#14 Breastfeeding Basics with Melissa and Bri

Learn the basics of breastfeeding, what's normal and what's not, baby-wearing, how dads can support moms, and of course plenty of remedies to help with the most common issues that occur during breastfeeding.

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Let me know if you want to take a Breastfeeding Class by emailing me at Melissa@melissacrenshaw.com 

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SPEAKERS

Bri Hurlburt, Melissa Crenshaw

Bri Hurlburt  00:00

Hey everybody, welcome again to Homeopathy at Home with Melissa. Melissa is here and I'm Bri joining Melissa again. Really excited about it. And today we're doing a podcast about breastfeeding and breastfeeding remedies.

Melissa Crenshaw  00:18

Yes, I love it. I'm so glad you're here with me, Bri. We're just gonna have a conversation. I think we'll just start with just general breastfeeding things, right? Because you and I have both breastfed, you're still breastfeeding, so what can we do? What can we talk about to encourage especially young moms who are still breastfeeding? Or maybe even moms who want to breastfeed in the future? Alright, before you started having children, did you think that you were going to breastfeed? Did you already know you're going to do that?

Bri Hurlburt  00:49

I actually did, because my mom had four children, and she breastfed all of us. And for her, she said she never knew anything different. So she just did it. And always treated it very confidently. So I went into it thinking, of course I would. And never really had any hesitations, or I wasn't nervous or anything, which is maybe rare. I don't know. So I feel like that contributed to the successful breastfeeding journeys that I've had. What about you? I don't think I know your breastfeeding experience.

Melissa Crenshaw  01:25

Yeah, that's awesome. So mine's completely opposite. So when I, so I wasn't breastfed, and my mom was not breastfed, so when I was going to have Chandler... isn't it weird? When I knew that I was going to have Chandler, I knew that I was going to breastfeed. I didn't do any research. I didn't think about. It was just, I'm gonna breastfeed, and I was surrounded by women who didn't breastfeed.

Bri Hurlburt  01:54

So what do you think made you think of it?

Melissa Crenshaw  01:58

You know, I think that's just the natural thing in me that I've always done. I've always hated taking medicines. I've always liked the more natural route. I felt like the Lord was just like, I think he put those desires in my heart, you know, to use me for now! He was he was molding me the whole time, right?

Bri Hurlburt  02:20

And you do seem to be a person comfortable with going against the grain? So maybe that's just in you, too.

Melissa Crenshaw  02:27

That's true, because I was 23 when I gave birth to him, and yeah, I had no problem at all doing something different. And so I worked in a childcare center, and I took care of infants all day long. And maybe one every once in a while was breastfed. It was rare that I ever talked to anyone or knew anyone that breastfed. And there were women in my life that would say, "Ew, you're gonna breastfeed?" And there I am, 23 and I don't know a thing. And I was like, "Yep! Especially now that you said all that!"

Bri Hurlburt  03:04

I am so opposite of that, that I probably would have thought, "well, I thought I was gonna breastfeed, but now I don't know!"

Melissa Crenshaw  03:11

Isn't that terrible?

Bri Hurlburt  03:13

At least I might've been like that with my first.

Melissa Crenshaw  03:15

Right. I think we don't think about our words. I know we don't, you know. I don't think they meant to be hurtful. But it was just, it came out of their mouths. And I was like, "yeah, I'm gonna breastfeed." And so I had no support. My mom, of course, wanted to support me in whatever I wanted to do. But the reason she didn't breastfeed is that she was told by the doctor, "since your mom couldn't breastfeed, you're not going to be able to either." Isn't that crazy?

Bri Hurlburt  03:45

That is really weird. And why they thought she couldn't. Because I know my mom said that they just didn't. It wasn't that they couldn't. They just didn't, it wasn't the thing.

Melissa Crenshaw  03:55

That's right. Yeah. So in the 70s, when I was born, yeah, it was not popular to breastfeed. And it was even thought of as only something that poor people did.

Bri Hurlburt  04:06

Interesting, because they couldn't afford formula?

Melissa Crenshaw  04:09

That's right. So my dad has six siblings, and they were all breastfed, and they were very poor growing up, and my mom grew up more wealthy.

Bri Hurlburt  04:18

Yeah, my mom was pretty well off growing up. So that is, that's so funny. So did you end up nursing all three of yours and what was that like?

Melissa Crenshaw  04:27

I did, I did breastfeed all three of them, and I had a lot of trouble. So all three of them, I had trouble. My hormones were not balanced ever, and so

Bri Hurlburt  04:38

Trouble with supply?

Melissa Crenshaw  04:40

Yeah, it was supply. Mmhmm. I also had pain with Cash, with the third one, and he's totally tongue tied. But I didn't know back then. I'm sure we'll talk about that a little bit. Tell me about you.

