Empty formula cans either end up in the trash, or start stack up in the kitchen. Can you recycle formula cans? The steel cans are recyclable, with other steel food cans.

Most other cans, the kind made of cardboard, are actually made of composites of different materials, and usually can’t be recycled. So what do you do with them? Here’s some ideas to save your formula cans from the trash.

• Reuse them in the kitchen. The insides wipe clean and then they can be used to store crackers, pasta, rice, and other dry goods. Peel off the outer layer of cardboard or the label and then you can label them with the new contents. One crafty blogger made labels from the packaging of the product going in the can to customize them.

• Use them for art and craft projects. Peel off the outer label then decorate the outsides. Challenge your toddler to paint on a curved surface. Or use them to store art supplies like crayons or paintbrushes.

• Reuse them as toys. One formula can plus one wooden spoon equals a drum. Cut a hole in the lid for baby to put things through. They stack nicely too, show baby how to build a tower. Then knock it down!

• Storage containers for little toys, marbles, pacifiers, coins, screws or nails in the garage, or whatever little objects you have.

• Make something out of them. One blogger made christmas gift containers from formula cans, and here’s a storage unit made from several formula cans. This is my favorite – beautiful containers for make up brushes and other bathroom supplies.

Do you have any fun, crafty or pretty ideas for empty formula cans? Please share!

Here are the highlights on this study done by the Center for Disease Control, and called attention to by the Environmental Workgroup:

• Trace amounts of perchlorate contamination was found in samples of formula being tested
• No names of brands were released, but most of the contamination came from formula derived from cow’s milk
• Perchlorate is a chemical mostly found in defense and aerospace sites but can be found in some cities’ water supply.
• The exact negative effects of perchlorate is unclear, though it has been linked to thyroid problems which plays a role in metabolism and growth in humans.
• The perchlorate in formulas may be offset by iodine, also contained in formula, which acts against perchlorate.  Size of infant and extent of formula use also affects the risk.

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it may be lowering the level of perchlorate acceptable in a give drinking water supply.

If you are a new Mom, do consider breastfeeding.  There have been some disconcerting news out there regarding formula in recent times.  If not, try formula alternatives that isn’t derived from cow’s milk.

Source: NY Times

I didn’t want to do it. I really wanted to hold out until 6 months to introduce solid foods. Breast milk has all the nutrients she needs right now, and she’s growing up fast enough as it is. Why rush things?

But after sleeping five to seven hour stretches for weeks, Ashley woke up hungry every two hours for two nights straight. I may have let it go on longer, feeling her every two hours and letting her sleep with us, if I didn’t have to work during the day. But there I was, not quite desperate for a full night’s sleep but knowing I couldn’t do this for much longer. I called the pediatrician.

The doctor said there’s a slim chance she teething, but it’s more likely she’s just ready for solid foods. In the past week, Ashley has become much more active—kicking at her toys in her baby gym, wiggling every time I put her down. She’s constantly in motion so I’m sure she’s burning calories like mad. She may be blessed with her father’s metabolism, which would be any female’s dream — lucky kid!

So on Saturday, we placed her in her high chair, snapped on her Winnie-the-Pooh bib and gave Ashley her first taste of cereal. I selected Gerber Organic Oatmeal, as the doctor said rice cereal or baby oatmeal were fine. I eat oatmeal about three times a week for breakfast so I figured the flavor would be “familiar” to her. I’ve read that babies pick up the taste of foods Mom eats in breast milk and during pregnancy.

She ate two mouthfuls and didn’t seem thrilled, mushing it around in her mouth and opening and closing her lips together, a little frown on her face. But I’m optimistic. She’s very young – not even four months yet—so I didn’t think she would accept any solid food at all the first time. If your baby rejects the first solid food, you should wait a week before you try again. But I interpreted two tastes as just short of overt rejection.

I tried again that night – another two mouthfuls. The next evening at dinner, though, she took four tastes, and even licked her lips. She still hasn’t smiled though, and I don’t think she likes the taste of the formula I use to water down the cereal. I never got the hang of pumping breastmilk, unfortunately.

The author of Super Baby Food, which I’m using as a feeding guideline for the first two years, says you don’t have to start a baby on cereal. Another food, watered down to a thin, milky consistency, is just as good. So I may try sweet potatoes next weekend.

