In case you haven’t heard, we’re expanding our community and we’re SO excited.  Sadly, a friend and long time patient is moving up north.  While in Texas, she’s established an incredible business and network of moms through Stroller Strides.  After literally years of wanting to get involved with this group, I was finally able to start up classes a few weeks ago.  Up until that point, midwifery school (you know all those births at odd hours and no sleep!), morning all day sickness, recovery from car accident, and travel had kept me from my goal of trying out Stroller Strides in my area.  There’s 2 classes literally less than a 5 minute drive from my house.  And, the fact that I’ve watched a lot of moms literally have their lives changed through these classes definitely fueled my desire to go try them out.  Plus, I’ve paid an unused gym membership for months because I can’t find time to pump enough milk to leave my baby, and my toddler isn’t fond of the nursery (not to mention- who wants to give up the little family time we all have together to go work out?!).  I’ve been looking for a solution, and I knew Stroller Strides would be a great option, and I’m so glad I was finally able to make a class!  Maggie announcing she was moving, and my friends and I absolutely loving our first class had me sold…  I wanted this added to my community!  Words cannot express how excited I am about this new venture and how grateful I am that Maggie is entrusting her years of hard work, friendships, community, network and business to us- she’s leaving me her ‘baby’.  I pray we make her proud because what she has done with Stroller Strides amazes me.

Now to the fun part of this post…  We’re throwing a BIG week-long party as we transition ownership of Stroller Strides of Hurst/Arlington/Mansfield.  Being new to Stroller Strides, you probably have the same questions I did…  Will my child sit still in a stroller through a whole workout class?  Am I going to be embarrassed doing these exercises as I try not to pee on myself in front of other people?  Will my stroller be ok to work out with?  Is this really worth paying the same cost as a gym membership?  Those are just of the few that popped in my head before I went; and, I could go through all the class details for you, but the best answer is just to come try the classes out for yourself.  Of course try them out for your kids too!  The best time to do so?  During our party week of course!  Not only will we have free classes, that Maggie and I will both be at, but we’ll have TONS of great giveaways too.  And, you’ll be able to see firsthand what the classes are like.  This is also a great time, should you choose to, to join because we’ll have a special enrollment price of $25 (instead of the usual $79)!

What are we giving away for free (besides the class you are taking)?  Some great prizes!

*1 Free Enrollment with 1 Month of Stroller Strides Classes (in Hurst/Arlington/Mansfield)- $125 value!

*1/2 Hour Massage from Lifetime Family Wellness Center- $40 value!

*Boba Baby Carrier- $100 value!

*Chae Organics Baby Lotion and Baby Soap n Suds- $18 value

*Baby Buttons Design Gift Certificate- $15 value

*Amber Teething Necklace- $25 value

*Roots Coffee House Gift Certificate- $10 value

*Whole Foods Gift Certificate- $30 value

*Amazon Gift Certificate- $30 value

*Chipotle Gift Card- $15 value

*T-Shirts, water bottles and more!

How do you win?  We’re having a drawing, and winners will be randomly selected.  You’re entered several ways:

~Show up for class during our Party Week, and your name is entered once for each class you attend: 5/3 Northeast Mall at 9am, 5/4 Chisolm Park at 9:30a, 5/5 Katherine Rose Park at 9:30a, and 5/6 Veterans Park at 9a.

~You join Stroller Strides the first week in May- Party Week, and you get 5 extra entries in the drawing!

~Bring a friend with you to class during Party Week, and both of you get 2 extra entries in the drawing.  Your friend joins Stroller Strides during the first week of May, you both get 5 extra entries in the drawing!

~Share this blog link on your Facebook, you get an entry in the drawing. Make sure you tell me you did so in the “Comments” section of this blog.

~Tweet about our Party Week and fun giveaways for an entry in the drawing. Make sure you tell me you did so in the “Comments” section of this blog.

~Blog about Stroller Strides and you get 5 entries in the drawing- I’d especially love to hear about your personal experience with the class. Again, make sure you leave a comment telling me you blogged.

I look forward to working out with many of you and your babies in the weeks to come!

I believe there are several reasons we are seeing this so frequently these days.  First of all, to quote Dr. Kotlow (and this quote makes me laugh out loud every time I hear his voice saying it in my head), “You see, it all started with the hippies!”  As he said this to me, I wondered to myself, “Does he really know who I am and what I do for a living?!”  Ha!  Anyhow, his point is this, for decades, moms bought into the lie that formula was as good as breastmilk.  So, we had generations of moms who did not nurse their babies.  Nursing is one of the biggest things that will clue moms in on their babies being tongue tied.  Moms know when they are nursing if the latch isn’t right and is something is off with their baby’s anatomy.  Trust that motherly instinct!  He went on to explain to us that as more and more moms were educated and eventually returned to nursing, and wouldn’t settle for anything better than the best- breastmilk- for their babies, that when it (nursing) was uncomfortable, they sought answers.  Therefore, tongue tie started being discovered more and more, and they’d have it corrected and their nursing pains relieved.

Now, we didn’t delve into this with Dr. Kotlow, but here are my thoughts after our conversation…  If you don’t use it, you loose it.  Right?  How sad!  I think over so many generations and years of so few moms nursing their children, we lost proper function.  Many people are familiar with Sally Fallon and Dr. Price.  They teach that what we have eaten for generations is so far from what we were created to eat that we have literally changed our facial structure; hence, the wisdom teeth removals, fillings, braces and weird teeth alignment.  Makes sense to me that this could also be the case for extra tissue and tissue placement where it shouldn’t be.

