Cooper County WIC

03/24/2026

🚨Health Alert: Nitazenes🚨

It’s a name you’ve probably never heard: nitazenes.

These synthetic opioids are being found across Missouri in counterfeit pills, powders and v**es. Nitazenes are over 5 to 10 times more potent than fentanyl. Even a tiny amount can cause someone to stop breathing.

What you need to know:
• It’s here: wastewater testing in Missouri schools has confirmed the presence of nitazenes in many communities.
• It’s hidden: you can’t see, smell or taste nitazenes. They are often mixed into other substances without the user’s knowledge, often being masked as legitimate prescription medication.
• Naloxone works: while nitazenes are powerful, naloxone is still effective. Multiple doses may be required to reverse an overdose caused by opioids.

🚨Free Narcan Dispensers Available in Cooper County🚨
The Cooper County Public Health Center is committed to protecting the health and safety of our community. To help prevent opioid overdose deaths, free Narcan (naloxone) dispensers are available at multiple locations across Cooper County.
• 6 locations will be listed in the comments
• No Cost, No ID Required, No Appointment Needed

🎥 Learn how Narcan works and how to use it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyTcJuIZUsA

The Bottom Line: treat any illicit substance or unregulated v**e as a potential risk. Stay informed, stay prepared, avoid illicit substances and carry naloxone. It’s safe to use and saves lives.

03/24/2026

Around 4–5 months, many babies hit a developmental shift where they realize feeding isn’t just nourishment. It’s an experience at the Breastaurant. The calm, rhythmic newborn feeds where baby settles in, takes both sides, and peacefully drifts off? Those often give way to something much more… dynamic. Now you’ve got a baby who pops on and off like a hummingbird, then suddenly latches on like a barnacle, all while turning their head, watching the room, grabbing, pulling, or even experimenting with biting. Welcome to the next stage of development. Your baby’s brain is growing, their awareness is expanding, and they’re learning they can interact with the world and eat at the same time. Distraction, short feeds, latch changes, and unpredictable behavior are all common at this stage.

A few ways to cope: try feeding in a low-stimulation environment (dim lights, quiet room), use gentle movement or white noise to help them stay regulated, offer feeds more frequently since they may take in smaller amounts, and watch for early hunger cues before they’re too distracted to settle. If biting shows up, give lots of opportunities to chew and bite on teethers and toys between nursing sessions. Be more active in tummy time and floor play! If they’re bored between feedings they will take it out on you while nursing!! Most importantly, don’t interpret this as a supply issue or feeding failure. Your baby is doing exactly what their developing brain is wired to do. This phase can feel chaotic, but it’s a sign of growth. I used to put stickers on my chest or let the play with little toys. A piece of scotch tape ora chunky necklace are also fantastic for keep hands his and mouths on autopilot breastfeeding.

❤️

03/23/2026

Bottle Feeding Tips (That Actually Support Your Baby 🤍)

• Watch the baby, not the clock
Let their cues guide the feed: rooting, hand-to-mouth, and alertness matter more than timing.

• Take breaks
Pause every few minutes to mimic breastfeeding rhythms and help baby recognize fullness.

• Look for swallowing, not just sucking
Active feeding = suck + swallow + breathe. If they’re just flutter sucking, they may need a break.

• Switch sides halfway through
Just like at the breast, this supports development and prevents side preference. Try holding them with your opposite arm and feeding with your other hand.

• Don’t force the last ounce
Finishing the bottle isn’t the goal. Trust satiety cues like turning away, relaxed hands, or slowing down.

• Choose a slow-flow ni**le (usually)
Faster isn’t better. Flow that’s too fast can lead to coughing, stress, or overfeeding.

• Keep it responsive, not passive
Bottle feeding is still a relationship; not just a nutrition exchange. Talk, make eye contact, stay connected.

• Burp based on need, not rules
Some babies need frequent burps, others don’t. Watch for signs like squirming or pulling away.

• You can always offer more
If baby still shows hunger cues after a break, offer again, 1/2oz at a time until baby is full.

03/23/2026

Mother’s Milk tea is pretty commonly used while breastfeeding and I know a lot of you are probably drinking it. Tea is the weakest form of an herb (besides just eating the plant raw), so if you’re going to drink a tea with boosting supply in mind, it’s recommended to drink 3-5 cups a day for maximum potency. Taking an herb in pill form is more potent than drinking a tea.

Fenugreek, one of the herbs in Mother’s Milk Tea, is also my LEAST favorite herb to recommend. While it has been reported to be an excellent galactagogue for some, and has been used as such for centuries, the few studies that have been done have had mixed results [Swafford 2000, Reeder 2011, Turkyılmaz 2011]. It is similar to clover and has a taste like maple syrup. If you take it, milk supply should increase 24-72 hours after starting the herb, but it can take two weeks for others to see a change. It is commonly found in Mediterranean foods and is considered safe to take while breastfeeding.

