Category Archive

breastfeeding

We share our one-bedroom apartment with our baby and we like it this way

My husband and I were usually met with three or four questions after we announced that I was pregnant. From the benign “When are you due?” and “What are you having?” to the rude “Was it planned?” and a fourth question was posed: “When are you moving?”

Breastfeeding moms rejoice: drinking coffee isn’t going to mess up your baby’s sleep

I remember spending HOURS Googling many variations of “If I drink coffee will my breastfed baby be hopped up on caffeinie?” when my son was an infant. I’m not even exaggerating — hours and hours and hours. I was worried that my son would turn into a coffee-addicted person before his time (because face it: in our family, it’s bound to happen) and convinced that his less-than-stellar sleeping skills were because I drank coffee 8 hours before I nursed him.

When will breastfeeding stop interfering with my sex life?

I have always enjoyed a really great sex life with my husband — pretty much right up until the birth of our daughter in August. After she was born, it took a while to get back into the swing of things. The problem now is that it hurts every time we try to have sex. I talked to my midwife about it and she said that it is going to hurt more than normal because I’m breastfeeding her. I do have an IUD but she assured me that it wasn’t the problem and once I stop breastfeeding, it will go back to “normal.”

What questions do you always ask other parents and then immediately regret?

There are a few questions that I always find myself asking other parents — whether or not the answer is something that’s interesting, let alone worth discussing. The number one is (in the case of parents and their kid) “Who do you think he/she looks like?”

How can I gently wean my breastfeeding toddler?

My son will be three years old in March and is still breastfeeding. He is VERY persistent, and I’m having trouble weaning him. The advice from family and friends (who think I should have cut him off a long time ago) and from the pediatrician is to make him quit cold turkey. I fear that he might perceive it as abandonment if I forced him to suddenly stop something he loves so much, but I have no other ideas about what to do.

I’m so happy my kid can breastfeed, I might let her do it forever

In my naive pre-baby days, I thought toddler-nursing was for hippie weirdos. “If they can ask for it, they’re too old for it!” I would exclaim in my most judgmental tone. This was back in the day when I also thought breastfeeding was simple and came naturally to all moms. Ha!

Do reusable nursing pads actually work?

I’m due to have my first baby a month from now, and I’m trying to get all the essentials together. The more I think about nursing pads, the more I wonder about why they are disposable.

Why I choose to cross-nurse babies — both my biological child and children I’ve never met

I’ve nursed two babies but have only birthed one. I’ve pumped milk for my own daughter and for a handful of babies who I have never snuggled. Call me a modern day wet-nurse if you wish but personally I think the term is a bit outdated. I prefer “co-” or “cross-nurser.”