How Breastfeeding Reduces SIDS: The Milk, The Mother, Or The Method Whether it is the milk, the mother, or the method that is responsible for the lower SIDS risk in the breastfed infant is hard to tell. It’s probably a combination of all three, which proves breastfeeding reduces SIDS. THE MILK There are hundreds of […]
Breastfeeding Basics: Latch-on Technique and Proper Positioning There’s a right way–and a wrong way–for baby to latch-on to the breast. When a latch-on is done correctly, mother’s nipples don’t get sore, and baby is able to get plenty of milk. Everyone is happier. The easiest way to learn about good latch-on is in a one-on-one […]
Co-Sleeping Is Not Necessarily Bad Our first three babies were easy sleepers. We felt no need or desire to have them share our bed. Besides, I was a new member of the medical profession whose party line was that co-sleeping with babies was weird and even dangerous. Then along came our fourth child, Hayden, born […]
Tips for Breastfeeding Twins It’s important to realize that your breastfeeding twins may have different and distinct feeding personalities. One is probably bigger than the other, and one may want to nurse more often than the other. As the babies become more adept at latching on it will be easier to nurse them at the […]
Breastfed Baby Weight Gain A breastfed baby’s weight gain is one of the indicators of whether or not the mother is producing a sufficient amount of milk. New mothers are zealous weight watchers. While it’s not true that good weight gain is an index of good mothering, a baby’s weight gain may be some tangible […]
How to Know if Thumbsucking is Harmful or Helpful Thumbs naturally find their way into the mouths of babes and often stay there for years. Thumbsucking is a boon to babies but bothers onlookers and dentists. So what’s a poor thumbsucker to do? Can a baby and her thumb find happiness together without public censure? […]
“Why is my baby so different? She is not like any of my friends’ babies. They sleep through the night. They’re happy being held by anyone. My friends don’t seem as tired as I am. What am I doing wrong?” Sound familiar? Your baby acts the way she does because that’s the way she is. […]
How to Transition to a Bed from Co-sleeping I like cosleeping but just wonder at what age should my child start transitioning to a bed? And how can I help him make this transition? My four-year-old is still in our bed and I’m ready to transition him out, but he isn’t! Tips for Transitioning Child […]
2018 Revised Edition! A fully updated version of the Dr. Sears guide to breastfeeding, a perennial parents’ favorite for nearly two decades. Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child from Birth Through Weaning by Martha Sears, RN and William Sears, MD Taking a realistic, contemporary approach, the Searses bring an age-old practice completely […]
“My seven-month-old has suddenly stopped nursing. He has refused to take the breast for two days now. He won’t take the bottle either. I have heard this referred to as a “nursing strike.” How to I deal with this? I am not ready to let him wean.” Nursing strikes are very common. They are sometimes […]
“Help! My 18-month-old baby is waking up in our bed every hour to breastfeed. She has been doing this for months, and I just can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to completely wean her, but I need sleep. What do I do?” This is a dilemma faced by many parents who share a family […]
Working and Breastfeeding is Nothing New Women have always worked and breastfed. The pioneer mother on the prairie had lots to do besides nurse her babies, and even modern mothers who are at home during the day struggle with the work of running busy households while responding to the needs of their infants. Combining working and […]
