Guest Blog

Breastfeeding Memoirs: Best 'Bring Your Baby to Work' Situation EVER!

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week 2015, we are sharing inspirational stories from breastfeeding/working moms.  

Today’s story was written by Margo Byrd.

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As a new mother, the fear of going back to work haunted me as my maternity leave days grew smaller and smaller.  Although I am one of the most fortunate mothers in the world who got to bring their child to work, I still feared that somehow it would not work out.   I worried that my company would decide my bundle of joy was not so joyous, or I would completely collapse under the pressure of feeding a 3 month old in my office. I personally struggled with postpartum.  I had irrational fears about what it would be like at work, felt completely helpless on multiple occasions, and had a very hard time letting my son out of my sight even to run to the bathroom (when my husband was home).  As those small fears subsided, coincidentally my bigger fear of breastfeeding in my new work environment grew. For the summer, my office would be shared with my boss as I am her assistant and during the school year I would have my own office (which happens to be all glass).  I work for the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Dieguito and while “Bring your child to work,” has always been a motto for our club, the fear of breastfeeding with 70-150 kids on the other side of my door was very apparent.  I envisioned curling up on a toilet wiping everything down with cleaners or hiding in dark closets on the floor while I lulled my 3 month old to sleep while comfort nursing. While I was promised a, “Safe,” environment to nurse I had no idea what to expect. The struggle of postpartum and the struggle of a new environment breastfeeding made me so nervous. I had never nursed in public, let alone nursed in front of my co-workers and peers.  Personally I was too scared and too naive to understand the support I would have at my job.

Breastfeeding Memoirs: Working as a Resident

Breastfeeding Memoirs: Working as a Resident

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week 2015, we are sharing inspirational stories from breastfeeding/working moms.  

Today’s story was written by Amelia Sorenson.

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When I found out I was pregnant as I was about to start a surgical fellow, which can mean a seven day, sixty (sometimes eighty) hour work week with erratic long nights of call, I thought a lot about what it would be like to do the work while pregnant and how to manage maternity leave (six weeks, worked the day I delivered). What I didn't think about was how I would establish a breastfeeding relationship during those first few short weeks and how I would manage to keep breastfeeding when I went back.  

Breastfeeding Memoirs: Returning to Work in the Navy

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week 2015, we are sharing inspirational stories from breastfeeding/working -- moms.  

Today’s story was written by Cinda Brown.

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I’m an active duty Navy officer and mother of two girls. My journey to becoming a working, breastfeeding mother started almost 4 years ago with the birth of my first daughter. Breastfeeding was challenging in more ways than I could have imagined. I thought that it would just be easy and natural, not knowing that those two little words can mean so many different things.

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Breastfeeding Memoirs: Trusting my Body when Returning to Work

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In honor of World Breastfeeding Week 2015, we are sharing inspirational stories from breastfeeding/working moms.  

Today’s story was written by Georgina.

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When I had to go back to work I knew I wanted to keep providing my son with the very best I could offer and one of them was his dear breastmilk.  I was very confused with the whole pumping at work idea. I had done some research at work before delivering as to where the lactation room was and what the process was to reserve the room.  I work at a hospital and I thought that just by going to the L&D department everyone would know where our lactation room was and it was going to be very easy to find.  Well to my surprise, no one knew exactly what I was referring to, all the nurses looked at me with puzzled faces and confused as to why an 8 month pregnant employee was asking about this room and they didn't even know where it was!  When I finally found it, it was a rather disappointing, sad room that looked like a utility closet, but at least it was clean and it had the necessities: a chair, a desk and a fridge.  

Breastfeeding Memoirs: My Three Bs

Breastfeeding Memoirs: My Three Bs

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week 2015, we are sharing inspirational stories from breastfeeding/working moms.  

Today’s story was written by Louanne Ferro.

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Prior to May 27th, 2014, the word baby meant something very different to me: my baby was my business. At the young age of 17, I entered the world of cosmetology. Knowing I wanted to strive and create greatness in my industry, I focused on building. In 13 year's time, I had nurtured my baby and created a small empire. One of the leading educators for the world's largest professional beauty company, I frequently traveled to teach my craft.  In the heart of North Park, I opened my very own salon. My baby was thriving and I was the proud mother, spending further countless hours tending to make it what it is today.  Then, May 27th, 2014 happened, changing everything I knew about babies.

