Candida Symptoms Update

I spoke with my Lactation Consultant and she recommended I return to the strict (Stage 2) Candida Diet for 1 week and if I symptoms were gone again I could start SLOWLY reintroducing the foods recommended in Stage 3.  She suggested I maintain a high intake of probiotics for good, basically; as well as the recommended 3 doses of 250mg Grapefruit Seed Extract per day.  She figures my body just needs the extra help to stay more alkaline (yeast flourish in an acidic environment). Oh ya, she also said the pain in my breast could not have been yeast if it cleared up in less than 2 days; a yeast infection that painful would have required the Fluconazole to clear up.  She suggested it was a blocked duct or something along those lines, caused by pressure(s) on the breast (my bras have been fitting loosely from the weight loss, and I recalled adjusting one strangely one night to keep that breast from falling out, so it was probably the cause of a blockage/deep breast pain).

I did the one strict week (lost another 5lbs!) and then began eating Stage 3 foods.  First grapefruit, then beans in a chili, raspberries, blueberries, brown rice pasta, flavoured brown rice rice cakes (with no yeast), etc.  So far so good.  But...I have been doing a Canesten treatment at the same time, (my hubby thought why not help kill the yeast - at one point when I was pregnant the midwives said it couldn't hurt to do a vaginal treatment "just in case" - so that was his logic).  I have chosen to avoid major carbs like breads, baked goods, etc.  I am still staying away from anything sweet/sugary (I doubt I'll be able to handle that stuff ever again until after I stop breastfeeding)...

At this point, I want to keep breastfeeding (and so does my son!), so I've resigned myself to this new way of eating.  But it's not all that bad...and the weight keeps coming off, so that's a great encouragement.  It's taught me that what I eat really does have a consequence in regards to how I feel and how I look!

Candida Symptoms Return - Part 2

Sunday night was rough.  During the day Sunday my left breast began to hurt and last night it just got more and more sore, deep inside the breast tissue.  One side of it seems almost lumpy and extremely painful...yeast!  I have called and left a message for my LC (its a holiday here today).  I have no idea what to do about my diet (Stage 3 or back to Stage 2), and now that the symptoms are this bad, would she recommend I begin taking Fluconazole again?  This thrush/Candida thing is tough to beat!

On a more positive note, my milk blister on the right nipple seems to be mending wonderfully, I don't feel it at all anymore.

Candida Symptoms Return - Part 1

I woke to nurse Mister at 3am and my left nipple was so sore; yeast all over again.  I'll start using the APNO after every feed and see how things progress.  I'll increase my Grapefruit Seed Extract intake to 3 doses a day and increase my probiotics to 50,000 BCU twice a day.

Looks like I'm going to have to continue on the CD indefinitely, at least as long as I want to continue breastfeeding.  I just don't know if I can return to strictly following Stage 3 or if I need to go right back and repeat the initial Stage 2 for 28 days.  I kind of figure that if the yeast has regrown enough to cause these symptoms all over again, I probably need to promote another Die-Off (which will not be fun because it made me really sick and now I am working full time).

10 Days Post-Candida Diet Update

Don't you just hate when you've written almost an entire post and your computer decides it's suddenly the perfect time for an update/reboot?  

Yup, I had a wonderfully detailed post of my last 10 days 
in regards to my choice of foods as I finished the 
Candida Diet and began reintroducing foods.  

In the last few days of the diet I began using Kraft salad dressings (just got so tired of lemon juice and olive oil) - and yes they contain a little sugar and some vinegar.  Then I began making smoothies for breakfast as a way of introducing 2 of the recommended berries (blueberries and raspberries - lower sugar); mixing them with plain yogurt.  I then had a few meals of brown rice pasta with Parmesan cheese (avoided during CD due to potential for mould).  I thought it was perfect timing when I saw Kellogg's come out with Brown Rice Rice Crispies, so I began having about 1/2cup of that for breakfast (but with 1% milk which does contain sugar - still have not developed a taste for almond milk).

Note: I have continued to take one dose of probiotics and grapefruit seed extract daily.

The worst has been this last week; I've returned to work.  At work I had one cup of coffee each day (that means caffeine; and with milk sometimes which means some sugar).  Wednesday night we went out for dinner to celebrate our 4th anniversary and I figured I'd been so good while on the diet that I'd treat myself to a real dessert.  I ordered a slice of decadent chocolate cake which we shared some of and brought the rest home.  We had more of it for dessert on Thursday after having pizza for supper (I only had 2 small pieces).  But today was the kicker at work; I had a chocolate glazed doughnut in the morning and in the afternoon I indulged in red licorice and some smarties.  I know, what was I thinking?

