Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, so do we really need a piece of technology to do it better? And if you breastfeed on demand, which is the method of feeding I recommend, so long as your baby is gaining weight and producing enough wet diapers, then you shouldn’t have to worry about whether your baby is getting enough milk.
However, someone has created an application to help you breastfeed at regular timed intervals. You know, to help you. Because everyone knows how unreliable us humans are when it comes to remembering to do things like feed our babies. But I suppose in this high tech world of ours I shouldn’t be surprised that this technology is being offered or that moms are snapping it up as another “must have” in their lives. Right up there with the baby monitors and emails set to alert mode.
Nursing Master is a free online tool (that also has a Blackberry application) that enables moms to log their baby’s feedings. However, you need to be sitting in front of your computer or using your hand held device the entire time you are nursing to make sure you log your information correctly. You know, press the start button when you start nursing and the stop button when you stop and press buttons for when you switch sides. At the end of the day you can see how much and for how long your baby nursed. You can even view, review and compare your baby’s feedings from week to week or month to month. Nothing like a little extra something to make us new moms anxious and wondering how our baby compares to other babies. Oh, but there’s a button for that too. You can compare your baby’s feedings with the other mothers who use Nursing Master!
Maybe it’s because I don’t have a blackberry or internet on my cel phone (call me old fashioned!) or because I don’t sit in front of my computer all day, but tracking your baby’s feedings sounds like too much work to me. I also think it’s important to, at least some of the time (because no one is perfect!), spend nursing sessions paying attention to our children. Breastfeeding is a time for bonding, for making eye contact, playing with, talking to and tuning into your child. You can’t do these things very well when you’re busy doing something else. Some babies get pretty annoyed when they aren’t being given enough attention too. Some babies will even start biting to get your attention. But even if they don’t, they aren’t going to feel like you’re very interested in them when every time you nurse you have to sit in front of your computer or whip out your blackberry.
If a mom needs to track her baby’s feedings, because her baby is very sleepy and not getting enough or because her baby doesn’t cry wheen hungry and mom is forgetful of the last time she breastfed, then there are low-tech ways to do this. Nursing bracelets like Milk Bands and The Nursing Bracelet have been around for a few years now. They allow you to keep track of which side you last nursed on and the time you last nursed (or how long you nursed for). Plus, you don’t have to expose your baby to harmful radiation from electromagnetic fields (EMF). Yay – bonus! I still think that most moms won’t need one of these. It’s just one more thing to have to remember to do! But perhaps it’s more about the novelty?
Anyway, I think it’s okay to breastfeed in front of eletronic devices sometimes, but not all the time. And really, do we need another high tech application to ensure breastfeeding success?
What do you think? Do you have this app? Would you get it? Do you have a nursing bracelet or use anything else to track your baby’s feedings? What is your story behind needing or wanting to use a tracking device for your baby’s feedings? Please educate this breastfeeding mom!
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Tags: biting, Blackberry application, breastfeeding on demand, nursing apparel, nursing bracelet
The other thing that is going to screw moms up with this is their baby getting more efficient at nursing. My 7 month old spends waaaay less time nursing than he did when he was 7 days or 7 weeks old and this was true even before he started on any solids. I know he’s not eating less than when he was first born, he’s just more efficient at getting the milk. But if I’d seen a 75% drop on this in the length of his feedings, I might be super worried.
Jen – Devourer of Books´s last blog ..TSS: January 2010 Reading Wrap-Up
Good point Jen!
i tracked naima’s feeding for 2 months but we did it the old fashioned way – pen and paper. i don’t think i would want to compare my daughter’s feeding patterns or schedule with those of other babies. we kept track of the feedings and poos/pees only for my peace of mind (that she was getting something in and there was something coming out!)
Jenny´s last blog ..Milk of Sorrow
Like Jenny, we kept track of our first child’s feedings and diapers – for about a week (too much work). We mostly did it because the ped at the hospital freaked us out because she lost some weight after birth (yes, I know, completely normal). With baby number two (born at home and didn’t lose any weight after birth) I wouldn’t be able to keep up charting her feedings. She eats ALL THE TIME! OK, except at night (only ate three times last night YEAH for me I was tired), I am lucky in that way. I love this blog by the way.
georgine´s last blog ..Charlie is 4 Weeks Old Today! (1 Month Old in 3 Days!)
I wrote down all of our feedings for the first two weeks. After that, eh. We’re all too busy to sit around with a pen and paper. The kid will let you know when he’s hungry. I wanted to use those milk bands but could never find them at a store near me- now in month 5 I can TELL which side I should start on next. It’s like spider-sense for boobs. I think once you get into the groove most of those accessory type items aren’t necessary anymore.
Jamie´s last blog ..grocery store
Worst. Idea. Ever.
I was waaaaaaay stressed out by my midwives asking me to track feeds and output, but I did it because my daughter was so tiny (5lb 15oz) and I was worried about her gaining weight. Ultimately, tracking everything made me a control-freak about nursing for the first few months. I felt like I *had* to know when or how much she was sleeping, eating, pooping, peeing, it became all-encompassing and horrific for me. I’m hoping this time will be waaaaaaay different!
Kim´s last blog ..Homemade Sandwich Wraps and Snack Bags
I totally understand why some of you might not like the idea of tracking your baby’s feedings on a computer or smart phone, but many mothers are advised by the hospital or their doctor to do it, so we thought wouldn’t it be easier to let the computer do some of the work?
By the way, we’re offering an iPhone app version of Nursing Master, not a Blackberry app. And for those interested, it is still in the final stages of testing and should be released within the next week or two.
