Play Mats - Safe?

I saw this article and it made me start to question whether or not the play mat that I have is really safe...

Belgium is to ban the sale of all foam puzzle mats for babies and toddlers, citing tests showing they contain a cancer-causing chemical.

Formamides are used to soften the foam in the mats but are corrosive and can be deadly. Toxicologist Alfred Bernard explained:
“They are solvents, residues from the manufacturing process that stay in the product afterwards. They can be absorbed through breathing or through the skin. As a rule, children should not be exposed to these products.”

Belgium becomes the first European country to ban the mats and will impose a 20,000 euro fine for anyone found selling them. Jean-Philippe Ducart, a spokesman for a consumer watchdog said:

“They will be illegal in 2011 but in the meantime we ask that they be withdrawn from the market in the interest of public health and the health of children exposed to them.”

An EU-wide ban on the mats is expected within the next few years.

http://www.euronews.net/2010/12/11/belgium-bans-toxic-children-s-puzzle-mats/

Midwives

The midwife considers the miracle of childbirth as normal, and leaves it alone unless there's trouble. The obstetrician normally sees childbirth as trouble. If he leaves it alone, it's a miracle.-Sheila Stubbs

The "What to Expect" Series Revihttp://www.blogger.cohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifm/img/blank.gifew

The "What to Expect" Series by Arlene Eisenberg, et al
	comments by Kelly Bonyata

The "What to Expect" Series includes the books What to Expect When You're Expecting, What to Expect the First Year and What to Expect the Toddler Years (plus some related books like What to Eat When You're Expecting, and so on).

Update: I've just looked through some of the breastfeeding information in the Third Edition (2002) of What to Expect the First Year. All in all, the general breastfeeding information is significantly better than in the first edition, but quite a number of inaccuracies and misinformation remain scattered throughout. The authors seem to have pushed their comfort level for breastfeeding up to around a year, but they continue to perpetuate myths such as breastfeeding being "exhausting" for mom, particularly when it comes to breastfeeding past a year. In addition, the moms whom I have worked with continue to mention that they go to the book with a question and come away feeling worried, inadequate and guilty.

The book What to Expect the Toddler Years (which has not been updated since the first edition) is very negative when it comes to breastfeeding a toddler, with many comments similar to the ones quoted below from the First Edition of What to Expect the First Year.

The first editions of the books (I've read through the pregnancy, first year and toddler books), give lip service to breastfeeding in the early months (though much of the info is quite outdated), but gets less and less supportive of breastfeeding as babies pass 6 months. Weaning is suggested well before 12 months. The authors also advocate letting baby cry (to do otherwise is "cowardly") and are very much against co-sleeping. Here is a quote from What to Expect the First Year (first edition):

By the end of the first year, however, scientists tell us that breast milk ceases to be adequate--not only is its protein content is insufficient for the older baby, but it suffers from a decline in several vital nutrients including zinc, copper, and potassium. In the second year, infants require the nutrients in cow's milk, and the mother who is still breastfeeding should recognize that although both she and her baby may still be enjoying the experience, breast milk can't be considered a major source of nutrition for her baby. Nor do babies past a year appear to need the sucking breast feeding provides. In spite of much speculation, there's no solid evidence that nursing past the first year--or even well into the second or third or beyond--hinders a child's emotional development. But it does seem that prolonged breastfeeding, like prolonged bottlefeeding, can lead to dental decay.

These statements are so full of misinformation, it's hard to know where to start! See Extended Breastfeeding Fact Sheet for referenced infomation on the nutritional and many other benefits of breastfeeding during the second year and beyond... Cow's milk is certainly not needed for anyone but baby cows... Some babies have breastmilk as their main source of nutrition well into the second year... There are many studies that show that the sucking need (as exhibited through continued pacifier, finger or thumb sucking) persists for several years in many children, with most stopping by age 4-5... There is good evidence that nursing into the second and third year (and beyond) has psychological benefits... There is no evidence that there is a link between extended nursing and dental decay...

http://www.kellymom.com/store/reviews/review_whattoexpect.html

Breast Babies and Schedules

BREASTFED BABIES AND SCHEDULES

Breastfed babies typically need to nurse more often than their formula-fed peers. You may have a friend whose baby is on formula remark that her baby only feeds every 3-4 hours during the day and sleeps through the night. You may wonder why your breastfed baby's eating and sleeping patterns are quite different than this. Perhaps you have tried to put your baby on a schedule only to find that he cried before you thought he should or you found that you were constantly looking for other ways to pacify him until feeding time.

Breastmilk is digested with much more ease than formula. In fact, your first milk, known as colostrum, has a natural laxative effect on the baby, enabling him to pass the meconium (the stool he has been storing since before birth) more quickly. The earlier this stool is expelled the less likely your baby will develop jaundice. Due to breastmilk's ease of digestibility, breastfed babies are rarely constipated while only receiving mother's milk.

