I can still pinpoint the exact moment I shared my breastfeeding fears out loud. I was in a prenatal yoga class, eight months pregnant with The K Man, and we were sharing hopes and fears.
I knew I wanted to breastfeed, but I’d been having a recurring nightmare that I simply couldn’t.
And then the nightmare came true.
In June 2008, I gave birth to a boy, perfect in every way. He was latched and nursing within minutes of being born. Even in that new-mother haze, I remember thinking: “Wow…it isn’t nearly as hard as other women make it out to be. It doesn’t even hurt.” I lived in that bliss for the next 24 hours.
The nurses came to check on us every couple of hours and they’d often find me already nursing again, and everyone seemed impressed that this brand new baby and first-time mom had this whole breastfeeding thing worked out already. He peed and pooped right on schedule and we were invited to stay a second night or go home — our choice since everything was going so swimmingly.
Faced with another night in a shared hospital room, we chose to head home with our bundle of joy.
And then it all fell apart.
The content baby who was nursing so beautifully in his first day of life, who had barely cried, suddenly seemed frustrated and dissatisfied at my breast. He screamed. Without a bottle, it was impossible to know how much milk he was getting. The only way to judge his intake was output, and by night two he had only peed once. We tried to get re-admitted, but were denied. I made frantic calls to La Leche League and the pediatrician we had chosen during pregnancy who hadn’t even met his newest patient yet.
When The K Man was just three days old, he started passing urate crystals because of dehydration. It was clear that I had no milk.
Thankfully, our pediatrician was affiliated with Toronto East General Hospital’s free family breastfeeding centre, which became a second home to us for the next two weeks. They lent us a hospital-grade breast pump, a shoulder to cry on, patience and a lot of advice. Plus, they agreed that the little guy just needed some nourishment and supported my decision to temporarily supplement with formula, which I used in an eyedropper on my nipple, still bringing my baby to my breast.
I drank milk-producing teas all day.
Days four and five were filled with tears and more trips to see lactation consultants at the hospital. Still no milk. But by now I was bound and determined to get back to that beautiful breastfeeding connection my child and I made the day he was born. I nursed on demand and around the clock, followed by pumping each time, to stimulate my milk. I still had no idea if he was getting a drop.
Finally, day six arrived and so did my milk. With gusto.
Finally, my baby was peeing and pooing the way babies should.
Finally, we re-ignited our breastfeeding relationship. I tossed the eye dropper in the garbage and put away the cans of formula.
He put on weight so furiously that following week that the nurses and LCs at the breastfeeding clinic could barely believe the scales. The K Man went on to breastfeed for 14 months. I was an advocate of public nursing, and we managed to get out and about a lot with ease thanks to on-the-go breastfeeding.
Fast forward a little more than two years. For some reason, in the months and days leading up to Miss Q’s birth, I never wondered if I would have milk-production issues again. Fortunately, I didn’t. And she breastfed until she was two-and-a-half years old, stopping only because I needed to take a massive course of prednisone. Now nearly four, she still finds great comfort in laying her head on my naked breast, still calling them “milkies” with affection. She remembers her milkies fondly, recounting that it tasted “sweet like honey.”
By the time I nursed two babies for 44 cumulative months, I had amassed every gadget that could help me breastfeed successfully: a My Brest Friend nursing pillow, nursingwear, a Boba 3G baby carrier with easy-to-loosen straps that made public breastfeeding a breeze, and even a little wedge (the Utterly Yours pillow) to hoist my milky boobs into place for optimal nursing.
I hung out with many other nursing mothers during both maternity leaves, and I assure you that those breastfeeding gadgets were not the hot topic of conversation. But you know what was? The big question: How much breast milk is my baby getting? For those of us who either choose not to or are unable to bottle-feed (even bottle-feed using breast milk), trying to figure out how many ounces of milk your baby drinks in a single feeding is like the holy grail of nursing mommies. We all surmise. We all have theories.
Those of us who fall more on the Type A side of things will be thrilled to hear about the new MilkSense device, which is the world’s first breastfeeding monitor. After just three uses, it becomes customized to YOU and in just 10 seconds can tell you on average how much milk your baby consumed, and can help you remember on which side you last fed (hallelujah!). Best of all, it never comes into contact with your wee babe, and it has no negative effects on your breast milk. There are no Phthalates, BPA or PVC, either.
