The Breastfeeding Runner

So, in spite of my attempts to wean prior to Milk Dud's second birthday, we are still breastfeeding. It isn't necessarily every day and isn't nursing like a newborn, but I was curious as to the effects of breastfeeding with long distance running.

First of all, breastfeeding requires lots of maternal fluid intake. Running does as well, particularly during the summer. If you are a breastfeeding mother who is doing any sort of exercise, you should be very aware of your fluid intake. Feeling thirst is past the point where you should be drinking. I would encourage all breastfeeding runners to carry water with them while nursing.

I could one real study on breastfeeding and running. That can be found here, but I will summarize it for you. The baby was fussy, but there was no difference in lactic acid concentration in pre- and post-run milk. The researchers concluded that more study was needed. Obviously, if they only had one sample point, the reason could be from anything. I found this great informational site from Kelly Mom where they encouraged exercise and breastfeeding. They have suggestions that if the baby refuses to nurse, you rinse off your breasts or postpone nursing for 30 minutes. I also found this great blog post where she talked about how her breast pump was her most important running accessory ;)

2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist and American record holder for the marathon Deena Kastor breastfed and started back to her training regimen during those months. You can read an interview with her here.

I amazingly didn't need to pump during my relay race, but I'm nearing the end of my breastfeeding journey. Women train and breastfeed all the time. You just have to be aware of your needs and those of your baby.

The end of being "Trapped Under a Milk Dud"

Don't worry. My blog isn't going anywhere... He is still a Milk Dud... just not a "Milk Dud." Last Monday, he asked to nurse and I put him off to walk the dog. He didn't ask again until Wednesday. I put him off then because I had just run 6 miles and needed a shower. I put him off a couple of more days because I was busy. Today, he didn't even ask. Milk Dud turns 2 on Wednesday and I guess I should be celebrating the end of an era. He nursed 10 days shy of 2 years. I am feeling guilty about not continuing. His brother only made it 17 months. My husband was weird about the fact that Milk Dud would say "I want to nurse" and then specify the side he wanted. He is my last baby, so I will never have this kind of relationship again.

I am proud of myself. Only a small percentage of mothers continue to nurse their children after a year, most aren't even nursing at 6 months (http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/NIS_data/index.htm). Milk Dud only got 10cc of formula in the hospital when his blood sugar dropped and I was too exhausted to fight the annoying nurse. My oldest never received any formula that wasn't a breast milk fortifier, even though he was in the NICU.

A few minutes after birth

A couple of weeks ago

Instead of being sad that it's over, I should be glad that I was able to do it at all considering the odds were stacked against me as a parent of a preemie who had only seen breastfeeding once in her adult life.

Breastfeeding affirmations

I recently read THIS post about breastfeeding affirmations. I wish I had seen it 3.5 years ago when I was exclusively pumping for my preemie, not knowing if I would ever be able to transition him to the breast. I know how hard I worked to switch him and how lucky I was to be able to do so. Many a lactation consultant has told me these facts, but I didn't have a lot of actual support or help with it in the beginning. My fear of taking Squirty anywhere in the early days prevented me from attending La Leche League meetings and a former coworker made me think that were too militant for me. I was lucky to have my mother-in-law who understood how much I wanted to nurse. I did eventually seek out La Leche League as my first reached a year and I didn't want to wean.

As I approach 20 months of breastfeeding with Milk Dud, I need to look at breastfeeding in a different way. It is a special time for him and me (and whatever toy he occasionally decides to bring along). In spite of the fact he was so sick all winter, breastfeeding has kept him healthier than he would have been otherwise. When he had a stomach bug, I was able to comfort him through nursing. He is super smart and I like to think that breastfeeding has something to do with that. I do want to get him weaned before the Ragnar race in September. He will be over 2 at that point and I don't want to bring a hand pump.

What are your breastfeeding affirmations? What positive thoughts do you use to get you through a rough patch?

I'm going to be better about this... really

I'm going to be better about blogging. I mean it. I have less going on in my life right now, so it's just the family life and running... oh and Jeopardy!

My running goal for the month was 40 miles. As of today, I am at 33.46. I have over a week left. I know I can do it!

Okay, so Jeopardy... I keep putting off studying. I know I need to sit down and do it, but life keeps getting in the way. My kids have been sick. I've been sick. We had birthday party fever. It's March Madness and my Gators made it to the Elite 8.

I've been "trapped under a milk dud" for 19 months and counting! He asks for it and says "other side." I was glad of it when he has the stomach bug... twice.

Onwards and upwards!

18-months of being trapped!

