Category Archives: Facts Tips & Advice

I forgot about a pet peeve of mine as it hasn’t happened to me. However, doing some reading I remember a pet peeve that I’ve always had and that’s “supplementing with formula”. Mainly after a doctor suggests it. I need to give you a little background first.  From the time I was about 5, my mom started working at an emergancy care facility.  She learned a lot about medicine and became friends with the doctors.  She also made me start understanding that doctors are not gods.  That eash doctor has their own ideas and everyone makes mistakes. I begin to learn about how drug companies work. My house was filled with pads of paper, toys, pens, etc that screamed the name of one company or another. I entered the medical feild myself when I was 14.  I learned first hand about why doctor’s say certain things.  You know all those …

Together with thousands of other blogs, BabyNursingBlog is participating in the Blog Action Day 2008. This year’s goal is to raise awareness and generate discussion on poverty, so that’s exactly what we’ll do. Poverty is a huge concern in our own country as well as the world. As the economy continues to be in a horrible state right now, more and more people are being faced with the concerns of poverty. How can nursing your baby help? First of all, think about how much money you save by nursing YOUR baby. Imagine if everyone with an infant nursed their babies. How much many people could have more money to pay bills if they weren’t buying formula?  The government and other organizations have programs set up to help low income families pay for formula.  What could they make that money for instead? How about food for the rest of the family? …

Part of being pregnant means lactating.  I’ve always had over productive boobs.  I knew I was pregnant with my second because my boobs were leaking.  The year or so before I got pregnant with this baby, my boobs would leak around my period making me wonder if I was pregnant.  Well, this pregnancy has by far been my milkiest. Is that a word? When you are lactating, wearing T-shirts without a bra will most likely result in wet shirts. I sleep in a T shirt and for the last 2 months, I have been waking up with wet shirts. I could sleep in my bra and nursing pads but oh I’m not ready for that. So, for now I just deal with it. More laundry but more comfort. Face it, being 7 months pregnant is uncomfortable to begin with. I don’t want to sleep in a bra, thank you. I …

Breastfeeding is cheap and if you think about it, it is better for the environment. No washing a million bottles and using all that water, no empty formula containers to get rid of nor wasting trees to make formula labels, not to mention all the waste from medicine not needed by breastfed babies, etc etc. Anyway, the past few months I started thinking about all the stuff we use and how much waste we go through. I try to remind my kids (and fiance) to shut off lights and not to waste water and I recycle until I am blue in the face. What else could I do to do my part in saving the environment? So I have slowly started doing things to help. With this baby I am going to use cloth diapers. Not only are they a lot better for the environment, but I am so excited …

Ever since my experience at work, I have wondered about pumping at work. When my girls were born, I was babysitting and brought them with me. I never had to pump during the day. However, if I return to my job after this baby is born, I will have to pump. Seeing how receptive my coworkers are to this idea and knowing what my work life is like (we usually have too much work to take our entire dinner breaks) I am worried. Personally, I think this reason will be one more reason to change jobs but that is besides the point. If you are in the same boat I am, you need to prepare for this reality as soon as you can. Some states do have laws on the books making workplaces give nursing mothers unpaid break time to pump. However, a lot of states don’t. I assume that …

So why breastfeed? What are the benefits of breastfeeding? Here is a list I have comprised. As you know, research is always being done and scientists constantly change their minds about studies they have done. However, this list includes benefits that have been discussed for years. I did not include great detail about why these benefits are believed to be true. If you want to learn more about the studies, please visit the link at the bottom of this list. Thank you. Breastfeeding can reduce the risk of SIDS Studies show that breasted babies have less of a chance of dying from sids then formula fed babies. What better benefit of breastfeeding do you need? Breastfeeding can result in smarter kids Want to boost your child’s IQ? Kids who were breastfed have shown to have higher IQs later in life. Breastfeeding lowers the risk of obesity It has been shown …

Many new moms will ask “is my newborn nursing okay?” If not to someone, then to themselves. First of all, don’t be afraid to ask your pediatrician. I’m sure they hear moms ask all the time if their newborns are nursing okay. Second, does everything feel okay? If your newborn is not nursing okay, your breasts will be sore. They might be a little sore at first but I am talking SORE. If you don’t know if you breasts are feeling normal or not, ask. Third, another way to tell if your newborn is nursing okay is to watch the baby’s weight. Newborns will typically lose some weight within the first few days of life. After that, a healthy baby who is nursing okay will start gaining weight. If your baby isn’t gaining weight, chances are it’s not nursing okay. Finally, is your baby wanting to nurse all the time? …

I have only about 12 weeks before my baby is here and I need a new nursing pillow. I for one loved my boppy. I got rid of it a while back when I wasn’t sure whether or not I would have any more babies. Well, now I am and I need a new nursing pillow. I saw one on Craigslist but I was in the middle of moving and I didn’t get a chance to go get it. Sigh. When I first got my nursing pillow, it was a blue boppy and it was about 7 years ago. Back then they came in about 3 colors, all solid and got kinda gross after a while. You could wash the whole pillow but that was about it. Now they make boppies in all colors and make removable covers you can wash! Woo hoo! While you might think that any old …