Category Archives: Parenting

Breastfeeding And WIC

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The federal program WIC (Women, Infants and Children) that provides food to low income women and children advocates breastfeeding over formula feeding. Because WIC teaches nutrition to mothers informing that that breastfeeding is the healthy choice is the normal thing to expect from them. Because of budget cuts, parents may have to pay for more of their formula now. So breastfeeding is more economical for women on WIC.

In fact, it is more economical for all women. It is completely free and can save parents up to $2000 a year on formula. When I nursed my younger daughter I remember saving money on bottles as well as formula. There’s an online calculator where you can check the cost of formula for the time your baby will be drinking it. It will surprise you when you learn how much formula costs.

If you decide to formula feed or add formula to breastfeeding and want to still save money, learn about brand name formulas. According to Dr. Barbara Levine, Weill Cornell Medical College:

In the United States there are no generic infant formulas. The truth is all infant formulas are subject to the same regulations governing manufacturing and ingredients as stipulated by the Infant Formula Act.

There’s no need to pay more for brand name baby formula. All formulas go through testing of the FDA and have the same nutritional value. Breastfeeding is best, but if you need to formula feed don’t waste your money on brand name formulas.

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Breastfeeding Awareness Month

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August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month. I was able to nurse both of my daughters and will try my best to describe the joy I felt doing this. With my older daughter, I had to stop at four months because I had to take prescription medication that was harmful to her. I was heartbroken and even tried not to take the medicine but my health was at stake. With my younger daughter I nursed her for 13 months.

Breastfeeding symbol
Image via Wikipedia

Breastfeeding is the best food for your baby. It has all of the nutrients needed and it helps baby to not get sick because of the antibodies in breast milk. I saved a lot of money because I didn’t have to buy bottles, formula, and all of the things that go along with bottle feeding.

But for me, the boding with my daughters was the best. This is what is so hard to put into words. It makes me so emotional just thinking back on it and it’s been 9 years. Part of it is knowing that I was able to nourish my children from my body. That was empowering. But the bonding is the closeness I felt, the times when my daughters would look up at me and give me direct eye contact and I felt overwhelming love, the times when I could soothe them with nursing. I really didn’t mind waking up in the middle of the night to nurse. It was our special time together. And there’s nothing like it in the world.

Even eBay is taking part in Breastfeeding Awareness month by providing eBay Giving Works listings that support La Leche League. Go ahead and check these listings out.

La Leche helps women be prepared for breastfeeding and provides help and support during breastfeeding. With my first daughter, breastfeeding was a bit taboo. My doctor didn’t tell me about it while I was pregnant and I didn’t know anyone who nursed their children. But I happened to learn about La Leche during a college class. I was so intrigued that I went to a meeting while I was pregnant. The first meeting got me hooked. I believe it was meant to be.

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Goals For Students

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I haven’t yet read the book, Goal Setting For Students, but found their website that offers free information for parents to work with their children in school and in homeschool settings. Although the site is a promotion for the book, there are valuable resources included.

SMART stands for:

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely

This is related to making goals with students and can be used for parents and teachers. With my children, getting school work, projects, homework and studying for tests was and is always easier when I was able to assist them to recognize what they were trying to accomplish first. Then break it down into steps. Check off what is done and complete the goal.

This Goal Setting Form can get you and your child on the right track. Find more tools for free from Goal Setting For Students. Don’t forget to check out their blog and resources.

Type 1 Diabetes And Moms

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I found a video named, The Type 1 Mom Song and had to share it for any mothers who have children with Diabetes. This is based on The Mom Song, but portrays what life is like when you are a caregiver of a child with one type of chronic illness. This can also be shared with children who have schoolmates with Diabetes so that they can understand what they go through on a daily basis. It is educational but humorous. I have found that humor can get parents through difficult times and this is a great example of how a mother is coping with her child having a life-long illness.

Airplane Jitters And Children

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We are going on an airplane next week and my daughter has the jitters. She’s actually flown twice before but was too young to remember any of the first time and just a little of the second time. Many children are afraid of flying and their are many reasons for this. Some are due to anxiety, developmental disabilities, phobias, etc.

