World Breastfeeding Week

Although it's over it's a constant celebration in my big ole heart. I will remain finding unique celebratory articles, humorous clips and products all on or for breastfeeding in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned.

Website Update!

It's almost done and here! If you've tried clicking on the website or if you received a newsletter email from Mommy's Little Monkey you probably noticed that some links were down because my genius webmasters are in the process of doing their magic. Check back soon. If you've signed up for our emails then you'll be notified as soon as it happens.

Much Monkey Love

~MLM

Happy 5th World Breastfeeding Day!
Pump Pump Away


Today I dedicate my post to the new yet transitioned mother and nurser.

You have breastfeeding down by now. Your baby is on a every two to three hour nursing schedule so you dare to venture out a bit and take small trips to the supermarket or run errands while baby stays asleep with daddy at home. You may tend to receive the occasional hesitation from Daddy and he may comment that the baby needs you and only you plus he does not have the equipment to calm the baby down while you're gone :-)

Solution: Pump in Style Medela Breast Pump.

Never mind all that crazy talk, you have a dual pump you can pump with when you want to. You have to take the little time for yourself when you can and breastfeeding should not be a reason not to be able to do so.

I purchased mine 10 years ago and the healthy work horse is still ticking away. Of course I'm not so sure if I will use it again but I can honestly say that if I ever had the pleasure to need it that it would work hard for me.

The Pump in style is an investment but it is well worth it.

Let's Laugh

Breast Pumping can take a while to get used and tends to make you feel a bit strange but once you see how much you make and that it means you can leave your little monkey for a while, it's all worth it. Dad labs is my funny new find!

Day 4 of World Breastfeeding Week

Breastfeeding Necessities! Okay, so today I'm dedicating my post to new mommies transitioning into motherhood. We have so much to talk about. Having had three of my own children, that I breastfed for 14 months each, I know of many products I love and want to recommend to you.

FIRST Product: There are some products that you just have to have to function after baby is here and especially to just breastfeed easier with. We all were bras, right? So once baby is here you have to get the right bra to breastfeed with. One I absolutely love is the Glamour Mom bra. Love this company and I've been watching them since their launching. Man, how it has grown! So many styles, so many colors and the best thing they just added is their longer lengthen tanks. Love them!!!! If you're wondering why a tank then let me tell you why. The longer length allows you to pick up your shirt while nursing in public and not having your stomach, sides or sensitive marks (A.K.A stretch Marks) revealed. The tank style bra also allows the new mommy to wear anything she wants while nursing meaning you don't have to purchase a whole new wardrobe of nursing clothes and can get back into your pre-pregnancy cute shirts :-)
Need a bra that costs a lot less? Target has a great tank style bra half the price.

SECOND Product: Next thing you may want to get yourself if you feel the need to breastfeed modestly in public, a nursing cover. Of course I have to recommend my own brand but all women are different and feel the need to cover in different ways. If you're looking for a stylish cover that you can wear in different ways then try out The Simple & Sweet Nursing Curtain™. I have a fabulous new website design launching in the next couple of days so check back to see all of my new prints and products.

Back to the Simple and Sweet Nursing Curtain, this nursing cover is so great. I actually designed it with enough fabric to help cover up those post partum spots (stretch marks, left over skin I needed to loose...you all get my point). It has a great formable neck ring to check in on your little one while nursing, never compromising your privacy and has a little pocket on the front of the cover to hold all of those little things like breastfeeding pads, toys, pacifiers, you name it. Carry your Simple & Sweet Nursing Curtain in the matching drawstring pouch it comes in, add a couple of diapers and some wipes and off you go ready for a while without a bulky diaper bag.

Third Product: Breast Shields. I have to admit it took me a while to get this one down. I hated using disposable pads because of environmental reasons but I hated washing cloth breast pads and lost them all of the time or they leaked on me. I was what you would call a leaker. I leaked all the time. There is nothing like being out and about running after your toddler (s) and holding your newborn, finding a place to nurse and then....oh no I'm wet. Let's just say a leaked nursing bra = wet shirt = embarrassment= back home! So let me share a new product with you that I just purchased for a friend. Lilypadz reusable breast pads. They eliminate leaking even while you sleep, this is a huge plus for me. Once I bought them I have to admit I was a little jealous because I wanted to try them out. I have no baby at this moment to try them out myself but the feedback I received from my friend who is mother leaker says they're great and loves them! So I'll give them an A+.

