Nursing Your Kids

BPA is also present in many different brands of bottles and sippy cups. After reading numerous reports I ditched almost all of our sippy cup stash and replaced it with a few BPA free plastic sippy cups and two expensive, but awesome aluminum sippy cups.

Z Recommends has a series of posts on BPA and the companies that produce baby bottles and sippy cups. Here’s their shortlist of BPA-free baby products.

ZRecs BPA-Free Shortlist:
Bottles: Adiri | Born Free | MAM | Medela | Mother’s Milkmate
Sippys: Born Free | Klean Kanteen | Sassy | SIGG | Thermos
Pacifiers: Playtex | Gerber/NUK | First Years
Pumps and Supplies: Medela | Mother’s Milkmate

As for the unsafe, here’s their quick take:

If you are here to check on information about bottles or sippy cups you already have, we can say with some confidence that you should be most concerned if you are using bottles by Avent, Dr. Brown’s, Evenflo, the First Years, Munchkin, Nuby, Playskool, or Second Nature, or sippy cups or breast pumps by many of these brands. You are also likely, but less certain, to be using products containing Bisphenol-A if you are using bottles by Gerber, Playtex, or Tommee Tippee. We have included BFree in our “Brands to avoid” section for reasons of its own, which you can read at the link.

Read more about BPA levels in infant formula at Z Recommends.

I’m glad that more options for BPA-free products are coming into stores in time for my second child. Dr. Brown’s has already released a glass version of their popular bottle, Evenflo has glass bottles, and stores like Whole Foods stock other, less widely available brands like Born Free. It’s also a relief to know that one of my breast pumps is a Medela, as all of Medela products are made without BPA.

Of course breast is best, but if you feed your baby formula you may want to consider the risks of Bisphenol-A which has been found in mosts brands of baby formula. In December CNN reported that

The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit research organization focused on public health and the environment. It does not take money from special interest groups. The group previously raised concerns about the presence of BPA in plastic baby bottles and is pushing for regulation of the compound.

“BPA is a chemical that is harmful at very low doses,” says Jane Houlihan, the organization’s vice president for research. “We’re talking about millions of babies exposed every year to this toxic chemical that’s found in infant formula.”

The Environmental Working Group surveyed the top five manufacturers of baby formula to determine whether they used BPA in their packaging. Here’s a summary of their findings:

* The makers of Nestlé, Similac, Enfamil and PBM (who make store-brand formulas sold at WalMart, Target, Kroger and dozens of other retailers) all said that they use BPA in the linings of metal cans holding liquid formula.

* Powdered formulas are a better choice. Our calculations indicate that babies fed reconstituted powdered formula likely receive 8 to 20 times less BPA than those fed liquid formula from a metal can.

To avoid exposing your child, breastfeeding is the best choice. Powdered formula is the next safest choice, especially Similac and Enfamil whose packaging only contains BPA on the tops and bottoms, not the cardboard sides. If you must feed your baby liquid formula, concentrated formulas in plastic containers are a better choice than ready to serve formula since the concentrate requires dilution.

Motherhood has turned me into a hippie. I breastfed my son for 22 months, started composting and gardening, began buying almost exclusively organic and local foods, I bring my own bags when I shop, I buy and use exclusively reusable water bottles, I’ve eliminated all toxic cleaning products from my house, and now I’m cloth diapering.

One of the benefits of turning into a hippie is that I’m not exposing my son to a variety of chemicals he’d otherwise be exposed to. Pesticides, weird food colorings, leaching plastics, and numerous hormones and antibiotics don’t have much opportunity to hang out in my house these days. Now that I’m pregnant with number two, I have yet another reason to be grateful I’m able to breastfeed: the absence of BPA in my future child’s system.

For those of you who aren’t aware of the current debates, Bisphenol-A, or BPA, is a controversial chemical that can leach out of can linings and plastics into your foods and beverages. Though it’s still legal to use in food grade cans and plastics, scientific studies have linked BPA to cancers, fertility problems, and behavioral problems. The Green Guide’s article on BPA says:

According to its critics, BPA mimics naturally occurring estrogen, a hormone that is part of the endocrine system, the body’s finely tuned messaging service. “These hormones control the development of the brain, the reproductive system and many other systems in the developing fetus,” says Frederick vom Saal, Ph.D., a developmental biologist at the University of Missouri. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can duplicate, block or exaggerate hormonal responses. “The most harm is to the unborn or newborn child,” vom Saal says.

