I read this quote today on a breastmilk donation website. It pretty much sums up how I feel about being a Mother.
"We are not managing an inconvenience; we are raising human beings" - Unknown.
I wish I knew who "unknown" was. I think we'd be good friends. :)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Big Latch On
I had to share this:
During the week of August 6th, it is "World Breastfeeding Week" and to celebrate, women are gathering all over the US to try to set a record for the largest gathering of breastfeeding babies.
HERE is the info if you are interested in supporting the cause.
There are gathering locations all over, so look up your state and see if there is one near you. I'm glad to see some positive attention being given to breastfeeding. :)
During the week of August 6th, it is "World Breastfeeding Week" and to celebrate, women are gathering all over the US to try to set a record for the largest gathering of breastfeeding babies.
HERE is the info if you are interested in supporting the cause.
There are gathering locations all over, so look up your state and see if there is one near you. I'm glad to see some positive attention being given to breastfeeding. :)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Motherhood is full of challenges... finding a place to breastfeed your baby shouldn't be one of them.
Did you know that you have legal rights when it comes to breastfeeding your baby in public places? You do! In most states, it is considered legal anywhere a Mother is "authorized to be".
Check out your state laws, HERE.
I included the website link on the left side bar, too.
Recently a mother was harassed and asked to leave a Whole Foods Marketplace in Salt Lake City, UT because she was breastfeeding her child. You can read about it HERE.
Its a shame that a place like that would be so discriminating when they tout "healthy living" and "healthy food" in their marketing... What is healthier than BFing a baby?
I hope this doesn't happen often and I think it is sad that Mothers are made to feel like they aren't welcome to care for the needs of their children in public. Our culture has some pretty unhealthy views, in my humble opinion.
HERE is some info on a "NURSE-IN" that is being organized on August 20th, in protest of Whole Foods discrimination of breastfeeding mothers.
Check out your state laws, HERE.
I included the website link on the left side bar, too.
Recently a mother was harassed and asked to leave a Whole Foods Marketplace in Salt Lake City, UT because she was breastfeeding her child. You can read about it HERE.
Its a shame that a place like that would be so discriminating when they tout "healthy living" and "healthy food" in their marketing... What is healthier than BFing a baby?
I hope this doesn't happen often and I think it is sad that Mothers are made to feel like they aren't welcome to care for the needs of their children in public. Our culture has some pretty unhealthy views, in my humble opinion.
HERE is some info on a "NURSE-IN" that is being organized on August 20th, in protest of Whole Foods discrimination of breastfeeding mothers.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Growth Charts
Have you ever wondered about your baby's growth and where they fall on the Pediatrician's chart for height and weight averages? I have and I wondered why my Pediatrician seemed concerned when Colin looks and acts very healthy. He is growing and learning. He is happy and he is FAT. So why the concerns at his well baby check?
The Pediatrician said that most babies will fluctuate up and down on the bell curve of weight gain... Okay. Then in the same breath, he said that Colin had gone down on the bell curve and he was concerned. "Why?", I thought, when he had just told me that it was normal for them to go up and down... weird.
So I started researching. Did you know that the graphs and charts that are commonly used in Pediatrician's offices to measure a Baby's growth (height and weight) are primarily based off of formula fed babies? It makes sense when most babies are fed, at least in part, some amount of formula before 6 months of age.
Kellymom.com has this to say on the topic:
"Healthy breastfed infants tend to grow more rapidly than formula-fed infants in the first 2-3 months of life and less rapidly from 3 to 12 months. All growth charts available at this time include data from infants who were not exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months (includes formula-fed infants and those starting solids before the recommended 6 months). Because many doctors are not aware of this, they see the baby dropping in percentiles on the growth chart and often come to the faulty conclusion that the baby is not growing adequately. At this point they often recommend that the mother (unnecessarily) supplement with formula or solids, and sometimes recommend that they stop breastfeeding altogether. Even if mom realizes that her baby is perfectly healthy and doesn't follow these unnecessary recommendations, she ends up worrying for no reason (and moms don't need anything extra to worry about!). "
You can read more HERE.
