Vino

Last night was our twelfth and final birth class. We had a celebratory potluck dinner and watched a little movie about breastfeeding while munching on asparagus and chicken and those delicious whole-wheat chocolate-chip sweet potato muffins that a classmate makes. Then we heard from a local lactation consultant, a La Leche League leader, and a doctoral student in nutrition who specializes in breastfeeding info. It was quite informative. Let's play "Were you aware of it?"

1. Were you aware that it's perfectly fine to have a glass (or two!) of wine or 1-2 beers per day while you are breastfeeding, and there is no need to "pump and dump" the milk for fear of alcohol? I'm sure you could find some studies trying to scare moms into thinking the opposite, but these three ladies and some solid doctors at UNC agree that so long as you're not dancing on the table with a lampshade on your head, your milk is really fine for the baby. Yay! Wine! (An added bonus for those of us who like red wine and have chronic hypertension!)

2. Were you aware that, at birth, the baby's stomach capacity is that of a marble? Yes indeedy. That's why we'll be waking up Baby B to eat every 2-3 hours. That stomach can only hold a little.

3. Were you aware that, in the first 2-3 weeks of breastfeeding, you "program" your breasts to produce the right amount of milk for up to one year from that time? This is why frequent, complete feedings are essential in the first 2-3 weeks. If you supplement with formula too early (and don't pump to make up for that supplementing - it's okay if the doctor tells you that you have to use some formula but you need to pump to get your body to keep making milk), your body will get the impression that it doesn't need to make as much milk and so it won't. Then at 5-6 weeks you'll wonder why you can't make enough milk.

4. Were you aware that babies only need breastmilk for the first 6 months of life? No water, no sugar water, nothing but breastmilk. The magic is that there is foremilk and hindmilk, kinda like skim milk and cream. With each swallow the baby takes during a feeding, the fat content of the milk increases. Isn't that amazing? So they quench their thirst with foremilk and fill their bellies with hindmilk and that's all they need.

Alright there's my breastfeeding trivia for the day. Time for me to stop dreaming of holding Baby B and a glass of yummy wine and get back to work.