Untuk saya cara yang paling mujarab untuk hilangkan keskitan dan ketidak selesaan bila mengalami bengkak susu atau susu tak lancar ialah suruh Aisyah hisap lama2. memang insyallah berkesan dan selamat. selalunya bila saya mengalami bengkak susu ni walaupun saya pam lama macamanapun susah nak surut, rupanya nak suh pengepam tradisional gak (mulut siti Aisyah yang tomei tu…ish ish..geramnya tengok mulut dia yang comel tu) barulah boleh surut. itulah keindahan kuasa Allah dan ciptaannya, tiada cacat dan celanya…alhamdulillah.

Di kesempatan cuti empat hari sempatlah jahit beberapa barang untuk aisyah dan menyiapkan tempahan baju kanak-kanak.

• soft toy aisyah (bear ala2 Mr. Bean punya bear)
• selimut
• peasant dress
• seluar tido

Tempahan baju:

• 4 helai peasant dress
• 1 helai peasant top
• baby set (untuk kakak ipar)

Raya Korban ni saya takde masalah sangat dan meriah…saya darah jenis O, memang seswai makan daging. KC sakit kepala, tak leh makan daging banyak. Aisyah Maintain…hehehe, sebab minum susu yang terbaik!!! ya susu ibu.

• Aisyah semakin bijak dan banyak mulut….tetetetetetet….itulah bebelannya
• lasak
• suka gambar kambing dalam buku
• tak merangkak lagi…ke tanak merangkak anakku ni
• dah kurang makan…tapi tetap maintain kuat menyusu…
• pandai main sendiri….

Oh my word.  When exactly did this happen?

My son, my tiny, tiny baby boy, is growing up.  Yesterday he chased after Eric, demanding a “big hug!”.  He can put the balls in the ball-run at the soft play centre like nobody’s business.  He plays with other children, and is so gentle and patient with those younger or smaller than him.  He’s taken a few steps, and when he’s got his walker he can run.  Last week we had to buy walking shoes, as his feet were squeezed by his cruisers.  We’re also going to have to buy some more 12-18 month clothes at some point: they seemed impossibly big when he was born.  Now, his newborn clothes reach his knees and his elbows, and he’s into the toddler ranges in most shops.  He’s the most loving, affectionate little boy I’ve ever met.  I love him so deeply it hurts.

This journey, it hasn’t been easy.  My pregnancy was wanted, but so unexpected.  We were fraught with worry all the way through; Joe and I had to learn to be a couple before this ticking time bomb exploded into our lives and made us a family.  There was confusion over my due date, with two and a half weeks between my dates and my midwife’s.  At twelve weeks, when I suffered bleeding, I was convinced we were going to lose him; that feeling stayed with me throughout the pregnancy.  He was born eight days before the midwife’s date, and a month before mine, perfect in every way.

Bonding with David took me a long time; longer, perhaps, than it took Joe.  There was this expectation that I’d be ecstatic to have my new baby, that I’d love every element of motherhood.  Who in their right mind loves cracked and bleeding nipples, sleepless nights, shitty nappies, and not being able to sit down on less than six layers of padding?  I was severely anaemic, and had to take iron tablets.  I was ill, and tired, and I hated breastfeeding with a passion, but I forced myself to continue until David was a month old, the time that I could express milk and introduce bottles.  I was adamant that I would NOT use formula, that I’d be a terrible mother if I did.  I remember sitting up and trying to feed David, and passing out while I was feeding him.  I remember sitting in a clients’ offices when David was ten days old, trying to feed him and failing, and feeling so miserable.

When he was about eight weeks old, I started the Pill.  It made me bleed heavily, and I became very anaemic again.  I couldn’t express nearly as much milk as before, and David would either go hungry, or start having formula.  He started on formula, and I knew that I was supposed to feel like a terrible mother.  In reality, I was relieved.

I’d had some mental health support from a community mental health nurse since David was four weeks old, and when he was about three months I was able to see a psychiatrist.  That psychiatrist prescribed a low dose of Sertraline, an antidepressant that is safe to take whilst breastfeeding.  I wish I could say that it provided an instant fix, because it didn’t.  I stopped feeling suicidal, yes.  In fact, I stopped feeling much at all.  My visits to see him consisted of “Yes, I’ve got side effects, no, I’m not suicidal, yes, therefore things must be much better, see you in six weeks.”  In June, when David was six months old, I could take the side effects no longer, and stopped taking the Sertraline.  I felt better almost as soon as I stopped taking it, well, as soon as the week of withdrawal symptoms had passed.  At the end of August I managed to get myself discharged from community mental health support, too, and I felt free.

We’ve muddled along for the last few months, and things have slowly been improving.  I’m not sure at which point it was that I finally felt better, more at home with myself.  Maybe I’ve just settled into motherhood now, and maybe it’s just because David is just easier to look after, more enjoyable.

Because David is easy, these days.  He’s a toddler, he understands what I’m saying and responds to it.  He stops playing to give me a hug, then goes off and does his own independent little thing.  He’s mimicking what we say all the time (including “crap!” in the car the other day.)  Even his tantrums, although trying, are an interesting side of his personality that has only just started to show.  When I was in the darkness, I never thought I’d feel the kind of joy that I feel watching him grow and change and learn.  Now that I am here, I appreciate him even more.

If you are reading this, and you feel like I did, talk to somebody.  Tell them how you feel, and get some help and support.  It is not your fault, you are not a bad parent, and you will get better.  It’s worth all the hardship just to come through it and feel alive.

You do so many things to ensure your baby’s health during and after pregnancy, by eating right, avoiding drugs and breastfeeding. But have you had your baby’s spine checked for nerve interference?

Often a newborn’s spine can be harmed during the birth process.  A normal, uncomplicated delivery puts 90 lbs. of compressive pressure on a newborn’s delicate spine.  One medical study of 1,250 babies examined 5 days after birth showed that 95% had spinal misalignments related to the birth process, causing lowered immunity, poor digestion, and sleeplessness. 

Babies are gently adjusted using low-force techniques equal to the pressure on a touch-tone phone, reconnecting their nerve system, giving them a great start in life.     

 To learn more about how a safe, gentle and scientific, Chiropractic adjustment could TRANSFORM your health contact your chiropractor.  If you are interested in a complimentary consultation, CALL  The Family Chiropractic Centre, 519-837-1234. 

I’m Dr. Brent Lipke, educating you to help you educate others !

Advent. It’s a time of new beginning, a time of expectation of great things. I want to be renewed, God, but I’m so worn down right now, I’m having trouble being thankful, despite all my efforts to adjust my attitude to match the holiday we just celebrated.

At times like these, I am so painfully aware of my own weakness, my own brokenness. Yes, I enjoyed Christmas shopping with Christian yesterday…but I’ve spent so much of the last few days not feeling good. Why, oh why won’t my body go on and adjust to this stupid metformin? It’s worse when I don’t sleep—so much worse. And what is going on with Nicholas? How can a child go from sleeping peacefully from 7:45p.m. to 6:30 a.m. to waking up six times a night? How can a child suddenly decide that he isn’t going to sleep at all, day or night, for longer than an hour at a time? Doesn’t it stand to reason that at some point, he’s just got to crash? Why, oh why isn’t he reaching that point?

I’m tired, God, and whenever I’m tired, the metformin reaction is so much worse. And we’re at the end of Christian’s vacation now, and I feel more worn down than when we started. This should have been a week to relax and renew. Instead I feel more than ever like I’m scrabbling at the edge of the cliff. I haven’t even tried to write this week…I’ve barely kept up on my blog. On this side of Thanksgiving, all those January deadlines seem a whole lot closer. How can I be stretched so thin when I’ve accomplished so little?

Well, I know the answer to that one. Family visits are enjoyable, but they are also frequently stressful. There’s the disruption to the routine, and the staying up late, the lack of down time, the extra noise, the kids’ excitement and subsequent refusal to sleep…though that still doesn’t explain Nicholas’s lingering agitation.

And why isn’t he feeling better, anyway? It’s been three weeks since Nicholas has acted like himself. Is it that rash? Is the rash indicative of something else? Something more than penicillin reaction or food reaction?

I keep thinking that by the time my third child is 8 months old, I ought to have some idea how to problem solve these things. But the reality is that things just keep getting more complicated. With the first two, I could stick them in their rooms and teach them to put themselves back to sleep in the night by just closing the door and refusing to pick them up. But Nicholas is sharing a room with Julianna. I can’t just walk out and let him cry himself back to sleep. But I want to be done with night nursing, and the last two nights, he’s nursed and still been awake! If even nursing doesn’t put him back to sleep, where does that leave us?

And he is so clingy. I don’t know how much longer I can take it. He’s so crabby all the time! Angelic, smiley, as long as he’s being held, or if I’m sitting on the floor beside him…but my gosh, if I go to grab a pencil, he starts shrieking!

I want to feel better, God. And I know that at least part of it has to come from me…but I feel so powerless right now. So helpless. So angry and overwhelmed. And guilty for feeling so. After all, I chose to have my kids close together; I feel like I need to be a model of with-it-ness. A bad day is one thing, but a month?

Stir up your power, O Lord, and come to dwell in me. Please. In my darkness, I really need to feel the light of your presence, leading me toward the dawn.

…I laid in the near-dark, feeding E2 down for the night, her little body curled into mine, and me drifting in and out of semi-sleep as she fed…   I pulled the covers a little tighter over the two of us, and allowed myself to drift back into sleep for a while longer…

Yada yada yada.  Thanksgiving was on Thursday and, let me tell you, I love me some Brussels sprouts.  Love ‘em.  Ate tonnes of them.  A-a-and they’re still working their way through my system.

So, tonight,  as we lay on the bed, I curled my sleeping daughter into me and gently drifted off… once again, that most perfect, peaceful moment…

And then I trumpeted so loudly that I scared myself bolt upright.

