In accordance with my belief that a new parent’s job is to focus on the baby at the expense of the house if need be, I have developed some shortcuts to getting the cleaning and cooking basics done while maximizing time with the baby. Here are five tips for being as efficient as possible:
1. Wear your baby. Babywearing keeps your baby safe and happy while giving you two hands free to get some work done. If you can master carrying your baby on your back, you can even accomplish some more rigorous cooking and cleaning jobs. Just the other day …read more

Sometimes being a mother means being a detective. My 10-month-old had a restless night last Saturday. On Sunday she was fussy and not much interested in eating solid food, which was unusual for her. I chalked it up to teething because I could see two new teeth poking their way through the top gums.eething was ruled out later that night when she spiked a fever of 103 degrees Fahrenheit. The next morning I started to get really worried — what would cause a fever and disinterest in food, but no runny nose, vomiting, or diarrhea? Had she managed to swallow …read more

A while ago when two of my daughters were in school and I “just” had my six-month-old at home, I tried to take advantage of the time to get out this post on the Denny’s nurse-ins. At some point my baby started to fuss and I attempted to nurse her to sleep. No dice. She wouldn’t settle by nursing. Now how exactly did I go from a first-born who would only go to sleep by nursing, to a third-born who often won’t go to sleep by nursing?! Anyway, it became apparent that I would need to take my baby for …read more

Whom do I call to notify that I am taking a sick day from this motherhood gig? I know it’s only a cold, and I will get over it eventually, but in the thick of it I find it very difficult! Not only am I sick, but my baby is sick too, and that’s when I am on extra duty, not less! When she wakes, she wants ME — after all, I am her primary caregiver, and her dad just doesn’t have the super ability to comfort her at his breast! If only I could have a day filled with …read more

My third baby slept well as a newborn, better than my other two. She “slept through the night” within weeks, if you count sleeping the requisite five hours in a row as “sleeping through the night” when it takes place from 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.! I did not wake her to nurse as I knew she was getting enough milk by her wet and dirty diaper output, and her appropriate weight gain. I was not about to ruin a good thing!
Once the school year started in September though, my first grader and preschooler began bringing home every illness to …read more

Woman admiring my baby: “She looks so healthy!”
Me: “Thank you!”
Woman: “Are you nursing her?”
Me: “Yes.”
Woman (nodding knowingly and approvingly): “She looks so healthy!”
* * * * *
Interactions like those refuel my tank. Sometimes it gets discouraging to hear stories of women harassed for breastfeeding in public, and to hear criticism of women who promote breastfeeding, and to see such low rates of breastfeeding initiation and continuation. What a pleasant surprise to be complimented and acknowledged for breastfeeding!

My six-year-old walked up to me, paused, and said, “You smell like milk!” I wasn’t sure whether or not to take that as a compliment. Later in the day, my three-year-old snuggled up in my arms for storytime, and when she leaned her head against my chest, she said, “Your mum-mums smell like fruit!” Compliment, I guess! Still, I made sure to take a shower before heading out to Back to School Night!

I have had two dreams — nightmares — that Nicole turned out not to be mine. The first dream happened when she was six weeks old. In the dream, my husband and I were staying at a hotel. There was a knock on the door, and in walked one of my old neighbors from Michigan. He had come to pick the baby up. “Thanks for watching her!” he said, and walked out the door with her. I was positively heartbroken to realize that I had only been babysitting and I had fallen so in love with her that I had …read more

Nicole is almost seven weeks old now and I’ve already breastfed her:
~ at the midwife’s and doctor’s offices
~ a wedding
~ a pool party
~ a La Leche League meeting (of course!)
~ in various parking lots
~ at the grocery store
~ while house hunting
~ and yesterday at the first PTA meeting of the school year.
For me, it is convenient to be breastfeeding. It means I can go anywhere, anytime, without having to think about whether I have enough supplies for the trip (as long as my purse is packed with enough diapers). And the best part is my baby is content in all …read more

An Australian woman pumping on her lunch break in the Westfield Marion shopping center “parents’ room” was approached by the cleaning lady and later questioned by mall security and police. Sharleen Salmon had recently returned to work and was expressing breast milk for her five-month-old baby Justice. The Guardian Messenger quotes Salmon as saying:
I was in a private area (in the parents room) behind the curtain and this cleaner just walked in on me and watched what I was doing. She told me the parents room was for parents and breastfeeding only – and that I wasn’t allowed to …read more