Sounds to me like MilkSense would have taken away that one last nagging question that logic could just never satisfy for me. I would have added peace of mind, especially during my first breastfeeding experience. Especially when it was in turmoil in those early days. That little bit of extra control would have helped provide me with some confidence and security in a situation where I felt so out of control. It also would have helped me figure out if I could have fed a whole baby soccer team as I suspected.
When you buy MilkSense, it also comes with something called the Bscale; and this won’t look like an alien contraption to those of you who had midwives come to your home to weigh Baby in those first few weeks. It’s very similar and means fewer trips to doctors and clinics just for weigh-ins.
Tracking the side, date and time of feedings is usually pretty important in the first months of breastfeeding, and MilkSense does that for you, too. So you can do away with apps or random scraps of paper. And you no longer need to rely on what I liked to call the “scrunchie method” — whereby I used to put a scrunchie on the wrist matching the side on which I just nursed. Or needed to nurse from next. Hmmm…therein was the problem — I never remembered!
Just keep in mind that MilkSense doesn’t work with colostrum, that liquid gold that first feeds your baby before your full milk comes in. Your baby needs to be about a week old to start using the device. Your baby must also weigh more than 4.4 pounds and MilkSense is therefore unsuitable for preemies. Watch for it on store shelves in the U.S. first on January 11, 2015.
At the end of the day, it’s impossible to know if you’re going to have breastfeeding problems before you actually start breastfeeding your new baby, but I hazard to guess that the vast majority of nursing moms — whether they’re nursing their first baby or their fifth — wonder how much milk their babies are getting.
It’s not even about worry for many of us. It’s just about wonder.
And it sounds to me like MilkSense satisfies both.
JOIN US FOR A TWITTER PARTY!
On Thursday, Jan. 15 (2015), join MilkSense and many of your favourite parenting bloggers for a Twitter party. Lots of prizes, including a MilkSense device! Open to residents of Canada and the U.S., but you must RSVP here to qualify:
DISCLAIMER: I was compensated for this post, but I agreed to write it in the first place because I am passionately pro-breastfeeding and believe that with the right support and tools, most women can be successful. It’s a powerful (and free!) way to feed your baby and has so many wonderful emotional and nutritional benefits. I have not, however, personally tested this device and can therefore not make any conclusions about its functionality.
Tracey says
I have been a labor/delivery, postpartum/nursery, NICU, and pediatric nurse for 12 years. This product does nothing more than take advantage of vulnerable, anxious mothers and cause women to question their ability to breastfeed. If reaffirms their fears that they aren’t making enough milk and should check to see how much milk they are producing rather than relying on hunger cues from their baby and signs that they are getting enough (i.e. 5-6 wet diapers per day, content between feedings…). Women should be put in contact with breastfeeding support groups and lactation consultants who can truly help them be successful with breastfeeding rather than relying on a machine that might just encourage them to stop breastfeeding entirely. I am disappointed in this and will not ever recommend it to my patients. Women successfully breastfed their babies for years without such a ridiculous piece of equipment.
Mommy Gearest says
Hi Tracey, first of all – thank you for being a breastfeeding advocate! We need more people like you in our hospitals helping new mothers through this often-trying time to encourage them to stick with it. I’m going to turn your comment over to MilkSense to let them reply, but I’d also like to offer my two cents: I would have bought a device like this in a heartbeat. Because I WAS scared in the beginning. Because I DIDN’T trust my body. Of course, I learned. I got confident. And I nursed for a long, long time. But in addition to all of those markers that I watched so carefully, I would have jumped at the chance to have one more piece of “proof” to help me build a bridge between the new nursing mama with zero confidence to the one who nursed anywhere, everywhere.
Tracey says
I have been a labor/delivery, postpartum/nursery, NICU, and pediatric nurse for 12 years. This product does nothing more than take advantage of vulnerable, anxious mothers and cause women to question their ability to breastfeed. If reaffirms their fears that they aren’t making enough milk and should check to see how much milk they are producing rather than relying on hunger cues from their baby and signs that they are getting enough (i.e. 5-6 wet diapers per day, content between feedings…). Women should be put in contact with breastfeeding support groups and lactation consultants who can truly help them be successful with breastfeeding rather than relying on a machine that might just encourage them to stop breastfeeding entirely. I am disappointed in this and will not ever recommend it to my patients. Women successfully breastfed their babies for years without such a ridiculous piece of equipment.
