Relaxation Techniques

by Diane O'Brien Juve @ http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/4092/relax.html

I don't claim to be an expert in most areas of mothering (my only experience is with my 23 month old son Matthew), but I was a dynamite EBM pumper. Wasn't my favorite part of nursing, but I could easily express 6-12 ounces every single time. So here's my 2 cents.

Pumping is a learned skill, not a talent, and you, too, CAN do it well! I taught Biofeedback for 3 years (not Biorythms =8D .... Biofeedback teaches relaxation techniques combined with feedback to teach people to retrain injured muscles, prevent headaches, etc. It's used in most major medical centers now, and helps with stroke rehabilitation, among other things.)

What I learned with Biofeedback techniques enabled me to be a great pumper, and you can be, too. Really!

I won't go into incredible detail regarding the various relaxation techniques, because they're in magazines and books all the time. The specific routine I suggest, however, is as follows:

(You'll do this routine at least once or twice a day for 5-15 minutes until your body becomes accustomed to dropping into a relaxed state. Once your brain has learned how to do this, and you learn how it feels to be in a relaxed state, you'll be able to relax enough to pump with just 3 or 4 slow abdominal breaths. And the neat thing is, once you've learned this skill, you will have it forever, and with very little practice you can become proficient again at any time.)

OK, so here's the routine:
Start by taking 15-20 SLOW abdominal breaths. Tha means counting slowly to 4 when you inhale, and again when you exhale. Breathing is the single most important skill to practice, and should be done slowly and deliberately throughout the relaxation session.

Next, tense and relax, say, your fists, tensing for 5-10 seconds while keeping the rest of your body entirely relaxed, and BREATHING. You can tense and relax as many different muscle groups throughout your body as you want (top to toes, or working your way from your toes to your head, whatever is comfortable for you), concentrating on deep, relaxed breathing as you do it. (This is an extremely brief description of Jacobsen's Progressive Relaxation exercises, which have been around since the '30's, and about which much better descriptions can be found elsewhere...)

The final step, called Autogenic training, is how I pumped so much in relatively little time. When you can really relax and let your right brain do its thing, you'll have EBM literally squirting into the bottle! You've probably done these exercises at some time, basically imagining yourself lying in the warm sun, perhaps imagining a warm cloth moving over your body. There are tapes that do a great job of helping you visualize the warmth...

The key to autogenics is warming your hands, so you want your fingertips to actually get warm and tingly. The "warm hands" are just the easiest measure of the autonomic nervous system, which controls our fight or flight response. When you worry about pumping enough, for instance, you don't let anything down at all. Right? That's because worrying sets off your fight or flight response, which shuts down excess circulation to the extremities (causing "cold hands"!), sends adrenalin through your system, slows or shuts down your digestive tract, and basically stops "unnecessary" functions (such as milk letdown!) in order to send more blood rushing to the heart and running muscles.

I know it's tough getting time to yourself with little one(s), but I can guarantee that if you do the above exercises faithfully for 2-3 weeks you'll notice a significant increase in letdown. and you'll be able to do it without having to spend so long getting into that relaxed state.

Remember, dynamite pumping CAN be learned.

Susah Let down reflex :(

Utk bacaanku & kwn2 yg hadapi mslh yg sama masa pumping. Kalau direct Alhamdulilah ok jer.

Sumber : http://kellymom.com/bf/supply/letdown.html.Ku copy yg berkenaan je.

Possible causes of slow let-down
It's quite normal for a mother to have a harder time letting down when pumping than when nursing. The milk may be there, but you may have a hard time letting down and "releasing" the milk. Some mothers also have a let-down which is not functioning properly when baby is nursing.

Many things can be the cause of a slow or inhibited let-down: anxiety, pain, embarrassment, stress, cold, excessive caffeine use, smoking, use of alcohol, or the use of some medications. Mothers who have had breast surgery may have nerve damage that can interfere with let-down. In extreme situations of stress or crisis, the release of extra adrenaline in the mother's system (the "fight or flight" response) can reduce or block the hormones which affect let-down.

Sometimes a cycle is created, where baby fusses and pulls off because the let-down is slow, which makes mom tense up, which makes the let-down even slower, etc. You can use relaxation techniques and let-down cues to break this cycle.

Let-down cues that have proven helpful
Use all of your senses to facilitate let-down. Concentrate on the sight, sound, smell and feel of your baby. Have a certain beverage that you drink (the sense of taste) at the beginning of every nursing session, have a certain song that you listen to, etc.

Additional suggestions if you're pumping while separated from baby:
- Look at a picture of your baby (nursing, if possible). (kat pc dah ada tp bkn ms nursing la)
- Try listening to a tape recording of your baby fussing before nursing and/or feeding sounds.(kena bukak video kat handphone la nih)

- Use a portable tape player with headphones if needed. Or just visualize what he sounds like when he's ready to nurse. (dah byg pejam2 mata rasa nak lena plok..ngeh..ngeh..)
- Put a sleeper or t-shirt or blanket that baby has worn in a ziplock bag. Open it up when ready to pump - smell and touch it. (nak kena bwk bj masham Adnin la nih ..he..he..)

I know my milk is there tp segaan je nak kua..huwaa!!!

Seronoknya!

1- sbb 1st time menang contest giveaway kat blog ni. Hr tu join Nursing T-Shirt To Giveaway kat Blog Rozy. Mmg skrg tgh mengumpul nursing shirt/blouse/jubah. TQ Rozy. Nak tgk design nanti buleh tempah kat tkg jahit :)

2- sbb cuti 3 hari lg tp hr ni abe kije. Opis dia cuti pilih2 je. Raya pun sib baik dpt cuti. So, lepak2 kat umah je.

Byk nak cite tp dgn bdk2 2 org nih, takleh nak concentrate :)

Tag dr Pn.Su Lunatots

Su, akak rajin nak menjwb tag sbb bbrp hr ni akak asik duk print screen wallpaper ni tp tatau nak letak mana, rupanya instinct nak menjawab tag Su ..he..he..

Selalu tuka2 wallpaper ni. Kenapa tempek yg ni? sbb hati tgh rindu dgn bdk 2 org ineh. Bahagia dianugerahkan mereka ...* mode in love..he..he..Busan2 kat opis (bos marah ke tau ni? ..he..he..) tgk la muka bdk2 ineh, pasti gumbira tak saba nak balik umah.

Abang & Adik

Bahagia menatap wajah ceria & keletah mereka