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Milk sharing aka wet nursing or cross-nursing is really common among my group of friends! Many of us have nursed each other’s babies, toddlers, and kids out of necessity or even just to boost our little ones’ immune strength! It’s a truly wonderful way to bond with your most cherished friends; my kids now have milk siblings. Their milk mamas have shared the bond of physical closeness as well as the antibodies that comes from one’s own milk. I can’t think of a more perfect way to show love as a mommy friend!

It’s sad but true that for many years, I felt tethered to my babies who were each exclusively breastfeed for almost 12 months. Until I found my community here in Southern California, I couldn’t physically leave my children without a back up feeding source but once I found my village, I allowed myself to leave my young baby in the care of dear friends who would breastfeed her as needed. My plight of not bottle training and yet desperately needing to go on a date with my husband was solved with one simple statement. “Please feed her when she seems hungry!” Suddenly, our options widened, and PAXdaddy and I have enjoyed quite a few dates since the birth of our daughter in 2013 by leaving she and our 6 older children with friends as well as having provided childcare for other friends wanting to escape the clutches of their little milk monster for a few hours!
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I myself have been able to feed many of my friends’ babies for a plethora of reasons! I was very proud to put my lactating breasts to work one night when I was a doula at a friend’s birth. She had a trauma shortly after delivering her baby so I nursed her newborn through the night while also taking care of my own sweet 5 month old baby. The next morning I put out a call for help, and an army of mutual friends arrived to help with the new baby and also to keep baby’s tummy full of 100% breastmilk! I still marvel at that amazing week and how a group of women could come together to keep one little baby well nourished, clean, comforted while her mommy was under the weather.
paxbaby

paxbaby
At 32 months old, my daughter, Cate, was still breastfeeding and enjoying the mommy cuddles that it’s hard to find in a large busy family! When our 8th baby, Blaise, was born at just 15 weeks, my milk dried up leaving Cate high and dry. Luckily for her, an entire herd of lactating friends came during the month of May to care for me, my husband, and my children as I recovered from the loss of our beloved baby. She nursed from several mothers over the course of the month and now refers to one of our closest friends as “Mama Milk.” I am so grateful to each and every friend who offered to breastfeed my sweet girl. It means so much to me and made the transition to being a non-lactating mother much easier and less emotional.

 paxbaby

paxbaby
At PAXretreat last week, PAXfriend Evonne had a little snuggle time with #toddlerCate. My lovie was over the moon with the fresh milk, and Evonne was happy to fill her little tummy with liquid gold. I cannot wait to have another baby, have my milk come in, and be able to feed someone else’s baby straight from the tap!
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paxbaby

*happy breastfeeding*

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FREE Friday with PAXbaby & Speckled Milk!

Nianna, owner of Speckled Milk, started making breastmilk jewelry after her second birth, to honor her tandem breastfeeding journey. She makes all the custom made breastmilk jewelry by hand; her mom creates all the breastmilk soap from scratch! Check out her other jewelry creations made from umbilical cord, dehydrated placenta, first curl, first tooth, ashes, dried flowers and more. Send a message (or owl) to Nianna in sunny California for more details!

Today you can {tandem} win a breastmilk pearl (retail value of $65) and also a custom soap (retail $35 value!) If you are chosen for the prize, you will need to send in only 1oz of breastmilk is needed for any jewelry creation and just 3oz for 12 ounces of soap.
Shipping breastmilk is easy; shipping in room temperature for this purpose is perfectly fine.

Good luck, and thanks to Speckled Milk for this wonderful opportunity!

Please like, and share this post to spread the love!! <3

*****Shipping in the States will be free; International winner will pay exact shipping costs!

The winner will be emailed once the drawing comes to an end on Friday, September 9th, 2016!!
Shipping address must be confirmed via email within 24 hours, or a new winner will be chosen!!
For this reason, make sure to check your email(including your Junk folder!!)

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*happy babywearing*

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Happy Breastfeeding Week!
How long have you been breastfeeding for?
PAXmommy Jillian has been breastfeeding for 119 months of her 135 months of being a mama!
The road has not always been easy. There have been ups and downs, and everything inbetweens – mastitis, pregnancy, lip-ties, tongue-ties, twins, tandem feeding, abscesses, losses, sickness, loss of milk, milk production issues (over supply/under supply) etc. etc.
The PAXmommies have always helped one another, and have even breastfed one another’s babies/toddlers when needed.

Do you have support? One of the biggest keys to successful breastfeeding for the PAXmommies has been a solid support system, both at home, and in the community.
Can we help you? Is there something you are struggling with?
Maybe we can help!
Feel free to email us at help@PAXbaby.com!
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*happy breastfeeding week*
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Shout out to the pumping mamas!!
When you gotta pump, you gotta pump!!

Did you pump that liquid gold?? If so, for how long?
<3 Y’all are amazing!!! <3

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*happy babywearing*

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I chose to push off the inevitable heartbreak and enjoy my baby’s breastfeeding relationship with no strings attached; morning, noon, or night, #babycate’s milk was available to her 24/7 which was a very enjoyable situation for both of us. Now at 2 years old, my sleep deprivation is catching up to me, she is irritable if I ask her to just cuddle me at night without a nipple in her mouth, and oh… my poor stretched saggy nipples deserve a break for at least a few hours a night to recharge and recover! Armed with the advice of an entire colony of mothers who have gone before me, and Dr. Jay Gordon’s blog post on night weaning committed practically to memory, I write on my calendar “NIGHT WEANING” and mark off an entire week during which I have prepared my family that both the baby & I will be emotional, exhausted, and potentially unable to do anything other breastfeed every moment of the day to make up for our rough night times! Sunday night comes, and off we go….

