Some facts regarding extended breastfeeding...

In addition to yesterdays blog about extended breastfeeding, here are some interesting facts regarding the matter.

• Breastmilk continues to provide substantial nutrients well past the first year of life, including protein, fat, and most vitamins.
• In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:
• 29% of energy requirements
• 43% of protein requirements
• 36% of calcium requirements
• 75% of vitamin A requirements
• 76% of folate requirements
• 94% of vitamin B₁₂ requirements
• 60% of vitamin C requirements 

• Nursing toddlers between the ages of 16 and 30 months have been found to have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their non-nursing peers
• Some of the immune factors in breastmilk increase in concentration during the second year and also during the weaning process. 
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child... Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother... There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (AAP 2005)
• The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1993, WHO 2002).
• In the US in 2005 only 17% of mothers breastfed their babies to the age of 1. 
• By the age of 18 months less than 5% of American children (in 2005) were still breastfeeding.
• Breastmilk changes as the child gets older.  The makeup of nutrients and fat changes and grows with the child.  It has been shown that the fat content of milk expressed by a mother who has been breastfeeding for longer than a year is higher than milk expressed by mothers who haven't been breastfeeding for as long.
•  

(Facts taken from Kellymom.com and this article.)

You're STILL breastfeeding?

That is the question many moms get asked when they nurse their baby past the age 1, and sadly, sometimes after 6 months of age.  There are so many opinions out there about when a mother should quit breastfeeding.  Several I've heard have been "when the baby has teeth", or "when she can ask for it", or even ages, 4 months, 6 months, a year.

"You're still breastfeeding?"

As an extended-breastfeeding mom, I have encountered this question multiple times, its a fact of life when you don't follow the norm of weaning your child early in their infancy.  Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend breastfeeding until the age of 2 (TWO!) or BEYOND as long as it is mutually desired by the mother and child.  2 years of age.  Not 6 months, not 1 year. Not when they have teeth (some babies get teeth at 3-4 months, before their intestines are mature enough for anything but breast milk). Not when they can ask for it.  (Aren't they asking for it when they are newborns and cry because they are hungry?) Two years, or longer.

Unfortunately society makes mothers who follow this recommendation and continue to nurse and nurture their toddler ashamed of it, embarrassed about it.  It can be hard enough for mothers to nurse their newborns and infants in public, even harder once the baby isn't little anymore and people view it as inappropriate to still be breastfeeding.  Even though I am confident about breastfeeding in public, even though I am confident in my decision to continue breastfeeding my toddler, I get nervous when she asks to nurse when we are out. (She asks by either patting my chest or saying "nurse" which in her cute baby voice is more like "nuss") I wonder what people think and sometimes feel self conscious. Recently on Facebook I saw several comments from people about a news segment on breastfeeding.  One of them was "..to breastfeed a baby past a year?! WTH is wrong with these people?!" (WTH meaning "what the hell".)  Comments like those are what make mothers ashamed of doing what is best for their baby. Comments like those are what can make an experienced, confident mother like myself feel self conscious about her decision to breast feed her 16 month old daughter.

Despite doubting myself sometimes I will still continue to do it.  Why? I want to normalize extended breastfeeding.  I hope that other moms of toddlers who still nurse see me nursing my toddler in public and realize its not something that should be hidden away in shame.  I want people who haven't been exposed to breastfeeding, or extended breastfeeding to see me and realize that its not unnatural and its not gross, and that normal people do it too, that there is nothing "wrong" with people who breastfeed their children past the age of 1. 

So yes.  I am still breastfeeding.  Thank you for asking.

Fun little snack!

 Here is a tasty fun little snack to try one of these summer days!

~Mini Bagel Sandwiches~
First you need Mini Bagels.  Ya know, those cute little baby sized ones.  Then your condiments of choice.  I like mayo, mustard, and pepper.  You also need sandwich fixins.  Mine was turkey, cheese, and lettuce, nice and simple.  Smear condiments on mini bagel, construct sandwich as you normally would, then enjoy!

They are cute and small and yummy.  Perfect for little hands, no crusts to cut off, and a nice deviation from the same ole lunch meat sandwich.  These would be great for a sleepover or birthday party.  I'd share pictures, but I ate mine before I could find my camera.  :)

Fluff Review- Doodle Dypes

I'll admit that my cloth diaper experience might be a little limited. I haven't tried very many brands/types of cloth diapers.  But I am going to try and start doing reviews on ones I have tried, and hopefully this will motivate me to get out there and try more.

First up on the list is Doodle Dypes.

I love these diapers.   They are made by a wonderful WAHM, Sandy.  Made using Bamboo fleece, also using a two layer snap in soaker. The first Doodle I tried was a purple ruffly AI2. (Has a water resistant layer, doesn't require an extra cover, soaker part is separate to speed drying time.)  Quite awhile after I got that first one I was looking at her store and she had several prints I HAD TO HAVE.  So I stalked the store, and was able to snag two of them.  I got one AI2, and one Fitted. (Mercy is wearing the fitted in the above picture.)

