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And so it seems as though my worst fear is coming true. After starting baby food at six months, I noticed (here it is five weeks later) that my breastmilk supply is starting to diminish. What used to be a 3 oz each breast pumping session, is now a 3 oz total(1.5 oz each breast) pumping session. When baby nurses he gets a full gulp and then starts this procedure of squeezing pinching and compressing the breast. I guess it's his way of trying to squeeze every ounce that he can get. Now I need to start making sure I am routinely pumping what I do have and pumping more frequently than every four hours between each pumping session. This will hopefully help me increase my milk supply and be able to keep up with babies demand. I also plan to invest in some galactagogue's. Brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is used in beer brewing. It is sometimes used as a food additive and is also available as a dietary supplement for B vitamin. I plan to try this to increase milk supply and maybe I will venture into making my own lactation cookies. If there are galactagoghes that have worked for you , drop them in the chat feature. When life gets hectic and baby starts gaining a little more freedom from mom, mom also gets freedom baby by returning to work, there will be a slight decrease in milk supply. This does not mean that all is lost with breast-feeding. In order to keep up with the demand, you have to continue to breast-feed whenever you are with the baby. It is also important to make sure you're emptying out the breast when you are away from the baby. This is the body's way of sending signals that the body needs to make more breastmilk. Your take away message is if you want to keep making milk...keep feeding the baby and emptying the breast! Keep following my blog and I'll let you know how we made out.

Back to work Week 17 (4 mo. 2 weeks) It's back to work I go. I wish I could share the exact feelings I felt having to return to work. Or maybe even relate to those mamas who cried themselves to sleep the night before worrying over the regret of leaving their baby. But um...yeah no. Remember this is my baby #5. I may have even skipped to work. Adam starts solids at 5 mo 3wks https://video.wixstatic.com/video/857451_0c3f0aa91f90401baea68f03cff0d685/1080p/mp4/file.mp4 So here we are at six and a half months and he has been eating solids for about three weeks now. He's tolerating it well and with no stomach issues, constipation or diarrhea. He's tried things like squash, baby rice/oat cereals, beets, sweet potato, peas, potato, carrots and apples every day he's getting better and better. What I would have to say is that Baby Led Weaning is not for the faint of heart. The first time I put a soft veggie on the plate, Adam had no clue what to do with it. He could barely pick it up! And when I offered pureed peas, I got a surprisingly new green wardrobe. Not that I don't WANT to be a trend setter, but we opted for combination baby led weaning practices/purees/soft foods/teethers. Check out this chart by huckleberrycare.com/blog/baby-led-weaning-vs-purees. Need recipes for first foods or how to make those slippery foods easier to hold? Fly by Nutrition Matters for quick tips. Thanks for stopping by and following Adams journey! You gotta love the mushy face mess. Enjoy Make sure you understand the Signs of Readiness How will I know when my baby is ready for solid food? Isn’t it amazing how babies can “talk” to moms before having words? Here are some signs that your baby is ready for more than just breastmilk or formula: • Good head control. • Opens mouth when seeing a spoon. • Accepts food from spoon and moves it into his mouth. • Uses jaw to munch up and down. • Uses whole hand to grasp objects. https://85745125-d090-4660-9568-d2e645b3a3f9.usrfiles.com/ugd/857451_a331bf9cf994447a9538762ff5f11d63.pdf

Week 6 New pacifier NinniCo. This pacifier is said to have the feel of skin and even goes as far as stating it offers relief for the mom. This exhausted breastfeeding mama right here wanted in. The pictures are so cute (that's why I included them) but in all actuality, he used this thing all of two weeks. It served its purpose while we were working through the breast feeding kinks of lipstick nipple (u know how the tip of lipstick looks?). I had a little pain in the nipple that turned into sharp pains like pins in the breast. I thought it was thrush but saw no whiteness in the baby's mouth or shiny skin around the nipple. I applied some coconut oil, did an epsom salt bath and good ol fashion air drying and in one days time, there was no more pain. Works every time! Week 6-8 Go-Slow-Whoa The spit up cloth kept growing in size to catch all the liquids. Feed...wait for it..."Awe Adam!" It got to the point where my older son refused to hold him right after a nursing session. Why do baby's spit up? There are many reasons, but to name a few: inadequate burping, allergies, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease aka acid reflux), and over feeding. His reason was eating too fast and not burping well. Who says a breastfed baby does not need to burp? Besides, you can't control the milk flow for a breastfed baby right?...FALSE . Try laying on your back while feeding baby. A few things that helped us avoid the spit up saga were pace bottle feedings when breast milk was offered in the bottle. Baths, baby massages and feeding upright also helped. Go figure! What really helped was a trick I found while surfing the net. A nurse demonstrated how to burp a baby with GERD. She simply put the baby up high on her right shoulder (baby's head turned away from her face) and bent the baby's knees into her chest. Viola!

