Photo by Easternblot

When my child is an infant, my child comes first — first before the dirty dishes in the sink, and first before the unfolded laundry. Those dirty dishes don’t pose a hazard to my baby, nor does the unfolded laundry. So when my baby needs to be nursed, changed, carried or otherwise tended, the baby comes first. And when the baby naps, my needs come next. My needs do not include a sparkling clean home, but rather are often a hot bath, a rest, or eating food when I actually have the opportunity to savor the flavor and not just inhale it.

Now that my baby is a toddler, my standards are rising in keeping with my abilities. My 15-month-old can play independently while I wash her lunch tray and do the dishes. That often was not the case when my daughter was first starting solid foods. The second she started fussing in her high chair or in my lap, we stopped lunch and moved on to her next need — to be cleaned, changed, or entertained. Feeding time needed to be a happy time, and I wasn’t about to let her fuss in her high chair while I tried to clean up. The tray and dishes often went forgotten for hours. Yes it would have been easier to clean them right away, but I prioritized my baby’s immediate needs over the need to keep things sparkling clean at all times. This was true when my baby was an only child, but was even more so when I had two children (and now three).

How does breastfeeding play into all of this? I think breastfeeding makes everything easier. I didn’t have any bottles to sterilize, and breast milk stains are a lot easier to get out of clothes than f*ormula stains! I rested while my baby nursed, and I benefited from the feel-good breastfeeding hormones.

What about you? Have your standards of clean changed since you’ve become a parent?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Photo courtesy of Furya

Thus, the CDC urges new mothers to initiate breastfeeding early and to feed frequently. Mothers already breastfeeding should continue to do so, even if they become ill. Formula feeding should be avoided or minimized and breastfeeding maximized. In the Health News Digest, USBC Chair Joan Younger Meek, MD, MS, RD, FAAP, FABM, IBCLC, recommends breastfeedng in emergency situations such as a swine flu outbreak:

Research clearly shows that breastfeeding provides a safe, reliable food source, full of disease-fighting cells and antibodies that help protect infants from germs and illnesses. Mothers exposed to influenza produce specific protection for their infants and transmit this through their breast milk. Infant formula does not provide these specific infection fighting properties. Unnecessary formula supplementation should be eliminated so the infant can receive as much benefit as possible from maternal protective antibodies and other immune protective factors.

Key points from the CDC swine flu guidance include:

1. If a mother is ill with swine flu, she should continue breastfeeding and feed the baby more often. If she is too ill to feed at the breast but can pump, expressed breast milk should be fed to the baby. The risk of transmission of the H1N1 virus through breast milk is unknown, but reports of transmission of the regular, seasonal flu through breast milk are rare.

2. If the baby becomes too ill to feed at the breast, he should receive the mother’s expressed breast milk or donated human milk from a non-profit milk bank.

3. Antiviral medication treatment and prophylaxis are compatible with breastfeeding.

4. All usual precautions against virus transmission should be taken, including hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

As I walked around the neighborhood I came upon an older woman who was walking her chihuahua (that 4-H report my daughter did on “How to Choose a Chihuahua” came in handy for that little detail, see?) The woman looked at me and exclaimed, “You have your hands full!” It’s a comment I hear a lot lately, whether I have one child or three in tow. I gave my standard reply, “Yes, she’s great!” even as I was juggling the baby, the keys, and the umbrella. The woman nodded and said wistfully, “You’re lucky. I wish I was younger.”

Intellectually I know that when the house is quiet someday, and my hands are free, I will miss these intense baby days. But in the thick of it, it didn’t hurt to have that little reminder to appreciate this time.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

The hierarchy for infant feeding in an emergency is as follows:
(1) breastfeeding, (1)(a) relactating within six months of giving birth or relactating after stopping breastfeeding, (2) ready-to-feed artificial baby milk, and powdered artificial baby milk prepared with (3) bottled water, (4) boiled water and (5) treated water.

(1) Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding saves infant lives during an emergency. For proof, all we have to do is look to the cases of Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami disaster and the story of the Kim family trapped in the snow. A lack of sanitary water sources and adequate supplies of infant food puts non-breastfed babies at extra risk during a disaster. Breastfeeding also protects the baby from respiratory illnesses and diarrhea–two common ailments that can be killers during times of disaster.

If a mother is breastfeeding her baby she should continue to allow the baby to nurse as often as the baby desires. This helps keep up the mother’s milk supply and offers comfort to both the baby and the mother (the breastfeeding hormone prolactin helps a mother relax).

Make sure you have stored plenty of water to keep a nursing mother hydrated during a disaster. The average person needs a half-gallon of water per day and the nursing mother needs more than that–enough to prevent thirst and keep her urine a pale yellow color. While food may be conserved in an emergency, experts say that water should not be rationed. The mother should drink water as needed and try to find additional sources of safe drinking water.

If the mother cannot nurse due to separation or injury, don’t forget about any expressed breast milk stored in the freezer! Some things to consider: pumping or hand-expressing a reasonable amount of milk as part of an emergency preparedness plan, having a generator as a back-up energy source to keep the refrigerator or deep-freezer operating during a power outage, brainstorming other measures to keep the milk frozen/cooled such as bags of ice or outdoor elements such as snow, and printing out a chart of breast milk storage times.

(1)(a). Relactation. According to La Leche League, a mother can have a full milk supply quickly if she has given birth within the last five days, and even a mother who has given birth within the last six months can slowly build up a milk supply by putting her baby to breast or hand-expressing every two hours. Mothers who recently weaned can also relactate.

(2) Ready-made artificial baby milk. If a mother is not breastfeeding, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends ready-to-feed artificial baby milk. As expensive as it is, it eliminates concerns about whether any available water is safe for the preparation of powdered milks.

(3), (4), and (5). Powdered milks prepared with bottled, boiled or treated water. As a last resort, the CDC recommends preparing powdered milks with bottled, boiled or treated water (in that order).

See this comprehensive compilation of resources for more information on infant feeding during an emergency.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3