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Peanut Butter Oat Lactation Balls - The Breastfeeding Dietitian

Peanut Butter Oat Lactation Balls

Robyn Price, RD CBS

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BUT HOW MANY DIAPERS WHEN THEY’RE “OLDER”?⁠
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You asked.⁠
⁠
Here is your answer!⁠
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Counting diapers can ease your number crunching mind to know if your baby is getting what they need.⁠
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💧WET DIAPERS💧 Your baby should have one wet diaper for each day of life (1 by day 1, 2 by day 2, etc) until day 4 and then will have 6+ wet diapers!⁠
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➕These diapers are at least 3 Tbsp.⁠
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➕ Beyond 6 weeks of age your baby may have less diapers (maybe just 4!), but these diapers will be “sopping” - at least 6 Tbsp.⁠
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➕ If your baby has more diapers they may not be 6 Tbsp (and rather think 4x6=24 Tbsp per day).⁠
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Why does this happen? ⁠
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Your baby is growing and so is their bladder. The bigger it is, the more it can hold between having to empty!⁠
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💩POOP DIAPERS💩⁠
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Your baby should have 1-2 poops on days 1+2 and then at least 3 poops a day after day 3, but the key is that the colour and texture transitions from the sticky black first poop (called meconium) to loose, yellow, and maybe seedy poop by day 5.⁠
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➕These poop sizes should be at least 1” in diameter⁠
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➕At around 3-4 weeks your baby MAY start pooping less, but ideally still once per day (maybe every other day now and then).⁠
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➕If your baby is pooping more infrequent, the size would then be bigger (but not blowout bigger).⁠
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Why does this happen? ⁠
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The proteins of your milk change slightly and slows down how fast milk moves in your baby’s gut. The composition does NOT change to be “super absorbable”... your baby’s poop still contains waste products and needs to be eliminated regularly.⁠
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If your baby checks off everything of getting enough (wet diapers, gaining weight, breastfeeding effectively, meeting milestones) EXCEPT the poop thing... some things to look into:⁠
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👉Mom’s and baby’s gut health (and things affecting it)⁠
👉Baby’s tension (which can affect gut motility)⁠
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Did this answer your question? Lmk!⁠
⁠
#breastfeedingwithoutfear ⁠
#breastfeedinghelp ⁠
#breastfeedingeducation ⁠
#breastfeedingmums ⁠
#happybreastfeeding⁠
#breastfeedingsupportgroup ⁠
#breastfeedingissues ⁠
#breastfeedinglove

Have a baby who spits up all. the. time?⁠ ⁠ Ca

Have a baby who spits up all. the. time?⁠
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Can I just premise this all by saying that reflux is a SYMPTOM, not a diagnosis. And there is always a *root cause* of the symptoms.⁠
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There’s too many times I see reflux get normalized because it’s common in babies.⁠
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Common does not mean normal.⁠
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There are many causes of reflux, but the number one cause I see? SWALLOWING AIR.⁠
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Yet SOOOOOOO many moms think it’s something they’re eating.⁠
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They go off eliminating foods only to have the reflux stilllllll hang around. That’s because food was never the root cause of the reflux (or maybe food is playing a role… but you don’t know because the feeding issues are making the reflux persist).⁠
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Here are some red flags to watch for that your babe’s reflux root cause could be FEEDING related:⁠
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🚩your baby makes a clicking sound during feeds⁠
🚩your baby leaks milk/drool out of the corner of their mouth during feeds⁠
🚩your baby slips (or pulls) off the breast during feeds⁠
🚩your baby always gets hiccups⁠
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If you’re experiencing these, it warrants getting a look see at the whole picture to get a sense of how to fix the air swallowing - there is no one size fits all approach.⁠
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Which surprised you the most?? Lmk👇👇⁠
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#babyreflux⁠
#refluxbaby⁠
#thebreastfeedingdietitian⁠
#knowbetterdobetter ⁠
#informedisbest ⁠
#supportisbest⁠
#newbabylife ⁠

Why tug your baby down for a deep latch? Because t

Why tug your baby down for a deep latch? Because they open their mouth like a LEVER, not an accordion 🪗⁠
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If you line your nipple centered on their mouth, your nipple would come straight into your baby’s mouth when they latch.⁠
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They would then have to work to get your nipple to the right spot: the roof of their mouth. It’s hard to latch deeply.⁠
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Instead, tug your baby down to line up your baby’s NOSE to your NIPPLE to help them the way they naturally open their mouth…⁠
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Like a lever: their CHIN anchors on your SKIN and their head tips back. Because a lever only works when it’s anchored to a pivot point.⁠
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Then your nipple can land perfectly on the roof of their mouth so their tongue can draw it back to the comfortable soft palate (i.e. no pain for you!)⁠
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There’s no extra work to get it there when there is a perfect landing spot.⁠
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Your baby instinctually is giving you the spot they want your nipple, and you’re working WITH your baby to make it happen.⁠
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#breastfeedinghelp ⁠
#breastfeedingeducation ⁠
#breastfeedingmums ⁠
#happybreastfeeding⁠
#breastfeedingsupportgroup ⁠
#breastfeedingissues ⁠

