Since I’ll be breastfeeding once again in about 10 weeks, I’ve been perusing the archives for all the old breastfeeding posts. For Throwback Thursday, I thought I’d share some of the best ones!
When we began our breastfeeding journey, I remember hearing the advice, “even one day is better than nothing. And one week is better than one day, one month is better than one week. Any amount of time breastfeeding is a good choice.” It was comforting to know that no matter how long we breastfed, it was a good choice.
Even though I still believe in this advice, it’s hard to make the decision to wean. If one month is better than one week, isn’t 16 months better than 15? I’m finding it very difficult to decide to end something that is so good for my child.
As I’m sure you already know, breastfeeding is not only good for your baby, it’s also economical and environmentally friendly. It’s also easier said than done. While some babies latch right away, it can take a lot of time and effort for others to become comfortable breastfeeding. An improper latch can be frustrating for the baby and painful for mom and hard to correct if you don’t have any guidance!
Fortunately, there are many resources out there for moms who wish to breastfeed. Books such as The Nursing Mother’s Companion, 6th Edition: 25th Anniversary Edition are useful, but it’s even better if you can join a breastfeeding support group.
Happy birthday to us! We’re celebrating three years of blogging (as of last Friday) by reviewing our top ten posts of all time here on the Green Baby Guide. Now, according to our stats, A Fan of Fans has the most views of any post, but we chalk that up to a Googling fluke. So how to do we measure the success of a post? By the reception it gets from you, our dedicated readers! Here are the top ten most-commented-upon posts of all time!*
Filed Under: Baby Care, Baby Gear, Breastfeeding, Cloth Diapers, Eco-friendly Laundry, Natural Childbirth, The Green Household, Washing Dishes Tagged With: best eco-friendly dishwashing liquid, best eco-friendly laundry detergent, best laundry detergent, Breastfeeding, buying used baby clothes, buying used baby gear, buying used clothing for baby, buying used gear for baby, cheapest eco-friendly dishwashing liquid, cheapest eco-friendly laundry detergent, children's outgrown clothing, commenting on blog posts, conserving dish soap and water, conserving water hand washing dishes, disposable diaper confession, easy eating green, eating greener, eco-friendly dish soap, eco-friendly dishwashing liquid reviews, flushable diapers, gDiapers, gDiapers reviews, green baby topics, how do you get rid of your children's outgrown clothing, meatless mondays, most efficient method for washing dishes, most popular green baby guide posts, Natural Childbirth, nighttime diaper dilemma, nighttime diaper solution, part-time vegetarianism, popular green baby posts, pressure to breastfeed, regular vs. eco-friendly diapers, secondhand baby clothes, secondhand baby gear, selling kid's outgrown clothing, social pressure to breastfeed, societal pressure to breast feed, using cloth diapers at night, using cold water to wash cloth diapers, vegetarianism, was breastfeeding worth it, washing cloth diapers on the cold cycle, washing diapers in cold water, washing dishes efficiently
Erica Jong’s Mother Madness, published in The Wall Street Journal a couple days ago, enraged a big chunk of the mommy blogosphere by declaring that the last twenty years or so of “motherphilia” has served to both idealize mothers and imprison them in those unrealistic pressures to be perfect parents. And attachment parenting, the wear-your-baby-everywhere-and-breastfeed philosophy touted by Dr. William Sears, is to blame.
Now, normally I do not engage in these online mommy wars, but as Jong lambastes the green movement alongside Dr. Sears, I thought I’d step in with a response from the Green Baby Guide. First of all, I’ve got to say that Erica Jong had some good points. Both Joy and I have some upcoming posts about the downsides of breastfeeding—a point of view that often gets swept into a corner for fear of scaring new mothers off from the practice altogether. If you don’t have a story about how beautiful and transcendent nursing is, you may as well just keep it to yourself for fear that the Earth Mother police will confiscate your secret collection of glass bottles and organic formula.
Today marks our final in a series of posts dedicated to saving cash while keeping the environment in mind. (Check here, here, and here for some great frugal blog resources to support your money saving efforts.) Over the past two years we’ve written dozens of posts on budget friendly, earth friendly practices, but we’ve picked our favorites to help you save money in 2010.
Did you know that there’s one brand of high quality, name brand green laundry soap that’s far cheaper than even generics? Check this post to see how you can save money and the planet while tossing those yam-encrusted baby bibs into the wash.
Filed Under: Baby Care, Baby Food, Baby Gear, Breastfeeding, Cloth Diapers, Eco-friendly Laundry, Family Life, General, Living Simply, The Green Household, Washing Dishes Tagged With: Breastfeeding, buying maternity clothes, choosing breastfeeding, cloth diapering, eco-friendly detergent, going green, green dishwashing techniques, green maternity clothes, green washing detergent, laundry, maternity clothes, organic food, organic groceries, organic grocery shopping on the cheap, rewards of buying less, rewards of saving, saving money, saving money on green groceries, saving money on laundry, secondhand baby clothes, under indulgence, used baby clothes, washing clothes
The early days of breastfeeding can be wrought with challenges, but some of us make it through the first phase only to face other issues further along. When work became really stressful for a couple of weeks, my milk supply suddenly plummeted. We quickly went through all the frozen milk I had pumped during my maternity leave and I found myself with barely enough ounces produced every single day. Luckily extra fluids, rest, and a daily dose of fenugreek (a natural herbal remedy for low milk supply) helped me get my output back on track. Have you faced milk supply issues? What caused them and how did you deal with it? Your comments will help mothers who are struggling with this issue today!
Filed Under: Baby Care, Baby Food, Breastfeeding, Family Life, General, Living Simply Tagged With: Breastfeeding, breastfeeding struggles, breatfeeding, early breastfeeding challenges, fenugreek for milk supply, fluids and milk supply, increasing milk supply, low milk supply, low milk supply while pumping, milk supply and pumping, milk supply issues, natural remedies for milk supply, obstacles to breastfeeding, overcoming breastfeeding challenges, pumping and low milk supply, pumping and milk supply, rest and milk supply