Tender Moments Lactation Services LLC

12/05/2023

10/12/2023

11/11/2022

Do you know that feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night and it’s cold and your diaper feels heavy. And there are so many strange sounds all around you, and it’s dark and scary. And you get a hit in your head and it’s your hand that’s on its own adventure. And you can’t control it at all and it flings itself around and scratches your face and pulls at your hair. And your legs start kicking off the duvet, even though you’re cold as it is and you try to make it stop but they have their own will. And so you’re lying there completely helpless with flailing limbs that want to do everything, but none of the things you want.

And you can’t find mom. And you call for her and you find yourself feeling really scared. What if your beloved mom doesn’t come for you. You can’t imagine anything worse and you start to cry because you miss her so terribly. You have never felt as alone as this very moment.

And then she is suddenly there. Standing right by your bed and looking at you with worry and love. And she is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. And you grin up at her with happiness and relief. You don’t think you’ve ever felt as happy as this very moment.

And she picks you up and holds you close. And she smells like herself, and also a bit like you. Like milk and safety and love. And it’s the best smell in the whole entire world.

And she is warm and safe and soft and her hands caress you and she feeds you and hums your favourite tune. And you love her voice. You’ve known it far longer than you’ve really known her. It has lulled you to sleep and made you laugh and calmed you when you were distressed. It is the most beautiful voice in the whole entire world.

And you get to lie right up against her and you feel your entire body start to warm up again. And your still cold hand starts stroking her and moves up towards her neck and accidentally scratches her. Stupid uncontrollable hand. But mom doesn’t get angry. She takes your stupid hand in hers and it turns all warm again. And this is the best feeling in the world. Right here in mommy’s arms, with your hand in hers. Even the diaper doesn’t feel as horrible anymore.

And you feel your eyes getting heavy and you know that everything is okay now cause mommy is here. Your mom. Your wonderful, incredible mom who always looks after you. Night and day.

You look up at her one last time before you fall asleep. She looks tired and her eyes are closed, and yet she is still the most magnificent thing you know. How amazing that she wants to sit here with you in this moment. How amazing that she will always sit with you for a bit when you need her to.

You smile to yourself. How lucky you were that she became your mom. The most perfect mom anyone could have asked for.
You knew, even before you saw her, that she would be the best thing in the world.

Oh how you love her. Your mom.
❤️

Words by: The Mommy Poet
The Mommy Poet

05/15/2022

There is so much to say about the US formula shortages situation and I’m going to reshare a few key posts.

For anyone asking ‘why don’t women just breastfeed’ … ‘why don’t they relactate?’ … ‘don’t they know that breast is best?’

Errr.

Many, many women would like to ‘just breastfeed’. But they aren’t because they were phenomenally let down by a system that told them that breast is best then put a load of barriers in their way.

Many will be carrying immense grief with them because of that and then face not being able to feed their baby because of formula shortages. How is banging on about breastfeeding being ‘best’ going to help them right now? It’s cruel, pointless and far more complex than that. I’ll share the other post on that too.

The simple fact is that in countries where breastfeeding is properly supported, breastfeeding rates are high. Women are more likely to be able to feed as long as they want to.

However in many countries systematic disinvestment in breastfeeding, women and families means that women cannot get the support they need to breastfeed - whether that is medical, practical, emotional, support at home, support going back to work ... or just accurate and consistent information.

They end up stopping breastfeeding and blaming themselves when it was the system that so badly let them down. It then lets them blame themselves as it's easier than investing in the resources and infrastructure needed to fix things.

They're left with all sorts of emotions from grief to regret to anger and are then often met with a dismissal of those emotions rather than opportunity to process them. And even then, when they reach out for support to bottle feed, that's missing too. And now a formula shortage.

This often isn’t a choice.

This isn't women's failure, it's a systemic failure.

Blame the government for not investing. Blame the companies. Blame society for not valuing mothering or human milk.

But step away from any suggestions of blame or responsibility directed at mothers and focus on supporting them instead.

12/09/2021

I remember this post circulating a few years ago. I had to share again because it’s just so amazing to see!

A photo showing droplets of breast milk fending off armies of harmful bacteria in Petri dishes is going viral on Facebook.⁣
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The photo, posted by a biology student in England, features nine Petri dishes completely colonized with the bacteria M. Luteus, except in the center, where tiny puddles of breast milk have created what looks like “moats” of protection around themselves.⁣
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The student, Vicky Green, said she had similar results with Petri dishes full of e.Coli and the dreaded anti-biotic resistant “super bug” MRSA.⁣
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“The white spots in the middle are discs soaked in two samples of breastmilk,” Green wrote in the caption of her post. “See the clear bit around the discs ― that’s where the proteins in the milk have inhibited the bacteria!”⁣
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An article from YourPediatrician.com explains how this is possible:⁣
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“About 80 percent of the cells in breast milk are macrophages, cells that kill bacteria, fungi and viruses. Breast-fed babies are protected, in varying degrees, from a number of illnesses, including pneumonia, botulism, bronchitis, staphylococcal infections, influenza, ear infections, and German measles. Furthermore, mothers produce antibodies to whatever disease is present in their environment, making their milk custom-designed to fight the diseases their babies are exposed to as well.”⁣
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What’s even more impressive is that the samples of milk in the photos came from the mother of a 15-month-old and a 3-year-old, providing further evidence that breast milk continues to protect against illness long beyond infancy.

09/05/2021

From the 8/17 Ask the Doctor Facebook live event.

Watch the entire video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LASOLOo2htA

Cook County Health

06/15/2021

Excellent news!

Nursing mothers who receive a COVID-19 vaccine may pass protective antibodies to their babies through breast milk for at least 80 days following vaccination, suggests new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

06/01/2021

🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

05/27/2021

The best recipe ❤️