Cold Turkey

August 21, 2012

If my boobies could talk, they’d probably scream “enough already!”  They’ve been working overtime these past couple years and it’s time for them to retire.  That’s right!  They’re finally cutting off their milk supply completely.

The original plan  was to breastfeed for a year.  I wasn’t quite sure if I’d make it that far, but surprising I did.  I’ve managed to overcome many obstacles including, the pain and dip in supply.  I didn’t know who enjoyed it most- me or my daughter.

Since becoming a mom, I’ve struggled to find balance between career and motherhood.  In addition to providing the best nutrients ever, nursing seemed to make up for lost times when I was away.  It was great to have been able to bond with Princess.  Up until her second birthday, she looked forward to “boobies.”  She’d walk me into her TV/play room and tell me to sit down and go at it.  For a while there I thought I’d be breastfeeding until whenever, but I’ve realized that my boobies have served its purpose.  It’s time for my little girl to move on.  The decision to go cold turkey wasn’t easy because when my baby girl wants something, she’s relentless.

I’ve known moms who’ve nursed until preschool age because they had trouble weaning.  I decided that wasn’t the route I wanted to go. Believe me, if it were up to Princess she’d probably nurse until college.  The sight of that alone freaks me out.

Anyway, I’m proud that we’ve made it two years.  She’s cried when I told her “no” these past few days.  Offering her something else she loves has seemed to curb those cravings.  In the meantime, I’ll have fun bonding with her in many other ways.  I’m gonna miss nursing my baby girl.  Who knows, maybe my boobs will do a Jordan and come out of retirement.  Baby number two may be just around the corner.  We’ll see.

Please sure to check out my Nursing Diaries.

Weather Anchor Mama

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Stop The Presses Beyonce Breastfeeds!

March 6, 2012
Beyonce with hBlue Ivy. Carter Family/Ed Burke for Beyonce.com/AP Photo

Beyonce sparks public breastfeeding debate.  Whoop-ti-do!!  Apparently, the star was seen nursing Blue Ivy at a public restaurant.  I’m baffled that this is making national news.  Some people frown upon mothers choosing to nurse out in the open, and I don’t get it.  I’ve been nursing for 18 months strong and make no excuses for breastfeeding Princess in public.

I’ve nursed just about every where.  Don’t get me wrong, I never completely exposed my boobies.  But if I happened to be eating at a restaurant,  I’ve whipped it out right there.  Why should I have leave the table and go to the bathroom?  That’s just gross.  There’s no reason why Princess can’t eat with us at the table.  I know a lot of folks may disagree.  So what!  At the end of the day, I’m happy and my baby’s happy.  I’m careful and discrete enough to not let patrons get an eye full.  If they do, oh well.

I remember nursing in the middle of a shopping mall.  I really didn’t care who saw.  My baby girl was starving and cranky, so I did what I had to do at the time.  An employee saw me and kindly informed me of a comfy lounge for nursing moms, which I thought was very nice.  But let’s face it, if there are tons of people around and your child is screaming for food then a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do.

That’s exactly what Beyonce did.  I just don’t understand why it’s such a big deal.  Nursing moms do it all the time.  However when you factor in the statistics reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010, I can sort of understand why some may feel that it’s a huge deal.  A reported 54 % of black (non-Hispanic) moms breastfeed, in comparison to 74% white, and 80% Hispanic.  One blogger feels that stars like Beyonce will encourage more black women to nurse

While I would love to see the stats for nursing black moms rise, the reality is that it may not be right for everyone.  It doesn’t make them bad moms.  It’s just a personal choice.  Kudos to Beyonce for breastfeeding beautiful Blue Ivy!  But, I don’t feel that we should appoint her as a breastfeeding trailblazer for us.  I just think all women should educate themselves about the benefits of nursing.  Then make a conscious decision as to whether or not it’s right for them.  You shouldn’t do it because a celebrity makes it “cool.”

As for me, I’ll continue to wear my breastfeeding badge with pride.

Would you consider nursing because a celebrity does it?

Weather Anchor Mama

Filed Under: breastfeeding, Nursing Diaries 7 Comments

Nursing Diaries (Part Seven)

February 23, 2012

“Change of Heart”

I used to be one of those people who would get grossed out at the site of mother nursing her toddler.  Now that I’m a mom, I take it back.  Princess is 18 months and I can’t believe we’ve made it this far!  She still loves the boob and has no desire to give it up any time soon.  She’s so hooked, I think I may have to send her to booby rehab.

