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Kellie Edson

“She said – Use your breasts as a pacifier.  When people tell you that, don’t listen to them because that’s whats going to keep your milk supply up. And so that’s what I did and she is 3 1/2  and I’m still nursing her and I really credit that lactation consultant in the hospital telling me the truth.”

Her Story.

Kellie Edson is mom to one 3 year old girl, wife, writer and motherhood advocate. She is also a certified childbirth educator, lactation educator, registered yoga teacher and host of The Postpartum Podcast. Outside of working in the perinatal and postpartum field, she loves to read, see musicals and connect with others in a meaningful way.

Background:

Kellie is originally from Truckee, California which is near Tahoe. She later moved to Sacramento, California where she currently lives now. At first she wanted to be an English Major then a Music Major, then she returned back to being an English major with a minor in music. She taught piano lessons while she was pregnant with her daughter. Kellie worked in the marketing field in corporate America and quickly realized she hated all the bureaucracy.

Kellie had a good birth experience. This was mainly because she was fortunate enough to have a doula that encouraged her to switch hospitals when she was 35 weeks pregnant to a hospital that had the lowest c/sec rate in the country. Their c/sec rates are around 11%. She is happy to say that she had an unmedicated, well supported birth, with her husband, mom and doula with her.

During her early postpartum days, she read an article about birth and the c/sec rates, while nursing her baby. She wanted to do something in the field to make a difference. She decided to become a childbirth educator, when her baby was a few months old. A year and half later finished the course and was hired by a few local hospitals to teach childbirth classes. She soon decided she wanted to become a lactation educator and most recently decided to become a yoga teacher.

Breastfeeding:

Kellie took a breastfeeding class during her pregnancy. She learned basic information, but did not necessarily think this prepared her for what to expect. Kellie tells us that one of the mantras that stuck with her was something that one of the lactation consultants said to her during her hospital stay. She was told: Don’t listen to others when they tell you not to let your baby use you as a pacifier. She told her: Let your baby use you as a pacifer. This is what is going to keep your milk supply up. Kellie is nursing her 3 year old and credits this advice with her long term breastfeeding success.

Kellie did not grow up around breastfeeding moms. She knew it was healthier and that she wanted to do it. She grew up thinking that breastfeeding just happens. Her hospital stay was less than 48 hours and once home, she did find breastfeeding hard. She used a nipple shield until her baby was 4 months old. Eventually she was able to breastfeed without the nipple shield. Using the nipple shield was a bit stressful, so she was happy to finally ditch the shield because she always had to be concerned about having the nipple shield with her. Kellie used the nipple shield because her nipples were flat and using the shield help to draw the nipple out and it made it easier for her baby to latch onto this firm teat (nipple shield). Kellie feels that her nipples have everted over time.

Lori explained the reasoning behind the need for some moms to pump on a regular basis when they are using the nipple shield. Since the baby may not

Breastfeeding in the early days:

Kellie shares with us a few words of wisdom from her early newborn breastfeeding days:

Kellie had a lot of tail bone pain after the birth. She assumed she was suppose to sit up and breastfeed her baby. This was bothersome and thank goodness she soon realized that it worked out nicely for her to breastfeed side-lying. She also talked about using a cover in public. She felt this made things more complicated for her. Between the nipple shield and a breastfeeding cover, she found that it was getting in her way and soon realized that it was easier to breastfeed without a cover.

She understands that it can be quite awkward nursing your baby in public. Her recommendation: You just got to do it. Just go for it.

Breastfeeding a toddler:

Breastfeeding in the early days is very, very time consuming. Since Kellie is nursing her 3 year old, she explains to us the ease and convenience of it and how her breastfeeding relationship has changed over time. In the early days, she was nursing her in the carrier, while teaching piano lessons. She also did pump some and someone else gave her baby milk from a bottle.

Kellie knows that some people think that once you begin offering your baby solid foods at around 6 months or so, that the breastfeeding goes way down. While the frequency decreased a little, she continued nursing frequently at least until her daughter was a year old. This is when she began seeing her daughter very gradually decrease her breastfeeding frequency. She would observe an increase in frequency when she was going through some developmental change, teething, or illness. This evolved into continued nursing at night until she was about 2 years old.

At this point, she implemented a version of “nursies when the sun shines, but not when the sun goes down.” Breastfeeding has evolved into nursing in the morning and nap time and bedtime. If life is busy and Kellie is not home, she does easily nap or go to bed without nursing. Kellie is quite happy with how her breastfeeding relationship has evolved.

Kellie shares with us her husbands and families thoughts about her breastfeeding a 3 year old:

Her husband is totally fine with this. Other family members may not quite understand it, however, they do not really say much. Kellie has a good attitude towards anyone who does not agree or understand. She just does not care what they think. She tells us that after age of one it is a medicine for them. They get lots of antibodies from human milk so why wouldn’t you want them to have your milk?

What is Kellie currently doing?

She works for 2 hospital systems teaching breastfeeding, childbirth and newborn care classes.
She runs breastfeeding support groups at the hospital. She just finished yoga teacher training and plans on doing some volunteer yoga teaching and next year will begin teaching prenatal yoga classes through the hospital.

Podcast – Kellie hosts the Postpartum Podcast. Her husband had been a big podcast listener and she did not really pay too much attention to it until she had her own postpartum experience. She quickly realized that there was a gap in shows that focused on the postpartum period of life. She really wanted to do a show that focused on the postpartum year. She has really enjoyed as she gets to meet people from all over.

Last words of wisdom: Breastfeeding is the best and it is also challenging. Kellie encourages all moms to reach out and get support from an IBCLC if you are struggling. The support from an IBCLC, from WIC, or breastfeeding support groups can really help you solve your issues and continue breastfeeding in comfort. We talk about the need to have all your support people ( resources) ahead of time as it can be difficult to do the searching after you have your baby.

.Link to Website  to get her podcast: http://kelliejoy.com/podcast/

Lori J. Isenstadt, IBCLC
Lori j Isenstadt, IBCLCLori Jill Isenstadt, IBCLC is a huge breastfeeding supporter.  She has spent much  of her adult life working in the maternal health field. Once she became turned on to birth and became a childbirth educator, there was no stopping her love of working with families during their childbearing years.  Lori became a Birth doula and a Postpartum doula and soon became a lactation consultant.  She has been helping moms and babies with breastfeeding for over 25 years.  Lori founded her private practice, All About Breastfeeding where she meets with moms one on one to help solve their breastfeeding challenges.  She is an international speaker, book author and the host of the  popular itunes podcast, All About Breastfeeding, the place where the girls hang out.  You can reach Lori by email at: aabreastfeeding@hotmail.com or contact her via her website:  allaboutbreastfeeding.biz/contact

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