Nutrional Guidelines For Breastfeeding

This is a copy of a handout I got from the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center a few months ago...It has some good tips and I've thrown in a few of my own.

Eat a variety of foods from ALL the food groups. Making milk requires a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, as well as adequate calories. You may experience an increase in appetite, so snacking between meals can be helpful. You can expect an even bigger appetite when nursing multiples.

WHAT TO EAT WHILE BREASTFEEDING
* Bread, cereal, rice and pasta: 6-11 servings/day- Cool- does this mean I get to have 11 pieces of toast?????
* Vegetables: 3-5 servings/day Remember you don't want to eat anything "gassy" because it can make a colicky baby even more colicky. This includes such vegetables as Broccoli, cabbage and onions.
* Fruit: 2-4 servings/day Too much citrus can cause diaper rash.....
* Protein (beef, chicken, fish, nuts, tofu, beans): 2-3 servings/day. From my own personal experience when I eat red meat, my milk comes in like crazy!

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How much fluid do I need to drink each day?
Drink enough fluid for urine color to be very light or clear, and drink when you ar thirsty. Limit caffeine containing beverages to 1-2 cups per day.

Can I drink alcohol?
You may have up to one alcoholic drink per day, and drink only after the baby is fed and asleep. Does a whole bottle of wine count as one drink? Sometimes after a particularly bad day I have indulged in more then one glass of wine. It doesn't seem to affect the baby. And NO I don't get trashed so YES I can tell if it is in fact affecting the baby!

What about weight loss?
Remember that part of the weight gained in pregnancy is an "energy deposit" to meet the caloric demands of breastfeeding. Most women naturally loss weight while nursing, especially between the 4th and 9th month. I sure hope so because I weigh the same as I did when I left the hospitol and my baby is almost 4 months old....
Crash or fad diets may be harmful to you and your milk supply.

Can I eat sushi?
YES! Remeber like any raw food, sushi can carry parasites or bacteria that can make you ill. Eat only the freshest sushi that is prepared at restaurants or markets you trust. Well duh....My rule is if it smells fishy don't eat it!

I don't consume dairy products, is this a concern?
Calcium is an important component of a breastfeeding mother's diet. The Recommended Dietary Intake for a lactating woman is 1200 mg daily. A supplement may be helpful to meet your needs. A cup of milk has 350mg of calcium per cup. A cup of whole almonds also has 350 mg of calcium. Other calcium rich foods are spinach, salmon, soy milk and sesame seeds.

How can a vegetarian get enough iron in her diet?
Iron rich foods are not limited to meats. Good sources of iron also include spinach, chickpeas, carob, dried beans, dried fruit, wheat germ, soybeans, and leafy green vegetables. To help enhance iron absorption, eat foods high in vitamin C (oranges, tomatoes, lemons, strawberries)
Is it okay to take herbal supplements and drink herbal teas while I breastfeed?
Remember, herbal supplements are not monitored like medications. Doses and ingrediants can vary greatly among the same product. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR proir to taking ANY herbal supplement. Overall, some herbs are considered unsafe during lactation. You should avoid: Buckhorn, Burdock, Cascara, Cohosh, Coltsfoot, Comfrey, Cornsilk, Dong Quai, Eucalyptus, Fever few, Ginseng, Golden Seal, Hawthorne, Horseradish, Pennyroyal, Sassafras, Senna, St. John's Wort, Yarrow. OKay, who really wants to consume a buckhorn or coltsfoot anyway?-haha..I,myself, like a chamomile mint tea in the evening to relax after a day chasing my 3 year old and what feels like breastfeeding all day.
Major brands of herbal teas are generally safe for breastfeeding.

I just asked my doctor about anti-depressants and breastfeeding yesterday. He said that only .1% gets into the breastmilk and the only antidepressant one should avoid while breastfeeding is Paxil- so happily, I can take my Lexapro with no worries!
-SBH

Go Organic!

Feeding your kids organic food can significantly lower their exposure to pesticides, says a study funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. In the study, kids ages 3 to 11 were switched from a conventional diet to one with organic fruits, vegetables and other foods. There was an immediate, dramatic decrease in two pesticide by-products in their urine. Although the exact health risk of these peticides is still unknown, they may be especially harmful for children - because kids' bodies are smaller and their brains are still developing, says researcher Chensheng Lu, Ph.D. of Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Lu recommends choosing organic when possible but especially with produce that tends to have greater pesticide residue such as apples, spinach, peaches, pears, potatoes and strawberries.

Why We Don't Have Any Guns At Our House

12 Things To Do While on Maternity Leave

I won't even publish the original list I made with my first baby - I had things on there like 'learn photoshop' and 'create website' and 'reorganize garage!'

