Mama Mel MD

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Mama Mel MD

Pediatrician, Breastfeeding Medicine Specialist, Mama of two littles. My passion is to support famil

29/06/2024

FREE webinar for postpartum planning!! Dr. Michelle Haggerty with Fourth Trimester Doc is amazing in heart, mind and soul and besides being the most wonderful boss she is also the best doctor, mama, advocate and everything else in life! Go check out her free webinar on July 24th at 3pm (date/time change!) to learn about everything you didn't know you needed to know: https://secure.gethealthie.com/appointments/embed_appt?dietitian_id=2715777&require_offering=true&offering_id=172967&hide_package_images=false&primary_color=24628f

06/06/2024

Medical Ear Piercing 🌟 For friends, family, neighbors, clients and myself! Reach out if you'd like to learn more about a first, second or third ear lobe piercing in the comfort of your own home 🏠

13/12/2023

6 weeks! Our sweet little girl is already 6 weeks old. And thus I am 6 weeks postpartum. So I am supposed to be “back to normal,” right? I can’t believe I started my intern year of residency with an 8 week old. I can’t believe most moms get 6 weeks (or less!) of maternity leave. I can’t believe I’m supposed to be back to normal (hint: I’m not!). I’m nowhere near back to pre-pregnancy weight, nowhere near my previous energy levels, nowhere near even a new normal! I had a C-section this time due to placenta issues and have just started going for walks and lifting things (like the carseat - PSA: don’t buy a heavy one!). And a GI bug last week which tanked my milk supply to top it all off. All this to say, I am five million times thankful that I get to choose how long to take maternity leave this time (likely 6 months) and I feel for other mamas who have to go back to work sooner than they want to.

02/08/2023

Happy National Breastfeeding Month!!! You may have noticed I’ve been MIA for a while. There’s been a lot of life happening over here - new job, loss, friend/family medical stuff, the craziness of having a 3 and 5 year old, and another little nursling on the way! We are happy and excited and overwhelmed. By the way, I love love LOVE my new job and taking care of lactating families/babies!! I also offer medical ear piercing! I’m still checking my account if there are any personal DMs, but it may be a bit before I post again. I hope everyone has been enjoying summer and has a great start to the fall! Love, Mama Mel 💕

30/05/2022

Infant dyschezia! The most common cause of fussy/gassy babies. It’s really frustrating to try to p**p or pass gas and your muscles won’t coordinate! There is honestly so much more than I can possibly write in one post on this topic. Another thing to try is more skin-to-skin time and baby wearing. Just know that it won’t last forever!

A few extra notes:
1. I will be doing another post on reflux soon, which can have similar but different symptoms. If you are concerned about reflux please reach out to your pediatrician.
2. For formula-fed babies, you can try a formulation that has a probiotic called lactobacillus reuteri.
3. Gripe water - there are many different solutions available on the market and they have mixed results. The solutions that may be the most helpful have fennel and/or chamomile in them.
4. Simethicone gas drops - These are safe to try but likely ineffective.
5. For breastfed babies, most of the time the food mom is eating is NOT the cause of fussiness. If there is any fussiness related to something that mom is eating, though, the most common thing would be dairy. Spicy foods and broccoli are unlikely to cause fussiness. For moms that would like to try diet elimination, you must completely eliminate the type of food for two weeks to see any results.
7. For formula fed babies, ask your pediatrician if it makes sense to try extensively hydrolyzed formula.

When babies are fussy, often we as parents feel like we are doing something wrong and start to get more anxious and worked up. The baby's fussiness may get worse if you are also getting tense. Try taking two deep breaths with your eyes closed, telling yourself that you are doing a good job as a parent (because you are!) and if you need some time away then lay your infant in a safe space (like their crib) and take a 5-10 minute break. It is okay to walk away from your baby while they are crying and come back to them in a better mood.

If you have concerns about post-partum depression or anxiety, please reach out to your doctor. Your mental health is important!

You’re doing great.

17/05/2022

Low milk supply? Here are my suggestions!
1. SUPPLY AND DEMAND - this is the most important to increasing supply. The more you breastfeed/pump/express milk, the more milk you should make. But I also try to gauge what feels realistic to families and recommend each parent getting a good 3-4 hour stretch of sleep each night after the first 2 weeks if possible (aka shift work).
2. Power pumping is basically like simulating a short cluster feeding session, which helps stimulate milk production. Power pump once per day in place of a regular pumping session.
3. I’ve heard of a bunch of moms whose milk supply dipped after starting a diet. I totally get wanting to lose the baby weight, but it can definitely decrease supply. I’d recommend waiting limiting carbs until at least after baby is regularly eating solids.
4. GoLacta can help increase milk supply, but only with the above tips as well. I more typically recommend it to people who are close to matching what their baby eats but just need a little boost to get to full supply.
The first step in all of this is knowing if you have low milk supply or not. If baby is gaining weight well, has a normal amount of pees/p**ps and seems satisfied on feeds of your breast milk alone, then you very likely have a normal supply! What questions do you have?

13/05/2022

3 Lact Facts of the week! Which one is most surprising to you?

10/05/2022

Inducing Lactation - stimulating the breasts to start producing milk! The body just amazes me sometimes 😮

08/05/2022

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone 💕

04/05/2022

Here are your 3 Lact Facts this week! What questions do you have? What content would you like to see? Let me know in the comments or by DM :)

29/04/2022

Wow, this is amazing! A lot of these pictures remind me how caring for an infant takes a community.

26/04/2022

3 Lact Facts of the week! Talking about colostrum, cough medicine and Vitamin D. There could be lots more to talk about with each of them - what interests you?

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