Bri Hurlburt  04:54

I just got them and put them right on there right away in the hospital. And all three of my boys are tongue tied, and we did not release my first's. But luckily, he was the tongue tie type that instead of getting really tired, he was determined, but I had very sore nipples. I remember, like they were cracked. And I remember them bleeding sometimes. And I just pushed through it because I knew it would go away. And it did not last long. Eventually, they were probably calloused and fine. But I didn't know much about tongue ties at the time. So he just nursed all the time. I had him on me for the first year of his life. I swear, I tell people, he just, I wore him at all times, because at any second he wanted to nurse. And now that I know that was because he was tied. But he had a strong suck, he was determined, and so once he got a little bigger, it got better as he got bigger. But he nursed all the time and I ended up bed sharing, so cosleeping with him right next to me because I couldn't sleep and I swore I was going to put him in his room. At two months old, e's going his own bed. He's going his own room. And little did I know... he ended up in bed with us. Honestly, one of the best decisions we ever made. I got sleep, he nursed right next to me. And because I just kind of went with, I just followed his cues, I fed on demand. And I had done a lot of research about that - feeding him like whenever he was hungry, my supply was always really good. Forever. So he nursed until I got pregnant with Summit, our second. And my milk dried up when I was probably 30 weeks pregnant. So he was 20 months old, I think. And then Summit, that kid probably would have nursed forever. But he finally kind of weaned a little bit, mostly on his own. And then I went on a trip for the first time since having kids for five days, I think and after that he was pretty much weaned and he was over two - maybe like 26 or 27 months. And then I got pregnant right after that with this one. And this is about a little bit more, I wouldn't say frustrating might be too strong of a word. And maybe not quite struggling either. I probably would be struggling if I had not already had two successful breastfeeding experiences. It can be a little bit stressful because he's, we did get his tongue tied done. But I think it healed still a little bit tight. So he's clicking a lot, really gassy, and it's not a peaceful experience to nurse him. He doesn't like to nurse laying down. So every time at night, I have to sit up and nurse him. Luckily, he only wakes up once or twice usually. So this one's a little. A little more. Yes. Very different.

Melissa Crenshaw  08:01

Yeah, I hear that. I do hear that sometimes how they can be, not sometimes, all the time. They're all different. And you know, I think with Cash, I would have made plenty of milk if he wasn't tongue tied. Finally, my my hormones were balanced by them. So I believe that with the first two it was hormones and anxiety. And then with Cash, it was just tongue tie, but I had no idea. He's 13. So, it just wasn't talked about back then. I was in pain all the time. And he nursed all the time.

Bri Hurlburt  08:36

So I remember reading something about the way theie suck changes at a certain age. And I do think that's where a lot of moms, their milk supply drastically drops off. And I, with my second, I noticed that he wasn't latching and sucking. He would stimulate my nipple, enough to simulate a letdown. And he would drink it but then around six weeks, I really thought... I can't remember, do you remember if it's two months or four months, it's in there somewhere.

Melissa Crenshaw  09:08

When that suck changes? Around four to five months.

Bri Hurlburt  09:12

Okay. So it goes from your body naturally making milk hormonally to now it matches their suction and their need. And if you don't have that, your supply drastically drops. So with a tongue tied baby, and they can't suck, it slowly goes down. And when they get to that spot, whether you need them to suck to create your supply. It's gone or it goes down quickly. I've seen that in a lot of my friends. 

Melissa Crenshaw  09:37

Yeah. So I was pumping after lots of daytime feedings with Cash. But I wasn't stressed out about it. I wasn't, I just was like, I'm just gonna do this as best I can. You know, I didn't have anxiety about it. So because of my experience with Cash, well, really with all of them. Because I had so much trouble with all of them, I decided I wanted to become a lactation consultant so I could help other moms. Because I felt like I had every problem that there was; I had lots of plugged milk ducts, and, you know, lots of pain, yeast infections, you know, low milk supply. My lactation consultant, a couple of them that I worked with really closely, I just, I wouldn't have been able to do it without them. But also, I couldn't have done it without La Leche League. So I started going to meetings when I was pregnant with Cash, or right after I had him. I didn't even know about like, La Leche League before then.

Bri Hurlburt  10:44

I didn't either. I don't know how to get those out to women, like how to get the resources out to women, because I never knew a lot of those things. And I don't feel like there's a lot of support. Even in the hospitals, a lactation consultant comes in. And I didn't know the questions to ask. And with my second I had a home birth. And they were, I mean, it was my second baby, they were much more helpful. But the third time, I was in the hospital again and had to ask for her to come in. And I had to ask her questions, specifically things I wanted to know, because I had had babies already. But she didn't offer me any information. She didn't check his mouth, his latch, she didn't check my nipples, our latch, how that's going. And I don't know if that's a majority, but that was my experience.

