ALL ABOUT BREAST FEEDING: THE BEAUTIES AND THE BEASTS

Breast feeding is a beautiful thing. It gives you and your new baby intimate time which is extremely helpful for the bonding process and no formula in the world is as nutritious and helpful to your baby's immune system and the minimization of their food allergies. ( I'm not an expert but these are the things that I was told in the hospital by my lactation nurse.) These nurses recommend feeding your baby breast milk exclusively for the first 6-months and then supplemented for the next 6-months (or however long you'd like to be feeding your child from the breast.)

Now, however beautiful it is, breast feeding has an ugly, ugly side to it for most women (myself included!) The pain associated with your baby trying to learn how to eat on his/her own (remember, they lived 9-months not having to work for food at all and I'm sure they loved every minute of it!), the possibility that your nipples may not be large enough for your child to latch onto without assistance from products (thank God for nipple guards!), the chaffing, the bleeding, the large amount of time you'll spend trying to keep your milk production up with your baby's growing appetite (my son's appetite jumped from 3-ounces to 6-ounces in a matter of three days; yikes!), and, not to mention, the temptation of formula just because of its availability and ease of use, all make for an uphill battle with breast feeding. You should consider, though, the extreme nutritional value it has for your child and make a decision. 'Yes', it will be hard and 'Yes', it will be worth it.

The upcoming posts will feature some of the best products I have used in my journey through breast feeding. I will be giving some tips and, hopefully, some words of encouragement for you women thinking of breastfeeding and also for you moms who are thinking of giving up.

Here are just some pictures of some of the products I will be talking about in the upcoming weeks. Talk to you soon!

DRY YOUR BABY BOTTLES ON THE LAWN

While I was pregnant, I was shopping at BuyBuyBaby in Dallas, TX and came across this adorable drying rack made by a company called Boon Inc. It was like the Heavens had opened up to shine light on this product as I was walking by (that's how amazed I was) because I had just recently had a chit-chat with my mother about not wanting an ugly, bulky drying rack sitting on my counter top!

The piece you see in the picture above is called 'Lawn' and the pictures of the pieces below are called 'Stem' and 'Twig'.

The Twig and Stem parts are meant to hold onto the nipples, pacifiers, and all the other small items as to leave room on the Lawn for the bottles! Pretty cool idea and it looks beautiful put together (even when its full of bottle parts.)

I purchased mine at BuyBuyBaby in Dallas and haven't seen it anywhere else but you can order online or check out the store locator on the Boon Inc. website here.