Breastfeeding and mothering in general take a toll on your posture. This likely has its root in the havoc played on your abs during pregnancy. Add in the hunched over state of many a newly breastfeeding mom. Then watch as she rocks on her feet, legs apart, hips shoved forward, belly out to support the little pumpkin as arm muscles give out. The look gives Quasimodo a run for his money. How do they always know when we sit down?

All these subtle moves towards the mommy slouch can be remedied. Posture while breastfeeding, in particular, not only affects your comfort but baby’s latch as well. Baby should be brought to the breast, not breast leaned into baby’s mouth. We are upright humans with our mammary glands near our faces, for a reason. We will not call upon our inner cows and nurse while staring across the landscape instead of at our babes. No offense to cows meant. When you nurse, sit comfortably with your back straight and pull the baby towards your breast, stomach to stomach and take in the wonder that is them while they return the favor.

When rocking ceaselessly on your feet, keep your carriage lifted, lock your abs by drawing your belly button back and up, or belly button to spine. Also, keep your shoulders away from your ears and scapula (or shoulder blades) in your back pockets. These are all Pilates’ mantras and have to do with the strength of your core. These simple tricks can help you to better identify those parts of your body and call upon them when needed and also help to alleviate the stress we carry in our necks and shoulder muscles.

When it comes to your belly, the goal right now is not a lean six-pack. Pregnancy gives many women about ten pounds to use as lactation fuel. You may keep this extra weight for the duration of breastfeeding, however, the longer you nurse the more likely you’ll be to lose those ten pounds and maybe more. How comfortable would that itty little baby be while breastfeeding if they rested on the spears of your pelvis? Embrace your motherly padding for the time being. You will have plenty of time later for shedding it.

That said, continuing to strengthen the deep abdominal muscles that took such a stretching out during pregnancy is a great idea. It will make you feel strong and will support your back. Your baby will get big very fast and hauling him around will use all those strengths. Be a tree for yourself and your family and see how much better it feels than a wilting daisy.

Dog days of summer begin this month for much of North America. It is hot and humid and everybody has had enough. When you breastfeed, your baby receives all she needs from you including basic hydration. The thinner foremilk satisfies thirst, while the creamier hindmilk packs on those fabulous baby pounds. Make sure your baby is getting enough to drink by counting 5-6 wet diapers per day. Remember that with disposable diapers, baby may have urinated several times before a change. Verify hindmilk consumption with weight gain and, initially, 2 bowel movements per day. This will change and depends on the baby. Some breastfed babies poop once a day, some less, some more.

In hot, humid weather hydration is imperative. Our sweat evaporates to keep us cool but with heavy moisture in the air, that does not always work as it is supposed to. Thus, it is even more important to keep the drinking water flowing and for children, then again so. Their body mass to surface ratio is immature so even without the added challenge of humidity they cannot cool themselves as efficiently as adults. When active in sticky weather, children should drink small amounts of water, frequently. Babies as young as 4 months can start to drink (or dribble into their neck rolls) from a non-suction sippy cup.

Nursing mothers will make quality milk regardless of diet and water intake. Only in conditions of extreme famine does breastmilk suffer nutritionally. To keep you up and at them in the ring of child rearing, remember you. Wake up and hydrate right away. Carry a sports bottle and keep it filled. Do not skip meals! Lactation burns 500 calories per day before any laundry has been folded, dumped out by your precious pearl and re-folded. Nobody ever made a sound decision with low blood sugar.

When you have had your morning snack and are shopping for sunscreen, keep in mind babies less than 6 months are better off without sunscreen but instead in the shade with protective clothing and sunshades on their strollers. Babies older than 6 months can wear sunscreen on the exposed parts of their bodies. Getting them used to wide-brimmed hats is a good idea. In some countries, they are required for outdoor play in elementary school. Rash guards or sunscreen shirts are easily available, affordable and significantly easier than coating a protesting, moving target.

August is a wonderful time to introduce your baby to all sorts of summer wonders – swimming, the sound of cicadas and picnics on the grass. Learn to handle the heat and you’ll be the coolest mama around.

It is tempting when your baby is approaching a year to plan a big bash to celebrate this amazing milestone. Certainly, it is accomplishment that you have made it through the first year and letting that day come and go without marking it would seem wrong. After all, your pride and joy smiles, babbles, maybe scoots and possibly walks. They are the picture of adorable and who wouldn’t want to show that off and celebrate? In truth however, if they were able to truly understand the ramifications of such an event they would probably say, “No, thanks, Mom.”