When you have your first baby you will realize that it's NOT about multi-tasking, but about slowing it all down - a c section did that for me real quick! Here's my revised version...

Lisa T’s List for the new mommy while on Maternity Leave:

1. Sleep whevever possible.

2. Watch Oprah

3. Learn the 5 s's to calm child from Happiest Baby on the Block (this book saved my life!)

4. Learn how to breast pump from friend. (Learn from the experienced!)

5. Put all skinny clothes on the top shelf and not look at for a while.

6. Eat chocolate croissants.

7. Walk the neighborhood often.

8. Read magazines (because forget concentrating on books).

9. Be loud in the house while baby is sleeping so you don't have to tiptoe around.

10. Take back or give away all baby gifts when you realize that you don't need all the stuff – it's essentially you and the baby and your boob (or bottle) for 3 to 6 mo.

11. Take tons of digital pix for instant sharing with relatives over the internet. (I recommend a .mac account, snapfish or kodak gallery.)

12. Bathe with your baby – they love it!

Enjoy your wonderful, lovely new human. They smell so good when they’re new. Welcome to Mommyhood!

Mom's Prefer Smell of their Own Baby's Poop

This is the strangest study I've ever seen. Who would think this up? Scientists find that moms consistently rank the stink of their baby's "number two" as No. 1. In a new study, 13 mothers were asked to sniff soiled diapers belonging to both their own child and others from an unrelated baby. The women consistently ranked the smell of their own child's feces as less revolting than that of other babies.

This effect persisted even when the diapers were purposely mislabeled.

One possible explanation is that the mothers were simply more accustomed to their own baby's stink and therefore found it less repulsive. A more intriguing possibility, the researchers say, is that the mothers' reactions are an evolutionary adaptation allowing them to overcome their natural disgust so that they can properly care for their babies.

The study, led by Trevor Case of Macquarie University in Australia, will be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. Disgust helps protect us from things that can make us sick, scientists say, but there are circumstances in which the emotion has to be tempered. The caring of an infant is likely one such instance.

"A mother's disgust at her baby's feces has the potential to obstruct her ability to care for her baby and may even affect the strength of the bond she has with her baby," the researchers write.

The finding is among the latest in a series of studies suggesting that humans can determine biological relatedness through body odor. Another recent study found that mothers more accurately identify and prefer the smell of their biological children over that of stepchildren. I am thankful today, that a. I am not a scientist and b. that I am not a scientist assigned to this project.

- LT

Yummy Organic Babyfood

Leave it to the folks in LA to come up with fancy, yummy organic babyfood. I recently sampled this at a street fair and the packaging also makes it a nice gift.

You can order online

or purchase in several LA health stores. Enjoy! - LT

Breastfeeding poem

I don't know who wrote this great Dr. Seussy poem about Breastfeeding- I love it! We all have the right to breastfeed in public!!!!


Would you nurse her at the park?
Would you nurse him in the dark?
Would you nurse him with a boppy?
And when your boobs are feeling floppy?

I would nurse her in the park.
I would nurse him in the dark.
I'd nurse with or without a boppy.
Floppy boobs will never stop me.

Can you nurse with your seat belt on?
Can you nurse from dusk til dawn?
Though she may pinch me, bite me, pull,
I will nurse her til she's full.

Can you nurse and make some soup?
Can you nurse and feed the group?
It makes her healthy strong and smart,
Mommy's milk is the best start!

Would you nurse him at the game?
Would you nurse her in the rain?
In front of those who dare complain?
I would nurse him at the game.
I would nurse her in the rain.

As for those who protest lactation,
I have a perfect explanation.
Mommy milk is tailor made
It's perfect food, you need no aid.

Some may scoff and some may wriggle,
Avert their eyes or even giggle.
To those who can be cruel and rude,
Remind them breast's the perfect food.

I would never scoff or giggle,
Roll my eyes or even wiggle!
I would never be so crass or crude,
I KNOW that this milk's the perfect food!

We make the right amount we need,
The perfect temp for every feed.
There's no compare to milk from breast-
The perfect food, above the rest.

Those nursing smiles are oh so sweet,
Mommy milk is such a treat.
Human milk just can't be beat.

I will nurse, in any case,
On the street or in your face.
I will not let my baby cry,
I'll meet her needs, I'll always try.
It's not about what's good for you,
It's best for babies, through and through.

I will nurse her in my home,
I will nurse her when I roam.
Leave me be lads, leave me be ma'am
I will nurse her, MOM I am

Lunchables...not a healthy alternative.