Other facts about fenugreek:
⬇️It boosts supply for many, but can drop supply for others. I’ve heard some horror stories of milk supply that plummeted from taking fenugreek
🚽I often hear people report it makes them or baby gassy. Raise your hand if you tried fenugreek and it gave you digestive upsets and nasty smelling gas?!? It also has the side effect of making your body odor smell like maple syrup. My husband thought I wasn’t using deodorant when I was taking it in larger quantities with my second.
💊 If you are taking medication for hypothyroidism or struggle with hypoglycemia, you should not take fenugreek. Fenugreek interacts with the absorption of thyroid medications, so it’s a no-no for those as well as those taking Heparin, Warfarin and other anticoagulants, Ticlopidine and other platelet inhibitors.
🧁Fenugreek seems to slow sugar absorption in the stomach and stimulate insulin. Both of these effects lower blood sugar in people with diabetes.
🥜Fenugreek is in the same family with peanuts and chickpeas, and may cause an allergic reaction in those who are allergic to these things.

Did you take fenugreek for your milk supply?

03/18/2026

Wearable pumps can be a game changer, but only if you’re using them correctly. I do multiple fl**ge fittings and bottle consults every single day, and these are the most common mistakes I see (and how to fix them):

1. Assuming “one size fits all” fl**ges
Most wearable pumps come with standard fl**ge sizes and they’re often wrong
👉 The fix: Get properly fitted. Your ni**le size can change postpartum, and the wrong size can tank output and cause pain. Fl**ge inserts come from 13-24mm to make a more optima fit

2. Using it as your primary pump too early
Wearables are convenient, but they’re not as effective at building supply in the early weeks
👉 The fix: Use a primary pump (like a hospital-grade or strong double electric) to establish supply first, then bring in the wearable for convenience

3. Not centering your ni**le correctly
Because you can’t see what’s happening as easily, it’s common to pump slightly off-center, which means less stimulation and less milk removal AND possible ni**le damage. Ouch
👉 The fix: Take an extra few seconds to line things up before turning it on. It matters more than you think

4. Turning the suction up too high
More suction ≠ more milk. In fact, it often backfires and leads to swelling, pain, and reduced output
👉 The fix: Start low and increase gradually. Comfort = better letdowns

5. Wearing it too long (or too often)
Wearables can make it tempting to “set it and forget it”, but longer sessions don’t always mean more milk, and can actually cause inflammation
👉 The fix: Stick to effective session lengths (usually 15–25 minutes) and watch your body for signs of overuse

Bottom line:
Wearable pumps are a tool but not a replacement for good technique and proper setup. When used correctly, they can give you freedom without sacrificing output

Wearables do tend to leave milk behind which will sabotage supply over time. If you’re not responding to your wearable, trouble shoot ASAP. Comment WEARABLE to learn more about different wearable pumps

03/18/2026

03/18/2026

It is normal for you not to feel your let-down as strong as your baby gets older. Some never feel let-down, and some stop feeling the let-down sensation as time goes by. This does not necessarily indicate that let-down is not taking place.

Reliable signs of a healthy, functioning let-down include:
* In the first week or so, feeling uterine cramping during letdown.
* Baby changes sucking pattern from short and quick (like a pacifier suck) at the beginning of the feeding to more long, rhythmic suck a minute or so into the feeding. You’ll start to hear consistent swallowing that sounds like a “uh” or small puff of air. Baby’s jaw will drop lower with the swallow than with sucking
* A feeling of calm, relaxation, sleepiness or drowsiness
* Strong thirst when breastfeeding.
* Occasionally people can experience itching, nausea, headaches, or negative emotions during let down
It’s quite normal to have a harder time letting down to a pump than to baby. The milk may be in the breast, but the stimulation from the pump may not be enough to trigger the release needed for the milk to flow. Although rare, this can occasionally happen when directly breastfeeding as well.

Many things can be the cause of a slow or inhibited let-down: anxiety, pain, embarrassment, stress, cold, excessive caffeine, smoking, use of alcohol, or certain medications. People with breast surgery or ni**le piercing history may have nerve damage that can interfere with let-down. In extreme situations of stress or crisis, the release of extra adrenaline (the “fight or flight” response) can reduce or block the hormones which affect let-down.

Let down can be a conditioned response. Sometimes a cycle is created, where baby fusses and pulls off because the let-down is slow, which makes mom tense up, which makes the let-down even slower, etc. You can use relaxation techniques and let-down cues to break this cycle.