Helpful tips for offering solid foods for the first time:

• Iron-fortified cereal is recommended as a first food because allergies to it are extremely rare. My pediatrician said she’d never heard of a case.
• Introduce a new food at breakfast, so if an allergic reaction occurs, it’s less likely to happen in the middle of the night.
• Wait 3 – 5 days before offering a different food, again, to test for allergic reactions.
• Smile and act upbeat when you give your baby food for the first time. She will pick up on your enthusiasm.
• Food can be served room temperature or lukewarm, the same temperature you would serve formula.
• I put the food in a baby bottle and used the bottle warmer to heat it. If you microwave food, stir carefully to avoid any “hot spots.” Microwave heating is not recommended except in a pinch.
• Don’t expect your baby to love it the first time. She may make faces. Go slowly to give her a chance to absorb this new experience.
• If baby turns her head or closes her mouth, stop. She may need to be burped and then you can try again. But if she refuses food twice, pack it up for that meal.
• Don’t forget to take lots of pictures of baby’s first meal!

For a new mom, breastfeeding for the first time in the hospital is like trying to diet during the holidays. Those who are determined enough can do it, but all forces seem to be conspiring against it.

My first experience breastfeeding involved four different nurses at four different times giving me four different bits of advice. One was rather rough as she shoved my breast into my daughter’s mouth. Another splashed formula on my nipple in the hopes of enticing the baby. Every single one scolded me with tsk-tsk noises or rolling eyes when I said Ashley had only nursed for a few minutes on each side. “Does that include all the time she was asleep on my breast?” I asked.

Meanwhile, my husband and I both had concerns that nothing was coming out. It’s one thing to know about colostrum and its benefits. It’s another to watch a baby sucking and wonder how she could possibly be getting any nutrition from a few teaspoonfuls of liquid that we couldn’t even see.

Because my daughter fell asleep on the breast so frequently, no sooner would we finish one session than a new one would begin on the hospital’s hourly feeding schedule. By the end of the night I surrendered, dropping my daughter off at the nursery and telling the nurses, “Just give her a bottle!”

My breastfeeding hardships were exacerbated upon our first pediatrician’s visit, when my daughter hadn’t shown any weight gain. She was wetting 6 + diapers a day, however and showing no outward signs of malnutrition. I described our feeding schedule—every 1 to 3 hours, usually closer to every hour. He respected this but said if it was too much for me, I should try feeding her every 2 to 4 hours, still on demand.

We tried that for a week, hoping the spaced apart sessions would be more successful if I wasn’t so fatigued. If she was asleep, we waited four hours rather than three to wake her for a meal.

Week 2… Still no weight gain. With the label “failure to thrive” looming (although she was still wetting diapers and was as alert as a newborn could be), we faced the decision of whether or not to supplement with formula.

This became my first experience as a new mom with trusting my instincts rather than the doctor’s advice. We went back to our hourly feeding schedule, adding one formula feeding at night before bed, when my milk supply began dwindling. This permitted me to get a few hours uninterrupted sleep, while still giving my daughter most of her nutrition and calories from breast milk.

When we went back to the doctor the next week, the baby had gained 5 ounces, beginning the upward curve of weight gain. The doctor asked what we were doing. It was hard not to smirk as I replied, “Feeding her more.” It concerns me that the doctor was so quick to recommend formula rather than suggesting we try to fix our breastfeeding difficulties with the help of a lactation consultant or simply by trying to nurse more frequently.

It is this philosophy, I believe, that causes so many women to give up breastfeeding so quickly. I know there are certain women who, for medical reasons, simply can’t breastfeed and others who choose not to. I respect those decisions and situations. But I’m referring to the women who want to breastfeed and are convinced by medical professionals that they “can’t.”

I still don’t produce inordinate amounts of milk; I’m making just enough to fill my daughter’s needs, with no extra to pump and save. Sometimes, when she decides to cluster feed, I do run out and have to give her a bottle. There is an article on Babies Online which outlines 5 ways to increase your milk supply.

It would have been very easy to give up trying to nurse in that first week when my daughter showed no weight gain, or in the hospital when it was such a struggle, or at any given time when my nipples were sore and it felt like I hadn’t been able to put on a shirt for hours because I’d just be taking it off again, anyway.

But we made it through all that and I know I’ve done the best thing for myself and for my daughter by sticking with it. As a new mom myself, I don’t have tons of advice to offer expectant mothers, but I will say this: Breastfeeding is not easy. But if you are determined to breastfeed your child, don’t give up too easily. You might be surprised by what you can accomplish if you stick with it.