Tonight I am wondering if I am beginning to feel vaginal yeast symptoms (there is the potential that it's simply pre-period twangs of pain).  If it's yeast symptoms, that means I will have to re-start the diet ALL OVER AGAIN!  (and I still have some of that amazing chocolate cake left in the fridge). This makes me wonder what I might have done wrong the first time because if all the yeast was killed off as it should have been, how could it repopulate to a point of causing symptoms so quickly?  In some ways I don't mind the thought of getting back on the CD; as I felt quite healthy and loved the bonus weight loss (I've been getting lots of compliments lately)!   I know that before I said that if my yeast issue returned, I would consider weaning Benjamin and stopping breastfeeding, but I am not ready to give up breastfeeding (and I now know that I can survive the CD - I'll admit the weight loss is bonus encouragement to repeat the CD).  My major concern about starting to follow the CD again will be the likely "die-off" symptoms (I felt so sick last time, I could hardly do anything for the first week and a half).  I need to be able to manage at work now.

Well, who am I kidding...I'll finish the rest of the piece of chocolate cake in the fridge tomorrow and THEN I'll decide if I'll begin following the CD again.

Every argument against Nursing-in-Public debunked - Newly expanded

I just came across this link/article by Elsinora and LOVED what she had to say!  Wish I could remember it word for word when people question my beliefs/practices about Nursing-In-Public (NIP).

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a31512833/every_argument_against_nip_debunked

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter!

Confused, Torn & Stressed about Our Sleeping Arrangements

My hubby's been sleeping in a separate room since our son was only 3 weeks old, (at the recommendation of a therapist/counselor who suggested the arrangement so he would get sleep while I took care of the baby at night).   My son began sleeping in a bassinet, but we have been co-sleeping since he was 5 mths old.  This arrangement has worked wonderfully for our family...but I am no longer so sure it's wonderful...

Our little man is now 14.5 months.  We have been using tips from The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley for the last few months to get him used to his crib.  Instead of bringing his crib into my room, we moved my bed into his room.  He still hates his crib and cannot be placed in it when he's awake.  He has to be sound asleep beside me in bed and only then be moved into the crib.  He lasts in there for anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hrs and then wakes and needs to come back to bed with me. 

Our little Mister is a "high-needs baby" as defined by Dr. W. Sears (our son is very similar to the Dr's 4th child which he writes about).  He is a wonderfully happy little guy, content and confident...as long as he is close to me (and breasts) at nap-time/bedtime and throughout the night.  People have often commented that he is the happiest baby they've ever seen.  I think it stems directly from the close bond and deep trust he has in me and his Daddy, that his world is complete and that we meet his intense needs of closeness and love.

So why do I feel like our sleeping arrangements are not working?  Lately, I have had a few people whom I trust and look up to make comments about our family sleeping arrangements:

• Not conducive to a healthy marriage (no opportunity for intimacy).
• Now that my hubby says he wants to sleep in the same bed as me again, (and I'm not sure I want to stop co-sleeping with my son), that I am not respecting/honouring my husband, (which tears me up inside, because of course I want to be with my hubby, but I also want to be the kind of mother my son needs).
• I should stop breastfeeding so my son learns to sleeps through the night.
• We should just let our son Cry-It-Out and let him learn to put himself to sleep without mommy/breasts, (but I am so fearful of the terror and doubt this will cause my little boy; and thank God, my hubby agrees with me!).

I feel like I am the only one who sees our son's personality for what it is and understands that he needs me more because of it.  I feel like I am the only one who sees the value in making the personal sacrifice of not sleeping with my hubby to give our son what he needs right now.  I didn't ask for a high-needs baby, but I've got one, so why is it wrong for me to want to parent him the way he seems to need?  Will my marriage suffer that much or are there other ways hubby and I could make up for lost time of sleeping side by side?

Hubby and I chatted last night and planned that I will continue to let our son nurse and fall asleep in bed with me and then move him to his crib once he is asleep.  This way, we hope he will grow more and more comfortable with his crib and with sleeping away from me.  But I will let him sleep with me if he needs it, i.e. teething, sick, etc. and is in need of that extra comfort.

Wifehood vs. Motherhood; why is this so hard?

Grapefruit Seed Extract and Breastfeeding

Over the holidays I stopped into a local health food store to pick up my usual grapefruit seed extract capsules (GSE) and ask what else I could do/take to raise the pH of my body to help fight off yeast (yeast thrive in an acidic environment).  I spoke with a young woman, maybe my age, maybe even a bit younger.  When I showed her the bottle of GSE I was buying and told her I'd been taking it on and off with Fluconazole over the last year, she freaked!  Literally freaked that I was breastfeeding and taking GSE.  She told me it was awful for me to be doing that, that it transfers to the baby and harms not only my body's balance of yeast and probiotics, but also that of the baby's...(Boy, did I feel like an awful mom!)

BUT...I have been told to take GSE by my Lactation Consultant who referenced the recommendations made by Dr. Jack Newman from the International Breastfeeding Clinic in Toronto, Ontario.  He is considered Canada's "guru" on breastfeeding do's and don't's!  So, I will continue to trust the experts and not some young person who felt the need to verbally attack a horomone-ridden new mother!

I've Finally Started the Candida Diet

After over a year of suffering on and off with thrush/candida yeast infections, I've finally admitted to myself that I have no other option but to do the Candida Diet.