WEEK 4 D25: I was super happy my milk supply was being established through the cluster feedings and occasional pumping session. Thanks to the haakaa I even had some breast milk stored in the freezer (for my me time moments;) Baby Adam woke up one night vigorously nursing the left side and I was in so much pain. When he was done, it was like he hadn't removed all the milk. I nursed on the other side and he was more calm afterwards. Come to find out, my milk was sort of clogged up by a forming blister on the nipple. Geesh, can I get a break? The sharp shooting pain in that breast thereafter felt like pins and needles. I hand expressed and offered the milk in a bottle. I believe just pumped the next feeding session...smh! Note: Many women are concerned with Mastitis or hear this term. Mastitis is milk that is trapped in the clogged milk ducts in the breast and a bacteria infection is caused by cracks or an opening on the nipple skin. This happens when the breast is not completely emptied at feedings (usually during the first 3 months). WEEK 4: Left Side So here we are at week four. Everything is going well...Well, there is one thing he does while nursing. I am still not exactly sure how to explain it, but I'll try. All babies prefer a side whether it is because of flow or position. Adam is no exception and prefers the right side. When he is "on" the left side, he tenses up, clenches his fist, and nurses as fast as he can. I notice he tends to push back with his fist while still attached to the nipple...ouch! Then I feel this weird pinching sensation. I am learning when he is about to do this so that I can take him off and re-latch (usually with a burp in between). I am hoping he learns to handle the flow on this side because this is the breast that produces the most milk. I counter this feeding habit by hand expressing the remaining milk on the left side. I go as far as I can go before I wave the white flag. But hey, waste not want not.

WEEK 2 D9-16 Now I am a little perturbed with him not latching and having to retrain him all over again. There were some days I contemplated quitting. I mean, why not? It's not like my life (mom of 4 other children) didn't warrant the white flag. I KEPT GOING. I made some calls to a few of my lactation friends, ate some lactation cookies and kept feeding him. After the cycle of healing and then reopening nipple scabs, I finally gave in and bought a nipple shield (didn't really want to because I know they are temporary). I think I may have used it all of 3x. The third time using it, baby Adam and I were so frustrated with it that I threw it across the room. Bye Bye nipple shield. He latched pretty good after that. WEEK 3: By week three we were "cooking with HOT grease". No issues except the lethargic 2am feedings. Thank you God for husbands (Omar:) Baby Adam and I are sharing the same mood:( Or falling asleep sitting up lol (fuzzy times)

Some moms breastfeed (BF) with no issues at all. That's not me. BFing overall, is mustering up the strength to keep going (self determination) and having the support from someone who knows your goal (Omar:). But what happens when mom chooses to stop BFing or BF partially? I say to each his/her own...Here are some of the obstacles I have already encountered and its only week 3... WEEK 1 D1-3: Nursing in the hospital was ok, but there was definitely some pain. It was tough to be the birthing "Goddess" hospital staff called me and not have gotten a handle on BFing before discharge. So nurse after nurse and lactation counselor, I tried different poses for proper latch and scrunched my toes up at times to get through the pain. I mean, because after all, I'm CLC (certified lactation counselor) and "breast is BEST". D4-8: Second and Third well visit to check baby Adam's weight (he was not gaining weight as fast as expected), followed by "supplementation" aka "pumped breast milk and intro to bottle feeding". I remember thinking, "Yay! He's gaining weight but at what cost???" You got it, nipple confusion. He didn't nurse for 3 days so, of course, he forgot how to latch and preferred the easy flow of the bottle over the breast. Not mentioning the 3-4 days of super pain and discomfort as my milk came in while trying to latch baby to cracked and bleeding nipples. ouch

I am honored to have been given the opportunity to write a blog entitled Nutritionists:The Link to Nutrition Security for the USDA, making a connection between Nutrition Educators and the Nutrition Security Pillars. They called the next participant; a woman and her child exited the waiting area to meet at my desk. I introduced myself and asked, “How are you doing today?” She reluctantly answered, “good” with disinterest in her eyes. I detected a Spanish accent which prompted me to ask which language she preferred to conduct the appointment in. She immediately perked up and replied, “I’m so happy you speak Spanish… my English is not good.” Our WIC office serves many immigrant families who have traveled to the states and do not have a steady income. They are accommodated by relatives with a place to sleep and usually must fend for themselves for everything else, including food. Like other Federal nutrition assistance programs, WIC’s food package helps to supplement a household’s food budget, increasing participants’ food resources and helping to tackle food and nutrition insecurity. Nutrition educators are a critical ingredient to helping the USDA promote and elevate nutrition security. Here lies my passion for nutrition education. I continued the appointment in Spanish and found that mom prepares “soup” for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mom elaborated on what “soup” meant to her family when I began naming some ingredients. By the end of the appointment, we had come up with ways to vary the family diet. Not by giving her a stack of new recipes, but by incorporating healthful changes like deep green vegetables into her soups. In the words of Secretary Vilsack, “Every day I look at my plate…some days I’m right on target, other days, not so much.” When I counsel, I like to discuss that food is part of our everyday lives and is woven into our culture. This means that the MyPlate isn’t one size fits all. It’s adaptable. Government leaders and nutrition educators are having more progressive conversations around advancing nutrition security with the collective goal of achieving a sustainable, healthier nation, meal by meal.

