Your baby’s nursery certainly lies on your crafty hands. There are tons of ideas about designing a newborn’s room, furniture to include, and equipment or essentials needed for mom and baby. Aside from the aesthetic concerns of making a newborn’s room cute and comfy by matching colorful palettes and cartoon character details – safety and comfort still comes as top priority on every parent’s checklist.

Check out the Top Baby Equipment and Essentials that Should be in Every Newborn’s Room

Cribs or Bassinets

This is one of the first items that you need to put inside your newborn’s room. Don’t go for anything that’s just fancy or colorful – buy a crib for its durability, comfort, and safety. Whether you have a new crib or hand-me-downs, you should check every detail and make sure that it is safe and comfortable for your baby to sleep on. Get a firm mattress to match your crib. Make sure that it fits snugly to avoid suffocation incidents. Check the side rails, hardware, and screws to make sure everything is in place and there are no damages whatsoever.

Breastfeeding Pillow

If you are breastfeeding your newborn, this will definitely come handy especially for first time moms who are still trying to get into the groove of ensuring the right latch. Using the breastfeeding pillow ensures that you are providing the right support for your baby while nursing. This also offers different levels of support when you are handling your baby or breastfeeding as it has a soft and firm side. This keeps your baby in the proper height and angle when nursing to keep you both in a comfortable position.

Humidifier

Investing in a cool-mist humidifier is a must for every newborn’s room. It provides your baby a healthy, fresh, and well-moistened environment that combats the dry air and eradicates pollutants as well as harmful microbes in the air. More so, having a humidifier provides that white noise which soothes baby and helps with promoting long restful sleep. Check out this best humidifier for a baby based on user reviews.

Baby Monitor

Having a baby monitor helps you with juggling chores around the house while keeping an eye on your baby. A monitor that has two receivers is convenient as you can put one in the bedroom and another in the kitchen or your home office so you can multitask effectively while keeping your baby monitored all throughout the day so you can see whether he or she needs to change nappies or wants to breastfeed.

Burp Clothes

You can use this as a no-fuss must-have for burping and cleaning up your newborn. These are very inexpensive when bought in bulk. Cloth diapers can also function as burp clothes. Baby clothes that are well-fitting to your newborn’s size must also be easy to attach and remove to provide convenience and comfort for your little ones.

Breast Pumps and Accessories

It’s definitely a good thing that the Affordable Care Act now covers the rental and purchase of breast pumps and its accessories. Avoid using hand-me-downs when choosing breast pumps to avoid any health problems in the future.  Whether you opt for electric or hand-operated breast pumps, you should always consider what works for you and your baby’s needs. Using breast pumps help you nourish your baby with breast milk even when you are out for an errand or off to work.

Being a mom is said to be both a gift and a privilege. Your baby deserves the best from the very first day of life. Breastfeeding your baby is the optimal choice to ensure health and cultivate bonding between a mother and her newborn. Make use of the above checklist to know what nursery items must be put in high priority on your newborn’s room.

There is nothing as pure and serene than the sight of a mom nursing her baby to sleep. Breastfeeding is the cornerstone of life as it shapes a baby’s present and future from day one. Valuing life is the epitome of breastfeeding and it is definitely worth celebrating. It’s the World’s Breastfeeding Week for 2016 and it has the slogan which promotes breastfeeding as the key to achieving sustainable development goals.

World Breastfeeding Week 2016

How is sustainability linked to breastfeeding? Sustainable development construes improvement that meets the present needs of this generation without halting or putting risk on meeting the needs of the future generation. This revolves on three aspects – equity, ecology, and economy. Breastfeeding is said to provide optimum nourishment for babies while also impressing upon emotional and psychological bond between mothers and their babies. In this case, breastfeeding is indeed the key to sustainable development because it is integrated with the fulfillment of health, food and nutrition security, survival, and development that could span from generation to generation.

Breastfeeding is also an economic and environmentally friendly option for moms as compared to feeding from bottles. Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for this year’s World Breastfeeding Week are focused primarily on ending malnutrition and hunger and promoting healthy well-being which is deeply anchored on breastfeeding as a sustainable option for both moms and babies. This also promotes and supports breastfeeding programs and affiliations all over the world.

US Breastfeeding Statistics

In the United States, breastfeeding has become increasingly popular and thus produced many advocates from moms who would want to exclusively breastfeed their babies before returning to work. In 2011, around 79% of newborns started breastfeeding. However, breastfeeding efforts for babies born in 2011 did not continue as recommended – 49% were breastfed for 6 months while 27% were breastfed for a year. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) encourages and motivates more women to initiate and continue with breastfeeding their newborn babies. A number of breastfeeding programs and initiatives were in place like the Best Fed Beginnings (BFB) which supports skin-to-skin contact of baby and mom right after delivery. This helps new moms begin with breastfeeding and feel comfortable about the whole setup. More so, state child care regulations are also in full support of on-site breastfeeding. Breastfeeding communities are also in full bloom as health professionals like Board Certified Lactation Consultant (BCLC) and Certified Lactation Counselors (CLC) are in support of breastfeeding campaigns from the first day of life.

Breastfeeding moms have braved challenges and even made career shifts in order to make time for nursing their babies especially for the first year and is recommended to extend up to three years. There are long term health benefits associated with breastfeeding and even if it extends for like three years. While there are criticisms associated with extended breastfeeding, your instinct which is backed by modern science, will tell you that you are in fact doing the right thing for you and your little one. The immune functions are made stronger, brain development is optimized, and decreased infections are noted on extended breastfeeding which showcases more benefits that can counteract the criticisms around it.

Fox News posted an article this week entitled: 12 surprising facts about breastfeeding new moms should know. I found that the information in this article did include surprising facts about breastfeeding; therefore, I felt it worth sharing.