I don’t think it’s a horrible idea. I also tracked my son’s feedings for probably 2 weeks along with diaper changes, just in case. I do agree with nursing on demand but for some moms it’s not such an easy concept, even though when you think about it, it is easier than timed feedings. Some moms, like me, like the idea of knowing exatly when they ate last whether it be 30 min or 2 hours. I liked knowing if he probably really was hungry or if it might be something else he needed.
Anyway, for the average mom, who is not having any problems, it probably isn’t neccessary but mabye for those moms who are having issues it could be good. We tend to always know where our phone is and it only takes one hand to enter info.
As far as comparing with other babies, completely unneccessary! Absolutely no need for that.
I can see how you might want to track your baby’s feedings, but I never did. Maybe I’m a slacker, but I sort of figured that she’d let me know when she felt hungry. And she did. That’s what worked for us.
That said, what worked for us does not work for everybody. I know nursing mothers who schedule their feedings or who schedule pumping sessions (I just pump when she’s asleep), and it seems to work for them. Soooooo even though this whole breastfeeding application thing makes me feel old, and even though I don’t see the need for it…if it works for someone else, I fully support their use of it.
Sarah @ BecomingSarah.com´s last blog ..So here’s the deal.
I support mothers using whatever they want to make their breastfeeding life easier too. This is probably the first, or at the most my second post, in which I somewhat snarkily (Did this have a snarky tone?) voiced my opinion on a gadget that some people do indeed find helpful. I guess it is just that I personally have never run into a need for tracking feedings and have not encountered anyone who needed to track feedings. But obviously the need exists for some people in the first few weeks or months and this is fine to me. I’m all about supporting the breastfeeding mom to breastfeed, by whatever measure she needs to to do so. If this came across as too snarky and unsupportive to some, I apologize.
Gotcha, Melodie! I know you were not being critical.
I used an iPhone app for the first week or so bc it was way easier to drag that around than a piece of paper and pen! I was constantly photographing the baby with the phone, talking to family, and just pressing a button to track how long I did left or right. Easier than remembering to look at a clock (I’d let the kid nurse as long as he wanted, so I’d often lose track if it was 20 minutes or 40 minutes on a side- I tried to switch after 30. I was pretty serious about letting him nurse when and as much as he wanted.)
Bracelets didn’t work for me. The ones that were easy to switch were so UGLY and I am SO VAIN. I was puffy and in pain, and the last thing I wanted to do was wear a plastic bracelet.
A tecchie thing doesn’t have to mean you are overanalyzing and have control issues… for spacy people like me, something on a cool handheld thing just kept me a little more focused.
FC Mom´s last blog ..My Sister Talks About Poop
@FC Mom – Thank you for seeing I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I hate it when I think I may have.
I get what you mean about the nursing bracelets being kind of ugly. One mom I knew as an acquaintance had one and always dressed so well. The bracelet looked very out of place on her wrist. She would have done much better with one of the more expensive types. Anyhow, I’m starting to see why some moms would choose to have this app, especially on their phone. If one is spending a lot of time on it anyway and it’s a part of their everyday life, then why wouldn’t it be convenient? Like I said, I guess I’m just a bit old fashioned.
Melodie´s last blog ..High Tech Breastfeeding
I think this would have been awesome if I had known about it a few months ago (and it was for blackberry). Our little guy had terrible trouble keeping weight on. We had weight checks for him every week for the first 3 months. We had to wake him for feedings all the time and track everything. My hubby was a huge help b/c he knew when he was last fed, helped me to wake up etc. We did it the old fashioned way with a pen and paper, but this would have been nice. Btw, DS is healthy and happy in the 18% for his weight at 6 months.
LOL, you’re gonna flip when you read this. I’m a lot like FC Mom. I LIVE by my phone. Of course, I know I’m unusual, but I work in Ecommerce, so it’s a part of me.
To give you an idea of how much I use my phone: I have can take photos & videos with my phone. There are over 1,000 files in his folder on my phone. He’s 10 months old.
I also have all 3 of my email accounts attached to my phone. Yes 3. And all 11 calendars (one for each member of family, one for each brand @ work, plus other special calendars). I’m a bit CDO (like ocd, but alphabetized) as you now know. But it works for me.
So when my son was born I downloaded a nursing app. It was wonderful! I didn’t compare notes with anyone. I didn’t look at any trends. I just looked at when he’d last eaten, what side, and for how long. The great thing? I was able to take that back to our ped who was concerned about him loosing weight & if breastfeeding would be enough (she made sure they’d shown me how to supplement before I left hospital, & had sent formula with me!)
I also downloaded a contractions app, before he was born. It was 2am when my labor started. I hit the button when the contraction started, when it stopped, and when the next one hit. It was so easy to just hit a button (rather than write it down). I didn’t know how quickly I was progressing with my contractions were until I got to the hospital & could see that I’d gone from 5min to 3min in 1.5hrs! And know what? The nurses LOVED it. They grabbed other nurses & showed it to each other. Said they wished all moms had that much REAL info for them. Validated me (& I got to say nyer-nyer to my hubby :p)
Because my son was gaining weight and stayed in the high percentiles (which, even our percentile charts are rather ridiculous, but that’s a different topic) I never tracked how much he ate, how often, etc.
I went back to work part-time at 3 months and pumped (a high tech gadget that makes bf possible for working mamas) so I was able to guage/guess how much he ate on a typical day. Which turned out to be totally atypical everyday – it varied by 15 ounces on the days I was at work. I learned to stop worrying about it and be glad on the days he ate less so I didn’t have to stress over pumping so much…
At any rate, I think anything that helps mom bf is worth it. I know one of the biggest struggles for bf mama’s is “is my child getting enough?” and this may be too much stress for some mamas that don’t have a lot of bf support or have dr’s that don’t guide them and support them in bf-ing. If another gadget keeps a mama bf-ing longer and that is what she needs, then hooray for one more app!