Happy Mother's Day

May 11, 2008

"Home, Sweet, Home." Sometimes, it's messy. Somtimes it's clean.

If, for instance, you showed up on a typical afternoon, you might think we'd been robbed. There are piles of laundry; a tangle of strollers, coats and shoes in the hallway; a pillow and blanket "fort" in the living room; a traffic jam of trucks and cars, leading from room to room; and of course, a fine layer of crumbs on the kitchen floor.

On the other hand, if you stopped by around 8:00 at night, you'd find a different scene. You'd see bins stuffed with toys; pillows neatly arranged on the sofa; shoes in the shoe rack; strollers in a row; and a neat stacks of newspapers and magazines. The dishwasher and washing machine would be humming in harmony.

It's an ongoing battle, this fight against the natural chaos of daily life. It's kind of like trying to prevent the incoming tide from destroying a sandcastle. I know it's futile. And yet, I persist. Every day, I crawl around the apartment, moving things from one place to the other, opening and shutting cabinets and doors. And every day, I repeat these motions, dreaming of the perfection you find in home decor magazines.

I have to admit that I have help in this department. Once a week, I pay someone to do the real dirty work, the scrubbing and mopping. And my husband pitches in as well. He's great with recycling, taking out the trash, folding laundry and putting things on the top shelf of a closet where I can't reach. But the daily grind of scraping the oatmeal off the floor is getting me down. (By the way, here's a tip: If you try to wipe oatmeal off the floor as soon as it lands there, it makes a messy smudge. Let it dry in place for a few hours and then use a DustBuster to pick up the hardened chunks).

So I have one small wish for Mother's Day...I'd like a free pass in the straightening up and organizing department. I'd like the dirty dishes to vanish. And you know all those rogue toys...the random LEGO, the sole block, the lonely puzzle piece...maybe they can somehow find their way back to their mates. I know, as a force of habit, I'll probably start to pitch in, to make the clean-up go faster...but if anyone sees me doing this...send me to my bedroom to meditate.

And yes, things can return to normal the next day. That's life with a two year old and a three year old. Really, I just need to accept it. Maybe my real mantra should be "Mess, Sweet, Mess."

Original Post to New York Moms Blog.

New Study Says Breastfeeding Raises A Baby's IQ

May 06, 2008

For the latest bit of evidence in this department...there's a new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Here's some information from The LA Times:

Increased breast-feeding during the first months of life appears to raise a child's verbal IQ, according to a study of nearly 14,000 children that was released Monday.

The study in Archives of General Psychiatry found that 6-year-olds whose mothers were part of a program that encouraged them to breast-feed had verbal IQs that were an average of 7.5 points higher than those of children in a control group.

The researchers said that their findings suggested that the longer an infant is exclusively fed breast milk, the greater the IQ improvement.

The results echo smaller previous studies that found children and adults who were breast-fed tended to have higher IQs than whose who were not...

The latest study tracked breast-fed infants born between June 1996 and December 1997 in Belarus. Half of the infants and mothers were assigned to an experimental program designed to promote breast-feeding, while the remaining infants and mothers received regular pediatric and follow-up medical care.

The breast-feeding program included increased counseling and instruction when women visited doctors or clinics.

At the end of three months, 72% of infants in the experimental group were still breast-feeding to some degree, compared with 60% in the group that did not receive breast-feeding support.

The researchers believe that what drove the results was the substantially higher number of infants who were exclusively breast-fed in the experimental group: 43% compared with 6% of infants in the control group.

All children in the study were interviewed and examined between 2002 and 2005, when they were an average of 6 1/2 years old. The children's academic performance also was evaluated by their teachers.

Besides the improvement in their verbal IQ scores, children in the experimental group scored an average of 4.9 points higher on tests that specifically measured vocabulary.

Compared with children in the control group, children in the experimental group had overall IQ scores 5.9 points higher than those of children in the control group and better academic assessments from their teachers, but the improvements were not deemed statistically significant.

Kramer said that more research was needed to determine whether the benefits were related to a component of breast milk or to the physical and social interaction between mother and child that is inherent in breast-feeding...

