This article comes via a local Brooklyn mom, who is a fantastic writer and publicist. This is her story about nursing. I think it is really helpful and informative.
Nursing and Lactation Consultants
By Rena (Rowena) Daly
On an incredibly hot, humid day my husband and I returned home with our new 9 pound 2 ounce baby boy. Ugh oh. We were home alone with a baby. No longer could we holler down the hall to the nurse’s station for help. We were on our own.
I assumed this transition would be simple. Boy, I was wrong! During the first evening home, I sat slumped at the kitchen table with my head resting in my hands. I was so tired, and my boobs were in screaming pain. The introduction to nursing had left my right breast bruised from an overzealous nurse who jammed it into my little tike’s mouth, and the left nipple was cracked from vigorous and frequent feedings. In summary, both boobs were sore, sore, sore.
As the youngest of 8 kids with 11 nephews and nieces, I had heard all the war stories of motherhood. My mom breastfed all of us and my sisters nursed all their children. They proclaimed the joys of nursing – never the challenges. They never mentioned mastitis, plugged ducts, or pumping. My mom’s attitude was just do it! Nursing is the best thing for your baby; it saves you money and helps you loose weight.
Feeding my baby was to be my biggest responsibility for the next several months, and I feared that it would be a painful first year. Giving up was not an option. I could just hear all my family whispering – no screaming – what a WIMP!
My husband realized that I was in incredible pain and used references from the hospital to get a Brooklyn-based lactation consultant to visit our home.
From the list of consultants, we booked Stacey Brosnan. She arrived just as the intense heat was transformed into a monstrous storm with huge claps of thunder and bolts of lightening striking our block.
Just like the heat — I was relieved to have help in relieving my pain.
I moved from the kitchen table to the sofa and cobbled together a few questions for this session, which was scheduled to last an hour and cost more than $200.
I asked basic questions:
• How do I position the baby on the BreastFriend and the Boppy nursing pillows?
• Where is the best location to nurse? On my couch with nursing stool and pillows?
• How do I hold the baby for the cradle, laying-down and football position?
• How do I help the baby latch on?
• How do I remove him from the breast?
• Finally, what steps should I take to relieve the immediate pain?
The consultant guided me through the questions. She advised me to use all the positions for nursing including the football hold, which is helpful for those who have had a C-Section because it places your baby on your side. She urged me to get sleep, wear a bra to bed with nursing pads, take two Motrin every four hours and allow my husband to feed the baby for the next 10 hours with little cups of formula.
The session was a lifesaver. It was great to have sage advice from an objective source – not a friend, sister, mother or aunt. Like every situation, there were challenges to the visit. Her cell phone rang frequently, it was an abbreviated visit due to the storm and she did not return my calls the following day.
Months later, I called her again regarding a swollen, itchy breast. She rang back and urged me to eat raw garlic, get in bed with my baby, nurse frequently – always starting with the swollen breast, pump when I could, and place hot clothes on the breast (I opted for a hot water bottle.). Voila! The knot in my breast disappeared and I felt much better.
So for those Brooklyn-based moms searching for help, here are numbers for lactation consultants and bon appetite to all babes on the boob!
Lactation Consultants
Stacey Brosnan 917.584.9782
Susan Burger 212.252.8400
Carla Zinn 917.608.1872
Freda Rosenfeld 718.469.5990