Our midwives suggested it way back when we were first diagnosed with thrush.  My lactation consultant has told me for about a year that this is what I need to do.  When I have asked employees at health food stores what I could do to battle yeast, they all said I need to do the Candida Diet.  On Friday, I spoke again with the doctor that prescribed me the most recent, long-term treatment of Fluconazole.  She told me that being on and off of Fluconazole for months like I have been is really not wise.  She said that if the yeast comes back again, she highly doubted another doctor will prescribe me this type of treatment with Fluconazole ever again.  The drug is very strong and extremely hard on the liver.  (And Benjamin does get some through my milk, too).  So, she said that I am really running out of options to deal with my yeast problems.  She asked how long I plan to continue breastfeeding; because she believes that if I stopped, I'd no longer have trouble with yeast.  (I have no plans to stop any time soon).  Then she conclude that doing the diet is really my last option if I want to keep breastfeeding and be thrush/candida free.

I've been reading lots about it, trying to find a list of foods to eat/avoid that I could follow.  Every website says something different.  I know the whole premise is to cut out sugars and carbs to starve the yeast and kill it off.

After my discussion with the doctor, I know the severity of the situation now, and that my breastfeeding is on the line.  I definitely don't want to give that up!

So, Saturday, January 14th I woke up determined.  I announced to my hubby that I was starting the "diet" that day.  Everyone I spoke with said I need to do it for 28 days, it's only 28 days of my life, and in jeopardy is my health, my son's health and our breastfeeding relationship.  So, I am totally on board and I will do this! 

Today is day 4 and I am doing well.  The mornings have been the toughest, because I have woken up weak, light-headed and a little nauseous (all expected symptoms resulting from candida die-off)...but still hard to deal with.  This morning was a little better, so hopefully I am on the up-swing and my mornings will get better.

Finally wrote my Breastfeeding Story

I finally got around to writing my tale.  I think that because it is a topic so precious and dear to my heart, I've been afraid to write it.  Please check out my breastfeeding story here.

Milk Blister

WARNING: This post contains description of nipple treatment...

I have been taking 200mg of Fluconazole per day to treat Thrush/Candida.  It's been over a month of this but I didn't want to lower the dose until I was pain free for a week (Dr. Newman's protocol).  The pain has always been more intense on my right nipple and I decided to investigate a little closer.  I realized the pain on my right nipple was extremely focused to one side.  There it was, a milk blister* (I had one a while back on the other nipple; before which I had never heard of it).  Last time, I looked it up and discovered it's caused by a pocket of milk trapped behind a layer of skin.  So this morning I just took a pin (cleaned with rubbing alcohol) and pricked the skin (barely felt a thing).  The intensity of the pain diminished immediately and after about 30 minutes there's hardly any pain at all when I touch it.  Hooray!  Now I will focus on keeping it clean (soap, APNO or maybe some Polysporin) and letting it heal!
Maybe that's the pain I've been feeling for a while and I am symptom-free of thrush?  I'm seeing a Dr. tomorrow night, so I'll find out how she wants me to proceed with the Fluconazole.

*For more information on Milk Blisters, see kellymom.com How to Treat a Milk Blister.

The Thrush Saga Continues...

Even days after finishing my last antibiotic my breasts/nipples were still really sore.  For 4 days I applied Gentian Violet in the morning after showering (and washed it off before nursing in the afternoon when Benjamin came home from daycare).

I was told by my lactation consultant to stop using the APNO because there is a steroid in it and long-term use is not good. 

I have continued taking 200mg daily of Fluconazole and will keep this up until I am a week pain-free.  Then I'll reduce to 100mg daily for a week and then I'll reduce to 100mg every other day.  (My lactation consultant and Dr. are pretty sure I'll have to remain on this dose for as long as I am breastfeeding).

I increased my grapefruit seed extract daily intake to 250mg twice a day for the last week.  This also included a switch from a capsule brand that included oregano to a CITRICIDAL(R) GSE tablet.

I increased my probiotic daily intake from 30 Billion CU to 80 Billion CU, including a Ultimate Flora VS capsule of 50 Billion culture units.

I have greatly reduced my intake of PROCESSED sugars.  This doesn't mean I haven't had any, but instead of four cookies for dessert, I have one.  Instead of pounds of baking over the holidays, I had a piece or two here and there.  I have basically stopped drinking milk (for now).  I have switched to a low-sugar plain yogurt.  I don't eat as much bread as I use to.  I drink lots of water, mostly with lemon juice in it.  (Lemon juice becomes alkaline in your body, which yeast doesn't like).  I have reduced my coffee intake (acidic) and have stopped sweetening it with sugar - I'll either drink it black or sweeten it with Stevia (natural sweetener, but NOT sugar - will not help yeast growth).  I have stopped drinking juice and pop.

I have maintained my intake of lots of fresh fruit (which has lots of sugar, but it's natural sugar).  I am researching the "Candida Diet" more and more and will make some changes over time.  I just feel like I could never cut out ALL sweets/carbs/sugars...But I can greatly reduce and make better food and beverage choices.

