I agree! I was impressed with your class info, Allison! Sent from my iPhone ~Zena Kay, IBCLC 15 years in lactation [log in to unmask] Mother to: 4; ages 15 thru 24 yrs. Grandmother to: Gabey 3 yrs. & Lexie 23 mos. On Sep 30, 2011, at 7:34 AM, Lee Galasso <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > Hi Allison - You may be a newbie and yet you did such a great job listing > the important things you share with teens that I copied and saved your > message in my file on Teens and BF.and I am an oldie of 35 years in this > field. Thanks! Keep up the good work. > > Warm regards - Lee > > Lee Galasso, MS, LLLL, IBCLC, RLC > > Westchester County in NYS, USA > > "Children Are Born with the Need to Breastfeed" > > > > I am a BF Peer Counselor with WIC and an IBCLC. I talk with lots of young > moms. I try to be very casual. I stress that they are the boss and they get > to decide how they are going to do things. I get good reactions from this. I > frequently hear that I am the only person that has told them this. > > > > I acknowledge that bf can be "weird." I hear that word alot in regards to > bf. I explain that it may feel weird and of course it does, how many times > have you had a baby sucking at your breast? I discuss the difference between > weird and pain. When you first start nursing, it may feel weird but weird > isn't pain. I also tell them that hormones take over and the "weird" part > stops being a concern. > > > > Moms who don't want to even think about bf respond positively to skin to > skin and a baby being able to latch by itself with very little help. When I > talk about inborn reflexes and skills I get "cool!" as a response. I hand > out the "Breastfeeding: You can do it!" DVD by Pamela Wiggins and ask them > to watch the self attachment video. I've gotten good feedback on that. > > > > I stress volume of colostrum, how much baby may get at a first feeding & in > the first 24 hours. Show them a bottle and how different that volume is. > Maybe use measuring spoons vs a bottle to show the difference. At a Grow and > Glow WIC training, Cathy Carothers talked about pouring out most of the > "small" 2oz bottle of formula in front of parents to show just how little > baby needs. That is quite powerful. > > Even after learning these things, I have moms call and tell me they don't > have any milk. I remind them of the tiny amounts babies are supposed to eat > as they learn to breastfeed. > > > > I really like to talk about how they will get more sleep and how responding > quickly to baby at night will get baby back to sleep sooner. It will get > easier over time, you don't have to get up and fix bottles and baby is less > likely to be awake with ear infections & other ailments. Bringing up the > fact that there is less constipation gets their attention. Many know moms > that formula fed and had to deal with constipation and switching formulas to > deal with it. > > > > I've found that alot of young mothers want to pump and offer bottles. > > I discuss how it complicates things. You need to pump in addition to caring > for baby, preparing bottles, cleaning pump parts, etc. It is much easier to > sit and nurse the baby in front of the TV, while texting, dozing, etc. If > they are insistent in wanting to pump, I ask them to consider bf in the > hospital and the 1st week or so until their supply increases. Some moms will > continue to directly bf and others go on to pump. > > > > I also discuss 2nd night so they know what to expect when they go home from > the hospital. > > > > As I write this, I realize how much I cover. Generally, I like to have > > 45 min to an hour to go over things. I pay attention to the moms so I can > see when they stop listening or shut down. > > > > In a nutshell, I cover > > Skin to skin > > Volume of colostrum > > Frequency of feedings > > 2nd night > > Growth Spurts > > > > I have to say, it is a bit intimidating to post this on a list with so many > experienced people! I've been doing this for 1.5 years so I'm a newbie! > > > > Allison Laverty Montag IBCLC, RLC > > > > > *********************************************** > > Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html > To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] > Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] > COMMANDS: > 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail > 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail > 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet > 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome