Fatty Acids

Human milk has a rich composition of essential fatty acids, especially omega-3 fatty acids and DHA which are needed for the optimal growth of human brain in infants. Babies who are breastfed get the right kinds of fats in the right amount of dose. Breast milk is richer in fat when mothers pump or feed the baby between regular breast feedings. There are different stages in breastfeeding, such as at the start of the feeding session, breasts produce foremilk which is low in fat. As the feeding session progresses, the fat content, or cream starts coming, also known as hindmilk, which has a higher content of fat. It is advised that frequent feeding sessions ensure more hind milk to be released, leading to healthier babies. Short intervals between feedings also supply milk with higher fat content to the baby, meeting the growing needs of your child.

Enzymes

Along with fatty acids, human milk also contains the right amount of enzymes needed to digest breast milk and the fatty acids present in it. Lipase is a popular enzyme which helps to digest milk quickly, so more energy is available to the baby from breastfeeding. Cows milk and formula milk do not contain this enzyme, and hence excess fat is lost by the baby into the stools. Breast milk is natural and quickly absorbed by the baby’s digestive system, and the baby will produce less waste.

Essential Proteins

There are two types of milk protein present in breast milk, which include curd and whey. Unlike cows milk, breast milk has a higher whey-to-curd ratio which makes it easier to digest. Breast milk also contains amino acid taurine, which is a specific nutrient needed to build healthy brains and bodies. Formula milk and cows milk have limited amount of amino acid taurine as compared to breast milk. Proteins present in breast milk are easily absorbed by the baby, just like fatty acids present in breast milk.

Lactose

Lactose is an intestines-friendly sugar for babies which makes breast milk sweet and provides a source of energy to the baby. Most formula milks contain sucrose, also known as table sugar, which is very harmful due to its highly processed form and leads to infant cavities when babies start teething.

Antibodies

Mothers milk has all the antibodies to help the baby fight against diseases and illnesses and build a strong immune system. No formula milk can provide these antibodies to babies which are present in breast milk.

Vitamins and Minerals

Human milk contains exactly the right amount of vitamins and minerals as needed by the baby. No factory, cow or goat can make vitamins and minerals which are present in mothers milk. Vitamins and minerals present in breast milk have high bioavailability and are easily absorbed by the baby. Similarly, babies on breast-milk absorb 50% to 75% of breast-milk iron as compared to only 4% absorption rate of iron present in formula milk. This is because breast milk contains facilitators like Vitamin C to help increase iron absorption as well as absorption of other nutrients.

There are hundreds of other ingredients present in human milk which are beneficial for the baby. This is why mothers should exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first 6 months after birth. Working moms can use breast pumps like pump style advanced or any other breast electric pump to store milk to feed the baby even when they are away from home. Breastfeeding and breast milk consumption is the right of every child and every mother should make an effort to provide this valuable source of health and nutrition to her baby.

About the author: This article has been contributed by Trusted Breast Pumps. Trusted Breast Pumps provides breast pump and breast pump accesories of well known brands like Medela, Avent, Lansinoh, Dr Brown`s, Ameda and more!

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Disclaimer: Articles are for general informational use only. Always consult your doctor or pediatrician for advice and answers to your questions or concerns regarding your child.

The Big Mistakes New Parents Make in Regard to Their Baby’s Crib

Most parents dream of decorating the crib with soft and fluffy blankets and pillows or stuffed animals that they hope their baby will treasure forever.  Unfortunately, when it comes to a crib less is more!  Oversized comforters, blankets, pillows and anything soft and cushioned poses a real threat to a baby.  The same is true for all those cute and frilly blankets and bumper pads.  They should be avoided.  If you just like the way it looks then leave them in for decoration but take them out when your baby is in the crib.  Thousands of babies each year suffocate in their cribs.  The crib should be outfitted with tight fitting sheets and pillows or wedges that are approved.

When looking for the perfect mattress make sure that you measure it and your crib carefully.  The mattress should fit snuggly into the crib frame and not allow more than one fingers width of space between it and the railings.  If the mattress is too tight, it can bulge and cause problems as well.  Just because the mattress says it fits standard cribs does not mean that it will fit your crib.  When purchasing sheets they too must fit tight around the mattress in order to prevent suffocation.

Are You Giving Your Baby a Leg up out of Bed?

When purchasing your crib make sure that the slats are no more than 2 3/8 inches apart.  Avoid using a crib that has large decorative cut-outs on the sides where you baby can stick their head through and possibly get stuck.  Newer cribs come properly made and it is best to avoid antique or older models that may not be safety tested.  As your baby grows they will begin to climb more as well so make sure that there is nothing on any of the 4 sides of your crib that can be used as foot holds.

Article by:
ChildProofingTips.com – Child Safety & ChildProofing Advice for the Busy Mom

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Disclaimer: Articles are for general informational use only. Always consult your doctor or pediatrician for advice and answers to your questions or concerns regarding your child.

My wife and I have been supplementing with one or two formula feedings a day when there’s not enough breast milk to go around. Back when there was enough breast milk, our daughter would poop every day or nearly every day. In the first few weeks it was even so much as every diaper change, but thankfully that time has passed. Now, what once was too much poop to deal with now, in the 3rd month, seems like too little. The last time between my daughter’s bowel movements was nearly 6 days! Yes, 6 days! And when it finally came out, it came out big time.

The good news is that it’s all perfectly normal (http://www.babycenter.com/baby/babycare/babybms/index) which is nice to read. I think we still would have been placing a call to the pediatrician if it didn’t happen on the 6th day though. That seems awfully long and it’s better to be a little cautious than let things get too far. Every since then, the bowel movements have happened every 3 days on average. The poop conversations are still taking place among the family, but the urgency is gone since we now all know it’s normal and, for the time being, more frequent.

The bad: It’s quite a pain to get on and even after becoming somewhat experienced in putting it on, my daughter always wound up screaming over the process. Basically, if you’re not going to be carrying your baby around for long periods of time, it’s just not worth the effort to get them into and out of this thing. It also just seems too tight in certain areas. With the carrier adjusted to fit me and my baby’s weight, it was a huge pain to get the leg safety buttons attached. Loosening everything up a bit didn’t help much either and the leg buttons still seemed too tight on her. Sure, you could leave the buttons unfastened, but I don’t think I would trust the attachment clip mechanism on its own.

The good: If you are going to be carrying your baby for long periods of time, it’s certainly nice to have your hands free. Also, after the process of finally getting my daughter inside the contraption, she did seem to like it… though her face smushed into my chest did leave some nice drool spots on my shirt

Overall, there are several versions of the Baby Bjorn as well as plenty of other baby carriers, and slings to choose from. It’s best to match the type of product you purchase to your needs. Perhaps the designs of the other Babybjorn versions or some of the more versatile baby slings would be more comfortable and easy on you and your baby. If possible, try them on in the store or borrow one from a friend for a day before spending your money on one. You’ll be glad you did and you’ll end up with something that both you and your baby will enjoy.

Tiny Love Activity Gym
Baby Einstein Activity Gym
Fisher Price Play Gym

I got one for my newborn girl (who’s now almost 3 months) and it has been, by far, her favorite toy. We play on it every morning and it still gets her excited and smiling every time. While there are many toys attached to it, the ladybug in the center is definitely her favorite. Since she also has some other favorite toys, I didn’t just go with all the standard toys that came with the mat. Some of those were removed in favor of her favorite chimes, rattle, musical sheep, and others. That’s the best part of these mats… when your baby gets bored with one of the toys or finds a new favorite, just switch them out for an ever-changing environment. Attach some new plush animals, chimes, rattles, pictures, bells, lighted toys, squeaky toys, and anything else your baby enjoys. Just make sure whichever mat you buy has toys that can be easily changed to others that are not necessarily from the same manufacturer. That way, your baby will never be bored with the same activities, and the play mat can be adapted to meet your baby’s current developmental skills and age. Overall, this is a great toy that your baby should enjoy for many months.

It seems that our baby’s crib was faced in such a way that she always wound up looking in the direction of the door or light no matter how we originally faced her head. We put her in the crib and alternated her head to the left or right, but when we went back in later on, her head was always facing to the right. By 3 weeks there was a nice flat spot on the back of the right side of her head. Since then, we’ve switched the way we place her in the crib and put a small rolled-up burp cloth or blanket under her right side so that she’s been facing left for over a month. The lopsidedness has gotten better, but now the back of her head is pretty much flat all over. Hopefully that will round-out a little more over time.

Had we known, or realized, that a baby’s flat head could develop so quickly, we would have kept a closer eye on the situation and tried to prevent it sooner. There are ways to help combat or prevent flat head syndrome, but you need to do them right from the start. Firstly, alternate how you place your baby in the crib. Not just how the head faces, but how the whole body is placed. If your baby likes to look at a toy, window, light, etc., make sure they’re positioned to look at it on the left side one day, and on the right the next day. There are also baby positioning beds available from many manufacturers that claim to prevent flat head syndrome. It’s probably too late for us to use them now, and our rolled burp cloth seems to be working, but if we knew about these products from the beginning, perhaps we would have purchased one. If you do notice the beginnings of a flat head, be sure to get the advice of your pediatrician as well. Either way, be vigilant and pay attention since a flat head comes on very quickly.

Thankfully, you can speed things up quite a bit with a baby bottle steamer or warmer. We didn’t have one or even know they existed for the first few weeks, so our method was to run the bottle under hot water or leave it in a glass of hot water until it was warm. That may be fine when your baby is only drinking 1 or 2 ounces and it heats up quickly, but once they start drinking more, it becomes time consuming and water wasting. Make your life easier and buy a bottle warmer.

Now that we have the bottle warmer and some experience, the overnight feeding is quick and fairly easy. Prepare your overnight bottle(s) before you go to bed and leave them in the refrigerator. When it’s time to feed, pop them in the bottle warmer for 2 to 3 minutes and they’re ready to go. Trust me, both you and baby will be happy to get back to sleep… the sooner the better!

“What to Expect When You’re Expecting” is a pregnancy guide to help you get through pregnancy, labor and delivery, postpartum , and breastfeeding. It’s organized month by month so you can follow along as the pregnancy progresses. Each month addresses your baby’s development and what’s going on in your body as well as issues that may arise with your pregnancy. The book includes diet tips, what to expect on your OBGYN visits, information and advice on pregnancy issues such as nausea, edema, stress, and much more.

“What to Expect the First Year” is a month-by-month guide for your baby’s first year of life. Since my baby’s only into her 3rd month, I’ve only gotten through the first few chapters… and that’s one of the best features of these books. Just like with “What to Expect when You’re Expecting” there’s no need to read the whole book at once since all the relevant information you need to know is presented as your baby ages.

Each chapter contains milestones that your baby should be reaching in a given month so you can have an idea if there are any major problems with your baby’s development. The chapters also address things you’ll need to know and any concerns you might have with each month such as feeding and sleeping concerns, developmental progress, health and safety issues, and more.

Both books are an easy read and a great reference. While they don’t contain every small bit of detailed information you might want to know, they are good overall and any further, more detailed, information you want can usually be found online at some of the better baby and children’s health sites and pregnancy sites.

Further down the road for me, the series also contains “What to Expect the Toddler Years” for parents with toddlers. Hopefully that one will be as useful as these were.

Each week we’ll be reviewing baby products that we are currently using or have used in the past, sharing experiences about parenting and children, offering advice, and writing about anything else baby related that piques our interest.

Please enjoy our blog and feel free to leave feedback on anything you like, don’t like, or just want to comment about.

- Binky Links Editors