For extensive information about feeding your baby please go toLa Leche League International,Thank you LLLI for 50 years of breastfeeding support.View a PBS clip here (10min) to learn about the history of LLLI, it's name, and it's founders. Locate a support group by going here.
Exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months and support for breastfeeding for the first year and beyond as long as mutually desired by mother and child.
Mother and infant should sleep in proximity to each other to facilitate breastfeeding.
Favorite Quotes:
"Women should not feel guilty if they are unable to breastfeed, but they *should* feel guilty if they are unwilling to do so, and they should be intellectually honest enough to know the difference." -Elizabeth Gene
"People need to understand that when they're deciding between breastmilk and formula, they're not deciding between Coke and Pepsi...They're choosing between a live, pure substance and a dead substance made with the cheapest oils available," - lactation consultant Chele Marmet.
>Cute Picture: Penelope slips her thumb in her mouth as she nurses.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is using pacifiers (or bottles) within the first three months of a babies life outside the womb. This practice virtually destroys the breast-feeding relationship, and not just because of nipple confusion. A newborn should never be given anything to suck except the breast. If an infant finds his or her thumbs early it is important you discourage the sucking unless the baby is also sucking enough at the breast. With Layla I had to take her thumb from her mouth often and nurse her. She found her thumb outside the womb at about 7 weeks of age (and was born while sucking it!). Penelope never had any problems and nursed plenty in addition to the thumb that she put in her mouth at age 3 months. She quickly discovered nursing was better than a thumb and never sucked it again after 4.5 months old. Your milk supply is linked to how much your baby sucks at the breast. If you allow your baby to suck on anything else you can definitely lose your milk. Many women think they couldn’t produce enough milk for their babies, often times no one told them that babies need to suck to make milk.