I know I haven't had the blog that long, but today Milk Dud turns 18-months. He came into the world not in quite the way I intended, but was large, healthy and hungry from day 1. I am still nursing him. Although I'm getting a little tired of being pawed at constantly, I haven't put a real weaning date on him, yet.

What is your favorite way of dealing with people who are shocked that you are still breastfeeding after 12-months?

Me and Milk Dud shortly after his birth

Me and Milk Dud this morning, before he fell off a slide pretending he was 3 ;)

Benefits of Extended Breastfeeding

Extended breastfeeding is considered anything past one year. Obviously, I've hit that mark and surpassed it with both of my boys. I'm sure outside of a few in my BaltimoreMommies.com and La Leche League social circles, people think I'm nuts for continuing past a year.

Well, the World Health Organizations recommends that children be breastfed until they are THREE. Yeah, that isn't a joke... They recommend three.

Babies' brains almost triple in size from birth to two years. Breastmilk provides a good supply of DHA, which will help my child's brain develop better. He's already a smarty-pants ;) Breastmilk also contains IGA, which helps keeps kids from getting sick by coating their intestinal lining. Yeah, I know... my kids have been sick for almost a month. Milk Dud got a milk version of the thing his older brother had. I blame my breastmilk ;) Breastfeeding helps their teeth align properly and helps with obesity when kids get older. It also provides significant amounts of nutrients to their diet.

Guess what, it benefits me, too. A study showed that for every year a woman breastfeeds, she reduces her breast cancer risk by 4.6%. It also reduces your risk of ovarian, uterine and endometrial cancers. My risk of osteoporosis is reduced as well. Type 2 diabetes risks are lower, so maybe I will even out the fact that I'm at increased risk for it due to my gestational diabetes.

So, don't ask me why I am still nursing. I just am :)

Almost past where I got last time

I nursed my oldest son until he was just about 17-months old. I only weaned him because I was pregnant again and nursing made my nausea worse. Milk Dud will be 17-months in 9 days. Although he has cut down to 4-6 times a day, he shows no signs of weaning. I've offered him a cup of milk, and he often doesn't want it and responds "NOOOOO... Mommy milk!"

I love nursing, but part of me really would like to have my body back. I've been pregnant, nursing or both for the past 4 years. I would really like to get to take medicine without having to look it up in Lact Med. We have all been sick in this house for almost a month, and I have had to limit my cough syrup consumption to bedtime so that I don't hurt my milk supply too much.

I love the bond it has given me with my boys. There is nothing like it. I would really like some cheerleading for the child-led weaning, though.

The worst thing about nursing a toddler

Milk Dud will be 16-months on Thursday! Yes, he is definitely a toddler and definitely still nursing. He is very gymnastic and drives me crazy sometimes.

Here is the worst thing about nursing a toddler:

Holidays and nursing

Any set of holidays can make nursing difficult. If you're busy going from place to place and are in crowded settings, you may overwhelmed.

With Easter and Passover happening, there are lots of family gatherings between church, Easter egg hunts, seders (I know I'm a little behind on that), and other group meals. Your nursling may become distracted or disinterested in nursing. I experienced this a great deal and found the best way to deal with it was to take the baby to a quiet room and feed him there. Lots of people have no problems feeding their baby in public and that's fine, too. I'm totally jealous of that ability. It is especially useful if you have a child who reacts by being constantly "latched-on."

Remember Jesus was a breastfed baby boy. Moses probably had a wet nurse.

This was Squirty's first Easter in 2009.

Breastfeeding tip of the week 3/28

My breastfeeding tip of the week is to find a sling or baby carrier in which you are able to feed your child. I have several carriers, but have only been able to successfully nurse Milk Dud in my Mei tai style carrier. I'm not feeding him in this picture, but I can quite easily :)

My breastfeeding journey

Okay, so with a blog entitled "Trapped Under a Milk Dud", I probably should blog a little more about breastfeeding.... So here goes my experience...

Breastfeeding did not come naturally to me. I am adopted and was not breastfed. I don't remember seeing anyone breastfeed until I was 28 years old and my friend Jen was nursing her daughter at a table when we went out to lunch one day. I never even really thought about it until I was pregnant with Squirty.

I have a degree in food science and human nutrition and another in biology. I know that breast milk is full of all kinds of immune boosting factors and that breastfeeding can help keep your baby from getting sick or having allergies. A large chunk of your immune system is based in the intestinal tract. When I was working, my last job actually involved studying the immune response when formula had probiotics in it.