It's been a while since the last blog, but guess what, we decided to have another baby! Please welcome baby Adam Isaas born 3/18/22 at 6lbs 4oz. I would love to get into my pregnancy and birthing story, but its complicated. Short story, there were some growth restrictions but otherwise completely healthy and natural delivery 1 week before due date. You know I am a nutritionist so my diet reflected such and I kept up with my iron and prenatal vitamins (can't express how important this is). Baby Adam came out of the womb latching within that first hour and seemed to be a pro. What I didn't consider was how small he was (6lbs 4oz) and what seemingly was him nursing well and swallowing (also very important) wasn't as efficient as we had hoped. By the time we left the hospital, he was weighing 5lbs 7oz. Of course the doctors worried and suggested supplementation. We started pumping and offering it in a bottle, and saw a weight increase ( to 5lbs 15oz) in 3 days. Way to Go Adam! But...wait for it...the bottle was his new best friend and the breast was a distant memory. Nipple Confusion is real and babies are really smart. Some prefer the easier rout. Needless to say, we got him back on track offering the breast before the bottle at every feeding. I would like to invite you on our journey of first foods and the importance of investing in it early on. Welcome Aboard! No Blame or Shame Some moms breastfeed with no issues at all. That's not me. Breastfeeding overall, for me, is mustering up the strength to keep going (self determination) and having support from those around you who really get your goal. But what happens when mom chooses to stop breastfeeding or breastfeeds partially? I say to each her/his own and what's done should be what's best for Baby and Mom. I would like to share some of the obstacles I have already encountered and it's only week 3!

This is an amazing dish I (Kylina) made for my family! I love being involved in the kitchen, especially with my family. Cooking is like one of my favorite things to do; it's like one of my specialties. I found this dish and made fried chicken for the first time. Fried chicken is not good to eat for an everyday meal, but it it taste good to eat every once in a while. When I made the fried chicken, I sliced it in half, then I pounded it, then I battered it in flour first, then eggs, then the bread crumbs. It was so fun to me being able to try something new and I even fried it in olive oil. I am proud of myself for trying something new and having fun in the kitchen. Most of all my mom and family loved it! Shhhhhh, I have a secret. It even taste better than my mom's fried chicken:) Until Next Time Kylina:)

As promised, you are in the "loop" of whats been happening with my home garden this year. This year I decided to start some plants in my fancy new aero gardens and transfer them into the dirt. I was shocked at how fast they took off! My cucumber plant was the biggest and if you read the last post, you will have a better look at the process. I transported my cucumber plant into a pot with soil and......wait for it..... You, see it died! It was so sad. I tried putting it in water (all the way to the right) and putting it back under the light, but for a few days it was really upset at me. My youngest would visit it daily and give it some love (instead of surprisingly yanking it out of the pot; roots and all) and it started to perk up after a couple of days. Things are truly looking up! So much so that it started growing flowers. Now, we all know what a beautiful relationship bees and flowers have so I decided to share. I crossed my fingers, and when the night time temperature was consistently above 40 degrees, I put i outside. It's been doing well. Next step to the ground! Stay tuned.....While you wait check out some of the other plants like the peppers in <--- this photo and beyond. I am so proud of how they are growing. Much patience and care and we'll get there! Thank you for stopping by. Chow for now

Hello all of you beautiful people! I know I have not posted lately, but I promise you I am working on some great new material for my blog family. Spring is here and so is the excitement for gardening. I have started seeds and planted out of pots for the past few years and this year my husband said she will make me some raised beds so I got to work starting seeds the old fashioned way in egg cartons. My mom brought us some Aero Gardens last year and so I have decided to start the seeds this way too, transporting them outdoors in the warmer weather. I would love for you and your family to go with my family and I on this growing journey. Here are some pictures from my Aero Garden so far. What I like about the Aero Garden is that the plants grow roots from seed under water...and super fast too (they sprouted in one week !) Planted seeds of : Cauliflower, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Eggplant, Celery, Carrots, and Salad greens As you can see from the first 2 weeks the plants took off and the cucumber wasn't good at sharing the water bed. So I decided to plant the cucumber in soil so that it would not strangle the roots of the other plants. I simply removed the pod (the white casing) and carefully cut it horizontally, making sure to remove the bottom so that it slid right out. I wish I would have remembered to take a picture of the roots....they were super long and healthy. For the first week it is important to keep the soil moist because, remember the roots are transitioning from a *water environment. My husband is insistent on planting a HUGE garden, but we have a family of ground hogs so we settled on raised beds. Now we can finally move from porch pots to an above ground garden. We are starting slow as to own our garden and not make the rookie mistake of our garden owning us. You keep READING and I'll keep POSTING! See you in a week.

For some reason, lately, left overs are not making it on to the menu. Maybe I need to calculate serving size and portion out what the kids eat? Nope...we are home full time now and the kitchen might as well be their second bedroom! Our children are growing everyday and need nutritious fuel. It's important to keep staple items in the home so that this recipe can be made in a pinch. It was just that...20 min! Don't forget to replace these items next trip to the grocery store. The featured soup was more like a filling root vegetable stew that consist of yucca, potato, carrots, chicken, beans and then some.