Win a nursing cover from Bebe au Lait!

Back when I was pregnant, and even in the early days of breastfeeding, I kind of scoffed at the whole “nursing cover” concept.  I assumed it was just one more of those things that stores make you think you absolutely need or your baby will die, but in reality is probably useless.  Why can’t I just toss a blanket of my shoulder?  Same thing, right?

For the first few weeks of breastfeeding, the blanket trick worked just fine.  Cullen nursed peacefully like a little angel and didn’t even notice what was happening.  Well my little angel has grown to four months old now, and the days of peaceful nursing are long over.  He grabs and pulls on anything near him these days, including any blankets draped discretely over my exposed boobs.

Ahhhh, so THAT’S what those nursing covers are for.  Find out how to win one for yourself! Continue reading »

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Sleep like a baby?

Baby Girl isn’t a terrible sleeper. She sleeps her longest stretch (about five hours) during the night, which is a good sign that she has her days and nights straight at two months old. BUT. I can’t get her to fall/stay asleep earlier than midnight. This hour never really phased me, but with night feedings and an early riser on my hands, I can barely keep my eyes open that late these days.

Of course, I’d like Baby Girl to be in bed by 9 p.m., at least. Despite my attempts at creating a little bedtime routine that includes a bath, nursing and a song, she chooses to cat-nap all evening, and each fifteen-minute snooze seems to push back her real bedtime another hour.

Last night, I didn’t get her to really go down (and it took some nursing to make it happen) until 12:45 a.m. I fell asleep around 1 a.m., and was wakened at 2:15. But his time, it wasn’t Baby Girl who was making a fuss. Continue reading »

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As a Mom of a 1st grader and a baby learning to eat solids, I’m constantly striking a balance between feeding my kids healthy and feeding them what they’ll actually eat. It’s a definitely a battle, but one I chose to fight. There’s just too many benefits to a healthy diet.

Last week I held a giveaway for a copy of Nancy Tringali Piho’s Book, My Two-Year-Old eats Octopus. The winner was Stephanie.

Congrats Stephanie!

For those that didn’t win, I highly recommend the book. Click here to check it out on Amazon. It’s not going to solve all your feeding woes but it will validate your struggles and give you a new perspectives on how kids eat today.

Here’s a few tips from the author as a preview… Continue reading »

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I think some of the worst advice doled out to new moms is to forget about themselves and take care of the baby. Don’t worry about getting dressed. Don’t bother showering.

It’s a recipe for new moms that are already suffering from postpartum hormones, severe sleep deprivation, and postpartum body issues to deal with, feeling even worse about themselves. I say a mom who feels badly about herself has a harder time caring for anyone else.

Here are 10 ways to easily inject style into your postpartum recovery:

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Coffee can be a lifesaver for new moms, but is it hurting their babies at the same time?

If you’re like many, many (many) new moms, you don’t function well without caffeine. No coffee and you’re prone to sleepiness, irritability and even more irritability.

However, with it, your breastfed baby is prone to irritability, too. Not to mention sleeplessness. That’s according to a peer-reviewed publication, the Journal of Caffeine Research.

While research on caffeine and pregnant women is usually at the forefront, not as much attention is generally paid to caffeine and postpartum women who breastfeed.

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Not too slowly but ever so surely, Baby Girl is wrapping her daddy around her tiny little finger.

It didn’t take too much, really. First, she came out looking quite a bit like him and continues to look more like him—a big departure from our first son who is a cuter version of his mother. Second, she’s an easy-going baby and is therefore easy to enjoy.

Lastly, he happens to love babies, and Baby Girl gives him a reason to dote on her—like she might need a little more protection than her older brother. I’m always finding my husband cuddling with her, whether he’s cruising Craigslist, watching home remodel how-to’s on You Tube, or just zonked out on the couch after a long day’s work.

Here are fifteen of my favorite daddy/daughter cell phone photos from birth until now. I have to admit the two of them make a pretty good pair.

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Are your baby’s colicky screams giving you a headache?

Ironically, it may actually be the other way around. A recent study conducted by neurologists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) shows that mothers who have a history of migraine headaches are more than twice as likely to have babies with colic than mothers who do not have the headaches.

Doctors have long thought colic may be the result of gastrointestinal issues, or gas, however a definitive link between these problems and colic has never been established.

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