My breast/nipples are feeling better and nursing isn't as painful as it has been, which is a great relief. 

Breastfeeding your child past infancy is NORMAL

An excerpt from www.kellymom.com:

• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child... Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother... There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (AAP 2005)

• The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that breastfeeding continue throughout the first year of life and that "As recommended by the WHO, breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is not the cultural norm in the United States and requires ongoing support and encouragement. It has been estimated that a natural weaning age for humans is between two and seven years. Family physicians should be knowledgeable regarding the ongoing benefits to the child of extended breastfeeding, including continued immune protection, better social adjustment, and having a sustainable food source in times of emergency. The longer women breastfeed, the greater the decrease in their risk of breast cancer." They also note that "If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned." (AAFP 2008)

• A US Surgeon General has stated that it is a lucky baby who continues to nurse until age two. (Novello 1990)

• The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1993, WHO 2002).

• Scientific research by Katherine A. Dettwyler, PhD shows that 2.5 to 7.0 years of nursing is what our children have been designed to expect (Dettwyler 1995).

References [see also position statements supporting breastfeeding]

Milk vs. Formula...under the microscope

A post from kellymom.com:

September 8, 2011. 

We just got a digital camera attachment for our microscope, so what do you think I photographed first?
All three photos were taken with the exact same magnification, lighting, and all other microscope/camera settings. The color shows more detail than black & white, so I left it alone (even though all the colors may seem unusual coming from three white drops of milk).

What are the Booby-Traps?

An Article By Danielle Rigg, JD, CLC and Bettina Forbes, CLC

Want to know the ”Inconvenient Truth” about breastfeeding?  Here it is:

Women are being pressured to breastfeed but set up to fail! 

Most moms are not making it past the first few weeks of breastfeeding because they are being sabotaged daily by cultural and institutional barriers — or as we call them, the “booby traps!”   Think about it.  Why, all of a sudden, for the first time in millenia, do women fear that they are not capable of producing enough milk for their babes?   Why do we hear so many stories of women who “couldn’t” breastfeed, or that it was hard, or painful?   Why are so few women making it to the recommended goals?   Have our breasts mutated?  Have our babies mutated?   Of course not!

FACT:   Moms are  being booby-trapped! Here is a snapshot of  how women are experiencing the booby traps–please note, this is just a snapshot, it doesn’t cover ALL the booby traps that keep moms from succeeding, and there may be some moms for whom only some of it rings true.   There are many, many wonderful professionals and institutions that are helping moms with herculean efforts. But just to put yourselves into the shoes of what currently constitutes the majority of moms planning to breastfeed, pretend it’s you – sadly, it has already happened to many of you:

Your mother (or step-mother, or mother-in-law, or mentor), didn’t breastfeed, so she can’t show you how, share her experience, or tell you what to expect.  Not so with burping and diapers.  At worst, our mothers may be uncomfortable with breastfeeding, have unresolved feelings of guilt or anger,  be prey to myths and misinformation, and intentionally or unintentionally undermine us.   While we understand that the previous generation didn’t know better, like seatbelts and sunscreen, it is a tough issue to deal with when we are at our most vulnerable as new mothers.  At best, our mothers want to support us, but don’t know how. - Cultural Booby Trap!

You’ve taken a childbirth preparation class, and think you are ready, but breastfeeding  got only an hour tacked on at the end, or you took a hospital breastfeeding class but, that unbeknownst to you,  included myths and misinformation and was given at a hospital that does not have a good track record for breastfeeding continuation (ask how many moms leave the hospital exclusively breastfeeding if you really want to know how committed they are). –  Institutional Booby Trap!

Most of your friends didn’t breastfeed, or maybe you are the first in your group to have a baby, so you have no peer group to turn to for support, questions and inspiration.   If your friends did breastfeed, they had an unnecessarily difficult time because of all the barriers, so they tell you horror stories that scare you, without digging into the root causes of their suffering, or they disapprove if you breastfeed in public. - Cultural Booby Trap!

Your friend shares stories with you of being judged, berated or guilted for giving their babies formula by breastfeeding militants (strangers, angry advocates, and even some health professionals!).   - Cultural Booby Trap!

Your ob/gyn hardly speaks to you about feeding choices, because (s)he is short on time with increasing demands as a primary care physician, increasing pressure of lawsuits and managed care red tape, and is not supported with training by the professional association.  Or, (s)he is too short on time to deal with this post-birth issue and expects the pediatrician to fill in the gap, even though by the time the mother sees the pediatrician, too much time has gone by, and breastfeeding problems may already have set in.  Or (s)he is tired of enouraging mothers to breastfeed only to see them quit under family and peer pressure, or to see them be undermined by poor hospital policies. - Institutional Booby Trap!