The formula backlash continues. Starting from January, a British hospital will charge mothers of newborns for formula. They will also refuse to permit moms to bring formula from home.   Babies who require formula for medical reasons will continue to receive it for free.  The hospital says that it will sell infant formula for their cost price and not profit from the sales, and that the program will save them £30,000 (around $50,000) every year.

Britain is different from the US in that formula companies are not allowed to give away free samples in hospitals, like they do here in the States.

The announcement has caused controversy in Britain. It’s not so much the cost of the formula, rather than the perceived discrimination against formula-feeding moms.

Unlike the US, Britain has a nationalized health service – basically paid for by the government – and it’s chronically underfunded, understaffed and under-resourced. Healthcare is essentially free for most people and while standards are somewhat lower than the average hospital in the US, it’s free and available to all. Incredible when you consider what it costs to have a baby in the US: my hospital bills for my son ran around $7,000 for a routine delivery before insurance kicked in.

The average hospital stay is around 2 days, and moms have to start buying their own formula as soon as they leave the hospital, so paying for those two extra days’ worth of formula isn’t really that much of an expense.

But is this more discrimination against moms who choose not to breastfeed?

The hospital denies that the move is to encourage breastfeeding, or to discourage formula feeding, but they say that it is to make it fair so breastfeeding moms aren’t subsidizing formula feeding moms.

Everyone knows that, with everything else being equal, breastfeeding is best for babies. But in the real world, everything else isn’t equal and breastfeeding simply doesn’t work for many moms for many reasons. Moms who can’t, or choose not to breastfeed, have very valid reasons to not do so and formula-fed babies grow up as beautiful and smart as breastfed babies.

What do you think? Is charging for formula a reasonable cost-cutting step? Does charging for formula make it more fair for breastfeeding moms, or is it discrimination against formula feeding moms?

I was not too surprised when I read that trace amounts of melamine have been found in infant formulas in the USA. Recently, large amounts of the industrial chemical were found in Chinese infant formula products after thousands of infants became very ill after drinking the formula. Several infants actually died.

In the case of the formula in the United States, what surprised me was that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused to identify the formulas that contained the chemical and insisted that trace amounts of the chemical were insignificant and that it would be a “dangerous overreaction” for parents to stop feeding the formula to their children. The FDA further claims that the contamination occurred during the product processing, and was not intentionally added to the product.

WHAT? Does it really make a difference how it got there?

According to The Associated Press, which gathered information un the Freedom of Information Act, the FDA detected melamine in a sample of one “popular” formula and the presence of cyanuric acid in another formula. Cyanuric acid is similar to meaamine.

The chemical was found according to the report in the formulas produced by three firms–Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson. These companies produce about 90% of infant formula in the United States.

Although no exposure level has been established by the FDA, officials insist that trace levels of the chemical are safe. Some experts claim that scientific evidence shows that low levels of melamine are always present in certain foods and that trace amounts of the chemical pose no health risk and shouldn’t cause alarm. Other experts insist that since no safe exposure level has been established, no amount of the chemical should be tolerated. These experts argue that the FDA should begin recalling the infant formula which contain the trace amounts of melamine, and insist upon a zero tolerance policy for melamine levels in infant formula.

What do you think? Do these finding concern you? Do you think that trace amounts of the chemical in formula should pose no great health risk to infants?

According to a government report conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, around 3 out of every 4 women breastfeed their children. This is an all time high according to researchers who track this sort of thing. Some reasons for the increase include public awareness, changing perceptions about breastfeeding, and educational campaigns geared toward encouraging people to breastfeed.

I always have mixed feelings about studies like this, simply because I know of women who have tried to nurse their children, and have for a variety of reasons, not been successful. So, that ?one? woman may have wanted to nurse, but may not have been able to nurse, for a variety of reasons. I remember very vividly how saddened my one friend became when she realized that her child would have to be bottle fed. Adding to the sadness was the opposition she faced from family and friends when she had to bottle feed.

I had just the opposite with my family when I decided to nurse my oldest child 15 years ago. They were very opposed to nursing and they were very vocal about those feelings. I remember spending many family gatherings in the back bedroom nursing my children just to get some peace and quiet. However, my persistence paid off and many of my younger cousins decided to breast feed their children. It was with pride that I noticed they were able to nurse without being confined to the back bedroom during family gatherings.

