Tips For Expressing Breast Milk

Expressing breast milk allows you to provide your baby all the nutrients found in breast milk even if you are away from him. Here are some simple tips to help you express more milk for your little angel.

Use The Right Tool

First, you have to decide whether you will express breast milk by hand or use a breast pump. Expressing by hand is more economical since it will not cost you anything. But it does take a bit of getting used to. If you prefer the latter, you can choose between a manual and an electric breast pump. Any of the two is fine as long as you ensure that the pump you select will meet your needs. The breast pump must have the right flange fit to maximize breast milk and to avoid hurting your breasts.

Express Frequently

Express more often rather than for longer periods. Instead of pumping twice during the day for 45 minutes, try pumping 6 to 8 times a day for a few minutes. In addition, expressing milk from both breasts simultaneously saves time and also helps in maintaining your body's natural capability to produce milk. Never skip a session as this can decrease milk production.

Time It Right

For most moms, expressing breast milk is usually better in the morning or after taking a bath or shower since they can get a good let down (a reaction that carries milk from the milk ducts into the nipple where the breast pump can suck milk out).

Eat and Drink While Expressing

Naturally, you will feel hungry and thirsty while expressing breast milk so see to it that you eat to your appetite and drink plenty of water. It is very hard to produce milk when you are starving and thirsty. Doing this also increases your milk production.

Be As Comfortable As Possible

Expressing breast milk takes time so you have to think of what you want to do while pumping so you will not get bored. If you find that you pump milk better when everything is quiet, then find a spot that is free from distractions so you can focus and relax. If you like a little distraction, watch TV, talk on the phone, surf the web, read a book or listen to music.

Wear clothes that will make expressing easier. You can wear a nursing dress, nursing bra, a bikini top or an express yourself bra (perfect for hands free expressing) so you can gain access to your breasts without having to undress.

Do A Breast Massage

Before you express, prepare 2 face cloths and a bowl of lukewarm water. Submerge the cloths in the water and place them on each of your breasts for 5 minutes. Remove one cloth at a time or if you are double expressing, remove them at the same time and rub the breasts gently. Always start at the top. Press the breast firmly with the flat of your fingers. Move fingers in a circular motion and focus on one spot for a few seconds before moving to another spot. Use a twirling motion around the breast towards the areola.

Take A Break

Stop pumping breast milk during weekends. Use this time to relax and for exclusive nursing. Exclusive breastfeeding can help stimulate the amount of milk you are able to express and at the same time promote bonding between you and your baby. This is also a perfect time to let your sore or cracked nipples heal.

These easy-to-follow tips promises pain-free breast milk expressing while ensuring your baby gets the best milk possible.

The "Greatly Expectant" Stage of Pregnancy

What do I mean by "Greatly Expectant?" Well, it is a term that I came up with to explain the stage of pregnancy when a woman finds herself pregnant, for perhaps days or weeks, beyond her due date. Some would term this stage "Past-Due," but when I was pregnant with my first child, and three weeks past my due date, I came up with a new term called, "Greatly Expectant." It was a time that I felt like I was literally about to pop! My tummy had grown beyond what I or my husband had ever thought or imagined was possible! I had swollen feet and could no longer fit into any of my shoes! I was only able to fit into one dress, which I called my "tent dress." My clothing options were minimal, I could either wear my "tent dress" or my husband's clothes!

Besides coming to a state of complete clothing despair, it was during this "Greatly Expectant" time that I almost came to a state of complete despair from curious, yet well-meaning, strangers not hesitating to ask me some "Greatly Expectant" questions or sharing their personal opinions! These questions went something like this: "Sooo... When are you due?" or "How many babies do you have inside there???" or "Are you having twins?" To be honest, I did not handle these questions too well. I found myself breaking into tears, right in the middle of the mall, and waddle-running to the closest bathroom to have a meltdown! At the time, I was not able to realize that they had no clue that I was three weeks past my due date and very sensitive! By the way, I do not think that most doctors allow pregnant mommies to get too far into the "Greatly Expectant" Stage these days!