The original plan was to breastfeed for a year.  Even though nursing was a bit challenging in the beginning, I was able to keep up.  Nursing and pumping came easy after a while.  I never had to substitute with formula.  I felt like I conquered the world!  Princess dined solely on my milk for the first 6 months.  At that point I began adding solids to her diet.  By 9 months she was pretty much eating 3 meals a day.  I thought she’d eventually wean herself because she loved food so much!  Boy was I wrong!
When she turned 12 months, Princess was still attached to the boob.  In fact, she still wakes up for her nightly fix.  There’s no set schedule for our sessions.  But, she randomly undresses me and reaches in for the kill.  So here’s the kicker…the other day she asked, “booby?”  I used to feel that if a kid can ask for breast milk, then it’s time to call it quits. However, now I have a completely different take on the whole thing.

I won’t lie and say breastfeeding is easy breezy.  There have been times when I’ve had to calm her cries by whipping out a boob in a random public place.  It’s been 18 months and we’re still nursing strong, and through it all I’ve learned so much.  The most valuable lesson here is to never say never.  So the next time you see a mom nursing a toddler, don’t react the way I did before.

Oh, as for boob rehab…not a chance!  I’ll be nursing until whenever.

Weather Anchor Mama

Filed Under: breastfeeding, Nursing Diaries 15 Comments

Nursing Diaries (Part Three)

September 19, 2011

“Introducing the Bottle”

As the saying goes: ”You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you get your prince.”  Well my Princess had to drink from many bottles, before finding the right one.

Within the first couple weeks of having my daughter nursing became second nature.  Getting up for nighttime feedings were tough, as you parents already know.  But, I knew what I was getting into and complaining about it was out of the question.  Nonetheless, my little Princess and I were doing just fine.  That was until we had our first doctor visit.  I told the pediatrician that I planned on returning to work, and asked about the best time to introduce the bottle.  He told my hubby and I that we basically should start right away.  He then said, “If you don’t, she may never take the bottle!”  The thought of not being able to go back to work because my daughter wouldn’t take the bottle was absolutely terrifying.  That actually happened to a close friend of mine.  After a few weeks of exclusively breastfeeding, her daughter refused to drink from the bottle.  So she had no choice, but to quit her job in order to nurse.  I applaud her for doing that because if it came down to it, I’d do the same thing.  But, I also made a commitment to return to work after my twelve-week maternity leave.  It wouldn’t have been an easy decision to become a stay at mom.  So on that note, my hubby and I took the doctor’s advice and got the baby bottle introduction rollin’.

I didn’t realize that it would be so difficult.  We had tons of bottles that were gifted to us at our baby shower.  We first went with the Tommee Tippee newborn starter set.  I read good reviews and figured it would be the right choice for my baby girl.

I also read that the bottle was designed with a woman’s nipple in mind. It has a wide nipple base, it’s flexes and stretches like the breast, and produces less air build-up.  Princess had already been dealing with a lot of gas, so I thought that this would definitely help.  Not!!! Milk leaked everywhere, and it was clear that Princess didn’t like drinking from this bottle. It was a complete mess! I ended up having to return the set. I knew that introducing the bottle would take some time, but I never really thought we would have to go through a bunch of different ones.  

My sis had also given me left over unused bottles from our baby shower. We tried those and Princess wouldn’t drink from it either. There were a bunch of others that also didn’t work out.  I was beginning to lose hope when I remembered the bottles that came with my Madela Pump.  I filled one with breast milk and my hubby gave it to her. She loved it! 

  Who knew that babies had a bottle preference? It was like auditioning for a role! Finally, everything was working out. My hubby and I even develop a system where we would give her one bottle every other day, and he’d be the one who fed her. Since I was nursing, it was only right that he experience feeding time.  It also further strengthened their daddy daughter bond.

Nursing was still my top priority and I didn’t want to overdue the bottle-feeding in the beginning. I heard that some babies end up losing interest in nursing completely, if that happens. That’s when nursing and pumping became my routine. I began expressing milk and storing it in the freezer.  

