The Breastfeeding Center for Greater Washington

Mother’s Day!

breastfeedingcenter — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:38:00 +0000

Mother’s Day is one of our favorite holidays here at the Center! It’s a chance to celebrate all the moms who come through our doors!

This Mother’s Day we are offering a chance for you to support our Center and send a Mother’s Day Card to a special mom in your life! Make a donation in honor of a mother and we will send her a Mother’s Day Card with a personalized message for you!

If you’re looking for a gift for a mom in your life, or a gift for yourself (and we certainly think you deserve one!) stop by our shop. We are currently running “Our Cups Runneth Over” Bra Sale with select nursing bras on sale for $5 and $20, while supplies last! We also have a full selection of spring nursing clothes! We are also currently running a book sale for select titles! And of course, we have a full range of supplies and other products for mom! Don’t be afraid to ask for our help if you are having trouble selecting the perfect gift for the mother in your life (or yourself)!

If these don’t suit you, we have gift certificates available!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Sleep Basics and Its New Part II

breastfeedingcenter — Sun, 05 May 2013 22:29:10 +0000

Our Sleep Basics Class for expectant and new parents discusses the benefits of adequate sleep for both baby and family. The class teaches what is biologically normal for a human baby and how parents and baby can get the sleep they need. Sleep safety, soothing techniques and common sleep scenarios will be discussed.

The Sleep for the Infant 4-12 Months is geared toward families with babies aged 4-12 months. This class provides reliable information on a number of sleep strategies while troubleshooting general issues and concerns parents have about restorative and safe sleep. It also creates a space for parents to meet others experiencing similar sleep issues.

The Sleep Basics with Nancy is for expectant parents and new families with babies under the age of four months. Sleep Basics with Nancy is the 2^nd Monday of every month for $35. Sleep Class for the Infant 4-12 Months with Pat will be the second Friday of every month from 11:30-1 for $35. You can register here on our website under the classes tab.

Nancy Mallin is an IBCLC who sees mothers here at the Center and also teaches Baby Basics and the Expectant Parents Sampler Class. She has been with us for over a year and half and has been a wonderfully nurturing addition to our team.

Pat Shelly, MA/RN/IBCLC is our director who started the Center over 15 years ago. She teaches a number of classes including Breastfeeding Basics, Breast Pump Basics and Return to Work. She is extremely experienced on a variety of topics surrounding lactation.

Two books are recommended for further reading. The first is the Baby Sleep Guide: Sleep Solutions for You and Your Baby by Marcie and Sandy Jones. This book is a great resource for all your questions concerning sleep during your baby’s first year. The second book is Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Cosleeping by James McKnenna Ph.D. This is a wonderfully succinct guide full of advice for safely sharing your bed with your new child. Both are available for sale in our shop!

See you in class!

Book Collection Giveaway!

breastfeedingcenter — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:05:20 +0000

The Center is hosting a GIVEAWAY! 1 winner will be chosen Monday, May 6th for each of our the book collections pictured above! To enter the contest comment on this blog post indicating which collection you would like to win and why! Winner will be announced Monday using random.org!

Our first book collection is Baby Nutrition; it includes “Baby Steps: Guide for Preparing Great Tasting, Healthy Baby Food,” Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter, Blender Baby Food by Nicole Young and Nadine Day, and First Meals: Fast, Healthy and Fun Foods for Infants and Toddlers by Annabel Karmel.

These books are wonderful companions to our Nutrition Classes the 3rd Friday of every month with Christy, who is a certified holistic health counselor and a chef. You can register for her classes HERE!

Our second book collection is for New Mothers; it includes The Breastfeeding Café by Barbara L. Behrmann, The Greatest Pregnancy Ever: Keys to the Mother Baby Bond by Laurel Wilson and Tracy Wilson Peters, Nursing Mother, Working Mother: Essential Guide to Breastfeeding Your Baby Before and After You Return to Work by Gale Pryor and Kathleen Huggins, The Better Way to Breastfeed: The Latest, Most Effective Ways to Feed and Nurture Your Baby with Comfort and Ease by Robin Elise Weiss.

These books go great with a number our classes, especially Breastfeeding Basics which is taught by on of our experienced IBCLCs! You can register HERE!

Our third collection is full of Practical Guides for Parenting; it includes The Latch and Other Keys to Breastfeeding Success by Jack Newman and Teresa Pitman, The Fussy Baby: How to Bring Out the Best in Your High-Need Child by William and Martha Sears, Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Cosleeping by James J. McKenna and The Science of Parenting: How Today’s Brain Research Can Help You Raise Happy, Emotionally Balanced Children by Margot Sunderland.