In addition, there’s research that shows when moms use cocaine there is a higher incidence of tongue tie in their babies.  After Mellanie mentioned this research to me the other night, when I quote it to moms they get the weirdest look on their faces.  ”I’ve never used cocaine!” some will quickly blurt out, to which I chuckle.  I’m not accusing you of wild behavior, but this study brings up some interesting points too.  If one researched chemical (cocaine) can cause this abnormality, what other chemicals- that no one has yet researched- might do the same?  Furthermore, one of the most prescribed drugs in our society are stimulants to treat conditions like ADD and ADHD.  Cocaine is a stimulant, and these prescribed stimulant drugs many times work on the same areas of the brain and cause some of the same side effects.  Countless studies have shown that many drugs- and several different types- have been found in our water supply.  Are we seeing increase in abnormalities due to all of this?  In my opinion, possibly so.

And, we can’t deny that with more education, there will be more awareness and more diagnosis and correction.  Again, no matter what the cause (or prevalence for that matter), we are so grateful for the cure!

Lifetime Family Wellness Center will be hosting Dr. Kotlow to speak on Saturday, May 14th from 9am-12pm.  Please spread the word, and I’ll share more details soon.  You will not want to miss his presentation!

When I asked Dr. Kotlow to show me exactly how to diagnose these ties and what specifically to be looking for, he quickly grabbed my paperwork…  ”You checked off every symptom on here.  What else could cause all of this?”  This statement so put my mind at ease.  Listen to mom, mom knows her body and her baby best!  If you, or a mom you know, is checking off every symptom that I mention in this post, then chances are your/her baby is tongue tied.  See, what I used to check for is that baby could protrude his/her tongue past his/her bottom gum line.  I also made sure that the frenum didn’t pull on the end of the tongue, causing a heart shaped looking tongue.  As seen in this picture: To easily check the tongue for a tie, put your index finger under your baby’s tongue and sweep across the floor of the mouth from one side to the other.  You should be able to slide the finger under the tongue across the mouth floor from where the molars will eventually come in without running into any tissue.  If you feel a smooth mouth floor, then there’s no problem.  However, if you run into what Dr. Kotlow describes as a “small speed bump”, you may have an issue.  If there’s a large speed bump, then there’s definitely a problem.  If the membrane under the tongue (that attaches it onto the floor of the mouth) feels like a very thin and strong- like a fine wire- then push on it and look to see if the tongue’s tip indents or bows.  This suggests baby has a tie under the mucous membrane in the back.  Remember that most of these ties whether presenting as small, medium or large bumps will usually turn into problems if not addressed.

Ellington has a very long tongue, and she could move it way past her bottom gum; these two factors led me away from diagnosing her as tied.  However, she was unable to move her tongue properly when nursing and never could really press it against her palate.  As she nursed, she’d gum at my breasts, which of course made me sore, caused me to peel, blister and develop and itchy rash with crack on my skin.  Her upper frenum- as the ENT in Dallas has shown me- came down into her gum line.  Therefore, she could not move her upper lip effectively, which also greatly affected our nursing.  Additionally, you could never see her gums when she smiled- something we didn’t really notice until after the surgery.

As we researched and found this to be congenital and genetic, we discovered that JB is pretty severely tongue tied too.  He was adopted and never breastfed, therefore it stands to reason that his issue was never discovered.  Interestingly enough though, his family always talks about what a colicky baby he was and the constant digestive issues he had from that.  It turns out that Harper- our toddler- has a maxillary tie too.  I went through my guilt stage over this; but, in the end, even though we missed it on him I’m so grateful that we’ve walked this journey.  Because of everything we went through with Harper, I really feel I have a whole new level of understanding for families with this, and I look closely for it now.

You see this diagnosis is so important because if a person is tied- baby or not, breastfeeding or not- he/she can not move their tongue and lips properly.  So much is affected by this!  Nutritional problem arise.  Why?  Because food can not be extracted properly (especially in the case of breastmilk), and it can’t be properly placed and digested completely.  Colic can occur because of this improper function more air is swallowed.  Babies tend to drool a lot, again because their mouth/tongue doesn’t work properly.  Gagging may occur.  You might see sleep problems like snoring and apnea.  And, it’s common for teeth/jaw issues to arise later because the teeth are pulled inwards toward the tongue or there might be gaps where the frenum comes between the teeth.  Speech problems have also been noted from this.

Even though Harper is weaned, we are still looking at possibly having his clipped.  We will still choose the laser, but it gets a little more complicated with older children.  The younger you can do this the better!  When a baby is only a few days old, there is very little blood flow to these frenums and hardly- if any- sensation.  Therefore, not only is it less painful- if at all painful- to cut, but it’s easier because newborns are swaddled and don’t fight the procedure as much.  Not to mention their nursing patterns and habits don’t have to be re-trained.