I am a planner who likes to keep things in order, call me crazy. But, you never know what can happen. I could be sick and need to take medication (which could affect milk supply and/or my baby), or I could have to work late.  I believe it’s great to have extra breast milk handy.  Besides, pumping and nursing kept my milk supply up. 

Princess still prefers drinking from Madela bottles, and I am still nursing.  Of course, every baby is different and I am in no way endorsing any of the products mentioned above.  But whether you’re a stay at home mom or work outside of the home, I think it’s so important to let your baby be the judge.  Some nursing moms may choose to introduce the bottle with formula, while others pump their own milk.  Either way, you may have to go through a few bottles before finding that right one.

Filed Under: breastfeeding, Nursing Diaries 3 Comments

Nursing Diaries (Part Two)

August 30, 2011
“Nursing Around the Clock”


After giving birth some moms may opt to have their newborns spend some time in the nursery, while they catch up on sleep.  But, I wanted my baby with me 24/7.  It wasn’t because I didn’t trust the hospital staff.  I wanted that time to nurse and bond with my baby.  It was something I planned to do early on, so I was prepared to miss out on sleep.  Some people thought I was crazy, but I didn’t care.  I was committed and ready for the long haul.  The first two nights in the hospital I don’t think my hubby and I got any rest.  My baby girl kept us pretty busy.  She loved nursing from the moment her lips came in contact with my boob.  Breast-fed babies usually nurse every two hours, but it seemed like Princess nursed throughout the entire day.  At one point it was like every five to ten minutes.  I had already informed my doctor and the nursing staff that I intended on exclusively nursing, so formula was not an option.  At one point, I was offered to pump.  But, I thought by introducing the bottle this early could possibly create nipple confusion.  With the exception of the normal check ups, Princess stayed with us the whole time in the hospital.  But, we eventually reached a point where we both needed to get some shuteye.  I asked one of the nurses take her to the nursery for a couple hours.  It was a smart move on our part because once we got home; sleep time for us was a rare occasion.  Let me rephrase that, I barely got any sleep.

When you decide to nurse, you are the only one that can feed your baby.  It seemed like Princess wanted the boob around the clock.  It’s now a blur to me, but my hubby says that I was like a machine.  We chose not to have too many people around the first few weeks because she was so new.  Plus, we both wanted to spend as much time as possible bonding with her.  As I mentioned before, my work schedule could be pretty grueling.  I knew that in a matter of months, most of my baby’s time would be spent at daycare.  So, I sucked it up and did what I had to do.  But, my saving grace was my hubby.  Everyone has a breaking point, and I am no different.  Not only did she always want to nuzzle up to my breast, my baby girl would only nap while in motion.  She didn’t like the swing or the vibrating bouncers, which meant that I had to walk around the entire house to get her to fall asleep.  Most of the time I was a walking zombie, so my hubby took over touring duties.  I don’t know what I would do, if I were alone.  I give all you single parents a lot of credit.

After a few weeks, we introduced her to the bottle (which I will chat more about in Part three).  It was a much-needed break for me.  I’d pump and my hubby would feed her, while I caught up on some z’s.  I’m not talking a full night’s rest, but more like a couple of hours here and there.  However, it was still a nice break.

My daughter will be one this week and she still loves the boobies.  She’s already eating table foods, but she enjoys nursing before bed and before she heads of to daycare.  She hasn’t been sleeping through the night for the past few months because of teething issues.  So, she finds comfort being breast fed overnight too.  My doc says that at her age she shouldn’t be nursing through the night, but it helps her sleep.  I choose to bask in these nursing days because it will eventually come to an end.  There will come a time when she won’t want to nestle up to my boob anymore.  

A lot has changed since we bought Princess home almost one year ago.  I’ve gone from getting about a couple hours to about five hours of sleep during the night.  Even though I’m still missing out on my beauty rest, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  My baby is happy and healthy.  I thank God for that each day.