At one, babies physiologically need at least one solid nap per day. It will generally last at least two hours and is a harbinger of good nighttime sleeps. In addition, their diet at this point has probably consisted of breastmilk, maybe formula, perhaps bits of the different food groups, some of which may have actually entered their digestive systems and not their hair. They are used to a certain amount of stimuli – books, toys, music, balls, clapping, baths. To take them from this routine kind of day and to instead have one where mommy is preoccupied setting up the margarita machine, they are surrounded by 25 close friends, they eat a large slice of refined carbohydrates and may have had a poor nap, is a major shock. They may even spend a good portion of their birthday in tears and exhaustion.

A better plan would be to keep it simple. Even it you want to celebrate this day with your friends, and that is understandable, make sure that the rest of the day is spent per normal. Have a wee cupcake ceremony with a few family members when it makes sense for the birthday girl, for example after the mandatory nap and long before dinner. The “cupcake” can be anything you wish it to be. Wearing a birthday hat, Mommy and Daddy singing and getting your picture taken will make a blob of plain yogurt with a blueberry on top seem like a cupcake. Besides, have they ever seen a cupcake? If you do plan on going the cake and icing route, be sure the remaining meals of the day are top notch. Invite your friends over after bedtime and have pictures to show them of the babe in his birthday hat. Make some margarita cupcakes for yourself.

Babies and children will not remember birthday party celebrations until they are considerably older. Save your energy and their peaceful days by waiting.

Most quotes about worry refer to the pointlessness of it and how it won’t change the future but saps today of its joy and strength. True, but tell that to the breastfeeding mom about to get on a plane with her infant for the first time. Will the little darling sleep? Possibly. Will she scream? You never know. Will she nurse? Hopefully. Will I inadvertently expose myself, cause my seatmate to break out in an anxious sweat and never make it through the flight without spending $10 on a dollhouse-sized cocktail? Maybe. The two things you can count on are everyone ignoring you shuffling down the aisle before take-off and cooing over your absolutely fabulous baby after landing.

Per normal, you need diapers, wipes, an extra change of clothes (complete for bambino, an extra top for you), and a blanket. Plan your clothing for discreet nursing. The airplane is not a great place to haul out large quantities of pillows or breasts. A light cardigan and a tee are just what you need. When you lift the tee, the top part of your breast is covered, you can still see the baby and the cardigan covers your midriff. Take a high protein snack for your hard working body and a bit of chocolate for your overwrought psyche. Licorice ropes work if you are giving up the good stuff for your precious pearl.

If you are flying solo, call upon a flight attendant if you need to use the restroom. Generally, wee ones are a welcome burden and the two foot bathroom is no place to be one-handed with a baby and teeming bacteria. “As a courtesy, wipe down surfaces for the next person.” Aren’t you clearly the only person who EVER does that?

If baby cries, keep in mind that the drone of the engines greatly reduces the effects of any wails. Many people have dealt with crying babies on airplanes and relying on the kindness of strangers is necessary when you are 25,000 feet in the sky. If you have to put up with some salty soul, best leave it to the other passengers. If you keep your cool and concentrate on your child, someone else will no doubt rise to your defense.

Flying with Junior is not a guarantee of screaming. It may mean a nap for you both or drooly smiles between baby and the lovely grammy sitting across the aisle. As with all adventures in your new role as mommy, embrace it. It will probably all turn out all right, plus you will have a fab new cardi.

Lately a broad campaign has been visible regarding the dangers of co-sleeping with your baby. Large chain stores and other retailers have joined the chorus and print ads, public service announcements and billboards are cropping up in all directions. What did the cavewomen do? While that really simplifies what, these days, has become more complicated, it is a good question to ask when posed with the latest must-do parenting advice.

Cave-mommies most definitely slept with their babies but they also breastfed and likely did not have problems with obesity, smoking or alcohol and drug abuse. These are all risk factors to consider regarding co-sleeping. In addition, note the cave-mommy reference. Super-dads are far more common these days but they are still not as intuitive as mothers nor are they engineered like them. When mothers and babies are nestled together both their breathing and their body temperatures regulate to one another. A father and baby will doze off together and both will wake up hot and sweaty.

