The Skinny on Postpartum Belly Binding

So, remember when I wrote my first post “Why Little Sproutings was Planted,” and I mentioned that I wanted to bring to light things that I wish I’d known sooner, products I wish I’d had from the get-go, or things I did wrong from the start? Well here’s one of them…

I recall watching an interview of Jessica Alba on a late night show, probably something like Jay Leno. She’d mentioned that she wore two corsets postpartum to get back her pre-pregnancy body, that it’s not for the faint of heart, and that it was sweaty but worth it. I think I thought to myself, “geez, well that’s why it sucks to be in Hollywood…” (couldn’t find the video, here’s a published interview where she mentions it at the end)

I shrugged off this business of postpartum corset-wearing like I cleaned off another heaping plate of pad thai and went about my happy and pregnant day. I mean, I didn’t want to have the pressure to drop the weight super fast. I’m a real person and it’s not my job to look good, haha.

Jump ahead 9-12 months later, and I am (still) tipping the scales 10 pounds off from my pre-pregnancy weight. Truth be told, I lost the first 30 pounds of pregnancy weight in the first 2 weeks. I thought “Wow, breastfeeding seriously is the best and easiest diet EVER!” No, I didn’t think this rate of weight loss would continue, but I at least thought I would be achieving pre-pregnancy weight by the end of Jia’s second (third? fourth?) month birthday.

Boy, do I regret not looking into this earlier. Like almost a year earlier.

(Yes, I still believe breastfeeding is the fantastic, and I attribute most of my initial weight loss to hormones – oxytocin – released by BFing causing the pooch to go back into place)

Continue reading “The Skinny on Postpartum Belly Binding” »

Product Spotlight: Prince Lionheart Reusable On-The-Go Bottle Warmer

Prince Lionheart Reusable On-The-Go Bottle Warmer

The Prince Lionheart Reusable On-The-Go Bottle Warmer was a product I stumbled upon accidentally when I was shopping for other baby supplies. I didn’t realize this type of thing existed! Jeff and I would gripe about the process of having to ask for really hot water to warm a bottle, in the event that he was with Jia and I wasn’t there to nurse her. Why wasn’t there an easy solution?

Well, enter the Reusable On-The-Go Bottle Warmer! There are only a few other travel bottle warmers out there, some require a car lighter, others require hot water to be poured into the walls of a thermos. But, this one is a handy click-to-activate wraparound pouch that begins to warm instantly!*

I actually get more use out of this bottle warmer with heating up my Infantino Fresh Squeezed pouches when we are out and about. Since I am exclusively breastfeeding and don’t want to throw my body’s schedule off, I nurse and don’t feed her bottles. However, I found a great use for the bottle warmer when we went on a road trip – warming up a few ounces of breastmilk to mix oatmeal with fruit! Genius. (well, I thought so…)

Anyway, at $14.99 (and don’t forget a 20% off coupon from Buy Buy Baby!) this item is a really great deal!

Hope you enjoy the product spotlight! Please feel free to leave any feedback on my contact page!

*The reusable bottle warmer can only be reused when the crystals are reactivated to their liquid form with boiling water. Once used, it cannot be reused prior to reactivation.

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Happy Sproutsgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the parents, expectant parents, grandparents, and the rest!

Since this is a holiday weekend, I wanted to publish a quick post for those of you with little ones this Thanksgiving. BabyCenter recently sent out an email listing foods to avoid feeding your baby. Junk food does more bad for your baby than it does for us grown-ups, since their tummies are so small and can easily become filled with non-nutritious calories.

Remember, your baby’s diet (under 1 year) consists primarily of breastmilk (or formula) and is COMPLEMENTED by solids to provide her with new experiences with textures and flavors. Foods should be nutrient-dense, packed with lots of vitamins and minerals. These foods are whole foods, like fruits, veggies, and meats. Over 1 year old, babies should still consume nutritious foods so their bodies and immune systems become stronger.

With the holidays being filled with such excitement and delicious foods, it may be tempting to sneak in a spoonful of pumpkin pie filling, a smidgen of cranberry sauce, or a little buttery mashed potatoes (or sugary sweet potatoes) to your baby. But keep in mind these foods are not healthy for him. Added sugar and fat fill up a baby’s calorie needs with junk and can negatively affect their taste preferences for healthier options for the future. And, when consumed at even this young an age, these habits can lead to Type 2 diabetes and weight problems in the future.

Foods NOT to feed your baby:

Juice
Soda
Crackers
Gelatin desserts
Processed meals

Why Not?

Continue reading “Happy Sproutsgiving!” »

Your Little Sprout’s Growth Charts Explained

Almost all of us have been there. Sitting at the pediatrician’s office, the nurse wheels in the infant scale for his or her weigh-in, encircles your angel’s head with a halo-like measuring tape, marks the examination table paper at the heel and top of the head.

After gathering all the important info, they enter the information into the computer (or on a form) and scribble a number down on your progress report paperwork in their corresponding ” _____ %ile” spaces (“blank percentile”).

