Krystal Duhaney (1s):

Yeah. You know, I think that if you just give yourself some grace, know that your baby loves you so much, and that you're doing an amazing job, don't compare yourself to anyone else because every journey is beautiful and special, and you can do this. You got this.

Katie Ferraro (14s):

Hey, there I'm Katie Ferraro, registered dietician, college nutrition professor, and mom of seven specializing in baby-led weaning here on the baby-led weaning made easy podcast. I help you strip out all of the noise and nonsense about feeding, leaving me with the competence and knowledge. You need to give your baby a safe start to solid foods using baby-led weaning. Hey guys, welcome back. This episode is for the breastfeeding moms and in particular, the ones that are really dreading the transition to solid foods. I know how coats like you finally got the whole breastfeeding thing figured out. And now at around the six month mark, you're telling me I've got to switch up my perfect schedule and start getting my baby solid foods.

Katie Ferraro (60s):

Don't stress. You definitely can succeed at breastfeeding and baby-led weaning. You can do so simultaneously and Krystal Duhaney is on the podcast today to tell you how now Krystal is a registered nurse. She's also an IBCLC. So she's an international board certified lactation consultant. She owns and operates Milky Mama, LLC. So she provides breastfeeding and chest feeding parents, a lot of help via support groups and consultations products and courses. And she's going to be talking today about how we can schedule solid foods and also continue breastfeeding if that's your goal. So Krystal is going to be answering questions like why does your milk supply suddenly drop when your baby starts solid foods? And she's going to be sharing what you can do to protect it.

Katie Ferraro (1m 41s):

We'll be talking about when to drop the first milk feed. Once your baby starts getting the hang of self-feeding with baby-led weaning. And then she's going to teach a little bit about this concept that she calls the breast sandwich, which is a technique that will help you organize and schedule both breastfeeding and solid food sessions. So with no further ado, I want to introduce you to Krystal Duhaney. Who's joining me on the podcast to talk today about breastfeeding and scheduling solid foods. Well, hi Krystal! hank you so much for joining us on the podcast today.

Krystal Duhaney (2m 9s):

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Katie Ferraro (2m 12s):

I'm a huge fan of yours from Instagram. You guys, she's on Instagram at @milkymamallc. And I'm just curious if you could share with our audience a little bit about yourself, your brand, how you got into the world of breastfeeding.

Krystal Duhaney (2m 26s):

Yeah. So hi everyone. My name is Krystal Duhaney. I'm a registered nurse and an international board certified lactation consultant. And I breastfed both of my children and my breastfeeding experience is actually what got me into wanting to support every and more breastfeeding mothers or breastfeeding parents. After I gave birth to my son, I struggled to breastfeed. I didn't really know what I was doing, even though I was a registered nurse. I just had no idea what I was doing. I had no preparation. My healthcare providers didn't really teach me anything. So I just gave birth to a baby and they handed me the baby and said, here, feed this thing. And it was just like, I don't know what I'm doing. So we struggled. It was painful. I was worried about my milk supply. My baby was screaming all the time and I went to my pediatrician and asked for help.

Krystal Duhaney (3m 10s):

And he said, just use formula. And, you know, let me be clear that there is nothing wrong with giving formula. I was formula fed and I turned out okay. But it just, wasn't what I wanted for my journey. I really wanted to breastfeed. So we struggled. I educated myself and we, you know, I taught myself basically how to breastfeed because there weren't a lot of lactation consultants in my area. We struggled our way and breastfed for over two years. And when I became pregnant with my second child, I wanted a completely different experience. So I began educating for my own selfish reasons just to make my own journey more successful. I began educating myself on how to breastfeed, maintain my milk supply after returning back to work, those types of things.

Krystal Duhaney (3m 51s):

And upon doing that, I began having conversations with other breastfeeding moms and other moms and realized that they had the same experience, that they didn't have any support. They didn't know what they were doing. And that's when I kind of realized that not only could I help myself, but that there were also so many others that could benefit from the knowledge that I had obtained and my experience that I, you know, that I had with myself. So that's what kind of made me want to help so many others. So Milky Mama was born.