Plastic water and baby bottles, food and beverage can linings and dental sealants are the most commonly encountered uses of this chemical. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stay put. BPA has been found to leach from bottles into babies’ milk or formula; it migrates from can liners into foods and soda and from epoxy resin-lined vats into wine; and it is found in the mouths of people who’ve recently had their teeth sealed. Ninety-five percent of Americans were found to have the chemical in their urine in a 2004 biomonitoring study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The FDA says that BPA is perfectly safe and the effects of the plastics are only problematic in doses much larger than humans will consume. The fact that it can be problematic at all is what makes me pause. If there’s a possibility of harm, and newborns are especially susceptible, why is BPA present in baby formula and baby bottles?

I’m not good at listening to dietary advice when I’m pregnant. When I was pregnant with Sam I craved lattes, whole milk, full-fat, caffeinated, delicious lattes. I knew that caffeine was bad and that Bob’s extended family has a few isolated milk allergies so milk might be problematic, but I rationalized by saying it was just my body craving calcium and indulged almost daily.

There are plenty of other examples of my throwing caution to the wind and just eating whatever I wanted, no matter what the advice. I ignored warnings about soft cheeses figuring that most cheeses made and sold in the USA are pasteurized anyway. Despite warnings about peanut allergies when I craved apple slices with peanut butter I ate them, figuring a little extra fiber and protein would be good for my growing baby. I ate edamame for a snack figuring it was a better salty choice than chips and the odds of a soy allergy were probably slim anyway.

Then when I was nursing I ignored just about everything. I ate and drank just about everything, ignoring people who told me spicy foods were bad for the baby and broccoli, onions and garlic would make him gassy, and eating certain foods would cause him to develop allergies.

Now the American Academy of Pediatrics is updating some of their previous advice so I don’t have to feel as guilty this time around. In 2000 the AAP advised mothers with histories of allergies in their families to avoid consuming milk, soy, fish, peanuts, and tree nuts. Continuing research found nothing to back those recommendations so that advice has been tossed, and the only advice that remains from earlier reports is to continue breastfeeding. Here’s what the report says:

_There is no convincing evidence that women who avoid peanuts or other foods during pregnancy or breast-feeding lower their child’s risk of allergies.

_There is no convincing evidence that delaying the introduction of foods such as eggs, fish or peanut butter to children prevents allergies. Babies should not get solid food before 4 to 6 months of age, however.

So if you’re pregnant or nursing eat up. Unless specific allergies run rampant in your family and you don’t want to take any chances eat what you like. An interesting, varied diet will only help your child develop good eating habits later, so if you’re craving a spicy Tofu Pad Thai with peanuts, go for it.

After our napping ordeal a few weeks ago, the failed Operation Nap Indoors, we moved on to trying to begin an easier, less time intensive bedtime routine. Sam has always been high needs when it came to falling to sleep. I’ve read just about every sleep book in the library. I’ve read Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child, Sleepless in America, Solving Your Child’s Sleep Habits, Nighttime Parenting, The American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child’s Sleep, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and none of them have really worked.

Different techniques and routines always worked for a while, but then there’d be a growth spurt, teething, a cold, a stomach bug, a separation, or a day without a nap and whatever we’d been doing would stop working and not work again. We’d have good stretches and bad stretches, but the bad stretches were so bad it overshadowed the good. No matter what techniques we used, he could never fall asleep on his own. He always needed us to be hands on.

Co-sleeping began to keep him awake so we had to put that to an end. After he stopped nursing to sleep (which sadly was never a guarantee that he’d stay asleep) he had to be rocked to sleep. Then he got to be too big to be rocked to sleep comfortably. No matter how he moved and adjusted he just couldn’t find a good spot so he had to be cuddled to sleep. That got ridiculously complicated so we decided to get a bed for him hoping to make the cuddling to sleep easier.

But Sam just got more and more demanding. Mama, lie down. Mama, head on pillow. Blanket on. Blanket off. Mama up. Mama, sit. Mama, stay. Mama, lie down. Cuddling him to sleep was taking longer and longer. About a week ago Bob decided to revisit a common technique that had never worked before, a technique that’s in just about every sleep book on the market.

He put Sam in bed, said good night, and stood in the hallway. Sam got out of bed and Bob put him back in. After many rounds and about 45 minutes Sam stayed in bed and fell asleep. Since then, he’s been doing the same thing every night. Now when Bob goes to his gated doorway Sam puts himself back in bed. There’s no more cuddling after the story, no more rocking, no more holding our breath tiptoeing out of his room. The routine still takes 45 minutes, but he seems to be learning.

