When I wrote about Five Toddler Sleep Lessons, Rosemary left a question in the comments section:
Interesting to read all your experiences and to see what a common problem this is…I’m in a tough situation so your advice would be helpful.
I’ve co-slept with my son since he was 3 months old, and it has worked great for us. He wakes up to nurse, then falls right back asleep. Neither of us wake up fully, so I’ve been able to have great sleep from from about 12 mos until now (24 mos.)
But over the last 2 weeks his sleep has been terrible. …read more

Welcome to the October Carnival of Breastfeeding! Today’s topic is “I wish I had known….” It’s perfect timing for my sister, who just made me an aunt over the weekend with the birth of her beautiful baby boy!
Today I share a guest submission from a woman who does not have a blog but who felt strongly about sharing her breastfeeding wisdom in hindsight. At the end of her comment you can find the links to all the other carnival participants. First, Crystal offers the following insight:
What I wish I had known…to trust myself and my body to do …read more

“Laugh and Learn” sent me a set of DVDs to review. Each DVD gives a class in childbirth, newborn care, or breastfeeding. The classes are presented by Sheri Bayles, BSN, RN, IBCLC. Overall I enjoyed the DVDs very much (and my children did too!) and I found Sheri to be an excellent public speaker with a confident and easy manner. Please read on for my individual reviews of each class — I have a few comments about the “Laugh and Learn about Breastfeeding” in particular that are important if you are considering buying this set of DVDs. Then stay tuned …read more

Here’s another guest post from pediatrician and author Dr. Marianne Neifert. I enjoyed her new book so much that not only did I review Great Expectations: The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding on my blog, I also took the time to post my first-ever review on Amazon.com.
Today she talks about how breastfeeding success begins in the hospital:
Five Hospital Practices that Extend Your Duration of Breastfeeding
Your hospital experience — brief as it may be — can have a powerful impact on your long-term breastfeeding success. Making hospital changes in maternity care practices has been shown to significantly increase breastfeeding initiation and duration …read more

The new book Great Expectations: The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding by Marianne Neifert, M.D., is a wonderful resource for pregnant women and women who are currently breastfeeding. It contains comprehensive, up-to-date information in an easy to read format.

It’s refreshing to see evidence- and practice-based breastfeeding recommendations from a doctor. While most physicians receive very little education in breastfeeding, Dr. Neifert has many years of experience practicing breastfeeding medicine as a pediatrician, co-founder of one of the very first breastfeeding centers in the United States, and co-founder of the Denver Mothers’ Milk Bank (among a long list of credentials, not …read more

Today’s guest post comes from Marianne Neifert, M.D., author of the new book Great Expectations: The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding.
Just a Few Weeks Early
Breastfeeding Challenges in Late-Preterm Infants
Until recently, babies born a few weeks early — between 34 and 36 weeks gestation — were referred to as near term infants. However, the designation, near term, implies that an infant is almost term or almost fully mature, and the misnomer has often caused health professionals and parents to underestimate the medical risks in this large, vulnerable population of infants. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that infants born at …read more

It surprised me to see a DVD copy of the documentary “The Business of Being Born” available at one of my local county libraries. I put it on hold for 25 cents (have I mentioned how I think the public library is one of the best inventions ever?!), picked it up a few days later, and finally got to watch it with my husband the other night. The movie completely spoke to my disappointing experiences with hospital births and my very satisfying home birth. I wish everyone — pregnant or not, male or female — would watch the movie! The …read more

Birth information photo by subewl
My first two children were born at hospitals and it seemed like the children’s birth certificates magically showed up for me to sign sometime before we left the hospital. When Nicole was born at home, I had to go through a bunch of legwork to get her birth certificate. On the morning of Nicole’s birth, the midwife carefully explained to me what I would need to do: make an appointment with the county and take this letter and this form and a copy of a utility bill to establish residency. Click my heels three times and …read more

One study published in the Journal of Nurse Midwifery found:
The average uncomplicated vaginal birth costs 68% less in a home than in a hospital, and births initiated in the home offer a lower combined rate of intrapartum and neonatal mortality and a lower incidence of cesarean delivery.
“The Cost-Effectiveness of Home Birth.” J Nurse Midwifery. 1999 Jan-Feb;44(1):30-5. Gee, what a novel concept — care that costs less but has a better outcome!
I did an informal survey of sources online to determine that the average hospital birth costs around $8,000 in the United States, depending on exactly where the mother lives. That …read more

My three-year-old and I recently spent an entire morning playing the “midwife” game. This involves variations of going for a check up (she calls it a “check out”), having the baby (laundry basket as birth tub, naked child, teddy bear as newborn) and getting married. She insists on getting married before having the baby, but I’m pretty sure the baby was conceived out of wedlock.