Katie Ferraro (4m 15s):

Cool. So tell us a little bit about your business. What do you do from a work side? As far as breastfeeding goes.

Krystal Duhaney (4m 21s):

Oh, so much. So pre COVID, we had an in-person breastfeeding support center in Southern California in Rancho Cucamonga, but we are temporarily closed due to the pandemic. So now we've transitioned over to a virtual. So we offer virtual lactation, consultations, virtual flam sizing, virtual, everything. Basically we have a virtual support group and it multiple ways to help support you wherever you are. We have breastfeeding courses online, a new pumping course that's coming out. So however we can support you no matter where you are, we have a way. And we also have an amazing and yummy line of lactation, supplements, and treats and cookies and brownies, just to help nutritionally support you as you navigate your breastfeeding journey.

Katie Ferraro (5m 1s):

Ok, I have so many questions about the foods, because I know it's funny, how necessity is the mother of invention. Like I got into baby-led weaning because I struggled so much with traditional spoonfeeding of my oldest. And I felt like an utter, an abject failure as a parent cause like who can't feed their kid, let alone what dietician can't feed their kid. And so then we had quadruplets after that and it was like, there's no way I'm going to spoonfeed. And I kind of fell into baby-led, weaning loved it. It was such a different and positive experience that I kind of shifted the whole focus of my nutrition career to focus on baby-led weaning. And it's a lot of people say, oh, well, you know, breastfeeding, a baby-led weaning goes hand in hand. And I always like to say, oh, I was terrible at breastfeeding. I always exclusively pumped with my oldest. And then with the quads, I did breastfeeding too, by the way. Yeah, I know. But I'm was one of those moms that at six months I was like, I want to be done like with my first.

Katie Ferraro (5m 45s):

And then I had twins at the very end. So we had twins, and I wanted to breastfeed or pump was I pumped for the twins too. I wanted to do it for like two years. Like every pregnancy it changed and was different. So I love your story of like, it's okay to want to have a different story with your next or your next pregnancy. And so for our moms who are kind of on the fence about breastfeeding, I know a lot of moms who listen to the podcast, surprisingly are still pregnant. They're just here to learn about what's going to be coming down the pike. I know you said it's perfectly fine. If babies are formula fed, you were formula fed. You're fine. What are some of the benefits of breastfeeding? Like I know from a nutrition standpoint, we talk a lot about that on the podcast, but like from the non nutrition standpoint, why is breastfeeding so important?

Krystal Duhaney (6m 25s):

Breastfeeding is extremely important for a variety of reasons. And a lot of times we talk about like all the benefits for baby. So, but there are also benefits for you as a parent and us as a community and an environment. So let's talk about those. So for your baby studies show that when you breastfeed your baby, that they have lower risks of childhood diseases, like intestinal disorders, respiratory infections, you know, COVID is going around and there've been some really exciting developments on breastfeeding parents and how they've been able to potentially we, again, we don't know there aren't any studies on this, but potentially protect their infants from getting sick from COVID or helping them heal faster if they do contract COVID or the COVID-19 virus also helping with breast cancer, I think is so, so amazing that if you breastfeed your baby, not only are you protecting yourself from getting breast cancer, not saying that, you know, it's not possible, but you lower your risk, but you're also lowering the risk of your infant, whether they are a male or female baby from contracting or getting breast cancer, which I think is so amazing.