Anyway, I did learn a few things during this time that I would like to share. I learned that it is okay to move up to the next size of maternity clothes and that many pregnant women, especially during the final stages of pregnancy, can feel overly sensitive due to changes in their hormones. This was comforting news! I also learned that I needed to have an attitude adjustment!

I began to think about how amazing it is for a "Greatly Expectant" mom to put a complete stranger at ease, making them feel comfortable to ask her such personal questions or share from their experience of being pregnant. I also came to realize that most people are truly excited for pregnant moms and their new little one who is on his or her way! Pregnancy is an exciting time and even complete strangers share in the excitement & expectancy of new life!

When I think about the joy that the expectancy of life brings to the pregnant mom, dad, family, and complete strangers, I am truly thankful to God for the gift of being able to carry and bear a precious life!

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well." Psalm 139:13-14

Faith and Fertility - Staying Whole During Fertility Challenges

Recently, I was released from the hospital after undergoing my fourth surgery to not only improve my health condition, but to hopefully restore fertility. It proved unsuccessful and my husband and I were truly devastated. Although this time my husband seemed more affected than me. He seemed so defeated and so did my long time surgeon. When my surgeon walked out of the operating room with a look of pure disappointment my husband panicked and wanted to make sure I was okay. The doctor confirmed that I was in fact okay, but his diagnosis was incorrect, and so the surgery could have possibly been postponed. This still meant no baby at this time for us. We were crushed.

The next day I was infused with pain medicine and more concern for my husband than myself. Strangely, I still felt faith and something forging me to move ahead with my next steps. As if I had madly conceived a better contingency plan just in case the surgery and procedure was inaccurate and produced no results. I was disappointed but something inside of me was unreal... I still believed in my heart that this was not the end! I would still conceive and carry my baby to full term. I cannot speak of what came over me or why I felt this way. It was a strange intuitive knowing that has yet to prove true, but even now as I write, I know it to be true, otherwise I would not be writing these very words. My husband on the other hand was worn out with all of the fertility procedures and surgeries. Every time I went under the knife he feared for my safety and hoped at the same time it would make a difference in us conceiving all in the same breath. How could I console him when I did feel disappointment, but I was not the least discouraged. Was this a form of "denial?"

One day I was home and trying to recover from my surgery when there was a 20/20 Special on television called "Extreme Parents." It was reported that a 60 year-old woman had given birth to twin boys through in-vitro fertilization, and she had another child prior to this through the same process at 53. Well-past the child-bearing years she was appearing on national TV telling the world her story. Amazing I thought! I was not in denial.

This seemed an obvious sign to me. While I was feeling somewhat down that day this brave woman appeared as a message for myself and countless of other women to remain faithful to the course. Science does not dictate what faith knows. In other words no matter what our condition may be, no matter the odds, or difficulty, if it is "Divine Will" for us to bring a child into this world with our own body then so shall it be, and by any means it may happen. This child will come with either assisted methods, natural, or a combination of both. There is no stronger faith than a mother who wants to conceive and birth a child. The key is to surround yourself with a fertility plan that includes spirituality. This is the missing link I think for many women who face fertility challenges.

As for me, I have chosen both natural and holistic methods, and I continue to work alongside my fertility specialist/gynecologist and a holistic doctor who specializes in acupuncture. I also do deep spiritual meditations, listen to a womb journey meditation I created for myself to visualize my healing and conception, I chant to call to the soul of my child -to be, and as always my husband and I pray. Keeping the faith during fertility challenges, I feel can only be consistent when a holistic plan is in place which encompasses our minds, bodies, emotions, and spirits. Unfortunately, most of the western world focuses only on the mental and physical aspects of fertility but does very little if nothing at all to address the spiritual and emotional aspects of women and men facing fertility issues.