When I got pregnant with Squirty, I decided that I would at least try to breastfeed. My friend Julie is a dietitian and I knew she would want me to at least try. I took a breastfeeding class that I found to be a complete waste of time and money. The instructor was this creepy old lady and it kind of was weird to try and breastfeed a doll that didn't wiggle and move.

Unfortunately, I got very sick with HELLP syndrome and ended up having Squirty at 33-weeks 5-days. He went straight to the NICU and I don't remember really seeing him for 36 hours. I was under the influence of magnesium sulfate and in a total daze for 24 hours. I do remember that I insisted on seeing a lactation consultant to teach me how to pump. I couldn't do it much the first day... healing from the c-section and being loopy. I did start doing it every 3 hours as soon as I was able to get out of the bed. You'd think without having a baby in my room that I'd want to sleep, but I didn't. I wanted to do EVERYTHING I could to help my little 4-lb guy's immune system.

He was so tiny and needed to gain weight to go home, so we bottle fed him expressed milk at the hospital. At 13 days, he was able to come home. I figured I'd work on nursing when it was just him and me. It sucked. I HATE the pump. I tried so many times to get him to latch and just nurse. I tried a nipple shield. I tried pumping a little to get the milk going. Nothing worked.

Then he was diagnosed with reflux. Poor little guy couldn't keep anything down. He would arch away from his bottles and throw up all over me. The put him on Zantac and later Prevacid. That worked in keeping him from throwing up all the time.

I went back to work for 4 weeks. During that time, I would pump in the morning before leaving and a few times at work. My mom came to stay with us during that time. She would hold him off until I got home and I would try and nurse him then. I honestly think that was the best thing for us. He wanted to snuggle up to me and nurse. He got to the point where he wouldn't take a bottle if I was around. It was a lot of work, but about 3-4 months after he came home, I was able to just breastfeed him. I nursed him until he was 17-months old and I was in my second trimester with Milk Dud.

Milk Dud was easy. He latched on right away and nursed like 8 times in his first day. He still likes to snuggle and nurse all the time. I went out a couple of weeks ago and he would only take one bottle for his dad before throwing a fit until I came home.

My breastfeeding journey is far from over. I'm not sure when I will stop with Milk Dud... I'm hoping for 18+ months. I hope everyone who reads this will be inspired by the adversity over which I was able to come.

Why yes, he is really only 7-months old

When we were in VA this past weekend, my mom gave us some new clothes for the boys. This morning, I broke out a new outfit for Milk Dud. He needed clean clothes, I didn't want to wake his brother, and I had just done a load with the new stuff yesterday. The new outfit was 9-12 months. The shirt did not cover his gigantic tummy. It was fine for the house, but not for running out in the cool, rainy weather. My mom had given him some other stuff, too. I put him in an 18-month shirt... It's none to big... Actually, the sleeves border on being too tight. My 7-month old is wearing clothing meant for a much older child. It's scary.

Everywhere I go, people think he is significantly older than he is and wonder why he can't crawl or walk yet. First of all, he is ONLY 7-months. Second of all... How do you expect him to lift that gigantic belly off the ground? He weighs about 26lbs. I think he will outweigh his brother at the 9-month appointment.

I do love that the first question I get from some people is "You're breastfeeding, aren't you?" Why, yes, I am. I am very proud of the fact that I have made it 7-months. We have really started with the solids in the last week or so, but he is still only getting them at dinner. He is liking them better, too. He loves to feed himself peas and Cheerios.

Unfortunately, Milk Dud is not sleeping through the night. he will go down around 8pm, but wakes up at midnight and won't go back to sleep unless he is nursing. I'm tired and worn out. Squirty didn't sleep through the night until he was 10-months. I don't consider this to be a big deal, but I would like them to share a room.

This morning, Milk Dud noticed the dog and reached out to touch him. I wish I had my camera on me at that point, but I didn't. I do have this cute picture of him in his 18-month shirt :)

A birthday, Lent and The Shred

Last weekend, we went to Va Beach for the second birthday of my miracle niece. It was the first time we had Milk Dud in the car for more than 90 minutes. He did great. We stopped outside of Richmond so I could feed him. He was remarkably pleasant in spite of the large group of people and crazy schedule. He ate when he needed to eat. I was able to get away from the craziness for a few minutes to feed him.

I gave up bread for Lent. No bread, biscuits, English muffins, bagels... It is going pretty well. My husband complains about it. I think he intentionally wants to go to burger places to see what I would do. Easter morning, I'm going to make French toast.

Before we left, I was doing The Shred. I could feel it working, but I am taking a break for a few weeks until we go to Florida. I'm going to do Leslie Sansone videos in the meantime. I want to lose 15lbs before I go to the beach this summer. I hope I can do it.