Krystal Duhaney (7m 25s):

And those benefits don't stop. So let's say you breastfed for two months, you're still giving your baby those benefits and they continue as long as you breastfeed and for the rest of their life. So don't feel like, okay, if I stop breastfeeding at two months, three months, four months, my baby got no benefits. That's not the case. Any amount of breast milk is so, so beneficial. It also helps because it's free. I mean, I know that there are a lot of costs associated with being a parent. You know, when you're breastfeeding, you may need to buy bottles, but you may not use to, if you don't plan on pumping, you may need to buy some supplies or breast pads, but realistically, you know, in a perfect world and I I'm doing air quotes for perfect, cause we know nothing is perfect. All you really need is your baby and your breasts in a perfect world.

Krystal Duhaney (8m 6s):

So hypothetically, without any of the extra stuff, it would be free, which is great for your pocket also because your baby may have lower instance of developing some of those illnesses. You may save on some health care costs, and if you exclusively breastfeed, or even if you don't, if you use reusable bottles or glass bottles or such, then you could also be potentially helping the environment by decreasing your footprint on waste because we're not, you know, recite or we're not throwing a bunch of away, a bunch of trash and stuff that we may have if we weren't breastfeeding. So there are tons of benefits for both mom and baby. And there are tons of studies out there that are showing all benefits and we're still learning more. Every year we learn more about the benefits. So I think that if you are planning on breastfeeding, it would really benefit you to learn some of those and teach some of those to your family and your breastfeeding supporters in your circle, your village, per se, so that you have a fully supportive environment.

Krystal Duhaney (9m 1s):

So that you'll have a great opportunity for a great outcome because when you have more support and people in your corner, then breastfeeding goes really well.

Katie Ferraro (9m 8s):

I know as dietician and as a nurse, like we all agree that babies don't need anything except breast milk and or formula up until about six months of age. But at around the six months of age, when they're showing us other signs of readiness to feed and we start introducing foods, what are some of the issues or the challenges that breastfeeding moms are faced with when their babies, about six months?

Krystal Duhaney (9m 30s):

The most common issue that I've seen is as soon as they start introducing solids, that their supply decreases and they don't know why. And a lot of this, I hate to say this, I am a registered nurse. You are too correct.

Katie Ferraro (9m 43s):

I'm a dietician.

Krystal Duhaney (9m 43s):

Oh, a dietician, but you've worked with physicians before. And although I love working with physicians, I think that they're a valuable resource. The truth is, is that a lot of them don't really study breastfeeding. You know, it's kind of like an elective. They can choose to study it. So sometimes they will tell you to give solids maybe earlier than baby is developmentally ready for or to always give solids first. And I found that when you give solids, first baby gets full on solids and then they want to nurse less, which means that they'll remove less milk from your breasts, which then you'll start seeing kind of this inverse relationship with solids and breastfeeding. As you give more solids, the nurse last, your supply decreases, and then gradually you ween. And if that's your goal fantastic. But if it's not your goal, then we definitely want to make sure that we are doing it properly so that we can maintain your milk supply and make sure baby's getting those solids if necessary.

Katie Ferraro (10m 32s):

I'll just tack onto that. 90% of physicians in this country have never taken a nutrition course. And so parents go and ask questions about weening. They'll say things exactly like what you just said, which as a dietician, I object to that because babies at six months of age cannot recognize and respond to their hunger cues with food. And so we're expecting them to eat nutrition at six months of age when they need weeks and sometimes even months to learn how to eat. So it's so important for parents to remember that when you start transition to solid foods, breast milk or formula is still the primary source of your baby's nutrition. It's weeks. Sometimes even months before nutrition becomes more of a contributor. So this is a continuum. We don't just flip the switch on their six month birthday and say, that's it you're done with milk.

Katie Ferraro (11m 13s):

And now it's all food. I mean, we have the six month period basically to really get more proficient at eating, but breast milk and breastfeeding is still so important during that phase as well.

Krystal Duhaney (11m 23s):

I love that. Or formula, breast milk or formula, whatever you're choosing your baby. That should be their primary source of nutrition until you start solids. And actually for that first year, if you choose to breastfeed for that first year, the primary source of nutrition should be the breast milk or formula. And then it's a gradual, you know, like you said, it's not a flip of a switch, so it's a gradual kind of introduction.