Looking back, we believe Harper wouldn’t have had as many sleep issues had we known about this and had it addressed.  He nursed around the clock, and once he fell asleep, he’d quickly wake up after very little sleep to nurse again.  Also, he was always very small for his age, especially for as much as he ate.  I now wonder if he’d have gained a lot more and faster too.  As his teeth came in, he developed deep notches with brown spots on them on two of his front teeth.  This bothered me so much.  How could a child raised mostly on vegetables and no sugar- outside of fruit- have this problem?  Well, Dr. Kotlow has now educated us on that too.  Even though he is not against co-sleeping and night nursing, he explained to me that when Harper nursed since his upper lip is tied tightly to his front gum line that lip and tongue don’t move normally.  They are unable to clear and clean milk (and now that he eats solid, foods) from his teeth.  You risk high chances of anterior caries (rotting teeth in the front) with this condition.  What’s that saying?  ”Hindsight is 20/20!”  Oh how I wish I’d have known!

Share with me: Have you or anyone in your family dealt with this?  I want to hear your stories!

Stay tuned, I’ll continue the series tomorrow!

Let me start with our second born, Ellington, even though this story really starts with Harper our firstborn.  When Ellington was born- three whole months ago!- I was still nursing her toddler brother.  In fact, he’s only been weaned for a couple of months now.  Therefore, suffice it to say, I didn’t get as sore starting a new nursing relationship as a lot of new moms often do.  In fact, the pain was nothing in comparison to when I started nursing Harper.  Now, it may surprise you since I nursed for such a long time, that nursing is one of my least favorite activities on the planet.  If I didn’t believe in the importance of it for every single aspect of development, I’d quit nursing my children before I even started…  As in, not do it at all!  I hate it!  However, I do it because I know there’s really not a better choice I can make for my children.  Nursing does so much for them; yes, so much that we have discovered about it in research, and so many benefits I believe we don’t even know of.  How could I, knowing all this, rob them of something just because I don’t enjoy it?  I couldn’t, so I press on!  The first two weeks with Ellington’s and my nursing were relatively easy.  I mostly just had her to worry about, we recovered from birth together in bed, slept the days away and ate when we felt like it.  Having 2 kids really wasn’t all that hard!  Then came back to reality with week 3.  What’d reality look like?  Well, lets just say it was feed a newborn around the clock, bounce and wear a newborn to try to keep her happy, and chase a toddler constantly.  Man, it sure was different nursing newborn #2 with big brother to worry about!  The positions you will settle for in order to do this while entertaining a toddler, it takes major talent!  I definitely wasn’t as strict with Ellington’s perfect positioning and latch as I was with Harper’s.  As long as she ate, I was okay.  Over the course of a few days, my happy little girl became this miserable baby. I was shocked when she got a really red diaper rash, especially since we cloth diaper.  Then, my breasts started peeling and they looked weird after a feeding.  Nursing hurt worse and worse, it wasn’t getting better as our relationship progressed.  Certain hours of the day- especially early evening- we could pretty much wager on the fact that Ellington would be screaming her head off.  She would nurse and nurse and nurse, then we’d be so happy when she finally fell asleep, only to have her wake up a few minutes later ready to nurse and nurse and nurse some more.  One day, I noticed that she was getting white patches inside her cheeks.  Oh no!  The dreaded “thrush” I had diagnosed so many babies with.  Could that be why my breasts hurt so badly and looked so weird?  I quickly ran to the health food store for some natural remedies.  I was praying they’d work fast to fix this because I knew the strict diet I’d have to go on if they didn’t remedy it, and I was dreading that!  We tried the remedies we knew of, and when nothing worked I called a lactation consultant.  I set up an appointment for her to come work on latch with me.  The other thing about Ellington is that she would spit up more often than Harper ever did, and it didn’t matter if I changed my diet, it didn’t affect it.  Also, she wouldn’t take a bottle, and we even tried to have her take a pacifier (which we never did with Harper) during one of her screaming periods.  She could never seem to grasp how to do a paci.  JB commented with the bottle that if she didn’t finally latch on to it if he barely moved the bottle she’d slide right off the nipple.  This was nice for me to have him see because I’d been trying to tell him how hard she was to nurse because I couldn’t make the slightest movement without her falling off the breast.  Again, so hard and frustrating to try to feed her while worrying about Harper!

So, Mellanie came over to help me with Ellington.  She agreed that Ellington did indeed have thrush, but was very surprised that everything I was doing wasn’t changing her condition.  When she examined her, she was also very perplexed with all we were dealing with.  ”Normally I just send babies with all of this to you guys.” She told me.  ”I know”, I chuckled and told her we’d already been adjusting her and working on soft tissue and treating me with supplements and diet changes.  Also, we’d taken her to one of our mentors and chiropractic colleagues.  I couldn’t say anything was changing her condition at all.  Mellanie informed me that she was going to a conference with a bunch of lactation experts, and that if I wanted to send her with some video footage of me nursing Ellington, she’d get some opinions for me at the conference.  I was so grateful to her!  I love people who will work hard to seek answers when they don’t know them!  We also agreed that I’d go see an Ear Nose and Throat specialist in Dallas to check Ellington and make sure we weren’t dealing with something we hadn’t caught that he could see.  We both said- because Ellington’s tongue is so long and she moves it well- that we’d be very surprised if she was tongue tied, but agreed he should confirm that for us.