As a breastfeeding mom, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse are all on your list of don’ts. As a new parent getting obesity under control is an important goal. Not only should your health be a priority so you can properly care for your children and increase your chances for a long life, but also in your capacity as a role-model. Children can inspire many changes and this one will benefit the whole family.

Barring any of the aforementioned issues, there are ways to make co-sleeping a safer part of life. Naps are a great way to catch up on sleep and during brief ones your sleep remains light. Learning the art of the 15-20 minute cat-nap when you become a parent is one of the key ways to stay in sanity’s shallow end. Lie next to your baby on top of the bedclothes. If they require a blanket, use one of their own. If you get into your bed, keep baby above any sheets and blankets. Remove any pillows from around their head. At night, particularly with newborns and both parents in bed, a co-sleeper is the best option. This keeps baby safe in their own nook and still close at hand for daddy to comfort and mommy to feed.

Like most widespread campaigns to the public the warning of catastrophe often stems from isolated circumstances with specific causes. There are no shortcuts in parenting. Keep yourself informed, trust your instincts and make choices that are best for your baby. That is what they are born trusting you to do.

When your baby is small, the milestones are many and come rather quickly. Jr. arrives and before you know it he is gazing intently at you, holding up his wobbly wee head, and rolling over to see Oprah. It goes so quickly. When grown ups are adding to their wrinkle collections, they tend to say that a lot more, but that is a whole other story.

There are excellent ways to mark the passing of these milestones. You can take pictures of your baby next to the same stuffed bear from the beginning. You can take a picture of your five-pound wonder next to a bag of flour or your ten-pound hunk-a-love next to a bowling ball. You can write in a journal, keep a scrapbook or hire a photographer. These are a few ideas and you can spend your whole life getting more ideas (and maybe more anxiety?) by doing a search on the web.

As children get older, the milestones get more subtle and seem to have more time in between them. Of course they get taller and their bodies change but often there are big leaps in maturity and understanding the more adult concepts of life. They may become more compassionate as they continue to expand their understanding of the world outside of themselves. Perhaps they have their first crush. Their shoulders get ridiculously broad.

There is nothing we can do about these changes. We celebrate the tiny ones and start panicking when the big ones approach. Where did all the time go? What do you mean those aren’t Daddy’s socks and you need to get your shoes on? Since when can everyone in the house reach the cereal bowls? These are horrifying things for parents to see and yet we nearly burst at the seams with pride for these people we are readying for the world.

When you feel the sweat prickling on your neck because you realize you haven’t posted pictures onto a family web page every 90 seconds, remember not so long ago, the average parent did not even have a camera. Along with the doorjamb, they marked their soul with the child’s growth. They absorbed the moments of life when they could and probably missed a lot of them. Mark your milestones with something simple. Even memories will do.

If you notice a hard lump in your breast while breastfeeding do not burst into tears and call the oncologist. Instead, let your baby finish his calm nursing session and check for the lump’s perimeter. Have you noticed feeling run-down or any flu-like symptoms? If the answer is yes, take your temperature. If you have an elevated one, you may have mastitis and you will need to see your doctor for an antibiotic prescription. Do this without delay and read my previous post Anti-Antibiotics? Let it Go When Facing Mastitis.

Another possibility is that your answer to those questions is no and you are experiencing plugged ducts. By finding the edges of the lump you will be able to sufficiently massage it while nursing and apply warm compresses to help relieve any discomfort. It is safe for your baby to nurse while you cope with plugged ducts and will also help. Also gently massage the area while in the shower as the warmth and pressure can help clear the duct. Watch your symptoms for any increase in severity. Plugged ducts, and your susceptibility to them, are often pre-cursors to mastitis. They are a clear sign that you are overwrought.

When mom is overwrought, everyone in the family loses. Make sure your partner is aware of your situation. Extra rest and vigilance will keep you out of the doctor’s office but we ultimately have to take responsibility for trying to be in more than one place at a time. Knights in shining armor are super rare these days. If you want saved, you must rescue yourself. You only have two hands and one head. Use them in coordinated ways that enable you to get reasonable things accomplished while staying healthy. Putting yourself first ensures that everyone else gets a place in line for their dose of mommy.

Blebs are another common, but potentially panic-inducing, effect of breastfeeding. They appear on the nipple and look like white blisters. They are, in fact, small amounts of milk in the tissue and can be painful but are not worrisome. You may get them, you may not.