Last night at about 3 in the morning Sam woke up with a cry. I awoke immediately, and went to his door. Sam was on his way out of bed. I said, “Sam, it’s bedtime. Stay in bed.” He cuddled up at the foot of his bed. I told him to move up and put his head on the pillow. He did. Exhausted, I sat in the glider. Sam said mama a few times and I responded with a soft, “shhhhh.” After a few minutes I got up to use the bathroom and Sam didn’t make a sound. I went back to sleep.

A woman on a message board I recently joined started a thread in the Breastfeeding Support forums asking what advice mothers who have successfully breastfed have for new moms. She was specifically looking for solutions to common problems that arise the first few weeks at home, like baby refusing to latch on, baby can’t latch on or suck, engorged breasts, clogged milk ducts and making enough milk. Here’s what I contributed.

Nursing sucks (no pun intended) the first few weeks. It’s normal to be sore and achy, but if it’s painful and your nipples are cracked or bleeding you must see a certified LC as soon as possible to get help with latch.

Co-sleeping helps you get more sleep and nurse through the night. But if it scares you or you like your space, don’t feel you have to.

Kelli wrote about her first few weeks of breastfeeding back when her daughter was born. Here’s Day 1 and 2.

Since Bob’s been home for the week, we were dog sitting an enormous Labrador/shepherd mix puppy, and Sam’s been sick I found myself taking an unintentional blog hiatus. There was much entertaining, not nearly as much relaxing as I’d hoped, and many unpleasant diapers. Christmas treated Sam well and despite his minor illness he’s been having a blast playing with his new toys and watching Clifford and Arthur DVDs repeatedly.

It seems that we may have unexpectedly weaned. Sam hasn’t nursed since a miserable night more than two weeks ago. He hasn’t asked and I haven’t offered. There were a few nights when I thought he was saying “nurse, nurse” but realized he was actually saying “blow nose” after he followed it up with the word tissue.

I feel pretty ambivalent about it. In some ways it’s a huge relief. But in other ways it’s sort of sad and since I’m huge and sore right now I wonder if him nursing would help relieve some of my discomfort. He’s also been recovering from a bit of a stomach bug for a few days now and hasn’t been eating much. We finally moved from the BRAT diet to a few regular foods that he’s asked for, but his diet is still pretty limited. Last night he had half a carrot and a cracker with peanut butter for dinner. He refused everything else. This morning when he woke up he was agitated. I thought for sure he was asking to nurse but I asked if he wanted cereal and milk and he nodded yes rather emphatically. Again, it was a relief, but since he’s sick I felt badly about ignoring his request. I wonder if nursing would have helped him get better faster.

So it looks like Sam’s done nursing for now. I fully expect he’ll become interested again when his little brother or sister is born in May but until then if he asks again I’ll continue offering other options. Perhaps the New Year is off to a good start.

Wishing you health, love and happiness in 2008.

According to the Celebrity Baby Blog not all celebrities have nannies. Their year end round-ups have lists of the celebrities who co-sleep, cloth diaper, wear their babies, and breastfeed. Like I’ve said before, I’m not necessarily an AP parent, but my husband and I are definitely attached parents and still occasionally co-sleep, wear our toddler, breastfeed and we’ve recently added cloth diapering to our list so it’s interesting to see which celebrities are more down to earth than you’d think.

Co-sleeping Celebs
Angelina Jolie co-sleeps with her kids. She told Esquire magazine that she slept with Maddox until Brad came along and sleeps with Pax, her most recently adopted child, to make him comfortable.

Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates and their kids, 16 and 13, still share a bed. I certainly hope they don’t share it every night because while I’m all for co-sleeping, I think co-sleeping with two teenagers regularly is pretty weird. My own hang-ups aside he told OK! magazine, “There is a theory that a child has to teach itself to go to sleep, and if every time it cries, you whisk them out of their bed — the jury is still out on that. But our kids still sleep in our bed.”

Baby Wearing Celebrities
Plenty of celebrities wear their babies in slings, pouches and mei tais including Julia Roberts, Gwen Stefani, Sara Gilbert, Lisa Leslie, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Keri Russell, and Annabeth Gish who said, “What I always loved seeing was mothers with their slings and the Baby Bjorn – the carrying things. I really like the Maya, the Moby, and the New Native. I like the Maya the best.”