I drove to Dallas with Ellington, and loved the staff, doctor and his office.  But, I was so disappointed in the answers I got from him.  Basically, he told me that we were dealing with a problem that was causing her nursing issues but that he wouldn’t really do anything about it.  What was the problem?  You guessed it, ankyloglossia or tongue tie.  He really didn’t feel that her tongue was tied to the floor of her mouth (the usual, common tie you hear of often), but that her maxillary frenum (band of tissue attaching upper lip to upper gum) was longer that what he would call normal.  However, he said he’d recommend not doing anything until she was older- at which time a dentist would probably be the one to recommend cutting due to possible teeth/speech issues from it.  He explained that he has to use sutures in that area and it’s a lot more involved, therefore he’d just leave it alone at this point.  What was I to do with this information?  I left there just so frustrated because I knew in my gut this band of tissue was causing our issues.  Especially since I could never get Ellington to flare her upper lip out, this explained it if there was tissue keeping that lip from moving properly.

Mellanie called me, exhausted from her conference, but excited to discuss with me what people at the conference had said from watching my video of Ellington nursing.  They were all convinced she was possibly tongue tied.  And, a name of a doctor in New York kept coming up.  Mellanie kind of laughed as she said, “New York”, when we talked about my options, but the other specialist whose name had come up was in Japan.  I told her I’d mention New York to JB and see his response; I honestly didn’t know what JB would say, but I was so ready to have an answer I wanted to go right then.  Why would I fly all the way to New York for something as simple as a tongue tie?  Well, you saw the results I got from the expert we refer to in our area, secondly Dr. Kotlow (New York) uses a laser with no anesthetic or sutures, he’s an expert who has been doing this for over 30 years, he’s written many studies on this condition, and he believes in the mother/child nursing relationship and desires to make that a successful/enjoyable relationship.  I was so happy when I mentioned him to JB that my loving hubby said, “Let’s go!”  No hesitation at all, and that made me feel even more peace about this.  I started researching and scheduling.

Tongue ties occur when embryological tissue does not disappear at birth.  Dr. Kotlow’s site is very helpful in diagnosing these ties.  However, when I questioned him about diagnosing these, I loved his response!  ”Look at your paperwork, you have all the symptoms.  What else could it be?”  It is so nice to have a doctor who listens to the mom!  Check out the list he was talking about on his paperwork:

Infant- no latch, un-sustained latch, slides off nipple, prolonged feeds, unsatisfied after prolonged feeds, falls asleep on the breast, gumming or chewing on the nipple, poor weight gain and/or failure to thrive, unable to hold pacifier

Mom- creased or blanched nipples after feeding, flattened nipples after feeding, cracked/bruised/blistered nipples, bleeding nipples, severe pain with latch, incomplete breast drainage, infected nipples, plugged ducts, mastitis, thrush

Sound like us?  Yep, I checked off all but like one symptom on those papers!  We flew up to New York a few days after talking to Mellanie.  I’ll share our journey up there with you in my post tomorrow.  And, remember how I said the story started with Harper?  Yep, my two year old has it too…  You guessed it, it’s a congenital/genetic condition.  But, like us, you may wonder why we are seeing so many of them lately?  I’ll talk about that in tomorrow’s post too.

If the question isn’t about what to feed an infant just starting solids, obviously the other popular one is when to start them on solids.  I’ll admit, there is a lot of fun to be had with this milestone of food introduction.  Who doesn’t enjoy snapping pictures of their baby’s funny grimaces as he/she takes his/her first bite of solid food?  I even really enjoyed being able to eat more of my meal because Harper was now entertained with trying to pick up peas off his tray instead of needing me to nurse him while I tried to eat to nourish both of us.  Like many new parents though, we anxiously rushed into that new stage with excitement.  As soon as we could fill his lil’ tummy up on all those yummy solids, we just knew he was going to sleep through the night  more than his typical one hour stretch at a time.  Well, remind me, and I’ll tell you the rest of that story- the eating helps sleep one (yeah right…)- another day, and what the research really says.  Hint:  If you are banking on solids helping you get some extra sleep, don’t throw all of your eggs into that basket.  It definitely wasn’t the sleepy happy ending we had hoped for!  And, like many parents often say, we sure are cherishing the stages this second time around.  With Ellington, you won’t see us as excited to rush into the solids stage.  No, in fact, we really enjoy being able to walk out of the house simply carrying her and a diaper.  There’s no huge bag stocked full of water bottles, peas, apple, clementine, almonds and seaweed like we have to lug when Harper comes along for the ride.  Plus, if Ellington’s appetite is anything like Harper’s, I’m not looking forward to the extra job I’m going to have to take on to help pay the increase in the Whole Foods bill!