Katie Ferraro (11m 41s):

Okay. So we talked about a mom with a baby who's, let's say six months of age, let's talk about a breastfeeding mom. Who's babies. Now around eight months of age or the baby has been doing baby-led, weaning CPD themselves for about six or eight weeks. So they're really getting the hang of it. They're starting to be more engaged in eating. They're actually starting to chew and swallow some of it. When do you suggest dropping the first milk feet and referring to either if you're feeding out of the bottle or you're breastfeeding, is that the time where most moms need to drop it? Or how do you guide parents on that? Because that's a very hot topic is dropping that first milk feed. Yeah.

Krystal Duhaney (12m 14s):

You know, I love to just hear what parents' goals are. So first I think that's the first thing that you need to decide as a parent. And if you're working with the lactation consultant, let them know your goals is your goal to continue breastfeeding for however long you choose to whether it's, you know, a year or two years, whatever, or are you ready to start the weaning process? If you're ready to start the weaning process and start dropping feeds? I think that once baby has a good grasp on those solids around, like you said, around eight months or so, you can start dropping a feed. Realistically, whenever you're ready to lean, you know, as a lactation consultant, it's my job to educate you on the risks and benefits and such, and then help you and support your goals at any time. So if it's not at eight months, if you're like, you know what, six months I'm done, that's my job to support you with that too.

Krystal Duhaney (12m 58s):

So find a supportive person on your team that can help, help you meet your goals no matter what they are, but in the grand scheme of things, I think that eight months is a great time to kind of start adjusting your milk intake. If you plan on nursing, let's say for up to a year. So I think that that varies based on your goals. So let's just use a year as an example, right? Cause that's usually a common goal for most moms or most parents they're like, okay, I want to get to a year. So let's just use that as an example. So for using a year that eight months will be perfect because you would gradually start decreasing the amount of feeds in a day or the amount of the length of feeds that you're having to the point where you can make it up to that year and then add a year, you can fully transition over to solid and a complimentary liquid, whether it's a toddler formula, whether you have expressed breast milk in the freezer or whatever the case may be.

Krystal Duhaney (13m 46s):

So I think eight months is a good time cause it gives you enough time to get the hang of baby-led weaning and also enough time to figure out what to do next and to develop a plan to stop breastfeeding at that circle.

Katie Ferraro (13m 58s):

Okay. Okay. So let's talk about the 12 month mark, a little bit more. Most parents, no general rule of thumb is we want baby to be sitting at the table and able to eat table foods, slightly modified similar foods though to the rest of the family's eating generally three meals a day. If that's what your family food culture is with the 12 month mark, generally being the time where we're going to transition to cows milk. So if you're formula feeding, most parents are like, heck yeah, 12 months. I am done buying formula because it's so expensive. Breastfeeding moms in a little different boat. It doesn't cost them anything. They like the bonding. Some moms yeah. Want to be done at 12 months, like counting down the days, but some moms want to continue on how do you help moms who are trying to make the transition to cow's milk, but also want to continue breastfeeding.

Krystal Duhaney (14m 40s):

So first I want to tell moms, and you can probably try it on this too. As a dietician is that cow's milk is not the only option. Like you don't have to just give cows milk. You know, if you're a vegetarian or whatever, the case, 80 cows milk is not the only option and breastfeeding is beneficial even after a year. So if you want to continue breastfeeding without making that transition to cows milk, you can safely do that. It just really just depends on again, your goals. So if you want to continue breastfeeding right, and not make the transition and also continue offering solids, then normally what I recommend is what's called a breast sandwich. It sounds like a chicken sandwich. Not like from Popeye's, it's just the way that you breastfeed. So you would breastfeed first and then you would offer salads and let baby, you know, eat at the table with you.