1. Breast milk isn’t always white.
Breast milk is usually white or cream-colored, but it can also be green, blue, yellow, or orange. You might also notice that it’s thicker one day and more watery the next. Either way, it’s perfectly normal and nothing to be worried about, said Sara Chana Silverstein, an international board-certified lactation consultant, master herbalist and creator of the Savvy Breastfeeding app.

2. One breast will produce more.
Just like one of your hands is bigger, your breasts are probably different sizes too. So one may outperform the other, but it doesn’t mean you won’t have enough milk for your baby. Nevertheless, always start feeding on the side that you finished with last time to try to equal the two out.

“We want the same type of stimulation to help with production,” said Cindy Shelton, a registered nurse and an international board-certified lactation consultant at Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

3. You may feel outrageously large.
It’s not a look you’re going for as a new mom, but get ready for your breasts to be engorged and larger than they have ever been, especially in the beginning.

“Milk increases in volume that third to fifth day and it does it with a vengeance,” Shelton said.

How large your breasts get really depend on your skin’s elasticity. And as your baby gets older and you’re feeding less frequently, they won’t be as engorged. When you stop breastfeeding, your breasts may end up smaller or bigger than before you were pregnant.

4. Breast milk doesn’t only come out of your nipple.
Since there are approximately 15 to 25 milk ducts in each breast that make milk, there are several pores in each breast where milk comes out of, not just the single hole in your nipple.

5. You’ll leak— especially when you least expect it.
Stock up on breast pads, ladies! Especially in the beginning, when your baby (or even another baby) cries, your breasts will let down on both sides. It may also happen when you look at your baby, at his photo, or when it’s time for a feeding.

6. Sex might be painful.
Lack of estrogen can cause vaginal dryness and make intercourse painful. Use a water-based lubricant or talk to your OB/GYN about ways to cope.

7. You could have too much milk.
Some women have a strong milk ejection reflex that causes breast milk to come out quickly and spray everywhere. Some babies even choke because they can’t keep up with the flow. Talk to your lactation consultant about techniques that can help slow down the flow.

8. You might go on an emotional roller coaster.
Oxytocin, the hormone that contracts the muscles in your milk ducts to let down milk will make you feel calm and relaxed, even sleepy. Yet some women with a strong milk ejection reflex may also experience nausea, weakness, sweating and anxiety because of the intense hormonal shift, Silverstein said. Some women may also experience intense thirst and may need to add minerals to their water. Speak to your lactation consultant about ways to cope.

9. You don’t need extra calcium.
Drinking milk won’t help you make milk, yet breastfeeding may cause your bones to shrink. The good news is that once you stop breastfeeding, experts say bone density returns. What’s more, studies show that breastfeeding can prevent osteoporosis. The National Academy of Sciences recommends breastfeeding moms get 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day from dairy, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Weight-bearing exercises can prevent osteoporosis as well.

10. An orgasm can make your breasts leak.
Since oxytocin, the hormone responsible for milk letdown is the same released when you orgasm, you could spring a leak at the most inopportune time. A bra with breast pads and a sense of humor can go a long way.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed—many women experience it,” Shelton said.

11. You can eat more and still lose weight.
Your body needs between 300 and 500 extra calories a day for breastfeeding. Yet instead of worrying that you’re eating enough, just listen to your body and the pounds should melt off in no time.
“Feed your hunger and you’ll find that you’re eating those extra calories,” Shelton said.

12. Your period may stop.
If you’re exclusively breastfeeding— no bottles (even with pumped milk) or pacifiers— and you’re feeding on demand, chances are you won’t have your period, Shelton said. Some women will get their periods back six weeks after delivery, when they start to wean, or not until they’ve stopped breastfeeding altogether. Even if you don’t have your period, it doesn’t mean you’re not ovulating so be sure to use birth control if you’re not planning to have another baby any time soon.

I hope you enjoyed these surprising facts about breastfeeding!

I know that there is a difference between breast-milk feeding and breastfeeding. You know that there is a difference between breast-milk feeding and breastfeeding. But, most importantly, most mothers don’t know the difference between the two–and believe me there is a difference. In a recently published article, by Pacific Standard Magazine, entitled The Unseen Consequences of Pumping Breast Milk, multiple lactation consultant experts explain not only the difference between the two, but express what trained lactation consultants should be doing differently (in ways of assisting mothers in both technique and education).

As with all students–and that’s what mothers are…students–different students have distinctive ways in which they learn. It is important, as their teacher, that you ensure that they grasp the difference between breast-milk feeding and breastfeeding.

In the aforementioned article, Virginia Thorley, a lactation consultant and honorary research fellow at the University of Queensland in Australia, worries about the perils of “misleading” mothers, in regards to promoting “breast-milk feeding as identical to breastfeeding.” She believes that the biggest gap between the student and teachers is using terms both accurately and in a way that the mothers can understand.

“The new challenge is to use language accurately, and tell mothers the truth that feeding their milk to their babies by bottle is less than equivalent to breastfeeding.” — Virginia Thorley

Another concern that Thorley has is that when a baby breastfeeds, it isn’t just about the milk–it is about security, nurturing, nutrition, and bonding with the mother. She isn’t wrong; a 2010 study proved that babies that were exclusively fed pumped beast-milk were two times more likely to consume too much breast-milk, affecting their growth rate. Additionally, there are other studies that prove that infants who were not directly breastfed have a significant increase in both coughing and wheezing episodes in comparison to those that were breastfed.

The science doesn’t lie. It is important that as a lactation consultant, you aren’t just enforcing breast-milk, but that you are explaining to mothers the difference between breast-milk feeding and breastfeeding.