Search Results for: blog meghan the vampire baby my nursing nightmare

A Breastfeeding Experience Part II

I learned later from other first time mom’s that the first few weeks of breastfeeding can be quite painful. Cracked and bleeding nipples are not uncommon for first timers or in the early days of post-partum with consecutive babies. Other mom’s warned me that I might have a breast infection; I did not however. The honest to goodness truth is that breastfeeding can and often does hurt. After I weaned my son (a good six months before my daughter’s birth), I could not help but wonder what my experience with breastfeeding would be the second time around. I was almost … Continue reading →

The Big Job for the Little Man

Today is “Super Saturday.” This marks an additional post on some Saturdays. These will typically be somewhat augmented reality. You’ll see what I mean… Yesterday my wife experienced her first blocked milk duct. This is a painful experience to be sure. It started out as a slight, anonymous irritation but become a full blown pain fairly soon. Identifying the cause of the problem was simple for my wife. Having read every book imaginable in preparation for being pregnant with, giving birth to, and caring for our son she simply needed to pull a book off the shelf to confirm her … Continue reading →

Could Education Have Prevented This Week’s Tragedy?

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Yesterday I wrote a blog on a tragedy which recently came to light in the Midwest—a 19-year-old gave birth at home, said she had difficulty breast-feeding her baby, didn’t go to a hospital because she didn’t have health insurance, so she just did nothing although she knew the child would die without eating. The young woman, Indra Book, is in jail. Facts of the case are conflicted. One fact I didn’t know yesterday was that Book was apparently told she was five months pregnancy in June. If this is true, the August birth meant that the baby was quite premature … Continue reading →

Supplementing: Why I Did It, When It’s Okay and When It’s Not

This blog is in response to someone’s specific question. The reader aptly pointed out that while I advise against supplementing, I have talked about doing it with my younger three children. She asked for further explanation and so in my first blog, I talked about why supplementing is a bad idea if you really want to breastfeed. In short, if you do supplement, it will decrease your supply. So Why Did I Supplement? My first two babies were the latch on king and queen of the world. I honestly believed that people who gave up just didn’t really want to … Continue reading →

Valorie’s Breastfeeding Index

Later today I will post a review of the baby blog of 2007 so why does breastfeeding get its own category? Well, in part as an answer to readers who want to read what I’ve written on breastfeeding. I’ve written so much on breastfeeding at this point that you all have asked for an index of sorts so it’s easier to find what you’re looking for. It’s also in part because I’ve become known as the breastfeeding lady. . .guru. . .whatever you want to call it. I’ve been at this breastfeeding business for a long time and many of … Continue reading →

Challenging the Status Quo on the Age of Weaning

Most people who are around Families.com for any length of time know where to go if they have a breastfeeding question. Especially one that’s out of the ordinary. It’s true, I’ve been nursing for what will be 9 years in March. . .although not the same child. I have nursed twins, I have tandem nursed singletons. I even had one child stop nursing only to start again four months later. . .which I allowed. I consider the minimum age for weaning two years, (following recommendations by WHO) and I’ve mentioned before that I actively encourage breastfeeding until this time. The … Continue reading →

No More Pricks for Jaundice Babies

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Every single one of my girls has had physiological jaundice. Basically, babies have an excess of red blood cells that need broken down, their livers are immature and the result is a yellowish tinged baby. My third baby Meghan, was in the hospital for almost four extra days under lights in a NICU, while my full term twins were in the hospital for almost seven whole days basking in the glow of ‘the lights.’ Jaundice, if left unchecked can lead to brain damage and a whole host of other serious health problems. The best way to avoid jaundice is to … Continue reading →

Do You Judge Other Moms?

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We’ve all done it. We’re out in public and someone else’s wild child is pitching a fit. He wants a candy bar, mom says no and he tantrums. So she gives him the candy bar or buys him the toy. We may not say anything but in my mind I’m always thinking, “See, she shouldn’t give in and that’s why he’s throwing a fit. He knows it works.” While I personally wouldn’t vocalize my opinions about someone else’s kids’ behavior, many are all to willing to give their opinions–especially the older set. This happened to me recently which is why … Continue reading →

Ask a Baby Blogger: Breastfeeding and Bonding

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Question: I’m tired of hearing breastfeeding advocates say that breastfeeding promotes bonding. I mean, am I really messing up bonding with my baby if I bottle feed? What’s the big deal? To answer this question, you have to understand the mechanisms by which someone makes a statement like that. The short answer is yes, breastfeeding really has a monumental effect on bonding with your infant. The other short answer is no, if you don’t breastfeed, you baby will not likely experience attachment and psychological issues for the rest of his life. What Are We Really Saying About Bonding? Let’s first … Continue reading →

When You Disagree with the Hospital

Last week and into this one, I shared our personal story of how we felt coerced into staying in the hospital with our 3rd daughter, Meghan. To read that story you can check it out here (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). I shared the story because I think a lot of moms feel sabotaged in their breastfeeding efforts by nurses during their hospital stay immediately following the birth of their baby. I think sometimes, parents disagree with the hospital staff but are either too tired to fight or don’t feel like they have any rights. However, as parents, you … Continue reading →