First up, I “front loaded” the information that #babycate would not be nursing at night, and we read the book, Sally Weans from Night Nursing, early in the day. I made sure that she ate her favorite foods at dinner to fill her up, and my older kids played with her extra exuberantly to tire her out. Bedtime rolls around, big sister Lucy helps me with her usual routine : potty, pajamas, 2 books, final breastfeeding and toothbrushing. My sweet baby goes to sleep easily with her sister breathing gently into her hair, and I take a shower and prepare for the emotional rollercoaster and guiltfest I know is coming around the bend.

2 short hours later, the familiar wail begins and I go in to comfort her. While I am confident that #babycate is completely able to comprehend the meaning of my words, “milkies when the sun comes back up!” and “no milkies right now while it’s still dark out,” her despondent stare at my treacherous chest is too much to bear. I know that her sobs right now are out of frustration, anger and sadness that I am not meeting her previously scheduled needs but it’s important that I remember that she is not hungry, just grumpy! For 24 months her favorite snack has nourished her little body, nursed her back to health after a cold, and soothed her when teething. Her milkies have dried her tears, comforted her to sleep, and distracted her when scared! This baby has never had the chance to attach to a lovey or figured out how to self soothe since I have always been readily available to her, but tonight is a game changer. #babycate is a smart cookie and figures that if she cries enough, her mama will give in to her desires; we can nurse and go back to sleep like old times. Sadly, Saturday night was her last nurse-on-demand, all you can eat milk buffet, and tonight, after 43 minutes of countless rounds of her favorite song, and many tears from both of us, #babycate is asleep in my ring sling, giving soft little sighs and shudders every so often; I’m feeling spent and devastated.

Her next wake up, I fear, will be even worse than this, but hopefully the full day of snuggles I can give her in the morning will make it up to her! According to Dr Gordon, she’s going to have a rough week, but with consistency and a strength I need to pull from knowing each of you are rooting for our continued breastfeeding success, we will night wean with flying colors and go on to enjoy bed sharing and day time nursing for many months to come!
Wish us luck!

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*happy babywearing*
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*happy babywearing*
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*happy babywearing*

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Who is leaving Santa an extra special treat tonight???

What will *your* children be leaving out tonight??
Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions??

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*happy babywearing*

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Have you ever used milk for anything other than food for your little one?

Did you know that breast milk can have healing properties?? Hey! It isn’t called liquid gold for nothing!!

This amazing article by Celin Childs breaks it all down for us:

http://reddelunas.ning.com/profiles/blogs/los-usos-medicinales-de-la

“Human milk contains a balance of nutrients that perfectly matches infant requirements for brain development, growth and a healthy immune system. Human milk also contains immunologic agents and other compounds that act against viruses, bacteria, and parasites.”

So that means breast milk can not only help nourish your baby (and others if you donate), but it can benefit anyone else in your home suffering from anything from pink eye, to a sore  throat,  to a stuffed up nose, to cancer!

Feel ookie about actually squirting your milk onto someone? Have no fear!

You can always express into a sterile cup and use an eye dropper for application.

It’s not as crazy as it sounds!! Once you start reading up, and testing it out for yourself you will see that it really does works!

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*happy babywearing*

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You will often read us singing the praises of breastfeeding, but something we don’t really talk too much about is alllllll the mamas that are exclusively PUMPING!!

PAXbaby would like to give a HUGE congratulations to our friend Jane and her son Kayden, on TWO YEARS exclusive pumping!!! Kayden was unable to latch, but his mother’s tremendous dedication allowed him to continue to receive her milk through his second birthday, and Jane even donated milk to many other babies in need, including PAXmommy Brianna’s Corrina.

What an amazing thing you’ve done, Jane!!!

We are SO proud of you!!

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*happy babywearing*

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This small amount of milk can make all the difference for a baby whose mother cannot exclusively breastfeed.

If you have an oversupply or are holding on to a “freezer stash”, please consider donating!

When PAXmommy Brianna fell seriously ill and required emergency breast surgery in June, her Baby #2 continued to be fed exclusively on breast milk thanks to generous donors!!!

PAXmommy Brianna:
I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for the mothers who have been pumping for us and who have directly nursed my baby these past 2 months during my illness, surgery, and recovery. The photo above shows the amount of donated milk my daughter is currently drinking in about 3 days, and each time I open the freezer and thaw a bag, my heart swells. It’s truly an amazing gift.

If you have milk to offer, or are in need of donated milk, these community milk sharing organizations help connect mothers (safely) :

https://www.facebook.com/hm4hb
&
https://www.facebook.com/EatsOnFeetsHome

Breast milk is considered liquid gold, and to those mamas relying on milk donations , every drop really does seem like gold.

Some mamas struggle so much, while others seem to be blessed with an overabundance. Please consider opening your heart, and freezer to help other mamas in need.

Paxbaby.com

*happy milk sharing AND babywearing*

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