05/31/2022
I’ve been MIA and for good reason. Baby #2 is baking in the oven!!! 🥰 I’m so excited to be sharing my journey with you!
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Around week 5/6 thought week 11 morning sickness hit me Hard! For a span of 2-3 weeks I could not keep anything I ate down and would have to throw it up! But if I didn’t eat anything I would be nauseous. Water was tasteless and also made me nauseous. Any smell, especially after using our air fryer was suffocating and made me nauseous. It seemed like anything and everything made me nauseous. After telling me OB I was throwing about maybe 20 times a day I was told I wasn’t sick enough and scared to take medication to help in fear it would risk a clef lip and palate.
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I am now at the end of my 1st trimester and finally am able to enjoy my pregnancy! I’ve also had some time to plan what I would like to do differently during this time. Now that I’ve had more education about women’s maternal health I’m looking forward to planning my prenatal and postnatal healthcare. I will list some amazing people I plan to work with below:
Pelvic floor PT: .physicaltherapy
Postpartum Mental Health:
I’m also researching into placental encapsulation because I’ve heard so many great benefits along with helping with PPD. If you’ve ever tried it leave me a comment! I would love to know your experience!
03/21/2022
Just me? That’s fine I would rather have my daughter get the full experience of having her own dessert than me finishing it to the last bite and then she cries about it! 😂💁🏻♀️
03/07/2022
There are few differences, but not by much, on how long breast milk storage is. According to the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Here is a view of the suggested breast milk storage guidelines for full term infants.
https://www.bfmed.org/assets/DOCUMENTS/PROTOCOLS/8-human-milk-storage-protocol-english.pdf
If baby has some breast milk left in the bottle it is still safe to offer the same bottle within 2 hours after it has been in their mouth.
For daycare centers you want to make sure that they are storing you breast milk properly with individual bins for each baby so that there is no confusion and less contamination. Also to make sure to label each bottle with the name, the date and type of milk!
02/12/2022
When you’re planning for pregnancy you’re thinking of all the ways and books and online course to take to be the best parent. Along those are prenatal consults for breastfeeding. It’s a really great first step!
Then all that planning goes out the window. You thought for sure you pregnant.
To my and community I want you to know that I am here with you. I am someone you can lean on and help support you and your family.
Some ways I’ve found it helpful when dealing with the ups and downs of ttc is to just SIT WITH IT. You are allowed to be in your feels. Cry it out, punch the bag, run that mile, whatever it takes for you to process those feelings. Then tell yourself, “I’m allowing myself to feel this right now, then come tomorrow, I will be better.” Because you will be. Because it’s not your fault. Because you didn’t do anything wrong. Because you are not alone.
02/04/2022
Is your baby not latching correctly? Is your baby too tired to feed? Or maybe you aren’t able to hold them because their in the NICU. Whatever the reason, one of the most important skills to have for a successful bf journey is to know hand expression! Using this method to effectively remove milk will help you protect your milk supply!!! Remember, when you don’t empty your breasts you’re telling them that you don’t need anymore milk in turn lowering your supply. ✨demand and supply!
Hand expression is when you gently massage your breast in a circular motion and you gently squeeze your breasts tissue to express some milk.
Mastering this will save you so much trouble! Most women think they’ll need a pump during their stay in the hospital or birthing place of choice. Uh uh! Use the tools you’ve got! Your hands!
What happens if your pump runs out of batteries?! Or if there no outlet to plug it into!? How will you then remove milk?! Hand expression!
Okay now for some life updates! You guys it’s been crazy these past couple of months with graduating my IBCLC program, passing my CNA certification, the holidays and everyone getting the Rona! Or should I say Omarion! 😂 anyways, I’m back! We’re good! Were living! We are tapping into a space of light and love and self confidence that I wish to share with you all! Parenting is now joke and I want to help make things a little better!
08/05/2021
✨let’s elaborate on this!
A - has anyone ever told you that bf is natural? Making you think it’s supposed to be easy and comes naturally for a woman. Right?! Wrong!!! Kind of…let’s put it this way ✨breastmilk is the most NATURAL nutrition you can give your baby.✨ everyone knows the amazing benefits it has for both bf parent and baby. But the doing bf part does👏🏻not👏🏻come👏🏻naturally👏🏻. Clap with me. It takes 2 to tango! It’s a learning process for both bf parent and baby! Heck it’s a process for everybody! It’s a demand and supply routine. So the more you guys practice the easier it gets and you’ll be a natural at it 😜
B - with proper latching bf should never hurt! Sure the first few weeks will take some time to get used to the discomfort of someone being at the breast but they’re probably the reason you got here in the first place! 😅 cracked and sore ni***es that can be remedied with breastmilk and by airing it out is normal! What’s common is for a ni**le with an open wound and a baby with a bad latch but it’s not normal!!! Read that again. Common is not normal. Go to a breastfeeding class and learn what looks like a good latch. Learn what bf sounds like. This will give you a good foundation to know what’s normal and what’s not.
C - whether you are using an SNS, pumping, tandem bf, tripple feeding, donor milk supplementation or toddler feeding… you’re doing the best you can and what works for you and your family. Breastfeeding is so romanticized to look a certain way when in reality it comes in so many different forms.
D - STOP👏🏻 stop taking advice from someone who has never breastfed or is not certified to teach you the ins and outs of breastfeeding! Yes us IBCLCs want you to empower yourselves by getting educated but you have to know where that source comes from! STOP👏🏻 playing the guessing game and running to Dr. Google. Reach out to an IBCLC that you resonate with to help figure out your own unique situation.