If you’re interested in any of these topics you can check out a number of our skills classes, including our Sleep Basics Class and Sleep for the Infant 4-12 Months, taught by our experienced IBCLCs. You can register HERE!

Again, if you you would like to win one of these Book Collections comment on this blog post indicating which collection you would like receive and why. Winners will be announced here Monday using random.org. Best of Luck!

First Food Deserts

breastfeedingcenter — Wed, 01 May 2013 22:27:00 +0000

Food Deserts are the lack of access to adequate and nutritional food that exists in some areas, even in the United States. The idea of the First Food Desert is the lack of access to breastfeeding support, including lactation consultants, the social demands surrounding breastfeeding, and the use of formula in hospitals. Particularly of concern are geographic areas and particular groups that are affected more and have a harder time breastfeeding. Unlike the concept of the traditional food desert, access to nutritious food for the breastfeeding mother does not seem to play as prominent a role.

NPR’s show, Tell Me More, stopped by the Center Saturday, March 16^th to collect sound bites from our Lactation Consultant Nancy Sherwood, and they also invited a mother who happened to be shopping in our store, Areti Gourzis, to appear on the show. Their show is all about the First Food Deserts and includes and an interview with the leading expert on them, Kimberley Seals Allers.

To listen to the NPR Tell Me More Episode, click the link below:

http://www.npr.org/2013/03/19/174738256/breast-feeding-mothers-living-in-first-food-deserts

To learn more about Kimberly Seals Allers’ report, click the link below:

http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/Portals/0/Coalitions/2012-NCSBC/Presentation-Handouts/Breakout-COM-D-Allers-Slides-2012-NCSBC.pdf

To read another perspective presented by another mom from the Breastfeeding center, click the link below:

http://ambreenali.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/breastfeeding-in-a-food-desert/

The Breastfeeding Center of Greater Washington is happy to assist any mother who wishes to breastfeed her child. If you feel you are in need, please reach out to us be creating an appointment, attending classes or simply stopping by the shop, even if just breastfeed in our nursing lounge!

Breastfeeding and Yoga

bfc — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:45:56 +0000

The Center offers both Mommy and Me Yoga and Prenatal Yoga, but what do those even mean? Are they for you? Who teaches these classes?

Our Prenatal Yoga focuses on connection to breath, tuning into the body to figure out what types of movements feel good. The classes help increase strength and endurance in preparation for labor. Prenatal Yoga also emphasize breathing and meditation practices to help calm the self, be in tune with the body and prepare for labor.

Our Mommy and Me Yoga focuses on the mothers’ yoga practice while connecting and bonding with the new baby. This is a great option for mothers returning to yoga or beginner yoga students looking to return to exercise. Your baby will be close to you on the mat for most of the practice but will also be incorporated into some of the poses for movement and stimulation.

Marisha Tare OTR/L, MPH, RYT teaches both our Prenatal and Mommy and Me Yoga classes. Manisha very much likes working with prenatal students as they prepare for childbirth in both body and mind, as well as working with new mothers and their babies. She has completed two 200 hour yoga teacher trainings in the Anusara and vinyasa methods as well as a prenatal teacher training with Yoga For Two.

You should consult with your physician before starting any exercise routine, although a general guideline for Mommy and Me Yoga is six weeks after birth. You and register on our website under the classes tab above. One class pass is $18; Three class pass is $49; Six class pass $95.

Breastfeeding and the IBCLC

bfc — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:47:50 +0000

At the center, we have several IBCLCs to conduct lactation consultations in the office or at home and who teach some of our classes. But what exactly is an IBCLC? What do they do? What can they help you with?

An IBCLC is and Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant. This means they have met rigorous requirements including a standardized test and any number of hours of observation. IBCLCs help mothers prevent and solve problems that can arise with breastfeeding. They can speak with other health care professionals to help mom and baby in their breastfeeding relationship. They support positive social environments for the breastfeeding mother, and they educate mothers and their support systems about breastfeeding.

A consultation can 1-2 hours during which time the IBCLC will examine the baby and his or her mouth and tongue movements, examine the mother and her breasts, complete a pre and post feeding weight, observe a complete breastfeeding session, teach specialized techniques for feeding, write down their recommendations for you to take home, send and update to your physician. Additionally, consultations can include information and help with pumping. These consultations can take place in our office or your home. Partners, grandparents or other support persons are welcome to sit in on the consultation with you!