It's back to school time and having my toddler go for the first time for preschool, so I do vow to make yummy, thought-out lunches...at least this is my gung ho attitude at the beginning of the year when everything is still so new. Most parents start of great and then the time crunch happen and they go for - the easy to pack - lunchables?

According to Business Week, prepackaged lunches are a $750 million-a-year industry, and the category is dominated by Kraft's Oscar Mayer Lunchables, whose 44 varieties (at last count) command 85 percent of the "lunch kit" market. Despite some efforts to make them healthier, most of these meals are loaded with high fat, sodium, and harmful additives. In searching for alternatives - the choices are practically none.

Some local options exist: Fresh Direct delivers tasty-looking all-natural lunchboxes to its customers in New York City and some California branches of Whole Foods offer store-made lunchboxes, featuring items like all-organic sandwiches and fresh fruit. These are pretty good, I've tried these. Recognizing this hole in the market, boutique organic baby-food company

Homemade Baby

plans to start selling a line called Homemade Kids in Whole Foods stores nationwide sometime next year. Yummy, can't wait for that.

Here is the rest of the article

and includes a non-scientific taste tester study done by the author. It's a pretty interesting read. In the meantime...I'll continue packing a lunch while I'm still excited about it and I have time.
- LT

Elmo Top Secret

Well thank goodness for this just in time for the holiday season!

Another Elmo doll.

These are already showing up on Ebay at double the price if you can believe it. I DO like Elmo, but just how many does a kid need? We have 4! The new T.M.X. Elmo just laughs and laughs and laughs and has tickle spots in several places. Apparently, the laughter was recorded from Fisher Price Executives as they laughed themselves all the way to the bank...

- LT

TV in Kids' Bedrooms

I think this is an alarming poll from USA Today:
( - Courtesy USA Today)

Look, I'm all for a dose of Sesame Street or Blues Clues or Thomas the Train, but nearly 7 out of 10 kids 8 to 18 have a TV in their bedroom - 68%!

Considering all the press and outrage over kids being inactive because of television and video games etc., it seems that parents are making it all too easy for TV access. What do you think - good or bad? Do your kids have multimedia in their rooms?

- LT

2nd hand shoes

Our kids feet grow so friggin' fast that it seems like we are spending a chunk every month just to keep up with them. I started going to consignment shops and buying 2nd hand shoes. I mean who can afford to buy beautiful European shoes at full price EVERY month? I read this this morning on a message board for moms and thought I'd pass it on. It is written by Noah Blumofe, a podiatrist in Santa Monica.
"The truth is that for first walkers, its difficult enough to find them shoes that will let them feel the ground while walking, and to let them make their own "mistakes" and learn from them. Used shoes have already been "mistaked
in" so to speak, they already have the slightest of changes that came from
the previous owner as they walked in them. So, when they modified the shoes
(this is automatic in ANY shoe that ANYONE wears, adults as well as kids),
it became THEIR shoe. Now, take a custom dress that is perfectly tailored to
YOUR body, and give it to someone else...it may seem that the fit is fine,
but every little angle that is different, will wear differently. Fine,
fabric is forgiving, because it is not weightbearing, your not putting all
your weight on it. Also, a dress does not in turn change the way your body
moves (though if it fits off, it'll pinch or pull or make a nasty indent),
while shoes will DIRECTLY affect the way you walk. SO, if you are beginning
to learn how to walk, which includes the first 10 years of life or so,
having "foreign" instructions will defintelly mess up the overall result.
You may not see it now, as it can be subtle at times, but in the end, it all
adds up. Thats the long way of saying, NO USED SHOES."

Damn those Elefanten shoes I bought for $5 last week are so cute BUT they are a little worn.....
SBH

10 Healthy Snacks for your Toddler

It actually doesn't take a whole lot to fill up a Toddler. Here are some easy, quick ideas for healthful snacks and small meals for children from Elizabeth Ward, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feeding Your Baby and Toddler. These are Toddler-Sized portions (see photo here with adult sized vs. toddler sized portions). Start with this amount, and if the child is still hungry, then offer more.