03/15/2026

Caffeine in breast milk is one of those topics that makes tired moms clutch their coffee a little tighter ☕️ The good news? Moderate caffeine intake is considered safe for most breastfeeding parents. The general recommendation is to keep it at or below 300 mg per day (about 2–3 small cups of coffee, depending on strength). After you drink caffeine, it’s absorbed into your bloodstream and transfers into breast milk fairly quickly because it moves freely across membranes. Milk levels typically peak about 1–2 hours after consumption, and then gradually decline as your body metabolizes it. There’s no need to “pump and dump”. Caffeine doesn’t get trapped in milk; as blood levels fall, milk levels fall too. Most full-term babies can handle small amounts without issue, but newborns metabolize caffeine much more slowly, so you might notice fussiness, jitteriness, or disrupted sleep if intake is high. If that happens, gently scaling back usually does the trick. If you do drink coffee and are pumping, you might not want to offer than milk at night if your baby is sensitive.

03/13/2026

Hormones are powerful little troublemakers sometimes. Your period is one of the classic times they show up and mess with milk supply. If you’ve ever noticed your baby suddenly fussier at the breast or your pump output dipping right before your period, you’re not imagining it.

Here’s what’s happening 👇

Why milk supply can dip during your period

When your menstrual cycle returns, your body’s hormone levels shift, specifically estrogen and progesterone. In the days leading up to your period, those hormones rise and can temporarily interfere with prolactin, the hormone responsible for making milk.

At the same time, many women experience a drop in calcium levels during the luteal phase of their cycle (the days before menstruation). That drop can affect the tiny muscle cells around the milk-making glands that help move milk through the breast.

The result?
• Milk may flow a little slower
• Pump output may decrease
• Babies may seem fussier or want to nurse more often

The good news: this is usually temporary and supply typically rebounds once the period starts or shortly after.

What La Leche League suggests if this happens

La Leche League often recommends a calcium and magnesium supplement during the second half of the menstrual cycle to help stabilize milk supply.

A common recommendation is:

• Calcium: 500–1000 mg per day
• Magnesium: 250–500 mg per day

Starting around ovulation and continuing until your period begins.

Some parents find this significantly reduces the pre-period supply dip.

Other helpful strategies:

• Nurse or pump more frequently for a few days
• Expect temporary cluster feeding (babies are very good at protecting supply)
• Stay hydrated and nourished
• Don’t panic if pump output drops. Pumps exaggerate hormonal dips more than babies do

One more thing that surprises a lot of parents:
Milk supply dips related to your cycle do not mean your supply is disappearing or that you’re “losing your milk.”

It’s a normal hormonal fluctuation.

Most babies ride through this little hormonal roller coaster just fine, sometimes with a bit more snacking along the way.

Bodies are amazing like that. 🩷

03/12/2026

The most commonly misdiagnosed issue in lactation is thrush. With modern research we actually know thrush is not very common. Thrush is a yeast infection and the highest risk factor is antibiotic use and a gut dysbiosis. While it still happens, it’s not common. But the symptoms of thrush are equal to a very common issue: vasospasm. Has your ni**le looked waxy or dull white right after baby unlatched? Did it feel like burning shard of glass or pins and needles after feeding baby? That’s because the blood vessels have gone into spasm and are not letting blood through. This is a vasospasm and it occurs because the ni**le is being pinched between baby’s tongue and the hard roof of their mouth. The arteries go into spasm and stop letting blood through.
When it happens in the ni**le it really HURTS. Some say it feels like fire or ice. Others describe it as a pinchy, slicing feeling, or pins and needles. The ni**le often turns pale and become painful right after the baby unlatches. It often gets misdiagnosed as thrush but will not respond to medications. So if you’ve been on multiple rounds of medications for thrush and it’s not working, you may actually be having vasospasm caused by your baby’s latch.

The two main ways to help: massage and heat.

🤲🏼Gently massaging, rubbing, or pinching the ni**le helps. Immediately cover your ni**les with your shirt/bra/nursing pad, then gently rub or massage them through the fabric.
🌞Heat is important because of science: evaporation is a cooling process. When liquid turns to gas, it uses heat energy from its surroundings to transition. When milk and saliva evaporate off your ni**le, the skin and surface tissue cool rapidly, causing the vasospasm.
🌞To slow evaporation, place heat on your ni**le as soon as baby unlatches. Use dry heat like a lavender pillow, microwaveable rice/barley/flax pack, hand warmer/Hot Hands (like you use in snowy climates for skiing), or a heating pad can help. Leave heat on for a few minutes until the pain subsides.

Figure out what is causing the spasms ASAP.