Most major health organizations (WHO, AAP) and breastfeeding experts recommend that baby’s diet consist primarily of breastmilk for the first year of life- specifically that babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life.  Many parents are unaware of the latest research that shows that introducing solids before six months of age- like in the case where babies are given rice cereal around 2 to 4 months- has been shown to increase risk of high blood pressure and heart disease later in life.  Breastmilk is the ultimate, perfect form of nutrition.  If you and your baby are unable for whatever reason to have an exclusive breastfeeding relationship, I recommend a homemade formula recipe instead of commercial formulas (due to commercial formulas content of sugar, corn syrup and/or poor quality milk- often containing hormones/antibiotics).  As long as mom’s nutritional intake is adequate for her and her baby, baby is gaining weight and continuing to achieve normal developmental milestones, it is fine to continue exclusively breastfeeding a baby through his/her first year of life, waiting until 12 months to introduce solids.  As a baby ages, his/her gut continues to mature and gaps in the stomach which are meant to allow breastmilk to move freely into the body slowly close up.  These gaps, with which a baby is born- a natural “leaky gut”, are important for breastmilk to travel easily into the body.  However, if a baby is given formula or solids before these gaps close, harmful substances may get into the body.  You really want this leaky gut closed and mature before introducing anything other than breastmilk, and waiting on solid introduction accomplishes this.  Furthermore, baby’s enzymatic function develops as he/she ages so as they aquire more enzymes- and different types of them for different foods- they are better able to digest foods.  One interesting fact about enzymes: The enzymes that digest carbs do not develop until babies are at least 6 months old, but some argue that it may not fully develop until 18 months of age.  So, remind me why some doctors recommend starting rice cereal (A CARB!) at 4 months- or earlier to help w/ reflux/sleep- and why so many baby foods (Puffs, teething biscuits) have carbs?!  It is important to remember that even though iron in breastmilk is lower than in formula and certain solid foods, it is a more readily available and digestible form of iron; therefore, there is a lot less chance of a baby being anemic while being exclusively breastfed.  Additionally, the brain is growing and maturing at a faster rate than it ever will in a lifetime during a baby’s first 2 years, and the immune system is also developing and maturing.  During this stage where such vital systems are perfecting themselves, why would we want to feed our babies anything other than the perfect food.  Breastmilk is that perfect food, and even when it’s not their exclusive diet, it is vital that is it their primary nutritional source…  Don’t forget that as you rush into the solid stage !

What do you watch for in your baby to show you that they are ‘solid ready’, since BLW is allowing them to lead this fun, new process?  The two most important things, given that you have waited until they are at least 6 months of age, to watch for is that baby can 1) sit up on his/her own unassisted, and 2) that baby can take things to his/her mouth.  These not only give us signs that baby is moving towards ability to eat solids, but it will make this stage a lot safer too.  Watch as they develop further and start to put things in their mouth and make smacking motion with their lips and chewing with their mouth.  To quote the book, “The very best sign that a baby is ready is when she starts to put food into her mouth herself- which she can only do if she is given the opportunity.  When the child on your lap grabs a handful of dinner from your plate, chews it and swallows it, then it might be time to push the plate nearer to her.”  I find that a lot of parents tell me that they feel it’s time to start solids because their baby “keeps looking at me like he/she wants to eat what I have”.  The more children a parent has, the earlier this comment arises.  Remember, babies are curious by nature, it’s how they learn!  And, the more siblings in the baby’s environment, the more the baby has to watch (hence those earlier comments).  Just because baby is fascinated by what is going on around him/her, does not mean he/she is necessarily needing solids yet.  Research also, counter to popular thought, has not shown that the addition of solids helps babies sleep through the night, and it doesn’t show that adding it to a baby’s diet is warranted simply because baby is underweight.  Solids are not warranted before six months, and weight shouldn’t be an isolated indicator for their addition (reaching normal developmental milestones and experiencing normal brain maturation tell us a lot more about health than weight does).  Many things can be done to increase a person’s- or baby’s- weight, but it doesn’t mean those things will increase their health!

One of the most important things I can emphasize about the when is that when a baby starts solids, they are mostly learning.  The actual eating part will take weeks to months to develop.  I think there is this idea in our heads early on in our babies lives that they need food, solids.  When you do start this food, they will be learning- learning what it looks like, how it feels, where it’s at in relationship to them, how to get to it, how to grab it, how to bring it to them, how to place it in their mouths, what texture it has, how that texture changes how it moves in their mouth, how to chew and swallow it, and so much more.  This new food will do way more for their brain than it initially will do for their stomach.  So please don’t buy into the fact that you need to feed them soon to simply give them food.  Breastmilk is the best food for your baby, homemade formula second to that- if breastmilk is not an option/choice; and, one of these needs to remain their primary food until they are at least a year old.

You may be new to the term “baby-led weaning”, and on seeing it may be wondering, “What is she talking about?  What is this ‘baby-led weaning’? ”  Well, contrary to what some may think, it really isn’t a new concept at all.  Like with many other parenting and child-rearing concepts, it’s something old and basic- innate really- that we’ve complicated and come away from.  However, I think many parents listening to their instinct- especially in our busy society where we need as much ease as we can get out of our day- are quickly gravitating back to this natural concept.  In a nutshell baby-led weaning is this: Babies will feed themselves when they are ready.  The authors explain, “Weaning is the gradual change that a baby makes from having breast milk or formula as her only food to having no breast milk or formula at all.”  The first solid food that baby has is the beginning of this weaning process.

Now, why should baby lead this process?  Well, several reasons really…  First, it plays an extremely important role in baby’s development.  Babies develop at their own pace, when they are ready, and we don’t want to rush this.  It’s just like other milestones- take crawling- because each one stimulates the brain, shouldn’t ever be skipped, and will lead to the next important stage.  Baby-Led Weaning, shortened ‘BLW’- will help with these vitally important skills:  Facial muscle development, chewing, swallowing, speech development, manual dexterity, and hand-eye coordination.  Just to name a few!  I feel like so much focused has been placed on the when and what of solids…  But, there’s an important reminder of the why!  In addition, BLW helps baby develop his/her self-confidence and independence.  It also helps make eating more enjoyable- whether that be snacks or family mealtime.  It allows baby to control what they eat, how much they eat and how quickly it’s done.  And, there’s a lot of money saved when families choose to do it this way too!