So those are some great necessities you may chooses to use during your breastfeeding experience. Hope you find my suggestions of some use.

~Evie

Happy Breastfeeding Week Day 3

While searching for some great breastfeeding topics the other night, I came across some funny short clips by Dadlabs at http://www.dadlabs.com/. This is a hilarious clip obviously over dramatised by men. Maybe just a little bit?



If you have a problem viewing it then link directly here.

Happy 2ND Day Of World Breastfeeding Week!

The second day of celebration and I want to talk to all of those mommies in their third trimester getting ready to nest and get that hospital recovery plan together.

Now, by this time you're pretty sure what you're feeling on the subject of caring for baby. You've been practicing this whole time you've been pregnant whether it's exercising and watching everything that goes into your mouth or maybe you've been scrap booking every photo of your growing belly to the ultrasound photos they hand you. Whatever you've been doing to take care of yourself and the details of your pregnancy, you've been connecting with that baby growing in your womb. You know what time is the most active time of day for your baby. You know what triggers activity from your little one, maybe after eating or right after exercising. You know when they may get their daily bat of the hiccups and you know just how to get them to move in you...maybe pushing down on your belly in a specific location to get them to kick. You may love to talk or sing to your little one and about now you're starting to know exactly what you want your birth plan to be but what about your recovery plan while in the hospital. You have an idea that you may want to breastfeed although you may know that it may be a challenge but you're going to give it your best. So let me suggest not only a birth plan but also a recovery plan for you to succeed at your breastfeeding goal.

A birth plan is the plan for your labor. Usually the rules you want the hospital staff to carry out during your labor. It is a plan communicated to your birthing team prior to labor because once there and in labor let's just say it's an experience we've never experienced and never will forget. Discussing the plan with your partner is a must. Some will decide to go natural as long as they can, some may decide only natural no matter what and have their partner there working hard through each contraction. Some women have decided that as soon as the first contraction hits they have to get right to the hospital and be medicated yet others may have no choice and have a cesarean planned due to positioning of their baby or complications. Whatever your plan may be remember that the plan does not stop there. What is your recovery pan? A recovery plan is when your recovering post partum. Have you thought out if you will breastfeed once baby is delivered or will you wait until you have privacy in your recovery room? Will you allow your baby to be taken to the nursery so that you can rest or will the baby be right by your side while you recover? Will your partner stay with you in your room to transition through it all with you plus be there when you have to go to the bathroom, shower or if you're unable to get up right away to attend to the baby? Will your baby be circumcised and if he is will your partner be accompanying him? This is what goes into the recovery plan. It may be a lot to think about but they are little details that will help you to succeed at breastfeeding and transitioning.

You may have your mind set on breastfeeding but so much changes when other factors set in like a screaming baby that freaks you out. Yes, that's what happened with me. A screaming baby that needs some sort of consoling but you have no idea what to do. Yes, that also happened to me. A screaming baby that causes your nurse to ask if she can take the baby for an hour or so into the nursery so that you can get some rest. Yes, that also happened to me. So I got some rest and 8 hours later I woke up rested with my baby still in the nursery on a full belly of formula. This takes me to my next point, your recovery plan will allow all staff to know exactly what your intend for your baby. Practices unfriendly to breastfeeding are a fact and it happens everyday. Unfriendly practices means hospital staff feeding babies formula, sugar water and water supplements while in their care just to calm the baby down occurs everyday without consent from the new mother. According to the article written by the CDC (centered for disease control and prevention) on U.S. hospitals, most of them don't do very well when it comes to promoting breastfeeding.

Shameless Plug: This happened to me too. I had my plan. I was a first time mother but I knew that I was going to breastfeed. Once the baby was here though, I was very uncertain of what to do that first night in the hospital. I took advice from my nurse to have my baby placed in the nursery so that I could get rest after a 24 hour labor and woke up 8 hours later to a baby away in the nursery, very deep in sleep with a full belly of formula. I could post another blog entry on how that made me feel so I'll share what that inspired me to create, The Note to Nurse set.

Recovery Suggestion:
1.Get both plans ready
2.Be well prepared
3.Have your knowledge ready and take advantage of the Lactation consultant available for you. 4.Be prepared to tell your visitors to exit your room if you have to nurse and practice latching on and off those first few nursings in the hospital.
5.Take some books with you to read on postnatal care and especially breastfeeding.
6.Be prepared to rest with your baby and accept the pampering you'll receive from all who love you.
7. Last but not least, have a Note to Nurse set ready to place on baby after their first bath :-)