Good morning, friends! I hope you all had a great week. Ours was … busy! Between getting our car situation figured out thanks to a suicidal deer, my little brother getting engaged to his sweet and beautiful girlfriend (now fiance!), and having to put Paisley on Prozac (more on that next week), the past seven days has been a roller coaster to say the least!
But, enough about me. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?
1. I say “No!” way too much these days …
And so does Owen, come to think of it. So I was not surprised when I read that saying “no” too much can desensitize toddlers to the word. Fortunately, Parents magazine wrote an article on different ways to say “no” without actually saying it. My favorite is “Food is for eating, not for flinging.” Owen seems to really enjoy flinging his food here lately.
2. Yay! An article that doesn’t make formula feeding moms feel like complete and utter failures!
Ugh. I suffered from so much guilt when Owen gave up the boob for the bottle, and one of the things I heard a lot was that formula-fed babies tend to not know when their full and therefore gain more weight in their first year of life, which may lead to obesity later. I was happy to read this article by Koa Beck with mommish.com, who wrote “researchers learned that when the amino acid glutamate was added to formula, babies often consumed less and exhibited no signs of hunger.” Hopefully when we’re ready to have baby number 2, formula will be even more like breast milk, ’cause this mama is not stressing over breastfeeding again!
3. Early Puberty? Yuck!
This babycenter.com blog post by Betsy Shaw investigates what is causing the rise in early puberty. Obesity? Chemicals? Environment? It was short, interesting and worth the read!
4. Baby Blues? Post Partum Depression? MannlyMama has a plan!
One of my favorite bloggers, Brandy at MannlyMama, is doing a two part series on her experience with post partum depression and her plan for her second baby, due in July. I suffered from minor PPD, and I think it’s important that this topic continues to be discussed among mothers, ’cause depression sucks. Check it out!
5. Beach Bound, Baby!
We’re going to the beach in a few weeks, and I was a little nervous! Then, I remember that my friend from high school, Danielle, has the cutest blog and posted her beach survival tips last summer. If you’re heading on a beach vacation anytime soon, I recommend you check out her posts, which you can find here, here, and here.
That’s all for this week! What are your weekend plans? Happy Easter!
Happy engagement to my little brother, Ritch, and his beautiful fiance, Candy! So excited to have a new sister! (Isn't she pretty??)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Congrats to your bro on his engagement!
I read the article you posted about the formula (out of curiosity – mainly because your sarcasm on Facebook made me chuckle). I don’t understand why mothers push their opinions on others. I know a few people that are hardcore BF advocates, but it doesn’t always work for everyone, yet they make them feel bad. I however (when the time comes), have no intention of BF, because I think formula would work better for our lifestyle. I won’t go into how Josh disagrees with me, but I figure I still have time to research – though I doubt I’ll change my mind. Guys don’t get what it’s like…
Hope you guys have a great Easter weekend!
Thanks, Amy! We’re all very excited!!
I’m of the belief that, in some cases, what’s best for the mom/family is what’s best for the kid. I think this applies to breastfeeding, especially. I can’t deny that breast milk is a nutritional gold mine and I’m a huge advocate for it. That said, I don’t believe that women who have trouble with it should suffer through the first months of her child’s life in order to breastfeed when there is a perfectly safe and healthy alternative. And I don’t believe that women who choose not to breastfeed should be told they have no right to procreate. (I’ve heard that before!) I’ve started many a blog post about how women and moms judge each other based on personal decisions – particularly breastfeeding – but can never articulate my frustrations and anger. Hopefully I’ll be able to one day!
Congrats to your brother and his lovely new fiancée! How exciting!
I posted my thoughts about formula feeding on your fb page but again, I was just happy Sullivan was eating. For two weeks he did nothing but scream when eating. Even on reflux meds it didn’t get much better so we knew something had to change. He was on soy formula from then on and such a happy boy. I think obesity can be caused by many factors and a healthy diet being the most obvious. Sullivan definitely knows when he’s full and he refuses to eat anything more. From his 12 month appt to his 15 month appt, he’s grown almost an inch and actually lost two pounds. He eats like a starving trucker, lots of fruit, veggies, and whole grain, and runs around like crazy from wake time until bedtime. We play games as a family. These things are important regardless of breast or formula feeding.
Whew, there’s my rant again
Thanks, Jen!
I agree! As long as your kid is eating a healthy diet and staying active, formula shouldn’t play a major role in the onset of obesity.
Thanks for the shout!
I am also tired of no. We learn to change the subject