Category Archives: baby

How To Pick The Perfect Breast Pump

During my first pregnancy the idea of pumping milk from my breasts was foreign. I saw the activity as something I would be doing once or twice a week in order to have a few bottles in the freezer just in case. I pictured breast feeding my daughter every time she was hungry and not needing a large amount of stored milk.I knew I would eventually go back to work, but I was delusional about pumping for that as well. I envisioned pumping right before bed every night, and somehow that would last her all day the next day. I had no idea how tedious pumping would be. I did not realize that production slows down if you do not pump regularly.

Once my daughter was born and all of this new information began sinking in, I had yet another revelation. There are quite possibly more makes and models of breast pumps than there are automobiles. I by no means purport to know which is best for you, however, the advice I will impart is that regardless of which brand you chose, get the electrical one.

I made my breast pump decision based on budget. I didn’t see any reason to spend over a hundred, possibly two hundred dollars, for something I thought I would only occasionally use. I regretted my choice only a few weeks after my daughter was born. At this point I was only pumping a few times a week, oblivious to the fact that I would need massive stores once I returned to work (yet another regrettable decision made in blissful ignorance).

Squeezing the little manual nozzle hundreds of times in order to procure a full bottle starts to become painful and cumbersome. Imagine doing this three to four times per day. I should have heeded the advice of the retail clerk at the baby store. Stupidly I just assumed she was trying to up-sell me (which she may also have been doing, but that is beside the point). What did she know about my needs? Apparently a lot.

In the end I ended up spending more since I now had a useless manual pump along with a need for a mechanical one that was destined to make my breast feeding days much nicer.

Are Your Kids On The Right Diet?

With terms such as “childhood obesity” and “diabetes” floating around everywhere, materializing in every parenting article we read, other terms such as “sweet tooth” become taboo. My daughter loves cookies, and jelly beans. She won’t eat apples unless they are sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Like most children, she has a sweet tooth.Of course my husband and I are aware of the dangers of sweets. After all, we don’t want the baby teeth she just got in to rot out already, but in moderation I can’t imagine things being as malevolent as some people would have you believe. My mother is one such person.

We were sitting on the couch the other day and my daughter started fussing for a snack. I gave her Gerber Graduates cinnamon maple Crunchies. In our house we call them “cookies.” The term was enough to send my mother on a tirade essentially boiling down to the unhealthy foods I allow my daughter to eat.

First of all, these are not really cookies. Second, if anything is unhealthy in this situation, it is the desire or determination to raise a child completely devoid of cookies, or candies, or anything else deemed damaging. I am by no means condoning allowing a small child to eat anything they want without limitation, but the occasional snack seems innocuous enough.

In a society obsessed with fad diets restricting entire food groups, I am not amazed that sugars have now earned such a bad name as to be black listed. However, I am advocating letting children be children. Sure, monitor them, but don’t deprive them of some of the best things that I am sure you enjoyed as a child. Imagine growing up not knowing what cotton candy and bubble gum were. Imagine no ice cream. No trick or treating. No jelly beans. I think that is a lot more troubling.

How do you feel about your child’s eating habits?

Baby 411

If you are going to read any books while pregnant, you have to read this one. This is not to say books such as What to Expect When You’re Expecting and What to Expect The First Year are not wonderful and totally worthy of your time.

However, when I was pregnant with our first child, like most new parents I consulted every written source of advice available. I read all the books, even ones written by Dr. Spock many moons ago. I read online articles as well as printed magazines. If the word “baby” appeared within a source, I found it and read it.

Amidst all my reading I was aware of the most popular books and spent a little extra time on them. Then for Christmas my mother in law gave me Baby 411. I read it as thoroughly as I had read all my other books. At this point I was pregnant, but not yet a mother, so therefore I did not really know what a little treasure trove I was holding. In fact, I did not really know anything.

It wasn’t until after my daughter was born that I realized how wonderful this book is. During the first year of my daughter’s life my husband and I consulted this book on many occasions, looking up ailments, finding the right sleep routine, predicting her growth spurts and eating habits, etc. I am very grateful to having had this book, especially at 2 a.m. in the morning when our daughter would be wailing inconsolably.

Now, being pregnant with my son, I am sure I will use this book many more times during his first year. In fact, I am already starting to look through it in my spare time to refresh my memory. Next time you are at a book store looking for your newest addition to your baby book library, whether you are expecting or expecting to be expecting, don’t overlook this one.