Cloth diapering Celebs

Dave Matthews has spoken about cloth diapers for his son August Oliver saying, “I think diapers might be the No. 3 piece of garbage [in terms of environmental damage]…so if you have a little cloth diaper service nearby, that’s good.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal also cloth diapers. Her brother Jake spoke about changing his niece Ramona’s organic, tie-on cloth diapers on Conan O’Brien

Josie Maran uses gDiapers, a cloth/disposable hybrid.

Breastfeeding Celebrities

The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog recently wrote about celebrity breastfeeding activists citing Maggie Gyllenhal who proudly nursed in public despite being stalked by the paparazzi, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Gardner who breastfed baby Violet for 14 months, and Keri Russell who attributes her post-partum weight loss to breastfeeding. And let’s not forget about kind of creepy Will Ferrell who talked about his wife’s breast pump during an interview at the Golden Globes this year.

I can’t even imagine being in this woman’s situation. Her baby was in coach with her partner while she was flying business class from Australia to San Francisco. Her baby was not allowed to enter business class to be breastfed. An international flight is hard enough when traveling with an infant without the added stress of not being able to feed your hungry baby.

Breast-feeding mum wins Qantas case

Mr Butcher ordered the airline to refund Ms Costello 50,500 frequent flyer points she had used to book a business class seat instead of one in economy.

Star-Gazette.com has a great article with great tips for nursing a baby during the holidays. Holidays are rough when you’re nursing, especially if you, like me, like to get a little drunk at holiday parties. Breastfeeding doesn’t mean you can’t drink. It just means you can’t drink very much.

It’s also tough to nurse an older infant. Nursing a newborn is easy. If you’re adept with slings and wraps you can nurse easily in the middle of the room without anyone knowing what you’re up to. But nursing an older toddler who’s aware of his/her surroundings is much harder. They don’t want to leave the party, especially if they’re surrounded by loving family and friends, and dragging them into a darkened room to nurse means you have to leave the party and your baby may be too angry to eat. Well, at least my baby was too mad to eat when I’d make him leave a party. He’d twist and turn and fuss and nurse for a minute before trying to escape. Then he’d melt down from hunger later and we’d have to try again.

I can’t speak to the unintentional weaning the article describes since Sam always refused a bottle, but people were always trying to slip him solids he wasn’t ready for. It’s tough to be vigilant when you just want to relax, but it’s better than having a well-intentioned aunt feeding your five-month-old pepperoni, cookies and peanut brittle.

Nursing isn’t always fun during parties and gatherings, but it can be safe and successful if you follow the articles tips.

•Remember that the holidays are family time and that your family includes your baby. Whenever possible, take your baby along with you. Babies are portable, especially when worn in a sling or wrap and they often become the highlight of the party. If you are not yet comfortable nursing in public or your baby just needs some quiet time, retire to a bedroom until he is settled and then rejoin the party.

•Prevent others from giving your baby tastes of holiday foods. One of the easiest ways to do this is to make sure that only you, or another trusted adult, are holding your baby when it is time to eat.

We’re back to napping in the car and the past three days have been lovely. Sam sleeps for close to two hours and aside from running back and forth to the window to check on him I get to rest. Because I don’t have to mess with wrestling him to sleep he’s been napping at a reasonable time instead of the late afternoon. Napping at a reasonable time means he can go to sleep at a reasonable time. He gets tired earlier and can go to sleep earlier. It doesn’t always work that way. But it’s nice to know it’s an option.

He hasn’t nursed at all since he bit me the other night. It’s nice having my breasts to myself again but I almost want him to nurse. I assume this is pregnancy related, but my breasts are especially heavy and full. I know that I can’t logically be engorged since I haven’t been nursing regularly for a good six months or more, but I feel engorged. When I’m in the shower I feel like I’m going to start leaking all over. So far it hasn’t happened, but it may not be far off.

In other non-breastfeeding news, we’ve officially made the switch to cloth diapers. I bought a bunch before Thanksgiving but they ended up being a bit too small so I took advantage of the sales and bought a stash of Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers along with a couple of DryBees all-in-ones. I also picked up a few g-Diapers and disposable inserts to use when we’re out and I don’t want to cart around dirty diapers. I really like using the cloth so far, though I’m not sure the pocket diapers will be the best choice for a newborn. I’m glad I’m starting now so I’ll have an idea of what I’m getting into. I haven’t been brave enough to use the cloth for overnights, but the Fuzzi Bunz with two inserts kept everything contained for a three hour nap the other day.