Breastfeeding Rates At An All Time High

May 05, 2008

The Center For Disease Control reports that breastfeeding rates are at an all time high. The report says that in 2005-2006, 77% of new moms tried breastfeeding when their baby was born. That number is up from 60% in 2003-2004. The number of moms breastfeeding at 6 months remained relatively unchanged, however, hovering around 30%. Here is a link to the report from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Here are some key findings:

* The percentage of infants who were ever breastfed increased from 60% among infants who were born in 1993-1994 to 77% among infants who were born in 2005-2006.
* Breastfeeding rates increased significantly among non-Hispanic black women from 36% in 1993-1994 to 65% in 2005-2006.
* Breastfeeding rates in 1999-2006 were significantly higher among those with higher income (74%) compared with those who had lower income (57%).
* Breastfeeding rates among mothers 30 years and older were significantly higher than those of younger mothers.
* There was no significant change in the rate of breastfeeding at 6 months of age for infants born between 1993 and 2004.

For a critical look at what these numbers mean, here is a story from The Wall Street Journal. The piece says:

But looked at another way, the CDC numbers show that breastfeeding is flat — and the rate of long-term acceptance of the practice is declining among those who try it. The latest available rate of breastfeeding for six-month-old infants barely cleared 30%, well short of a federal-government goal of 50% by 2010, and barely budged from a decade earlier.

Taken collectively, the numbers mean that more new mothers are trying breastfeeding, but a smaller percentage of those who do try breastfeeding stick with it — and that can have serious health consequences. “It is exclusive breastfeeding for about six months that is most related to optimal health outcomes,” said Lori Feldman-Winter, a pediatrician at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey who has helped steer American Academy of Pediatrics efforts to increase breastfeeding rates. Jane Morton, who has also contributed to these efforts and is a clinical professor of pediatrics at Stanford University, told me, “A lot of the benefits really do depend on the exclusivity and duration of breast-feeding.”

Margaret McDowell, a CDC health statistician and co-author of the latest report, told me that both indicators are important. Early breast milk, also called colostrum, contains antibodies and protein that help protect newborns, and that formula doesn’t provide. “Any amount [of breast-feeding] is really good for the infant,” said Ms. McDowell, a registered dietitian. As for the flat six-month rate, “We’d like to do better.”

Hospitals and the workplace can impede progress. Women who get off to a poor start are likely to stop breastfeeding, and their attempt can be hampered from the moment of birth, particularly in the case of C-sections, when the child often is taken to a nursery, Dr. Morton said. “The majority of hospitals give free samples of formula and formula company marketing materials,” Dr. Feldman-Winter said. On the job, keeping the milk supply up can be challenging. “Poor women have jobs with less support for continued breastfeeding and they are more likely to return to work sooner after delivery,” Dr. Feldman-Winter said.

The numbers themeselves are part of the challenge of increasing breastfeeding rates: The data are old, and include a lot of uncertainty. They come from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, in which thousands of Americans each year who agree to participate are interviewed in their homes and then undergo physical examinations in mobile centers. This is expensive work, hence the mere 434 infants included in the latest survey.

Because not all of the infants born in 2005-2006 had reached six months by the time the latest survey was conducted — Ms. McDowell couldn’t say how many had — there wasn’t enough data about breastfeeding at six months for the group. So the CDC’s latest data for the six-month indicator came from infants born in 2003-2004. The data are grouped in two-year periods to build a large enough sample, delaying findings.

Also, the breastfeeding rates are self-reported — meaning the numbers could reflect the increased desire of mothers to breastfeed, rather than increased practice. (The latest numbers agree with another CDC survey, also based on self-reporting.)

Contest: Leave a Comment to Win Adiri Bottles or a Hands Free Pumping Bra

April 29, 2008

Welcome back to the big Mother's Day Giveaway here on Mama Knows Breast. Today we have two items for your feeding needs, Adiri Bottles and a Hands-Free Pumping Bra, by Easy Expression Bustier.

First off, Adiri is giving away two sets of bottles. Adiri bottles are 100% BPA free...and we all know that's a good thing. Plus, the unique design looks a lot more like a breast than your typical baby bottle. One reminder...if you do want to give your baby a bottle of pumped breast milk or formula, it's best to wait at least a month before introducing a bottle. This gives you a chance to establish your milk supply and your baby to get accustomed to breastfeeding.

