elysiana.postpartumdoula

P L A C E N T A❤️
the only temporary organ, a multifunctional organ, acting as baby's lungs to supply oxygen, kidneys to filter out waste, and as gastrointestinal and immune systems by delivering nutrients and antibodies.
• MATERNAL SIDE:
attached to uterine wall
• FETAL SIDE:
connected to baby via umbilical cord
✨The placenta detaches from the inside of the uterus after the baby is born, this leaves behind a wound 6-8 inches in diameter that needs time for healing to ward off infection and hemorrhaging—at least 4-6 weeks for the wound to completely heal.
One of the many reasons birth givers need lots of rest and community care to recover & heal✨
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August 8-14 is Indigenous Milk Medicine Week (formerly Native Breastfeeding Week) and is a time to honor the significance of and spread awareness on issues pertaining to breastfeeding and chestfeeding people among Native people. The week is sponsored by the Indigenous Milk Medicine Collective.

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My DMs are open today - what questions do you have for me? Postpartum, breastfeeding, motherhood, mental health, whatever you got I’m free! ❤️

Happy ! 🙌

Whatever your journey looked like, let's celebrate your incredible achievement, mama

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HAPPY WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK!

It’s such a wonderful thing to be able to share my own journey with you all, plus help others with theirs along the way! 💖

In love with these pictures of my baby and I nursing.

As we’re closing in on a year of breastfeeding I am a lot more sad than I thought I’d be this far in! Lately we’ve been nursing 3-4x a day, mostly at night. While I’ve been ecstatic to stop having to pump as much, I know I’m not emotionally ready to be completely done nursing and I’ll be sad the day Jo decides she is. Comparing this to where I was when she was first born, I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me I’d feel this way!

I’m hoping to have my full breastfeeding guide done by the end of the summer and available to share with everyone! Thanks for following along friends ❤️

Thought I’d do a little review on the ✨Elvie Stride✨

This is a relatively new pump (November 2021) from Elvie that a lot of people, including myself, were very excited about because it was a much more affordable option from elvie, plus it is advertised as “hospital grade,” meaning it’s supposed to perform similar to a Spectra or Medela. It’s made up of 2 cups that go in your bra and a small hub that is the actual pump, plus tubing.

I will do a rating out of 5 stars on price, convenience, suction, and overall satisfaction. Please let me know what questions I can answer about it!

Price ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - $249 is really reasonable for a portable pump. You can also get this heavily discounted through insurance and a website like 1naturalway or Aeroflow. The replacement parts however are a bit pricey, with replacement valves being $20 for 3 (which makes no sense, why not 2 or 4??). There are not any off-brand replacement parts being made yet so it can be hard to even get them at times. An extra set of everything will run you ~$100 so be prepared for that.

Convenience⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - The hub is super lightweight and small, plus comes with a really nice clip to clip onto your pants/shirt/bra. There is a small hole at the top of the cups so you cannot bend over which is different from the OG Elvie or OG Willow. It is relatively quiet, although I wouldn’t say silent. The cups are lower profile than my Freemies but not unnoticeable. I added Maymom inserts because they don’t make a fl**ge my size (17mm) but those work perfectly. There are 4 parts to wash which isn’t terrible either. You can also use the cups with any other pump that has standard tubing.

Suction ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I would have given this a 5 up until about 3 weeks ago when suddenly it stopped being as efficient at emptying me as before. I’ve replaced all my parts and it’s a little better but not the same as my Spectra (as it was from November-April) like it used to be. I wouldn’t let that scare you though as if you still use your main pump morning/night, this will be totally fine for on the go.

Overall⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I would be 100% happy if the suction didn’t change but I think this is a really good option for a portable pump!

POWER PUMPING✨

I have had pretty good success boosting my supply by power pumping. Here’s some quick info on what it is and why you may want to try it⬇️

What is power pumping?? - it’s a method of pumping that mimics a baby’s clusterfeeding. This signals to your body to make more milk because the demand is higher.

Why do it?? - if you’re seeing a dip in supply for any reason, your baby is going through a growth spurt, or you are looking to encourage a slight oversupply to put milk away in the freezer. You may not ever need to! Don’t feel pressure to fill that freezer either - even if your baby goes to daycare, you don’t need a freezer supply if you utilize the pitcher method (I’ll go over that in a later post!)

How do you do it?? - so the juicy details, how to do it. I like to do it as my last pump of the day while my baby is asleep so I don’t get interrupted. My favorite way is 20 minutes pumping, 10 minute break, then 10 on, 10 off, 10 on. That should equal an hour total. I’ve also seen 10 on/10 off for 6 rounds, or 15 on/15/off for a few rounds too. Do what feels better to you. You don’t have to change any pump settings but I would start in stimulation mode each time to encourage more letdowns. I like to stay in stimulation mode until I feel a letdown but usually not more than 2-3 minutes.

