Thursday, December 10, 2009

Teach Child to Tie Shoes

I am getting ready to help a child jump over another milestone. It's time to get my four-year-old started on learning to tie her shoes. About a week ago, she started wanting to tie her own shoes so that tells me it's time. There is this book that teaches a child how to tie shoes, with shoe laces and everything, that Santa is going to bring her so she can do it on her own. She's an independent little thing when she wants to be (only when she wants to be).

I'm hoping this will be easier than potty training went for her!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Jazz Up the Mom Look with Women's Sunglasses


What is one great tool to have on hand when you have to run out to do errands but haven't had the time to fix your face with make-up the way you used to (and how could you...new babies keep you busy)? Toss on a great pair of women's sunglasses to cover up the fact that you didn't get more than a few hours of sleep the night before. Change the stained shirt and nobody will know that you slept two hours, had been spit up on twice, didn't have time for make-up, and then leaked breastmilk at the first sound of your baby's cry.
This picture here is of mom to two, Jennifer Garner and her daughter, Violet, both out and about wearing their shades.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Danger to Kids: Huffing

If you have kids that are a bit older - upper elementary through high school - have you talked to them about the dangers of huffing yet? Kids take things they find around the home and get high from it. It's important to learn what they use, how they use it, to lock this stuff up, and have a good talk with your children about the dangers. See the video here.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Ready for baby shower invitations?


It's a few months away from the big day - your child's "birth" day - is your baby shower scheduled yet? Have the baby shower invitations been mailed out and RSVP's noted? This is the traditional baby shower.

However, many people are waiting until after the birth of the baby to throw a shower for the new mother. Having had several children, this seems like a really good idea actually. Holding a baby shower after the birth allows the attendees to know exactly what gender they are buying for. It also allows the new mom to figure out what she really needs and what becomes superfluous.

Whatever you decide, congratulations on the little one!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Keep Toddlers Busy for Cheap

If you little one is a fan of Nick Jr's shows (Dora the Explorer, Fresh Beat Band, Blue's Clues, Olivia, etc.), did you know you can print coloring sheets of their favorite characters to color? I do this with my four-year-old and have for about the past year. She loves to keep busy coloring and it doesn't cost anything more than a couple sheets of paper and a little printer ink.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Baby's First Hair Cut at Kids Franchise

Baby's first hair cut is always fun but bittersweet and it comes for moms or dads to hurdle over that milestone at different times. It really depends on how fast your child's hair grows (and when you're emotionally ready to let go of the baby locks).

Some babies and toddlers may not mind it and others may be afraid of what is happening. Taking them to a kids franchise hair salon with the bright, fun colors can help ease the fear for them. I'm afraid there isn't much you can do to ease your emotions over it - take lots of pictures and save that first chunk of hair cut loose from your little darling's head. Don't be surprised if curls get cut off and straight hair grows in its place. It happens.

Just don't schedule it during a time when they'd normally be napping or eating. You want to set up the situation for the best possible outcome (and least amount of tantrum opportunities).

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Out of the Mouth of Little Ones

My four-year-old daughter just came up to me and asked:

"Mom, will it hurt when I have a baby and go to the dentist so they can get it out? Can I just let it fall out?"

Oh, if only childbirth was that easy, lol.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Folic Acid Cause Asthma?

A small study in Australia is looking at the possibility that folic acid may increase a child's risk of developing asthma if taken in late pregnancy (only late pregnancy, NOT prior to or early pregnancy where it is still thought to be useful in preventing neural tube defects). I sure hope that study is wrong for the thousands of women who were told by doctors to take it throughout pregnancy. Read more about it here.

What Every New Mom Deserves

After the birth of my first few kids, I had all my hair hacked really short. It seemed easier and I regretted it each time.

I needed to go somewhere for pampering. After all those months of morning sickness (I had it for nine months, 24/7) and feeling frumpy, it would have been nice to perhaps go shopping for a new pair of boots (let's face it, who wants to shop for clothes RIGHT after having a baby before you're back to pre-baby weight and with a gelatin-like stomach). I am a boot fiend and would love to have a closet full of them. It'd have been a nice pick-me-up after months of feeling frumpy.

I should have gone to a stylist who knew hair really well and could give me something that would be easy when "mom hair" was all I wanted that day, but still something that had great style when those times called for it too. Spa day!

