Milky Moment Lactation

01/10/2025

I am so excited to be offering this new class! Come learn all about pumping this March 💛

📣 We have a new class offering and a new blog post to tell you about! 📣

Staring in March 2025, we have a new class all about the art and science of using a breast pump: Pumping 101

Lyndsay Pacheco, CLC Milky Moment Lactation will be leading the class, and she has written a guest post for our blog with her Top 5 Tips for Using a Breast Pump!

Click hear to read the blog post: https://www.waterbirth.net/blog/5-tips-for-using-your-breast-pump

09/11/2024

Breastfeeding class is 9/28!

There are still some spots open for our September classes!

⭐️ We added an extra Essential Childbirth Class on 9/28! This is a great opportunity, since this class often books out months in advance.

⭐️ We have a new Infant Massage class series starting at the end of the month, facilitated by the amazing Tia Rich! This class is open to any and all parents in the Portland area.

Register for classes at waterbirth.net/classes

06/06/2024

Today is International Homebirth Day! I will always encourage women to consider birthing their babies at home. There is truly no substitute for the empowerment and peace that comes with birthing your baby intuitively in your own space.

I could ramble on about the benefits of Homebirth all day. Things such as lower rates of hemorrhage, lower rates of perineal trauma, lower chance of cesarean, and higher rate of breastfeeding success. It draws us to a conclusion that has sadly been lost in modern society: when women are able to follow their body's cues to labor and birth without interference, the way they were created to, things usually work best!

Hannah's and Eden's homebirths were two beautiful experiences. I chose these photos to showcase some of the beautiful similarities that .photo captured from both of their births that she and attended. ❤️

Happy International Homebirth Day!

10/05/2023

Lactation Lounge meets tomorrow! 💛

Lactation Lounge meets this week on 10/6 at 10:30am​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​📸 credit

08/19/2023

✨Breastfeeding mamas, did you know that bedsharing can help you get MORE sleep?✨

This was a topic we discussed at Lactation Lounge yesterday!

"Research shows that bedsharing, breastfeeding mothers get the most sleep of all new mothers. Mothers who sleep away from their babies rouse less often but more completely and actually get less sleep overall." (La Leche League International)

Most babies will continue to wake at night to nurse for quite a while. When you bedshare, there is no need to fully wake up to feed your baby! You can simply nurse baby in side-lying while you both drift back to sleep.

Bedsharing has been the biological and cultural norm for thousands of years, but despite that, it's fairly uncommon in the west due to pediatric guidelines naming it unsafe.

✨However, there ARE safe ways to bedshare as a breastfeeding mama!✨

Following the "safe sleep seven" is a way for you to feel confident that you are bedsharing safely! The song above contains the seven guidelines which eliminate any major SIDS risks and suffocation hazards.

✨You can find more info on safe bed-sharing from the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine's bedsharing protocol.✨

Share your experiences bedsharing below!

08/02/2023

It's World Breastfeeding Week 2023 and this years theme is "Enabling Breastfeeding" with a focus on making breastfeeding accessible for working mothers. 💛

If you are a working mama, and planning to continue breastfeeding, you will need to pump while working in order to maintain your milk supply as well as prevent complications like plugged ducts or mastitis.

✨ And one of the best ways to make sure you are pumping effectively is to make sure you are using the correct fl**ge size for your body! ✨

The fl**ges that your pump comes with, are likely not the right size for you (most are too big!). This is going to cause your pump to not effectively remove milk, and can make pumping painful as well.

✨This handy tool pictured above is one way to measure your fl**ge size for your pump. By inserting your ni**le into the circles, you can see how many mm your body measures. We want to see that the ni**le fits snuggly into the circle without any ar**la showing, but you also don't want to have to force it through.✨

By adding 2-4mm to whatever you measure (to account for ni**le swelling while pumping), you have your fl**ge size!

✨For example: if your ni**le measures 20mm, you would want to find between a 22-24mm fl**ge for your pump.✨

Most pumps will have fl**ges you can buy on their manufacturer website. And many you can find on Amazon as well!

You can come visit us at Lactation Lounge on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of every month for help with getting your fl**ge size! We have printable rulers you can take home with you, as well as one similar to this that you can use while there. 💛

08/01/2023

It's World Breastfeeding Week! 💛

It's World Breastfeeding Week!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​At Andaluz, we care deeply about helping our clients meet their personal breastfeeding goals. We offer several services to facilitate breastfeeding success including:

⭐ Prenatal breastfeeding classes to help you get breastfeeding off to the best possible start taught by

⭐ In-house lactation support by Beth Waters, IBCLC

⭐ Lactation Lounge, our free peer-to-peer breastfeeding support group open to anyone in the community that meets on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of every month

📸credit:

04/14/2023

✨ Vitamin D and Breastmilk ✨

The sun is finally shining here for a day and I am out here soaking up some Vitamin D with Hannah.

Sometimes mamas hear about the "lack" of vitamin D found in breastmilk and it can plant a seed of doubt that breastmilk is truly "good enough". If it's deficient in an essential vitamin, how can it truly be? Well, let's dig a little deeper into it.

The first thing I like to remind everyone is, humans existed without vitamin D for supplementation for thousands of years. And they were breastfed, so obviously breastmilk IS perfect just the way it is. However, we do find that vitmain D deficiency is common in modern-day infants, so what happened?

It truly seems to be associated with our modern lifestyle. The vitamin D in breastmilk does correlate with the vitamin D level a mother has. So likely the reason is simply because most mamas are deficient, so are babies. Mother and babies spend less time outside than they used to, and we eat much less of the foods that contain naturally occurring vitamin D. Combine this with the fact that most of us are also deficient in Magnesium which helps our body absorb vitamin D, and we have a reason behind why most breastmilk is low in D.

So what can you do to accommodate for this reality caused by our modern lifestyle?

✨Research has shown that supplementing yourself with 6,400 iu of vitamin D can raise your breastmilk's level enough to sufficiently provide baby with all they need (kellymom). ✨

So supplement yourself, and spend more time outside and eating vitamin D rich foods! It's a win-win for you and baby both!

✨ So no, it isn't breastmilk's fault! Breastmilk is still the amazing superfood it's always been.✨

04/03/2023

✨Breasts are the original "pacifier"! ✨

There is absolutely nothing wrong with comfort nursing 💛

Your baby is not using you as a pacifier, they are using the pacifier as you!

Nurse your baby with pride
Trust your instincts

03/24/2023

Silas and Hannah both nursing in the same way at almost the exact the same age! Older babies often love to nurse in what is called "koala hold", just like this! Upright and tummy to tummy. Younger babies can do this position as well though! Swipe to see an example of it

You'll catch me wherever I go. 💛

01/27/2023

🔹Although the exact cause is unknown, we think that SIDS might be associated with defects in the portion of an infant's brain that controls breathing and arousal from sleep.

🔹Breastfeeding has been shown to have a protective effect against SIDS, and this includes breastfeeding even part of the time (see study below).

🔹Breastfeeding babies tend to wake and rouse from sleep more easily and more frequently than formula-fed babies at 2-3 months, the peak age when SIDS occurs.

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/140/5/e20171324/37852/Duration-of-Breastfeeding-and-Risk-of-SIDS-An?redirectedFrom=fulltext

01/08/2023

A helpful reminder 💛