Also, like so many other aspects of parenting, starting solids and choosing BLW can be very convicting for the parents.  ”Convicting? Why and how so?”, you may ask.  Well, with BLW, most parents choose to let their babies eat what they eat.  If that image gives you a lump in your throat, maybe some change is in order.  Again, to quote the authors, “As long as your own diet is healthy and nutritious there’s no need for separate recipes.”  On this note, let me say, you may choose not to change your habits now and still do some aspects of BLW by allowing your baby to feed him/herself but still making seperate food items for him/her to choose from.  Let me encourage you to make the change now.  Move the family diet to something that you’d be happy for your baby to eat.  The change will need to happen at some point; otherwise, you’ll be looking at a toddler who is begging for pretty unhealthy choices!  Make this a positive move closer to health and wellness for the entire family.  The latest research is showing that our babies health has been affected by what our grandparents ate!  Isn’t that amazing?  So this food thing has so much more to do with a large picture we are just painting a tiny part of…  It’s so sad to me where we are at as a society when it comes to food, but it gives me so much hope to look at where we could be!

Stay tuned, we’ll soon look at the rest of the story…  What should babies be fed, when should it start, and what do the specific how’s look like?

After spending all day Sunday (4am-8pm) at a precious friend’s home birth, I was so disappointed to spend all Sunday night dealing with poor little Harper’s first fever. I have complained in the past about not sleeping on some nights… However, until Sunday night, I don’t think I understood that you could literally spend an entire night with a baby NOT sleeping at ALL. Usually on nights where Harper isn’t so keen on sleeping, we can convince him to at least get a little rest by rocking or bouncing him, changing his diaper, using his sound machine and if all of this doesn’t work, I can at least get a bit of rest by sleeping on my side as he nurses. But, on Sunday night, we tried and tried, but NOTHING worked. He would latch on and suck a couple of times, then he would latch off and scream in pain. The only thing that soothed him a little bit was sitting upright in the rocking chair or walking the house with him on our chest. And, as the night progressed, his little body got warmer and warmer. We could tell his teeth were bothering him because he would blow raspberries on our shoulders and stick his fingers as far back in his mouth as he could manage to get them. And, we gathered that his ears and sinuses weren’t feeling too well either because the pressure of laying him down was unbearable and he would not nurse for long periods of time. I have seen many patients with these same symptoms, but as you may know, it is a lot different when you are living it out with your own child as a mom rather than being a doctor to your patient. And, I know that with teething it is common to run a fever, not sleep, have loose bowels, have a runny nose, and/or have ear/sinus pain/pressure. However, it is so much easier for me to stay level headed with my patients; at one point yesterday, when Harper hung his head and cried on my shoulder, I broke down and cried over his pain with him. It is so hard to watch my little boy hurt! But, I am so grateful for this experience because it has done nothing but convince me more to practice what I preach, and I will go into the office understanding my moms better.

So what did we do with a fever? Simple, let the body work. God is so incredible, and the way He made our bodies just amazes me. And, I am so sad to see that we constantly try to change the perfect vessel He has made. I am thankful for fevers; and, I am especially thankful that fevers come on with teething. Why? Well, if we didn’t have fevers during teething, it would be much easier for us to get sick. See, the tooth has to erupt through the gum line, so this causes a series of potentially dangerous events to happen if there wasn’t a protective fever set in place by our amazing Creator. When the tooth comes through, the gums are open and allow things to enter the body that normally wouldn’t come through an otherwise closed system. Also, there is generalized inflammation in the face (sinuses) and ears as the teeth come through. So, without a fever, we are more susceptible to ear infections and colds and sinus infections at this time. And, mucous production increases to wash out bacteria during this susceptible time for infection. Of course I can totally understand after going through this- and struggling as I watched my precious baby deal with pain- why parents would jump for the Tylenol and Motrin. But, this simply wasn’t an option or consideration for us. Why? Well, there are several reasons. For one,I trust that our bodies are perfectly created to function perfectly 100% of the time. I don’t want to mess with what God has created for a purpose. If I choose to decrease his fever, I lengthen the time he has to spend not feeling good. His body turns the fever up high to kill off whatever doesn’t need to be in his body, and if I turn down the temperature, his body will pause and then try to turn it back up again. Or worse, it will be more susceptible to infection, possibly acquire an infection and then have to take extra time to kill it off. So, why not just spend some miserable time letting the fever do its good, and then it will be over and we will be back to normal and happy in no time. Secondly, have you looked into the ingredients in Tylenol andMotrin? I am not going to stress out my child’s developing liver and cause potential heart complications and stomach bleeding by giving my child Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen just so he can cool down his elevated temperature and be happy. And, I am certainly not going to give my child corn syrup, sugar (sorbitol) or food dyes! Isn’t this one of the primary reasons why I breastfeed, to keep junk out of my child?! Did you know that 1 teaspoon of sugar decreases immunity for at least 10 hours? And, there are tons of side effects (like killing off brain cells!) when it comes to artificial and alcohol sugars so don’t think that flavoring the medicines with these or going “sugar free” is a better answer either. And, corn syrup is one of the worst things you can put in your body, much less your baby’s (another reason why I am so glad we breastfeed and don’t do formula- since corn syrup is one of the primary ingredients in formulas), so I certainly wouldn’t be giving him a medication with this ingredient just so he could feel better. Furthermore, considering sugar is one guaranteed way to decrease and stress out the immune system, it’s ironic that these medications all contain it in one form or another. Isn’t it just great that some of them include Splenda or sucralose instead? Do you know what makes up Splenda/sucralose? Simple- sugar and chlorine. Would I give my child chlorine? NO! So why would I give him some chlorine with sugar on a day he is miserable with fever? Beats me… Probably because parents either don’t read labels, or they don’t know what the ingredient is on the label, or worst yet- they trust the doctor who told them to give it to their child w/ a blind faith. No thanks, I’d rather have the miserable child with fever than these meds! You won’t find me giving you the popular opinion that God gifted doctors with wisdom and knowledge to invent these wonderful meds. Nope, I think it’s simply another thing we have invented to bypass God’s plan and make our lives easier but not better.