1 - Half a whole-grain mini bagel spread with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, almond butter or soy nut butter and 4 ounces milk

2 - Half a slice of leftover pizza and 4 ounces 100% calcium-added orange juice

3 - 4 ounces low-fat fruit yogurt and half a slice of whole-grain toast

4 - Fruit and yogurt smoothie made with 4 ounces plain, low-fat yogurt and half a banana or one-half cup berries

5 - One chopped hard-cooked egg and four medium whole-grain crackers

6 - Waffle sandwich: 1 whole-grain toasted waffle spread with almond, peanut or soy butters, folded in half and cut up; 4 ounces of milk

7 - 2 tablespoons hummus or peanut butter and four whole-grain crackers

8 - Small bowl whole-grain cereal (one-half cup) and one-half cup low-fat milk

9 - Cut-up cooked vegetables (one-fourth cup) and 2 tablespoons low-fat dip

10 - One-fourth cup low-fat cottage cheese and four whole-grain crackers

- LT

Obesity Starts At Home

To this again I say duh. This is the conclusion today of the nutrition experts who are sorting through a parade of studies released this summer that show children in all age groups in the USA are gaining too much weight — even babies. Those experts are laying the bulk of responsibility on parents, many of whom also are heavy. I blog on this quite often, and the articles and studies just keep on coming, so I am obviously not the only one concerned with what I am seeing in the schools now.

The article in USA Today

goes on to say that kids are learning unhealthy behaviors from an early age. Keith Ayoob, a registered dietitian at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, says he never meets children who have better eating habits than their parents. "Parents are, hands down, the biggest influence on their kids. They need to be good role models. I heard a quote that said, 'What you say will speak to your kids. What you do will scream to them.' "

Government data shows that 2/3rds of U.S. adults are overweight and 1/3 of children and teens - about 25 million kids - are overweight or on the brink of becoming. YIKES! This all just leads down the path of developing diabetes, high cholesterol and other health problems. Ayoob says that busy parents often don't make the time to feed their children healthful foods. Couple with that with more video games and television watching inactivity and that's a recipe for disaster. Ayoob says we have to rearrange our priorities.

SOME SOLUTIONS:
I broke it down from the article -
1 - Limit the beverages - those are the biggest problem. Cut out the soda and sugary drinks.
2 - Limit the 'grazing' of snacks - lose the packaged foods and fast foods. Substitute more fruits and vegetables.
3 - Switch kids from whole milk to skim milk at age 2.
4 - Limit the TV, computer and video game time. Encourage activity.
5 - Plan meals ahead of time and go to the grocery store. Make it a family affair. There are plenty of good shortcuts now: packaged salads, cut up vegetables and fruit, roasted chicken, ready to eat fish and meat. Trader Joe's ROCKS for busy parents!

Post your comments on quick and healthy 'fast' foods for busy families...

- LT

You Know You are Living in 2006 when...

1. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

12. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

13. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

14. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

Go on, forward this to your friends. You know you want to!! And Yes, I was laughing and I did scroll back to see that there wasn't a #9.

This is nothing to do with kids - but it's a good laugh for the day!
- LT

9/11 Kids

To date, the September 11, 2001 Children's Fund Inc., is one of the only organizations set up to assist families with the financial burden associated with primary and secondary education costs. Because their mission is to mentor these children through the 12th grade they are responsible for several years' worth of tuition payments for each of the registered children.

It seems like this would be

a good thing to do today!

- LT

Allergy Stickers & Packs To Save A Life

What a great idea. Having just started preschool with our 3 yr. old - who knows what snacks they are serving on any given day? Some parents came up with this idea when their first child was diagnosed as Anaphylactic, after reacting violently to a food containing nuts.

With the introductions of "Allergypacks", their aim at

Medicare Plus Limited

is to make available a range of cool looking carrying cases that kids would love to carry, specially designed to hold allergy and asthma medication. Also available are a wide variety of stickers to add to your children's sack lunches or personalize their own lunchpails, shirts, notebooks etc.

Each allergy is paired with a colorful character and color scheme with a little story about their allergy perfect for reading to kids too so it's not so scary, but just matter of fact information that your child may actually remember.

Give Your Kids a Hug Today!

Picture of Suri!

I gotta say...she is pretty cute. Maybe we can ALL move on now and worry about more important things!!!!!!!! haha

Toddler Tamers

From Parenting magazine:

Practical discipline tactics for the Terrible Twos
Pacify public tantrums
Anyone who's taken a toddler anywhere knows that mortification waits around every corner. Meltdowns generally start around 18 months. Things to keep in mind:
Try to preempt common tantrum triggers (fatigue, hunger, boredom, frustration) by doing errands in the morning or after naptime, and bringing snacks and an unfamiliar toy.
If prevention fails, ignore the tantrum. Pretend the screaming doesn't upset, impress, or affect you, and he'll realize there's little point in continuing.
If all else fails, get out of there! Leave the grocery cart, grab your child, and head for your car. His meltdown may simply be a plea for a hug or some undivided attention, so give him both when he's calmed down.

Quote of the day

"Kids are like popcorn, they all pop at
their own time".

No idea who said this but it is a reminder that we all need to be careful about comparing our children to others. They are all so unique and so tuned in to their own experience, it just makes sense they'd develop in different ways and at different times.