Melissa Crenshaw  11:38

Yeah, I don't know, either. I feel like at our hospital, we have, I think we have the best of the best, honestly. And we have actually 2, 3, 4 that I can think of off the top of my head that we used to have that either retired or moved on to do something else. They were, I think, the best of the best. And I didn't understand how important support was when I had Chandler. So, back then, just like I still am now highly independent, and just really don't have any trouble being on my own making decisions. You know, when I didn't have the support with Chandler, I didn't think about it. But it hurt me. And I didn't realize it. Having the support of La Leche League with Cash really helped me to be successful because I would go every, What did we meet once a month? Yeah, every month, I would go and sit with all these women that had been through all different phases of breastfeeding. And when I had a question or a problem, I could just bring it there. And they would they were so knowledgeable and experienced. And then I started to get experience and I could encourage the new ones that were coming in. Then I became a La Leche League leader. And that was awesome.

Bri Hurlburt  12:55

So you don't have to be, in La Leche League, you don't have to be a lactation consultant to be a leader?

Melissa Crenshaw  13:00

Oh, anybody can be a La Leche League leader.

Bri Hurlburt  13:03

And how do you find, like for women listening, how would they find their local group to go to?

Melissa Crenshaw  13:12

I would go to La Leche League, llli.org. But I would just Google or DuckDuckGo, whatever you do, La Leche League

Bri Hurlburt  13:24

True, you can google anything these days.

Melissa Crenshaw  13:27

And then you'll be able to put your zip code in or state or something and find your local group, for sure. And then Facebook, usually, the local groups have Facebook groups, so you might be able to find them there.

Bri Hurlburt  13:42

I know it can be hard to get out. To get up the energy to go anywhere with a new baby. And then especially if you're having problems breastfeeding, so it's good to know what's worth it. Okay, if I had to ask you a question as a lactation consultant... when you have a new mom in the hospital, what do you consider to be the important things to go in and evaluate and check to help her get off to a good start?

Melissa Crenshaw  14:13

Good question. So, do you mean what are some things that new moms should know now before they go in? Or what are some things, what do I do?

14:24

Both, actually.

Melissa Crenshaw  14:25

Okay. So man, that's big. So when you know in your plans that you want to breastfeed, you know when you go in to the hospital. So obviously, I work in a hospital, I also had all hospital births. So those of you who had these home births and these birth centers, I'm so jealous, and I wish that I could have done something like that. That's going to be different, but if you're given birth in the hospital, you're gonna have to be an advocate for yourself. You're gonna have to be stronger. The culture's starting to change, but you are going to have to, or you're your partner is going to have to really stand up for you. And with you and say, you know, we're breastfeeding, no pacifiers, no bottles, you know, before 24 hours old.

Bri Hurlburt  15:18

I did notice, sorry to interrupt you, small things that they did that maybe if you hadn't known this before, they'll come in and do the physical evaluation, a few different people, the pediatrician and then someone else and someone else. And a couple times, they would put their gloved finger in their mouth to suck on. And I didn't even know that they were going to do that to say, I don't want you to do that. So maybe be aware that that's something to consider it. I did ask them this time, don't do that don't put your anything in their mouth. Sometimes they do the sucrose on their finger on a paci. If they're doing some kind of procedure to calm them down. They also don't tell you these things, they assume it doesn't matter. And it's standard. So you're right, you do have to really know and advocate for yourself and your baby.

Melissa Crenshaw  16:12

So I thought that's interesting. Because I was I've been in there with pediatricians who do that. And they stick their finger in the baby's mouth while they're doing the evaluation. I was under the impression, although I've never asked them so I would love to hear your thoughts that they were checking the suck, which they should do.

Bri Hurlburt  16:30

Maybe they were checking the suck. They didn't tell me that it was good or bad or anything so I did not know that. And I do remember there was one doctor who came in to do a heel prick or something. And that was his way of soothing him. But maybe that wasn't across the board. So maybe there was a time where it was just check suction. And I just didn't know that's what they were checking for.

Melissa Crenshaw  16:56

So that was my other assumption is that they were just, they were wanting to soothe the baby while they check them and do things. And, you know, I think as providers, we are in and out of these rooms all day long. We need to be better about talking to moms and saying and letting them know, hey, is it okay if I stick my finger in your baby's mouth?

Bri Hurlburt  17:21

But with Lenin in the hospital this time, I kept him on me for a while. Nobody bathed him, but they took him to weigh him and she put a diaper on him and gave him back to me. And it didn't bother me as much maybe as it would have with my first or something. But something so small, I wish they would be aware. I know they do it 100 times a day. But for me, that was the first diaper ever put on my little newborn baby. And I didn't get to do it. And then the next time they came and checked on him, he had pooped and they changed his first diaper and put it back on and didn't even ask me. So I didn't even get to, granted, I didn't care because I knew those are coming. But I would have cared with my first and it kind of did bother me even with my third.