Some steps I am taking to help my daughter be less fearful:

  • We are talking about what to expect on a flight including how your ears can feel upon take off and landing, turbulence, getting on and off the plane, using the bathroom, etc.
  • We’ve looked at photo of the inside of planes
  • We’ve gathered some toys and books to take with her. I’ve bought some new things to surprise her on the plane to distract her.
  • She is going to bring a stuffed animal that helps her feel calm
  • We are leaving early for the airport to avoid rushing
  • We are bringing snacks on board
  • She will sit next to either me or my husband

As it is getting closer to leaving, she is more focused on getting there, seeing her sister and the wedding. She is not as fearful as she was in the last month or so. I just plan on being calm and attentive to her needs before and during the flight.

Was your child afraid to get on a plane? What did you do to help him or her? What worked and what didn’t?

Mommy Guilt

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Are you feeling Mommy Guilt? Did you take some time away from the kids to go shopping alone? Have you just returned from a date night? Maybe you bought yourself a new outfit? And then it started.

First you began thinking about your children alone, crying out for you, shoeless with a dirty shirt on and a diaper or a pair of underwear. Then you heard those voices in your head, telling you that you are selfish and a bad mother. Maybe you even worried about what your family and friends would think knowing that you enjoyed yourself, even forgot about the kids for a while and felt carefree.

Relaxing in the Sun
Creative Commons License photo credit: Beezum

It’s totally normal to feel that way. You are not supposed to be chained to your children every minute of the day. You deserve, actually need some time off. It takes away the stress and helps you be a better person. You’ll end up wanting to spend more quality time with your children.

When I get away for a while, I come back more energized. I enjoyed being around other adults and having grown up fun. I also like to be alone and either read, shop or just relax. Not having the responsibility of taking care of my daughter for a little while gives me the freedom and the me time I need.

Thanks to Mom It Forward and the #GNO on Twitter about “Me” Time held this past Tuesday for helping me come to grips with something I’ve been dealing with for 22 years. It was even worse when I was a single mother. I hope we as mothers who have partners can help out single mothers by providing child care for example for them.

How do you feel about taking some time out for yourself? What prevents it?

The Triumphant Child Book Review

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The Triumphant Child, A Practical Guide To Raising Two, Three And Four Year Olds is a book written by a number of child specialists. It is edited by Olson Huff, MD FAFF and Nicole Rawson-Huff.  That advice in this book centers on teaching parents about how children develop emotionally, physically and mentally. When parents understand these areas, it is easier to know what to provide for your child and how to build on what is needed for your child to mature and for your family to get along.

triumphant_child

The book is written by different authors and focuses on these subjects:

  • The developmental stages of preschoolers
  • Parenting skills
  • Keeping routines
  • Challenges of raising children
  • Changes including divorce, starting school, moving, etc.
  • Fears that children face
  • The effect of media on children

My Review: Although my children are older than the ages covered in The Triumphant Child, I learned a great deal from this book. I liked that there was no preaching and that the authors understood and even expected parents to make mistakes. The tips from other parents listed throughout the book were inspiring. The information is very detailed but you don’t need to remember everything. Having the book to look back on when you have a question is the perfect option though.

Learning how to be a “triumphant parent” is the goal of this book. I learned about truly listening to my child, how to provide activities that keep them happy and that educate them and how to nurture their self-esteem. This information can be used for any aged child.

To Purchase : The Triumphant Child has it’s own website where you can order the book.

This review was sponsored by TwitterMoms and Sixty Second Parent.

Children’s Sports This Summer

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Children need to be active and to take part in sports especially during the summer. While my daughter is in school, she has Physical Education only once every few weeks and recess only once in a while. When she gets home, we try to get her to go outside and run around in some way, shape or form. The problem is that school work always comes first.