The pattern of growth that kellymom described was exactly what I have seen with Colin's growth... exactly.
Colin is exclusively breastfed so I wondered if there was a chart that more accurately depicted the normal growth pattern for a breastfed baby. And ya know what? There is! The World Health Organization published a chart for just such babies. The CDC (the US Center for Disease Control) is starting to use it and encourage Pediatricians to use it for breastfed babies, as well.
Great!
Here it is for Boys:
http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/who/GrChrt_Boys_24LW_9210.pdf
And this one is for Girls:
http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41c018.pdf
And wouldn't you know, Colin's growth has been consistently right below the 50th percentile, all along....
When you use the correct tools for measuring things, you get a more accurate picture. Imagine that. :) Now I just have to print this puppy off and take it with me to Colin's next well child visit to show the Pediatrician. He is a healthy happy baby.
The Pediatrician said that most babies will fluctuate up and down on the bell curve of weight gain... Okay. Then in the same breath, he said that Colin had gone down on the bell curve and he was concerned. "Why?", I thought, when he had just told me that it was normal for them to go up and down... weird.
So I started researching. Did you know that the graphs and charts that are commonly used in Pediatrician's offices to measure a Baby's growth (height and weight) are primarily based off of formula fed babies? It makes sense when most babies are fed, at least in part, some amount of formula before 6 months of age.
Kellymom.com has this to say on the topic:
"Healthy breastfed infants tend to grow more rapidly than formula-fed infants in the first 2-3 months of life and less rapidly from 3 to 12 months. All growth charts available at this time include data from infants who were not exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months (includes formula-fed infants and those starting solids before the recommended 6 months). Because many doctors are not aware of this, they see the baby dropping in percentiles on the growth chart and often come to the faulty conclusion that the baby is not growing adequately. At this point they often recommend that the mother (unnecessarily) supplement with formula or solids, and sometimes recommend that they stop breastfeeding altogether. Even if mom realizes that her baby is perfectly healthy and doesn't follow these unnecessary recommendations, she ends up worrying for no reason (and moms don't need anything extra to worry about!). "
You can read more HERE.
The pattern of growth that kellymom described was exactly what I have seen with Colin's growth... exactly.
Colin is exclusively breastfed so I wondered if there was a chart that more accurately depicted the normal growth pattern for a breastfed baby. And ya know what? There is! The World Health Organization published a chart for just such babies. The CDC (the US Center for Disease Control) is starting to use it and encourage Pediatricians to use it for breastfed babies, as well.
Great!
Here it is for Boys:
http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/who/GrChrt_Boys_24LW_9210.pdf
And this one is for Girls:
http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41c018.pdf
And wouldn't you know, Colin's growth has been consistently right below the 50th percentile, all along....
When you use the correct tools for measuring things, you get a more accurate picture. Imagine that. :) Now I just have to print this puppy off and take it with me to Colin's next well child visit to show the Pediatrician. He is a healthy happy baby.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Marketing Formula
Have you ever stopped to think about why the trend is so high in the developed world (and the developing world is sadly following suit) for babies to be formula fed instead of breastfed? No other mammal feeds its young another mammal's milk. Its kinda odd.
Don't get me wrong. I think formula has its place and I am grateful that it is available for those who truly need it. But why are only 14.2% of US babies exclusively breastfed to 6 months? There are many variables to this equation, but one very big one is marketing. Formula makes money.
I found this article on Pub Med, which focusing on the pervasiveness of formula marketing and I thought it was interesting. It was published through Princeton University.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2443254/
Don't get me wrong. I think formula has its place and I am grateful that it is available for those who truly need it. But why are only 14.2% of US babies exclusively breastfed to 6 months? There are many variables to this equation, but one very big one is marketing. Formula makes money.
I found this article on Pub Med, which focusing on the pervasiveness of formula marketing and I thought it was interesting. It was published through Princeton University.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2443254/
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