Manicures are always fun. I haven't had one of those since before I started having children over a decade ago. Have a friend throw a pamper party and get all the girls together for a few hours of fun to let you recharge your batteries.

There were weeks when I didn't even bother wearing make-up. Going shopping for new make-up would've been a nice boost and a lot of fun too. If getting out of the house is hard to do, you can find it online. Cosmetic Cosmos has some great choices and Newport Rhode Island make-up has all the choices you need.

The point of all of this is that after you have a baby, all your attentions are centered around the new baby and helping siblings adjust. Don't forget that taking care of yourself is important. We all do out best to eat right when we're nursing but you have to take care of your emotional/mental needs as well!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

No Time for Wedding Planning!

If you are a new mom and trying to plan a wedding, you might find time to be a problem. Babies sure do keep you busy!

If it were me, I'd definitely delegate what I could to a trusted person instead of micro-managing every step of the planning process. Pick out some areas that are most important to you (the dress, the cake, the band, dinner choices, the vows) and leave the smaller details of the rest (like the bridal shower, wedding favors, limo services, etc.) to your trusted Maid of Honor, a sibling, or a parent, with final approval by you. You don't want to stretch yourself so far that things fall by the wayside.

Enjoy your time as a new mom, enjoy the planning of your wedding and don't drown yourself in the tiny details. Let somebody help you.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Baby Shower Favors, Baby Names, & Other Joys of Pregnancy


Pregnancy isn't all morning sickness, aches and pains. There is so much fun in planning your baby's nursery, finding popular baby names from past and present to choose from, the first flutters when you begin to feel her move, seeing your child on ultrasound, and having a great baby shower with unique baby shower favors like these pictured above. How adorable are these!

For baby names, my husband and I went through hundreds of names before deciding on a name for each of our children. We both had to agree to it or it was discarded. By the time we got to our fourth child, we'd run out of names to agree to so my husband gave up. He said I could pick the first name and he'd pick the middle name. I was good with that!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

From Diapers to Drugs...My First Baby Grows Up

My pre-teen daughter had an interview for me tonight for her health class. It was about the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Boy do I miss the days when my biggest worry was which brand of diapers to buy and which cute little shoes would match the outfit I picked out.

Kids grow so fast. Take your little ones and give them a big hug frequently. Eventually they'll get to the age where those affectionate squeezes won't be so welcome as much anymore. My youngest is not in school yet so I still have some time left with her before the harder stuff comes.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Should I change blog layout?

I've never been a big fan of two column blogs. They just seem too crammed together without a lot of room to play around and make things more easily viewable for the readers. If I run across a nice three-column template for my blog here, I am going to have to definitely consider a template change.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Natural Childbirth, Water Birth

One of my younger sisters is the ultimate in natural from what she puts into her body, how she conceives, how she gives birth, and how she feeds her children after birth. As a result, she's had great pregnancies and good experiences in childbirth for herself, her husband, and their children.

She eats healthy. She doesn't diet. She doesn't need to. She eats organic whenever she can, eats well-balanced meals, doesn't eat processed foods, and cooks at home ensuring she knows what is going into the food (and into her body). She's a great cook. She is lean and healthy. That girl can put a lot of food away so you know to be lean, she's definitely doing something right to keep her metabolism going so well!

Her pregnancies are easy. I had morning sickness for nine months straight 24/7. Her pregnancies have little to no morning sickness. I just thought of something: Could my 24/7 morning sickness be my body's way of purging itself of toxins in my system to protect the baby I carried? It's something I never thought about until now. Makes me wonder.

She is a big believer in natural childbirth. Her second and third children were born at home naturally. She had at-home water births! How amazing would that be? They brought in a birthing tub. Her second child was born at home on Christmas morning. While their first child impatiently told his mom to hurry up so he could open Santa's presents, she gave birth at home naturally, taking the child from her body herself with dad, her son, and a midwife there. It was less painful and peaceful. She enjoyed the experience so much that she also had her third child naturally at home in the water. She did what women were designed to do - give birth - and nobody was going to intercede in that and turn it into a medical event. It was a great experience for the family.

One of these days I'll tell you about how unnatural my delivery for my last child was at the hospital. While it is a funny story now, it was scary then.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Adding Helpful Links

I am adding helpful links for books, articles, and other web sites that I hope some would find helpful and answer questions you may have. I asked my sister, who is THE definition of a crunchy mama, for names of books that she found useful and posted the two she gave me too. As I find good information, I'll post it!