Kali ini saya ingin share sebuah email yang saya terima. Isinya mengenai salah satu pasal UU Kesehatan RI (yang kabarnya saat ini sedang di SETNEG, menunggu tanda tangan Presiden). Ini bukan tentang rokok yang kasusnya pernah mencuat karena pasalnya sempat raib. Pasal yang akan saya share adalah mengenai ASI. Air Susu Ibu. Ada apa dengan ASI?

Banyak orang setuju bahwa ASI adalah anugerah Tuhan kepada ciptaannya. Dia bagaikan tetesan kehidupan, lengkap, aman, dan berguna bagi kehidupan manusia sesaat setelah dilahirkan hingga beberapa waktu kemudian. Sayang, meski banyak orang sependapat ASI adalah satu-satunya makanan yang lengkap dan aman bagi bayi, ternyata tidak semua ibu mampu memberikan ASI secara eksklusif hingga 6 bulan. Populasi buteki (ibu meneteki) semakin menurun sejalan dengan pertambahan usia si bayi. Bahkan jumlahnya tidak lebih dari 14% ibu yang mampu menyusui eksklusif hingga 6 bulan.

Berbagai alasan dikemukakan untuk memaklumi keadaan tersebut. Alasan utama umumnya akibat ibu mulai bekerja. Setelah ibu mulai bekerja, terkadang di kantor tidak tersedia tempat untuk menyusui langsung atau sekedar memerah dan menyimpan ASI. Bahkan beban kerja yang berat dan sibuk, membuat ibu lupa memerah ASI. Hingga pada akhirnya, produksi ASI menurun. Disamping alasan lain seperti produksi ASI yang tidak mencukupi kebutuhan bayi, ibu sakit, atau ibu hamil lagi. (kali lain saya akan berusaha menulis tips-tips menyusui eksklusif bagi ibu-ibu dengan kondisi di atas)

Mirisnya lagi, saya masih melihat ibu-ibu pasca melahirkan justru mendapat souvenir susu formula dari Rumah Sakit atau Bidannya.

Pemberian ASI juga sering merepotkan. Seperti misalnya ibu yang sedang berada di tempat umum dan kesulitan mencari tempat tersembunyi untuk meneteki bayinya. Karena risi buka-bukaan, sang ibu terpaksa memberikan susu formula untuk bayinya. Pengalaman pribadi saya adalah harus mencari tempat yang banyak KAMAR PAS. Di situ saya bisa sembunyi untuk menyusui bayi saya. Tempat lainnya adalah musola. Jalan terakhir adalah tergesa-gesa kembali ke mobil.

Terkait dengan hadirnya pasal-pasal mengenai ASI dalam UU Kesehatan, kita berharap kejadian-kejadian yang merepotkan ibu untuk memberikan ASI secara eksklusif bisa dieliminasi. Harapannya, publik makin sadar untuk mensukseskan gerakan ASI. Dan kalau ada pihak yang secara sadar menentang pemberian ASI, mereka bisa berurusan dengan hukum. (Ibu-ibu, simpan dan tunjukkan pasal ini bila ada yang menghalangi di tempat kerja ya =). Yup, semoga UU ini segera disahkan dalam lembaran negara.

Undang-undang Kesehatan yang terkait dengan Pemberian Air Susu Ibu adalah sebagai berikut :

Pasal 128
[1] Setiap bayi berhak mendapatkan air susu ibu eksklusif sejak dilahirkan selama 6 (enam) bulan, kecuali atas indikasi medis.
[2] Selama pemberian Air Susu ibu, pihak keluarga, pemerintah pemerintah daerah dan masyarakat harus mendukung ibu bayi secara penuh dengan penyediaan waktu dan fasilitas khusus.
[3] Penyediaan fasilitas khusus sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat [2] diadakan di tempat kerja dan tempat sarana umum.

Pasal 129
[1] Pemerintah bertanggung jawab menetapkan kebijakan dalam rangka menjamin hak bayi untuk mendapatkan Air Susu Ibu Secara Eksklusif.
[2] Ketentuan lebih lanjut sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat [1] diatur dengan Peraturan Pemerintah.

Pasal 200
Setiap orang yang dengan sengaja menghalangi Program Pemberian Air Susu Ibu Secara Eksklusif dimaksud dalam pasal 128 ayat [2] dipidana penjara paling lama 1 (satu) tahun dan denda paling banyak Rp 100.000.000, 00 (seratus juta rupiah).

]]> http://kidnumber2.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/about-time/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:53:39 +0000 kidnumber2 http://kidnumber2.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/about-time/

It’s about time I wrote another post.  It’s also about time I was feeling better.  The morning sickness seems to really be over and done with; the queasy hasn’t come back since it went away early this past week.  I did notice, however, that I’m pretty sensitive to salt.  It doesn’t make me feel sick, it just makes me feel like I’ve had too much salt, if that makes sense.  It’s nice to be able to take my vitamins again and eat normal foods.

I do still feel badly if I let my blood sugar get too low, which means eating at regular and frequent intervals.  I still have an unopened bag of pretzels in my office which should be helpful for that, but which I couldn’t eat for the past few weeks because bread products were too revolting.

I had a very strange experience on Thursday night.  I was sitting in my computer chair and I leaned forward for a moment to reach something, and I had the oddest sensation in my abdomen.  It’s hard to describe much more than to say it was sort of like a really strong involuntary muscle spasm.  It didn’t hurt so much as just feel really, really weird.  And it was over as quickly as it started, leaving me wondering whether I had just imagined it.  But now I can feel the top of my uterus just above my pubic bone, and I couldn’t before.  So it must have finally run out of room being tilted backward, and now it’s tilting forward like normal.

Son was too wiggly and active to nurse this morning like he normally does, and I couldn’t get him to hold still and latch on until bedtime tonight.  Ohhh, I was so sore between that and my expanding breasts.  A couple of months ago he was almost weaned and often went a day without nursing.  I don’t really want to try that now!

From next year the Government has pledged that all women will be offered a choice of where to give birth including at home but so far only half of women are reporting that they were offered a home birth.

A recent survey carried out by www.netmums.com revealed that as many as one-third of all women in NHS hospitals are left alone and worried during, or shortly after childbirth and more than 30 per cent of mums polled received no NHS antenatal classes and 43 per cent did not have access to a midwife on a postnatal ward.

Women who participated in the poll were also very critical of postnatal care, including support offered for breast-feeding, this is despite the fact that the Government is now putting huge investment into improving breastfeeding rates; some women also mentioned that they felt the lack of care had led to postnatal depression.

Cathy Warwick, General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said maternity services in England are at a critical point; she said that progress was being made. but went on to say that the target to give women a choice of where to give birth looked like it would be missed.  Warwick said surveys suggested full choice was only offered in about 50% of cases.  She also said services were also struggling to cope with the rising birth rate  which has jumped by 20% since 2001.

The RCM say that staffing numbers have increased, but by less than 10%, leaving the health service short of 5,000; they also highlighted that student midwives are finding it difficult to gain employment.

Hello All,

Anthropologists can be so distracting.  Last week I had a chance to hear both Sarah Hrdy (author of “Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding”) and James McKenna (author of “Sleeping with Your Baby”).  So instead of searching out the latests news on breastfeeding I kept finding myself thinking about the biological and cultural evolution of mothers and babies.  For millions of years babies have slept with their mothers.  Even primates that allow others to care for their babies during the day sleep with their babies at night. (Coincidently both Hrdy & McKenna started their careers studying monkeys!)  It has only been in the last 200 years (just since the Industrial Revolution) that we have stopped sleeping with our babies.  Think how short a time that is!  There is no way that the physiology of infants could evolve fast enough to cope with such a significant change.  It would be like expecting polar bears to adapt to palm trees at the North Pole twenty years from now. 

Now consider that in just the past 100 years we have gone from breastfeeding our babies to feeding our infants cow’s milk from a bottle.  And yet in this short amount of time our culture has so totally embraced formula feeding that any movement back towards breastfeeding is met with stern resistance.  In Australia women are reacting extrememly to the announcement that the government wants to make breastfeeding the norm.   “Whatever happened to choice?” asks one columnist who insists that “This goes to the very core of a mother’s rights.”   

 “My nipples were red raw from breastfeeding and blood was dripping on to the carpet. Tears were falling on top of the splatters.  A midwife entered the room. Her advice for me was to “grin and bear it”.  Stories like these are offered as proof that women are being pressured into breastfeeding at the expense of their own well being. For a more balanced look at the choice between breastfeeding and formula read “Does Healthcare have anything to do with Health?” by Dr. Kimerer La Mothe  (If you have time to read only one story today this is the one I recommend.)  She says “Health is not given to us, it is created by us, as we use the information at our disposal to discover and grow the seeds of what our own bodily selves know.”  Here is her take on breastfeeding:

“You must like nursing, people say. Well, yes and no. It’s not really about liking it. It’s about making the movements that allow me to be the mother, dancer, and philosopher I am and want to be. It’s about making the movements that will enable me to keep working, keep sleeping, keep the child napping, stay sane. It’s about managing the flow of thoughts and feelings, laundry and lunching. It’s about convenience and challenge, pleasure and well-being, time saved and spent. It’s about investing in an immune system and trusting in touch. It’s about figuring out what works, and having the faith and fortitude to honor it. It’s about health.”

