Baby Names: Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding was our first hurdle. I recommend reading lots of books about it first. My favorite is So that's what they're for: Breastfeeding Basics. I always wondered why a book would be 300 pages about the importance of breastfeeding. Now I understand that it's necessary because breastfeeding is not always easy and you need as much motivation as possible.

Also, please, get the numbers of a couple of highly recommended lactation specialists before you deliver, if possible. Have those numbers handy and don't be afraid to call them. They LIVE for this stuff! They would love to help you! Call them sooner and not later. By the time I called, I was hysterical, felt like a failure and had to email instead of talk because I was crying so much. (Thank you, Kristin, for taking my 3 am call!!)

It took Jett a while to get the hang of it because he just didn't have much of an appetite and it took some time for him to latch on with consistent gusto. (They threatened to put him in the hospital for failure to thrive, but I begged the doctor to give me the weekend. During that weekend, it was nonstop breastfeeding and I was able to keep him out of the hospital.) But, once he started breastfeeding, he became a pro and is still at it 17 months later. (I COMPLETELY understand if you don't want to go for this long, but as a stay-at-home month and with Jett's T21, I feel I need to oblige for as long as he needs it.)

According to Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson, breastfeeding mothers should follow these principles: Hold the baby in a position where his mouth is lower than his ears. Stimulate the mammary glands while the child is suckling to increase milk flow. This also enables the mother's milk to come in stronger. As the child's suckle strength increases, the need for gland stimulation will be eliminated. A simple change in the position relationship of the child's mouth to the bottle/breast can improve long-term oral-motor skill levels. That one change prevents a series of abnormal compensatory patterns from developing.

Originally published in ADVANCE Magazine August 4, 1997; from Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson.

How to Breast feed to prevent common characteristics of DS:

Goal one is to change the position in which your baby is being fed. Mouths must always be lower than ears to prevent milk flow into Eustachian tubes. The bottle position is altered to introduce the nipple from below the mouth, vertically encouraging a slight chin tuck. In this position your baby draws the milk up the nipple predominately with tongue retraction. This position and retractive action prevents milk from flowing freely into your baby's mouth. Your baby no longer needs strong tongue protrusion to enable swallowing. It is also important not to make the hole in the nipple larger.

Can babies with weak suckle draw the milk into their mouths in this position? Yes, if you don't use standard glass bottles. Bottles with the disposable liners, in either 4-ounce or 8-ounce sizes, can be filled with either pumped breast milk or any variety of formula, and the air can be forced out causing a vacuum. This type of bottle can then be fed to your baby in an upright position. If your baby has trouble drawing the milk up because of weak suckle, you can facilitate the draw by pushing gently on the liner. This technique has been successful with even the most severely impaired babies. After a week or so you will be able to push less as the muscles will begin to get stronger.

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Here's an informative presentation about breastfeeding a baby with Down syndrome: http://breezemsprod2.tch.harvard.edu/p93272789/. You can skip the first 5 minutes of introduction and start at 5:50, if you'd like. 9:50 is where the info on DS starts.

How long to breastfeed?

Breast-feeding is excellent for many reasons. For boys, especially, it would be great to nurse for at least 2 years to fully develop their jaw/facial structure, even more important with our low tone/small mouthed kids. Jett is still breastfeeding at 17 months old; I'm following his cues. During teething, he breastfeeds more.

http://www.who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en/
Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond.

If "the cord" was cut after it stopped pulsing, your baby should have enough iron stored for 10 months. Otherwise, you may need to supplement with iron starting at six months. (Please read the post on Anemia before you do any iron supplementation.) Jett did show low iron so I supplemented starting at 15 months old.

Vitamin D3 is the only other nutrient that is not found in breastmilk. Ten minutes of sunlight a day should be sufficient, but D3 drops will also do the trick. (The darker the skin, the more D3 supplementation/sunlight exposure you need.)

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Problems breast feeding?

Check out the Feeding an Infant page on the Einstein Syndrome Website.

If you can't breastfeed:

I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is to breastfeed your baby for muscle development and nutrition. Pump and bottle is a great alternative to still get the nutrition. Read about Bottle feeding.

If you cannot do it yourself, try to find a breast milk donor. (I know it sounds strange, but hey, we drink cow's milk and goat's milk and human milk is so much better!) A good place to start looking for one is in your maternity ward before giving birth or straight after giving birth. In order to insure good supply of breast milk for your baby, it is practical to look for 2-4 breast milk donors. Look for healthy women who live not too far away from you. Even in the case of formula feeding, supplementing your baby’s diet with some breast milk (even occasional) will do wonders for your baby’s development and overall health. Commercial formula doesn't get close to the quality of breast milk.

If you have no alternative but to feed your baby formula (even supplemented occasionally with breast milk), add good quality probiotics into every bottle feed right from the start.

Baby Names

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Breastfeeding

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