The worry returns again to the ever-present subject of proper latch. When nursing the baby, make sure her mouth is open yawn-wide, point your nipple towards her nose and pull her towards you. Do not lean forward otherwise you will end up with a tremendous backache. After she is latched on, check to see that her lips are flanged out like a fish. While 10 seconds of pain is OK, any longer and the suction needs to be broken and another attempt should be made. Improper latch can not only cause you increasingly worse discomfort, but will affect your milk supply as well. The part of the breast that needs to be stimulated for the brain to receive signals to make more milk are located in the areola which is compressed comfortably when the nipple is far enough in the back of the baby’s mouth.

When you notice blebs, continue nursing. Deny your inner primate and do not pick them. We all know that the picking temptation does not wane with age or maturity, but it will not help. Instead, soften them with a warm compress or olive oil. This will help in removal. You may see a bit of hardened milk. As you rise to the challenge of proper latch, protect your nipples with a salve like Lansinoh. This product is pure and safe for baby while providing protection for you. Do not use antibiotic creams.

Finding strange, blister-like bumps on your breast is just one more adventure. Like other bumps, blisters and strangeness that greet us as we move through life, they are part of the experience. You can be sure they are worth it. Just about all of it is.

There you are, breast-pumping away while reading People. Ok, so it was The Economist but you were wishing it was People. When you glance down to revel in the collection of your one woman milk factory, you notice that the milk is a bit orange and there is bright red blood at your nipple. Bright red blood is generally not a welcome sight outside the body. Orange breastmilk, for that matter, isn’t in the realm of welcome sights either. In this situation however, it is likely that there is nothing to worry about.

There are many reasons why blood can present in breastmilk. The most common is ruptured capillaries close to the surface in the nipple. Vascular engorgement will cause the “rusty-pipe” look to milk as mentioned above. The changes that breasts go through during pregnancy and the increased blood flow can cause this phenomenon. First time mothers are the most common sufferers and generally they experience this in both breasts. Nipples that have become cracked can also be a source of blood. Latch is always the key to successful breastfeeding and getting your nipple far enough back in your baby’s mouth will prevent it being compressed against the hard palate instead of the soft one. Remember, it is breastfeeding, not nipplefeeding.

Another reason, though less common, for blood in breastmilk can be intraductal papillomas, caused by fibrocystic breast disease. These benign lumps are located in the milk ducts and cannot be felt. This generally occurs in only one breast and resolves on its own.

While it can be downright frightening to see blood in your breastmilk, think of the simplest explanation first. The small amount of blood will not harm your baby and you are encouraged to continue pumping and breastfeeding. Should this condition last for more that two weeks after birth, consult your doctor and a lactation specialist about the next step.

When you embark on any journey in life, one of the most important things you must take along is your sense of humor. While we discussed blood in breastmilk here, the fact is that we’re still talking about boobs and that is funny. There are plenty of things in life to cry about. Make sure you are really dealing with one of those things before you start shedding the tears. First, laugh out loud at your rusty pipes. Then pay attention, give it some time and proceed with caution.

There are lots of phrases denoting difficult and seemingly pointless tasks, like herding cats or wrestling with greasy pigs. The point is that whatever you are attempting won’t happen; the impossibility of the thing, like attempting to discover a child’s limit for repetitive action. If there is a limit, you can be sure you won’t reach it. If you make a funny face when someone talks too loudly on the phone and dramatically hold the phone away from your ear, how many times is this funny? Normally once, but to a child it can be repeated indefinitely, often with increasingly enthusiastic reactions.

To understand and know your child is to help them establish limits for their behavior and their tolerance of other’s. Demonstrating our limits as their loving parent safely illustrates why it does not make sense not to push people too far as it makes everyone unhappy. Our children are constantly conducting experiments on us, and they are adept scientists. The laboratory of the family is a key component in the boundary-knowledge of the child. Learning how to deal with the world and the myriad of people in it is learned first in the home.

Besides parents, sibling relationships are a key factor in a child’s development. Helping your children understand what they can learn from each other is important in illustrating to them why their behavior towards each other matters. Explain that their sister is more than just a pesky drone but actually a perfect relationship in which to practice strengthening weaknesses like lack of patience. If they can learn to deal with their relentless little brother with grace then they will have all the tools they need to deal with the same types of people as adults.