How to Dry Up Breast Milk Quickly

If you've just had a baby and aren't going to breastfeed, or if you're breasts are engorged with milk and you need some relief, help may be as close as the refrigerator or the produce section. Cabbage has been used to reduce swelling since the 1800s, and is also known for its antibiotic properties. When placed applied to the breasts, it can quickly provide relief from painfully enlarged breasts.

Instructions

1

Remove cabbage leaves from the head, trying to tear the leaves as little as possible.

2

Rinse the leaves with water and remove any excess dirt, and pat dry.

3

Refrigerate the leaves until they are cool.

4

Crush the veins of the cabbage leaves with a rolling pin or your hand, and then place the leaves into bra. Use enough leaves to completely cover your breasts.

5

Exchange cabbage leaves every 4 to 6 hours, for about 1 to 2 days, until engorgement has subsided, and your milk supply has dried up.

How to Make Baby Formula With Karo Syrup

Before the introduction of commercial baby formula, most mothers who could not breastfeed, or who chose not to, would make formula for their child at home. The recipes for homemade baby formula almost always included Karo syrup as an ingredient. While the syrup is not approved for feeding babies today, it's interesting to know how such a common ingredient was used to feed infants in the past.

Instructions

1

Bring 20 oz. of water to a rolling boil and let boil for five minutes. You will only need 18 oz., but this allows for some evaporation of the water.

2

Measure 18 oz. of the boiled water into a large measuring cup.

3

Cover the measuring cup with a paper towel or a saucepan lid that will completely cover the top of the cup. Allow the water to cool to room temperature.

4

Add in 1 can (13 oz.) of evaporated milk and 2 tbsp. of light Karo syrup. Stir until well-blended.

5

Pour into a sterilized half-gallon jar or bottles and store in the refrigerator until needed.

How to Prevent Breast Engorgement

Breast engorgement is a common condition during the first few weeks following childbirth. Engorgement occurs as a mother's body adjusts to the changes she experiences when she begins lactating. The symptoms of painful fullness are caused by an increase in milk volume, failure to empty the breast by nursing or expressing milk, congestion of lymph and blood vessels, and tissue swelling. Engorgement can affect the amount of milk the baby consumes and the mother produces. Severe or prolonged engorgement can be prevented by frequent nursing, proper latch and breast massage.

Instructions

1

Check for proper latch when nursing. Place the nipple fully in the baby's mouth. The baby's mouth should be wide open and take in the entire nipple and part of the surrounding areola for proper latch. If the baby is only grasping the tip with her mouth she will not be able to take in much milk.

2

Express a little milk either manually or with a pump before nursing. Breast fullness can flatten the nipple and make it difficult to latch on properly. Alleviating some of the fullness softens the nipple and makes it easier for the baby to latch on.

3

Empty the breast as much as possible while nursing or pumping. Gently massage the breast, moving from the base outward toward the nipple, to assist milk flow from the milk ducts.

4

Breastfeed or pump frequently eight to 12 times in each 24-hour time period. More frequent nursing or milk expression in the first three to five days postpartum helps to remove colostrum from the breasts so the breasts are not overfull when the milk comes in.

5

Pump or express milk if a feeding is missed. If the baby sleeps through a feeding or is fed with a bottle, the breasts will become engorged as they continue to produce milk. Empty the breasts at regular, frequent intervals.

6

Wake newborns during the night to nurse. Mothers of newborns need their sleep, but sleeping through the night results in engorgement in the morning.

7

Wean the baby gradually. The body needs time to decrease milk production in response to the decrease in demand for milk. The milk supply will gradually decrease as the baby gains more of his calories and fluids from other sources.

How to Exercise to Lift Sagging Breast

No woman wants sagging breast; but many woman will one day have to deal with. Gravity is the enemy of beautiful perky breasts. The fact that breast feeding has something to do with saggy breasts, is false. Sagging breast is a matter of heredity, age and other factors. You can however, reverse gravity, by exercising certain muscles to help lift sagging breasts.

Instructions

1

Pec fly machine: A peck fly machine is designed to built up the pectoral muscles, which are the muscles behind your sagging breasts. Add ten to fifteen pounds of weight to the machine, press slowly, until your arms are together as far as the machine will go. Hold that position for about three seconds. You can build intensity of the exercise, by either adding weight of holding the length of the hold.
(More information in resources)

2

Modified push up: Push ups are another way to add a lift to sagging breasts. A modified push up it similar to are regular push up except you begin on your knees, instead of with legs extended. Lower yourself as low as you can get to the floor, then slowly extend your arms until they are straight. Repeat this five times build to ten and so forth.

3

The pectoral press: To help lift sagging breasts,using a set of five pound weights, from a standing position, with your elbows out to the sides of your body. Slowly bring your arms together until they touch, then slowly bring your arms back together.

4

The butterfly press: Sit in a chair with a five pound weight in each hand, slowly lift your arms to shoulder length and hold for a few seconds. Repeat this ten to fifteen times. This will build up muscles behind the breasts that give an appearance of lifting.

5

The palm press: The palm press is an easy exercise to lift breasts. Place your hands, press your palms together and hold for five seconds, you will be able to feel pressure in your pectoral muscles. Repeat this exercise ten times or more.

6

Most of the exercises can be done at home. Within a week or two you will begin to see a difference. You will experience soreness in the chest, which means you are exercising the correct muscles to lift your breasts.

How to Choose a Wet Nurse

A wet nurse is a lactating woman hired by parents to breastfeed their infant. Wet nurses used to be very popular, but with the invention of formula and human milk banks, they aren't used often anymore. If you want to hire a wet nurse, there are some things to keep in mind.