I?ve also noticed a positive change since my breastfeeding days 15 years ago. At that time, if your child needed to nurse, you pretty much had to go to the restroom and find a stall where you could feed your infant if you were out in public. Now, it?s common to find rooms in public places for nursing mothers. When my husband and I took our children to a local amusement park, I noticed that there were rooms at the first aid stations where mothers could nurse. There were bathrooms that had a stall specially designed for nursing mothers! Yes, I was back to nursing in a bathroom stall, but at least I wasn?t forced to sit on a toilet seat to do so.

I still think we have a long way to go at least in the United States as far as this issue goes. There are still mothers who are asked to leave malls for nursing, even discreetly, in public. There are still women who face opposition from their families for making the decision to nurse their children. There are also women who face opposition if they are unable to nurse, but must bottle feed their children.

Whatever you decide, I encourage you to do what is best for you and your baby. That may mean breast feeding your child. It may mean using formula in a bottle. It may be a combination of breast and bottle feeding. It?s important to ignore the negative comments and do what you need to do!

What have your experiences been with feeding issues? Have you faced opposition when you decided to breast or bottle feed your infant?

I’m sitting here at 9 o’clock at night, two days before my due date, trying to unpack some more of my baby shower gifts. I received some baby bottles that I was very if-fy about. Although they’re cute, they’re made from #7 plastic, the kind that may (or may not) contain BPA. They’re going back to the store first thing tomorrow.

I also noted a recommendation (albeit, from 2007) from the Baby Bargains authors to stay away from older Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow bottles. I just received four from Freecycle. Those, unfortunately, will get tossed.

I received as a gift some adorable melamine bowls with one of my favorite characters on them. But they are manufactured from melamine, and made in China. ‘Isn’t melamine the stuff in formula that was killing infants?’ I asked my husband.

Without a definitive answer regarding if this is the same melamine, he sent me to Google, where I found this blog talking about the potential hazards of melamine. The author’s points make sense, and the bowls will, sadly, go back to the store, as well. I haven’t even begun to check out all the new nipples and pacifiers to make sure they’re made of silicon.

Then I wonder if I’m taking ‘new mom paranoia’ too far? I grew up with melamine bowls and BPA-laden plastic bottles and managed to survive (as I’m sure many BOL readers did!) Pregnant women drank and smoked back then, too, not that I’m advocating it.

A few more experienced moms laughed at me when I called crib bumpers ‘baby killers,’ but there’s a warning printed right on the crib. It’s irresponsible, in my opinion, for stores to continue selling them. And it definitely leads to awkward moments while you plaster a smile on your face and thank someone for the gift;which you know was well-meant and extremely generous!

I don’t even want to think about baby formula and the challenges moms who use it face today. I’m holding out hope that I won’t need to supplement with formula. Originally, my decision to breast feed was financially-based, and, as I did more research, I realized it is also the right decision for my baby’s health. Now, it’s a matter of not wanting to drive myself crazy checking for recalls and staying up-to-date on all the news reports on more than a professional level.

Fortunately, there are several resources out there for moms to easily find information on bottle and formula safety. I recently came across this site and it’s helped me sort through a lot of the information. Of course, I never trust just one single source off the Internet; I always research in several places, follow links, and then try to make my own decision.

Which brings us back to my question: Where does a new mom draw the line? There’s got to be a happy medium between tossing all the plastic (and, while I’m at it, canned food my husband and I eat!) in the house because of the latest alarmist study, or raising an infant the same way people have been doing for decades, with disregard to the hidden dangers around us.

Experienced moms, how do you know when you’re overreacting to the latest study and when you’re making a sound decision that will hopefully positively impact your child’s future health?

A couple of weeks ago it became sadly obvious that consuming something made in China is dangerous. Thousands of babies suffered kidney stones or worse after drinking formula tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical. Worse, it is suspected that the melamine was added intentionally in order to bolster the protein levels.

Until now, you might have said, ‘Wow, that’s sad,’ but not worried about it because your child is not drinking Chinese formula. But your older children’and yourself’could still be consuming melamine-tainted milk products.

In Indonesia, two-thirds of Chinese milk products on store shelves tested positive for the chemical, including cookies, candy, milk tablets, and some drinks. Now, British candy maker Cadbury is recalling 11 products due to suspicion they may include melamine. They are distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia. But I wouldn’t breath a sigh of relief just yet.