Krystal Duhaney (15m 22s):

If you're eating breakfast at that's again, part of your food culture as a family and then offer the breast again. And because we're having those, we're still maintaining milk removal, then that really helps to maintain your milk supply so that you can kind of effortlessly just squeeze in solids without affecting your milk production. And you can always adjust that based on your needs and your routine and based on your goals. I think it's really important to know that when you're a parent, you do what works best for you. There is no rule book. There's no like, you know, handbook to this. We're all just kind of doing the best that we can. So that's what I think, just do what works best for you and find the routine that works best for you to help you meet whatever goal you have in mind.

Katie Ferraro (16m 1s):

And I love that you point out that cow's milk is fine if that's what your family eats or drinks, but it's certainly not imperative for health. And there's many families out there who choose not to drink cow's milk if they're vegan families, or if the baby is allergic to cow's milk protein, we definitely need other options. So I have two other episodes you guys might be interested in episode 79 is about how to pick a milk when your baby turns one, if you're considering some of these milk alternatives, what you certainly want to look for and why you might consider them. And then episode 13 is all about milk protein, and how to introduce your baby to this potentially allergenic food with lots of tips on how to do it. Cause we don't do fluid cows milk for baby in place of breast milk or formula until after they turn one. It's not nutritionally complete, but there's lots of other great ways that you can introduce your baby to that potentially allergenic food so that you're sensitizing the baby to help reduce food allergy.

Katie Ferraro (16m 47s):

Even if you decide you don't want to do full cows milk after it.

Krystal Duhaney (16m 50s):

Yes. Yes. I love like if you choose to give your baby cow's milk, I love the idea of just starting off of mixing it with some of your own breast milk and that can help to introduce baby to it. And new tastes and new, you know, consistency cause cows milk is a very different consistency than your breast milk and it just helps introduce baby to it. And then just do it gradually watch for any signs of allergy. Because again, it is an allergen or a potential allergen and, and there are lots of people that are allergic to it. So you always want to watch out for that as well. Let's

Katie Ferraro (17m 19s):

Talk about breastfeeding during the pandemic for moms who are like they were pregnant during the pandemic gave birth. There's breastfeeding. Now they're going to transition to solids, like a lot of people at the time of this recording. You're like, I can't believe we're still doing this. What are you seeing as far as like concerns or anything that we need to be aware of relevant to COVID-19 and the global pandemic.

Krystal Duhaney (17m 39s):

First of all, kudos to all the moms that have been pregnant, giving birth and everything during this crazy crazy pandemic. Cause I can imagine how your expectation going into your pregnancy was changed once the pandemic started. So kudos to you for toughing it out because I couldn't imagine. But secondly, I think that what we know about breastmilk is because it's so amazing. We know, and we've seen that both the world health organization and CDC, every major organization has recommended that you continue breastfeeding for however long you choose. Of course, during this pandemic, because we know that breastfeeding offers some amazing immunities and has amazing properties to help prevent your baby from getting sick or helping to decrease the intensity or length of their illness.

Krystal Duhaney (18m 23s):

So if you want to continue breastfeeding during this time, that is perfectly fine. If you do have COVID or you suspect that you have, COVID make sure that you are wearing a mask around your baby. If you happen to cough, cough away, hand hygiene, kind of the basics that you would do, just practicing proper respiratory hygiene to prevent the transmission, but breastfeeding during this pandemic is definitely recommended if you choose to wean that's okay, too. It just depends on what you want to do, but there's nothing wrong with either way. I know you

Katie Ferraro (18m 51s):

Normally in non COVID times have a breastfeeding support center. And I always think like back to when I was breastfeeding, like just even going to the support group was great because it made you leave the house with the baby, which is hard at first. Cause you don't know what you're doing. And then just talking to other moms while you're waiting kind of for your term was like, oh my gosh, I'm not the only one that thinks this is really fricking hard. How are moms getting support for breastfeeding? You know, even after postpartum, like six months down the road, moms still need breastfeeding support if they can't meet in person, like what sort of services are out there right now?