Instructions

1

Consider choosing a friend or family member who is already breastfeeding. Not only will this help keep the fees down, but your friend or family member can have a special bond with your baby. You may also be more comfortable with a friend or family member breastfeeding your baby.

2

Get the wet nurse tested. There are many diseases that can be transferred through breastmilk including AIDS. Speak to your doctor and the wet nurse's doctor about having the proper tests done.

3

Take the wet nurse's personality into account. This woman will probably be living with you, helping to care for your baby. You must like this person and her personality must be a good match to your own.

4

Talk to the wet nurse about any rules you want her to adhere to. Some mothers who use wet nurses want the wet nurse to just feed the baby and do none of the other care. Other mothers prefer the wet nurse provide other baby care duties. In addition, you may want the wet nurse to adhere to a special diet or be open to changing her diet if your baby requires it.

5

Obtain a contract about the wet nurse's duties and what the fees will be. If you are going through an agency, chances are good the agency already has a contract.

6

Ask for references and check up on them.

Growth of a Breastfed Baby

All babies, breastfed or formula fed, grow at their own rate based on a variety of factors. Infant studies have led to the creation of growth charts based on averages, which can be used as a guideline to compare expected growth with actual growth at various stages of your infant's development.

Growth Rates

A healthy breastfeeding baby will typically show a fast and steady weight gain during the first months of life, eventually leveling out or even decreasing slightly somewhere around month three. This is normal for a breastfed baby, although some doctors view this decrease in weight gain after three months as a concern, based on growth charts that do not take into consideration the differences between formula fed babies and breastfed babies.

Expected Weight Gain

While every child is different, most healthy breastfeeding infants reach growth milestones within the first year of life. Newborns gain from 4 to 7 oz. a week during the first month and 1 to 2 lbs. a month during the first six months. From then on, babies should average about 1 lb. per month of weight increase until they reach their first birthday. By comparison, formula-fed babies tend to gain weight faster than breastfed babies between six months and one year. This is due to the composition of formula and should not be considered a concern.

Expected Growth

Breastfed babies can be expected to grow about 1 inch a month for the first six months. From six months on, the growth rate will slow down to about 1/2 inch a month to 1 year of age. While the growth rate of breastfed and formula-fed infants is typically similar, breastfed babies tend to be longer and thinner than formula-fed babies.

Considerations

While growth charts can give medical professionals averages to take into consideration, there are many factors that affect a breastfeeding infants growth. The weight and height of a babys parents should be taken into consideration when assessing growth, because genetics do play a part in infant development. Also babies who are constantly alert and on the go will burn calories faster than those who are more sedentary. How and when a baby eats can also play a role as well as if the child is only breastfed or if they are also being supplemented with formula.

Causes for Concern

If a child is refusing to nurse, nurses erratically, is colicky (cries a lot), spits up frequently or is not having an appropriate number of wet diapers or stools a day, he should be assessed by his pediatrician. A healthy breastfed baby who falls short of the average growth percentile should not be a cause for concern, but an infant that is not meeting developmental milestones or is showing signs of feeding intolerance needs these issues to be addressed.

How to Lose Weight After Having Twins

A healthy pregnancy requires a woman to gain weight -- but more weight is gained with twins. According to WebMD, a woman pregnant with twins will gain 35 to 45 lbs. during her pregnancy. Most mothers are not in a hurry to get their body back while caring for twins. Eventually, however, mothers will want to shed the extra pounds. Losing weight after having multiples is frustrating for mothers because of having more weight to lose -- along with the challenges of taking care of twins.

Instructions

1

Breastfeed your babies to aid with weight loss. Mothers and babies gain several benefits from breastfeeding. Breastfeeding may also help mothers lose weight. Mothers who eat a well balanced diet while breastfeeding without compromising the baby's health by dieting will naturally lose a few pounds. According to Baby Center, your body naturally burns calories to make breast milk every time you nurse the baby. Nursing will also shrink the uterus back to the original size.

2

Drink plenty of water. Drinking enough water is vital for losing weight from postpartum. When a mother is breastfeeding, the body stores fat to create milk. Hydration will encourage the body to flush out fat stores. Drinking a minimum of eight glasses of water a day will keep you from becoming dehydrated. A mother with twins is busy throughout the day and may forget to drink enough water. You want to always keep a bottle of water handy.

3

Avoid fad diets when breastfeeding. You want to avoid a diet that sacrifices nutrition to lose weight. Mothers will need energy to keep up with twins. If you are thinking about dieting, then you want to choose a diet with adequate calorie intake. Mothers will also need to make sound nutritional choices. You will need to eat plenty of lean proteins, fresh fruits, vegetables and carbohydrates. Eating small snacks throughout the day will speed up the metabolism and burn calories. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, a body with more fat has to work harder to naturally burn calories. Some fad diets restrict carbohydrates, which aren't good for a woman dealing with postpartum. You will need to consult your doctor about specific nutritional needs for losing weight.

4

Exercise on a regular basis. Exercising regularly is the key to losing weight. Your body will become fit, and you will have more energy for the babies. Before starting an exercise program, you will need to consult with your doctor. Some mothers have to wait a few weeks before exercising depending on how the baby was delivered.

5

Exercise on a regular basis. Exercising regularly is the key to losing weight. Your body will become fit, and you will have more energy for the babies. Walking is a way to bond with your twins and to get in a lightweight workout. Many mothers are busy and don't always have time in their day to work out at the gym. An alternative is exercising to an aerobics video while the babies are sleeping or find a way to include the babies in the workout. Before starting an exercise program, you will need to consult with your doctor. Some mothers have to wait a few weeks before exercising depending on how the baby was delivered.