Chat Thread Nov 1-15th

[Amys1st]

I know I'm a day early but I wanted to get started again!!

Topic-

The new Mothering came out and there is an article on breastmilk as a medicine. Since I am not the only mama who nursed (and can't wait to do it again!!) this is a good topic. Also, you soon to be mamas will get some info.

I thought I had something no one else did. I used breastmilk to cure pink eye in MY eye and dd's. It cured a rash she had on her, its great for ear aches,
Also DH had a weird sore that we put breast milk on and presto- cured. I almost thought about cleaning the house with it But maybe thats why I kept nursing until she clw d at 30 mos.

Anyone else use breastmilk for something other than feeding??

[CaraboosMama]

I can't think of much I did w/ breastmilk that was out of the ordinary - but I do credit the extended breastfeeding for the fact that Caroline has only been sick once in 18 months and it was very minor

[The4OfUs]

Hey, this reminds me of something I've wondered about off and on in the recent past. I EBF my DS to 14 months, he never had a drop of formula. We are at home together so no potential for daycare illnesses. Yet somehow, between the age of 6-12 months DS still managed to contract:

2 big ear infections
2 lousy colds
AND
Strep throat!

:
What's up with that? The only comforting thought I've managed out of it is that he probably would have been even sicker if he had formula...

Sometimes I feel like the only mama who breastfed past 1 year whose kid got so sick the first year.

OK, my whine is over. FWIW, he has been pretty healthy his 2nd year so far - knock on wood.

Anybody have any ideas? Maybe I'll x-post this on the breastfeeding boards, to see if anyone there has any ideas...it's always kind of bugged me, but then I feel petty getting worked up about it because I think of all the families out there with babies who have serious illnesses, and we've been so lucky to have no major problems.

Anyway, I think it's awesome for all other mamas and babies when the benefits of BF work out for their health I just wish it would have worked better for mine!!

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by donosmommy04

Hey, this reminds me of something I've wondered about off and on in the recent past. I EBF my DS to 14 months, he never had a drop of formula. We are at home together so no potential for daycare illnesses. Yet somehow, between the age of 6-12 months DS still managed to contract:

2 big ear infections
2 lousy colds
AND
Strep throat!

:
What's up with that? The only comforting thought I've managed out of it is that he probably would have been even sicker if he had formula...

Mine also never had a drop of formula. I was also home w her. She had at least 2 ear infections her first year but never had a cold until past 18 mos or so. She had strep once when she was about 2 1/2 or so. We think it was the way we bathed her so we started plugging her ears and she never had another ear infection.

If anything dd was sick for maybe a day or so and done. I know moms whose kids would be sick for days on end it seemed. So maybe your bfeeding helped him combat these illnesses better than if he had not been.
I do know last year when her nursing stopped we started giving her a vitamin everyday and she was not sick all last winter. I took prenatels almost to when she weaned so she would get all that good stuff.

So don't kil yourself over it, besides its good for people to get sick to build up an immunity.

[Caroline248]

Originally Posted by Amys1st

If anything dd was sick for maybe a day or so and done. I know moms whose kids would be sick for days on end it seemed. So maybe your bfeeding helped him combat these illnesses better than if he had not been.
.

I think that is the difference really. BF kids seem to get better quicker and don't get as sick with the same illness that a non-BF kid fights off.

That said, my exclusivley BF 14 month old was very sick last year. Constant colds, pnuemonia.....we never did figure that out. Only difference between his first year and my other kids is that we had a dog...

~C~

[mommy2boys]

Originally Posted by donosmommy04

Hey, this reminds me of something I've wondered about off and on in the recent past. I EBF my DS to 14 months, he never had a drop of formula. We are at home together so no potential for daycare illnesses. Yet somehow, between the age of 6-12 months DS still managed to contract:

2 big ear infections
2 lousy colds
AND
Strep throat!

:
What's up with that? The only comforting thought I've managed out of it is that he probably would have been even sicker if he had formula...

Sometimes I feel like the only mama who breastfed past 1 year whose kid got so sick the first year.

OK, my whine is over. FWIW, he has been pretty healthy his 2nd year so far - knock on wood.

