Forget Resolutions

If you’ve ever made a New Year’s Resolution, you’ve undoubtedly broken it as well. While we don’t think there’s anything wrong with setting positive goals for personal growth, we don’t like how these benign little bits can get the better of our self-esteem. For when we sit down to assess the ways we could improve our lives, we also open ourselves up to severe self-criticism.

The salve for these unnecessary floggings is often a lofty and completely unrealistic “resolution.”

Rejuvenating Ideas for a Pumping Mama

You are a mother. You’re radiant. Nurturing. Alluring. You’re bosomy. Curvaceous. Buxom. Yes, you are sexy.

But odds are—with all the pumping and feeding, pumping and feeding, pumping and feeding—you don’t feel sexy. These days, most likely you feel more like a sweaty, pungent, engorged cow.  

We know.

So here are a few tips on bringing your sexy back in the New Year.

Happy Holidays to You and Your New Pump

Happy Holidays, Mama!

Although your new breast pump might not be the shiniest or fanciest package under the tree, it may well be your favorite.

Actually, if you’ve never used a breast pump before, it’s more likely that the contraption is still in its box, unopened, menacing you from across the room. Hardly a favorite. Unimaginably a lifesaver. Frustratingly complicated with its tubes and funnels and dials and hum bugs!

People Say The Oddest Things

Kids do the darndest things. People make the oddest comments. Strangers overstep the boundaries of obvious propriety. If you don’t agree with these statements, odds are you haven’t been a breast-pumping mama.

Just for fun (and as a way to commiserate through the awkward) we compressed versions of the best/worst breast pumping stories we have recently heard.

Spinach is a Good Feeding Food

No doubt you’ve heard that spinach is a “super food.” It is one of the most affordable vegetables and it’s protein-packed—supplying the same daily values as meat, fish, eggs, and chicken. It’s integral in skin, hair, and bone health. It delivers essential irons, vitamins and minerals. Spinach has shown to improve blood glucose control in diabetics, lower the risk of cancer, improve bone health, and lower the risk of developing asthma.[1] It is a true super food.

Spinach is also a fabulous dietary element during pregnancy and lactation due to its rich content of folic acid. It’s even suggested to improve the quality and taste of your breast milk.[2] Now that’s what we call a good feeding food!

Here are two spinach recipes that we love – one for the morning and one for lunch or dinner.

A breast pump is a tool. Used by many. Loved by lots.

Opinions. We all have them. We all seek them. And we all become offended by particular ones. But if we can resist the urge to become defensive when a family member, colleague, a store clerk, or a blogger starts spouting his or her truths, we could actually benefit from connecting with one another through our opinions.

Breast feeding always seems to be a topic rife and reeking with opinions—from experts, physicians, celebrities, third cousins, vaguely familiar around-the-block neighbors, that “judgy” mom-friend who always knows what’s best for you, even our own usually well-meaning but terribly vocal mothers.  And by extension, breast pumping gets a healthy corner of the now all-too-public conversation on how moms should best feed our babies.

Cluster Feeding Support

Cluster feeding is exactly what you think is would be: when your baby wants to feed a number of times, close together, at specific times of the day (especially in the evening). Your darling will give you her familiar signals. He will chew or suck on his hands. She will root. He might cry. This is completely normal.[1]

However, as a pumping mama, you’re likely frustrated when your darling wants to cluster feed—especially if you haven’t stockpiled enough reserves.

Oatmeal is a Good Feeding Food

No doubt you’ve heard that oatmeal is a “heart healthy” food.  According to researchers, consuming a bowl of oatmeal daily can lower your blood cholesterol and help to maintain healthy blood pressure. [1] But, did you know this gooey comfort food may also support your body’s efforts in lactation?

Undoubtedly, a nursing mama wants to eat a healthy, balanced diet and oatmeal is a wise choice within such a diet. But oatmeal is also a comfort food and the simple act of sitting down to a warm, nourishing bowl of this breakfast staple many help you relax, which then may stimulate your body to release the oxytocin hormone, promoting milk production, and successively, encourage letdown. [2]

Here are two oatmeal recipes that we love – one for the morning and one, well it’s cookies, so anytime!

Holiday Wish List

Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves…and a full peaceful night of good sleep.

Beyond that, what could you possibly wish for this holiday season, Mama? Well, in case your under-slept, overly-taxed mommy brain is drawing a blank, let us make a few recommendations of items to help you as you pump, feed, and mother your way into the new year.

Pump and Dump

Here’s the good news: It’s the holiday season. No doubt you have many opportunities to gather with friends and family to celebrate. And if you enjoy a beer, a cocktail, or a glass of wine there’s a good chance each party will be stocked with liquid cheer.

Here’s the bad news: Just as there’s no magical cure to hastily speed a hangover, there’s also no quick fix to clearing alcohol from your system. As an adult enjoying adult beverages, it’s your responsibility to know when it’s safe to drive and when it’s time to call a cab. As a breastfeeding mama, it’s your responsibility to know when it’s safe to feed your baby your breast milk and when it’s time to “pump and dump.”