Motherhood
Motherhood
October 28, 2024
As babywearing parents and carrying educators, researchers, and enthusiasts, I’m sure we all share the belief that everyone should be able to wear their baby. You only need to feel the magic of “sleepy dust” with your own baby, or see the joy of a caregiver successfully wrapping their baby for the first time to understand that this practice is important.
And that a well-used carrier is much more than just another baby gear product on a registry. But let’s face it: high quality carriers are out of the price range for many new parents. Thanks to lending libraries, secondhand sales, and hand-me-down gifts, often the “village” surrounding the new parent will ensure that the price tag alone isn’t prohibitive.
But that’s not the only barrier. Whether parents can afford a carrier or not, fully embracing this practice is not just an issue of economic access. It’s all about cultural access. Being able to fully adopt babywearing as an integral component of a caregiving strategy depends on more than
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
Motherhood
February 19, 2024
Bobbie Baby Formula, the brand you know and love for its top-notch organic formulas, has just launched their newest product: Boosties! As a long-time request from Bobbie parents, these new infant supplements are perfect for formula-fed and breastfed babies alike.
Since Bobbie has a very simple ingredient list, they leave it up to parents to add anything extra! Parents who are looking for probiotics or Vitamin D will now be able to order these supplements— along with their Bobbie subscription— for their own, customized infant formula. We spoke with Mallory Whitmore, The Formula Mom and Education Lead at Bobbie, about why these two new products are so exciting for Bobbie parents.
Q&A:
What are boosties?
Bobbie Boosties are infant supplements that can be added to an infant’s diet, whether they’re breastfeeding, formula feeding, or doing a bit of both (also known as combo-feeding)!
Do breastfeeders need added vitamins or probiotics?
Many parents don’t realize that breast milk
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
Motherhood
November 13, 2023
The holiday season is upon us, and for many families, that means hitting the road to visit loved ones or embark on exciting adventures. While holiday road trips bring joy and cherished memories (maybe more so when we look back and forget the fussy kiddos asking “are we there yet?” ), they can also present unique challenges, especially for breastfeeding moms. Of course you don’t want to loose your rhythm and all the progress you’ve made in your breastfeeding journey and while it may seem daunting, it IS possible to have minimal disruption in your routine. Let’s explore the importance of breastfeeding during your holiday travels and provide you with essential tips to make breastfeeding on the road more comfortable and enjoyable for both you and your baby.
Benefits of Breastfeeding During Road Trips
Breastfeeding is not just about providing nourishment; it also offers a ton of benefits that are particularly advantageous during road trips with baby. First and foremost, breastfeeding
Breastfeeding & Nutrition
Motherhood
August 01, 2022
Jump to a Section:
Set up a breastfeeding station
Have a lactation consultant on speed dial
Rest (and then rest some more)
Ask for support
Center pleasure as much as you can
Do at least one thing per day just for you
Breastfeeding is well…a lot. Even if the latch is great, milk is flowing, and the baby is growing off the charts, being a breastfeeding mom is not always easy. Whether you’re exclusively breastfeeding, combo-feeding, exclusively pumping, or anything in between, providing human milk is both labor and time-intensive, as well as physically and emotionally demanding.
A little self-care at this time of life can go a long way. As postpartum doulas, we’re all about making sure parents themselves are happy, supported, and thriving. After all, you are literally keeping another person alive with your body—and that means that you need a lot of care. And some of that care can come from yourself, via simple routines, healthy boundaries, and practical planning. Here are our
Pregnancy & Birth
Motherhood
June 27, 2022
Having a baby is a beautiful and exciting stage of anyone’s life. However, it can be taxing emotionally and physically for your partner. We can read all the books and attend all the courses, but sometimes there are just the things no one tells you. Your partner will need all the help they can get, but sometimes it can be hard to know how exactly to help them. Here are a few ways that you might be able to help your partner after they give birth.
Caring for Your Partner During Labor and Delivery
Get drinks or ice from the machine - If you are having a hospital birth, chances are your partner won't be able to eat solid foods. Ice is always a welcome alternative to water as a change in texture.