While the mommy warriors attack each other about which is better breastmilk or formula, the formula companies continue to make money.  Shares in Mead Johnson have risen 89% since their Initial Public stock offering (IPO) last February.  “Bristol-Myers Squibb Co is to sell its 83 per cent holding in pediatric nutrition company Mead Johnson”  which will allow the company to be even more independent.  Goody for them.  Meanwhile the UN reports that almost 200 million children under the age of five have experienced “stunted growth” due in part to not exclusively breastfeeding for the first 6 months.  “Stunting is associated with developmental problems and is often impossible to correct,” a UNICEF statement said. “A child who is stunted is likely to experience a lifetime of poor health and underachievement.”  Here in the US formula companies are also being accused of marketing heavily to blacks who now have the lowest breastfeeding initiation rates and the highest rates of food allergies.

But before you despair the news isn’t all bad.  Happily in the list: “A to Z of what’s right with America” breastfeeding can be found under B.  And in British Columbia a public health nurse has convinced her city council to place breastfeeding welcome here decals in all the municipal buildings.  This should make it easier for private businesses to follow suit.  I’ve also included a report from mothers who tried breastfeeding in Disneyland.  One mother tells how she nursed while on the Haunted Mansion ride “although that part of the ride as you head into the cemetery where you’re turned around and heading backward was a little tricky”.  Another mother reports that while nursing at the official Disney Baby Care Center she felt “secluded and lonely”.  But I think Disney did the right thing by calling their center a “baby care” room rather than a “breastfeeding room/lounge”.  In Australia apparently some bottle feeding mothers feel resentful of breastfeeding rooms because they feel excluded. 

 Asiana Airlines has launched their “Hapy MomServices”.  “ …the airline has been providing exclusive check-in counters for mothers at the airport, breastfeeding covers and baby slings free of charge for travelers with babies.” I’m not sure how I feel about the breastfeeding cover ups, but free slings!  That’s terrific. They have even raised the age limit from 24 months to 36 months and they’re in 10 international airports!  Meanwhile back here in the states Sesame Street has been lauded for continuing to show their old Buffy St. Marie tape of her breastfeeding (the article includes a link to the clip) but somehow the  another clip from the 1980’s that included a brief breastfeeding segment now shows a baby being bottle fed. 

Over in the UK the NHS are now handing out instructions to dads on how to be a good father.  “Midwives see lots of fathers, but because they don’t fit into an NHS role – they are not the patient – they don’t have anything to give them.”  Becoming a father for a first time is apparently good for men as it makes them more motivated to improve their health.  (McKenna talked about a study which reported that having a baby lowered fathers testerone levels – but only if they were married!) This same article encouraged dads to support their partner’s efforts to breastfeed.   Too bad the young man from Saipan who beat his wife as she was breastfeeding didn’t get the same encouragement. 

In science news Dr Susan Love’s efforts to recruit one million people in breast cancer studies has allowed at least one breastfeeding researcher to speed up her work.  “Kathleen Arcaro, an environmental toxicologist at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, wants to analyze genetic changes in the breast tissue cells present in the milk samples from 250 women. She needed women who were currently breastfeeding and who needed a breast biopsy for a suspicious lump.  If her team had sought women through the normal channels — such as doctor’s offices and breastfeeding support groups, the project would have been too costly. But she has now enrolled 144 women, 80% of whom came from the Army of Women. “In less than a year, we’ve processed [samples from] 93 women in a study that people said we wouldn’t be able to do,” she says.  A study in the International Breastfeeding Journal reports that variations in mother’s breasts (specifically nipples) can affect weight gain.  While a study on pacifiers done in Argentina “concluded that pacifier use does not alter the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months of age among infants born at term who had successful breastfeeding established at 2 weeks of life.”

There are a few more miscellaneous articles included below.  (Nicole Kidman inists she wouldn’t have gotten her last movie role if her breast were still at their pre-breastfeeding size.) In “Needling Worry: Why are we so crazy when it comes to vaccines?”  the author compares our growing concern about vaccines to our passionate defense of breastfeeding.  “I think the anxiety about vaccines and breastfeeding is about seeking a false sense of control,” said Kiki Schaffer, director of the Parenting & Family Center at the 14th Street Y in Manhattan. “You can’t be anxious about everything, because it’s too much, so you pick a few manageable things to get really, really upset about. A few years ago it was asbestos, then alar in apples. But picking one or two things feels safer than having anxiety about the whole world.” And I think part of making your choice about what to get worked up about involves slamming the choices of others. Because what if they’re right? What if you’re the one who’s screwed up when it comes to your kid? Nothing could be more horrible to contemplate”. 

 That is certainly food for thought.  Although for lactivists such as myself one could also argue that it is easier to effect real change if you narrow your focus.  Next week I will be speaking to a group of businesses in a teleconference hosted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.  Hopefully my crazy belief that breastfeeding mothers should be supported in the workplace will not only be heard, but will be acted on as well.

 Have a good week everyone, and thanks to everyone who sent me birthday greetings on Facebook.  You really made my day! 

Kathy Abbott, IBCLC 

www.BusyMomsBreastfeed.com

On Facebook: “Breastfeeding in the News” 

My Blog:  http://TheCuriousLactivist.wordpress.com/

 Do Pacifiers Interfere With Breastfeeding Success? William T. Basco, Jr., MD

Study Summary

One of the World Health Organization’s recommended best practices for assuring successful breastfeeding is for nursing mothers to use no artificial nipples or pacifiers with newborn infants who are breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting to introduce pacifiers until infants are at least 1 month old. Data are mixed on whether pacifier use affects breastfeeding. Observational studies suggest that pacifier use has a negative effect on nursing success, but randomized trials in developed countries suggest either no effect of pacifiers on nursing success, or reduced nursing success only with very early pacifier introduction.

This study sought to evaluate the effect of pacifier use on breastfeeding success in infants up to 3 months of age — a longer period than has been assessed in previous studies. Participants were enrolled at 5 tertiary care centers in Argentina, which were a mixture of public and private institutions….

In 2005 and 2006, 1021 infants were enrolled (528 assigned to pacifier use group). The groups were virtually identical on pre-enrollment characteristics, including birth weight, rate of cesarean section, maternal age, previous breastfeeding by the mothers, maternal education and smoking status, and percentage with fathers in the home. Approximately 95% of the subjects in both groups completed the trial.

The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months of age was 85.8% in the pacifier group and 86.2% in the no-pacifier group, for a risk difference of 0.4%, (95% confidence interval -4.7% to 4%) In both groups, > 75% of the mothers were exclusively breastfeeding their study infants at 4 months. The rates of “any breastfeeding” were also virtually identical and remained > 97% for both groups through the 3 and 4 month assessments. Of note, only 67% of the infants in the pacifier use group actually used a pacifier, but 40% of the infants in the no-pacifier group also used a pacifier. The investigators concluded that pacifier use does not alter the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months of age among infants born at term who had successful breastfeeding established at 2 weeks of life.

Viewpoint

The study authors noted that because previous trials enrolled fewer participants or followed infants for shorter periods, this study adds a great deal to the literature around this question. Although the investigators caution that this was a highly selected population (motivated mothers and infants who had established successful early nursing), such women likely constitute large percentages of the population at many US maternity hospitals. These data strike me as highly useful and practical when offering advice to expecting or new mothers on “what to do about pacifiers?” Coupled with data on decreased risk for sudden infant death syndrome with pacifier use,^[1] these new data should reassure both moms and pediatric providers that pacifier use is not harmful and may, in some scenarios, be beneficial.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/711283

Bossy breastfeeding mums pressure bottle feeders, real mums survey finds (Australia)

A VOCAL minority of breastfeeding mums look down on those who bottle feed.  

A www.realmums. com.au survey of 466 women found some mothers who bottle-feed were made to feel inadequate by the pressure.

But it found while almost half the breastfeeding mothers (43.5 per cent) felt uncomfortable feeding in public, 98 per cent of the comments made to them were positive.

Real Mums founder Amanda Cox was disappointed to discover that bottle-feeding mums often put themselves down “big time”.

One was even told she could not use the parents’ room as they were for “breastfeeding mums only” and several were verbally attacked in public. But Ms Cox said these bad experiences were in the minority. She said while breastfeeding was great, women should not be judged if they could not physically or mentally do it.

“A few bottle-feeders also felt awkward, ashamed or as though they were judged,” she said. “The sad thing was the way they spoke about themselves in relation to their inability to breast-feed.”

Health ministers last week agreed babies should be breast-fed for the first six months.

The Real Mums survey found more than nine in 10 mothers had breast-fed in public and more than one in three had bottle-fed in public. The biggest concern of breastfeeding mothers was a wriggly baby who pulled away.

“They did feel uncomfortable when first attempting breastfeeding in public, but once they got the hang of it, they were mostly OK,” the survey found.

Almost all negative comments in public were directed at bottle- feeding mothers.

A small percentage of breastfeeders referred to things such as the “poison” of formula and made disparaging remarks about bottle-feedsing even though they weren’t asked.

“While some breastfeeding mums were seriously sanctimonious, and some bottle-feeding mums were seriously self-denigrating, the number was few, which is nice,” Ms Cox said.

“And breastfeeding mums did appear to be just a wee bit – OK, a lot – paranoid when it came to feeding in public.

“Most (were) more worried about what people might be thinking, not what was actually happening.”

“The bit we liked most, however, was … that of those that did have someone comment, they were positive comments.”

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/health-science/bossy-breastfeeding-mums-pressure-bottle-feeders-real-mums-survey-finds/story-e6frfhjf-1225799955987

Breastfeeding with benefits

“I thankfully was told about the group from my doctor, because I had no idea what La Leche League was before then,” she said. “It’s important to have breast-feeding services in a community, and we get referrals of moms from Royal Victoria Hospital. But a lot of mom’s still don’t know anything about our groups.”

To help spread the word, the La Leche League Barrie groups are holding a breastfeeding benefits family fun fair and silent auction fundraiser on Saturday at Ferris Lane Community Church (49 Ferris Ln.) from 10 a. m. to 1 p. m. Admission at the door is $3 per person, or $10 per family.  The event offers something for every family, including a silent auction, activities for children and tasty treats to nibble on courtesy of The Italian Bakery in Barrie.