The test was positive. To my shock, my work "baby" was going to be replaced with a real-life, micro-human! My pregnancy was something my husband and I had been hoping for and we were thrilled!

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Breastfeeding Memoirs: Persevering when Returning to Work

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In honor of World Breastfeeding Week 2015, we are sharing inspirational stories from breastfeeding/working moms.  

Today’s story was written by Maggie.

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I had a long, stressful delivery that resulted in an emergency c-section, a tongue tie revision on day 2, followed by 48 hours in NICU. I was given a nipple shield, instructed to supplement with formula through an SNS and sent on my way. Breastfeeding was painful and difficult even with the shield, I went to many support group meetings and did weighed feeds and was able to stop supplementing. We were also dealing with a "colicky" baby until about week 8 . Then at week 10, I was able to get off the nipple shield with the help of an LC at Mary Birch. I was supposed to go back to work after 12 weeks but I was so exhausted and we were finally starting to turn a corner where we could actually enjoy our time with baby, I thankfully was able to extend my maternity leave to 16 weeks.

This prelude is to say that with all the struggles we went through in the beginning, I was very anxious about going back to work, whether I would make enough milk, whether he would get nipple confusion or a bottle preference. I worked so hard and suffered through so much literal blood, sweat, and tears to make breastfeeding work I started to really resent the fact that I had to go to work and interrupt our breastfeeding relationship.

Top Tips for Introducing Solids to Your Baby

Written by Rachel Rothman, MS, RD

At your baby’s four-month visit, your pediatrician may have talked to you about starting your baby on solid foods and probably recommended to start between 4-6 months.  It’s usually recommended that baby can start solids when he/she is sitting up mainly on his/her own, has a pincer grasp, seems interested in food, and opens his/her mouth when food is offered.  As a pediatric dietitian, I get asked many questions about infant nutrition and starting baby on solid foods.  

Was it Something I Ate? Food Sensitivities in the Breastfed Baby: Part 3

By Lindsey Hurd, MS, RD, LDN, IBCLC and Owner, Angel Food Lactation & Nutrition, LLC

Last month we probed a little deeper into understanding how mom’s gut influences baby, what causes an unhappy digestive system, and what we can do about it.  From leaky gut syndrome to food sensitivities in baby, maternal dietary modifications have become the first line of defense, despite the inevitable difficulties one may face when narrowing the focus of problem foods. A mom’s diet during pregnancy and during lactation is often a hot topic among anyone close enough to ask questions about her experience… even someone in the checkout line at Target! From your Aunt Sally to your Grandpa Joe, everyone seems to have an opinion about what a mom should and shouldn’t eat.

Was it Something I Ate? Food Sensitivities in the Breastfed Baby: Part 2

By Lindsey Hurd, MS, RD, LDN, IBCLC and Owner, Angel Food Lactation & Nutrition, LLC

Last month, we talked about the prevalence of food allergies, how a baby’s immune system is established, and how maternal immunity plays a role.  This month, we are diving a little deeper into understanding how mom’s gut influences baby, what causes an unhappy digestive system, and what we can do about it.  

Defining my Breastfeeding Experience: Inclusive Breastfeeding

Defining my Breastfeeding Experience: Inclusive Breastfeeding

Written by Aran Tavakoli

It has been nine months and I just put away my pump. Getting it ready for storage was bitter sweet. How many hours have I spent with that machine in the past 9 months? Its usefulness outweighed the annoyance.  Once again, at this point in time, I am redefining my breastfeeding relationship with my baby. 

Breastfeeding has been an extraordinary journey. I have experienced and learned so much. I keep searching for a word that captures and defines my experience, but I can’t find one. I believe the breastfeeding community is actually missing a term for mamas that fall into their own camp. There is the exclusively breastfeed group and the formula group. Research often distinctly divides mamas and babies into these two groups. But, there is an ever-growing group of mamas that breastfeed and give formula to support their breastfeeding relationship with their baby. The current words used to describe this group include combo feeding or more commonly, low supply needing supplementation.