Formula consumption, on the other hand, puts a strain on baby's digestive system causing it to work "overtime". Thus the formula-fed baby sleeps for longer stretches of time and demands to feed less often. However, in this case, sleeping longer is not necessarily a good thing! The formula-fed baby is more likely to suffer with constipation than the solely breastfed baby.

Putting your breastfed baby on a rigid schedule may interfere with the successful intitiation of breastfeeding and put your baby at risk for slow weight gain and other developmental problems such as failure-to-thrive. Breastmilk is produced on a supply and demand basis. The more your baby nurses the more milk your body will make. The less your baby nurses the less milk your body will make. Insisting on an artificial schedule may result in not enough stimulation to your breasts and therefore a scanty milk supply. As a result you may not be able to fully meet your baby's nutritional requirements thus resulting in the need to supplement with artificial milk.

In the first few weeks of nursing when lactation is just becoming established, frequent, unrestricted feedings are crucial to establishing a healthy milk supply. Nursing at least every 2-3 hours during the day and at least once during the night even if your baby must be awakened for the first few weeks will ensure that your milk supply is established and remains adequate as your baby grows.

These frequent feedings also ensure that your baby is getting the milk that he needs. Most young babies need to nurse at least 8-12 times or every 2-3 hours during a 24 hour period. Studies show that newborns who are allowed to nurse frequently and on demand regain their birthweight more quickly and are at less risk for developing low blood sugar and jaundice. Conversely, babies who are fed strictly by the clock regain birthweight more slowly and need medical intervention for treatment of low blood sugar and jaundice largely due to the fact that their mothers' milk is slow to become more plentiful due to less frequent feedings.

Crying is actually a late hunger cue. Babies will all demonstrate early hunger cues such as turning the head side to side, rooting, bringing the hands to the mouth, and even sucking the hands before they cry.

As baby grows he will experience periods of heightened growth that generally last for several days. Commonly referred to as growth spurts, these periods require more feeding flexibility. Baby demands to feed more often and your body responds to this increased demand by increasing your milk supply. Adhering to a set schedule during these times may result in a baby who's increased caloric needs are not met. Furthermore, your breasts will not receive the added stimulation they require to boost up your supply to meet your baby's growing needs.

Many babies also "cluster feed", "stack feed" or "bunch feed". These are all different terms to describe a feeding pattern in which the baby nurses almost constantly for several hours. This is a normal pattern for a breastfed baby. Many will feed in this way prior to bedtime as they "tank up" for a longer period of sleep. Also milk supply is normally lower in the late afternoon and evening hours. Many babies compensate for this slight daily drop in mother's milk supply by feeding more often.

Finally, babies need to suck and find great consolation at the breast when they feel lonely, insecure, tired, overstimulated, and overwhelmed with the changing world. It is this non-nutritive need for mother's breast that ensures that this emotional as well as physical need is met. Thus, breastfeeding - unlike bottlefeeding - is more than feeding. It is communication between mother and baby. It is a form of nurturing; it is an act of love.

---

Written by Becky Flora, BSed, IBCLC

http://breastfeeding.hypermart.net/schedules.html

The Baby Whisperer... a review

I found this great review from kellymom.com, on the book: "The Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg. I couldn't have said it better. :)

http://kellymom.com/store/reviews/review_babywhisperer.html

	Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby by Tracy Hogg, with Melinda Blau Ballantine Books, New York ISBN: 0345440757
	reviewed by Mary Tatko

The first time I read Dr. William Sears' warning against "baby trainers," I couldn't help picturing a man in a top hat sending beleaguered babies through a series of hoops. Now I can replace that image with the smiling face of "Baby Whisperer" Tracy Hogg, the apparent ringmaster in today's world of baby trainers.

In Secrets Of The Baby Whisperer: How To Calm, Connect, And Communicate With Your Baby, Hogg and co-author Melinda Blau promise to help new parents maintain balance by preventing a newborn from dominating their lives.

Sorting fact from opinion from flat-out fiction in this book's nearly 300 pages is something no new parent should have to do. But parenting advice sells, a fact attested to by the book's New York Times bestseller status, so you can bet plenty of moms and dads are trying out Hogg's suggestions.

Of course not all her advice contradicts the basics of attachment parenting (which itself is a parenting style that varies from family to family). And I share her fondness for such things as cloth diapers and infant massage. But so much of what Hogg serves up as wholesome, commonsense guidance for mums and dads (she hails from the U.K. and likes to play up her "Englishness") is so obviously counter to natural parenting, and breastfeeding in particular, that this book should come with a warning label.

The backbone of Hogg's parenting system, a "structured routine" she calls E.A.S.Y., has four components: the amount of time she prescribes for eating (25 to 40 minutes every 2 � to 3 hours), activity (45 minutes), sleeping (one half to one hour), and you (an hour or more for mom while the baby sleeps). While she acknowledges that the exact amount of time will vary from baby to baby and with the baby's age, she makes it clear that following a schedule such as the one she outlines is crucial to preventing "chaos in the house."

When she lays out the case for her E.A.S.Y. parenting routine, Hogg takes a couple of paragraphs to dismiss rigid schedules and on-demand feeding, setting herself up as a champion of the reasonable middle ground between these two "extremes."