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2184558

An idea that is Hazardous to Your Health

Does “healthcare” have anything to do with “health”?

Kimerer LaMothe, Ph.D.

At the end of last week an article on breastfeeding caught my eye. Apparently, some celebrities have recently boasted about breastfeeding’s bulge-burning benefits. The article offered a response, amassing anecdotes from Every Woman for and against, asking: Is it true?

On the one hand, as someone who might qualify for professional nurser status, I warmed to the article’s positive pose. Mother of five, I have nursed for a total of over ten years—a full quarter of my life—and haven’t stopped yet. It works for me, for my kids, for our family.

On the other hand, however, the article made me shudder, and not (just) because it appeared in a fashion segment focused on fat. Left intact and even reinforced by the discussion was the greatest obstacle there is to any women figuring out for herself what strategies for nurturing her child will work for her: the idea that her body is a thing. This idea is hazardous to our health.

While no one came out and said, my body is a thing, the discussion assumed that a maternal body is a material entity subject to rules that apply in most cases. Is breastfeeding-to-lose such a rule? Women interviewed in the article and those who responded to it lined up for and against the rule based on their experiences. Those for whom it was true expressed delight that their bodies worked as they should. Those for whom it wasn’t were resigned or resentful or rebellious, blaming their bodies, or citing variables that interfered with the rule’s effect (like metabolism, not enough sleep, or inadequate exercise). 

However, the point to take home is not the truism that every woman is unique. The unsung point concerns the nature of health itself. Health is whole. What is healthy for us is something we must work out for ourselves in the context of the relationships that sustain us. Health is not given to us, it is created by us, as we use the information at our disposal to discover and grow the seeds of what our own bodily selves know.

Health, in this sense, is both the ability to know what is good for us, and the willingness to align our thoughts and actions with that knowledge. To have it, we need to cultivate it in our sensory selves and for our sensory selves every day—even and especially when figuring out how best to nurture a child.
*
This “health” is absent from current “healthcare” debates as well. Health is not what we get when we secure cheap drugs, insurance policies, or the right diet and exercise plan.

Even so-called “preventative medicine” is not about health. It is about monitoring a few variables that scientists know how to measure, marking them as “indicators,” and then prescribing drugs or behavior modifications designed to keep our numbers within a specified range. It is about identifying and managing risks based on statistics gathered over other times, places, and persons. 

Little in our contemporary approach to healthcare is about helping us learn for ourselves how to discern for ourselves what is good for us. We are told what is good for us and advised to implement it, for our own good. The assumption is that we don’t know. 

Yet, the fact is that no stack of statistics can deliver the most important piece of information you need for your ongoing health: which dot on the curve is you? No one can tell you what you most need to know: what works to enhance your health?
*
Our bodies are not things. Our bodies are movement—movement that is constantly registering sensations of pain and pleasure designed to guide us in making choices that align with our best health. 

Yet this capacity for knowing what is best for us remains a mere potential unless we develop it. Specifically, we need to learn to welcome, work with, and refine our sensations of pain and pleasure, so that our sensory selves can become surer guides.

Support in doing this kind of work is what mothers—as well as those concerned with health—need.
*
You must like nursing, people say. Well, yes and no. It’s not really about liking it. It’s about making the movements that allow me to be the mother, dancer, and philosopher I am and want to be. It’s about making the movements that will enable me to keep working, keep sleeping, keep the child napping, stay sane. It’s about managing the flow of thoughts and feelings, laundry and lunching. It’s about convenience and challenge, pleasure and well-being, time saved and spent. It’s about investing in an immune system and trusting in touch. It’s about figuring out what works, and having the faith and fortitude to honor it. It’s about health.

There is no way to measure the complexity of variables that make breastfeeding right for me, and thus no way for me to assume its rightness for anyone else.

Our health is something we cultivate through practices of attention to our own bodily selves. But we cannot begin to do so until we stop looking outside of ourselves for the rule that applies to our bodies, and start welcoming whatever information and stories come to us, not as grounds for judging ourselves, but as vital resources for helping us explore the movements we can make towards our own health. It’s what our bodies know.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-body-knows/200911/idea-is-hazardous-your-health

Huge numbers of stunted children, says UN report

Almost 200 million children under the age of five in the developing world suffer from stunted growth, according to a new U.N. report. But surprisingly, in the Middle East, wealthier countries have more of a problem than some poorer nations.

The Occupied Palestinian Territories, for example, have a stunting prevalence of 10 percent — the lowest in the Middle East — according to the study from UNICEF, the New York-based United Nations Children’s Fund.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both much wealthier nations, had significantly higher rates of stunting prevalence — 20 and 17 percent respectively.

Yemen had the highest rate of stunting prevalence in the Middle East — a staggering 58 percent — meaning more than half of all Yemeni children under five were significantly short for their age.

“High income from oil doesn’t mean the general population is benefitting from it,” said Arnold Timmer, senior adviser on nutrition for UNICEF, when asked about the findings.

Economic development is generally good news for nutrition and for human development,” Timmer told CNN. “But what children and mothers eat is not driven by economic indicators, but also by diet preferences, what’s available and what’s culturally trendy.” Timmer said food choice is a particular problem in the Middle East. “Instead of exclusively breast milk, the children might be getting a porridge of milk and butter and sugar that doesn’t have any vitamins and minerals in it,” Timmer said, “or tea.”

Timmer said tea is not recommended for young children because it can inhibit the absorption of iron, causing anemia.

Stunting, or low height for age, is caused by undernutrition, the U.N. said. “Stunting is associated with developmental problems and is often impossible to correct,” a UNICEF statement said. “A child who is stunted is likely to experience a lifetime of poor health and underachievement.”

The report, entitled “Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Behavior,” said the 1,000 days from conception until a child’s second birthday are the most critical for development.

Stunting is a greater problem than being underweight or wasting, the U.N. report said. Most countries have much higher stunting rates than underweight rates, it said. In some countries, like Afghanistan, Yemen, Guatemala and Ethiopia, more than half of all children under five years old are stunted.

The U.N. defines stunting as height for age minus two standard deviations from the median height for that age. Wasting is defined as weight for height minus two standard deviations from the median weight for height for that age.

The bulk of the world’s undernutrition problem is localized, with 24 countries accounting for more than 80 percent of the world’s stunting. More than 90 percent of the developing world’s stunted children live in Africa and Asia. Although India is the country with the highest number of stunted children, it does not have the highest prevalence of stunting, due to its large population. Afghanistan has the highest prevalence of stunting of any country, with a whopping 59 percent.

The report recommends that of all the proven interventions, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life — together with nutritionally adequate food from six months onwards — can significantly impact stunting.

Progress has been made in both Asia and Africa on stunting, the report said. In Asia, the prevalence of stunting dropped from about 44 percent in 1990 to 30 percent in 2008. In Africa, it fell from around 38 percent to an estimated 34 percent over the same period.

But the children’s agency warns much more needs to be done.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/11/19/stunting/

Breastfeeding at Disneyland

Many of us have taken our infants to Disney theme parks. This week we discuss babies at theme parks. All of our contributors this week had their experiences at Disneyland as present:

Mary writes:  That child nursed not only on the train around the park, but on Pirates of the Caribbean, “it’s a small world,” Storybook Land Canal Boats, Monorail, Jungle Cruise, Mark Twain, and, my favorite, the Haunted Mansion (although that part of the ride as you head into the cemetery where you’re turned around and heading backward was a little tricky).

For moms who feel that they need privacy, the Baby Care Center on Main Street at Disneyland offers a lovely quiet room with rockers, where moms and babies can go to enjoy a comfortable place away from onlookers. On a hot day, this place is a blessing.

Adrienne writes _ Many people know about the Baby Care Centers in the Parks. I nursed in a Baby Care Center once—and never again. I know that many women prefer a quiet, dark place to calm and feed their babies. In fact, I have often clarified that the feeding area in the Baby Care Center is available not just for breastfeeding but for bottle-feeding as well. The Baby Care Center feeding area can be a great resource for parents who want it.

That said, I felt secluded and lonely in the Baby Care Center. There are many “magical” aspects to breastfeeding, but not every feeding is a soft-lens angelic mother and child moment worthy of a poster in an OB/GYN’s office. I had plenty of quiet time at home with my baby. During our leisure time at Disneyland, I wanted to spend time with my family and friends—and I would like to think that they enjoyed their time with me as well! The magic in Disneyland and breastfeeding was that I could comfortably feed my son while I enjoyed time with my family and friends!

http://www.mouseplanet.com/9055/Breastfeeding_at_Disneyland

Breastfeeding decals planned  (Prince George, BC)

The city’s buildings could soon be sporting window decals that tells mothers they’re welcome to breastfeed in public places.
Pending approval from city council, the decals, which state that “healthy communities support breastfeeding anytime, anywhere,” will be placed in all civic facilities and city hall.
In September, Northern Health public health nurse Jessica Madrid encouraged city council to take the step, noting that about 80 per cent of mothers start off breastfeeding but the rate plummets following discharge from the hospital to 55 per cent after two months, 35 per cent after four months and 20 per cent after six months.
“We need a champion to help us promote breast feeding anytime, anywhere,” Madrid told council in a presentation. The window decals promote the “social marketing of breastfeeding as the cultural norm.
Cost of the decals, which staff said are easy to affix and remove, will be covered entirely by the Children First Initiative and the roll-out campaign will include additional information on how to support breastfeeding mothers and their children.
Madrid sees placing the decals in municipal buildings as a starting point from which she hopes to see them eventually show up on the windows and doors of city businesses

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20091116999915612/local/news/breastfeeding-decals-planned.html

Fatherhood: It’s Good for You

Most people wouldn’t see being a dad as a health issue, but apparently it is.