A set of bottles has three bottles. White is slow flow for 0-3 months; blue is medium flow for 3-6 months; and orange is fast flow for 6+ months. To win one of the sets of bottles, leave a comment here answering this question: Why do you need these bottles?

Now for your pumping needs. Imagine pumping hands free! Email, type, talk on the phone or simply sit back and close your eyes. If you want to win a Hands-Free Pumping Bra from Easy Expression Bustier, answer this question: Why do you need this bra?

The contest deadline is Mother's Day, May 11. For a link to the other Mother's Day contests you can enter on my site, click here. I've got a Graco playcenter and some new parenting books.

Mama Knows Breast Book Contest Winners

Thanks to everyone for sharing their breastfeeding stories for my book giveaway contest.

Here are the ten winners of my book "Mama Knows Breast: A Beginner's Guide to Breastfeeding." Will the following ladies please send me their mailing addresses. Write to mamaknowsbreast@yahoo.com.

1. Lindsie:
I don't have a funny story because I had trouble breastfeeding my first due to inverted nipples. I would like to win a copy of your book because I really want to be able to breastfeed my second.

2. Katie:
The cable guy was working on the TV in another room and suddenly came into the room where I was nursing my daughter. while he was asking me a question I didn't even notice that she detached and my breast was hanging out free! Guess he got a little more of an eyeful than he was bargaining on!
(I would love to have this book for my mother who is a doula. She does a lot of breastfeeding education.)

3. Amira M.
I am not a mom but my good friend, who is a lactation consultant, was breast feeding her son in a lecture hall during a class. now, he has the habit of making lots of very "satisfied" noises while he is feeding and because of where she was sitting in the hall, his suckling was loud enough for the professor to hear! he stopped and everyone was looking around to see what was making the noise, but the baby was nicely hidden under a blanket.

4. Vicky:
I guess one of the funniest times was when I was nursing my second son. My oldest who was around 2 at the time always wanted to help out like a big brother. His baby brother was hungry and I was having one of those hormonal moments....you know the one that can make you cry in an instant because you are lacking sleep. I started boo-hooing and my oldest sat beside me and lifted his shirt and told me he would feed the baby so I could "rest." He immediately turned my tears of frustration to tears of joy.

5. Awesome Mom:
I was not able to nurse my #1 son because of his heart defect. He was too weak to nurse so I pumped 14 months for him. During his second hospital stay for a heart surgery I kept having nurses come in to check in on him because they thought my pump was my son breathing really funny.

6. Chris:
The look I got from a semi-truck driver as I pumped while driving home late from work one day!

7. Lucy:
My first baby is due in June, so I don't really have any stories just yet, but would love to be entered to win (it is a beginners book after all :)).

8. Liz
My craziest breastfeeding moment has to be when I was on a 6 hour car ride to visit family. We had stopped multiple times and the baby was just not happy to be in his seat. I kneeled on the seat next to him and hung over top of his seat and fed him while he was still strapped in! Oh the memories! :)

9. Becky
I wish I had a funny nursing story to tell. My first two attempts were pretty awful, so I don't remember anything funny, just sad. The lactation consultant said in her 25 years of doing this, "I've never seen anything like you." Great! : ) I'm determined to give it a try again this time with baby #3. Thanks for your nice comment on my blog giveaway. This has been so much fun!

10. Audra
I feel asleep feeding my baby in the recliner (don't worry I didn't drop him) and when I woke up awhile later. I found him asleap and me nursing his ear which was filling up with milk! Thanks for the great giveaway! I would love to give this to mis sis-in-law who was anti breastfeeding the first time but has had a change of heart and would like to breastfeed #2.

Book Review of "If These Boobs Could Talk"

April 17, 2008

This is one cute book. Authors Shannon Payette Seip and Adrienne Hedger have hit the proverbial nail on the head with "If These Boobs Could Talk: A Little Humor to Pump Up The Breastfeeding Mom." With games, trivia questions, top ten lists and mock advice, they prove that breastfeeding has its light side.

