The Many Uses of Breastmilk
The many uses of breastmilk may surprise you! It was eye-opening for my family. My then 14-year-old daughter worked in a pizza parlor and dropped a whole pie on her hand, cheese side down! FYI, the oven temperature was 500 degrees. This was bad, VERY bad but we managed to heal her burn with breastmilk swabs on her hand for a week–nothing else! She is 27 now and there is no evidence of this fiasco. Thankfully, she did not need skin grafts or other medication, breastmilk did the trick. The proof is in the pudding (or milk). We were sold and have been ever since. The many uses of breastmilk are likely to help alleviate the dilemma of throwing away any forgotten bags in the freezer. Or help a mom who drips from one side while feeding on the other. Unless it smells rancid, there is no reason to discard this amazing food. You probably didn’t know how useful human milk could be, besides the obvious. This substance is deserving of serious applause, it clinches the wow factor. Naturally occurring in a woman’s body after childbirth, this fluid can save lives! In case you need reminding, these are the basic benefits of breastfeeding in a nutshell, the food transferred from mom to baby! species-specific portable right temperature convenient saves time saves money reduces the risk of cancer for mother and baby reduces many diseases for mother and baby reduces the chance of postpartum depression burns calories and helps with maternal weight loss reduces the chance of infection in the baby reduces the chances of SIDS colostrum seals the newborn gut, creating the perfect microbiome reduces chance of NEC saves the earth lowers the risk of cancer lowers the risk of heart conditions For those moms that don’t produce a ton of extra milk, don’t despair. You really don’t need much to appreciate these miraculous benefits. If you are exclusively breastfeeding and not working or pumping routinely, just add a pumping in 1x per week and freeze that milk. Your little one will still have plenty of milk straight from the tap. Drum roll, please… The many benefits of breastmilk below can be used in a variety of ways; salve, soap, dropper, compress, soaked, ice pack, ice pop, etc. Use your imagination, in a pinch, just pour the milk in a bathtub with a child (or adult). You can’t go wrong or overdose on human milk! conjunctivitis ear infections sinus infections burns skin problems acne sore nipples yeast infection bacterial infection diaper rash eczema dermatitis umbilical cord diaper dermatitis sore throat blocked tear ducts teething circumcision healing itching, stinging burns warts insect bites stuffy nose anti-aging canker sores milk baths for skin hydration puffy eyes colds and flu Quite frankly, there is never an age that children outgrow the benefits of human milk. The benefits of your child having human milk don’t go away because the child turns 1 or 2, etc. If you have weaned your little one but have more frozen milk, feel free to serve it up. It comes in handy at flu season in a smoothie, ice pops or just in cooking and the best part is anyone can benefit-not just the littles. The antibodies can keep your whole family healthy all sick-season long. Drink up! P.S. If you are pregnant and can feel your baby move, you are producing colostrum (the first milk). Feel free to express a little by hand to aid in, chapped skin or a cold. It only takes a few drops. *If you are a high-risk patient, talk to your doctor about nipple stimulation, first. If you have the ok for intercourse, it’s usually safe to stimulate nipples. Happy Parenting!
One Baby, Please, Hold the Sugar: A Birth Story
One baby, please, hold the sugar is my daughter’s birth story told from her perspective. These words are her own and don’t necessarily express my personal views or opinions. I welcome all women to share their birth stories! Please contact me if you’d like to publish your birth story on The Incomplete Guide to Parenting. If you are interested in my doula or lactation services, please visit my website Disclaimer: No artificial sweeteners here I’ve gone back and forth about putting my story out into the world. I never wanted to scare anyone, and so when asked, I would come up with a glossed over, toned down version of my story, the “polite” version. But I recently read a birth story that was such a blatant bunch of sugar-coated bull**** that I laughed out loud. I felt like it skirted over the gory details to maintain that polite, perfect facade. The thing is, those kinds of stories hurt me (and many others no doubt) because while I know they’re not honest, there’s a part of me that questions it. Was my experience so out of the ordinary? Why do all these women talk about their births like it was a beautiful dream come true while I still have nightmares about mine? I catch myself feeling resentful towards those moms, and that’s not fair of me either. But it’s how I feel, and I know I’m not the only one. This story is not one of rainbows and candy-coated truths. This story is real and raw, and if that’s not something you can or want to hear, I suggest you move along. I tell my story the way it is because I owe it to myself and to every other woman out there who wonders if she alone has suffered. I hope that others might find solace in knowing that they are not alone and that they might find the strength to talk about their own authentic experiences. Birth: Early Labor I went into labor on a quiet Saturday morning in October. It was 2 am when I awoke to mild contractions. I was five days past my due date and had been impatient for the last couple of weeks, so I eagerly began timing them and saw that they were about 10 minutes apart. I didn’t want to get my hopes up – I’d had Braxton Hicks a few times already. So I tried to relax and go back to sleep, but the contractions continued. Around 6 am, my husband stirred a bit beside me, so I took the opportunity to tell him that I believed labor had started. We were both well prepared for a long haul. I’ve watched and learned from my mom’s and sisters’ pregnancies and knew that, especially for first-time moms, labor could take a while to get going. So we went about our business as usual. I showered and made pancakes. I almost would have forgotten that I was in labor if I didn’t get a little twinge in my back every ten minutes. My mom – who’s also my doula and lactation consultant – had an event to go to that afternoon. She offered to skip it, but I waved her off. I’m sure nothing will happen before tonight at the earliest, I said. Oh, boy was I wrong. Birth: Active Labor It was so sudden. I was taking a bath. One minute I felt relaxed, and the next, my body was just in agony. Contractions – real contractions, not those mild early labor contractions – feel white-hot and twisted, like someone’s wringing your organs as you burn from the inside out. I was crying, and I grabbed my phone to text my husband to come be with me. He timed my next few contractions, and we realized they were 2-4 minutes apart. I was so prepared for a drawn-out labor, but here I was only 10 hours from the first contraction and suddenly in active labor. The shock of it all had me feeling whiplashed. It was barely noon. Should we be going to the hospital? It didn’t seem logical. We called my mom so she could drive with us. She reminded me that I could be expected to labor outside the hospital if I wasn’t dilated enough to be admitted. I hesitated, but at this point, I was barely speaking and was spending a lot of time doubled over crying, so we went. “Contractions feel white-hot and twisted, like someone’s wringing your organs as you burn from the inside out.” The 40-minute drive to the hospital was not pleasant. My contractions were now just one minute apart, lasting for a minute or less. I contracted approximately 20 times in the back seat of a small sedan, crying into my husband’s shoulders while my mom rubbed my back. Being in labor anywhere sucks, but it somehow sucks even worse when you’re confined to a small space. When we finally got there, I was desperate to get in the tub as I had planned for a water birth. I didn’t want an epidural, so being in the water was crucial for me. And what a world of a difference it made. I was still contracting hard and fast, but it was so much more manageable. Birth: Transition My midwife met us upon arrival. She’d watched me through a contraction and admitted me but didn’t check to see how dilated I was. After laboring in the tub a bit, I wanted to know what kind of progress we were making, if any, so I asked her to check me. I was 9.5 centimeters dilated, and the baby was in the -1 station. I was shocked. It was about 1:30 pm. I’d been in active labor for less than 2 hours. I started to feel hopeful that our baby would be born quickly. (Haha that didn’t happen) My water had yet to break, and I was impatient, so I eventually asked my midwife to break
