Tag Archives: breastfeeding

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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Does Vitamin D3 do a Sprout Good?

I had all intentions on posting about Sleep Training this week. But, as I was feeding Jia her pumpkin puree and held her vitamin D dropper over her spoon to deliver her daily dose of D3 (400 International Units), I remembered a few months ago when one of my friends Natasha asked Facebook for opinions on Vitamin D supplementation for an exclusively breastfed baby. Her holdup was that her first child (non-supplemented) is perfectly healthy and that her breastmilk should be nutritionally complete. I commented back, citing the AAP (here and here) and CDC‘s recommendations supporting vitamin D supplementation. On the other hand, one of my old coworkers Katie made a very good point: her breastmilk should be complete in providing all the vitamins and minerals baby needs, without supplementation.

I continued to give Jia her daily drop of Carlson’s Baby D 400 IU of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) plainly because it’s what our pediatrician instructed us to do, and if the CDC and AAP recommended it, that’s what I would continue to do. I guess you could say I was being a lazy nurse-mom and didn’t do my own thorough research to hear the arguments on both sides.

However, yesterday (pumpkin day) a different feeling overcame me. As we are in the start of flu season (September through March), I started to consider the following: treating a sick baby really only consists of humidified air, fluids, rest, and sometimes Tylenol or Motrin (if baby’s fever is significant enough). Excess medications can unnecessarily do more harm than good on an underdeveloped baby’s system, causing more problems than there were to begin with. Continue reading “Does Vitamin D3 do a Sprout Good?” »

My Little Non-Soy Non-Dairy Sprout

September 11, 2014 marked the day I was able to finally eat and drink dairy products again. It felt like a long time coming and I was craving a multitude of dairy-filled treats, from cheesecake, lobster rolls, Popeye’s, to Thai Tea.

Whoa, Whoa – Back up! Why Dairy?

Jia, like many infants, was unable to tolerate the dairy and soy that I ingested, that passed to her through breastmilk. In reality my non-soy and non-dairy diet hasn’t been ALL THAT long, but for the past 4 months, I had to restrict my diet of anything containing soy or milk ingredients. For Jia, her intolerance manifested in blood-streaked diapers resulting from the inflammation in her gut when I ate these foods. For other babies, it can mean a lot of spitting up, gut pain and discomfort, wretching/vomiting, and even baby developing a fear of breastfeeding.

When she was about 1 month old (in March), Jia was a heavy spitter and even threw up (think: projectile) a couple days in a row either in the day time or even at that 3 AM feeding. I decided on my own to start cutting out dairy, advice that I found through a quick google search on reflux in new babies, and at the advice of one of my close friends Berry (who is a NICU nurse). Her baby was so scared to nurse because it was causing her so much belly pain, and poor Berry even had to cut out gluten, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish, fish, corn, and other nuts. (MAD props to Berry for going that distance for her adorable little baby!!!). She said that a (+) hemoccult (lab test) was confirmation for her baby, who didn’t have any visible blood in her stools, and that testing this sooner rather than later was beneficial to baby – they hadn’t realized Maddie’s allergy until she was 3 months old. Continue reading “My Little Non-Soy Non-Dairy Sprout” »

The Diaper Bag: Your Season’s Fashion Must

A parent’s diaper bag is a vital accessory once baby arrives. When Jia was pretty new to us, I would get a little bit anxious leaving the house because I really didn’t know what I needed to stuff inside of it and if there was enough of it all. Sometimes I’d go out and realize I left my nursing cover at home, or I would have an abundance of burp cloths but forgot to replenish the stock of bibs in the diaper bag. While preparing to leave the house by changing a diaper, feeding, or getting Jia strapped into her carseat, I needed my husband to make sure the diaper bag was ready.

We cloth diaper at home with Cloth-eez pre fold diapers with Thirsties Duo Wraps (with snaps) or Bummis Simply Lite diaper covers, and use The Honest Company‘s eco-friendly/baby-friendly disposables when we’re “on-the-go” for an extended period of time or for overnight. But, if we are going on a short afternoon trip, we tend to keep Jia in cloth. That being said, our diaper bag is usually pretty stuffed to the brim.

Here’s what we always have in our bag: Continue reading “The Diaper Bag: Your Season’s Fashion Must” »

Boobie-nomics: Nature’s Supply & Demand

I was just recently asked to write a post about building a milk supply, not because of difficulties in latch or getting the milk let-down going, but how to amplify a breastmilk stockpile and what to do to make sure your supply is maintained. So here goes:

So my passion for breastfeeding first started back in my days spent as a summer intern at The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) in Lafayette, Indiana. In the weeks leading up to our World Breastfeeding Week Celebrations August 1-7 (World Breastfeeding Week), the other interns and I worked tirelessly to artfully craft displays, flyers, educational games for kids to learn about breastfeeding, and other materials to promote breastfeeding. During the celebrations, we sat in breastfeeding workshops to help mothers learn about baby latching and baby holding techniques, helped educate WIC clients, and played games to create a positive atmosphere surrounding “Breast is Best.” I remember that even at the young age of 20 I was really looking forward to breastfeeding my future baby. My most impassioned presentations in my undergraduate studies, particularly in my Nutrition Communications class (F&N 424 taught by Barbara Mayfield), surrounded the physiological/immunological benefits of breastmilk to the infant. I even flirted with the possibility of becoming IBCLC Certified to be a Lactation Consultant (I decided not to because it would be way too expensive and take way too long to complete while working full time as an ICU nurse). Continue reading “Boobie-nomics: Nature’s Supply & Demand” »

Tooth Decay and Long-Duration Breastfeeding?! Not Even Close.

I apologize for the length of my first real entry on Little Sproutings. I am very passionate about this topic so I felt it was my job to address it very thoroughly!

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I recently came across an article on Parenting.com titled, “Breastfeeding Longer than 2 Years Associated with Tooth Decay,” where they cited a research study that claimed there was an association with long-term breastfeeding – that of which lasts longer than 24 months of age – with tooth decay. As a happily breastfeeding mom and a huge champion of moms being able to breastfeed as long as they are capable, I was deeply disturbed by this claim.

Not only was this statement irresponsible and dangerous, but I was also disappointed to have this article pop up from another one of their tweets during World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7).

First of all, breastfeeding is the best choice a mother can make for her infant/toddler (if she is not experiencing any physical problems with the ability to breastfeed). It provides the best immune system antibodies, great bonding opportunities, and helps reduce the risk of SIDS by developing a strong airway by utilizing a stronger sucking mechanism, among many other benefits that I will address in a later post. So, any attempt to find any negative association with breastfeeding leads me to criticize the source. Second, throwing a claim out there to the public – in a parenting forum – is likely going to make many families question the great decision that they have been making: breastfeeding as long as the baby will do so.

As with any alarming or suspicious conclusions or conversely, anything that seems “too good to be true,” make sure you look into what research article they are referencing. Continue reading “Tooth Decay and Long-Duration Breastfeeding?! Not Even Close.” »