Melissa Crenshaw  18:12

So that's what I do. That's so funny that you're saying that because when I'm in there, and I notice the diaper's wet or dirty, I'll ask them, "Do you want me to change them? Or do you want to?" And you know, they'll be like, no, please do it. And I'm like, okay, I just don't want to steal your, like if this is your first one. And I always say that, or you know, sometimes the dads like no, I want to do it. Or mom's like no, I want to do it and so I'm not just gonna steal that from you. But back to what you really need to advocate for yourself. Lots of skin to skin. No bath until the baby's breastfeeding well. So in the hospital we say no bath until the baby's breastfed well for, you know, three times. So some moms are like, they are eager, they can't wait to get that bath and I go and explain to them, "Man, all this stuff on the baby is so good for the baby's digestive system. And you don't want to you really don't want to wash it off." And and I kind of feel out each mom what I can say. So if I feel like I'm safe to say, I wouldn't even give my baby a bath for a week. Sometimes they're like, what? And I'm like, Yeah, don't give the baby a bath for like a week or maybe even more. But that's always, that's sometimes a shock but no bath, no paci, no bottle, lots of skin to skin. And don't even think about dressing that baby. You know, sometimes people have all these super cute outfits. And I'm like, my job is to undress that baby. I'm going to take those babies' clothes off.

Bri Hurlburt  19:55

Yes, all my babies have stayed in a diaper wrapped in a blanket for a couple weeks. And I do think maybe something to add, or maybe you were getting to this, is I always try to be really careful about anything scented. So leading up to the birth and then even still, I use one brand of clean body wash. And my deodorant, I honestly don't put deodorant on that often when I have a new baby, which is hard because I am extra sweaty, extra hormonal, extra gross to me. But I'm also thinking, I mean to a baby, he's like, "there's my mom, because she's nice and stinky" probably is what he's thinking.

Melissa Crenshaw  20:39

But it's real. And it's you.

Bri Hurlburt  20:42

Right? Yeah, I don't put on anything. And careful about maybe laundry detergent that you're using before you're going to the hospital. Or if you have a baby at home, what you're putting on their skin to interrupt that hormone connection that you'll have.

Melissa Crenshaw  20:59

Good. All those things. Babies shouldn't even be exposed to perfume and laundry detergents, and all the scents and artificial smells and all those things. It's not good for any of us, but especially not these new babies.

Bri Hurlburt  21:12

I was just reading about that connection between oxytocin and nursing a baby, and how much that hormone plays into birth. And then your milk production and your milk letdown. And that does make a lot of sense. Because I've always wondered about pumping. How pumping would establish your milk supply from the beginning? Do you know anything about how long moms should wait to pump? Or how that plays into your supply long term? Because you might pump fine for a good few months. But, like we had mentioned before, not having the baby on the breast?

Melissa Crenshaw  21:57

Yeah. So yeah, so that's the other thing just to add to the list. No pumping for at least three weeks, unless it's medically necessary that the baby get extra milk. And even then you don't have to use a breast pump, you can use hand expression. But sometimes moms will come in and say, "I want to pump, so that my husband can feed the baby in the middle of the night while I sleep." And so then there's a little bit of education that has to happen there. Because your body's not made to sleep through the night when you've got a new baby. It's not, it's gonna hurt your milk supply. And that can come later. You know, if there is a time later when your milk supply is established, and everything is going well, and you want to use a breast pump and get some bottles for your husband to feed in the middle of the night. But if you start pumping too soon, you could have an oversupply. If you start feeding bottles too soon, then, so some people are still saying nipple confusion. And that's not really what it is. It's preference. So that baby gets on the breast and they have to suck suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, before milk really starts flowing. And then that suck slows down to some more long, strong draws. And so every letdown, they're getting more milk, but then it's your letdowns come and go. And especially in the beginning, you're not having letdowns because you've got colostrum. So that baby has to suck a lot to get the colostrum. So then if you're giving a bottle in those first few days, first of all, you usually put the bottle in the baby's mouth, so they don't have to latch on, then you turn it up, and it's just coming down their throat. So all they have to do is swallow. They don't have to work. The bottles immediate, constant and fast and the breast is none of those things. So then they go back to the breast next time and they're like, what is this? You know, they don't want to do a lot more work. It's so good for their jaw development and their their skeletal. All of the all of the development of their...

Bri Hurlburt  24:14

the oral structure or all development? 

Melissa Crenshaw  24:17

Yeah, they need that. So babies need to breastfeed for development.

Bri Hurlburt  24:23

So interesting, I love this. So if you want your husband to be helpful in the beginning, maybe give him other jobs like get up and get me water or maybe make food for you, take care of you, take care of the other kids, instead of trying to help with a baby in the beginning.