Mommy Gearest says
Hi Tracey, first of all – thank you for being a breastfeeding advocate! We need more people like you in our hospitals helping new mothers through this often-trying time to encourage them to stick with it. I’m going to turn your comment over to MilkSense to let them reply, but I’d also like to offer my two cents: I would have bought a device like this in a heartbeat. Because I WAS scared in the beginning. Because I DIDN’T trust my body. Of course, I learned. I got confident. And I nursed for a long, long time. But in addition to all of those markers that I watched so carefully, I would have jumped at the chance to have one more piece of “proof” to help me build a bridge between the new nursing mama with zero confidence to the one who nursed anywhere, everywhere.
Jandy says
The video wasn’t there when I looked before but I have watched it now and I have even more questions!
What is it actually measuring? How is it producing that measurement? It looks like it measuring the size and firmness of your breast, which, in terms if Breastfeeding tell you nothing beyond the size and firmness of your breast.
A breast can appear full and firm for several reasons, and can appear soft and light for several reasons. Their is no scientific way to tell how much milk is in a breast.
I find it odd that this seems to have no scientist or LC backing it, or supporting it.
It may assuage some fears, but it will likely cause more.
Mommy Gearest says
These are excellent questions! Let me touch base with someone from the company to help explain, since — as I wrote in my post — I haven’t had the chance to personally test it. Hang tight!
Jandy says
Any update on this?
Mommy Gearest says
Apologies! They did send me a response and I haven’t had two seconds to post it. Here you go:
“Hi Jandy,
After reading your comment here on Mommy Gearest, we have verified our videos and they are all up and running fine. Please let us know if there is a video you are trying to see that you cannot and where you are trying to view it (website, YouTube, etc).
As for your strong statement on how MilkSense works, none of the assumptions you have made on how the device works are correct. You are right: size and firmness of breasts have nothing to do with how much milk a mother produces.
MilkSense works by measuring the alveoli before and after a feeding in order to determine how much baby has consumed. But the scientific explanation goes well beyond this. The device takes into account the biology of the mother, the size and shape of her breast, the depth of the alveoli, the mother’s replenishment rate and baby’s consumption rate, to name a few.
We’re sorry that you feel this is not helpful advice, especially considering there are so many mothers struggling to know whether or not they have enough breast milk for their babies.
As well, you stated you have a worry that mothers will not trust their bodies…well, sadly some do not. But others are in need of help as well. As Andrea mentioned, this is another tool in the breastfeeding toolbox.
It is also an invaluable tool for those in need of assurance, aid and support, which actually makes up 40% of US mothers. In the most recent Report Card on Breastfeeding by the Center for Disease Control, it was reported that 79% of newborn infants start breastfeeding, but by 6 months of age, that number dropped to 49%, and to 27% at 1 year. The ‘Healthy Objectives 2020’ campaign is to raise those numbers—a goal shared by many reputable worldwide health organizations. As we all know, the benefits of breastfeeding are numerous. MilkSense can help mothers increase their confidence in breastfeeding, and help sustain their efforts longer, which is a goal we should all encourage.
We are very proud of this innovative device and are looking forward to helping mothers who need to know and want to know how much breast milk they are producing for their babies.”
—The MilkSense Team
Jandy says
The video wasn’t there when I looked before but I have watched it now and I have even more questions!
What is it actually measuring? How is it producing that measurement? It looks like it measuring the size and firmness of your breast, which, in terms if Breastfeeding tell you nothing beyond the size and firmness of your breast.
A breast can appear full and firm for several reasons, and can appear soft and light for several reasons. Their is no scientific way to tell how much milk is in a breast.
I find it odd that this seems to have no scientist or LC backing it, or supporting it.
It may assuage some fears, but it will likely cause more.
Mommy Gearest says
These are excellent questions! Let me touch base with someone from the company to help explain, since — as I wrote in my post — I haven’t had the chance to personally test it. Hang tight!
Jandy says
Any update on this?
Mommy Gearest says
Apologies! They did send me a response and I haven’t had two seconds to post it. Here you go:
“Hi Jandy,
After reading your comment here on Mommy Gearest, we have verified our videos and they are all up and running fine. Please let us know if there is a video you are trying to see that you cannot and where you are trying to view it (website, YouTube, etc).
