My little love bug is officially my big baby! At 17 months, my baby girl was successfully weened from breastfeeding. One month longer than her big sister. It was a little more difficult getting her to ween since she NEVER used a bottle. Fortunately, my body was able to meet the feeding demands for this period of time and most importantly develop a strong bond with her through the process. I’m always asked for breastfeeding tips so I wanted to share a few things that I did to produce large volumes of milk as well as a few pros and cons that I personally experienced.
1) The system- I’m a proud #MedelaMom! Medela is the #1 breastfeeding system for my lifestyle. It’s convenient, easy and modern. They have several options for you to select from. I personally used the Harmony breast pump system the most. For me, it was so convenient to pack up the parts, clean while traveling, and store in my purse while in meetings, teaching classes and attending conferences. I also have the freestyle system that I initially used at the beginning phase while at home with both children but rarely used once they were mobile. I love how sophisticated the supplies are from storing the milk, labeling the containers, and cleaning the individual pieces.
2) Production- in just two short weeks I stored the amount of milk shown in the picture above. To produce milk, I would drink a lot of water, eat fruits and vegetables with every meal, and pump before I nursed. Combined, these steps would increase my milk flow and maximize the amount I pumped before our feeding session.
3) Storage- it’s true what they say; “You never cry over spilled milk until you pump it yourself!” It’s called “liquid gold” in the breastfeeding community. Once my freezer was too full to store milk, I purchased a mini deep freezer from Lowe’s. As you can see, that quickly filled up as well. I recommend looking for your local milk bank to donate an extra milk you may have to a premature baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). There is a screening process to be approved but children will greatly benefit from your service.
With my schedule, it was definitely a challenge nursing for this period of time. It was a con to always have to remember to pack all of the essentials: the pump, supplies, cooler pouch with ice packs and an additional carrying tote. Once, I remember going to a conference and leaving the carrying tote on the counter at home…OMG…I was running around different stores buying replacement items for a system I already had. Trust and believe I didn’t make that mistake again. The other con was was having to always pump even when we weren’t together. My hubby surprised me with strip for our anniversary to the Dominican Republic when she was only 9 months old. Imagine me having to pump and store while there and traveling back home. That made the vacation quite interesting to say the least. And of course the occasional leaks that I experienced from time to time. But trust me when I say, the pros always outweigh the cons! Not only were my two little ladies extremely healthy, but they also are very close to me and have great brain development which is a benefit of breast milk. Additionally, I use the milk as a natural healing agent on sores, cuts and bruises. Believe it or not, it minimizes scarring and expedites the recovery process.
I’m patting myself on the back and giving myself a great big hug for reaching this milestone with both of my little love bugs. You should definitely do the same for any amount of time you committed to nursing your little one. For encouragement along the way during your journey, I suggest joining one of the nursing momma groups and following various hashtags for support: #nursingmom, #breastfeeding, and #breastfeedingsupport are a few.
Remember to celebrate this important period of motherhood and enjoy bonding with our little one.
Happy nursing! Xoxo