Melissa Crenshaw  24:45

That's right. Or even change the baby's diaper. You know if you want to have him take the baby, change the diaper while you get situated or whatever, use the bathroom, come back, get the baby back. But one thing that in my breastfeeding classes, I talk tom usually the dads are with the moms and I talk directly to the dads and I say, "I know that you don't, you may not feel the same. But let me just give you a glimpse into the reason that your wife gets so upset when there's dishes in the sink. It drives us crazy. So the way you can support her is help her to be calm and happy, and you take care of the dishes. You take care of the laundry, that's going to overall, if dishes are piling up and laundry is piling up, her mind is going to be thinking I've got to get up from this chair that I feel like I'm glued to and go do some housework, because it's driving me crazy. But those are the things you can do to help mom too.

Bri Hurlburt  25:47

Yes, I'm so thankful Kyle is very good and helpful with new babies. Well he's helpful when I have a new baby so that I can be with the baby. Okay, so in the beginning, when dad's helping in all those ways, and we're sitting here nursing, doing all the things, I only had bad pain with my first one. But I see on mom Facebook groups and stuff, moms always are telling other ones that it's normal, and fine that your nipples are gonna bleed and crack and blister for the first few weeks sometimes. And it did happen to me, but I don't know that that's normal. So tell me more about that.

Melissa Crenshaw  26:31

Yeah, so they have this idea, they get this information that you have to toughen your nipples up, you know, just give it time, they have to toughen up. And that's not, that's not true. So it's not normal to have pain, it is very common. So I think that's where people get confused that almost everyone they've ever talked to has had pain, therefore it's normal, but it's not. It should not hurt to breastfeed, ever. So it might be tender, because you've never had such a thing, you know, happening. But what I find very often, and this is the most satisfying part of my job at the hospital, is that I'll go in and they'll say, "Man, you know, it really hurts. That's it, or there's a lot of pain." And I'll say "Okay, so the first thing I always need to do is let's look at, show me what you're doing. Let's look at the position and the latch." So position, a good position facilitates a good latch. And if there's a bad position, there's going to be a bad latch. And that's going to cause pain. So if we, then I go, and if I show them how to get in a good position, how to get a good latch. And then they're like, "Oh, it's never felt like this before." And I'm just so, I'm just so happy. I'm like, yes, because when it still hurts with a good position and latch, then we're thinking something inside the mouth is wrong.

Bri Hurlburt  27:59

Mmhmm. So what kind of latch maybe a quick, I know, this can probably be long and extensive. But let's maybe do some latch suggestions for someone who maybe struggles with supply or maybe, I don't know, maybe struggles with even latching at all. And then maybe someone with my experience of, I have a lot of milk. And I can have a pretty good latch usually, but they almost can't stay latched. Granted, they were tongue tied, but they also had a hard time latching because I have big breasts, and I have a lot of milk.

Melissa Crenshaw  28:42

Yeah. So, first of all, when you're talking about just in the beginning, what I always help moms with is the position. So the baby needs to be lined up in a way that the ear, shoulder and hip are in a straight line across the baby's body. It doesn't matter if the baby's in front or on the side in the football position. So in the football position, what I very often see is the baby laying on his back with the breast resting on his chest, and a baby coming up like that from underneath the breast and that can cause a bad latch and pain for the mom. So even in the football position babies on the side and is coming around from the side of the breast. So in the cross cradle position in the front, you've got the baby lined up, point your nipple up to the ceiling. So you've got your hand in the shape of a "c". And you just literally turn it and push your thumb down above the areola and while you're pressing up, so the bigger breasts may have a little bit harder time. So your turning, pointing that nipple up to the ceiling.

Bri Hurlburt  29:58

So I'm like pinching with my hand on the bottom and thumb on top, and you're like pinching pointed up.

Melissa Crenshaw  30:04

Like a sandwich, the hand the shape of a "c" like this. So, yes.

Bri Hurlburt  30:11

I'm practicing over here.

Melissa Crenshaw  30:13

So then you put your nipple on the baby's nose. And that causes the baby to naturally tilt his head back, which drops that bottom jaw open further, and then you hook the baby on. So it's a hook, rather than trying to take your nipples straight into the baby's mouth, because your target is the roof of the mouth. So if you're putting the nipples straight to the baby's mouth, it can end up pointing down, or the baby has to work to get it to the position, and then it can slip in and out, which causes pain. Or it can be very shallow, which causes pain. And if you point it up and hook the baby on, you're hitting the target. So it's so funny. Sometimes dads, or even moms will be like, "I love that analogy. I'm a hunter, or I like to shoot guns, and you're speaking my language. Hit the target." You know, so whether you like to shoot things or not.

Bri Hurlburt  31:10

In hitting the target, they should respond by obviously latching and doing what they need to do. So I'm going to try that. Because with this little guy, he's given me a harder time. And I have heard that before, the "c" thing, whatever. Never described in detail that way, so I'm going to try that. Now if I'm holding him, though, along the front of me, he's sideways.

Melissa Crenshaw  31:38

Yes.

Bri Hurlburt  31:39

So how is the "c" gonna work, I do have to do a sideways "c"?

Melissa Crenshaw  31:44

So you've got the baby in the right hand and your left hand in the shape of a "c" underneath the breast with your thumb above the areola and tilt it up.