Upon becoming a father for the first time, many men discover a new meaning to life. Positive life changes usually follow, including quitting smoking and drinking, driving more carefully, eating better, getting more exercise and learning how to manage stress. Men who are actively involved in the lives of their children tend to be healthier, have more fulfilling marriages and careers and tend to live longer.

Support Breastfeeding. Ideally, your baby should have nothing but breast milk for the first six months. But nursing is sometimes hard for new moms. Make sure your partner gets plenty of fluids and rest, and encourage her every way you can.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/sns-health-fatherhood-good-for-you,0,1595194.story

Food Allergies on the Rise for US Children

The number of children with food allergies has increased 18% in the past ten years according to new research by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, those seeking treatment at hospitals and clinics for food allergy related symptoms have tripled since 1993.

Race seemed to be a factor, but not gender. Black children were about twice as likely as white children to have a peanut or milk allergy. Hispanic children have the lowest overall incidence of food allergies, but the greatest increase over the past 10 years. There were no significant differences in allergy rates between boys and girls.

Theories for the rise in allergic reactions to food range from “the hygiene hypothesis”, where over-sanitization of the environment has lead to immune system insufficiency in children. Another theory is the lower rate of breastfeeding in some demographic groups, which is thought to be protective against the development of food allergies.

http://www.emaxhealth.com/1506/50/34483/food-allergies-rise-us-children.html

Nicole Kidman says breastfeeding helped her get parts that called for curves.
Nicole Kidman isn’t coy about these baby bumps. The Oscar-winning actress better known for meaty roles than actual curves suddenly filled out after she began breastfeeding her baby daughter, Sunday Rose, last summer. “They’re not very big, my boobs, so they just became normal size. I loved it!” she titters in the December/January issue of Ladies’ Home Journal. “I felt very Woman. When you’ve had a slightly androgynous body your whole life, having breasts is a nice feeling.”

…her bigger bosom is what clinched her role as a sultry beauty in the upcoming musical “Nine” starring Daniel Day-Lewis. “[I had] big boobs because I was breast feeding – I was perfect for it,” she says. “I wouldn’t get cast now.”

“I was not looking to go back to work,” she admits. “I went back to work because this was . . . the perfect kind of scenario. Part of me was nervous about going back to work . . . but they said I could bring my baby to the set, and Rob didn’t seem to find a problem at all, so then I was like, ‘Uh, this is heaven.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2009/11/16/2009-11-16_nicole_kidman_says_breastfeeding_helped_her_get_parts_that_called_for_curves.html

Man allegedly beats up wife as she’s breastfeeding their baby (Saipan Tribune)

A 27-year-old man is facing charges in court after he allegedly beat up his common-law wife while she was breastfeeding their baby.

Once they got home at 3am, Ilo accused his wife of having an affair with a family member. Ilo then allegedly threw a can of beer, hitting the victim on the forehead. Later, as the victim was breastfeeding their baby, Ilo allegedly punched her several times, pushed her to the wall, pulled her hair, and threatened to kill her with a machete.

http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=95115&cat=1

Breastfeeding – The Feedgood factor

New mums and mums-to-be in Ayrshire and Arran can get the feedgood factor when they choose to breastfeed their babies.

http://www.cumnockchronicle.com/news/roundup/articles/2009/11/15/394086-breastfeeding-045-the-feedgood-factor/

Needling Worry

Why are we so crazy when it comes to vaccines?

CREDIT: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

I’ve been writing about parenting for eight years. And for eight years I’ve joked that if you want to make readers crazy, you only need two words: “vaccines” and “breastfeeding.”

Back in the day, of course, we just wanted our kids to survive childhood. I once wrote a piece for the Forward theorizing about why Judaism historically didn’t address stillbirth or miscarriage. Why weren’t babies who lived less than 30 days given funerals? Why weren’t they attended with the rituals associated with mourning? I’m guessing it’s because attitudes were different in a time when an infant’s death was a regular occurrence. It was better to move on, push past grief, plan for the next kid. Today we have the luxury of neurosis. We get to dwell. We have fewer kids, and we not only expect them to survive to adulthood, we expect them to go to Yale and become gastroenterologists and program our TiVos. We get worked up about vaccines and breastfeeding because we can.

Meanwhile, I wave around studies showing that once researchers correct for maternal age, income, smoking, intelligence, and education levels, the evidence is inconclusive about whether breastfeeding is better than bottle-feeding with modern formula—but lactivists continue to hurl insults at bottle-feeders and insist they’re harming their children and society. Why do we talk such different languages, at such cross-purposes?

So why the passion? I think it’s because we’re terrified of an unknowable future. Parenting is about making choices—how to feed a newborn, whether to work or stay home (if you’re an upper-middle class Jewess who is fortunate enough to have that choice), whether to vaccinate.

“I think the anxiety about vaccines and breastfeeding is about seeking a false sense of control,” said Kiki Schaffer, director of the Parenting & Family Center at the 14th Street Y in Manhattan. “You can’t be anxious about everything, because it’s too much, so you pick a few manageable things to get really, really upset about. A few years ago it was asbestos, then alar in apples. But picking one or two things feels safer than having anxiety about the whole world.” And I think part of making your choice about what to get worked up about involves slamming the choices of others. Because what if they’re right? What if you’re the one who’s screwed up when it comes to your kid? Nothing could be more horrible to contemplate. Better to close your eyes and go on the attack. At this point, the notion of kids dying of old-school diseases seems far more remote than the notion of your specific kid getting autism or an immune disorder. We don’t know any kids with rubella. We know lots of kids with autism.

All I know is that judgmental eye-rolling doesn’t help anyone. Not kids, and not parents.

http://www.tabletmag.com/life-and-religion/20492/needling-worry/

The effect of maternal breast variations on neonatal weight gain in the first seven days of life

Background

This study aims to examine whether specific maternal breast variations (such as flat nipple, inverted nipple, large breast or/and large nipple) are barriers for weight gain in breastfed infants during the first seven days of life.

Conclusion

Breast variation among first-time mothers acts as an important barrier to weight gain among breastfed neonates in the early days of life. Health professionals need skills in the management of breastfeeding among mothers with the specified breast variations, so that mothers are given appropriate advice on how to breastfeed and overcome these problems.

http://www.internationalbreastfeedingjournal.com/content/4/1/13

Infant formula maker spun off from parent company

Biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb Co is to sell its 83 per cent holding in pediatric nutrition company Mead Johnson which produces Enfamil infant formula.

Stephen Golsby, Mead Johnson’s chief executive officer said: “This transaction represents the important final step in our journey to be a fully independent public company. We believe the decision to split-off Mead Johnson reflects confidence in the success of our growth strategy and our strong financial performance since our IPO (initial public stock offering) in February, as well as BMS’ objective to focus on their core BioPharma business.”

Pediatric nutrition

Mead Johnson develops, manufactures, markets and distributes nutritional brands in 50 countries worldwide. The company claims its Enfa group of brands, including Enfamil(R) infant formula, is the world’s leading brand franchise in pediatric nutrition. In addition to baby formulas, including Enfamil that generated 61 per cent of the company’s revenue of $2.88bn last year, the company sells nutritional supplements for pregnant and nursing women, and people with metabolism problems.

James Cornelius, chairman and chief executive officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: ““Now is the right time to move forward with a split-off, given the excellent performance of Mead Johnson since the IPO earlier this year and our confidence in the current and future performance of our biopharmaceuticals business.

Divestment strategy

“By executing our healthcare divestment strategy, we have sharpened our BioPharma focus, improved the overall financial strength of the company and supported our ability to pursue strategic business development opportunities. All of these actions help us fulfill our mission to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines to help patients prevail over serious diseases,” said Cornelius.  Shareholders in his company will receive $1.11 of Mead Johnson stock for each $1.00 tendered in Bristol-Myers shares.

Mead Johnson shares have risen 89 per cent since the stock’s first public sale last February.

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Industry/Infant-formula-maker-spun-off-from-parent-company/?c=ei8s7T8XuY7wpEkEwhQbwg%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BWeekly

Sesame Street turns 40: Segments promote breastfeeding over the years

Recently, Sesame Street expanded its focus on healthful living with exercise and good eating habits.  But in actuality, the program has been promoting healthy eating for babies since its inception, depicting breastfeeding and breastmilk as the normal, natural way to feed infants and drawing praise from members of the attachment parenting community for years.

One well-known clip from 1977 features a mother named Buffy and her infant son, Cody.  While she nurses her baby, Buffy explains to Big Bird why some mothers feed their babies at their breast.  “He likes it because it’s nice and warm and sweet and natural; it’s good for him.  And I get to hug him while I do it!” 

Some controversy exists over this next clip, which highlights video segments of parents and their babies set to the song “You’re My Baby” written and performed by Sesame Street’s musical director, Joe Raposo.  The original clip (see below) was aired in the mid-1980s and briefly shows a mother breastfeeding her baby at approximately the 1:10 mark.  This segment was updated for the 21st century and, sadly, the breastfeeding clip was replaced with that of a baby being bottle-fed. 

If you would like to see Sesame Street advocate for breastfeeding in future episodes, contact the show’s production company, Sesame Workshop, via a short submission form located on their website.

http://www.examiner.com/x-29156-Minneapolis-Breastfeeding-Examiner~y2009m11d14-Sesame-Street-turns-40-Segments-promote-breastfeeding-over-the-years

NHS launches pocket ‘how to be a dad’ guide to fatherhood

Every new dad is to be handed a pocket guide offering advice on how to be a good parent.

The credit card-sized guide will provide tips on parenting and details on where to go for help.

It will be handed out to fathers attending the birth of their child and direct them to advice on subjects such as breastfeeding and paternity leave.