You give birth in a hospital that is likely to have astronomically high caesarean and birth intervention rates, which negatively impact breastfeeding.   While breastfeeding after caesarean is still completely possible, your hospital is not practicing protocol to support it. - Institutional Booby Trap!
There is no international board certified lactation consultant on staff at the hospital where you give birth, or she doesn’t make it to your room, despite your many requests, until the last second, if at all, because she is part-time, or is too overwhelmed with patients (the lactation department is not high on the hospital’s priority list and is understaffed).  Or, she is burnt out from a stressful, low-paying job and has a lousy bedside manner, turning you off to breastfeeding.  Or, if you are unlucky enough to deliver on a Friday, you may be discharged without seeing her at all before she comes back on Monday morning.   - Institutional Booby Trap!

Your healthy, full-term baby is supplemented in the hospital with formula, quite possibly against your express wishes, whether or not there is any medical indication.   This happens in 25% of hospitals and is one of the reasons the CDC determined that the average score of hospitals on breastfeeding support is a D.   Yes, a D!  Imagine if that was the score for how hospitals handle heart attacks, or breast cancer!  - Instititutional and Cultural Booby Trap!

You are discharged from the hospital before your milk comes in and before you have gotten the hang of it (2 days  for a vaginal delivery without complications; mature milk usually begins to appear between day 2 and 5), and health insurance won’t cover a longer stay.   Your new mother  “gift”  at 70% of hospitals is a diaper bag filled with formula samples which has been shown to undermine your confidence as a breastfeeding mother and reduce the length of time you are likely to breastfeed. – Institutional and Cultural Booby Trap!

Because your baby was given a bottle in the hospital without needing one, he/she has now has a  poor latch:  breastfeeding becomes unnecessarily painful, your breasts are swollen (engorged) because your baby can’t get latched deep enough to drink the milk as often as (s)he should,  and you have to track down a lactation consultant who makes home visits only to find out that there is little or no insurance coverage for lactation counseling, even though breastfeeding saves insurance companies money. - Institutional Booby Trap!

The clock is ticking and your husband or partner hates to see you suffer and struggle, so he tells you ”it’s okay to give the baby formula, I wasn’t breastfed and I turned out fine,” instead of helping you get expert help to fix the problem.   He means well, but he doesn’t know any better either.  You go online and don’t realize you are swimming in a sea of misinformation–even from well-respected, popular parenting sites.  You go to a breastfeeding website, and it is either totally unappealing, or the language is so technically scientific, it’s over your head.- Cultural Booby Trap!

Miraculously, you get help, stick it out, go to great lengths to leave the room every time you nurse the baby, yet your mother-in-law and friends are uncomfortable with breastfeeding, so they ask you “when are you going to give that baby a bottle,” or make comments to your husband that perpetuate myths and misinformation. - Cultural Booby Trap!

Your pediatrician charts your baby’s weight against formula-fed babies and thinks she/he is undernourished, undermining your confidence and self-esteem.   Compared against breastfed babies, your baby is healthy and thriving, but your pediatrician doesn’t know that breastfed babies have different growth patterns so he recommends you supplement with formula. – Institutional and Cultural Booby Trap!

You ask your pediatrician a question about breastfeeding, but since only more recent medical school graduates are required to learn about human lactation, (s)he can not answer your questions.   Your pediatrician may have their own unrecognized cultural bias against breastfeeding.   Most likely, (s)he has no IBCLC on staff, and/or is not required to refer you to someone for your breastfeeding questions. – Institutional Booby Trap!

If you are lucky to have a maternity leave, or are able to afford unpaid leave, you may feel, as Michelle Obama reportedly did, that you have to go back to work just as you have gotten the hang of breastfeeding.   Perhaps you won’t be able to negotiate a flexible work schedule, as she did. - Institutional and Cultural Booby Trap!

Most likely, especially if you are a blue-collar worker, you will have to fight your employer for pumping breaks, and put up with snickers and sneers from co-workers.   Your colleagues who smoke get a fancy lounge with a t.v., but you’ll have to find an empty broom closet or bathroom with an outlet.   You have no protection from discrimination or being fired for being a nursing mom (pregnant moms are protected, but not nursing moms). - Institutional and Cultural Booby Trap!

If you are a stay-at-home mom, you will be expected to STAY AT HOME, and not feed your baby while you are running errands, or taking the older sibling to a soccer game, or going to the PTO;  you will face social disapproval, rude stares, and risk getting kicked out of stores, airplanes, restaurants and the mall.     You will need to have the same endurance and perseverance as an athelete trying to run a race in flip-flops while being jeered at from the crowd. - Cultural Booby Traps!

Anywhere along this road, that free sample of formula starts to look quite appealing, and maybe some of the sneakiest formula advertising and marketing messages have worked their way into your subliminal consciousness; the smiling babies, the misleading claims, the false portrayal of health and vitality even though your rational mind, and health professionals and experts all over the world know very well that formula-fed babies, and their moms, are actually at greater risk for a host of complications, disease and infection. - Cultural & Institutional Booby Trap!