Anybody have any ideas? Maybe I'll x-post this on the breastfeeding boards, to see if anyone there has any ideas...it's always kind of bugged me, but then I feel petty getting worked up about it because I think of all the families out there with babies who have serious illnesses, and we've been so lucky to have no major problems.

Anyway, I think it's awesome for all other mamas and babies when the benefits of BF work out for their health I just wish it would have worked better for mine!!

My ds had 1 ear infection but he did get pnemonia twice. I nursed him for 28 months. We eventually had to get his tonsils and adenoids removed because of sleep apnea and some other issues. When we were seeing the ENT she looked in his throat and asked me how on earth did he not have chronic ear infections. I told I'm not sure, she asked well are you still nursing him, and I said yes and she that's it, if you hadn't he would have been one very unhealthy boy. That made me realize how glad I was I nursed him because as bad as all that was it could have been a lot worse.

As for the OP we used bm to cure pink eye in my dog. I think that's I can remember doing with it though. But I can't seem to remember much of anything lately.

[CaraboosMama]

Originally Posted by donosmommy04

Sometimes I feel like the only mama who breastfed past 1 year whose kid got so sick the first year.

Oh! I didn't mean for my post to be discouraging to you! And - I know many mamas whose kids got colds, etc even though they extended B'fed. I was a very sickly child & I was not breastfed. My mom learned more about breastfeeding as time went on & did breastfeed my brothers who have none of the health problems I had & she always says "I wonder if things would have been different if I had breastfed you..."

I don't dwell on it - but I do believe that whether it's a boost in protection from colds & flu, or long term allergy and immune system boosts - breastmilk is the sh!t when it comes to protecting your children's health.

[The4OfUs]

Originally Posted by CaraboosMama

Oh! I didn't mean for my post to be discouraging to you! And - I know many mamas whose kids got colds, etc even though they extended B'fed. I was a very sickly child & I was not breastfed. My mom learned more about breastfeeding as time went on & did breastfeed my brothers who have none of the health problems I had & she always says "I wonder if things would have been different if I had breastfed you..."

I don't dwell on it - but I do believe that whether it's a boost in protection from colds & flu, or long term allergy and immune system boosts - breastmilk is the sh!t when it comes to protecting your children's health.

Oh, CaraboosMama, no, I didn't take it that way at all! Sorry if I came across that way......it was just something that had popped into my head now and then, and I decided to put it out there yesterday - Now I'm kinda for hijacking the thread! Sorry!!!

Thanks ladies for your support and thoughts - I plan on EBF this babe too, no question about it...

...and now, back to your regularly scheduled OP question....

[seekermage]

we use it on cuts and zits. That stuff is a miracle cure! Though it totally grosses my 5 year old out, I tend to attack her cuts when she is in bed asleep otherwise she wont let me near her. Drives me crazy too because her skin takes forever to heal, but if I get the boob juice on there it more then cuts the healing time in half. I have also used it in a pinch in recipies that call for milk...never would know the difference!

And as for the whole health benefits, I think it totally depends upon your kids and their environment. My mom kept saying gee a lot of good it does because my girls were always getting colds etc, but the baby's tended to be a lot milder. Unfortunately mine we always exposed to tons of germs between school, visiting family and friends, shopping etc. My SIL on the other had had a baby that pretty much was never sick until he was older, she is near three now and is constantly sick. However, he never left the house until he was over a year, so go figure, its all about the environment.

[lillake]

LOL I read that entire article last night to DH. I wish I had known the last time, DS had such a bad diaper rash before switching to cloth that could have been so easily cured. This time, however, I know and can't wait to "test" it out.

DH said he's going to hide from me. LOL

[lillake]

Oh, and what did everyone think about the epidural article in there as well? I was talking about it last night with a friend and another woman jumped in and got very hateful and angry about it, even said that the writer needed to get their facts straight.

Persoanlly I loved it and plan to put this in my birth bag for when the time comes.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by lillake

Oh, and what did everyone think about the epidural article in there as well? I was talking about it last night with a friend and another woman jumped in and got very hateful and angry about it, even said that the writer needed to get their facts straight.

Persoanlly I loved it and plan to put this in my birth bag for when the time comes.