Remind the partner to drink water - "Your body needs to be nourished and in top condition before and during the race. Days leading up to the marathon, long-distance runners will load up so they don’t run famished on the day of the race. And most importantly, marathoners are hydrated throughout the race....The
Postpartum
Motherhood
September 18, 2019
For centuries families have relied on advice passed down from generation to generation on a vast number of things, and raising babies is one of them. Chances are when you were expecting you were given many tit-bits of information and advice to guide you through- whether they were helpful or not is another matter! The point is that we humans need that interaction, support, and guidance to help us build confidence and to feel empowered in our daily endeavors. For some parents, that might mean finding tools that help create closeness and comfort during the early weeks—like the Embrace Newborn Carrier which supports bonding while keeping baby snug and secure. And when it comes to raising a baby, nobody is born knowing it all. We learn from our parents, grandparents, friends, and communities. We then pass that knowledge on ourselves, because we want to help and because we know how valuable learned advice can be. With this in mind, I'd like to share with you some newborn sleep tips you need to
Postpartum
Motherhood
September 18, 2019
When your baby enters the world, she is transitioning from a cozy, dark, comforting womb to a state of constant bombardment of new experiences. Take a moment and imagine the amount of stimulation a new baby must feel. Each day is full of new sights and sounds, and all that activity can be taxing on a baby’s fragile nervous system.
One way parents can help provide a sense of calm and comfort is to establish routines to help baby wind down. Gentle daily rituals like skin-to-skin snuggles, warm baths, or holding baby in a soft newborn carrier like the Ergobaby Embrace can help ease baby into the world with comfort and familiarity. By repeating the same steps day after day, your baby becomes accustomed with what to expect and isn’t strained by having to learn something new.
Over time, you and your baby will begin to fall into a rhythm that becomes your own special ritual.
A ritual is more than a routine – a ritual is unique to you. It’s like an inside joke. Only you and your baby are “in” on
Postpartum
Motherhood
September 18, 2019
Slow ride. Take it Easy. When I think of the silly words of Foghat, the song somehow always makes me think of the ideal state of mind for what’s called the 4th trimester, the first three months of a baby’s life. The focus on the 4th trimester is not only nurturing the newborn baby but also the post partum care and mental health of the healing mother.
Let me take a step back for a moment. Human development is a well-studied and documented field. What’s indisputable is that human babies enter the world totally dependent on their caregivers. Experts continue to theorize as to why babies are born at the gestation period when they are born (at approximately 40 weeks.)
Some theories emanate from anthropologists who generally have thought that an infant’s brain must be sized against the pelvis length of the mother. Peter T. Ellison of Harvard University supports what he calls a metabolic crossover hypothesis, which is to say, “energetic constraints of both mother and fetus
Postpartum
Motherhood
September 18, 2019
We often hear the phrase “trust your instincts” but life as a new mother can be a puzzling time for knowing what impulse, gut feeling or knowledge is or is not coming from within. Life with a newborn is wonderful and equally daunting. The learning curve can feel more like a hair trigger jump directly upwards instead of a nice sloping curve. No matter how many books you read, classes you take or parents you talk to, becoming a mother in real time is a whole new ball game.
Up until that time when we walk through the portal from maiden to mother, everything is theoretical. With most topics concerning motherhood, it is layered and often paradoxical. So asking the question “how do we trust our instincts?” is not an easy answer that applies to all. We need to look at the time before we gave birth. Did you trust yourself? Did you grow up trusting others? All of our behaviors surrounding trust can be triggered as we become mothers. It can feel isolating and destabilizing as we charter unknown territory.
Postpartum
Motherhood
September 18, 2019
Why You’ll Never Forget That New Baby Smell (And Shouldn’t Try To!)
We have all heard about new car smells, but what about new baby smells? You know, that earthy, new baby smell, that one that causes dopamine to release in your brain and makes you feel so good - what is it? Smell can be the most potent sense to strike up an emotional response.
So, what exactly is that new baby smell?
The smell of a newborn is likely thought to be a combination of chemicals secreted through sweat glands, lingering amniotic fluid and vernix caseosa, the white cheese-like cream that covers babies at birth; all this combined, is thought to create a combination of intoxicating medley aroma that nature designed to pull you in. Whatever it is, that distinct smell provides a pathway to our brains and to ultimately our hearts and binds us to that little life in front of us. Although the newborn scent eventually fades (usually around six weeks of age) many parents (including this one) are