The IBCLCs here are equipped to help you with any number of issues that can arise at any point as you try to reach your breastfeeding goals. If you have questions about how they might be able to help you with your specific situation or to schedule an appointment, give us a call at 202-293-5182.

Breastfeeding and Teen Mothers

bfc — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:23:50 +0000

Once again breastfeeding is receiving media attention. The blog Momma Trauma has reported on Jaielyn Belong, a sophomore at Lake Forest High School in Felton, Delaware, who gave birth to her son, Adrian Amir Belong, five weeks ago and intends to return to Lake Forest High School to continue her education this week. When Jaielyn Belong made her goal to breastfeed for the first year of her son’s life known to the school, and that accommodations for pumping would be necessary in order for her to do this, namely a secluded place with an outlet and place to store milk until the end of the day, the school’s nurse, counselor and an administrator recommended that Jaielyn go without pumping for the entire school day, meaning she would not be able to pump for at least 8 hours each day, which could cause major complications for Jaielyn. The Superintendent of Lake Forest School District, Dan Curry, in a radio interview with Mark Fowser, implied that any student, in a situation as Jaielyn’s, should go to the DAPI (Delaware Adolescent Pregnancy Initiative) where she would receive more support. However, it is rumored that Jaielyn did in fact go to the DAPI for at least part of her pregnancy and did not find it academically challenging enough. Probably due to rapid and strong support of her mother, the La Leche League, local and national media, it seems Lake Forest has since relented according to the Facebook Page (with nearly 2,000 likes to date) “We Support Jaielyn’s Right to Feed Her Baby” by allocating time and space for her to pump, and a private citizen will be donating a fridge where she can store her milk (it cannot be stored in any school fridge on the taxpayer’s dime and fear of contamination, according to Dan Curry’s radio interview).

Jaielyn’s story highlights a number of concerns around breastfeeding, and even more general social concerns. Fortunately, Jaielyn has a support network to back her parenting decision; a decision, many would agree, shows responsibility and maturity beyond her years. But what of other young mothers? Should they be punished by not being allowed or encouraged to breastfeed their babies (which is recommended for the first year by the American Academy of Pediatrics)? Or forced into less challenging and stigmatized schools to do so? Did we not rule that separate is not equal? Do minors not have the same rights afforded to their adult counterparts (employees in Jaielyn’s school district are allowed, by Delaware law, to pump during school hours)? These are just a few questions Jaielyn’s case raises. Certainly, there are those who could argues against breastfeeding, or rather pumping, in schools, and this dialogue shouldn’t stop happening because this case ended with a happy ending.

We here at the Center wish Jaielyn and her family the very best. We support mother’s of all ages in their pursuit to breastfeed their babies. Do not hesitate to reach out to us!

For more details on Jaielyn’s story, see the links below:

http://www.mommatraumablog.com/1/post/2013/01/delaware-teen-mom-denied-breastfeeding-accommodations.html

http://www.mommatraumablog.com/1/post/2013/01/superintendent-responds-delaware-teen-mom-denied-breastfeeding-accommodations.html

http://www.facebook.com/WeSupportJaielynBelongsRightToFeedHerBaby?fref=ts

For the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, see the link below:

http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/AAP-Reaffirms-Breastfeeding-Guidelines.aspx

Breastfeeding and Bras

bfc — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:24:43 +0000

Finding a decent bra is like finding a decent pair of perfectly fitting, comfortable jeans, or bathing suit. And it doesn’t get any easier when you are pregnant or nursing; if anything, it’s harder. Our staff is trained to expert bra fittings on moms 2-3 weeks before their due date, and are free with the purchase of a bra. We can help you find a bra that will fit you for the weeks right after and even months to come.

Walk-ins are more than welcome, but we also take appointments by phone at 202-293-5182. You can expert your bra fitting to take about 15-20 minutes, from the time you start. Our busiest times are around lunch and after classes, so you may have to wait a couple of minutes. It takes less than 5 minutes to be sized and set you up with some bras to start trying on.

At the Center, we try and stock as wide a variety in as many sizes as we can in nursing bras. Our sizes range from 32a-44K. The most popular brands we have include: La Leche League, QT Intimates, Royce Lingerie, Anita International, Nummies, Bravado, Medela, etc. Most of our options are underwire free while still offering support (in the first 6-8 weeks after birth, our LCs recommend not wearing underwire because it can potentially clog milk ducts). We also carry sleep bras, tanks with built in nursing bras and bustiers!

Since we are seasoned pros, we tend to have some ideas which bras work for different moms and different need so please ask our advice. We’re here to help make bra fittings easier than finding that elusive pair of jeans.