If you can’t breastfeed, or throw in the towel, which most new moms understandably do (the 77% who start in the hospital, have fallen to around 30% breastfeeding exclusively by around three weeks),  you will experience social disapproval, judgment, and pressure for NOT breastfeeding, leaving you to feel that you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. - Cultural Booby Trap!

Pretty grim, huh?  We wish this were a made-up story, but as many of you already know, this is the plain truth for the majority of moms planning to breastfeed.   And there are many, many more Booby Traps than the ones we listed here–Booby Traps like poorly performed breast reduction surgeries, for example.  But a gauntlet of Booby Traps is not the way breastfeeding was meant to be – it is a formula for unnecessary problems and failures.  Breastfeeding was meant to be nourishing for you and baby, pleasurable and uniquely fulfilling, albeit with a learning curve to increase bonding and cement healthy development.

If this is your story, the struggle and suffering you experienced while trying to breastfeed with so many obstacles in your way and so little support may have resulted in feelings of guilt, grief and self-blame.  We want you to know that we understand and that it’s not your fault!  You didn’t fail, the system failed you! Most of you could have succeeded if it weren’t for the Booby Traps!   Best for Babes is offering you a unique opportunity to turn your negative experience into a positive — for yourself and for other women.  It’s time to beat the Booby Traps  and stop beating up each other!  Let’s put the pressure where it belongs:  on the barriers that stand in our way, and not on each other.  Help us help other moms avoid the same pitfalls you encountered.  Join our cause to  BEAT The Booby Traps! You, us, our babies, humankind, the planet – we all deserve better!

To find out how to avoid the Booby Traps, and enjoy breastfeeding from the start, read  Prepare:  How to Overcome the Booby Traps,  and see our Checklist.   You will also want to read our sections, the Learning Curve, and Get Your Best Game on Girlfriend.
 
©2009 www.bestforbabes.org.  All Rights Reserved.

Thrush - For the Last Time!

Yup, it's back.  Last night we went to bed early, Benjamin and I because he is teething and out of sorts.  He fed around 7:30pm and struggled to sleep on and off until we fed again at 9:30pm.  At that feeding I realized that yes, my nipples were sore (I've been sore for a couple of days, thinking it was just a stretching while feeding or something - I should have known!).  I applied APNO and went to bed.

I woke at 11pm with a very painful vaginal burn that any woman who's experienced an vaginal yeast infection would recognize.  I experienced relief from just one treatment, so it's confirmed, I've got an abundance of yeast again...gggrrrrrr.

Well, I guess I am willing to admit that it's never really left my system.  It's been around since before Benjamin was born because I was treating a vaginal yeast infection the week he was delivered.  The many treatments I've taken over the last year have simply reduced the amount of candida fungus, but have not eliminated it from my body, and over time it flourishes back to a quantity that causes me problems.

I managed to sneak in to see another doctor in my family doctor's practice (she's out on maternity leave, go figure).  I went armed with my 3 notebooks of our history with thrush/yeast infections and Dr. Jack Newman's book with his treatment plan.  I didn't need any of it!  The doctor I saw was a sort of kindred spirit; an experienced breastfeeding mother herself, she reviewed my file and right away suggested we consider I take Fluconazole for the remainder of my breastfeeding experience.  I have no idea when I plan to stop.  After some discussion, we settled on repeating Dr. Jack Newman's 28 day protocol followed by a slow weaning of the daily dosage to get me on the minimum amount required to keep the yeast at bay.  I will also continue using the APNO as needed and will take probiotics and grapefruit seed extract capsules daily.

She also suggested I discuss the matter with Lorraine, my Lactation Consultant, and see what her thoughts and recommendations would be about this treatment and prevention plan.

I am so thrilled!  I finally feel confident that this will be the last time I suffer from thrush while breastfeeding!!! 

Sleep Transitioning Update

On the 8th I wrote that we were back on track after a few nights of Mister sleeping with me because he was sick.  He managed great going back in his crib for 2 nights, but it didn't last because his cold stuck around much longer.  He was having so much trouble breathing and would wake up often coughing non-stop...so he has been sleeping with me again ever since.

Last night, after sleeping beside me for a couple hours, he woke to nurse again, and then I tried putting him in his crib and it was a no-go.  He cried and cried; stood there reaching out to me.  I tired laying down beside it (my bed is still pushed right up beside the crib) and touching him through the railings, trying to encourage him to lay down, but he wasn't having it.  Singing didn't help either.  So, I brought him back with me for the night.

Does this mean I have to go back to the first step all over again (we started this process almost 1 month ago!)?  Is this going to happen every time he gets sick; we'll lose the progress we've made?   When daycare reports that he no longer cries when he is put in his playpen to nap, it is so tempting to just let him cry until he gets used to his crib...but we don't want to do that to him.  Plus, when he cries like that it just makes his nose stuffy again and that makes him start coughing and struggling to breathe all over again.  So, crying doesn't seem right for so many reasons!