As for your strong statement on how MilkSense works, none of the assumptions you have made on how the device works are correct. You are right: size and firmness of breasts have nothing to do with how much milk a mother produces.
MilkSense works by measuring the alveoli before and after a feeding in order to determine how much baby has consumed. But the scientific explanation goes well beyond this. The device takes into account the biology of the mother, the size and shape of her breast, the depth of the alveoli, the mother’s replenishment rate and baby’s consumption rate, to name a few.
We’re sorry that you feel this is not helpful advice, especially considering there are so many mothers struggling to know whether or not they have enough breast milk for their babies.
As well, you stated you have a worry that mothers will not trust their bodies…well, sadly some do not. But others are in need of help as well. As Andrea mentioned, this is another tool in the breastfeeding toolbox.
It is also an invaluable tool for those in need of assurance, aid and support, which actually makes up 40% of US mothers. In the most recent Report Card on Breastfeeding by the Center for Disease Control, it was reported that 79% of newborn infants start breastfeeding, but by 6 months of age, that number dropped to 49%, and to 27% at 1 year. The ‘Healthy Objectives 2020’ campaign is to raise those numbers—a goal shared by many reputable worldwide health organizations. As we all know, the benefits of breastfeeding are numerous. MilkSense can help mothers increase their confidence in breastfeeding, and help sustain their efforts longer, which is a goal we should all encourage.
We are very proud of this innovative device and are looking forward to helping mothers who need to know and want to know how much breast milk they are producing for their babies.”
—The MilkSense Team
Jandy says
Eeek! This thing makes me nervous!
There is no real way to tell how much milk a baby is getting- you need to monitor output and watch for swallows etc to know that the babe is getting milk. I can’t find info on how this device actual monitors and calculated the answers it claims to but I’m guessing its in response to some sort of ‘pump and we’ll tell you what baby got’ (which is problematic because some women never respond to a pump and even those that do, a plastic machine is nothing like a baby and doesn’t produce the same hormones therefore not giving an accurate picture of how much you actually produce) or a ‘weigh the baby before and after’ system (also problematic since scales like the one pictured are really hard to calibrate accurately and can very easily produce inaccurate numbers if it gets bumped or jostled between uses).
I worry that with products like these we as woman will stop trusting our bodies to do what they are designed to do and rely again on ‘science’ to do it for us (which is what happened when everyone started to use ‘scientific baby formula’ way back when).
What I think we really need is for mothers to lift each other up and support each other to trust ourselves, our bodies and our instincts.
Mommy Gearest says
I think if you watch the video on the brand’s website, you’ll see that there’s no pumping involved. From what I understand, you press the device on your breast before and after feeding and it approximates the volume differential. I absolutely agree that this is NOT a substitute for common sense, proper latch, suckling vs. sucking or good-quality support from LCs or other professionals if you need that. This is just an extra tool in your breastfeeding toolbox! 🙂
Jandy says
Eeek! This thing makes me nervous!
There is no real way to tell how much milk a baby is getting- you need to monitor output and watch for swallows etc to know that the babe is getting milk. I can’t find info on how this device actual monitors and calculated the answers it claims to but I’m guessing its in response to some sort of ‘pump and we’ll tell you what baby got’ (which is problematic because some women never respond to a pump and even those that do, a plastic machine is nothing like a baby and doesn’t produce the same hormones therefore not giving an accurate picture of how much you actually produce) or a ‘weigh the baby before and after’ system (also problematic since scales like the one pictured are really hard to calibrate accurately and can very easily produce inaccurate numbers if it gets bumped or jostled between uses).
I worry that with products like these we as woman will stop trusting our bodies to do what they are designed to do and rely again on ‘science’ to do it for us (which is what happened when everyone started to use ‘scientific baby formula’ way back when).
What I think we really need is for mothers to lift each other up and support each other to trust ourselves, our bodies and our instincts.
Mommy Gearest says
I think if you watch the video on the brand’s website, you’ll see that there’s no pumping involved. From what I understand, you press the device on your breast before and after feeding and it approximates the volume differential. I absolutely agree that this is NOT a substitute for common sense, proper latch, suckling vs. sucking or good-quality support from LCs or other professionals if you need that. This is just an extra tool in your breastfeeding toolbox! 🙂