This summer, we are working on prying her off the computer, away from books (not that it’s bad for her to be reading!) and the TV so she can work off some energy, and learn about being a team player. She loves PE but doesn’t like the competition factor of group sports. What ends up happening with her is that she gets upset when she is compared to other children. In PE, there is a teacher who is responsible for allowing every student to take part in the games that they play, doesn’t allow children to bully others, and provides different levels of sports for her students.

How do we accomplish this on our own? We’ve decided to have play dates in which sports are the main focus, including basketball, hockey and good old fashioned games like hide and seek. When we as parents oversee these games, we can allow the children to play kindly with each other. Another thing we’re doing is enrolling our daughter into swimming lessons. This is to help her gain confidence. Hopefully this will enable her to take part in competitive sports if she is interested later on.

swimming

We’ve seen both the good and bad in sports with our older daughter who was on a roller hockey team and a school track team. Parents often were the worst offenders, who used foul language, became angry with coaches and referees and made what should be a pleasant time for children, a difficult time. ResponsibleSports.com is working towards changing the environment of children’s sports. They provide resources for coaches and parents and support volunteer sports programs. They are funded by Liberty Mutual.

This blog post is sponsored by Liberty Mutual with the opportunity for an Amex Gift Card of various denominations depending on content, comments and Twitter discussion.

Teach Children To Donate This Summer

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Taking time during the summer to teach your children is something that we often do as parents. I try to do it so that it is fun and possibly sneaky! I’m focusing on teaching my daughter about donating.

toybox
Creative Commons License photo credit: Doug Aghassi / Dougit Design

Her toy box is full to the brim with toys and games she no longer uses. She has small Disney toys that she used to play with and then decided to keep as a collection, but now those are taken over with newer video games, books, trading cards and stuffed animals. She just has too much. I don’t want her to sell her things or trade them, instead I want her to give them away. I want her to learn how it feels to give from the heart, to help people in need.

  • We have a local thrift store that we learned about through our church. I make donations there and have brought her with me when I’ve done that and to shop there. She has met the men and women that have been helped through their programs and the Pastor who oversees the programs. We are going to go through some of her belongings and donate them to this local charity.
  • Next, we are going to give away some of her puzzles and craft supplies to the nursing home where my aunt resides at now. This will help her see her items being used by people she knows.
  • We’ll also gather some books for her school library. We can bring them there this summer. Again, she’ll get to see them “in action”.
  • Another idea I’ve come across is ClutterClast. Darryle Pollack has begun this trend on her blog. What you do is take a photo of an item, put it on your blog with a story about it. Then wait for comments of what to do with it. Someone may want it for themselves, or to give it to a friend. You mail it off to them. They take a photo of themselves and the item and send it to you so you can post it on your blog. This is a lot of work for me right now, but if my daughter is willing to do it, I’ll help her here. If you’re interested, you can sign up for ClutterClast on Ning.

The fun part comes in when my daughter feels what it’s like to give and feel good about it. The thrift store may be the hardest but if I bring her to make her donation in person, I’m sure that she will be told and shown how important her gift is.

How do you teach your children to give or donate?

Family Fun When Things Go Wrong

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We are at Disney World and things went wrong, but we found a way to have fun together as a family any way. I ended up not feeling well so we didn’t go to a park. It’s our first day here, so it would have been just a few hours there, but it’s something we’re used to doing.

We were all disappointed, especially our 10 year old daughter. She didn’t get angry or cry, but was sad that our tradition was broken. We did our best to make do and keep things as fun as possible. We treated her to a special dessert after lunch while we chatted and laughed about how our “normal” is not usually everyone else’s “not normal”.

While I napped, my husband took her out to see the pools, the lake, the nature trail and some of the animals around our resort. She got to choose where we would eat dinner too. After dinner I felt well enough to go out to see the Electrical Parade so we made sure to do that. We stood in the sand like she wanted and let her take her shoes off.

During the time we spent together, we tried to be positive and talk about what the rest of our vacation would be like. We assured her that even if I didn’t feel well enough to go to the parks that she and her Dad would. We also promised her that she could choose one activity to do with her Dad outdoors.

It helps to be positive but it’s important to be realistic when things go wrong. No need to set up your child to be upset when you promise the impossible.