I now understand clearly that if I had not been going to my acupuncture sessions, doing my mind-body-spirit meditations, relaxing, praying, and enjoying my husband's love and company... in no way would I have been in the spirits and the emotional condition I was after my surgery. By keeping my practices I had insured my own sanity and emotional well-being, and this is a must if one is to continue the journey of fertility challenges.

Before hand, I had already decided to take matters of my health and fertility into my own hands. This is my body, and my spirit and I could not just fork over all of me, and my resolve to my doctor's care. Taking responsibility for our health and understanding we are more than just a physical body is the first step to staying faithful during fertility challenges. We have other parts that may be starving and we are not nurturing those essential parts.

I believe many women face fertility challenges because there is often a spiritual lesson or message behind it which then eventually blocks the actual physical conception until we pay attention. It is spiritual law that states that what affects the spiritual equally affects the physical. Therefore, if there are issues of a spiritual or emotional nature which we remain unaware of it may greatly impact our fertility. For example, say a woman was a victim of any kind of sexual or emotional abuse, this woman may be hurt on a deep soul level. This may surely affect her fertility as the woman's soul is asking her to pay attention and heal herself first so that she can be the best mother possible for the child. Like it or not, aware of this or not our souls are a major part of our design as a human being. All aspects of the body are connected, our mind, body, emotion, and soul, and what affects one affects the other. So if our soul is hurt and our emotions in chaos it will often be very difficult to conceive and carry a baby term. All of our parts must work together in order for the miracle and mystery of conception to take place. If we only focus on the body we are missing three other very important aspects that can help or hinder fertility if they are not addressed. Without a holistic approach we may lose sight of our own needs and neglect aspects of ourselves that need healing before we can bring a child into the world.

Fertility in itself is a mystical experience... we create a human body, but the spirit animates this body and the child becomes a "human being" key word on being. Where do these spirits which inhabit our babies come from? The same sphere or place as our faith, which calls our babies and safely brings them to existence in the first place. The reason a mother desires her baby so much in the first place is the divine connection she shares with the spirit of the child. A connection between mother and child begins well before actual conception! From the moment your child becomes a thought in your mind a special bond, and a connection is formed. This is all the faith we need. This becomes our mantra and our drive to keep on keeping on. I want to encourage women to become aware of their emotional and spiritual needs during fertility challenges. We owe it to ourselves to explore and heal all of our parts so we can be the best mothers possible to our future children.

Blessings & Miracles,

Tanya

Faith and Fertility - Staying Whole During Fertility Challenges

Recently, I was released from the hospital after undergoing my fourth surgery to not only improve my health condition, but to hopefully restore fertility. It proved unsuccessful and my husband and I were truly devastated. Although this time my husband seemed more affected than me. He seemed so defeated and so did my long time surgeon. When my surgeon walked out of the operating room with a look of pure disappointment my husband panicked and wanted to make sure I was okay. The doctor confirmed that I was in fact okay, but his diagnosis was incorrect, and so the surgery could have possibly been postponed. This still meant no baby at this time for us. We were crushed.

The next day I was infused with pain medicine and more concern for my husband than myself. Strangely, I still felt faith and something forging me to move ahead with my next steps. As if I had madly conceived a better contingency plan just in case the surgery and procedure was inaccurate and produced no results. I was disappointed but something inside of me was unreal... I still believed in my heart that this was not the end! I would still conceive and carry my baby to full term. I cannot speak of what came over me or why I felt this way. It was a strange intuitive knowing that has yet to prove true, but even now as I write, I know it to be true, otherwise I would not be writing these very words. My husband on the other hand was worn out with all of the fertility procedures and surgeries. Every time I went under the knife he feared for my safety and hoped at the same time it would make a difference in us conceiving all in the same breath. How could I console him when I did feel disappointment, but I was not the least discouraged. Was this a form of "denial?"

