Breastfeeding & Nutrition
Motherhood
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
July 02, 2012
During the first trimester, staying fit and eating healthy can be a real challenge due to all of the hormonal changes occurring in your body. Two of the biggest challenges can be morning sickness and food aversions. Both of which make you want to just lay on the couch and watch trashy TV rather than focus on getting outside for a walk or a run or eat those nice big salads that you once did. However, did you know that actually making an effort to workout can combat fatigue and morning sickness? I wish someone had told me this during my first trimester! I went from training for a half marathon to the couch full time before finally convincing myself that I needed to make an effort to be somewhat active again. Not only is it good for me but it’s good for this growing baby inside of me. It took me until the later stages of my first trimester (around week 10) to really start to get back to being active. But when I did, I noticed how much better I felt. My morning (all day) sickness was nowhere
Motherhood
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
February 01, 2012
When I counsel adults with heart disease, many have a hard time making changes to their diet. I have often thought that it would be easier for them if they had grown up with heart healthy habits instead of having to learn them later in life. We often don’t think about children and heart health, but as parents we can start building heart healthy habits in our children that will benefit them for a life time.
Here are 7 heart healthy habits:
Don’t restrict calories but offer “real” food.
Eat heart healthy fats and oils.
Load up on fruits and vegetables.
Consume plenty of low-fat dairy products.
Use nuts, seeds, and legumes more often.
Incorporate more whole grains.
Be physically active.
Don't restrict calories but offer "real" food. Most of the time it is not a good idea to restrict children’s calories. They should be able to eat meals
Motherhood
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
September 01, 2011
When my husband was out of town, I thought I would give the kids a treat and take them out to eat. When I asked them if they wanted to go, they all shouted, “Yay! A picnic!” They grabbed a table cloth and ran outside to wait for me to bring the food. I quickly put together a picnic with food that we had on hand, and we sat outside eating dinner and playing for the rest of the evening.
Since then I have thought about how much healthier we would all be if we went “out” to eat more often--if more families thought about going out to eat as a picnic in the park instead of eating unhealthy food at a chain restaurant. As parents, we can influence the attitudes our kids have about healthy eating and physical activity, and create a healthy nutrition environment at home.
Eat meals together as a family
Try to eat one home-cooked meal together with your family each day. Studies show that family meals are associated with improved intakes of fruits, vegetables, grains, calcium-rich foods,
Motherhood
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
September 01, 2011
Most women don’t even start thinking about making healthier choices for the benefit of their baby until they are actually pregnant. But, many studies have shown that preconception nutrition can improve fertility and pregnancy outcomes. In fact, combining certain dietary patterns is referred to as the “fertility diet” and may favorably influence fertility in otherwise healthy women. So, when you start thinking about cute little toes and baby carriages, start making some of these pre-pregnancy nutrition and lifestyle changes too.
Add vitamins to your routine. It is well known that taking folic acid before pregnancy can prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, so be sure you are taking a supplement either as part of a multivitamin or by itself. Another important nutrient to add is iron. Many women tend to be low in iron, and iron needs will increase during pregnancy. Starting pregnancy with good iron levels by taking supplements or eating iron-rich
Motherhood
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
August 01, 2011
When should you start feeding your baby solid foods and what should you feed her?
Start feeding solids to babies between 4 and 6 months.
Introduce new foods 3-4 days apart.
Try foods several times.
Try several textures and flavors.
Avoid foods that can cause choking.
“The first year is a great time to introduce a variety of foods with different textures and tastes before the “picky eating” ages of 2 and 3 begin.” Christanne Harrison
Introducing Solids: Time for Tofu (and Other New Foods)
When my son started kindergarten, I asked him what he wanted in his lunch on his first day of school. He quickly responded, “Tofu squares!” He came home and proudly told me his teacher said that she had never seen a kindergartner with tofu in his lunch before. I started feeding my son tofu before he was a year old, and he has loved it ever since. Obviously, not all children are going to like tofu
Motherhood
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
July 01, 2011
La Leche League’s “Big Latch On” event, August 6th, 2011
“Women were ready to take charge of their own bodies. There was a need.” This was her answer when one founder was asked why they started La Leche League International (LLLI).