In tests conducted in several countries, melamine has been found in popular Chinese-manufactured products including Oreo cookies, M&M candies, Snickers candy bars. So now US manufacturers are in on the action. ‘They’ say they are safe. But who are they and why should I believe their claims?

It’s hard for me to fathom that Western corporations still make money by manufacturing goods in China. After millions of dollars lost in recalls, I’d think they’d learn their lesson. Because even though this particular scandal will be cleared up, I still wonder what’s next. Lead paint on toys, industrial chemicals in milk? will we find out there’s something woven into the clothes we wear? I’m paranoid, but I don’t think it’s unfounded.

I’m going to check my calcium supplement right now?

I’m sure you’ve seen the “older infant formulas” available as you peruse the baby aisle while shopping. They are, according to most of the labels, for infants from 9-24 months who are eating some solid foods.

I asked a nutritionist friend of mine about these products and she told me to not waste my money on them. “Leave your child on regular formula until the doctor says he can tolerate milk and then make the switch.”

Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well, sometimes real life isn’t real simple.

The pediatrician told me that my child was old enough to tolerate milk and so I attempted to make the switch. With my 4 other children, this was not really a big deal. One child had allergies to milk and I had to switch to soy milk; another child was allergic to both cow milk and soy milk so she actually drank rice milk. Both children outgrew their food allergies within a few years and were on regular cow’s milk. So, except for those disclaimers, it was pretty easy to make that switch.

My son was not amused at all when I made the switch. He tolerated the milk fine, but he just didn’t like the taste. I tried to switch slowly, but he was not fooled by the formula/milk mix I offered to him. The child went on a strike and wouldn’t drink anything but juice, which worried me as he has other health issues and dehydrates easily.

My son also has some issues with foods that have certain textures too. He refuses to eat meat for whatever reason and also has trouble using a sippy cup, although he’s almost 17 months old. I’ve taken him to a speech therapist who assures me that he is doing fine, but just progressing a little bit slower than usual in his transition to solid foods.

I made an appointment with the doctor to discuss my concerns. She wasn’t very worried at all. “It takes some children a little bit longer to transition and some kids do have food aversions. In your son’s case, I would recommend using the older infant formula just to make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs. If he doesn’t like the milk, don’t force it upon him.”

I went out and bought the “older infant” formula on the way home from the doctor and mixed it up for my son. He drank it and handed the bottle back to me and signed “more” to me.

Well what do you know. It occurs to me that as parents, we sometimes tend to discount what our infant or toddler is trying to “tell” us. Sometimes we believe the experts who tend to generalize instead of looking for solutions geared to our individual child’s needs.

Sometimes, baby does know best.

Baby product manufacturers, especially makers of formula, frequently offer product rebates. I know I have about three product rebate forms filed away in a folder labeled ‘baby coupons,’ to use when my due date approaches.

According to the writers of the book Baby Bargains, if you check the box marked ‘plan to breastfeed’ on any pregnancy surveys, you’ll get even more formula coupons, rebates and other special offers. In my fifth month of pregnancy, I’ve found this to be true.

Rebates encourage new parents, who may not have developed brand loyalty or preferences, yet, to try specific products. However, four out of 10 people who purchase a product with a rebate available fail to collect the money due to them.

Manufacturers count on this, in fact, and often make rebate submission requirements very stringent. New mothers, with lots on their minds, are especially susceptible to forgetting to mail in a rebate form, sending it in with incomplete information, or missing the deadline. With the high costs of raising an infant, those little rebate checks can add up to significant savings. Make sure you get the money you deserve by following these steps:

• Gather all the information and paperwork required to submit the rebate. This is likely to include the product’s serial number, your original receipt, a UPC cut out from the box, and the rebate form. Make a photocopy of all the paperwork, including the completed rebate form, for your records before mailing. Be aware of rebates that require you to purchase two different products in order to collect the rebate. These rebates can offer even greater savings, but you must purchase both products and submit both receipts and UPC codes to qualify.
• Fill out the form legibly, in blue or black ink if specified. Make sure you include all necessary information.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to mail the rebate. Do it immediately when you return home from the store, so you don’t forget. Additionally, if you make a mistake in your submission, such as forgetting to include the UPC or receipt, there may be time to correct the mistake if you didn’t wait until right before the deadline to submit the form.
• Watch the mail; rebates can take up to 12 weeks to arrive. The envelope is usually small and often looks like junk mail. It helps to write the expected arrival dates of any rebate checks on your calendar; if the check is more than two weeks late, you can contact the company to check the status.