Bri Hurlburt  31:55

So he's kind of faced, he's like, at a diagonal, he's not straight, flat, right? horizontal?

Melissa Crenshaw  32:01

So also, you need to stack pillows up to hold the weight of the baby. So that's the thing. He's four months? Yeah, so this is really more for newborns, you can still do this. But as the baby gets into three, four or five months old, you don't have to line them up perfectly and do all that.

Bri Hurlburt  32:19

Well. I might have to reteach. So maybe this is a good... I don't know that he, or I have taught him or worked with him maybe enough. Especially now that maybe his tongue tie has healed a little bit more tight again. I feel like I do need to coach him more often. Yeah. So maybe I'll try that. I remember my other question. This kind of leads into that. I wouldn't call it nipple confusion. And it does make sense what you said, but he is my first baby to take a pacifier. And I've noticed sometimes the way that he sucks a pacifier into his mouth, he is starting to suck my nipple into his mouth that same way. Almost like he doesn't want to open and let me put my nipple in, he keeps his mouth closed and just sucks it in. And it doesn't hurt me as much as it's not a good latch. And so I have to relatch and relatch and he still is almost, it's almost like he forgot that he needs to open. Because he does use his pacifier more often and longer than he's drinking milk. So what would you recommend in that scenario for babies who have pacifiers, and maybe that is the issue?

Melissa Crenshaw  33:39

So having them latch on to the pacifier or the bottle. So you're putting that pacifier or a bottle on the nose, make them tilt their head back and open wide because they're gonna go for it, you know, they're gonna automatically want to go for and they're going to open. So make them open up.

Bri Hurlburt  33:58

So they need to work a little bit further. Okay, that's helpful, that's actually very helpful and I, I would think that a lot of moms, maybe that would be helpful, or maybe could be an issue with their nursing that they don't realize.

Melissa Crenshaw  34:13

The other thing with pacifiers is early on, you can miss feeding cues. So that's a reason not to give your baby, a newborn, well, you know, in the first few weeks, the pacifier. Because your baby can be laying over there in the bed, sucking on a pacifier, hungry. So a lot of moms will say, "he used me as a pacifier all night. He can't be hungry. He just finished," and I'm like, "Yes, he really is hungry." So you know, in those first few days until your milk comes in, just assume the baby's always hungry. Always latch them on. And when you miss those feeding cues, and it gets too far out, then they're fussy and mad, and then it's hard to get a good latch.

Bri Hurlburt  34:56

And maybe that can go for as babies grow, and they cluster feed and moms start getting nervous they're not making enough milk, or I know it's exhausting and frustrating when your baby wants to eat every hour. But typically, that is a growth spurt, and it's helping your body know how to either change the milk. And, okay, now this is another question because I know sometimes it's supply, like you need more milk, for sure. And then I remember hearing or reading somewhere that at some point your body doesn't make more amount, like your baby's not drinking eight ounce bottles of breastmilk. But it changes to increase in nutritional value that they need as they grow. Do you know anything about that?

Melissa Crenshaw  35:51

Yeah, I love that because your breast milk is constantly changing to meet your baby's needs. And formula doesn't change. And so, no matter how long you breastfeed, whether it's one month or two years or three years, your breast milk is always changing to meet your baby's needs. And that's another thing that I see in the hospital. When I asked the Mom, how long did you breastfeed? Did you breastfeed your other babies? Yes. Okay, well, it may have been one week, and she doesn't really know what to expect. And I want to support her in that. Or it may have been three years. And I'm like, Oh, you, like, you're good. But what can I do? What do you need? You wouldn't believe how often when a mom says anything more than 18 months, the look of almost shame. Like they're scared to tell me that. And I just make a big deal. I'm like, "wow, love that. Oh, my gosh, so good. You're gonna do it again." It's awful. Where's that even coming from? Why are people ashamed to breastfeed their babies for a long time?

Bri Hurlburt  36:50

Well, I don't think we live in an environment where it's comfortable. You don't see a lot of moms doing it. And so as your kid gets bigger, you automatically think this is weirder and weirder. And I remember, maybe this is going to Biblical stuff. But Kyle and I were just talking that shame is one of the only emotions you don't have to be taught. And if you think of the fall, you feel shame, like that was the first thing they felt in their sin. So I do wonder if naturally, we feel shame on our own, even if other people are not putting that on us.

Melissa Crenshaw  37:31

That's true.

Bri Hurlburt  37:32

But it can cause a lot of moms to not want to nurse for a long time. So I remember reading too, that breastfed babies should drink between one to one and a half ounces per hour of the day? Is that, when they get older, I know that can change - when they're tiny, they're not drinking that much. But for moms maybe who pump and are sending bottles to daycare or leaving them home, I've typically seen that as a rule?