I thought it was well written and I wonder- what was she angry about?
The facts were very straight forward and the last 2 pages were devoted to resources- she is welcome to check those out.

I had an epideral with my fist delivery. And it will be my last. My DH said afterwards after all that happened, we cannot do this again.
When I got it my blood pressure shot down so much my DH thought I would die, thankfully I was fine a minute later. Also Flat on my back pushing a baby out for two hours did not help matters. Also she was lodged on my tail bone and I still have trouble. Also my shoulder still has trouble from being placed in that position. Thankfully dh is a physical thrpst and treats me.
Thankfully also, I was able to nurse 20 minutes later and I was fine. In spite we had a very good birth experience and we know for next time.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by seekermage

the boob juice on there it more then cuts the healing time in half.

We called it Mom Juice or Liquid gold. But love the boob juice.

[lillake]

Originally Posted by Amys1st

I thought it was well written and I wonder- what was she angry about?
The facts were very straight forward and the last 2 pages were devoted to resources- she is welcome to check those out.

She had an epidural with both of her children and she feels that the entire article was a lie. She informed us that her sons had decreasing oxygen and decreasing heartrates and the epidurals is what lifted both up to stable levels. When I showed her the information the article about having negative effects she got very angry and claimed that the article was wrong.

[doulanichole]

I haven't used breastmilk on too much, but have put it in my older dd's cups when they are getting sick in hopes of cutting duration or severity. I wish I would have know that it helped with baby acne - ds had it pretty bad.

Amy - I think you said you had used it with your own pink eye and I didn't realize you could use it on yourself. I thought it wouldn't work because you already have the immunities found in your milk.

As for the epidural article and the person who was offended....people who are offended by the truth are often truly feeling guilty about their own choices. And then of course there is the whole group of people who choose not to be educated because then they would be forced to be responsible for their own decisions. Can anyone tell this is a HUGE source of frustration for me?

[KateMary]

Hi everyone, I am just coming out of lurkdom and the shock is finally wearing off so I am joining the June club now!

I tried using breastmilk on dd's congested nose once but I couldn't really get it to stay up there. Then I went back to work and pumped just enough for her to drink during the day so I have never had extra to use for other reasons. I am planning on staying home when this baby comes and tandem nursing so I hope my supply will be super strong this time and I can freeze extras for a rainy day.

dd has been really healthy so far, some seasonal allergies and a cold here and there. I thought it would be worse being in daycare but I am sure the breastmilk has kept her healthier than she would have been otherwise.

[chiromama]

Just subbing. Haven't ever bfed since this is my first... so I have nothing to add!

However, my eczema has turned into something else, I'm going to the derm today at 2:30 to hopefully find somtehing that will be safe to do while pregnant. I think it's a virus on the eczema - had it a few years ago, and was told it wouldn't come back but apparently it has! lucky me

Hope you all are having good days!

[Paddington]

hi all,

my ds had many ear infections his first year--probaly like 5 or something. but overall, he didn't have too many illnesses. and he didn't have a drop of formula.

i didn't use breastmilk for all the extra stuff though. i'll have to read the article as soon as i get a chance.

i am not sure how much ear infections have to do with illnesses in the true sense though. i mean, aren't they based on fluid getting stuck because the ear canal is so small?

[mommy2girlies]

wow, lots to catch up on in the last day! good to see us all over here

first off, hugs christina let us know how you're doing...

im still bf'ing my toddler and i don't see her stopping anytime soon, so i'll be tandem nursing i've never used bm on anything other than feeding, but in the beginning w/ both girls, i did put it on my nipples when they cracked or got sore...other than that, i guess i didn't even think about all the great properties in it!! almost can't wait for the next boo boo! gonna try it out! thanks!

can you believe i don't get the magazine? i've been meaning to subscribe for the last year, but now im going to go do just that!!

later ladies...

[Gray's Mommy]

I BF exclusively for one year and 5 days (when our son cut me off cold turkey!). OUCH!
Anyways, he was pretty healthy, with one real serious bout of croup which ended him up in the hospital for a day and a half. Otherwise, no ear infections, etc... We didn't use breastmilk for anything other than feedings.