When my first baby was a newborn I remember wondering if my breastmilk was enough when it came to liquids. It seemed a little odd that my baby didn’t need any water or any other type of liquid, so when I asked my doctor for clarification she said in no certain terms: “No water, no way, not yet.”

Babies who are under six months old just don’t need any extra water to drink. Water can actually harm them in a number of ways, and can even lead to some serious medical issues like seizures and other undesirable events. Once in a while a group of pediatricians will send out a press release or get an article published that reminds parents to not give young babies water to drink. The latest article I read was issued through Reuters and it reiterates the valid point that breastmilk or formula is sufficient for young babies unless there is another condition present that merits additional liquids.

I know how weird it may sometimes seem to only give babies breastmilk or formula because after all, as adults we’re used to a wide variety of foods and drinks so why wouldn’t a baby require more? Just remember that younger babies have insides that are still maturing, and for them the milk or formula is completely sufficient.

Instead of giving your baby water to drink, give her plenty of water to splash in the tub. She’ll like that better anyhow.

Breastfeeding? Supplementing? Weaning?

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Every mom experiences this to some degree. Whether weaning from breast or formula to cow’s milk, babies and toddlers are notoriously awkward about drinking enough milk.

Pediatricians usually recommend around 16oz of cow’s milk a day for a one-year-old. My one-year-old was totally typical of weaning babies and thought he should drink one sip, then nurse 14 times a day. I despaired of ever getting him to drink enough milk to wean him without worrying that he would get enough nutrients. Other moms of one-year-olds have the same struggle weaning from formula.

Here’s some tips and tricks to encourage your baby to drink more milk.

• Mix pumped breastmilk or formula with the cow’s milk to get them used to the taste gradually.
• Try different cups – different styles of sippy cups, spouts, straws, valves or no valves, or even cups with no lids – most babies can drink from a cup with a little help. Let your baby pick out a cup. Yes, your son will probably want Dora The Explorer. Better Dora than no milk!
• Pretend it’s your milk. Pour a cup. Drink. Baby will want some. No, this is mine. Are you sure you want some? Well, ok, I guess you can have some.
• Flavor the milk. Babies often like vanilla, from a tiny drop of vanilla flavoring. Chocolate is another fave, a tip-of-a-teaspoon of Nesquik makes milk very chocolaty for a baby so you don’t need to worry too much about the sugar.
• Color the milk. My son used to insist blue milk tasted better than white milk. Whatever, dude, as long as you are drinking it, it’s all good. Use a tiny amount of food dye, or health food stores sell vegetable-based food dyes.
• Have something dry to eat, like crackers, or toast. Then offer milk. Thirsty babies usually drink.
• Milk on cereal counts, as does milk in sauces. Mac and cheese, and many pasta sauces have milk in them.
• Cheese counts too. And yogurt, and yogurt or milk in smoothies.
• Some babies like soy milk, especially the flavored kinds. Pediatricians don’t usually recommend soy milk unless baby is lactose-intolerant but a cup of soy milk does have protein, calcium and vitamins. Mixing soy and cow’s milk together tastes like soy milk, and has the goodness of cow’s milk.
• Temperature. Try cold, room temperature, warm. A friend’s baby only drank milk with ice chips. (Be careful with ice cubes, they could be a choking hazard.)
• Froth it up. A $2 cappuccino milk frother + warm milk = milk froth baby can eat with a spoon. Big hit with babies learning to use a spoon.

Mix it up. If one trick stops working, try another, and another, and another.

If you are worried baby will want to drink blue milk (or chocolate milk or whatever) forever, gradually reduce the amount of food coloring (or Nesquik ect.) until she’s drinking plain milk. And most importantly, don’t pressure your baby or insist they drink their milk. If anything, it will make them less likely to want to drink it, and give them a negative association with the new milk.

And good luck, Mama! It will seem like the battle of the century but one day your baby will be drinking milk like a champ. Promise!

What tips and tricks have you used? Share your secrets!

Breastfeeding is something is one of the most personal aspects of motherhood. The baby is being nourished form the mother?s body in a way that excludes the rest of the world from participation. So why is it that everyone else seems to feel they have a say in it?

Some mothers catch flack from others for breastfeeding for too short a time, while others hear about how they have been breastfeeding too long. And for those who choose not to breastfeed or are unable to do so, they may catch the most flack of all. At some point, it became everyone else?s business how a mother feeds her baby.

