Wednesday, August 25, 2010

i've been reading up on weaning *sniff sniff*



i'm not positive why, but ever since my son turned one (9 months ago), i planned on nursing him until he was 2.  well, his 2nd birthday is approaching in a few months, so i've started reading some books on weaning.  i had always hoped that, by some miracle, maybe he would start to wean himself around this time.  yeah, i apparently totally pulled that one out of my ass.   here is one of many quotes (all in the same vain) about self-weaning that i have come across:

"Children allowed to wean themselves--that is, to end breastfeeding without hints, bribes, bottles, or other encouragements--seem to do so usually between ages four and six."

that's right ladies and gentlemen, ages FOUR and SIX....hmmm....

ugh, sometimes i wish i lived in mongolia or among the sioux indians, so i didn't even have to think about this weaning stuff.  not sure of my decision yet...

this one, from the nursing mother's guide to weaning, slayed me:

"But pressure to wean may come from people outside the immediate family. 'I really should quit,' said a four-year-old, like an addict nearly ready to kick the habit. 'You know, Bill quit.'  Another child, a four-and-a-half-year-old whose friends had teased her for nursing, couldn't openly discuss her confused feelings at first.  'I don't want to nurse...I hate you,' she told her mother, starting to cry.  When questioned, however, she explained the problem: 'I want to stop and I have to hate you so I won't want to nurse anymore.  I hate your breasts.' "

UPDATE: so a little more than a year after i wrote this post, as my son approached his 3rd birthday, i weaned him.   i was SO ready.   we had gotten nursing sessions down to once a day--upon waking in the morning.   in the previous months, we had narrowed down to 3 sessions, then 2, then just the one in the morning that i mentioned.   he finds comfort in his paci and still wants to cuddle and hold my boob at times, so i'm ok with that for now.   though i try to keep the boob holding to a minimum.   i was able to talk to him and explain all of this weaning to him in advance, so it wasn't super emotional for him.   he is still very cuddly with me.  we hold hands a lot while cuddling.

some books if you're pondering weaning...




















when looking into buying parenting books, i tend to check out the reviews on amazon, and i also peruse our fabulous pediatrician, jay gordon's, newest addition to his website--"recommended reading"!

i must say that when i recently purchased the 2 books below, i expected pages upon pages of information of HOW to wean. strangely, each has only about 10 pages on actual weaning techniques.  the books mostly explain all angles of weaning--emotional, hormonal, logistical, causes, historical weaning....

though i expected the books to have more info on technique, i was not disappointed.  i am happy that i learned so much about such an important area of parenthood...did you notice how i didn't say motherhood?  although, weaning is ultimately under a mother's control, dad should have input too---and both books have sections for dads.

the books are:

the nursing mother's guide to weaning by kathleen huggins, r.n., m.s. (2007)

mothering your nursing toddler by norma jane bumgarner (2009)


Monday, August 23, 2010

anyone interested in learning about nutrition?




















after speaking with a friend yesterday about our toddlers' nutrition, i became inspired to write this post.  i'm not going to launch into a whole campaign here, but if you're interested in learning about what the best things to do for your body are, stick around.  these are the token books that changed my life and opened my eyes to what the body needs to stay healthy:

1.  ten years ago i read dr. nicolas perricone m.d.'s book the perricone prescription.  i instantly wanted to become a doctor....yeah, that didn't happen (i'm sure you hadn't noticed).  anywhoo, perricone is on the forefront of science and nutrition.  whereas i would recommend that you read the perricone prescription, i would probably moreso recommend that you get his recent 2007 book or even pre-order his september 2010 book.   this of course, because these newer books will no doubt have the most up-to-date information.  p.s. do not be scared by the over-abundance of [his own facial] plastic surgery, focus on skin-care, or his titles about weight-loss...you gotta trust me here.  his books are about your entire body and are extremely informative and eye-opening.