When Hogg states that feeding on demand simply makes babies demanding and that parents who do so will be giving up their own lives, anyone who knows what attachment parenting is and is not probably will put the book down.

Those who keep reading should, as Hogg herself recommends more than once about other people's advice, take what they read with a grain of salt.

On the issue of breastfeeding, Hogg again plants herself on self-proclaimed middle ground. She laments the "controversy" over feeding choices and sympathizes with new moms who must wade through "huge propaganda campaigns." (I would think her attempt to equate the efforts of volunteer organizations such as La Leche League with the money-driven marketing of formula companies must be insulting to many readers, regardless of their feeding choices.)

Even as Hogg congratulates herself on her "even-handedness," she manages to vastly understate the benefits of breastfeeding while giving considerable ink to the merits of formula, which, she informs us, "is more refined and chock-full of nutrients than ever."

The section of her book titled "Making the Choice" reads more like a defense of formula than an objective overview of feeding choices. Among other things, she poo-poos bonding as a reason to breastfeed, complains that the health benefits of breast milk have been overblown, warns that nursing mothers must carry an extra five to 10 pounds to ensure proper nutrition for their babies, makes a point of emphasizing that studies merely suggest - not prove - that breastfeeding might offer women protection from a variety of health problems, and maintains that women concerned about body image might be better off using formula since breastfeeding can leave them "flat as pancakes" or "sagging."

Hogg seems so eager to make up for the breastfeeding advocates who are, she implies, out to make mothers who choose formula feel guilty, that she can't seem to discuss breast milk without plugging formula in the same breath:

"The proverbial bottom line is that while it is good for a baby to have some breast milk, especially during the first month, if that's not the mother's choice or if for some reason the mother can't breastfeed, formula-feeding is a perfectly acceptable alternative - for some, the preferable alternative."

When it comes to the practical how-to's of breastfeeding, Hogg provides nuggets of accurate information, but she offers up numerous duds as well, including such incorrect or incomplete information as:

• "After breastfeeding, always wipe off your nipples with a clean washcloth. The residue of milk can be a breeding ground for bacteria ." (Just not true; there is no need to wipe your nipples after every feeding.)
  
  
• ". always wait one hour (after exercising) before breastfeeding." (The lactic acid buildup she's warning about has not been shown to cause harm, and though some babies seem to dislike the taste of mother's milk after heavy exercise, many babies show no aversion whatsoever.)
  
  
• And for a mother worried she isn't producing enough milk: "Once a day, fifteen minutes before a feed, pump your breasts and measure what you are yielding. Taking into account that a baby can extract at least one ounce more by physically sucking at your breast, you have a good idea of what you're producing." (While this test might work well for some mothers, it can be misleading for others. Many mothers find that, though they get very little milk when they pump, their babies are getting plenty at the breast. Weight gain and the number of wet diapers a baby produces are better measures of milk production.)

Another low point in the book is Hogg's take on nursing toddlers: "My feeling is that when mothers prolong nursing, it's almost always for them, not for the baby." She follows this statement with an anecdote about a mother who was (gasp!) still nursing her two-and-a-half-year-old. Because her husband was not supportive, she was doing so behind his back - obviously not a good situation. To make a long story short, the mother came to her senses, weaned the baby, and "was automatically a better parent, a better wife, and a stronger human being."

The strangest line of thinking comes in a sidebar titled "Feeding Fashions" in which Hogg points out that, though breastfeeding is "all the rage" today, "in the postwar decades . the majority believed that formula was best for babies." She fails to mention the reasons for formula's rise, the consequences of the trend, or that the world health community now is in near-unanimous agreement that breast milk is best. Instead she shares this bizarre thought:

"As this book is being written, scientists are experimenting with the notion of genetically altering cows to produce human breast milk. If that happens, perhaps in the future everyone will tout cow's milk."

Hogg goes on to quote a 1999 article from the Journal of Nutrition that suggests formulas may one day be so advanced they will meet babies' needs better than human milk.

I'm not sure where to file that last bit of information, but there is at least one thing this book makes clear: If you're looking for a baby trainer, you can skip the circus and turn instead to Tracy Hogg. If it's accurate parenting information you seek, look elsewhere.

-- Mary Tatko is the stay-at-home-mom of 19-month-old Jake.

Mary comments:

As you can see, I mainly focused on the chapter about feeding choices, though there was plenty I could take issue with in her chapter on sleep. As you might imagine, Hogg is not a fan of shared sleep. She sets up her recommendations about sleep in the same way she takes on other issues: She dismisses those whose views are "extreme," then presents what she claims is a "middle-of-the-road, commonsense approach." When she's getting ready to pitch her system for "sensible sleep," she cites Dr. Sears, La Leche League, and "Mothering" magazine as the extremes on the family bed side of the issue. (Dr. Ferber is her example of the other side.) And while she encourages those for whom such practices work to "by all means stick with it," she warns that "extreme practices don't work for many people."