HOW DO YOU KNOW IT’S ENOUGH?⁠ ⁠ Not knowing

HOW DO YOU KNOW IT’S ENOUGH?⁠
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Not knowing what your baby drinks can be nerve wracking sometimes. I get it, mama - I’m a numbers girl!📊⁠
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So how can you tell?⁠
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Well just because you can’t see the actual amount of milk, doesn’t mean you can’t see if they’re getting enough.⁠
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Things to look for (typically in order of appearance!):⁠
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👂Listen for swallows (it’s a soft “kah” sound... I like to think it sounds like pure heaven 😍) - this means they are drinking and not only sucking.⁠
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🤱Your breasts soften - they will feel significantly lighter and less full, which means your little one drained the breast (you’re never truly empty though, as milk is always being made).⁠
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💦Your baby is peeing, because that means they’re meeting their fluid needs (which is just from breastmilk and/or formula) - there should be 6 or more wet diapers per day by day 6 of life.⁠
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💩Your baby is pooping, because what goes in (some) must come out - there should be about 3-4 poops per day by day 4 of life (that are mustard yellow!) and then it could actually get less frequent around 3-4 weeks of age (still daily!).⁠
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💪Your baby is growing! Not just weight, but length and head circumference too - it’s not the percentile that’s matters... it’s that they are gaining somewhat along the curve (somewhat, because your baby is an individual too and will have their own curve trend).⁠
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🧠Your baby has awake times where they can explore the world and learn new skills combined with sleep times to consolidate these skills - this means they have the energy they need to meet milestones.⁠
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If you’re at all concerned with any of the above, get help! I offer online consults for 🇨🇦⁠
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What reassures you your little one is getting what they need?⁠
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#breastfeedinglove ⁠
#breastfeedingtoddlers ⁠
#breastfeedingondemand ⁠
#breastfeedingishard ⁠
#wesupportbreastfeeding ⁠
#thebreastfeedingdietitian⁠

Did you hear this?⁠ ⁠ “You can’t eat choco

Did you hear this?⁠
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“You can’t eat chocolate if you’re breastfeeding.”⁠
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Uhhhh! Don’t panic, mamas!⁠
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This is FALSE!⁠
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The main reason chocolate gets brought into question when it comes to safety in breastfeeding is because of the caffeine.⁠
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Let’s assume you’re a blonde roast kinda gal, so your cuppa joe has about 150mg caffeine ☕️ (I’m more of a dark roast mama which actually has less 🙃)⁠
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You’d need to eat 46 mini Hershey’s, 22 mini Aero, and 19 mini boxes of Smarties.⁠
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If you’re wondering - I have a picture of what that actually looks like down in my feed.⁠
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Oh and eat it all in one sitting.⁠
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Not spread out throughout the day (because our bodies are always breaking caffeine down).⁠
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It works out to 750g (or 1.7lbs) of milk chocolate 🍫⁠
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PLUS the recommendation is to keep it under 300mg of caffeine. So then you could technically have twice that!⁠
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But then you ask - “I heard it’s not the caffeine, it’s something else...”⁠
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That would be theobromine (a close cousin of caffeine, but they are not the same). It’s in *higher amounts* in chocolate, but it is *more weak* when it comes to comparing nervous system effects to caffeine.⁠
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The ONLY research we have is a single case report of a breastfeeding mother who had a newborn baby who was jittery and irritable. They figured it was because she ate 250g of chocolate EVERY DAY during her pregnancy AND while breastfeeding.⁠
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For perspective, that would be 25 mini Hershey’s. Every day. For 9+ months.⁠
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Given the symptoms, we aren’t even sure if it was the theobromine or the caffeine in chocolate.⁠
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So eat however much chocolate feeds your soul, mama! The amount that even maybe would cause problems is A LOT.⁠
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Watch your baby, and if you’re noticing problems - **check any feeding issues before jumping to food 🍫 **⁠
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Okay favourite chocolate bar, everyone - GO IN THE COMMENTS! 👇🏼⁠
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#thebreastfeedingdietitian⁠
#knowbetterdobetter ⁠
#informedisbest ⁠
#supportisbest⁠
#newbabylife