Trying to Conceive

I dreamed from the time I was in high school of having children. I waited six years beyond high school, until I'd met the man I wanted to be a father to my children, to try to conceive. I was healthy, a good age, and financially able. I was ready. My body wasn't.

We had a hard time conceiving. When other women around me seemed to get pregnant so easily, it was hard to see when I spent month after month in tears wanting a baby so badly. I resented my periods when they came. They were a sign that my body had failed again. I'd failed again. Taking 1-1/2 years to get pregnant took its toll emotionally.

I believe that if I'd known then what I know now, we would not have had any problem conceiving. I had two problems going on that I believe affected my ability to conceive several of my children. The first was an intense amount of stress we were both under from an outside source plus the heartache month after month of not getting pregnant was stressful in itself. I believe that played a part in the difficulty we had conceiving our first two children. My idea of romantically conceiving a child flowing into an easy pregnancy and natural birth was a dream. What's so romantic about tears month after month when my period would come and I'd be left feeling like I'd failed again?

Not only were we under a lot of stress, I developed thyroid disease eight years ago. My thyroid hormones were not at optimal levels and my periods were far apart and very heavy. How could I count days when my cycles were so irregular? Nobody once thought during that time that it may be my thyroid hampering my ability to get pregnant even though it was known I had thyroid disease.

With TSH levels around 3 - 5, my doctors considered that "normal" but normal doesn't necessarily mean optimized. The range is broad and there is no one right number for the entire population. Some doctors have found that when you bring the TSH levels to the lower levels of the 'normal' range (ex: 1, 2), and there are natural thyroid medications that can do this if you need them, women who've failed to conceive previously do so. Since optimizing my hormone levels for my thyroid, bringing my TSH level to the lower range, my periods are regular and normal. That makes ovulation more easily determined if I wanted to try to conceive again.

I wish I'd had more knowledge about optimized thyroid hormone levels for all those years we spent trying to conceive. If you are having a hard time conceiving, check your thyroid hormone levels and educate yourself on optimal levels within the normal range. Get copies of your labs and don't rely on being told they are "normal" - look at them yourself and see where you fall within the normal range.



This is my beautiful baby girl who took 18 months to conceive. She was worth all the tears but I sure wouldn't have minded it being a little easier!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Toy Commercials Are So Annoying!

Oh my gosh, I am about ready to turn off the television until after the Xmas holidays! Why do they have to put three toy commercials in a row into each commercial segment? Do they not realize how annoying it is for the parents to hear, "Mom, I want that" over and over and over again? Are the toy companies endearing themselves to me in that way? Heck no!

I know it's a marketing ploy. It's no different than stores like Wal-Mart putting all those interesting items kids HAVE to have right at their eye level throughout the store. With the economy so bad, there's no way we can give our kids EVERYTHING they want. I'm just hoping we'll be able to give them a little of what they want.

It's not so bad with my older kids but with my littlest one who thinks everything should be hers because she has no concept of cost, the economy, or bills (and believes Santa can bring her anything and everything she wants), it's a little irritating (and a bit sad because this Xmas is going to be a lot leaner than past holidays).

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Bestselling Kids Toys

I checked on Amazon to see what the bestselling kids toys are so far. I wanted to see what we were in for come Christmas. Here is the link for the bestselling toys.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Personalized Baby Gifts for Twins

A little girl I once knew (when I was dating her father over 15 years ago) has been on bed rest at the hospital awaiting the birth of her twins. How quickly time has gone by. I remember the Christmas we bought her a bicycle and here she is all grown up and with a family of her own!

I am looking for ideas on meaningful gifts. Generic gifts for babies and children generally get used and passed down or passed along (speaking from personal experience with four children and two stepchildren of my own). Kids tire of toys so they get moved on (or broken).

Do you know what gifts didn't get passed on, are still kept as treasures to be passed onto my children when they become adults themselves? I'm talking about personalized baby gifts. I have all the personalized baby blankets that were given to me for my children still. Those are the types of gifts I am looking for right now for my soon-to-pop little girl now grown into a woman for her own kids.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Do You Hyper-Parent Over-Scheduled Kids?

Christmas is coming faster than it seems like it should. It seems like it wasn't that long ago that we just did all the holiday gift giving, overeating, and hemorrhaging money!