My favorite part of the book is illustrations of slightly unconventional breastfeeding holds. You've got "The Yogi"-- a mom setting the microwave with one hand, writing a note with the other, doing "tree pose" while her baby hangs off her boob. Another good one is "The Wiper"-- a mom wiping the tush of one child on the toilet while her baby has a little snack. You get the idea.

To learn more, visit their website If Boobs Could Talk.

New Warning About a Dangerous Chemical, Bisphenol A, Found in Some Baby Bottles

April 16, 2008

There's yet more news today about the dangers of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in baby bottles and sippy cups. I've written about this here, before. Here's a quick summary from a Reuters article I found on Yahoo.

A chemical in some plastic food and drink packaging including baby bottles may be tied to early puberty and prostate and breast cancer, the U.S. government said on Tuesday.

Based on draft findings by the National Toxicology Program, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, senior congressional Democrats asked the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider its view that the chemical bisphenol A is safe in products for use by infants and children.

The chemical, also called BPA, is used in many baby bottles and the plastic lining of cans of infant formula.

The National Toxicology Program went further than previous U.S. government statements on possible health risks from BPA.

It said: "There is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures." The findings expressed concern about exposure in these populations, "based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland, and an earlier age for puberty in females."

The Wall Street Journal has the story, too, as well as a link to the actual report.
Here's a good article from The Washington Post on how to reduce your exposure to BPA. And here's a blog, Z Reccomends, that has an extensive review of BPA free products (as always, do your own fact-checking on any products).

Win a Graco Activity Center for Your Baby-- Leave a Comment

April 14, 2008

Welcome to third, and final, part of my Mother's Day Giveaway Contest. No need to go shopping for yourself...or for another mom in your life. Just leave a comment to one of the posts I've put up for a chance to win some cool stuff.

So far I'm giving away ten copies of my book, Mama Knows Breast: A Beginner's Guide to Breastfeeding. Click here to enter to win.

I'm also giving away copies of two other books, Margarita Mama and The Rookie Mom's Handbook. Click here to enter to win.

Now for the third giveaway, we have an activity center, The Baby Einstein discover & play by Graco. I have to say, I LOVE this toy. When our first son was about six months old, we put him in it and he immediately "went to work." He sucked on the "star," flipped the book pages, and pressed repeatedly on the animal sounds. He was so focused, we called it "The Office." All I have to say is "Graco, thank you for inventing this. Without it, I could have never taken a shower when the kids were little."

The good folks at Graco, who have donated this center, have asked me to judge the contest. So for a chance to win, leave a comment, answering the following question:

How would this activity center make your life easier? (The deadline is May 11th).

Tell Us Your Breastfeeding Problems-- Join Our Carnival

If you've had a baby, odds are you had some sort of confusion, at one point or another, about how to feed her. And if you were breastfeeding, part of it probably went like this. "Oh, man, my boobs are _______." (Fill in the blank with your own thoughts here).

So, in honor of all the breastfeeding challenges we've stared down and conquered, the April Breastfeeding carnival is focused on breastfeeding problems. We want to hear from you about how you overcame a challenge, and where you turned for help. If you used the internet, please share the link with us.

I know this is sort of last minute, but the deadline for submission is supposed to be tomorrow, April 15th (tax day). If the other breastfeeding bloggers and I pick your post, you'll be asked to link back to each of the other participants in the carnival on April 22nd.

Leave a Comment to Enter to Win a Copy of Mama Knows Breast

April 13, 2008

Update: Contest deadline changed to April 27th so you have time to get the book and give it to someone for Mother's Day.

Welcome to Part Two of my Mother's Day Giveaway Contest. Yes, ladies, May 11th is right around the corner. Time to start dreaming about breakfast in bed, and a silent start to your morning...

I'm now giving away away ten copies of my very own book, Mama Knows Breast: A Beginner's Guide to Breastfeeding. How can you win a copy? Leave a comment answering this question:

What is the funniest, or most outrageous, thing that has happened to you as a breastfeeding mom? (April 27th is the contest deadline. I'll pick my favorite ten responses).

Mother's Day Giveaways Update: I'm also giving away a Baby Enstein discover & play center by Graco. Click here to win.

I've also put up a post about two books you can win-- Margarita Mama and The Rookie Mom's Handbook. Click here to enter to win.