Duncan Fisher, of the card’s developers DadInfo, who will debate the role of fathers in childbirth at the Royal College of Midwives conference later this month, said: “Midwives see lots of fathers, but because they don’t fit into an NHS role – they are not the patient – they don’t have anything to give them.”

Among the tips given is the suggestion that the dad’s role at the birs to “help provide a loving and calm environment” and a warning that fathers can get depressed after the birth, “especially if your partner’s feeling low”.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/11/15/how-to-be-a-dad-card-115875-21822735/

A to Z of what’s right with America – the list.

A is for Alternative medicine – Although the Associated Press hasn’t figured it out yet, alternative medicine is cheaper, safer and more effective than pharmaceuticals and surgery.

B is for Breastfeeding – Because the best milk is mother’s milk.

C is for the Constitution – Without it, this website wouldn’t even exist and free speech would be stifled.

D is for Democracy – Despite all its shortcomings, Democracy is still the best form of government the world has come up with.

http://www.naturalnews.com/027492_America_A-to-Z.html

Give mums a break (Australia)

WOMEN do not need politicians telling them about the importance of breastfeeding. They do not need a bunch of bureaucrats demanding that they breastfeed their babies for six months.

What they could do with is a bit more access to services and support, not lectures that make them feel inadequate.  But as always, governments find it much easier to browbeat and pontificate than actually provide the ground-level assistance that taxpayers really need. Health ministers want a National Breastfeeding Strategy introduced next year to promote, protect, support and value breastfeeding so that it is viewed as the biological and social norm.

That might sound lovely, but what of the many mothers who find breastfeeding almost impossible for physical or economic reasons? Won’t such a campaign just make them feel so much worse? This goes to the very core of a mother’s rights.

Read in today’s Sunday Herald Sun our exclusive survey of new mothers and you will hear many felt “pressured” into breastfeeding even though they found it difficult. The mothers said they were given different advice by midwives, leaving them confused, distressed and frustrated. One was even told that giving formula to her newborn was like feeding it McDonald’s, another said that hospital staff treated her like a criminal for giving her baby a top-up formula feed.

Whatever happened to choice?

I support a woman’s right to choose and believe breast is best. However, we are overlooking the very simple fact that some women can’t or do not want to breastfeed. In an ideal world, where a mothers can choose and afford to stay at home and where breastfeeding comes easily, no doubt more would breastfeed. But new mothers are under enough pressure to cope. Give them a break.

This national strategy is not the way to encourage breastfeeding. It is putting a wedge between mothers who do and those who do not.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/give-mums-a-break/story-e6frfhqf-1225797718081

Breastfeeding just doesn’t work out for some mums  (Australia) 

There I was in a private room with no shirt on and no bra. I couldn’t. My nipples were red raw from breastfeeding and blood was dripping on to the carpet. Tears were falling on top of the splatters.  A midwife entered the room. Her advice for me was to “grin and bear it”. I was told to bite my lip for the first 10 seconds of every feed and the pain would gradually disappear.

As a first-time mum I was vulnerable and accepted her advice without question. After all, my comfort was secondary to giving my son the best start in life. My partner was a little less accepting. He asked the same midwife about introducing one bottle feed into the mix each day (one out of eight). She rolled her eyes and said: “A male would ask that question.”…

At their meeting in Adelaide on Friday, they signed off on a draft National Breastfeeding Strategy. The full five-year strategy will be finalised by the end of the year. Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says it’s needed because not enough Australian women are breastfeeding. She cited an Australian study from 2004 that claimed 92 per cent of newborns were being breastfed. After one week that dropped to 80 per cent. With every month there was a steady decline. By three months, it was down to 56 per cent and by six months it was 14 per cent. Australian women should be doing better, Roxon says.

I for one am offended. The vast majority of women are already doing the best they can. Why doesn’t the Government just butt out? By all means give women the information they need, but let them make their own choices for their own children and don’t make them feel bad if they fall short of the mark.

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21498,26349958-2761,00.html?from=public_rss

Mother banned from breastfeeding in pub

A mother has described how she was made to feel like a criminal after being ordered to stop breast-feeding in a pub.

Staff at the venue allegedly told Elizabeth Simpson, 28, to stop attending to her 10-week old daughter because customers were “eating their meals”.

“They said it was their policy not to have breastfeeding in the restaurant but there was no sign saying that.

“The fact that their main clientele seems to be young mothers shocked us even more,” she said. “It is absolutely ridiculous.

A Freemasons Arms spokesman said: “We’re disappointed to hear that one of our customers is unhappy with their recent visit.”

“We cater for lots of parents with young children and always aim to make their visit enjoyable as well as comfortable by providing baby changing facilities and high chairs.”

He added: “Breastfeeding in the pub is perfectly acceptable and our team is trained to offer support as and when requested.

“If this was not the case on this occasion then we sincerely apologise and hope the customer is willing to visit the pub again in the future.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6561425/Mother-banned-from-breastfeeding-in-pub.html

Recruiting an Army of Women to fight breast cancer

Dr. Susan Love has a goal: Get 1 million people to enroll in breast cancer studies. She’s well on the way.

That’s why the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation created the Army of Women, an Internet-based campaign aimed at connecting volunteers with breast cancer researchers. Set up in partnership with the Avon Foundation for Women and scientists, the Love/Avon Army of Women takes all of those who sign up online: healthy women, women with a breast cancer diagnosis, women of all ages, shapes and colors, and even men with breast cancer. Its goal is to recruit one million volunteers.

Kathleen Arcaro, an environmental toxicologist at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, wants to analyze genetic changes in the breast tissue cells present in the milk samples from 250 women. She needed women who were currently breastfeeding and who needed a breast biopsy for a suspicious lump.

If her team had sought women through the normal channels — such as doctor’s offices and breastfeeding support groups, the project would have been too costly. But she has now enrolled 144 women, 80% of whom came from the Army of Women. “In less than a year, we’ve processed [samples from] 93 women in a study that people said we wouldn’t be able to do,” she says.

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-army-of-women16-2009nov16,0,6031715.story

Packaging for pistol sight among items found in Fort Hood shooter’s apartment 

KILLEEN, Texas – Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s dingy apartment holds the odd remnants of a solitary military life, with hints of secrets and suggestions of terrible plans.

A folding card table near the kitchen was covered in white plastic and a random scattering of belongings. Some hinted of Hasan’s Arab roots and Islamic faith: a pile of Jordanian and Israeli coins, an Al Fajr-brand alarm clock and a white knit skull cap. Beside those items was a thin paperback book published in India in 1993, Dreams and Interpretations , by Allamah Muhammed Bin Sireen.

The book’s back cover declares it “a must in every Muslim home.” Its table of contents promises explanations for 900 dreams – everything from birth to breastfeeding, from seeing Allah to recognizing his messengers.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-apartment_12ent.ART.State.Edition1.983b6c.html

More black women are breastfeeding, but less than other moms

A National Health and Nutrition Examination survey shows that breast-feeding rates increased significantly among black women from 36 percent in 1993-1994 to 65 percent in 2005-2006. However, the findings, released last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also show that 80 percent of Mexican American and 79 percent of white infants were breast-fed during the same period.

And, despite an increase in lactation programs and consultants in hospitals, many health care professionals do not encourage black women to breast-feed. Barber also notes that heavy marketing by makers of infant formula also impacts some women’s decisions to breast-feed. However, black women who are educated, as well as those who have a supportive partner tend to breast-feed more, Barber says.

http://www.thegrio.com/2009/11/kathi-barber-recalls-watching-her.php

Asiana Airlines to Reinforce Mother-Friendly Services

Asiana’s mother-friendly services have been gaining enthusiastic reviews from those who have been through the ordeals of travelling with infants.

Through the recent launch of “Happy Mom Services,” the airline has been providing exclusive check-in counters for mothers at the airport, breastfeeding covers and baby slings free of charge for travelers with babies.

The service was initiated on Oct. 1 at 10 International airports (Incheon, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Paris and Sydney) to which Asiana flies. Out of 2,277 passengers traveling with infants, 1,043 passengers used the exclusive counters and 167 passengers were provided with breastfeeding covers, an Asiana spokesperson said.

In response to the enthusiastic reception, Asiana will extend the “Happy Mom Services” to 66 airports internationally. Also, they will lengthen the age limit from 24 months to 36 months old.

“I was worried about breastfeeding on board. But when arriving at JFK International Airport, I found that there was an exclusive counter for mothers run by Asiana and received a breastfeeding cover as well. During my 14-hour flight to Incheon, it was very pleasant for me to travel to Korea,” Choi Eun-sun, a passenger on the Nov. 13 Incheon OZ221 from New York to Incheon, said.

“No other airline has provided such services. This is really great for moms,” Agreda Sison Leizl, a passenger on the airline’s Oct. 29 flight from Chicago to Incheon, said.

Netizens have also shown their interest in the new services and currently 21 blogs and 10 internet cafes are talking about the “Happy Mom Services.”

The exclusive check-in counters for those with infants provide the 3E services ― Express Check In, Express Boarding and Express Baggage. It allows passengers with infants to shorten the waiting period at airports.

Passengers with infants will also receive a “Priority Tag” on their checked baggage. Arriving passengers with infants will now be able to quickly retrieve their baggage without the hassle of caring for their infant while waiting at baggage claim.

During long-haul flights, mothers have faced difficulties in feeding their infants. Usually, feeding takes place in the toilets or the galleries of aircraft. In order to resolve these difficulties, Asiana will provide breastfeeding covers for passengers when asked by request at the departure point.

