Breastfeeding Thoughts as a New Mom
There are so many things I learned along my breastfeeding journey that I wished someone would’ve prepared me for! I’m beyond grateful that my body and breasts can do this for my baby, he gets the liquid gold that I can provide! With that being said, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with some challenges along the way.
I didn’t expect my boobs to hurt like they did! The beginning of your milk coming in is quite the experience. It comes in hot and heavy until your supply adjusts to your baby’s needs. This can be somewhat of a surprise because you only see the beautiful images of moms breastfeeding online. You don’t see the pain and sometimes discomfort that comes along with it.

Speaking of your milk coming in hot and heavy, you likely will leak! Everywhere! The boobs sometimes have a mind of their own and get ahead of themselves with the milk lol: I may have squirted myself and Ben a time or two! It’s also common to leak when baby isn’t even nursing, so it’s helpful to wear some sort of nursing pad at first. While baby is nursing on one boob, the other may leak as well. I loved using a Hakka to catch the letdown and store to use in a bottle later!

Your nipples can get sore too, newborns feed quite often and it can take a little for your nipples to “toughen up!” They do eventually, but it takes a little time. It’s important to note though that breastfeeding shouldn’t be painful while baby is nursing. If so, the latch probably isn’t right! Lactation consultants can be very helpful with getting a proper latch.

Of course, the frustrations of being new to this come in too, which is normal. I was wondering if he was getting enough and if I was even doing it right. I was trusting my body and the way our body’s work, but yet had so many questions! At the end of the day, as long as baby is growing and having those wet/dirty diapers, they are getting what they need.

Having the ability to provide nourishment in such a way to my baby is one of the biggest gifts I could ever give him and I’m so grateful that I’m able to nurse. But it’s okay to know that it isn’t all rainbows and butterflies at first!

🫶 I created a guide for Breastfeeding moms to support you along your journey to educate you and remove the overwhelm and the 2am google search! It's packed with recipes, resources and more to encourage you. GRAB IT HERE!
 

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Meet Leah Negrin

 
I am a bold, beautiful, sometimes timid, usually happy, essential oil, nutrition junkie. Although at 39 I feel as if I've had several careers over a lifetime (or at least sometimes when I look back at my resume that is what shines through). I've been a paralegal, an office manager, an administrative assistant, worked in commercial lending and have finally landed on nutrition.

My journey to nutrition started many years ago when my sister was diagnosed with celiac disease and food had to change for the family. From there, along my own health journey I’ve helped people not only figure out what to eat but how to do it so that it can work for them sustainably. For almost seven years I’ve been counseling people on their nutrition and weight loss journeys. 

Finally getting some sunshine in Southern California *Photo credit  Brittany Hassett 

I am knowledgeable about what purpose food serves your body and I focus on finding sustainable options when it comes to food; this also led to my love of essential oils. I had the opportunity to attend a workshop where a registered dietitian spoke about using essential oils in her practice to help her patients. I was floored. I knew that #plantsheal but I didn't realize that others in the 'conventional' medical community thought that as well!! Learning that it was possible to incorporate these magical little bottles gave me a huge sense of hope.


Alina, myself and Caitlin (oily bffs) *Photo credit Anne Negrin

 
As I learned more about these oils I was diagnosed with increased intestinal permeability or as many of us know it, leaky gut. Leaky gut has been around for quite awhile but many of us are just learning what this is or why this is even more common these days than ever before. Many issues can be related to leaky gut including autoimmune diseases. Receiving this diagnosis just led me down a path further to learn about nutrition and how to best serve my body and take care of myself.


Enjoying a vegan ice cream cone in Budapest! *Photo credit to Michelle Owen 

Since birthing our sweet baby boy at home earlier this year I’ve been incredibly passionate about helping other women too who are pregnant and new mothers with their nutrition. Eating healthy for your pregnant body and your postpartum self is a game changer for both mother and baby.

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