There are many things we have to achieve through hard work, and health is one of them. Know what else I did not do? I did not sit around taking my child’s temperature with a thermometer. Why? Do I need to see a number to tell me my child has fever? Nope, I can see he does by watching how he does not act like himself and feeling how hot his skin is to the touch. Harper feeds off of my emotions, and what better emotion to make one sick than stress? And what would stress me out more than seeing a climbing number on the thermometer? No thanks! Did I worry about the fever? Yes, my main concern was keeping him hydrated and getting him well. So, we stayed chilled out at home. I stripped him down to his diaper, and we laid in bed skin to skin and nursed as much as possible. The result? The fever is almost totally gone, he is getting back to his happy, active self, and I have a healthier child because I let his body go with what it was designed perfectly to do best- work! Fever is a time of detox and helps rid the body of toxins and keep toxins out that haven’t yet entered, and studies show it decreases cancer risks too. Therefore, I may not have enjoyed the couple of days with an unhappy child, but I am so thankful that the Power that made the body can and does heal the body, and we come out on the other side better!!

There is a running joke in our family that anytime Harper is going to be around his great-grandmother, we must put shoes on his little feet.  The first thing she will comment on, if she sees his bare toes is, “Where are his shoes?!”  I even went as far as purchasing these socks, to please her when he was too tiny to wear shoes.  Again, society ingrains so many ideas into our heads…  For instance, speaking of Harper being too tiny to wear shoes, at what age will we make shoes a staple of his attire?  I must admit, every time I buckle him in his seat to go on an outing and I look at his bare feet, I hear a little voice in my head say, “They’re going to think you are a bad mom!  Who lets their children run around town without shoes?  They’ll feel sorry for you that you are too poor to put him in nice shoes.” 

Why do we make yet another crazy, “hippie” choice and allow- rather choose- for our child to go barefoot as often as possible, even when we are in public?  Well, just like with every other decision we make, this one has research and studies to back it.  Now, with all of the recent popularity in adults being barefoot, it may not surprise you that barefoot for children is healthiest.  However, even though this adult trend is growing, and some people know it to be true for their children, how many kids do you see in public settings without shoes?  If you are like me, a mom who feels self-conscious because her dirty soled, barefoot child is in the minority, you’ll agree that you don’t see many.  I urge you to join me though, go against the grain, it’s best for your child and his/her development!

Going without shoes as much and as often is possible helps so many aspects of a child’s development, and in the instance when shoes are a necessity, choosing the right footwear is crucial.  Studies show that when a child walks barefoot, he/she will hold his/her head straight.  Shoes take away vital information that the ground transmits to the foot and the foot transmits in turn to the brain.  Hence, when shoes are worn, a child must look down more to receive visual input of where he/she is going and what the ground is doing, rather than allowing his barefoot to tell him all of that info.  Therefore, in this instance, not only does the child benefit from brain development, but their spinal curves are also developed properly from bare feet too.  Furthermore, when the child’s foot comes into direct contact with the floor (only possible when it is completely bare), the child’s ligaments and muscles are sensitized by what they feel and allowed to develop.  This helps the child’s stability tremendously, and will help ensure less injury in the present and future.  And, let us not forget crawling…  It is becoming so common now- especially with all the option and cute styles- to put shoes on newborns and young infants.  We need to allow those little bare feet to feel the world around them, even if they aren’t in the walking stage yet, they develop immensely from bare skin too.  This is very important when it comes time to crawl too; you want their hands and feet getting as much information from the environment as possible.  Crawling is one of the few activities which help integrate both sides of the brain and teaches them to work together.  Vision is also developed through proper crawling, so if this stage is hampered by things like shoes, the child may have reading and writing issues develop later.

All of that being said, there are times when it is simply not an option to be barefoot.  For instance, shoes can serve to keep feet warm in cold weather (being pregnant in the middle of a Texas heat wave, makes me long for this moment right now , shoes can serve as protection for kids playing games, running in a park where dogs have left “gifts” behind :P, or being in an area where the foot may be dangerously exposed to objects that could puncture the child.  In these situations, what do you look for in a shoe?  First, make sure the shoe is flat.  Have you ever seen a young child in high-heel pumps?  I hope not!  However, although most of us laugh at that notion, some wouldn’t think twice about the actual sole of the shoe they purchase for their children.  Unfortunately, style often dictates these decisions.  Go with flat, the shoe needs to stimulate the environment as much as possible, and you don’t want a rise in the shoe affecting the child’s pelvic development and leg musculature.  Secondly, have the child measured for a proper fit.  Babies are not adults!  They are born with cartillage, not bony feet like adults.  Therefore, their feet are still developing and they are soft.  You do not want to cause improper bone ossification and development by placing the child in a shoe that fits improperly.  Next, make sure the shoe is as soft soled as possible and has plenty of bend to it.  You want the shoe to be protective (that is the only reason the child should be wearing it), but you want it to allow the child’s foot to feel the environment and respond to it as much as possible. 