Maybe you’ve sat there confused. “If there was something wrong, they’d tell me…right?” you thought to yourself.

If this sounds like you, I’m here to clear it up! I’m going to walk you through reading a growth chart and interpreting the numbers.

What are Growth Charts?

First off, growth charts were made in order to track infant, child, and adolescent’s development (length, weight, and head circumference factors) from birth up to 20 years of age.

The lines show the distribution of the population according to that specific measurement.

For instance, if a measurement falls along the “75” line, then that means for that measurement, 75 percent of girls (or boys, depending on the chart) at that age/weight/length/head circumference were shorter/weighed less/had smaller head circumferences. We’ll get into that in our practice exercise below. Continue reading “Your Little Sprout’s Growth Charts Explained” »

Avoiding a Sick Sprout…

OK guys – As a healthcare provider (even if I’m on an extended “break”) I wanted to put this out there as my nurse’s Public Service Announcement for all parents who have babies, young children, kids, if you have little baby cousins, nieces and nephews, best friends who have little babies, or who are pregnant… GET A FLU SHOT!

Flu season is September 1st through March 31st (that’s the guideline we follow in the hospital) and the best way you can protect your child against a whopping case of sleepless nights, fever, crying, irritability, difficulty eating, etc etc is to get vaccinated and to vaccinate your kids!

Why Vaccinate?

In general, your baby needs to be up-to-date on all vaccines. ALL VACCINES. There really is no excuse for this. So much media sensationalism exists trying to unjustifiably pin long-term health effects on vaccinations, but no. Don’t buy into it. It’s ridiculous. It leads to worse problems, like the resurgence of diseases that used to be things of the past. Here on Little Sproutings, I try not to be incredibly opinionated about some issues, but failing to vaccinate your child is a whole other story.

For more about vaccinating your child overall, see the “Additional Info” section below and additional resources at the end of this post.

Flu Vaccinating You & Your Sprout

The flu virus affects everyone. Babies and young children especially need a vaccine to defend their little bodies against the flu, because their immune systems aren’t at full strength and the effects of a flu illness are worse for them. Additionally, the course of a flu illness is more easily complicated with pneumonia because of a developing immune system. Continue reading “Avoiding a Sick Sprout…” »

Your Snoozin Sprout

Whether or not you plan to (or currently) “sleep train” your baby, new parents and parents-to-be are familiar with wondering if their baby will be a “good sleeper,” or if they will be up all night long. It seems as though the instant you bring your baby home, strangers and family members start to ask “ohhh is she sleeping through the night yet?”

For some, it’s nothing more than an innocent question, but for others it can be obnoxious. Tired parents will sense a notion of judgment or eagerness to hear of the parent’s failure to being able to keep their baby asleep, or they just dread hearing the question because it reminds them of how little sleep they are actually getting.

Good sleeper or not, there’s one thing that I think we can all agree on – that newborns sleep differently than young infants, and young infants sleep differently than older babies. When Jia was sleeping in our living room in her crib, Jeff and I tiptoed around our 1-bedroom condo like you wouldn’t believe. For a handful of weeks I was living on-edge after 8:30 PM. I dreaded bedtime. Whether it was the dogs barking at something they heard outside our window, needing to take a quick trip to the fridge, opening and closing our squeaking front door (thank you WD-40) or wondering if the dropping of the shampoo bottle in the shower was enough to rouse her from her light sleep, I was going nuts.

Nowadays, in her own room sleeping 11-11.5 hours straight, I still wonder: how come our friends’ toddler needs the clanking of pots and pans or loudly opening and closing dresser drawers to wake up, whereas sometimes it seems Jia can sleep through an army passing by her door but other nights her sleep will be disturbed by Jeff blowing his nose next door?

We started talking about this and I became curious – how are sleep patterns and brain waves different for infants and toddlers, and when do they change?

Continue reading “Your Snoozin Sprout” »

This Sprout Was Made for Walkin…

So, Jia isn’t going to crawl. Doesn’t want to. My guess is there are two things that contribute to this: she’s not in day-care around other babies thinking “oh wow that looks cool, let me try!” and the only consistent examples of crawling on all fours are her fur siblings, Kona and Mei-Mei. I think she realizes she’s more like us than her siblings. She’s had plenty of tummy time, too. I actually don’t mind, I welcome her current lack of all-fours mobility. It helps me run to the bathroom or kitchen with the comfort of knowing she’s probably only backwards-scooted at most, a foot from where I left her 5 seconds ago.

Many babies never crawl and instead go straight to cruising/standing then onto walking. Though crawling is a milestone, it’s not a developmental requirement. Additionally, pediatricians think that the push for “Back to Sleep,” the public health campaign that has drastically decreased the number of cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) has contributed to less children crawling these days. Since babies are spending more times on their backs than on their tummies, their back and torso muscles may not be as strong as before “Back to Sleep” began. According pediatricians (cited on Parenting.com), studies have not shown any negative developmental outcome associated with skipping the milestone of crawling. Continue reading “This Sprout Was Made for Walkin…” »