Breastfeeding for Comfort

"Almost daily I hear from women who have been told that they should not breastfeed their baby for comfort.  I also frequently hear women who say that their baby is “JUST breastfeeding for comfort” or “ONLY breastfeeding for comfort” like it is a negative thing. It can be something that they brush to the side or do not see as important as breastfeeding for hunger.  We would never say our baby is, “JUST breastfeeding for hunger” or “ONLY breastfeeding for thirst”. I am sure (actually I’m absolutely 100% sure) that I would have spoken these words myself as a new mum because many of us grow up believing that babies just breastfeed because they are hungry."

TRX For Pregnancy: Part 1

Avoiding the ‘Container Shuffle’ with your Baby

"I realize it is not rocket science but think of it this way. When a baby plays on the floor, he/she has the ability to wiggle, squirm, and move. Each tiny movement that may seem insignificant is actually exercise. They are beautiful diagonally directed movements. And they are needed. Because our moving transitions from one position to another (floor to sit, sit to stand), require that motion. How can we expect a baby to be able to move and explore if we always have them strapped in a container? Research tells us that babies who spend less time on their tummies on the floor, have delayed motor skills in the first year of life."

Please Keep Your Children Safe

Please follow the guidelines for car seats with your children, they depend on you to keep them safe.

"A surprising number of parents make a potentially fatal mistake when strapping their children into car seats, according to the results of a new study published in the journal Academic Pediatrics. 75 percent transition their kid to a forward-facing car seat much earlier than advised. "

Future Childbearing Less Likely after Cesarean Deliveries: Feinberg School of Medicine: Northwestern University

Future Childbearing Less Likely after Cesarean Deliveries: Feinberg School of Medicine: Northwestern University



 “It is very important to consider the size of the family that a woman
wants when making any elective decisions about how to deliver,” said
first author Lisa Masinter, MD, MPH, a fellow at the Center for Healthcare Studies.
“Clearly in an emergency the health of the mother and her child take
precedence. But if a woman wants a large family, she should know that
having a cesarean delivery may limit that possibility.”

Alanna Vaughn ~ 2014 Spring Piano Recital

Avoid Fetal Keepsake Images, Heartbeat Monitors

Avoid Fetal Keepsake Images, Heartbeat Monitors

 "Although there are no known risks of ultrasound imaging and heartbeat
monitors, the radiation associated with them can produce effects on the
body," says Robert Phillips, Ph.D., a physicist with FDA's Center for
Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). "When ultrasound enters the
body, it heats the tissues slightly. In some cases, it can also produce
small pockets of gas in body fluids or tissues."

Do You Ache?

This article brought me to tears.  If you are a mom and are done having children, it is just there.

Our old baby crib is now sitting in pieces in the garage. We will take it to the dump soon (it has one of those now-outlawed dropsides so we can’t resell it or donate it). Whole sections of the bars are gnawed to bare wood by little teething babies, there are bits of sticker glue and swipes of Sharpie marker here and there, the screws are a bit loose. It’s in rough shape after nearly eight years and three big babies-to-toddlers in quick succession. There are a lot of sacred memories hidden in that dismantled old crib. The day we took it apart, I cried over that junky old crib. Goodbye, old friend.
It is likely that there are no more babies for us.
I was never one of those girls who wanted to have a houseful of babies, who just wanted to get married and have babies and stay home with them. I mean, I was okay with kids but it wasn’t my thing. I quit babysitting at 14 because I figured there had to be a better way to make money than that. And even after our miscarriages and challenges with fertility, I was unprepared for how completely transformative I found motherhood, how I loved even the mundane dailyness, how I found joy here.
I know that everyone’s experience is different, and I’m not saying that mine is normative but it’s real and I can’t deny it: I came into myself when I became a mother. I was reborn, all over again. The experience of pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding my babies profoundly changed me AND it changed my view of God entirely.
So, of course, it’s hard to know that stage of my life is done now.

#55 Isaac Vaughn OL/DL-Palmdale High School-2013 Football Highlights

This my youngest son.  Who played just an awesome senior year.

Palmdale High School A'Cappella 2013 - See dat Babe and Hallelujah Chorus

Some of the songs from my son's choir concert.

WestJet Christmas Miracle: real-time giving

▶ UnBreaking Birth - YouTube

▶ UnBreaking Birth - YouTube

This is such a powerful video.

Brain Scans Show The Real Impact Love Has On A Child's Brain - Underground Health

Brain Scans Show The Real Impact Love Has On A Child's Brain - Underground Health

When babies’ cries bring food or comfort, they are strengthening the neuronal pathways that help them learn how to get their needs met, both physically and emotionally. But babies who do not get responses to their cries, and babies whose cries are met with abuse, learn different lessons.

5 Ways To Treat A Fever Naturally | The Mommypotamus | organic SAHM sharing her family stories and recipes

5 Ways To Treat A Fever Naturally | The Mommypotamus | organic SAHM sharing her family stories and recipes

Counting baby toes, pennies and the number of times Micah says “sooopooon” (spoon) in a day – all good stuff! But when it comes to my kids health math rarely factors in. Why? I watch them, not the numbers. This is especially true with fevers.
I’m not alone, either. According to Dr. Hannah Chow-Johnson – pediatrician at Loyola University Health System and assistant professor of pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine – numbers may not be as significant as we tend to think.

The Promise. (Trailer) Dangers of routine breast screening program

The Promise. (Trailer) Dangers of routine breast screening program

EpiPens for All - NYTimes.com

EpiPens for All - NYTimes.com

 Just a few months after she died, “Amarria’s Law” was in place; the law requires Virginia schools to stock epinephrine and allows school authorities to give it to children without a prescription, and indemnifies those who administer it in a life-threatening situation. There is now an opportunity for similar legislation to be enacted nationally, in the form of the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, and I urge lawmakers to pass it. The House approved the bill in July, and it is likely to go before the Senate this fall.

Breastfeeding Boosts Smarts as Babies Grow, Study Finds - Bloomberg

Breastfeeding Boosts Smarts as Babies Grow, Study Finds - Bloomberg

Breastfed kids are smarter, according to a Harvard University study that found the longer babies are nursed, the greater their intelligence.
The research, which followed more than 1,000 women and their babies, found that each additional month a child was breastfed resulted in better language skills at 3 years old and intelligence at age 7, compared with babies not breastfed. The findings are published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The Breast Milk Cure - NYTimes.com

If only more women realized the importance of breastfeeding.

 What if nutritionists came up with a miracle cure for childhood malnutrition? A protein-rich substance that doesn’t require refrigeration? One that is free and is available even in remote towns like this one in Niger where babies routinely die of hunger-related causes?

The Breast Milk Cure - NYTimes.com

Embarrassed || Spoken Word by Hollie McNish - YouTube

Embarrassed || Spoken Word by Hollie McNish - YouTube

I Will Not Nurse You Forever | Nurshable

I Will Not Nurse You Forever | Nurshable

 The commitment that I’ve made to you is life-long. There is no hard start, no hard ending, no fading away of obligation. There is no “weaning” that I plan on doing. There is you. There is your quest for independence. There are the needs that drive your little body and that will fade and change with time. And there is me. My job is simply to be here and meet your needs as you have them. I need neither to push you away nor hold onto you, as you will peel off or cling close according to your needs.