Melissa Crenshaw  38:02

That could be true, I have a cheat sheet at work that I look at based on their weight. So you know, it's a certain number of ounces based on how much they weigh. So because I use the cheat sheet, I don't have anything memorized like that. But I know that it tops, they top out at around 30 to 34 ounces at some point, which is usually around maybe five or six months.

Bri Hurlburt  38:33

Qhich is about that then, about one to one and a half ounces per hour. And you're adding solids in there. So, babywearing. I have done a lot of babywearing. And, I don't know, I didn't notice a difference in my supply necessarily. But I do know that it increases the hormones that you make, oxytocin and all the other feel good hormones, that can help with milk supply. Right?

Melissa Crenshaw  39:01

Yeah, absolutely. Babywearing is so important on so many levels for moms and dads to do. And you know, earlier we talked about skin to skin. So skin to skin with the mom can help the baby regulate her temperature. So mom's body will regulate the baby's body temperature. It can increase milk supply. It can help with any stress hormones or anything with the baby. Keep the baby calm and it helps the brain development so you can, if you're wearing your baby at home, you can wear the baby skin to skin. So dads can wear babies, but their bodies just don't do the same things. It's great for bonding for dads.

Bri Hurlburt  39:51

And I know when you wear them in a wrap, especially to wear them up high where their heads are right by your face and you can smell it. Yeah. Which I'm sure helps with the bonding. I love seeing, like, big dads with the little teeny baby wrapped up in there on them. 

Melissa Crenshaw  40:10

What's your favorite wrap or or thing to wear babies? 

Bri Hurlburt  40:14

Okay. I love, for newborns up to probably... I still wear Lennon, so maybe four-ish months. Just when they start getting too heavy. So I've had big babies, around three or four months it starts getting too heavy, but I wear them in the Solly baby. I've tried other fabric wraps before and they're either too stretchy or just too wide or not comfortable enough. So solly baby wrap is a little bit more pricey, but I've used it for all of them. The same one. And it's really soft, the perfect amount of stretch, but it's not super hot, either. And even if it gets kind of twisted up, it's still comfortable. I like an Ergo or a Tula that's more structured when they get a little bit bigger. And then you can use it on your back too, to go hiking or whatever. I mean, you can wear that anytime. But those are my personal favorites.

Melissa Crenshaw  41:13

I used to love that. I would wear my babies on my back while I was cleaning, cooking, whatever. And not just because I wanted to have them close to me, they loved it. And when you've got that baby that wants to be close to you all the time or wants to be held all the time, because some babies just do, and you have other little ones or you know, other children, that you know, you got things you got to do around the house. So I learned how to throw that baby on my back so they were close to me and I could get the dishes done. I could feed the other kids, you know, and do all the things.

Bri Hurlburt  41:51

And I like that Tuls is wider and gets taller in the back. So for my boys, I could use that for longer when they were toddlers. I could put that on my back. I really liked that a lot. A lot of people I know love ring slings. I did use one. But once I had more than one kid, I have like one entire arm that's our of commission with a ring sling on. Like, you can't use the one arm as well. So I have never used it as much for my other two. But I do hear people rave about them. They're really cute. Maybe that's why. And they don't squeeze around you and your nice postpartum squishiness. That's whatever. That's normal. Right? Okay, so breastfeeding remedies, I think, is great. I would like to know some because I don't know that I've had true mastitis because I have treated it with homeopathy right away, as soon as I feel really bad. But I want to hear all of it. Any and all suggestions that you have.

Melissa Crenshaw  43:02

So I have this image that I created with the most common breastfeeding issues, and the most common protocols or remedies that you could use. And that is on my website under Free Resources. But to begin with, I recommend that all moms who are breastfeeding us China 3c, twice a day, the entire time you're nursing because you are constantly losing fluid. Right? So it'll help give you more energy. And then, you just mentioned mastitis. So for mastitis that isn't very severe. At the very beginning, I like to start with Phytolacca 30 and alternate that with Hepar Sulph 30 until it's clear.

Bri Hurlburt  44:00

Now, when would you recommend starting that? Like if I'm not going to go to the doctor and be told I have mastitis, what symptoms would lead me to try that first? I've never done Phytolacca so that's why I'm asking.

Melissa Crenshaw  44:14

Okay, so if you have clogged milk ducts, that's usually when it could turn into mastitis. So the clogged milk duct is usually, not always a first sign. So if this is your first baby, and you get one hard, painful spot in one breast and you can feel a lump in there, then you can work on it with heat and massage to work it out. That's going to be your first step. If you start to feel rundown, fatigued, maybe flu like symptoms, low grade fever, or even a 101 could come later, a red streak on that one breast, then those are more signs of mastitis. And unless it just, "bang," hits you like out of nowhere really hard and fast. If it's just like a slow, "I think, Oh yeah, look, if there's a red spot, I'm not feeling very good," then I would go Phytolacca and Hepar Sulph. And then if it progresses, and gets worse, then I like Belladonna 30 or 200 every three hours, alternating with Hepar Sulph 6, until it's cleared. Now what I want to say is, like what I, backing up to what I just said about if it hits you hard and fast. You wake up one morning and you've got full blown mastitis, that's going to be your Aconite. You know, Aconitum is amazing for that kind of really fast onset, you might even do Aconite and Bryonia 200 - Aconite 200 and Bryonia 200 together, just to see if that will take care of it in the beginning.