One day I was home and trying to recover from my surgery when there was a 20/20 Special on television called "Extreme Parents." It was reported that a 60 year-old woman had given birth to twin boys through in-vitro fertilization, and she had another child prior to this through the same process at 53. Well-past the child-bearing years she was appearing on national TV telling the world her story. Amazing I thought! I was not in denial.

This seemed an obvious sign to me. While I was feeling somewhat down that day this brave woman appeared as a message for myself and countless of other women to remain faithful to the course. Science does not dictate what faith knows. In other words no matter what our condition may be, no matter the odds, or difficulty, if it is "Divine Will" for us to bring a child into this world with our own body then so shall it be, and by any means it may happen. This child will come with either assisted methods, natural, or a combination of both. There is no stronger faith than a mother who wants to conceive and birth a child. The key is to surround yourself with a fertility plan that includes spirituality. This is the missing link I think for many women who face fertility challenges.

As for me, I have chosen both natural and holistic methods, and I continue to work alongside my fertility specialist/gynecologist and a holistic doctor who specializes in acupuncture. I also do deep spiritual meditations, listen to a womb journey meditation I created for myself to visualize my healing and conception, I chant to call to the soul of my child -to be, and as always my husband and I pray. Keeping the faith during fertility challenges, I feel can only be consistent when a holistic plan is in place which encompasses our minds, bodies, emotions, and spirits. Unfortunately, most of the western world focuses only on the mental and physical aspects of fertility but does very little if nothing at all to address the spiritual and emotional aspects of women and men facing fertility issues.

I now understand clearly that if I had not been going to my acupuncture sessions, doing my mind-body-spirit meditations, relaxing, praying, and enjoying my husband's love and company... in no way would I have been in the spirits and the emotional condition I was after my surgery. By keeping my practices I had insured my own sanity and emotional well-being, and this is a must if one is to continue the journey of fertility challenges.

Before hand, I had already decided to take matters of my health and fertility into my own hands. This is my body, and my spirit and I could not just fork over all of me, and my resolve to my doctor's care. Taking responsibility for our health and understanding we are more than just a physical body is the first step to staying faithful during fertility challenges. We have other parts that may be starving and we are not nurturing those essential parts.

I believe many women face fertility challenges because there is often a spiritual lesson or message behind it which then eventually blocks the actual physical conception until we pay attention. It is spiritual law that states that what affects the spiritual equally affects the physical. Therefore, if there are issues of a spiritual or emotional nature which we remain unaware of it may greatly impact our fertility. For example, say a woman was a victim of any kind of sexual or emotional abuse, this woman may be hurt on a deep soul level. This may surely affect her fertility as the woman's soul is asking her to pay attention and heal herself first so that she can be the best mother possible for the child. Like it or not, aware of this or not our souls are a major part of our design as a human being. All aspects of the body are connected, our mind, body, emotion, and soul, and what affects one affects the other. So if our soul is hurt and our emotions in chaos it will often be very difficult to conceive and carry a baby term. All of our parts must work together in order for the miracle and mystery of conception to take place. If we only focus on the body we are missing three other very important aspects that can help or hinder fertility if they are not addressed. Without a holistic approach we may lose sight of our own needs and neglect aspects of ourselves that need healing before we can bring a child into the world.

Fertility in itself is a mystical experience... we create a human body, but the spirit animates this body and the child becomes a "human being" key word on being. Where do these spirits which inhabit our babies come from? The same sphere or place as our faith, which calls our babies and safely brings them to existence in the first place. The reason a mother desires her baby so much in the first place is the divine connection she shares with the spirit of the child. A connection between mother and child begins well before actual conception! From the moment your child becomes a thought in your mind a special bond, and a connection is formed. This is all the faith we need. This becomes our mantra and our drive to keep on keeping on. I want to encourage women to become aware of their emotional and spiritual needs during fertility challenges. We owe it to ourselves to explore and heal all of our parts so we can be the best mothers possible to our future children.