3 reasons why…⁠ ⁠ Your baby coughs and sputt

3 reasons why…⁠
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Your baby coughs and sputters from your milk flow. ⁠
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Because the symptoms you see… ⁠
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Coughing/choking, sputtering⁠
Pulling/tugging on breast⁠
Clicking sound⁠
Alllll the gassy discomfort⁠
(And maybe green frothy poop?)⁠
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Don’t ALWAYS mean you have oversupply (or an overactive letdown, either!).⁠
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Let me hash it out for you!⁠
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Your milk making sacs hold your milk, and around them is a muscle that squeezes that milk out. So then why would your baby have a tough time with it?⁠
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Reason 1️⃣ (+ most known via Dr. Google): Oversupply.⁠
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The milk making sacs are so full that milk shoots out very fast even with the smallest squeeze of those muscles around the sacs.⁠
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Reason 2️⃣: Overactive letdown.⁠
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Your milk making sacs are just normal full (not over full) and the muscles are squeezing SUPER HARD causing milk to flow SUPER FAST.⁠
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Reason 3️⃣: Ineffective latch.⁠
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Your milk making sacs are normal full and your muscles are normal squeezing, but it’s actually your baby not able to drink well due to improper positioning, oral ties, or something else.⁠
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Too often I see the struggle isn’t with you at all. It’s with your baby. That’s why the first line of defence is to HELP YOUR BABY handle the flow with a good latch and with positioning that slows the flow.⁠
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So you can prevent giving yourself low supply if you never had oversupply to begin with 🖐🎤⁠
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But for reals, drop a 🙋‍♀️ in the comments if you’ve soaked your little one’s face mid-letdown! 😅⁠
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#breastfeedingfriendly ⁠
#breastfeedingproblems ⁠
#breastfeedingmum ⁠
#breastfeedinglife ⁠
#supportbreastfeeding

⁠ “OMG I wish I would have found you sooner...

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“OMG I wish I would have found you sooner...”⁠
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I get a lot of DMs these days after mamas hear my story about breastfeeding a through a tongue tie (re: always super gassy, all the reflux, and only pooped once a week).⁠
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Where no matter how much I wanted to help my baby… I (along with the people I sought help from) didn’t know how.⁠
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So much so that even after 5 years… my baby boy that made me a mama was still struggling with a tongue tie.⁠
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But we FINALLY found the help we needed. Because I know more. Because the people on our team know more. We are helping my baby (he will forever be my baby 🥰).⁠
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Now I could toss all the sayings at you about this...⁠
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“Hindsight is always 20/20.”⁠
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“When we KNOW better, we can DO better.”⁠
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The hurt is still there though. The guilt. The regret. I get it. I am living it too.⁠
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I find what most often helps take the sting away is this:⁠
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“We do the best we can with the information we have at the time.”⁠
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And we are STILL doing our best, but now we have more information, so our best now is better than our best then.”⁠
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Knowing new things now (that are different than what you did before) does not change the fact that you WERE and STILL ARE an AMAZING MOM.⁠
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We’re all just learning as we go!⁠
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That’s why I am all about keeping you educated and informed on your breastfeeding journey. So you can learn and keep learning.⁠
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Keep growing.⁠
Keep getting better.⁠
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If you want to read more about my story, check out my highlight called 👅Function!⁠
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Off the top of your head - what’s one thing you learned from this space?⁠
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Let other mamas know it too in the comments!⁠
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#introductorypost⁠
#thebreastfeedingdietitian⁠
#knowbetterdobetter ⁠
#breastfeedingmama ⁠
#breastfeedingjourney ⁠
#breastfeedingsupport

Ohh #WBW… the week where breastfeeding advocates

Ohh #WBW… the week where breastfeeding advocates bang their drums and get on their soapboxes… and also the week that can hit a nerve for some.⁠
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So why isn’t there a week for those who couldn’t breastfeed?⁠
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There is.⁠
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It’s World Breastfeeding Week.⁠
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Because if you chose to breastfeed and it didn’t work out, it wasn’t because you “failed” - it was because the SYSTEM failed YOU.⁠
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So we push to change the system to support your choice.⁠
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It’s for every mother who ever wanted to breastfeed her baby for an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, or however long… because you deserve support to meet that goal. And that means you ALSO deserve support if you don’t meet that goal, to heal from the pain and loss you may feel.⁠
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Because you chose to breastfeed, and no matter the outcome of it - you deserve to be supported for your choice.⁠
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So much of that support comes from society. Other people. Our village.⁠
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So this World Breastfeeding Week… let’s not pick a side.⁠
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Support is best.⁠
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#wbw #worldbreastfeedingweek #supportisbest #informedisbest