Search Results for: blog practices that promote breastfeeding

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 →

The Breastfeeding Mafia is Starving Babies

Posted on by

Or is it just a lack of common sense? This week in the United Kingdom, powerful organizations like La Leche League, Unicef and the National Childbirth Trust in conjunction with the Department of Health are trying to get the message out that Breast is Best. But apparently not everyone thinks that this is such a good thing. Enter Sarah Oliver, a new mom who nearly starved her baby because she felt like she was consistently ‘bullied’ into breastfeeding. Advised by midwives that even one bottle would permanently hamper the breastfeeding process. . .she continued to breastfeed and by the time … Continue reading →

Ask a Baby Blogger: Why Can’t You Breastfeed a Baby on a Schedule? Part 2

Question: I always hear about you’re supposed to breastfeed on demand but I have a problem with this. First of all, I feel like the baby needs to work on my schedule, not me being a slave to the baby. Second of all, I don’t think it’s healthy for babies to “snack” like that. Doesn’t that just set them up for bad eating habits later? Thirdly, I think it spoils a baby to respond every single time they cry. And finally, if my baby is on a schedule won’t he sleep through the night better? Yesterday I addressed the first … Continue reading →

Ask a Baby Blogger: Why Can’t You Breastfeed a Baby on a Schedule?

Question: I always hear about how you’re supposed to breastfeed on demand but I have a problem with this. First of all, I feel like the baby needs to work on my schedule, not me being a slave to the baby. Second of all, I don’t think it’s healthy for babies to “snack” like that. Doesn’t that just set them up for bad eating habits later? Thirdly, I think it spoils a baby to respond every single time they cry. And finally, if my baby is on a schedule won’t he sleep through the night better? In responding, I have … Continue reading →

What to Eat While You’re Breastfeeding

It actually takes more calories to feed another little human than to grow one in utero. Breastfeeding uses up around 500 calories a day (so yes, if you’re feeding two, that equals 1,000 calories a day!) So if you’re er. . .uh. . .mathematically inclined like me, nursing one infant a day equals a big scoop of Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream, or a slice of pizza and a soda! It is true, you can eat pretty much whatever you’d like while you’re breastfeeding. Interestingly, what you eat has very little effect on the composition of breast milk–it still has … Continue reading →

The “Breast” in Breastfeeding

Did you see this? It’s the cover of Baby Talk Magazine full of breast and feeding. To be exact, only about 1/8th of the cover is full of breast. The rest of the cover is technically the infant suckling at the breast. But whatever. It caused outrage. People are grossed out by watching someone breastfeed. In case you are not familiar with Baby Talk magazine, it is a free magazine whose readership is mostly expecting mothers. This is one of the free information sources you get when you go to visit your obstetrician, go to have your sonogram or some … Continue reading →

Practices that Promote Breastfeeding

Before you read any further, let me give a little disclaimer. This is an article about ways to promote and encourage your infant to breastfeed effectively. With that said, every infant is different and every mom is different. I am in no way implying that if you do or do not do something I’ve suggested, you’ve sabotaged your entire breastfeeding career! This is meant to be a help for moms who really want to breastfeed and may be having a few problems. Try these tips if your baby is gaining weight too slowly, or if you want to increase your … Continue reading →

Co Sleeping with Baby Number One

When I was pregnant with my first baby I mulled over whether or not my baby would sleep in the same bed as my husband and I. I had heard several arguments for both. I went back and forth on the subject for the duration of my pregnancy. I was leaning more towards not co sleeping. I was petrified at the possibility of hurting my baby. The first night with my newborn son was short. He was born at two in the morning and we got to bed at five in the morning. We went to sleep with our son … Continue reading →

After the Birth

Once our daughter was born, I enjoyed several blissful minutes bonding with her and encouraging her to clear her lungs. Soon it was time to deliver the placenta. The umbilical cord was clamped and cut and the baby went to the nurse. I stepped out of the pool and delivered the placenta (it was easy and painless) into a stainless steel tub. My midwife checked it over to make sure it was intact, and after collecting a sample of cord blood, she put it in a plastic storage bag for the placenta encapsulation specialist (who came and processed my placenta … Continue reading →

If These Boobs Could Talk – Adrienne Hedger and Shannon Payette Seipat

I saw If These Boobs Could Talk: A Little Humor to Pump Up the Breastfeeding Mom by Adrienne Hedger and Shannon Payette Seipat the bookstore. I laughed out loud at the front cover illustration and cartoon caption “Oh great, a tooth”. Breastfeeding can be a beautiful thing, and I’m very glad I nursed my own children. But breastfeeding also has lots of unexpected and embarrassing moments like leaky breasts, unexpected letdowns, tricky nursing bras, soggy shirts, and unplanned exposures. This book treats all those moments with a light-hearted irreverence that will earn laughs of recognition from nursing mothers everywhere. Nursing … Continue reading →