Because so much nutritional data has been gathered over the past few years concerning infant nutrition, it is now known how nutritious breast milk is. Of course, the nutritional value of carrots has also been established, though few mothers get questioned about how many carrots they feed their babies. But, the issue of breastfeeding has become the subject of social commentary, debate and even the law in some communities. The debates about whether a woman should breastfeed in public has divided small towns and been the topic of arguments in more online forums than can be counted. So, who?s right?

Any mother anywhere who wants the best for her baby is right. Whether she uses formula, breast milk or a combination of the two, she has the right to feed her baby in the way that works best for her baby and her family. In the end, that?s all it comes down to. No mother in law, no helpful neighbor and no city ordinance can make the decision for her, nor should they. As long as the baby is thriving and mother and baby are bonding securely, no one else?s opinions come into play.

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As a soon-to-be mom or the latter, you will find that you are bombarded with propaganda advocating the benefits of breastfeeding and about a million how-to guides in every shape and size. Breastfeeding seems to be one of those topics that escapes popular knowledge and conversation until you yourself are pregnant. As soon as the “p” word leaves your lips you will be bowled over by advice, books, guides, pamphlets, videos, magazines, you name it, it’s out there. While it is my sincere hope that your deliveries come off without a hitch, I was one of the many who had very severe complications with my labor and due to this, I was unable to breastfeed right away in the hospital. Due to the enormous amounts of medication I was administered with my labor and surgery and thereafter I was told that I should not begin breastfeeding until a week after the birth of my daughter to make sure all of the medication was flushed from my body.
This is not usually a concern for infants who are born to term and with sufficient birth weight, but because my daughter was five weeks early and weighed a mere 5 lbs 4 ounces, her feeding was a major concern. She was to eat every three hours and we were to record exactly how much she had eaten and if she had wet her diaper or pooped religiously from the first day in the hospital until she was a month old. This is somewhat difficult to determine when you are breastfeeding unless you are using a pump, use your best judgment and pay attention to your baby to make sure she is getting enough.

In most cases, a new mothers’ milk comes in 2-5 days after a birth, but in cases where there is a lot of medication and trauma concerned with a surgery or labor, this isn’t always true. My milk came in immediately after the birth and came in with zeal. I had to change my night gown and sheets several times a day as I was lactating uncontrollably and in large amounts. This was very frustrating to not be able to breastfeed and because I was not able to, I did not get much instruction in the hospital from nurses except the mandatory discharge meeting you have with the nursery. By the time I had gotten home my milk was already receding and I tried to keep it flowing with pumps but did not have much luck. At the one week mark I began trying to breast feed and found that my swollen breasts made it very painful and I could only do it for short periods at a time. I also found that because of her strict eating regimen that I was getting exhausted and dizzy from the breast feeding, almost to the point of nausea.
After I was given some books and help from some friends of mine, including my fiance’s mother, I learned that breastfeeding stimulates a hormone that is administered into breast milk that relaxes both you and the baby, making the experience easier for your both. For some reason this hormone, “oxytocin” , was making me disorientated and at times even causing me to vomit if I fed her too close to my own eating times. I also found that I was eating non-stop and felt like I couldn’t sustain myself and the baby without getting very tired or over eating.
I struggled with my breastfeeding for about two more weeks until I got used to it and my milk was coming in regularly and in stable intervals. In the times between breastfeeding, it was very helpful to have my fiance’ bottle-feed her and before too long she would take either the nipple or the bottle. She is now ten weeks old and I find that she breastfeeds better in the morning, early afternoon, or early evening. If she is too tired she often fusses while breastfeeding and cries until I give her a bottle.
The best advice I can give a new mom is that it is okay to supplement feedings with formula. Gas Drops are great for new tummies and it may take you a few different types of formula to find the one that works the best for your baby. Nothing is cut and dry, but if you can make it past the first three weeks, you can DO IT!!! It IS important for your baby to have breast milk as it contains anti-oxidants and nourishment targeted for your little ones’ needs, but don’t beat yourself up if you have to supplement. You are no less of a great mom if you have to supplement with formula, and it can be a great way for dad and other family to bond with the baby while you get in some extra Zs. Don’t be overwhelmed by all the hype, just take it easy and you will figure out what is best for you as every baby and every breast is different!!! Good luck!!!

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