Bri Hurlburt  46:01

Okay. I have only ever used Belladonna. I never even made it to the Hepar Sulph. So maybe I didn't have the infection. But mine usually comes on very quickly. I will feel fine. And I, within a couple hours, I feel like I have the flu. And Belladonna usually does the trick. But the last time that I felt that way, I never, I didn't try Phytolacca. So maybe I will add that to my arsenal.

Melissa Crenshaw  46:34

Yeah. So another thing that I really like to encourage everyone to do is when you find something that works, stick with it. So we always stick with the things that work and only change to other remedies if you're not finding good success. So it sounds like Belladonna works really well for you. So more breastfeeding remedies that I would like to share are Raynaud's syndrome, so I had that too. And it is painful. And it's terrible when it, Raynaud syndrome is when the blood flow is cut off. And it can happen to fingers, toes and nipples. So when the baby's finished breastfeeding, especially if they have a really strong suck, then you take the baby off and the end of the nipple is white and really painful. And the cold air hitting the nipple makes it worse. So something that helps is having, being ready to cover it back up so it can stay warm. So it's worse for the cold. And if you're having this very often then Agaricus Muscarius 200c twice a day can be very helpful or Rhus Tox 30 twice a day. Those are two ideas for Raynaud's syndrome. Another very common condition and breastfeeding is low milk supply. And, of course, it would be very helpful to know what is causing the low milk supply. Because if it's hormones, or tongue tie, or something that we can pinpoint, then we could treat that thing. But if it's general low milk supply, and you just really don't know what to do or what it is, you could try Lac Caninum 200 twice a day. Another common condition in breastfeeding is fungal infections. So Antimonium Crud 200 mixed with Arsenicum Album 6 twice a day is a good choice. Or you could use Pulsatilla 200 every hour for the first day, then twice a day until it's gone. So those are just some breastfeeding remedy ideas. So let me dig just a little bit deeper into milk supply since that's such a common issue. So we already mentioned Lac Caninum, which will address milkflow and issues that switch from side to side. Calcarea Carbonica is one to use when breasts are hot and swollen but pale in color. The patient will complain of being chilly and a tendency to perspire. In fact, they can perspire even when they're cold. There may be production of excess watery milk or deficiency of milk. So the problem is the supply, whether it's too much or too little. The milk may also disagree with the baby. The woman is worse from exertion or cold room and has a strong craving for eggs. And a strong desire for dairy, including cheese. Warmth makes her feel better. Pulsatilla is another one to consider when the breast milk is watery, suppressed or blocked completely, or when it flows profusely. So again, the issue is the flow of the milk, it's not flowing at all or it's flowing profusely. So that's your fast let down. The flow may also be quite variable, the patient tends to have symptoms that change often. They also tend to be yielding in nature and easily brought to tears with a warm personality. They can cry while nursing the baby. Patient is worse in a warm room and much better in open air. And she is likely thirstless, so not thirsty. Ricinus Communis can help increase milk secretion. Make sure to use it in the right potency because different potencies of Ricinus act differently in the body. So 6c improves milk secretions, while 30c reduces milk supply and is used for weaning. Urtica Urens is useful when there is no breast milk at all and there does not seem to be a cause for the problem. Breasts can be swollen with stinging pains like the sting of a bee. The breasts may also itch. The patient can also experience a stinging or itching  rash and there's an aggravation from cold and cold bathing. So remember, when I'm reading those descriptions of these remedies, you don't have to have all of the things that are listed. Sometimes you'll just have a few of the things. And when you're thinking about supply, you take those descriptions, and you get them into your notes like I always suggest, and then you just decide which one sounds most like what you're going through, which one fits the best. There's rarely, if ever, a perfect fit where the person has all the things in the picture. So we're not looking for an exact match, we're looking for the one that fits the best.  So the last thing I would like to just share with you is that I do teach breastfeeding classes. And I am currently not taking new students, but I will be again soon. So if you're interested in a breastfeeding class, for you, and your friends, or you and your husband, or you and your support person, then go to my website, MelissaCrenshaw.com and send me a message through there. Or just email me Melissa@MelissaCrenshaw.com, and then I can keep you posted about when I'm going to open registration again for a new class.  So with that, I hope that you've enjoyed this podcast all about breastfeeding. I hope that you took good notes and get these breastfeeding remedies into your notes section. I encourage you to take a look at some of my classes on my website because I go into great detail in my classes on how to use the remedies - how to choose potency and frequency when there is no protocol and how to treat acute and chronic conditions in your family.