In 1956, seven women founded La Leche League International united by a common bond: their mutual appreciation for natural birth and their healthy, happy breastfeeding babies. They nurtured, nursed and practiced what they preached, with a combined total of 63 children, 161 grandchildren, and 30 great grandchildren, as of 2008. They were encouraged by enthusiastic husbands, and inspired by their enjoyment to share what they knew with other mothers, in their Elmhurst, Illinois vicinity, who were often asking for guidance on how best to breastfeed their babies.
In the words of each of the seven founders, here are some of their thoughts and history from their journey together. Their detailed chronological history
Motherhood
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
July 01, 2011
There is a deeply caring quality reflected in Ina May Gaskin’s life as a certified professional midwife for over 35 years, as an author, educator, community member, and the mother of three home-birthed children. She brings her life’s work and experience to the 340 pages of this rich resource on breastfeeding. Like her book, Spiritual Midwifery, Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding is destined to be a classic. Word is bound to spread quickly to every mother interested in “everything you need to know to make breastfeeding a joyful, natural, and richly fulfilling experience for both you and your baby.”
The contents of this book bring insights into the personal journey of becoming a family, from how your birth choices determine the quality of your breastfeeding experience, to the advantages of delaying cutting the umbilical cord. There are lists of Baby-Friendly hospitals, herbs to avoid, and how to handle sick and hospitalized
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
July 01, 2011
Yesterday my sister told me that she never knew what hard work breastfeeding was going to be. Last month, she celebrated her first year as a mother, and her first year of breastfeeding. She amazes me, balancing her busy schedule in the corporate world with time for breastfeeding and breast pumping in the office “pump-quarters.” I’m thrilled my sister’s breastfeeding is supported in the workplace, because breastfeeding is one of the body’s most beautiful, intelligent functions.
Breast milk is a living fluid substance, one of the most nutritious on earth. The wisdom or innate intelligence of the human body is so remarkable that a mother’s body will change the composition of her breast milk at every feeding, according to the time of day, the climate, and the baby’s age. Breast milk contains the perfect amount of every essential nutrient optimal for your baby’s growth and development at each unique moment.
As a family wellness chiropractor who is passionate about serving pregnant woman,
Motherhood
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
July 01, 2011
Breastfeeding: Nutrition for Better Brains and Super Moms
Breastfeeding can’t guarantee a super baby who walks at 4 months and differentiates colors, letters, and numbers by 6 months, but research does indicate that it is the best nutrition for your baby, helps fight infection, promotes brain development, and may even increase academic performance and IQ. And breastfeeding definitely makes you a super mom!
The best nutrition for your baby:
Breastfeeding provides the calories and nutrients that are just right for your baby. The composition of breast milk changes as your baby grows to meet her nutritional needs. Breastfed babies may need a vitamin D supplement, so ask your pediatrician.
Breast milk passes antibodies to your baby. In addition to nutrients, breast milk also gives your baby protection against infection and disease. Breastfeeding may also prevent or delay allergies. Remember that any
Motherhood
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
July 01, 2011
Countless articles, reports and doctors assure us that “breast is best,” and in terms of a newborn’s nutritional needs, of course it is. Thankfully, there are alternatives in the rare cases where breastfeeding, or feeding breast milk, is not possible. Those instances are rare, and as The World Health Organization states, “Only under exceptional circumstances can a mother’s milk be considered unsuitable for her infant. For those few health situations where infants cannot, or should not, be breastfed, the choices of the best alternatives are–expressed breast milk from an infant’s own mother, breast milk from a healthy wet-nurse or a human-milk bank, or a breast-milk substitute fed with a cup, which is a safer method than a feeding bottle and teat–depends on individual circumstances.” [WHO 2003]
Breast milk contains