BREASTFEEDING
What It’s Like To Be A Mom with Breast Milk Oversupply Problems
Breast milk supply issues: What does that make you think? Likely it brings to mind a lack of milk supply. However, it can also be the opposite. Given it is less common to hear stories and experiences of it, but there are moms who have trouble feeding due to an oversupply of milk.
“Though there isn’t a hard-and-fast definition, oversupply is essentially a mismatch between what a mother makes and what her baby can comfortably take in. […] (M)ilk production is controlled at the breast. When a baby empties the breast, they’re sending a signal to their mother’s body to produce more milk.”
While this problem can have a silver lining if the mom pumps and donates the excess milk, it does not make the ordeal any less exhausting and challenging for both mom and baby. [Read more here.]
Baby Blows Breastfeeding Mom’s Cover On TV & It’s Hilarious
If you are a mom, you are also, without a doubt, a multi-tasker. It would be impossible to lead any kind of life if you did not learn to multi-task! Sometimes it means singing songs while fixing dinner. Other times it is breastfeeding while reading a book. In Rachel Sklar’s case, it was doing a live TV interview while breastfeeding. Amazingly, the viewing audience almost never knew until the final seconds of the interview.
“It wasn’t until the last few seconds of the five-minute interview about Barbies new line of dolls with diverse body types that anyone could notice that Rachel Sklar — a feminist media figure and founder of The Li.st, an e-mail listserv and network for professional women — was nursing her 10-month-old daughter, Ruby, according to Hello Giggles.” [Read more here.]
PREGNANCY
25 Movies You Need To Watch During Pregnancy
Have you ever re-watched one of your favorite childhood movies as an adult and had all new perspective and maybe even laughed at jokes that were completely over your head as a kid? That’s the exact same experience you will have watching these particular movies that involve pregnancy and parenting, now that you are actually walking the walk! Unexpected pregnancies, teenage pregnancies, first-time parents, parents of multiples… You will be surprised when you look through this list just how many movies are centered on the concept of a growing family. Now get to watching. It’s the perfect excuse to get off your feet for a bit. [See movies here.]
What It Really Feels Like When Your Water Breaks
So if you watched any or all of the movies listed in the post above, there is a good chance you saw a scene with a dramatic moment when the pregnant character’s water suddenly broke and everyone was in a frenzy to rush to the hospital.
Spoiler alert: That’s not typically how it happens!
“According to the Mayo Clinic, it can actually be hard to tell if your water broke or if you’re just leaking urine (pregnancy is so glamorous).”
In many cases your water will not even break on its own and a medical professional will do this for you once you are in labor in the hospital. [Read more here.]
Image: Alena Ozerova/Fotolia
MOTHERHOOD
10 Weird Things All First-Time Moms Worry About
Feeling a little overwhelmed with worries and questions over whether or not you are doing things right and best for your child? More often than not, the thing you are worrying over is something you are doing just fine handling. Also know that you are not alone in having a million questions, so never fear you are pestering someone by asking–be it your friend who is a mother of 5, your own mom, or your doctor. Common questions have to do with baby’s eating, crying and health. Check this post for some assurance that you are not alone in your worries and what this mom has learned to be the answers. [Read more here.]
Source: Fotolia
Mom’s Viral Post Sums Up Why Parenting Used To Be Easier
There may not be anyone around to speak for what parenting was like 200 years ago, if you have ever talked to your mom, aunt, or grandmother, you may feel like parenting today is an entirely different experience than what they went through generations ago. And in some ways, you may be right. Constance Hall recently posted to Facebook on the subject and her thoughts went viral, bringing over 64,000 likes and a wave of comments.
“Hall recalled that after becoming a mother, she once asked her father how her grandmother managed to raise 11 children. ‘My dad responded that she wasn’t given half the pressures I was,’ she wrote.”
Hall’s post talks about the many pressures mothers feel today to look perfect, act perfect, and share every moment of parenthood in a perfect way, even if it is not their day-to-day, moment-to-moment reality. [Read more here.]
INFANTS
How to Give a Newborn a Bath
If you are like most, the idea of bathing your new baby is intimidating. Holding a newborn can even feel tricky at times (even after seeing the nurses and doctors at the hospital flip them around like no big deal!). How do you get them plenty clean and not drown them?
“I used to get really anxious about bathing my baby because infants are squirmy greased water balloons when they are wet. I mean here you’re trying to clean something with very little neck control while keeping their head above water. No pressure there.”
This article shares several great bath tools to make the job easier as well as step-by-step instructions on how to get the job done. But the main thing is to never forget the most important rule that truly matters: NEVER leave a baby in the bath unattended. [Read more here.]
Babies and heatwaves: 8 dangers you need to know about
With the arrival of March, spring is days away. That means spring break, vacations, road trips, outside activities, and pool days are not far off! You have probably already started gearing up–mentally if nothing else! Now is a great time to also start educating and preparing yourself for summer heat with little ones–babies especially. While summer brings plenty of fun, the heat can bring extreme dangers, particularly for babies and toddlers. Review this list and share it with those your children may be spending a lot of time with this summer. In addition to shopping for cute sunglasses and beach hats for your little nugget, figure out what else needs to be on your list to make it an extra safe summer. [Read more here.]
TODDLERS
The Single Worst Thing About Daycare
Daycare has its pros and cons in every parent’s book. Hopefully, for you, it has more pros than cons. And as hard as leaving your kid every day for work might be, there are numerous benefits to daycare for your children. However, there is one pitfall that every parent can agree on…
“It’s the nonstop, unrelenting, constant colds and other minor illnesses they bring home. There is never a dry nose in our house. We buy tissue boxes, children’s Advil and nasal saline spray in bulk. The humidifiers are always humming, the thermometer always on the kitchen counter. I can wield a NoseFrida snot sucker like nobody’s business.” [Read more here.]
Source: Rose Sala
9 Irksome Food Allergies In Children And Tips To Avoid Them
Today, being told a friend’s kid has a food allergy is like being told they are scared of storms: it’s not something you hear about with every child, but also completely ‘normal’ to find out. Normal or not, dealing with food allergies is not fun–for the child, parent, family, or anyone involved for that matter.
“A food allergy is the immune system’s negative response to a protein, which is otherwise harmless. The proteins are called allergens and can trigger an allergic reaction. When the immune system sees the food as a threat, it triggers a response that can result in swelling, hives, rashes on the skin, itching, etc.”
Some allergies result in more severe reactions than others, but there are ways that you can best treat allergies to avoid dangerous situations, as well as ways you can help your children develop fewer, if any, allergies. This article covers the entire spectrum and drills down on some of the most common foods causing allergic reactions. [Read more here.]
