I know now why my baby and I are happily waking up several times a night for a feed. Oxitocin is released in enormous amounts right after a natural birth, making falling in love with your baby possible. More oxitocin is released every time you feed your baby too, both in mother and baby. Oxitocin attaches to the same feel-good places in the brain as cannabis, it gives you a natural high. So to people who feel sorry for me for still having to wake up to feed my almost one-year old: Get off my back, I'm simply feeding my addiction!
Thanks for a wonderful conference weekend, especially Sue Cox's talk and workshop was memorable.
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Can I do cannabis in stead of oxytocin, please? :-P There is probably less oxitocin involved when there is no baby there (by the breast), and I really really REALLY don't feel high from getting up every 3-4 hours at night to express milk for my baby (she refuses the nipple, so she's bottle fed).
ReplyDeleteSorry, can't recommend cannabis... :)Have you tried a silicon nipple shield, or is that tabu In Norway. Many mums have had success with that, as bub is then happy to take the 'plastic-tasting' teat, and then after a while will accept the bare nipple, sometimes helped by doing it step-wise by cutting the nipple shield smaller and smaller. Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteI have tried nipple shield, but actually only before we gave up breastfeeding. Maybe it's worth a try again, thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteI am still hoping she'll take the nipple, but to be honest I have kind of given up (in a "positive" way, at least attitude-wise), since I find it stressfull to try (it's so hard to find the right time - not too hungry and not too sleepy and not too full, and we should be two people at home since I need to express some milk first for instant happiness) and a screaming baby is not funny even if it's her only way of expressing anything. I lean towards that expressing by pump and giving by bottle is an easier option (for me), although it's definitely the hardest of the three baby nutrition options.
By the way, does Australian health authorities have any official guidelines for how to prepare and feed formula (and expressed milk)? I am not talking about the WHO code and everything around that, but things regarding hygiene and practicalities *if* one has to feed by bottle or give formula. It's next to unavailable in Norway, every healthcare person (midwives, hospital, lactation consultants, public health nurse, doctors) give different advise and only half the formula boxes follows the newest recommendations from WHO with regard to temperature during preparation. Every child deserves safe food even if it's not breastfed...
Another idea to use potentially in conjunction with the nipple shield is a breastfeeding supplementer(http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/snsflyer10.pdf)which then makes sure your baby gets that instant reward as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure exactly what you are after in terms of guidelines. There is definitely guidelines in terms of feeding expressed milk, how to store and preapre etc. (http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/caregivers.html), but when it comes to formula, which is still the most common way of feeding babies in this country! what you always hear here is to follow the instructions on the tin. And otherwise of course follow the WHO guidelines to safely prepare formula, which does include hygiene (http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/agns/files/PIF_Bottle_en.pdf)