Here are some good companies:  Preschoolians, Pediped, Terra Plana, Foosies, Trumpette, Soft Star, Pedoodles, and RoBeez. 

What about you?  Do you have a favorite soft-sole shoe company for children?  Does it make you feel embarrassment of safety concerns when your child is barefoot?

Well, you aren’t going to get much research or recipes these days.  But, I did want to mention a really cool giveaway that my friend, The Mommypotamus, is doing.  Go check it out, and browse her blog while you are there.  I can’t say enough about how incredible she is.  And, I am so grateful that someone can provide some research and recipes for a few more weeks, while I work hard at growing this new lil’ one

I was reading through the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Position Paper on doctors supporting breastfeeding.  I hear many times a week, unfortunately, from patients whose doctors are not informed on the benefits of breastfeeding.  And, sadly, these doctors do not know how to educate and support their parents so that their pediatric patients get the best health benefits from nursing. 

I have always been an advocate of breastfeeding, but my passion toward the subject has grown tremendously after nursing Harper all of these months.  As I was preparing to have Harper, I remember anticipating our breastfeeding relationship with much excitement.  Oh, I couldn’t wait to grin at my child in the wee hours of the morning, as he lay gently on my lap being satisfied by my incredible ability to feed him.  Nursing, like pregnancy, is one of those miracles that just amazes me!  However, fast forward one year and several months later, and I would definitely confess that my little daydreams of wonderful nursing experiences definitely haven’t been reality.  I can understand why moms give up.  It is not easy and definitely not always pleasant!  I think this is especially true with an extremely hungry, agile little boy.  And, although I can’t say I enjoy it, Harper will be 2 years old in a few months, and our breastfeeding relationship is still going strong.  I take it day by day, but I am not planning on weaning him soon.  Why do I stick with it since I don’t particularly enjoy it?  Or, the other question/statement I get all of the time, “You’ve made it past six months, and you’ve made it past 1 year, why are you still nursing?  Isn’t he too old for that?!  When are you going to quit?”  Just like everything else, breastfeeding is a choice with made strongly backed by research.  In these next few posts, I will explain what the research says, and why I choose to do something for so long that I don’t necessarily enjoy.  The position paper put out by medical doctors made me grin:

For the child- “In 2007, a systematic review of the effects of breastfeeding on maternal and infant health found that for infants in developed countries, notbreastfeeding is associated with increased risks of common conditions including acute otitis media, gastroenteritis, atopic dermatitis, and life-threatening conditions including severe lower respiratory infections, necrotizing enterocolitis, and sudden infant death syndrome.  The health effects of breastfeeding persist beyond the period of breastfeeding. Children who were not breastfed are at increased risk of obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, asthma, and childhood leukemia.  The evidence base also supports the importance of six months of exclusive breastfeeding(when compared with four months) as protective against gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract infection, including otitis media and pneumonia.”

For the mother- “Not breastfeeding is associated with an increased risk of postpartum depression.  In the longer term, for women in developed countries, not breastfeeding is associated with increased risks of type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer.^“

“As recommended by the WHO, breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is not the cultural norm in the United States and requires ongoing support and encouragement.  It has been estimated that a natural weaning age for humans is between two and seven years.  Family physicians should be knowledgeable regarding the ongoing benefits to the child of extended breastfeeding, including continued immune protection, better social adjustment, and having a sustainable food source in times of emergency. The longer women breastfeed, the greater the decrease in their risk of breast cancer.  Mothers who have immigrated from cultures in which breastfeeding beyond infancy is routine should be encouraged to continue this tradition. There is no evidence that extended breastfeeding is harmful to mother or child. Breastfeeding during a subsequent pregnancy is not unusual. If the pregnancy is normal and the mother is healthy, breastfeeding during pregnancy is the woman’s personal decision. If the child is younger than two years, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned. Breastfeeding the nursing child after delivery of the next child (tandem nursing) may help provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child.^“

“Weaning is the time of gradually transitioning infants from mother’s milk to complementary foods or an older child’s diet. In this sense, weaning begins with the introduction of solids at the middle of the first year. Complete weaning, or complete cessation of breastfeeding, ideally should be a gradual process accomplished over a long period. There is no evidence that a specific age of weaning is necessary or mandated. Like other developmental milestones, children wean when they are ready, physically and psychologically. There are several weaning techniques that can be recommended when a mother wishes to encourage the process. Medications to decrease or stop milk production are not necessary and should be avoided. Sudden abrupt complete weaning is rarely necessary, and can place the mother at risk for engorgement, plugged ducts, galactoceles, mastitis, and breast abscesses. The child may be placed at risk for infectious illnesses, dehydration, malnutrition, and psychological trauma such as feelings of abandonment.  In cases in which abrupt weaning is necessary, the advice of a lactation consultant should be sought to minimize the risks.”