All the Holiday Goodies!!

Everyone loves holiday gatherings and if you have a little one this holiday season, it can be tough to know what is ok to feed at these special mealtimes. Here are some tips for infant feeding during holiday meals:

Is your baby under 6 months old? If yes, breastmilk or formula are the only recommended and acceptable food. These recommendations are straight from the World Health Organization, the CDC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Breastmilk and/or formula provides a complete nutritional profile for your growing infant, so foods at this time are unnecessary and may even contribute to tummy issues after feeding.

If your baby is over 6 months old AND is ready for and interested in foods, let the party begin!

• Food comes AFTER milk feeds. Breastmilk and/or formula is the primary source of nutrition until age 1. Your baby can not physically eat enough foods to get all the nutrition they need for the physical growth that occurs during the first year. 
• Always stay with your baby while feeding
• Avoid excess spices and salts
• Limit sugars and desserts
• Water only with meals – no juices or teas
• Small, bite-sized, well cooked and easily mashed foods like potatoes,sweet potatoes, and green beans provide nutrients like vitamins A, C, B complex, and minerals like potassium, zinc, and magnesium.
• Shredded dark meats and leafy greens are rich in iron
• Small bites of deviled egg filling are good source of healthy fats
• Fresh bite sized fruit is always a compliment to any meal

If this is your baby’s first time with foods, remember to introduce new foods slowly, one every 3 to 4 days to monitor for any intolerances. Always discuss your baby’s development and readiness to start foods with your pediatrician.

Breastfeeding and Illness During Cold and Flu Season

Cold and flu season is upon us. Getting sick while being a mom is never easy and breastfeeding while you or the baby is sick can have challenges. Here are some ways to get you through this year’s cold and flu season while breastfeeding:

Consider the flu vaccine and wash your hands!

Children under 6 months of age aren’t eligible to get the flu vaccine but pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, siblings, and other family members are. Getting your flu vaccine while pregnant or breastfeeding and encouraging other family members to do the same is the best way to help prevent the flu in younger babies. Hand washing and general hygiene measures are other effective ways to prevent germ sharing.

If you do get a cold or the flu

Symptoms of the flu include sore throat, nasal congestion, dry cough, fatigue, muscle aches, weakness, headache, and fever greater than 100.4. You may be contagious up to 24 hours before symptoms appear and up to 7 days after symptoms develop. 

If you develop cold/flu symptoms, you should continue to breastfeed using extra precautions like handwashing, sanitizing surfaces, and using tissues when coughing/sneezing. You can not pass a cold or flu through your breastmilk to your baby. In fact, breast milk contains millions of immune cells, even more when you are sick and your baby is getting those extra germ fighting cells with every feed! This is nature’s way of protecting the baby while breastfeeding continues.

Taking care of yourself

In most healthy adults, treatments for the cold and flu are comfort measures. Making sure you take in plenty of fluids and eat nourishing foods. Use saline sprays and humidifiers for nasal congestion and throat lozenges for sore throat and cough. If you are sick enough to need antiviral medications, Tamiflu is preferred for breastfeeding mothers over other antiviral medications. 

If you need to take over the counter (OTC) medications to help treat symptoms, most OTC medications are compatible with breastfeeding but some medications are preferred over others. Choose shorter acting medications (medications you need to take every 4-6 hours) over medications that last longer. Medications containing Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) may cause a decrease in production and should be avoided if possible. Always nurse your baby or pump immediately prior to taking medications to limit passage into breast milk. Contact an IBCLC or use LactMed’s online database to look up medications and their compatibility with breastfeeding.

If your baby gets sick 

Even when your baby is sick, breast milk provides all the hydration and nutrition your baby needs. Breast milk is easy to digest and provides protection (remember those immune cells?). Saline drops with gentle nasal suctioning, using a humidifier, with smaller, more frequent feeds may help with congestion during feeds. Contact your pediatrician if fever develops, feeding difficulties last longer than 24 hours, or if you notice a decrease in the number of wet diapers your baby is having in 24 hours. 

Are Mammograms safe while breastfeeding?

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women of reproductive age. Although breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer, routine screenings are important in early detection and treatment. Recently, the recommendations for breast cancer screenings have changed and routine screenings (mammograms) are now recommended once yearly beginning at age 40 for all women. Insurances are required to cover these annual screening mammograms. With these changes to begin screenings at an earlier age, more women find themselves breastfeeding at the time when annual screenings begin. 

Can you get a mammogram while breastfeeding? Yes, you can! Mammograms are safe to get while breastfeeding. You will need to nurse or pump immediately before the mammogram and you want to make sure the radiologist reading the mammogram is aware you are breastfeeding and as the lactating breast is more complex in structure.

Self breast exams are no longer recommended as a screening tool as they have not been shown to reduce breast cancer deaths, however, they are useful for you to learn what your breasts feel like and with regular use, you may notice changes. Self breast exams should never replace breast exams by your provider or annual screenings. 

Links for breast cancer data:

• www.komen.org
• https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/what-is-breast-cancer.htm

Breastfeeding is never "All or Nothing"

“This isn’t how I thought this would be”. Have you ever found yourself thinking as much? Breastfeeding doesn't always go according to how you planned. Maybe you planned to latch only and didn’t want to pump but found latch was difficult and you had to pump. Perhaps there was a birth trauma and the baby wasn’t able to latch and you had to pump to establish production. What if medical complications required supplementation? You may have returned to work earlier than you planned. Whatever the reason, it's important to understand that breastfeeding doesn't have to be "all or nothing." Every drop of breastmilk counts, and you are a breastfeeding parent by providing breast milk no matter how long you are able to do it, no matter if you latch or pump, and no matter whether you supplement or not. How you feed your baby does not define your success as a parent. 

Those early days and weeks are important to establishing breast milk production so early education and intervention is key. Take prenatal breastfeeding classes, in person or online. Learn techniques for latch and positioning. Locate your resources ahead of time. Find pediatricians that support breastfeeding and have breastfeeding resources available in their office for moms. And last, find your support team. Navigating the world with a new baby can be tough. Having support is crucial to success. 

Whatever your breastfeeding journey looks like, we are here for it all - latching, pumping, supplementing, and weaning.