I don't like to buy gifts for kids that they tire of quickly. I like to find gifts that I know they'll use their imaginations for. It is good for children to be creative and use their imaginations instead of having every hour of every day scheduled for them running here and there in my opinion (let's face it, it's not good for the parents either). Kids are so over-scheduled! I certainly don't want to hyper-parent 24/7 either.

I found these Playmobil Toys that I think give kids the opportunity to create their own little stories while playing, which is what we had to do as kids. Give the kids some free time to use their imaginations and let them just be kids. That's my opinion.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Helping Young Children Learn Skills


Puzzles are a good way to teach children. They help with spatial skills, hand-eye coordination, and logic/thinking skills. Puzzles make a great gift for young children as young as one to start working on all of these things. I found these puzzle stools that would help a child learn these skills plus their name.
Having a child with motor apraxia, both gross and fine motor skills were delayed. I watched how difficult it was for my son to learn to manipulate small objects with his fingers. Puzzle pieces were a great way to help him and was something his occupational therapist worked with him on.

Out-of-Wedlock Birth Rates Rise

Almost four in ten children (40%) were born out of wedlock according to a NY Times article this year. You're probably thinking it is due to teen pregnancies but it's not. Their numbers actually went down for teens (23% of the numbers). It went up for women in their 20's (60% of the numbers). Our family is no different. My two stepchildren were both born out-of-wedlock. We have six children total so that is about 33% for our family.

I can't imagine all of these are "oopsies". So, why are women choosing to have children and putting off buying bridesmaid gifts and making it legal?

Is marriage becoming irrelevant for a lot of couples who choose to live together instead? Is the high rate of divorce putting people off? Is the fact that we are living longer, and people don't want to spend the rest of their lives with the same person anymore? Marriage isn't the financial necessity it once seemed to be now that women have good careers as well. So, is it becoming irrelevant?

To me, my vows are very relevant. If I'd not found a husband by a certain age and I was financially sound, I likely would have gone ahead and had a child anyway (and added to the statistic) but my goal was always to find somebody I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and raise children with together. Everything I do, every decision we make together, is done with that unity in mind. I think it is important that my children have two parents who love each other.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Don't Let Hormones Rule You After Childbirth

New moms fall into the "mom hair" thing pretty quickly I think. Within one week of having my first child, I had all my hair chopped off. I don't know if it was hormonal or just easier. I did it again with my second child. I don't look good in short hair but I really think hormones took over.

You have this soft belly left over right after your pregnancy and child's birth, and you're feeling a little dumpy. What better way than to make a change like a haircut and why not make it easier while we're at it since the kids are going to keep us so busy and go short? That was my thought-pattern each time. My mistake.

I learned my lesson after that. I made my husband promise that he'd remind me after the births of the rest of our kids not to cut my hair short and why. He did and it kept me from doing anything drastic to my hair.

I need to concentrate on finding a good salon franchise for my children's hair instead of letting hormones take over for me (because I have also been doing the "mom thing" and cutting their hair myself the last couple of years most of the time) and it's not a good thing (for them). My hormones are out of whack because of my thyroid disease so I'm still up and down hormonally even though I'm not pregnant.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Does Breastfeeding Cause Loss of Sensation?

I was watching Rachael Ray last week (a re-run) and she had Dr. Lisa Masterson on there answering women's questions. Dr. Masterson is on the show, The Doctors on CBS. She is one of four in lab coats on the show and Dr. Masterson is the only female out of the four doctors.

There was one question new mothers might be interested in so I wrote it down so I could post it here. One new mom, who had just finished breastfeeding, had no sensation left in her nipples for intimacy. It just didn't feel good to her anymore whereas it had before nursing. She wanted to know if it was normal.

Dr. Masterson says that the nipples become callused from all the gnawing and suckling that babies do and that it IS normal. She said that sensation would come back. I didn't have this problem myself after nursing for 26 months but if you have this problem, or are worried about it once breastfeeding is finished, I hope this helps!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Discipline

Disciplining as a new parent can be tough. Am I being too strict? Not strict enough? Am I raising a spoiled child? Am I breaking their spirit? Am I providing proper consistency and structure? Do I discipline or pick my battles?

How do you know when how you parent is going to raise responsible, loving children into responsible, loving adults? That's my goal. Do I have to wait until they are adults to see if what I am doing is going to work or do I have some indication that it is now?