There are many reasons I love Doodle Dypes.  They are super trim, not bulky at all, and they are VERY absorbent.  Mercy usually went to bed in a Goodmama with a fleece cover.  In the morning the diaper was always SOAKED.  Front, back, top, bottom, even the wings were soaked.  One night I told her to choose her fluff and she brought her Doodle fitted.  I was skeptical.  I went with it anyways, figured we'd give it a shot.  I expected to wake up in the middle of the night to a pissed off soaked baby, a wet bed, a puddle, or at the very least leaks. How could this super trim, UNPREPPED Doodle last through the night when my super fluffy, super used GMs barely managed?

Fast forward to the next morning.  My sis comes downstairs and was playing with Mercy, I asked her to take her diaper off.  "Uh, it isn't wet." 
Whaaaa?? "What? What do you mean?"  
"Oh, well its wet on the inside, but the outside doesn't feel wet."
 I couldn't believe it.  I felt for myself and she was right.  The outside barely even felt damp.  I was shocked.  So shocked, that I washed it so she could wear it again that night, just in case maybe it was a fluke and Mercy just didn't pee that much. Same results.  Tried her back in a GM the next night and the GM was drenched. Doodles Win.

However, super trim and absorbent isn't all they have going for them.  They are also super cute.  They have a HUGE fabric selection available for custom orders.  They are AMAZINGLY priced, especially for such an awesome product. The detail of each diaper is amazing.  One of my favorite things about these diapers is very small.

 The alternating snap colors, both on the big ones, and the inner centers.  Its a pretty small detail, but for me at least it makes a big impact and makes the diaper just that much cuter.

Even aside from all that however, is the phenomenal customer service.  Sandy always responds very quickly to any questions, whether by Email, or on Doodle Dypes facebook page.  Shipping is quick.  She takes great pride in her work.  The interactions feel more personal, she always comments on pictures you share of your baby in Doodles. She is great at finding fabrics if you make requests.  I asked if she could locate some cute sailor/anchor fabric and within an hour she had messaged links to me with several different options.  Just overall, the entire experience is great and makes the customer want to go back.  If you haven't tried a Doodle Dype yet, I strongly recommend you do.  She stocks Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern time, they go quick though so you'll have to be fast!

*I am in absolutely no way affiliated with Doodle Dypes or Sandy.  I received no compensation for writing this review, it is in its entirety my opinion.  The only thing I gain from writing this review is more competition on stocking day. *

Baby Led Weaning and your toddler

Mercy is past the "introducing" stage of solids, so the post ideas dealing with BLW are slim pickins.  However I'm still enjoying the benefits of BLW.  I see quite a few posts on my parenting community along the lines of "How do you get your child to eat vegetables?!"  I generally try not to respond because I'm sure my answer of "put it in front of her" isn't exactly the type they are looking for.

When these moms were spoon feeding rice cereal and bland purees to their babies, Mercy was eating avocado and broccoli and melon, experiencing different tastes and textures.  When those babies were getting mushy processed Gerber meals....Mercy was getting fresh chicken and vegetables, lasagna, chef salad, and spinach ravioli.

My girlie has got a large palate.  She loves food!  That isn't the only benefit of Baby Led Weaning though.  At 15 months old she does a good job of using utensils.  Its really awesome to see her sitting there feeding herself using a fork, like a big girl. (Even though she is still my itty bitty baby.)

Its also nice not having to worry about what to feed her, seeing as she just eats whatever I am having.  Todays lunch was a turkey sandwich and chips for me, turkey sandwich with ritz bitz and banana slices for her.


Yumm!!!!

and this picture, just because it is ridiculously awesome.

l

If you are interested, you can view my previous posts about Baby Led Weaning HERE.

Sand in my shoes

Went to the beach with my husband and daughter this weekend.  We had an absolute blast.  It was pretty much a perfect day.  Mercy looked so adorable in her swimsuit.  I played in the water a little bit, but mostly sat back and observed through the lens of my camera.  It was Mercy's first real time in the ocean and I figured she would be scared, I stayed back so she would depend on dad to catch her and protect her when she felt scared, using this First as a catalyst for their relationship.  It worked beautifully.









Are you in tears yet?  Because I was. After him being gone for so much of her life, there is nothing more beautiful than seeing them play together.

Woo!

My evil plot to take over the world with cloth diapering 1 person at a time is in motion. Bwahaha!

I went over to visit and friend and talk fluff with her because she was interested in converting to cloth.  She has since decided she definitely wants to.  This brings my convert tally up to a grand total of 4 people.

My friend Tabby and my friend Mikayla are now cloth converts. My little sister and her best friend have also said that when they have babies they want to cloth diaper. 

The Real Diaper Association estimates that a child will go through roughly 2,920 diapers in their first 2 years of life.  Assuming each child will potty train around 2.5, that is 7,300 total per child.  Assuming each person only has 1 child, that is a grand total 29,200 disposable diapers that I have helped save from a landfill.

More math- 300 lbs of wood, 50 lbs of petroleum, and 20 lbs of chlorine are required to make the diapers for 1 child for 1 year.  That is 750 lbs of wood, 125 lbs of petroleum, and 50 lbs of chlorine to diaper 1 child, from birth to potty training at 2.5.    3,000 lbs of wood, 500 lbs of petroleum, and 200 lbs of chlorine have been saved. 

Who said that 1 person can't make a difference?