So...I have no idea what to do from here...it just seems so much easier to keep co-sleeping; it's obviously what Mister wants and likes.  It is easier for me and I enjoy having him there with me too.  BUT...it's not helping me and hubby get back into the same bed...Then I wonder about Mister's nighttime breastfeeding; will he keep it up as long as he is co-sleeping?  Does it bother me?  I don't think so.  I still get a good night's sleep, even if he is waking me up 3-4 times a night for a quick feed (5-10mins).  Will I ever settle this internal battle between being a wife and a mom?

Reflections on Labour & Birth

With Benjamin's first birthday only days away, I have already be reminiscing about his birth day.  This afternoon I watched the documentary called "The Business of Being Born" from Executive Producer Ricki Lake.  It's brought up so many memories of the night Benjamin was born, right here at home, unplanned and wondrously!  Watching clips of labouring women and babies being born makes me wish I'd had my labour and especially the delivery recorded.  I know that might sound weird; it's not like I want to show it to everyone who visits me, it would be private, for me to watch later and remember the details.  I think I remember things pretty well about Benjamin's birth, but I am not clear on some of the timing of events and such, and it would be amazing to see it happen (I was a little preoccupied at the time!).

I am forever grateful to our friends (Amanda, Janice and Bobbie) who told us about their experiences with midwives (both in hospital and at home); leading my husband and I to choose midwifery care for our first baby.  I would consider midwifery care still  uncommon in our society, but I believe (and hope) it is becoming more 'normal' and accepted.

I had done lots of reading about labour and delivery while I was pregnant and become more and more concerned about the medical interventions that take place in a hospital.  It was very apparent from my research that once a labouring mother has one medical intervention, it is usually followed with more medical interventions (various drugs, episiotomy, epidural, c-section, etc.).  I had no idea of what to expect labour to be like, no woman does.  I also had no clue as to my level of pain tolerance (nothing can prepare a woman for the pain of labour and delivery).  But the more I read, it became something I wanted to "experience", not just tolerate. 

The History of Birthing in America
I found the history of birthing in our society very interesting.  Here is my summary of some of th things I read:

Up until 1900, about 99% of births were at home attended by a midwife.  By the 1930s it was down to about 50%.  Hospital births became a status symbol, as only the wealthy could afford it, so naturally, more people wanted it to climb the social ladder. By the 1950s it was the complete opposite: about 99% of births were happening in hospitals and being attended by doctors, midwives and home births were almost obsolete.

Doctors, who attended school to learn surgical practices, felt useless in the situation of normal, natural healthy births.  They needed to flex their professionally trained muscles and provide medical and surgical assistance to labouring women.  Enter the use of forceps, the episiotomy, various drugs, the epidural and of course the c-section.  All this in an effort to offer labouring women an escape from the natural; all this medical interference, opps, "intervention" to make things easier for the women...I mean the doctors!  Labouring while laying on your back is the worst position possible for a woman, it makes the pelvis smaller and the baby must move against gravity in order to come out.  But, this position allowed doctors the best and most comfortable vantage point to watch and assist deliveries.  Let's not forget the doctors' reserved tee time, or the dinner party the doctor doesn't want to miss; so any intervention to help speed up deliveries was also a bonus for women...I mean for the doctors!

There was the "Twilight Sleep" faze of birthing, a drug that was given to women that made them "sleep" through their labour and delivery; in actuality it made them entirely FORGET the experience (and also required that they be strapped to their hospital beds to restrain them from hurting themselves and medical staff during their hallucinations)!   Why are women not only willing but eager to take drugs they know so little about without researching the possible side effects to themselves and most importantly to their unborn baby?  Every drug out there for labouring women causes side effects; the medical field has just convinced us that the benefits far outweigh those potentially negative effects.  Women have been frightened into taking whatever they can to avoid the "unbearable" pain of labour and delivery.  But women have been delivering babies forever without these drugs!

With the introduction of the epidural, the c-section rates skyrocketed.  That's because the epidural slows the birthing process; it numbs a women's body to a point that she can't feel contractions, so her body doesn't know where and how to push naturally and this simple medical intervention of convenience (simply because women are frightened into thinking they can't cope with the pain of labour and delivery) results in requiring a more serious medical intervention: the surgical c-section.

The information goes on and on...if you're willing to look for it.

The more I read, the more I wanted to read.  Why are women not educated about this?  Why do women not seek out this knowledge for themselves to make informed decisions about their own labours and deliveries?    

Originally planning to deliver at the hospital with midwives, I am so thrilled and relieved that we ended up having a home birth.  My personal 'birthing plan' was to try to do it naturally, with no medical assistance...if at all possible.  That's was one positive of being at home, there was little to no option for drugs or other medical interventions, even if I would have accepted them in the throws of labour pain.  I can only imagine how easy it is to waver from your original desire to have a natural birth if there are medical professionals hovering around you repeatedly asking if you are sure you don't want pain killers...instead of encouraging you in your pursuit of a natural birth.

