Mom Life
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Pumping Schedule At Work
This is the pumping schedule at work I followed when I returned to work at 4 months post pardum until 13 months when I stopped pumping (but still kept breastfeeding). Because you’ll be relying on your pump to not just provide you little one food but also keep you healthy and comfortable, you need a reliable pump. Check out my comparison of the two most popular insurance-covered pumps here. My Pumping Schedule 5:30 a.m. – Dream feed. When I was pumping, I found that I liked dream feeding Charlotte as soon as I got up. After nursing her, I’d drink a 16 oz. glass of water. That was also my…
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Pumping at Work
It’s no secret that maternity leave in the United States is tragically lacking. The American Association of Pediatricians and the World Health Organization recommend exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months. However, American mothers are sent back to work within weeks of their delivery dates. For breastfeeding and pumping mothers, however, this quick return to work presents a logistical challenges. What do you need to do to prepare for pumping at work? Can I make it pumping at work? I was “lucky” enough to get four months of maternity leave. Back at work, I pumped for 10 months, including the month it took me to “wean” off my pump. Over that time I…
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Cloth Diaper Buyer’s Guide – Overnights
I’ve hinted, I’ve implied, I’ve outright mentioned overnight diapers, but here is where I will actually tackle the topic. Before we get to that, lets find some common ground about overnights. I changed my daughter when she was a newborn before nighttime feeding sessions. Until she was about 6 weeks old, she pooped nearly every diaper change, so she needed it anyway. After she stopped pooping so much, we stopped changing overnights. Once I lay my daughter down, she’s down. We use a good layer of Aquaphor and “see you in the morning”. So, we only need 7 overnight diapers, though I have 8 “just in case”. Option 1 –…
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Why I Chose to Cloth Diaper
“We’ll see if you stick with it.” “It’s a whim.” “We’ll support you, but we’ll see.” We heard all of these and more when we decided to cloth diaper our daughter. My husband and I both have sensitivity skin, and I was afraid diapering would be three years of endless diaper rash for a new baby. I had been cloth diapered for a time as a baby for a short time so I started looking for a cloth diaper service like my parents had used. Luckily, I found Fluff Love and CD Science. After scouring the website and watching videos, I started following the Facebook page, reading every question and…
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My Experience Using a Nipple Shield
I had given birth in the wee hours of the morning. While I was overjoyed at the birth of my daughter, I was beyond frustrated every time I tried to nurse her. Every nursing session was a teary failure. I’d clumsily try to manipulate myself and latch my daughter; she would want nothing to do with me. A LC at the hospital had suggested using a nipple shield in passing, but it was hard to use and I had read that some babies could not transfer milk using them. When my daughter was born, she would not eat. She. Would. Not. Eat. One lactation consultant (or “LC”) said she was…
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Breastfeeding Must Haves
Registering for your baby shower can be overwhelming. I had very little experience with newborns and was clueless as to what I needed. Worse, I was sucked into believing I needed a LOT of things that I didn’t ultimately need. 14 months later, here’s my best advice for breastfeeding must haves. Breastfeeding is free! Except for… If you’re like me, one of the selling points of breastfeeding was the price…free. However, like anything, all those little accessories add up. From cheapest to the most expensive, here is what I recommend for breastfeeding must haves. Duckbill Valves: The standard valve for the Medela pump is a yellow piece of plastic with…
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Cloth Diaper Buyer’s Guide – AIOs
All-In-Ones or AIO’s are a pretty universal diaper design that doesn’t get the love they deserve. We’ll breakdown the Good, Bad, and Ugly in a moment, but AIO’s are my favorite diaper. They tend to be on the more expensive end (as opposed to lower cost covers which you can read about here), but I find they fit my slim girl the best and can offer one of the slimmest fits. So what is an AIO? Simply put, an AIOs is a cloth diaper that is all one part – the cover, insert, and stay dry are all joined together into one cohesive unit. Most AIOs will have some sort…
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Cloth Diaper Buyers Guide – Pockets
If you go to a mainstream baby store today (Buy Buy Baby, Babys R Us) and you roll up to the cloth diaper isle, you will most likely find mainly pocket diapers. Many of the big name brands carried by big box stores – Charlie Banana, Rumperooz, BumGenius – carry pocket diapers so extensively that its would be easy to believe they’re the only option out there, or at least the most popular. Indeed, most major manufacturers have a pocket diaper in their line up, even if they’re not their “signature” diaper. So what is a pocket? Simply put, a pocket is a waterproof, PUL exterior with an inner microfiber…
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Lessons to be Learned from Second Hand Shopping
I’m going to pop some tags I was never into second hand shopping. I became quickly frustrated when I couldn’t find things easily in my size or matching items for household goods. However, as I packed up my daughter’s barely worn baby clothes every three months, I started to change my mind. There is something about getting a complement for an outfit I paid a fraction for that makes me feel like a rock star. My daughter got a cute but short sleeved Baby Gap dress for her birthday about a week before it turned cold for the season. We had a warm week when she got to wear it…
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Cloth Diaper Gift Box
When my friend Lynn told me she was going to breastfeed, I was excited for her and determined to help support her. When she told me she was going to cloth diaper, I was ecstatic for me that I was going to have someone to nerd out about with. I wrote about the breastfeeding support items I packed in her box here, but I couldn’t stop there! I also wanted to give her some cloth diapering starters. When we decided to cloth diaper, we were either met with cautious optimism or people just plain out telling us we were foolish and were not going to be able to stick with…