Krystal Duhaney (19m 18s):

Yeah. So, you know, the pandemic has really, you know, caused, I think all businesses, especially like the birth world, you know, per se to really make a shift and to really adjust to our current times. So right when the pandemic hit all of the hospitals like stopped their breastfeeding courses. And so there are so many parents that didn't have any support whatsoever because nobody knew what the heck to do. So we offer it for about four months. We offered free lactation consultations to anyone that needed it. And we were able to help thousands of parents that really wouldn't have been able to have support. And what we saw after that is that other lactation consultants and other, you know, birth workers were really transitioning to a virtual space. So although not always ideal some, you know, a lot of times I really want to see your baby and hold your baby and help you latch and such.

Krystal Duhaney (20m 3s):

But in the instances of the pandemic, it may be safer to do it virtually. So there are virtual services that you can obtain, you know, check with your hospital. A lot of them have transitioned, you know, their lactation consultations to virtual as well, check with local lactation consultants, check with the WIC office. If you get WIC, they also offer services there. And then additionally, if you are in need of person support, because sometimes there just is no way around it. You need to see somebody make sure that they are practicing safe, you know, precautions, make sure, ask them if they have been tested recently, ask what they do in a typical appointment to make sure that they are being safe with other appointments prior to you to make sure that you're protecting yourself.

Krystal Duhaney (20m 43s):

But if you can, if it's not anything urgent or anything really complex, virtual appointments are really a great way to get the support you need and still maintaining you safe precautions without having to put yourself or your family at risk.

Katie Ferraro (20m 54s):

I know so much of breastfeeding support is like the physical, like, you know, they grab you like I was like, it's so helpful. It's like, you've done this a million times. I've never done this, but I can imagine also, you know, just like the psychological side of it, so stressful and to have support out there, even virtual support, it's better than nothing. Sometimes you do need the in-person support, but a lot of these moms need the, just the supportive nature of someone else listening to them or understanding how this is a struggle or it's not as easy as I thought it would be. You're not alone. We think about the physical so much in breastfeeding support, but it's really the psychological side, which I know your team provides as well. Tell us more about the resources that you guys have. You mentioned the foods for audience, maybe doesn't I always have trouble saying "galactic gog".

Katie Ferraro (21m 36s):

Galactico such a strange word, but what are some of the products that you sell? I know you're on Instagram, @milkymamallv is how I know you. I know you have lots of other platforms. Like where can we go to learn more? And what does the stuff you sell do?

Krystal Duhaney (21m 50s):

Yeah, so we are on Instagram. We are on Facebook. We are on clubhouse. We are on Twitter, Pinterest, wherever you are, that's where we are. And there are tons of ways to reach us. I normally barring any like, you know, crazy things that happen at home with my kids or such. I'm normally on doing a live Q and A every Monday on our Instagram page where you can just ask your questions live, I'll answer them live. And you can also call our 800 number it's 877-88 MILKY or (877) 886-4559. And you can speak to one of our lactation consultants and answer questions for completely free. I'm such a great resource during normal business hours. So 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM Pacific standard time, Monday through Friday, excluding weekends and holidays, you can also email us and you can join our email list.

Krystal Duhaney (22m 37s):

We send out tips and a cute little certificate every single month to help you navigate your breastfeeding journey. We also offer yummy products to help support your milk supply. And I want to say that it's really, really important that all of your know that no supplement, whether it's, you know, cookies, brownies, pills, teas, whatever you want to take is going to replace frequent and effective milk removal. So if you're having issues with your milk supply, reach out to one of us first, reach out to a lactation consultants that we can help you navigate that because you can eat all the cookies in the world, but if you're not nursing and or pumping frequently enough, then it's not going to work. So always make sure that you're getting that support. But if you're doing all that and you would really love some yummy treats to help maintain or increase your milk production, you can check out our cookies.