It was probably lucky for me that Benjamin came quickly.  I had read that labours can vary in length and intensity and that quick labours usually were much harder and stronger, but ended sooner...and that was the case for me.  Could I survive a 15, 25, or 35 hour labour without pain killers?  I have no idea, and hope I never do!  I have no idea how I made it through my intense 4.5hr labour, but I did, and I was so blessed to deliver naturally, in the comfort of my home, in my bed with my husband at my side and with the assistance of our skilled midwives.  I will forever treasure the fact that my baby was immediately placed in my arms and nursing at my breast so soon after delivery.  It was perfect.

Perfect.

Sleep Transition Step 3 - Progress

Things have been delayed because of Mister being sick.  He's got a cold and has needed the comfort of having mommy close at night.  But, last night we nursed at 8pm and I was able to place him in his crib and head downstairs.  Hubby and I watched some TV until almost 10pm before Mister woke and cried for us.  This is great progress!

He stayed with me the rest of the night.  He had a rough one!  Was up lots, and at 1am I gave him Tylenol and he wouldn't go back to sleep.  He was coughing lots and that was upsetting him.  I finally brought him downstairs to give him some Ventolin and Daddy woke up.  Hubby graciously sent me to bed and kept Mister with him until 6:30am...I slept like a dream and I needed it! (see above post).

Sleep Transition Step 3 - 1st Night

Last night we put the front railing back on the crib and moved my bed about a foot away (so there is standing room between to make it easier to lift him into the crib).

Bedtime arrived, we nursed in my bed and when he was very sleepy I moved him and roused during the transfer and was not going to have anything to do with his crib.  He started crying and stood up to snuggle up to my chest.  I tried laying him back down and he fussed more and stood back up.  I tried picking him up to comfort him and he nestled into my arms and laid his head on my shoulder and settled.  After a few minutes I tried putting him back in his crib and he began crying louder than before.  I snuggled him some more as he stood up in his crib, and then tried laying him back down and he started to wail; his serious "I'm not putting up with this" cry.  I scooped him up and laid him in my bed again, got in beside him and he quietly drifted off to sleep without another peep.  It was instant comfort and reassurance for him to be back in mommy's bed.  I just kept him with me for the night; as he was waking every 45mins to 1hr struggling to breathe, uncomfortable and restless.  Sometimes he wanted to breastfeed and sometimes just talking and rubbing his back was enough to help him settle.

I am attributing this behavior to the fact that he is under the weather.  We think he is teething as the last two nights have been a struggle for him.  He's been waking often and crying lots and having a tough time breathing through his nose.  We figure post-nasal drip due to teething.  But, this all could be a cold starting, so we'll wait and see how things progress. 

I'll try the crib again tonight when we go to bed, but if he is still fussy I'll just keep him with me for another night.  This set-back is to be expected when he is not feeling well and seeking more comforting and reassurance

Sleep Transition Step 1 - 1st Night

Last night was our first night in the transition from co-sleeping to independent sleeping for our little Mister (although he hasn't a clue).

The Setup
We removed the front panel of railings from the crib and snugged the back of the crib against the wall. Then we moved my bed into his room and squished it up tightly in front of the crib.  Unfortunately we could not get the crib mattress to be the same height as my mattress (~4" difference).  This will require that I nurse him in my bed and then move him down onto the crib after each feed. (Maybe not a bad thing, since he has to get used to being moved).

The Goal
We want Mister to get used to his room and his crib; the look, feel, smell and sound of it and sleeping with a little distance between him and I.

The Plan
Because of the difference in height of the mattresses, we thought we'd let him just co-sleep with me as usual for a couple of nights to get used to the new room. Then I'd start to try moving him down onto the crib mattress after each nursing.

The 1st Night:
...but while we were nursing at bedtime, I thought, what have I got to lose if I try to move him into the crib? Let's see what he does, if he protests, I'll just bring him back to my side. So, I did the Pantley Pull Off (PPO - we've been working on this for about 10 days now) and kind of awkwardly picked him up/pushed him over into the crib. He barely stirred! Success! That was 10pm.

• 1am - 15 mins nursing and moved him back to crib. He moved around to bit, got comfortable and slept soundly.
• 3:20am - 15 mins nursing and back to crib.
• 5:15am - This is his tricky time of night, as of late. He has a tougher time getting back to sleep at this point, and likes to suckle longer...to a point of causing me pain...so he was upset when I pulled him off and hid myself away. I sang, touched, cuddled, first with me, and then with him on his own crib mattress. Eventually I did nurse him again at 5:45am and he drifted right back to sleep in his crib
  
• Daddy came to wake us both up at 7:15am!
  

Overall, it was a totally normal night for us as far as his frequency of waking to feed and settling back to sleep. I was amazed that he didn't really react to being moved to the crib (it's not a smooth motion, as the crib mattress is about 4 inches lower then my bed). So, I'll repeat this process again tonight and maybe a few more nights and see how he does. My goal will be to try to do the PPO earlier and earlier so he is more awake and more aware of being moved away from me and gets comfortable falling the rest of the way to sleep without suckling and with a little distance between us.