As a parent, you are going to make mistakes. When I make a mistake, I apologize to my children and move on (just as I expect them to apologize when they need to). I expect basic manners and considerations from them. I don't think I ask too much. Sometimes I wonder if I am asking enough of them. I believe parents need to have expectations for their children and I don't think enough parents do anymore. If I don't have expectations for them, how will they learn to have expectations for themselves?

Tonight I was reading about a family constitution written by a man named Scott Gale who created it to help with his family issues. It was very interesting reading.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Urge to Have Baby

We've decided, after four of our own children and my two stepchildren, that we have finished adding to our family. Even though I feel the urge every so often to have another child, the desire to be done with around the clock "baby" seems slightly stronger - enough to where I am not devastated over not having another child. Now when I hold them, I enjoy returning them to their mommies when they start crying. That's a great sign that I am over the major urge to keep reproducing. Considering I have felt that urge since my teens (seriously!), it's been a long time coming. I have four beautiful kids of my own and the maternal bond is strong and we couldn't be happier.

I have a sister due to have her second child soon. It's been 15 years since she had her last child so it will truly be starting over with sleepless nights, around the clock feedings, and diapers. She's had her baby shower already and I'm sure received many baby gift baskets full of necessities for her future second son.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Potty Training

We are right in the middle of potty training our youngest child. I will be BEYOND happy to finally be rid of pull-ups forever. Out of all the kids I've potty trained, she has definitely been the most stubborn. Might have something to do with the fact that she's the baby of the large family (and spoiled by all).

She's resisted potty training for quite awhile but as of yesterday, she's come on board and is doing her best. We are going to use rewards (toys and our time as rewards). I am looking at toys from the Only hearts club. She also has one special toy that she's picked out herself that will be the "finale" gift when she's potty trained. Spending time doing something special together will be another reward.

I am hopeful that this attempt of hers will be it! I'd love to have potty training behind us.

Friday, September 4, 2009

The BEST Diaper Rash Treatment EVER!


I have four children and two stepchildren. I've been down the road of painful diaper rashes many times. Sometimes it is raw and open and sometimes it is red, like a burn.

A couple of months ago, my youngest had a diaper rash that I could not get rid of. I tried over-the-counter creams. I tried a prescription cream from the doctor. It did no good and I had a child crying all the time, in pain. When I took her back to her pediatrician, he told me of a great alternative that is used at the children's hospitals.

He said to buy Aquaphor and Maalox, mix some together and use that. You're probably wondering, "Huh? Maalox?" He said it would neutralize any acid causing that burn on her skin.

So I tried it and was very surprised to see the painful rash disappear on my daughter's skin. How wonderful!

Well, this last week after a bout of a stomach bug, that bright red, painful rash was back and it was itchy on top of it. I thought I'd substitute Vaseline for Aquaphor (they seemed similar and it was less expensive). It didn't work. After a couple days of sleepless nights and frequent baths to rinse off, I went and bought the Aquaphor. Because everything seemed to burn her very sensitive skin this time around, I thought I'd leave the Maalox out at first to see how just the Aquaphor would do. After one application (laid a towel on the couch, applied it and left her bottom clothes-free and diaper-free to watch her favorite show while it did its work), my daughter was moving around and able to go to the bathroom pain-free. After two applications, you could barely see any redness at all.

What a huge difference. She actually slept through the night last night. After the last three nights of middle of the night crying and middle of the night baths to rinse off, it was a relief (for both of us).

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Afraid of that trip down the aisle?

Are you anxious to get your man to the altar yet? Or like in our case, perhaps you are the one tentative to take that final step instead of your other half. My husband asked me to marry him for months before I finally said yes. He was asking me almost from the beginning. I did make him wait several months before I gave him the "yes" he'd been waiting for even though I knew I wanted to have children with this man. He's a good guy.

For me, it was the idea of marrying a man who had other children and an ex-girlfriend that I wouldn't wish on an enemy that held me back. It was a huge step for me and I needed to really think about it, think about whether I was ready to take on the responsibility of somebody else's children, the financial impact that would have on us for years to come, and an ex who despised me from day one. Marriage was a big step!

Once we picked out our rings and picked our way through the minefield after the ex found out about our engagement, we were good to go. We married in a civil ceremony four months after we were engaged. It's been 13 years now. The marriage is still good and strong though we are looking to renew our vows and exchange wedding bands (my wedding ring is very pretty with all the sparkle I love with diamonds) but to renew our vows, I'm looking for a more simpler band like palladium rings. I want a simple ceremony, outdoors and a huge party afterward!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Eye Changes While Pregnant

While pregnant, you might notice your eyes to changing along with the rest of your body. It doesn't happen for everybody but many pregnant women might notice changes in their vision during this time. You should always tell your doctor because while it may be normal for some and temporary, it may also signal problems (like high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.).

