Nursing Bling

Top 5 Tips For Choosing a Nursing Cover For Breastfeeding

When purchasing a nursing cover for breastfeeding your new baby, it is important to keep a few things in mind to ensure maximum convenience while breastfeeding and to get the biggest bang for your shopping dollars. Decide why you want a nursing cover. Is it to help you feel more comfortable in public while breastfeeding or do you want to keep baby less distracted while feeding?

Most nursing covers are designed to provide discreet coverage for nursing mothers so that they can breastfeed their baby without exposure to others. Nursing covers are quite convenient and often high on expectant mom’s lists of things they would like to receive at the baby shower. This is a great idea for first time moms since it most certainly will be used at the hospital post delivery, when everything is still new and new nursing mothers are still uncomfortable with the process of breastfeeding. The constant stream of well wishers may make a new mom, already unsure of her breastfeeding skills, even more hesitant to feed her new baby naturally.

Nursing covers are also a great baby shower gift for seasoned nursing moms who may use them while expressing milk by pump at the office, or spending time outside of the home – at a cafe, a restaurant, while shopping, or at the beach.

Here are the Top 5 Tips for choosing the right breastfeeding cover:

• Are you nursing a new born, or do you plan to nurse for an extended period of time? Generally nursing covers are geared for the first year of nursing and extended nursing may require you to move up to a more generous nursing wrap. There are also plus sized options available these days that will fit the bill for curvy moms, those expecting twins, and those who plan longer term breastfeeding.

• How does your baby nurse? Does your child nurse from both breasts in one sitting, or do they generally feed on one side at a time? A lightweight, comfortable option should be chosen in either case, but it is extremely important if your baby has extended feeding sessions since the baby may become overheated and uncomfortable if the nursing wrap is not breathable and soft.

• Nursing covers and wraps come in a variety of styles, fabrics and colors / prints – so you can buy a few and then mix and match with your outfits. If you wish to buy only one, consider your favorite wardrobe color, and then select a print or solid that is complimentary to most of your outfits.

• Are you looking for a full coverage nursing wrap that will cover your front, back and sides? Or is a nursing cover that only provides front coverage perfect for your needs? Chic styles are available in partial coverage and shawl styles that cover the front and sometimes sides, as well as full coverage poncho styles that give you 360 degrees of coverage – front, back, and sides.

•Have patience with learning the best positions and methods for feeding your baby and know that you are offering your baby the best nutrition possible.

Find unique nursing covers, and other great baby shower gifts at our Nursing Bling Boutique, the place for stylish breastfeeding moms on the move.

Breastfeeding One Month Can Prevent Lifelong Weight Gain

Note to new moms: If you breastfeed now, you’ll be more likely to slip back into those skinny jeans for years to come.

In a new study, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh discovered that even one month of breastfeeding can ward off weight gain well into the future — perhaps even for the rest of one’s life. In other words, once you pump, you won’t go plump.

The study, published in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine, also shows that breastfeeding can help women avoid diabetes. The researchers found that one in four women who didn’t breastfeed developed type 2 diabetes, and mothers who didn’t breast feed were almost twice as likely to develop diabetes than women who breastfed their children or never gave birth.

“Women store up fat in their bodies during pregnancy, and the expectation is that they’ll release it [through breastfeeding],” says Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, the lead author of the study, who was inspired to investigate the issues when she became a new mom herself. She wanted to return to work quickly, but also knew that doctors recommend 12 months of breastfeeding. She also noticed that the breast milk she’d been storing in the refrigerator had a large layer of cream, almost resembling a stick of butter.

Full Story by John H. Tucker - Courtesy Huffington Post

Aspartame Safety: Separating Fact from Fiction

Myth: Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not consume aspartame.

Facts: The FDA and the Council on Scientific Affairs of the American Medical Association agree that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding can safely use aspartame. An American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition task force also has concluded that aspartame is safe for both the mother and developing baby. Experts recommend obtaining calories from foods that contribute to nutrient needs rather than from foods low in nutrients, when it comes to women during pregnancy. Aspartame sweetened foods and beverages satisfy a pregnant woman’s taste for “sweets” without adding extra calories, leaving room for more nutritious foods.

Are you avoiding aspartame during pregnancy and breastfeeding? Why or why not?

Full story Courtesy PRNewswire

4 Breastfeeding Benefits for Mom

The motto “breast is best” has long been a mantra drummed into pregnant women’s heads. And heck, it’s worked, with more new moms breastfeeding than ever before: At least 75 percent of babies today are breast-fed for some period of time compared to 60 percent 15 years ago—though far less than half of babies are nursed beyond six months, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s a shame, since study after study is finding that breast milk beats formula not only for baby’s health but for mom’s. Research published today in the American Journal of Medicine, for example, found that women who breast-fed for less than a month had nearly twice the risk of developing type 2 diabetes decades later in life compared to those who breast-fed for longer or those who never had children.

Full Story Courtesy US News & World Report

Breastfeeding: Becoming a Healthier Nation From the Start

Courtesy of iStockphoto

Americans believe in taking action to improve their health. They’re into getting fit, quitting smoking, preventing disease and eating right, all part of the effort to live longer, happier and more fulfilling lives. But the one most fundamental step they can take has, somehow, fallen out of favor.

It’s that little thing called breastfeeding. The majority of women are born with the tools to make the perfect food for their baby and the majority of babies are born designed to eat just that. But according to the most recent data available from the CDC, just 77 percent of women attempt to breastfeed. After six months, a mere 43 percent are still doing it. And at the one year mark, the number falls to 23 percent of moms.

Full Article Courtesy Huffington Post

Breastfeeding cuts mom’s diabetes risk

Apart from various benefits noted for breastfeeding, a new study suggests that it can also protect new mothers against developing type 2 diabetes.

Latest figures have revealed that breastfeeding will save the lives of nearly 900 babies by preventing deaths and illnesses caused by conditions such as stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome and even childhood leukemia.

Breast-fed babies are also reported to be less vulnerable to developing diabetes and obesity in the long run. They are also believed to be at a lower risk of becoming infected with various organisms because of the high antibody content of the breast milk.

“Diet and exercise are widely known to impact the risk of type 2 diabetes, but few people realize that breast-feeding also reduces mothers’ risk of developing the disease later in life by decreasing maternal belly fat,” said lead researcher Eleanor Bimla Schwarz.

According to the study published in The American Journal of Medicine, new mothers with no breastfeeding experience are 1.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with type 2diabetes.

Full Story Courtesy Press TV