Just a few months ago I weaned my second, and probably last, baby. I expected it to be no big deal. My baby and I had been slowly working toward this moment for about a month. My milk supply was slowly decreasing and my baby was getting frustrated with breastfeeding and expressing a clear preference for the bottle. "I've done this before," I told myself. "No problem!" I even planned a trip so that I could make a clean break, which I thought would be easier for both of us.

In fact, I was so confident that I wasn't even planning on bringing my pump on my trip. I didn't want to send my body the wrong signals about continuing production. And I had a set of TendHer Pillows for pain relief and a plan to do some expressing in the shower. Easy, right? Thank goodness for good friends who asked incredulously, "Um, are you SURE you might not need to pump?!" I tucked it into my suitcase, "just in case," never intending to use it. And then I landed in New York. Day 1 = Fun girl time. Day 2 = Fun shopping time. Day 3 = Sore boobs, engorged, and at least one plugged duct. OUCH!!! Thank goodness for my TendHer Pillows. I was using them either warm or cold about 3 times per day to allow let-down, warm-up the plugged duct prior to massage, and then cool down the sore areas. And thank goodness for my pump! I might not have made it through without both of these tools.

So, physically, weaning was difficult - and a bit of a surprise. But I think the bigger surprise was how hard it was emotionally. I was an "experienced" mom and was really proud of my little independent baby. I was ready to have my body back, all for myself. Wasn't I? As I struggled with the physical pain of weaning, I realized that I was sad. I hadn't really said goodbye to breastfeeding, hadn't (even mentally) celebrated that last time. So when I found I still had a little supply left when I got home, I fed her again. Every night for about a week. And it was wonderful and special and I really cherished every moment. And then she was weaned - and I felt better physically and emotionally.

A recent study based on one infant tooth suggests Neanderthals breastfed their babies exclusively until 7 months, and fully weaned them at about 14 months. (http://www.nature.com/news/infant-tooth-reveals-neanderthal-breastfeeding-habits-1.13047)

"The proportion of barium recorded in tooth enamel shot up immediately after birth, because breast milk contains high levels of the element. Ratios waned as mothers began to supplement the infants’ diet with other food, and then dropped to low levels when breastfeeding ceased."

However, barium amounts in teeth do vary by environmental exposure. A study by Miller* reported that the ratio of barium to calcium in the teeth of 34 children exposed in one community to drinking water containing high concentrations of barium (10 mg/L) was five times higher than that for 35 children from another community exposed to lower levels (0.2 mg/L). So comparing a Neanderthal tooth to a modern-day tooth assumes that we have had similar levels of environmental exposure to barium.

Nevertheless, Go Neanderthal moms! I'm assuming you had no breastfeeding pain relief - or pain relief of any kind for that matter.

*  Miller, R.G., Featherstone, J.D.B., Curzon, M.E.J., Mills, T.S. and Shields, C.P. Barium in teeth as indicator of body burden. In: Advances in modern environmental toxicology. Vol. IX. Princeton Publishing Co., Princeton, NJ. p. 211 (1985).

...soothed by Pariday!

Nothing is better than an objective third-party saying how much Pariday TendHer Pillows soothed their sore, tired breasts. We were so thrilled to receive the following endorsement from our partner, MommiesFirst, who highly recommend our TendHers for some serious breastfeeding pain relief. They insisted on evaluating our product before including it in their service. In return, we highly recommend their hand-picked boxes of amazing products for new or expectant moms.

Check them out here: www.mommiesfirst.com.

MommiesFirst Product Review: Pariday TendHer Pillows

Effectiveness: We look for products that are best among their peers at doing what they claim.
Your Ranking: 4.75 (out of 5)
Details: Used by a mom weaning her second baby after 8 months of breastfeeding. I was very engorged and experiencing significant pain. I tried all the possible options for using the pillows - cold (refrigerator and freezer), warm and room temperature application. In fact all four options were put to the test, as the pillows were placed in my bra minutes before several important business meetings – where relief and zero leakage were required. The pillows were 100% effective as I was able to focus on the meetings and forget the pain for a while. I found that leaving the pillows in the refrigerator versus the freezer did not make much difference in terms of the duration of the coolness/pain relief. Furthermore, while harder to qualify but incredibly important, the gels didn’t feel strange or “icky” (apologies for the lack of a better word) against my breasts. As a true testament to the product, I forgot that I was wearing pads one day. The instructions are straightforward (and illustrations helpful). I was unsure about the red pillow covers and worried that they would be visible, but this was not the case at all, even in a white shirt.

Value: As with lots of products, the most expensive isn’t necessarily the most effective or the best. We are always looking for the best products without breaking the bank.
Your Ranking: 5+ (out of 5)
Details: While mom friends had warned me about the pain related to breastfeeding, I remember still being shocked at the size of my breasts and by the soreness endured due to cracked and bruised nipples. Despite what the research stated, I also refused to use any nipple cream or ointments because I was afraid of what my newborn baby might ingest. I would have paid LOTS of money to find relief in those early days. On the flip side, no one prepared me for how painful weaning would be. Tend Her Pillows is a fantastic resource from a mom weaning her baby, especially if she’s trying to this quickly. There are really very few options out there - unless you want to walk around with cabbage in your breasts. (Testimonials on the Pariday website also underscore this point)