Weather Anchor Mama

Filed Under: breastfeeding, Nursing, Nursing Diaries, Pumping with weather anchor mama 2 Comments

Nursing Diaries (Part One)

August 8, 2011

“The First Time My Daughter Latched On”

Before having my little Princess, I knew I wanted to breastfeed.  Why?  For the obvious reason of course, to get my pre-baby body back! Duh!  But seriously, breast milk is the healthiest for any baby and it’s the most cost effective too.  But, I was a bit worried about being able to keep up because I am a career mom who’s always on the go.  I kid you not, I’m always pressed for time.  Whether you’re a stay a home mom or a career mom like myself, nursing and pumping can get overwhelming.  By writing this blog, I hope to encourage others to be persistent.  There have been times when I got frustrated, but I never considered throwing in the towel and switching to formula.  I have so much I want to share regarding my breast feeding experience.  I’ve decided to write about my journey as a nursing mom in a series called, “Pumping With Weather Anchor Mama.”  Let me start from the beginning.

I had just given birth to my little Princess.  It was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt.  But once the nurse placed my baby girl in my arms, I fell in love.  I informed the staff that I planned to begin nursing right away.  Latching on was probably the most difficult.  But after the lactation consultant came in to give me a few tips, we were good to go.  At least I thought we were.  If you think giving birth is painful, nursing was more than unbearable!  Ok, I may be exagerating a bit.  But, you get the point.  Just imagine someone pinching you extremely hard.  That pain that you feel throughout your whole body is like the pain I felt while nursing for the first time.  My nipples became so sore and so chafed, nothing could alleviate the pain.  Over the next couple of weeks, I tried all those creams and ol’ school remedies to no avail.  Complaining about it didn’t help either.  My hubby just looked at me like I was crazy.  It took patience and prayer to get me through those first few weeks.  It eventually got to a point where the first few seconds of agony turned to bliss, thanks in part to some research I had done.  After surfing the web for breast feeding stories,  I read about pumpease.  Once I began using it, I was hooked.

Even though I loved nursing my daughter (and still do), I also felt that pumpease helped to heal my already sore boobies.  Pumping allowed my nipples to take a much needed break.  Plus, the pediatrition had advised me to begin introducing the bottle.  So that when I return to work, there won’t be any problems for my Princess to adjust.  It was like killing two birds with one stone.  Now almost one year later, I am still nursing and expressing milk too!  In fact, most of my pumping is done at work.  My job as a weather anchor can get pretty hectic at times.  I made sure made that my freezer was fully stocked with breast milk (which I still have on hand to this day), before heading back to work.

I wanted to be prepared in the case of breaking weather coverage that interrupted our daily routine.  For those of you who don’t live in New York, last winter was a nightmare!  I’m talkin’ record breaking snowfall across the area. With almost 62 inches of total snowfall in Central Park, this last winter ranks as the 3rd snowiest season EVER!

When I got the call to report to work on my day off (the day after Christmas), I knew I would have to spend the night away from my baby girl.  Luckily, my hubby didn’t have to work and I had some reserve milk in the freezer.  Whenever there is severe weather coverage, I usually report live every 15 minutes throughout my shift.  I remember working this particular snow storm in December, we dubbed it the “Holiday Blizzard.”  I had to go live so often that I didn’t have time to pump.  By the end of the night I felt like my chest was gonna explode!  My bra size probably quadrupled over the course of about 10 hours.  To make matters worse, the storm was so bad that I couldn’t drive home.  My bosses put me in a hotel for the night.  I wasn’t exactly a happy camper.  Not only was it the first night without my baby, I was also in so much pain.  Have you ever held your pee so long, you felt like you were gonna burst?  Well, that’s how I felt that night.  Once I was tucked away in my hotel room, it was such a relieve to get it out.  I think I filled up four 5 oz bottles easily.  In retrospect, I don’t know how I was able to hold it for so long!  When I think about it, I’m probably one of the lucky ones.  This was an extreme situation.  I usually have no problems pumping at work.  But, not everyone has that luxury.  I spoke with a former co-worker who has a son about the same age as my daughter.  She actually pumps in the live truck, while covering her story!  No comfy office to go to, and no comfy reclining chair to sit in.  But, she did say that the guys she works with were totally understanding and gave her privacy.   I on the other hand, usually work in studio.  Plus, I’ve been to be able to retreat to a secluded area for my pumping sessions.

It’s been almost 12 months and I am still nursing and pumping away.  But, it wasn’t always easy.  Nursing around the clock was something that became exhausting.  I don’t know how I’ve been able keep my eyes open most of the time.  In part two of “Pumping With Weather Anchor Mama”  I’ll share how I got through those sleepless nights.

Weather Anchor Mama

Filed Under: breastfeeding, Nursing Diaries 4 Comments