For larger infants travelling on children tickets, Asiana is providing free installation of baby safety seats upon reservation. Asiana hopes the service will negate the need for passengers to bring along their own baby seats.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/11/119_55403.html

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge breastfeeding advocate. I know that it’s “not for everybody,” but I feel that if a mother chooses to breastfeed her child, she should be able to do so without fear of negativity from the general public. Yes, breastfeeding is a special act between mother and child but it is also nourishing and life giving. As the mother grows and nourishes the baby in her womb, she continues that growing and nourishing after the child is born. For me, the biggest disconnect is the fact that the female breast is seen only in a sexual nature and that breastfeeding is seen as a lower class option especially since formula, crafted by scientists and created by man is viewed as to be much better than the God- crafted Mother’s Milk.

While I view myself as a lactivist, I have never had the occasion to put that title to good use, until last night. On Friday evening, the entire extended Frey family went out for a traditional Wisconsin Fish Fry. (If you are not from Wisconsin, fish fries are HUGE… during Lent, some places have drive thru fish fries. If you are from Wisconsin, you know what I mean!) Anyway, upon arriving at the crowded restaurant in Sturgeon Bay, I proceeded to place Lucia in the sling so I would have the chance at eating with two hands rather than one. The rest of the story was told to me by my brother-in-law:

As soon as I got Lucia in the sling and snuggled in, a lady at the table next to ours was overheard saying to her tablemates, “if she breastfeeds that baby at the table, I am going to slap her.” (*shock*) BIL could not believe that he heard what he did and immediately told FIL, DH and MIL what was said. The restaurant was quite loud so I did not hear anything. Lucia began fussing and DH asked me to wait to feed Lucia “until Mike (BIL) returned to the table.” Thinking that BIL was weirded out about nursing in public, I happily agreed. Once BIL returned, I latched Lucia on and we all continued chatting.

As the table next to us cleared out, FIL very loudly and sarcastically said to the woman “Bye-bye!” and I asked what was going on. It was then that the slapping statement was relayed to me. Needless to say, my adrenaline spiked and I was ready to throw down. I looked at DH and said, “give me a minute,” grabbed Lucia and walked up to the woman, with DH at my heels. I gently tapped her on her shoulder and when she turned, said: “I am sorry that my nursing my daughter offended you” and I smiled sweetly. She started stuttering and stammering in reply and finally said to me, “No, no… your daughter is beautiful.” I said, “thank you” walked back to my table. Upon returning, I said to DH “and you thought I couldn’t do that without grace.” His reply was that he was not worried about me. I then asked that we all pray for her to learn tolerance.

1 Samuel 1:23 “Do what seems best to you,” Elkanah her husband told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

We finally had family photos done for the first time since Peanut was born (I know, I’m a horrible mom) and I made sure to get some of Peanut breastfeeding. The same photographer that did our wedding did these photos in the same park we were married in.

Playing one of our nursing games where she sticks her fingers in my mouth and I chomp on them and say nom nom nom.

We almost caught her smiling!

I am also happy to announce that I have taken the plunge and posted the first two of these photos on Facebook. Honestly, one of my biggest hurdles was that I thought  my husband would be upset because he had said in the past (prior to me breastfeeding in public without a cover) that he didn’t want other men possibly seeing my breasts. When I asked him he was entirely apathetic, which I decided was the go ahead. If he doesn’t care, I shouldn’t care! We should all practice what we preach!

Remember that December 27th is the day to change your Facebook profile picture to a picture of breastfeeding.

(but not) to do what i want any ol’ time. i’m just unhooked momentarily from tubes, which i have to say, is in fact,  heavenly.  i’m also really tired a can’t feel my way to type.  so here’s the round ‘up you’ve all been eagerly awaiting and hoping against hope for.

november 15,  a sunday, i checked into casa doyle for some amazing fun, food and frivolity.  serioulsy, i could totally live there as the non-participating sister wife.  dude, everyone needs a housewife and my dearsest of friends does not dissapoint.  there was coffee ready every morning.  we cooked breakfast , went out to lunches, ordered in for fun and made some spectacular dinners.  mostly i just stood there when the spectaular dinners were emerging.  there were two mammas, two nurslings, and (eventually two) very happy daddies with ex-disney girls for wives. 

monday, november 165th through wedesday, november 18th my friend drove me to the pathology lab that does stem cell harvesting.  thursday,

november 19th i was admitted here to the bmt (bone marrow transplant) unit.  all bmt units are generally still referred to as such since autologous and donor stem cell transplants are relatively new. well, new enough not rename the units yet.my havest days were uneventful.  so was my check-in day.then day -5 (11/20) i started high-dose ICE chemo.  that lasted through the weekend and finished up on the early pat of day-2 (11/24).  the days -2 and -1 were mostly fluids and resting, and let me tell you, plenty of barfing.  nasty!

i got my stem cells back on wednesay, novemeber 25, day 0.

we’re at day +3, and it’s saturday, november 28th.  i spiked a high fever last night, as was expected at some point.  i got all of my lines, blood and urine cultures right away.  then i woke up after a few hours of iv anbtiotics and needed some benadryl to combat the red man syndrome i was getting.

so there it is, my  life in a nutshell so far.  i’m sure i missed plenty and didn’t talk any about the hospital drama with nugget visiting, but they’ve already beaten me back to a half slumber with the bendaryl and reconnected me while i typed.

more to cone, i promise!

As I am expecting child #5, I figured out a long time ago that most of the things that you think you need with your first child are really not necessary. I have whittled my baby needs list down to mostly essentials with a few “nice to have, but don’t really need” items. 

Of course, by breastfeeding exclusively we won’t need any of the bottle-feeding paraphenalia, but I would like to make my own nursing cover, burp cloths, and bibs. A nursing pillow, like a Boppy, is great to have too. Nursing also requires a few good nursing bras and a stack of nursing pads (store-bought or home-made). By not starting solids until at least 6-8 months, I can get by with a booster seat at the table. And I love my Vita-Mix for making my own healthy baby food.

Since we co-sleep, we don’t need any nursery decor or furniture, just our Arm’s Reach mini co-sleeper  and some waterproof pads for our bed. A changing table just seems like a waste of money and precious space in our full house, especially when it’s so easy to change baby on the bed or floor. I have made each boy their own baby blanket and this time I’m going to make a flannel rag quilt.

I absolutely love wearing my babies because it makes my life so much easier and is good for them, so I definitely have to have my Maya Wrap baby sling. I also have found it fairly simple to make my own pouch carrier and have considered making a wrap carrier. If I get carried away, I may even attempt a mei tai carrier. My husband and I both prefer using a baby sling carrier over a plastic infant carrier/car seat, so we went for an infant-to-toddler Britax car seat.

For baby’s bottom, I use Seventh Generation diapers because they are chlorine-free. I use the subscription through Amazon.com to get an extra 15% off and they deliver them to my door! I have tried a few different cloth diapers before but I am really interested in trying BumGenius 3.0 one-size cloth diapers this time. Of course, by going the cloth route, we would also need a diaper pail, liner, wet bag for outings, and (not necessary, but handy) a diaper sprayer. But in the end, it would still save us money over using disposables exclusively for 2-3 years. But if I don’t jump on the cloth diaper train, I won’t beat myself up over it. For the occasional diaper rash, I depend on Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Balm. It is awesome!

As for dressing babies, I prefer simple cotton onesies and sleepers for the first several months. The little 2-3 piece outfits in the stores are adorable but just don’t look practical or comfortable for tiny babies. I did develop a fondness for the soft-soled leather shoes like Robeez and ShooShoos and I recently ran across Bugaloos, which are only $15. But I’ve already started working on making similar cloth baby shoes using this pattern. They are easy to make, inexpensive, and I can make them in an unlimited variety of colors and patterns. 

I do like to use a bouncy seat for keeping baby close and entertained while I’m busy cooking or doing chores. And some type of baby bath tub is necessary, along with a natural baby wash, like Burt’s Bees or California Baby. For play time, we like simple wooden or cloth toys and try to avoid unsafe plastics and battery-operated things. Babies usually prefer a lap, a smiling face, and whatever big people “toy” is handy anyway.

Babies only need a fraction of what the baby product marketers would have you believe. Fill their bellies, keep them clean and cover their bottoms, hold them safe in your arms, and babies will be happy (most of the time!).

Inf0-Mom is a free service of perinatal support, so if you’re pregnant or new mother of a baby between 0 and 6 months, you can now contact us for your little worries and questions! Carine and I  will be pleased to provide the necessary information and will also refer at need.

• Questions about pregnancy (physical or emotional aspects, prenatal …)?
• Questions on delivery (anxiety, general information – whether before or after)?
• Questions on physical postpartum recovery (particular pain, perineal discomfort, other …)
• Questions about breastfeeding (before or after the arrival of baby)?
• Questions on adaptation (family, friends, other children)?
• Questions about baby care?
• Need a particular ressource?
• Or any other issues related to motherhood – fatherhood!

To facilitate our task so we can offer you a personal reply, please give us as much detail as possible about your needs. Please note that this service is available to you for basic information only and you can remain anonymous without problems …

Created on December 2005
Updated on December 2008
Original conception 8th Wonder  /  PSC

No matter where you live, you can now access our Doula Training! We offer it since 2005, distance-learning in French since 2007 and now, in English!

80 hours of distance-learning training, 2 internships of 20h each, with matching trainer for all of your term, free copy of our guide Doula at Childbirths, possibility of ordering fetoscope and pH paper, works and written tests at the end of each module, unlimited access to PSC section on blog (students) and a certificate at finish!

Original and to push back your thoughts, we have made every effort to make that distance-learning version as exciting and rewarding than the version in-person!

Approximately 10 weeks (80h) to complete your course…

Training content

If you want, you can join a virtual group of students who are currently working on this version of the training! You’ll have the ability to add dome interactivity to your journey! In addition, private chat to encourage trade and direct presence of our trainer 5 days / 7 from 9am to noon on appointments! As a bonus, an issue of our quaterly journal In-Utero!