I developed migraines while pregnant with my son brought on by the hormones. It was the only time in my life when I had migraines. I curled up under the covers completely to block out light and noise and waited until my vision cleared and numbness in my face and arm went away (several hours). It's how I knew I was carrying a boy as opposed to my daughter before him (I was right). I figured only a male could cause that much pain. Kidding.

If your vision changes, it's not likely they'll change your prescription while you are pregnant because it will take weeks after the birth of your child until your eyes settle back into what will be normal for you (and safe to get new prescription lenses or contacts then). However, it is a good idea to include an eye exam in your prenatal routine along with all the ob/gyn visits due to the other problems that your eye doctor can catch for you like your blood pressure changes.

If you are having more headaches than usual and your doctor has cleared you for any problems, wear Women's Sunglasses when out in the sun. Not only will it protect your eyes from UV rays but it will reduce the squinting which can make those hormone-induced headaches worse!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Go Organic for Baby

We all want what is safe and healthy for our children. We question vaccinations, on whether to go organic, whether to nurse and for how long, and more. We want a healthy baby to grow into a healthy child into a healthy adult.

When you start thinking about organic, most of us think of organic baby food. My sister makes her own baby food using good ingredients, organic whenever she can get them, but did you know there are organic baby clothes too? I didn't until the last few months.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Trying to Take Back Childbirth

An article about taking childbirth back can be found here. If you're interested in less "medical" and more "natural", you might want to read this.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Eating for Two

When you are pregnant and hear that you are now "eating for two", what does that mean to you? Does it mean to double up what you are eating? From the way some people eat while pregnant, I think many people think that is what it means. It doesn't though (even if we use the excuse that we are pregnant to eat way more than we need for the growing baby). What it will mean is more weight for you to lose after the baby is born, unless you plan on keeping it.

During most of the pregnancy, the recommendation is about 300 extra calories (a little less during the first trimester). When you think of it that way, it doesn't take much for that little extra - perhaps a glass of milk and serving of fruit or veggies at dinner (yum right?).

Maternity Clothes for the Nouveau Mommy

Pregnancy is beautiful. Your body is growing and changing to accommodate another little life. I think that is about as magical as it can get. It's precious.

Maternity clothes have come a long way too from 13 years ago. I wish they'd made maternity clothes like this back then.
We saw my pregnant niece this past week. She had a form-fitting top on and looked beautiful. It's a great time (fashion-wise) to be pregnant...much better than the pregnant clothes I had to choose from.

If you are struggling with how you feel over your changing body, remember that you have created life. eHow has many articles about pregnancy. Look up How to Keep a Positive Self-Image During Your Pregnancy.

To Breastfeed or Not to Breastfeed?

I have four children. Not all of them were breastfed.

  • With my first daughter, she couldn't latch on no matter how many doctor visits and appointments I made with the breastfeeding nurse. Come to find out the bone structure in her mouth was messed up, which we know now but didn't know then. She's had her palate broken apart and everything to fix her mouth but that's a different topic.
  • I nursed my second child (and he was a constant nurser) for about three months until I went back to work and they didn't have the facilities for me to pump (the President offered me his office to use but that was just weird). Pumping in the bathroom was just "eww" to me - it didn't seem sanitary at all.
  • For my third child, I didn't nurse (which I seriously regretted after drying up).
  • By the time I had my fourth child, I had my mind made up that I was going to nurse and nurse I did. I never did make enough milk to nurse her around the clock without supplementation (I think that had to do with my thyroid problems). On just breastmilk, she was classified as "failure to thrive" because I could not make enough no matter how much I pumped to increase supply or what supplements I took or how often she nursed. and we had to supplement for her to be healthy. That didn't stop me from nursing her on demand for two years. I would say she got about half her nutrition from me and the other half from formula. She's a very healthy little girl who has never had an ear infection (she's four now).

I found with my fourth child that I loved nursing. I had wished that I could have nursed all of my children (can't change the past though). I'd breastfeed again if we were to have another child. Most definitely. I loved it and even after not nursing for the last two years, I still miss it. It feels very maternal to me.

For more information on breastfeeding, check it out here.

Sunday, July 12, 2009