How long to see results?? - I usually see good results if I am consistent for a week. Others don’t need as long. I would say give it a good week or so before you decide it’s not for you. I’ve really only see a few ounces extra as well.

What questions do you have?? Drop them below!⬇️

There is nothing worse than sitting down and needing something 🙄 Here are four things I’ve found helpful to have in every room before baby comes!

1. Phone chargers - I used to HATE when I sit down to nurse or pump and I realize my phone is about to die. I finally gave in and bought 10ft chargers to have in every room next to where I’d sit! There’s one in the nursery next to our glider, my bed, our couch, and my office.

2. Tissues - it always seems like I need to wipe up milk or snot from my baby’s face so having a box of tissues always near is a must.

3. Trash cans - well if you always need tissues then you’ll always need to throw them away😂 it always seems like there’s something I need to throw away whether it’s the tissue or a diaper, so having a trash can near at all times helps eliminate that slight anxiety having clutter all over can cause.

4. Hand sanitizer - last but not least!! Before and after diaper changes, after getting boogers out of your baby’s nose or a multitude of other things, hand sanitizer is a must for having near - especially if you, your partner, or your baby gets sick and you don’t want to spread it!

BONUS - I also have a chapstick in every single room as well, as well as my car and every single purse I own😂 before Jovie was born I bought a couple packs of aquaphor and Carmex lip balms and I keep them everywhere!

What do you (or should you) keep in every room to make life easier??⬇️

That first night home is something else😅

I remember our first night home being so exciting and terrifying at the same time. I remember sobbing even though my baby was sleeping peacefully in her bassinet and nothing was really wrong - I was just so overwhelmed and going through huge hormonal swings. Here’s a few things to make that first night home easier:

1. You don’t have to have visitors over right away! It was of course so sweet to have our parents come meet Jovie but I think next baby I’ll wait at least another day or two so it’s not so much change at once. I know they didn’t expect me to entertain them but it’s still hard to feel totally relaxed with others in your home.

2. If you can, keep those doggies away for a couple more days. I’m so glad we sent our dog Luna to my parents for the first week we were home, we couldn’t have given her the attention she deserved. Plus, it is always a good idea to introduce baby to your dog slowly and calmly and you might need a couple days to recover physically before you’re up for that.

3. Work out a split with your partner. If you’re breastfeeding, partner should be taking over all diapers and swaddling. If you’re formula feeding, take turns with each feeding and each diaper change. We worked out a sleep split so that I fed Jo or pumped and went to bed at 8 and he stayed up until midnight, fed her, and put her down. I pumped again around 12am as he was putting her down. Then next time she needed to eat (usually around 3am) I got up with her, and he got up the next time around 6am. This allowed us each to get a good 4-6 hour stretch of sleep.

Moms who have gone through that first night, what helped you (or didn’t😅)??

Let’s talk birth plans!

I am one of those people who needs to have a plan otherwise I am going to lose it 😅 I knew writing out my wishes for my birth plan could potentially be for nothing, but it made me feel somewhat in control of an uncontrollable situation.

The first thing I have down is access to a birthing ball! This was invaluable during my labor and I spent most of my time laboring sitting or bouncing on it. I really think it helped engage my baby and get her lower fast.

Avoiding pitocin was a HUGE one for me. I was originally supposed to be induced but thankfully my water broke on it’s own. If I have to be induced with my next baby, I will advocate for lots of other interventions to be used before pitocin (because there are lots of options!)

Delayed cord clamping was super important to me. Thankfully that is becoming standard in most hospitals and doctors wait at least a minute, even if the baby is in distress. It has been proven that babies have a much lower risk of anemia and improved iron stores for their first months of life. It does however slightly increase the risk of jaundice so it’s something you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of.

Free movement was the single best thing I could have done for myself while laboring. At one point I had to lay in bed so they could get a good heart rate strip and I was in pure agony. Being able to sway or move during those contractions was essential.

Lactation support!! I knew I wanted to try breastfeeding so access to immediate lactation support was crucial. The sooner that baby can latch, the better!

What were your important birth plan wishes?? Tell me below! 🤍

Hi everyone!👋🏼

So I’ve decided to turn my passion for helping and supporting moms after birth into a real thing - I’m getting my postpartum doula certification! My class starts in June and hopefully I’m fully certified by next year.

Postpartum was (and still is!) an exciting but difficult time for me. I wish I had a professional to help me (and my husband) figure out those first few days and nights at home and just reassure me that everything was going to be okay. I figured out breastfeeding all on my own, despite reaching out to professionals. I struggled through exclusively pumping for a few weeks, cracked ni***es, a shallow latch, poorly fitting fl**ges, and clogs all alone. I wish I could go back and hug that scared new mom and tell her it’s all going to work out.

I feel called to help other new parents so they don’t have to struggle alone. If that means dishes, laundry, newborn care, or just a listening ear, I’m there. I’m so excited to pass on the knowledge I’ve learned to make this postpartum time easier for everyone. What do you want to learn more about?? Tell me below! 🤍