Prerequisites

• Be 18 years or more;
• Being a mom! Otherwise, plan an email «meeting» with director of PSC, which may accept or reject the application;
• Provide a letter in which you also explain why you chose the PSC
• 1-2 letters of reference from family members, friends, boss or other, demonstrating your skills

You will need

• A book, at your choice, with several pictures of woman in labor
• To completed a portfolio…

Portfolio

The portfolio is a tool that will help you prepare and complete your training. It presentation will be at your image and it will be seful during and after training.

• 1. Your presentation as a doula, 10-15 lines, based on the skills and qualities you possess that will make you a good doula.
• 2. 2 reads summaries of your choice in connection with motherhood, childbirth, breastfeeding, support … 1 / 2 to 1 page per book highlights or important to you.
• 3. 1 informative texte of max 1 page, subject at your choice, in perinatality field.
• 4. 3 interviews with 3 women / couples recounting their experiences of childbirth (physical and emotional), reformulated in textual summaries of about 1 page per couple.
• 5. List of perinatal resources in your area
• 6. Journal in wich you will include your thoughts, concerns, fears, joys, discoveries, etc. We invite you to fill it throughout the training. To present at the end of your training.

Registration

600.00$ + tx
Maximum 4 students

To register, please contact us directly:  psc@8thwonder.ca

Payment:

• Check (a return address will be provided upon request)
• Visa / Mastercard
• Paypal, $ 10.00 additional cost – sending an electronic invoice

8 monthary

Edie is growing, life is running and we as nomad family are moving. He has the unique opportunity to celebrate his 8th month in the Andes mountains trip through Venezuela. I could have dreamed about that for many years to be able to visit Latin America and my little angel already visited 3 continents.

Now what is new:

• His weight is 8,1 Kg   and length is 73 cm
• He is crawling on his fourth
• While we were travelling exactly on his 8th monthary he set down on his own
• He is still carried in the carrier but starts also his new trolley, he does not enjoy that much, but we try hard to explain him that it is not that bad and he can enjoy outside world from it also.
• He said already mama and baba. But the most of the expressions are hmmmm and emmmmm.
• He is teething a lot, his gums are itching him and his salivas are all around the house.
• He is eating very nicely, he started his 3rd daily dish. He used to have morning milk. I am still breastfeeding and I hope that I will still keep going on for some time. Than he has vegetable for lunch and second snack such as joghurt with fruit. He already tried some local Venezuelan fruit such as papaya, cambur (banana), fruit juices from passion fruit (maracuja) and so on.
• He managed very well his 12 hours flight from Europe to Latin America, and he already traveled from Caracas to Merida which is cca 800 Kms and it took us 2 days with few stops on the way.
• He likes local environment, except if its too hot in the car without aircon. He enjoys new things and he loves to explore new places.
• His health improved. He lost his running nose which he suffered back in Czech and he got some tent already. Although I use for him sun block cream with factor 60.
• He is smiling, playful angel which makes everybody smile and local people call him such as que lindo, que bello, catyre (blondie) and hermoso. He is able to attract everybody by his smile and his big beautiful eyes.

I am getting to know more and more people and Edie is happy to be visiting with us some of Carlos friends, I hope that soon we will find more activities to do and we will explore local environment as possible.

I will start section such as Venezuelan Diary where you will be able to read more from the local family life compare to the European standards.

A little now from his picture gallery

Edie in the Nota celebrating his 8 month

B-day drink………..,mnamiiii

8 month melody

he is sitting already

Edie was travelling a lot with us, visited Andes, Merida, Margarita island etc.

isla Margarita

Edie and his new pet iguana

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Share with your friends

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These may be a little pricier than most women are planning on spending on their midwives, but still, I’m sure there’s someone out there who knows a midwife, lactation consultant, or anyone interested in women’s health who would love one of these as a holiday gift.

A charitably-minded friend introduced me to Mercy Corps, a great foundation that helps people around the globe. Of interest here are their “Breastfeeding Mercy Kit” and their “Women’s Health Mercy Kit,” charitable gifts which respectively train lactation consultants and midwives in poor areas. What a great idea at the holidays!

–Christina

Llevo tiempo alejada del mundo cybernetico, el nacimiento de mi hijo, el comiezo en el cole mi chica y las clases de Hypnobabies no doy basto. Aqui estoy de vuelta a retomar lo que deje a medias.

Hace poco mi matrona me envio este video sobre la lactancia materna y me encanto, hacen falta muchos mas como este.

It’s been almost 2 weeks now since A slept through the night – last night, again, she was up at 1am and 4.30am, then at 5.30am she was wide awake and we got up. So I haven’t had more than 3hours in a row’s sleep for a couple of weeks now.

Lots of my mother’s group have now at least partially weaned onto formula. Our babies are now around 6 months old so we’ve all done really well in breastfeeding them this long. I am proud of doing that.

I am starting to think about when I should start moving towards formula and this morning, in my exhaustion, I have been seriously thinking about it. But I amazed at the emotions I have about it, all of which are mainly negative. My motives are entirely selfish: I hope (with little evidence!) that giving a top up of formula at night may mean  that A will not need a feed in the middle of the night; I feel so tired by the afternoons, and have been losing weight, and wonder if I will have more energy by stopping breastfeeding; and part of me is tired of feeding every 3 hours and feeling tied to A. I constantly think about feeding, where and when we will do it, what bra and top I am wearing, and whether I can have a glass of wine. It would be nice to have the option of handing over to my husband for a night/day: if I go out at the moment, it means expressing breastmilk, taking a breast pump with me etc.

But on the other hand, breastfeeding is quick and convenient, and I know that it is the best thing for A. I am not anti-formula, but I don’t like the idea of giving it to her when breastmilk is available. It is also commercial, and expensive, and means I need to take bottles and powders when I go out. I will also miss the feeling that you get from breastfeeding your child, in the nighttime and in the day.

Inevitably, stopping breastfeeding will happen over the next few months, it’s a case of when. I’d rather wean straight onto cow’s milk but that can’t be given until she is closer to twelve months. I have considered partially breastfeeding and partially formula, but there is probably no point in that. I know that there is little evidence that formula at night will help her sleep through.

So what will I do? I don’t know yet. I am going to try to have a nap and when I wake up, I’m sure that I will keep breastfeeding for a little while longer. When you are tired, though, it’s easy to try to search for something to grab on to. But the old cliche of the grass always being greener springs to mind and if I end up with a baby who’s still not sleeping AND on formula, life will definitely not be easier!

D

I realize that I am too late to join in on the November Carnival of Breastfeeding, but I figured I could share my story anyway.

We had planned to have Peanut at The University of Utah Hospital—even though it is 45 minutes away. We were living in Salt Lake City before I got pregnant, but moved to West Haven so that we could live with Curtis’s parents until Curtis graduates school. My OB/GYN (and later my midwife when I transferred to one in the same office) was in Salt Lake, the U of U hospital is the only Baby Friendly certified hospital in the state and very pro-natural birth, etc. We had a perfect birth plan and were well versed in what to do in nearly every situation regarding a hospital birth (thanks to our Bradley Method teacher Amy). The best laid plans of mice and men. I gave birth to Peanut on March 20th, 2009 at 1:30am in our bathroom after 33.5 hours of labor. Curtis caught her—still in her amniotic sac. Curtis’s parents were on the phone with 911. We were rushed in an ambulance to a hospital closer than the one we had planned.

I did not initiate breastfeeding within the first hour. I know that’s the golden rule, but it just couldn’t happen. I tried at home, but no one knew how to help me. Even after taking a class on breastfeeding, reading extensively about it, and attending La Leche League, my mind was entirely blank. I even ripped off my dress—in front of about 5-10 paramedics, 2 sherriffs, my in-laws, and of course my husband—trying to figure it out. I finally settled for cuddling with her skin to skin.

Once we got to the hospital, I was taken into a delivery-type room. A nurse there helped me breastfeed and then took Dea over to the other side of the room to get checked while I was stitched up from tearing (on a side note, if I tear next time I’m not getting local anesthetic to get stitched). We went to the room and I ate and fell asleep.

We only stayed in the hospital for about a day and half, but it was enough that I never want to have a hospital birth. Since my blood pressure was high when I was admitted (I just had a baby in my bathroom! I would hope I would have high blood pressure!) and was strep B positive (obviously I didn’t get antibiotics during labor) nurses had to come in and check our vitals every 2 hours.

I was having problems getting Peanut to stay awake long enough to eat and positioning her correctly to latch. Every time one of the nurses came in to check our vitals, they would tell us to do something different. Some tried specific holds, some said I need to press my breast to make sure she can breathe, and there was even one who said she had no clue what-so-ever. Finally I talked to a lactation consultant who walked in, put Dea on the breast, and walked back out. That was good for one feeding, but by the next one I was confused again. They also told me that I need to feed her on both sides for 10 minutes. While that’s good for initial supply, it made her projectile vomit once my milk came in. Would have been nice to know that I don’t need to continue to do that.

My biggest regret with breastfeeding in the hospital is that they told me I had to give Peanut Pedialyte. They told me her blood was too thick (I have no proof of this, but I’m convinced it was the vitamin K shot I didn’t even want to give her) and she needed it. I told them no bottles, so they luckily let me syringe feed her at the breast. A few hours later, they said her levels were normal. Considering she just spit up all that we gave her, I don’t think it was the Pedialyte that fixed it.

I still consider Peanut exclusively breastfed because the Pedialyte was for medical reasons, but I don’t want to go through that again. I don’t want to go through all of the silly procedures and I don’t want to sleep in a hospital bed. I truly believe that hospitals are for sick people, not healthy moms giving birth. Though this is something I wouldn’t have even thought of before having my Peanut, I plan on doing a home birth next time around.