursed Kirk since he would never latch. He only got pumped breast milk for 2.5 months!!
As women we just have to accept how complicated our bodies are:)

By: Marybeth at www.babygoodbuys.com

Marybeth at www.babygoodbuys.com — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:51:35 +0000

I am so happy to hear your weekend went well–nature is such a mystery. Breasts or not, you’re a wonderful mom. Don’t forget that!