Blessings & Miracles,

Tanya

Getting Ready For Your Baby: Some Tips

One dream that many married couples all over the world strive for is to be pregnant. They want to experience the joy of motherhood and fatherhood and raise a child into adulthood. If you would like to join them in the experience and need help, then read the advice on pregnancy in this article.

Even though you should gain some weight while pregnant, it is not a good thing to gain way too much. There are many bad effects that excess weight can have on the body. These include gestational diabetes, stillbirth, and caesarean delivery. Be very careful about what you eat.

To give your baby a stronger heart from the start, exercise regularly during your pregnancy. Research has shown that babies whose mothers exercised at least three times per week for 30 minutes had stronger hearts at the time of birth. The effect lasts, too; their hearts were still stronger a month after birth. Discuss exercise options with your doctor before starting any workout regimen.

Eat five or six well-balanced meals every day. This will help you to get all the nutrition that you need, as well as the calories. You should not be eating junk food all day. There is no nutritional value in that, and the only thing it will do for you is put on extra pounds.

If you are a smoker, now is the time to quit. Many programs are around to help you do this. Smoking can lead to having a premature baby. It can also cause your baby to be underweight. Babies need to start out with a strong start, in order to be prepared to handle this world.

Make sure the prescription drugs you are taking are not dangerous to the health of your baby. Every prescription drug on the market has a "pregnancy class" that tells you whether the drug is safe to take during pregnancy. If you are taking a drug that is unsafe for pregnant women, ask your doctor about alternatives. Most drugs have one or more.

If you are pregnant with twins or multiple babies, be prepared to have a C-Section. Most doctors prefer to deliver via C-Section when there is more than one baby, in order to prevent the mother from bleeding too much, and to increase the chances of the babies being delivered without any problems.

Do not give up exercising when you are pregnant, unless you have a medically necessary reason to do so. Walking, swimming and other low-impact activities are excellent ways to keep your heart healthy and your core muscles strong, which can help to alleviate back pain and may make labor and delivery easier for you.

Know if you are HIV-positive or not. If you find out that you are, do not automatically freak out. HIV-positive women that are aware of this early on, have a higher chance of sparing their babies from getting this disease. You will want to make sure that you have an OB-GYN that is well educated about the care that will need to be taken and can explain all of your options for a safe pregnancy.

As stated before in the article above, many married couples worldwide, strive for pregnancy. These couples try their best to raise children and become mothers and fathers. If you use the pregnancy advice from this article, then you too can take part in experiencing the joy of motherhood and fatherhood.

Faith and Fertility - Staying Whole During Fertility Challenges

Recently, I was released from the hospital after undergoing my fourth surgery to not only improve my health condition, but to hopefully restore fertility. It proved unsuccessful and my husband and I were truly devastated. Although this time my husband seemed more affected than me. He seemed so defeated and so did my long time surgeon. When my surgeon walked out of the operating room with a look of pure disappointment my husband panicked and wanted to make sure I was okay. The doctor confirmed that I was in fact okay, but his diagnosis was incorrect, and so the surgery could have possibly been postponed. This still meant no baby at this time for us. We were crushed.

The next day I was infused with pain medicine and more concern for my husband than myself. Strangely, I still felt faith and something forging me to move ahead with my next steps. As if I had madly conceived a better contingency plan just in case the surgery and procedure was inaccurate and produced no results. I was disappointed but something inside of me was unreal... I still believed in my heart that this was not the end! I would still conceive and carry my baby to full term. I cannot speak of what came over me or why I felt this way. It was a strange intuitive knowing that has yet to prove true, but even now as I write, I know it to be true, otherwise I would not be writing these very words. My husband on the other hand was worn out with all of the fertility procedures and surgeries. Every time I went under the knife he feared for my safety and hoped at the same time it would make a difference in us conceiving all in the same breath. How could I console him when I did feel disappointment, but I was not the least discouraged. Was this a form of "denial?"

