Search Results for: blog breastfeeding and the nicu

Why Breast Pumping Isn’t a Good Substitute for Breastfeeding

I have said before, and I’ll say it again, I really, really admire moms that turn to pumping when breastfeeding doesn’t work for them. I know several women who have pumped to exclusively breastfeed their child for months on end and I have to say, I don’t know how they did it. I have to say too that this really isn’t a blog for moms who turn to pumping out of desperation when breastfeeding isn’t working out for some reason. It’s not a blog for women whose babies are in the NICU and pumping is the only way their little … Continue reading →

NICU Womb Rooms

Premature births are on the rise. It used to be that 32 weeks was considered the age of viability. With each one of my pregnancies the age of viability was earlier and earlier. That’s saying something considering that starting in 1998 I was pregnant every other year until the twins birth in 2005. Doctors now say that the age of viability is as early as 24 weeks because of advances in technology and improvement of care. Instead of focusing on how to keep the baby alive, doctors are now focusing on how to help the baby’s development in the future. … Continue reading →

Baby Blog in Review: April Thus Far

What can I say other than ‘oops’? I forgot to post a week in review for the baby blog last week. I was just coming back from vacation, had mountains of laundry and other sundry things to take care of and well, I just forgot. So this week, I will bring you the baby blog review starting from April 1st! Sunday, April 1 April started off controversially with a blog entitled Weak White Males and the Difference Race Makes in Preemies. This is a discussion on the statistical tendency for males, especially caucasion males to mature the slowest in the … Continue reading →

Weak White Males and the Difference Race Makes in Preemies

If you are the Caucasian mother of a boy who was premature, you have likely heard this term before. This is also sometimes called “wimpy white boy syndrome” or just “white boy syndrome” so named because white males tend to do the worst when born prematurely. When you are going through the NICU experience, it is difficult to hear that your child may be the weakest simply because of his race. The NICU experience in and of itself is traumatic and hearing that phrase certainly doesn’t help. But it’s important to remember (if at all possible in the midst of … Continue reading →

Ask a Baby Blogger: You Said To Feed On Demand but. . .

. . .I didn’t. I breastfed on a schedule and it worked much better for me! This was not really a question but rather some sentiments shared in the comment section on my first blog on this topic. Two moms, Anna and Julie shared that they had tried both breastfeeding on cue and breastfeeding on a schedule and schedule feeding worked better for them. I started to leave a comment and before I knew it, I had written a whole other blog. So here it is, what can happen if you don’t breastfeed on demand, why it probably worked for … Continue reading →

Ask a Baby Blogger: Feeding on Demand, Twins and Your Sanity

Question: Did you keep your twins on the same schedule? I’m trying to breastfeed on demand but I am going crazy–I need more sleep! As a mother of twins, I can tell you that EVERYONE who has twins goes through this sleep deprivation and it is hard. I can’t tell you how many mothers I’ve talked to who say, “If there were one baby I could do this. . .but two?” My first piece of advice is do whatever you have to do to get some help. Plenty of mothers of singletons have help for the first month or so. … Continue reading →

Ask a Baby Blogger: Should I Wake My Baby to Breastfeed?

Question: My baby sleeps several hours at a time during the night. I’m worried that he isn’t getting enough milk and that my supply will decrease. Should I let him sleep or wake him up to nurse? Also, the nurses in the hospital said that I had to wake him every 2 hours to breastfeed–is that true? Sometimes there are clear answers to questions we are asked. In this case, however, I can tell you what I’ve done with my own children and give some guidelines but in general my answer is as follows: Are you kidding me? Get all … Continue reading →

Principles in Breastfeeding a Preemie

Something that moms of preemies understand that the “normal” mothers don’t is that preemies have unique challenges and their “preemie” status follows them for at least a few years. Moms of preemies are always talking about real age vs. adjusted age as an indicator of developmental markers and preemie moms generally have to be extra cautious about illness during the first few years of life. We all know that breast milk is the best food for your baby. It is the best food for preemies as it contains valuable antibodies to ward off sickness and it contains extra fat to … Continue reading →

The Who, What and Why of Lactation Consultants

Repeatedly in our baby blogs about breastfeeding, we have suggested that you pursue hiring a lactation consultant if you are having problems or if you anticipate that you might. Yet I don’t think any of us have ever blogged about lactation consultants before. So I wanted to take a few minutes and write about why you might want to consider hiring one, who they are, and what types of things they can help you with. Why You Need One Well, you don’t necessarily need one. My first two children were the latch on queen and king of the world. There … Continue reading →

Practices that Promote Breastfeeding

Before you read any further, let me give a little disclaimer. This is an article about ways to promote and encourage your infant to breastfeed effectively. With that said, every infant is different and every mom is different. I am in no way implying that if you do or do not do something I’ve suggested, you’ve sabotaged your entire breastfeeding career! This is meant to be a help for moms who really want to breastfeed and may be having a few problems. Try these tips if your baby is gaining weight too slowly, or if you want to increase your … Continue reading →