Book Giveaway-- Leave A Comment to Enter To Win A Book

April 11, 2008

Mother's Day Giveaways Update: I'm also giving away ten copies of my book, "Mama Knows Breast: A Beginner's Guide to Breastfeeding." Click here to enter to win. PLUS...I'm giving away a Baby Enstein discover & play center by Graco. Click here to win. Now, back to the original post...

Hot off the press... I've got two new books for all you moms out there. The Rookie Mom's Handbook and Margarita Mama: Mocktails for Moms-to-Be are both from my publisher, Quirk Books. In honor of Mother's Day (May 11), I'm doing a series of contests for the next few weeks. So we'll kick things off by giving away ten copies of each book. The authors themselves will be the judges and pick the winning entries. The deadline to enter is May 11.

First off, The Rookie Mom's Handbook. Here's what the publisher says:

Bookshelves abound with activity books for babies and toddlers, but The Rookie Mom’s Handbook is the first designed exclusively for first-time mothers. Here are 250 enjoyable activities to help rookie moms maintain their individuality and boost their confidence about leaving the house, socializing, and doing things they’ve always liked to do—either with or without baby. Inspired by the popular Web site www.rookiemoms.com, the book offers bite-sized activities arranged according to the baby’s age. Some are crafty, some are adventurous, and some simply help get a meal on the table.

To win a copy, leave a comment answering the following question: What was your biggest rookie mistake as a pregnant, or newly minted mom?

Now for Margarita Mama. The publisher says...
Margarita Mama offers a pitcherful of delicious “mocktails” designed specifically for moms-to-be. Every drink is 100 percent alcohol free. And they not only taste great, they also provide a healthful treat for both mom and baby! Recipes include twists on old favorites such as Mudslides, Mojitos, Cosmopolitans, and Mimosas, plus yummy new libations like the Materni-Tini, the Raging Hormone, and the Chocolate Crave.

To win a copy, leave a comment answering this question: What was the craziest craving you had when you were pregnant and how did you satisfy it?

How I Learned To Blog and Met Katie Couric

April 10, 2008

My blog was broken for the past three days. You could see this screen. But I couldn't log in to make any changes. Every time I tried, I got an error message written in code. It made no sense at all. Sadly, my husband-- a.k.a. tech support-- was away.

I grew up using a typewriter. My first computer, a Mac SE, didn't have a hard drive. There was a time when I didn't see the point of email. I still remember the sound of a dial-up internet connection. Hence my confusion the past few days. This internet thing doesn't always come naturally to me.

So I'm sometimes a little surprised that I run this blog and have even joined a new blogging network called the New York Moms Blog. (NY Moms Blog is part of a national moms blogging network, with sites devoted to Silicon Valley, Chicago, Washington, DC, New Jersey and even "50 Something" moms.

Last week, I joined some of these moms for a field trip to visit Katie Couric, the CBS Evening News Anchor. We were blogging evangelicals, and it seems we've got a new ally. On her own blog, Katie wrote:

These bloggers have found a way to stay engaged, to stay active, and, in some cases, build successful second careers in the online world. And, if and when mommy bloggers want to return to the workforce, the blogs are a natural networking tool.

It makes you wonder, how did we do this before the Internet?

Katie even posted a video of our visit on her own YouTube channel. Here it is:

By the way, in case you're wondering how I solved the problem with this blog, here's a brief history:

Step 1. Try to log onto Moveable Type, the publishing platform for this blog. Get an error message. Wonder...If I can't log on, how can I ask MT to fix the problem?

Step 2. Find an old email from MT. Write to that address and beg for help. MT tells me to contact my web host.

Step 3. Who is my web host? Send an email to an address I dig up from old, saved emails. The answer, in a nutshell, "We aren't your web host, we sold you your domain name, mamaknowsbreast.com."

Step 4. Find an Amex bill and locate a charge from some company that sounds vaguely like a web host. Send another "help me" email.

Step 5. Success! I've found the web host. My site is fixed.

So how does it all end? Tonight, as "tech support" was making his way home, I sent him an email on my fancy new Mac, complete with a built-in hard drive and WiFi connection. I wrote, "Guess what?! I fixed the problem. ALL BY MYSELF! By the way, please get milk."

You're right, Katie. How did we do this before the internet?