Krystal Duhaney (23m 19s):

They're super yummy. My favorite is a salted caramel and the oatmeal chocolate chip. We also have our world famous emergency brownies. That is what we're known for. And we also have brownies and drink powders and herbal supplements. And just basically everything that you would need. If you're looking for something to help support your milk production.

Katie Ferraro (23m 36s):

A lot of moms who are breastfeeding really top of mind, really early on, like they're getting the hang of it. They kind of get going. And a lot of parents get frustrated cause like, wait, I just figured out the breastfeeding or the bottle situation. And now it's six months on, I've got to switch gears, start incorporating solid foods. And the kind of terrified of that next transition. Do you have any final thoughts for the moms who do want to continue breastfeeding through that, but know that it is time to start introducing babies to solids? Like how can they deal with all those things kind of converging at once?

Krystal Duhaney (24m 4s):

Yeah. So it really just depends on your journey. Like for me, I've done both sides of the coin. I was the first time mom that like pureed everything under the sun and made it all myself and you know, was in the kitchen everyday, making purees. And then with my second child, I was like, you know what? I don't appear anything we're going to do baby-led weaning. So it's easier for me in my life. And with both, I was able to successfully breastfeed both of my children until I was ready to lean. And so no matter how you choose to do it, you can still successfully breastfeed. And it just, as a matter of maintaining your milk production, like I said, frequent and effective production is key. So when you're introducing solids, you want to make sure that like Katie said that we are still making sure that we maintain milk production and that we're making that breast milk the priority for that first six months to a year of life, depending on what your goals are.

Krystal Duhaney (24m 55s):

If you make sure that baby is still getting plenty of breast milk by nursing frequently or pumping frequently, instead of replacing the nursing sessions with solids, then you shouldn't be able to continue breastfeeding without any issues

Katie Ferraro (25m 9s):

So that every mom is different. But sometimes moms just like to have a roadmap. If you're approaching, let's say the one-year mark. A lot of moms say, okay, listen, my baby's doing well with an open cup that and practicing that for developmental reasons, they're transitioning to cow's milk if that's what they're doing to get fluid. And if they want to continue breastfeeding, is it okay to do it just for bonding? Like once your baby's eating and drinking out of an open cup, you know, physiologically, they wouldn't need it, but a lot of moms want to continue on. Is that okay as well? Yeah,

Krystal Duhaney (25m 36s):

Absolutely. And I forgot to mention it during the benefits of breastfeeding is that breastfeeding is so much more than just the milk. A lot of times we think, oh, it's just about the milk and the benefits of the milk. No breastfeeding is for that bonding for baby to feel close to you. You know, if baby is cold or scared or not feeling well, they may want to nurse because it's comforting as well. So however long you choose to continue nursing, even if you're not producing any milk anymore, sometimes you baby can, you can still have that experience, whether you're producing milk at all or not, you can still breastfeed because it's just a natural way to bond with your baby. So if you continue, if you want to continue breastfeeding, even if your milk supply is lower than normal, or if you're kind of in the weaning process, that is perfectly fine.

Katie Ferraro (26m 17s):

Well thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. It's so nice to hear like there's lots of ways to make breastfeeding and solid foods work. And I just want to reiterate what crystal was saying. It's your goals that really matter, like take a step back and what are your goals? And then from there you can make a plan. So thank you again for your time. This was a fabulous, a wealth of information.,

Krystal Duhaney (26m 36s):

And they would thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Katie Ferraro (26m 43s):

You guys, well I hope youe enjoyed that episode with Krystal Duhaney again, she's all over the internet at @milkymamallc. She's got a ton of different ways to support you in your breastfeeding and chest feeding journey. Whether that be her support groups with consultations, with the products that she sells, her courses, she has a wealth of knowledge. I'm gonna link up all of the resources that she discussed as well as some of those other episodes that I mentioned in today's episode, that'll all be on the show notes at blwpodcasts.com/98. Bye for now.