Facts About Breastfeeding

New mothers need to decide if they want to breastfeed their baby or to give their baby formula. Each individual mom will make that chose based on their circumstances and their personal preferences. The World Health Organization (WHO) has some informative facts about breastfeeding. The WHO points out that breastfeeding for the first six months is crucial. They recommend that mothers initiate breastfeeding with one hour after birth. According to the WHO, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development, and health. They also recommend that breastfeeding should continue for up … Continue reading

Now Is A Good Time To Learn About Breastfeeding

Whether you are thinking of breastfeeding your baby or you are trying to decide whether you will breastfeed your baby, it is important to educate yourself about breastfeeding. Of course, the best time to read up on breastfeeding is while you are pregnant, so that you can be ready to nurse your baby when she arrives. It is also good to become familiar with breastfeeding resources that offer information and support. That way, you’ll know right where to turn when challenges or questions come up along the way. One great resource that I have used to answer many of my … Continue reading

A Breastfeeding Story – Part 2

When I became pregnant with my second son, Blake, I knew that I planned to breastfeed him after he was born. After my experience with breastfeeding Dylan, I knew that there could be some bumps in the road as we began our breastfeeding relationship. Shortly before Blake was born, I developed preeclampsia. I knew that I would have to be on the same medications during labor and delivery that I had been on when Dylan was born. What I did not expect was that I would end up with a cesarean birth. When I was able to hold Blake, he … Continue reading

The Emotional Roller Coaster of Breastfeeding

The post-partum period is a roller coaster of emotions. At least, it always has been for me. The sleep deprivation, the joy of being a mother all over again, the stress of making sure that you are doing everything just right. Breastfeeding seems to go right along for the ride in that roller coaster. I have been blessed to breastfeed my two older children for 14 months each. It was a difficult and beautiful time in my life and theirs. We bonded. I wanted it to end one day, and dreaded the time I would wean the next. This time … Continue reading

10 Breastfeeding Facts from WHO

American society seems to have a different attitude toward breastfeeding sometimes than the world at large. I was shocked when I started nursing my first child a few years ago to learn that the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until the age of 2. I had always thought that one year old was the recommended age, although I knew that many cultures breastfeed far beyond that. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding until 1 year. I have always breastfed my children until about 14 months of age. I am determined to breastfeed. This has not been an easy task … Continue reading

My Clothes Have Gotten Too Big

One of the best parts about being on a diet is when you actually see signs that it is working! After several weeks on the Atkins diet, I managed to lose a noticeable amount of weight. Should I buy new clothing now, or wait until I get down to my “goal weight”? When I started the Atkins diet, back in June, I weighed 180 pounds. It is now nearly the end of August, and I weigh 169 pounds. This is a total of eleven pounds of weight loss! While I am pretty excited to be more than ten pounds lighter … Continue reading

Breastfeeding is a Personal Choice

As a mother who has nursed three babies and edits an attachment parenting site, I am a big supporter of breastfeeding. But one thing I’ve noticed is that some people are crazy about it. There are a lot of breastfeeding moms and supporters out there that get kind of nasty to moms that don’t breastfeed. My personal experience was when my oldest quit nursing at seven months old. She just quit. No notice, no warning. Just one day she woke up and wanted nothing to do with my breast. Come to find out I was pregnant, but she didn’t care, … Continue reading

Breastfeeding Mothers Protest in Kentucky

I have a friend who likes to tell a story about breastfeeding. She had taken her daughter to the hospital to see a doctor. While her husband staying in with the daughter, she took her youngest to the lobby to breastfeed her. A lady who worked at the hospital (I don’t know if it was nurse or not) came over to her and told her they had a special place for her to breastfeed. She was horrified when the hospital lady took her to the ladies room. There was a chair there, but she likes to say ‘Who would want … Continue reading

Old Enough to Talk, Too Old to Breastfeed?

There was never any question in my mind as to whether I would breastfeed our children. I always knew it was the perfect food for a baby. The more I read about it, the more I was amazed at just how many benefits there are for both baby and mom. My mom breastfed my siblings and I for about a year and a half. That sounded like a pretty good number to me before I had kids. Now that I have a baby and am loving breastfeeding, I realize that I might breastfeed much longer than that. Before becoming a … Continue reading

Too Much Lipase

My daughter rarely takes a bottle. My fulltime job is staying home and taking care of her, so there isn’t any need for her to get nourishment from any place other than me. Every once in awhile, however, I get curious about how she’d handle taking breast milk from a bottle. For about a month, I was pumping and storing milk in case of an emergency. I figured if something happened to me and I’d be unable to breastfeed her, it would be nice for her to have a little comfort from breast milk while she was slowly weaned off … Continue reading