One day I was home and trying to recover from my surgery when there was a 20/20 Special on television called "Extreme Parents." It was reported that a 60 year-old woman had given birth to twin boys through in-vitro fertilization, and she had another child prior to this through the same process at 53. Well-past the child-bearing years she was appearing on national TV telling the world her story. Amazing I thought! I was not in denial.

This seemed an obvious sign to me. While I was feeling somewhat down that day this brave woman appeared as a message for myself and countless of other women to remain faithful to the course. Science does not dictate what faith knows. In other words no matter what our condition may be, no matter the odds, or difficulty, if it is "Divine Will" for us to bring a child into this world with our own body then so shall it be, and by any means it may happen. This child will come with either assisted methods, natural, or a combination of both. There is no stronger faith than a mother who wants to conceive and birth a child. The key is to surround yourself with a fertility plan that includes spirituality. This is the missing link I think for many women who face fertility challenges.

As for me, I have chosen both natural and holistic methods, and I continue to work alongside my fertility specialist/gynecologist and a holistic doctor who specializes in acupuncture. I also do deep spiritual meditations, listen to a womb journey meditation I created for myself to visualize my healing and conception, I chant to call to the soul of my child -to be, and as always my husband and I pray. Keeping the faith during fertility challenges, I feel can only be consistent when a holistic plan is in place which encompasses our minds, bodies, emotions, and spirits. Unfortunately, most of the western world focuses only on the mental and physical aspects of fertility but does very little if nothing at all to address the spiritual and emotional aspects of women and men facing fertility issues.

I now understand clearly that if I had not been going to my acupuncture sessions, doing my mind-body-spirit meditations, relaxing, praying, and enjoying my husband's love and company... in no way would I have been in the spirits and the emotional condition I was after my surgery. By keeping my practices I had insured my own sanity and emotional well-being, and this is a must if one is to continue the journey of fertility challenges.

Before hand, I had already decided to take matters of my health and fertility into my own hands. This is my body, and my spirit and I could not just fork over all of me, and my resolve to my doctor's care. Taking responsibility for our health and understanding we are more than just a physical body is the first step to staying faithful during fertility challenges. We have other parts that may be starving and we are not nurturing those essential parts.

I believe many women face fertility challenges because there is often a spiritual lesson or message behind it which then eventually blocks the actual physical conception until we pay attention. It is spiritual law that states that what affects the spiritual equally affects the physical. Therefore, if there are issues of a spiritual or emotional nature which we remain unaware of it may greatly impact our fertility. For example, say a woman was a victim of any kind of sexual or emotional abuse, this woman may be hurt on a deep soul level. This may surely affect her fertility as the woman's soul is asking her to pay attention and heal herself first so that she can be the best mother possible for the child. Like it or not, aware of this or not our souls are a major part of our design as a human being. All aspects of the body are connected, our mind, body, emotion, and soul, and what affects one affects the other. So if our soul is hurt and our emotions in chaos it will often be very difficult to conceive and carry a baby term. All of our parts must work together in order for the miracle and mystery of conception to take place. If we only focus on the body we are missing three other very important aspects that can help or hinder fertility if they are not addressed. Without a holistic approach we may lose sight of our own needs and neglect aspects of ourselves that need healing before we can bring a child into the world.

Fertility in itself is a mystical experience... we create a human body, but the spirit animates this body and the child becomes a "human being" key word on being. Where do these spirits which inhabit our babies come from? The same sphere or place as our faith, which calls our babies and safely brings them to existence in the first place. The reason a mother desires her baby so much in the first place is the divine connection she shares with the spirit of the child. A connection between mother and child begins well before actual conception! From the moment your child becomes a thought in your mind a special bond, and a connection is formed. This is all the faith we need. This becomes our mantra and our drive to keep on keeping on. I want to encourage women to become aware of their emotional and spiritual needs during fertility challenges. We owe it to ourselves to explore and heal all of our parts so we can be the best mothers possible to our future children.

Blessings & Miracles,

Tanya