Oh, and happy 7-months to Milk Dud!

Green Beans or Pears? No Thanks, I'd Rather Nurse

For a little over a month, I've been trying to introduce solids to Milk Dud. I was going to do baby-led weaning, but I figured I'd do some purees, too. He will eat these things called Baby Mum Mums. They are basically rice cakes that dissolve. He can feed them to himself, so they are great for a distraction before dinner.


So, I started doing purees. Peas, Squirty's first food and still a favorite... I was covered in green spit. Carrots... orange spit. Green beans were a little better. Pears, he actually ate a teaspoon it. Every time I feed him, he wants to immediately nurse afterward, no matter if he nursed right before he was fed. It's a good thing he is gigantic, because he would probably start losing weight... Oh, I forgot... he's basically permanently latched on... That's how you get an almost-25-pound 6-month old. It's a good thing I'm not planning to wean any time soon.

Happy IBCLC Day!

Happy International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Day!

With my Squirty, I had a rough breastfeeding journey. He was born at 33-weeks and spent 13 days in the NICU. I was determined to breastfeed, so I pumped. I actually did this almost exclusively for the first 3 months. Somehow, with lots of work, I was able to transition him to the breast. I nursed him until he was 17-months old, when I was pregnant again.

Milk Dud was much easier. He wanted to nurse very soon after he was born. The lactation consultant came to see me the first day and when she found out I nursed a preemie who came home on bottles, I think I met all of the LC's at the hospital. Obviously, an almost 25-lb breastfed baby is a good nurser, but I know many people who have had issues.

Poor latch, slow weight gain, tongue tie, etc. An IBCLC can help you try and work through your problems. I'm glad we have a day to celebrate them. Maybe one day, I will go back to school and become one myself.

Look Ma! One Hand!

Since I call this blog "Trapped under a Milk Dud", I probably should say something about breastfeeding, right? After a rough start with the NICU and all, I nursed Squirty until he was 17-months. I only weaned him because I was pregnant again. My supply really dropped and nursing made me even sicker to my stomach than I was when I wasn't nursing. I missed that relationship.

I was excited when my pregnancy with Milk Dud was normal and he didn't go to the NICU. He nursed instantly and constantly. The hospital lactation consultants loved me. I was easy and they were impressed by what I went through the first time.

I feed on demand and Milk Dud has packed on the pounds. He was 8-11 at birth. He is 5.5-months old and I suspect he is around 23-24lbs now. He is off the charts for weight, height and head circumference. I see linebacking in his future. He screams for solids and I've given in a little. Last night, I had to endure his screaming for hot sausage, peppers, onions and tomato sauce.... anything but the Cheerios on his tray.

He loves his mommy and to be held. I wear him a lot. Thank goodness for my Ergo and Mei tai style carriers, although I have yet to be able to nurse in one. He still needs to be held a lot. I've learned how to do a million things with one hand. I'm actually typing this on an iPad with one hand while nursing Milk Dud and watching "Cars" with Squirty. The problem is that as he gets heavier, it is harder for me to do stuff. I'm increasingly "trapped under a Milk Dud." I will miss this relationship when it ends in a year or so, but I am looking forward to a little more freedom with it.

The Thing I Dislike the Most

Good morning. It is not that early here, but I wish I was still sleeping. I'm watching Milk Dud roll around on the floor blowing bubbles and Squirty is watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I just did my least favorite thing about being a nursing mom... I pumped a bottle to leave when we go out tonight.

I DESPISE pumping. Squirty was almost 7 weeks early and I pumped for 3 months almost exclusively with him. It was one of the most tedious things ever. I hated having to hook myself up to a machine every 3 hours. It was painful in the beginning and boring... I give definite props to those who either exclusively pumped or managed to make it to a year or more pumping while at work.

Some people set nursing goals. "I'm going to nurse a year." When you are pumping, your goals are shorter. "I'm going to make it through this week." I always say it is 5 times harder to pump than it is to breastfeed traditionally. You have to set up your pumping equipment, pump (which takes longer and is less productive than nursing), store your milk and clean up all of the equipment. THEN, you have to feed the baby and clean those supplies. It SUCKS.

As I pumped the one bottle I will probably have to do this week, I realized how thankful I am that I don't have to do it all the time. I was blessed with a healthy full-term baby this time. I'm also blessed with a husband who works hard and is able to make enough to allow me to stay home. All of you who have to pump or did in the past, give yourselves a round of applause. It is SO much work to give your child the perfect food that way. You are awesome for doing it.