2.  after reading in perricone's books about the damage that a high-glycemic diet (SUGAR!) can have on the body, i read the zone by barry sears.  did you know that eating a baked potato has the same effect on your blood sugar levels as downing 8 spoons of sugar? again, try not to be deterred by the book's mention of weight-loss, etc. these guys gotta sell books, and god knows americans want to know the secrets of weight-loss, so....

3.  now after all of this, if you are curious about the quality and sources of food in america, you will definitely want to read the omnivore's dilemma by michael pollan.  this book is a bit of a bible to us organic hippies.  it left me talking about corn corn corn to everyone i came into contact with for days.  weeks....

if you would like to stay in the loop on up-to-date nutrition, check out mercola.com and sign up for his email newsletter.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

finally a hooter hider that's subtle, sophisticated, and doesn't cook the baby in this heat.




















as any of my friends can tell you, i am no hooter hider.

that came out wrong.

what i'm trying to say is that when i nurse my son, i do not feel compelled to hide my breast.  i'm not sure if it's my breastfeeding-activist-in-training side coming out or just a lack of embarrassment since my breasts can hardly been seen by the naked eye anyway.

if you ARE a hooter hider, rejoice!   there is finally a hooter hider cover up that does not resemble a tent with a print that lady miss kier would've worn in the "groove is in the heart" video....that all the while traps heat like a locked car in the summer.

baby bond has created a beautiful, minimal cotton jersey hooter hider in chic solids (charcoal, chocolate, black, navy $35) that comfortably crosses your chest like a simple baby sling with a small opening for your breast.   they have 3 different styles, one of which (see photo above) can cover your breasts for top of shirt nursing or can cover your post baby belly for those who prefer to lift their shirt to nurse (see photo below. your own shirt covers your breasts in this set up).

check them all out here.



Friday, August 20, 2010

tres chic custom co-sleeping!

























i love love love this little custom co-sleeping roll-away bed that interior designer david kaihoi made for his daughter.  it is so genius!  i recently stumbled across it in house beautiful's "is small the new big?" issue this summer.  what i love most is that kaihoi proudly displayed that his daughter co-sleeps with him and his wife.  ok, fine, they live in a postage stamp-sized (yet fabulous) new york city apartment and would not be able to actually wear clothes from the closet next to the bed if it didn't roll away, but at least he showed it in the photo---so kudos to him!!

my 200th post...woohoo!!

i am only a couple of weeks away from my one-year-old birthday here at baby manual and now have 200 posts under my belt...phew!!

Friday, August 13, 2010

what if your kid asks if you smoked pot?















ask them to define when exactly that they're talking about?

have you asked your pediatrician about this one yet?  we have, and our son is only 20-months-old.  have you tossed this one around at a dinner party?  the last time we did, we learned that our friend was mixing a perfect dry martini by the age of 12 every night to serve his doctor father when he walked in the door.  the same father that busted him for smoking cigarettes and said," if you want to smoke, then you can only do it if you do it in front of me."  his father smoked.  that took care of that.

i always figured that i was never interested in pot, because i knew that my parents smoked it.  i'm seeing a pattern here.  should we parents just all partake in booze and drugs and then our kids won't think it's cool?....they will rebel by not doing drugs instead of doing them. hmmm...it's a thought.

should i be more concerned in the future about walking by "the green easy" marijuana dispensary shop around the corner with my 5-year-old and him asking me what they sell?

if you're curious how in the heck you'll handle this one with your kids, you may wanna check out this quick-read new york times article.

photos via here and here.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

"good" plastic snack cup




















i have tried my fair share of small metal mugs, and sometimes small glass mason jars, full of snacks for my son.  as you might imagine, most of the food ends up on the floor, since there is no lid in this scenario.  so it's time for plastic.  bummer.  these are the best snack cups ---sorry, snack traps--- i could find and wanted to share.  they are bpa, phthalate, pvc, latex free.   but of course!