After five days Operation Nap is officially over. I’d rather waste money on gas, pollute the environment and kill an hour of my day driving aimlessly than deal with the tears, screams, and misery of trying to make him nap indoors. If Bob can do it when he’s home I’m all for it, but I am too tired and (and my nipples are entirely too sensitive) to make the transition by myself.

Yesterday since it was nice out and we’d walked to a friends house to play I was hoping he’d fall asleep in the stroller. He was so furious about having to sit in the stroller that he screamed almost the entire way home. I asked if he wanted to nap in the car or in his bed. He said stroller. We walked a bit more but he kept screaming so we went home and rocked for a while. I won’t get into the play by play because it’s pretty much a repeat of the previous day’s performance. After an hour I decided to just let him watch “baby farm” a Baby Einstein animal video he’s become obsessed with the past few weeks.

Usually he’s miserable by the end of the day when he hasn’t had a nap and yesterday was no different. He was so out of control by bedtime we skipped his bath entirely. When I say out of control, I mean out of control. He was stiff and fighting and screaming and hurting himself in the process. Though I’ve seen him in similar states (on nap-free days, of course) Bob had never seen him have a tantrum like that. At 7.20 Bob said that he was so tired he’d be asleep in no time. I said that I’d be shocked if he was asleep by 8.30.

Eventually we wrestled him into his pajamas and sleep sack and got him to sit still for a story. Bob planned on putting him to bed, but he clearly wanted me and in his state I was afraid he’d never fall asleep if I left. He tossed and turned and cried and didn’t want me to touch him but didn’t want me to leave either. Not knowing what to do I asked if he wanted to nurse. He practically cried with relief at the suggestion, but as I unhooked my nursing bra he got angry again and started wailing, “uh-uh. Other side, other side. Uh-uh.” I knew it was a bad sign, but I let him nurse anyway.

He relaxed and his breathing got heavier and deeper. I moved him off of my lap and into bed as he nursed. After three or four minutes he loosened his latch. I thought he’d fallen asleep and was just letting go. Instead he clamped down on the protruding part of my nipple and refused to let go. I roughly shoved my fingers into his mouth, got him off of me, and left his room. I wanted to slam his door and shout, but I managed to contain my pain and rage and just walked into the other room instead. Bob went him and eventually got him to stop crying and go to sleep. He tried to leave the room, but Sam woke up crying so he stayed a bit longer, falling asleep himself. He emerged from Sam’s room, blinking in the light, around 10. I heard Sam wake and cry several times throughout the night, but he fell back to sleep on his own each time. It’s a good thing, because I wasn’t going in there.

Today Sam is going to nap in the car.

Yesterday Bob got Sam to sleep in his crib while I was out. I don’t know how he did it. He said that he rocked him until he fell asleep, put him in the crib and Sam woke up as soon as he hit the mattress. The heat guy was here to show Bob how to skim the boiler, so Bob left him to cry for a bit, came back, rocked him until he fell asleep, put him in the crib and he woke up again. Bob left for a second time, and repeated the process a bit later only this time Sam stayed asleep and napped for more than two hours.

The whole process, from rocking to two-hour nap took about 45 minutes. I don’t know how the circumstances were different from my approach, but Sam will not let me rock him without clawing and biting at my face.

Today Sam isn’t feeling well. He’s got a runny nose and a cough and doesn’t even want to play. After our gymnastics class I just didn’t have it in me to struggle to get him to sleep and because he’s not feeling well he needs his sleep. I don’t want exhaustion to make him sicker. I got him in the car, we drove our regular 20-minute loop and he was asleep after 15 minutes. My nipples are thanking me.

Since Bob was so successful I wonder if it would make more sense to put Operation Nap on hold for a few weeks until Bob’s Christmas vacation. Maybe if he got used to sleeping indoors he’d be more willing to let me get him down.

In response to comments on yesterday’s post, I want to clarify that the nursing down is not the issue. Of course I prefer not to nurse him down for naps, but I’m glad to do it if he’ll actually fall asleep. The problem is that he generally doesn’t fall asleep nursing for naps. He’ll just doze and chew on my nipple and become furious if I take it away. That’s why he’s been napping in the stroller or the car for close to a year now.

At nighttime breastfeeding is not an issue. He almost never nurses before bed at night and when he does he’ll stop nursing while still awake but drowsy and roll over to fall asleep on his stomach.

Sam’s only been nursing on a “don’t offer, don’t refuse” basis since June. He often goes for days at a time without showing any interest in my breasts and a lot of the time when he asks to nurse he’s so tired that he forgets he asked and rolls over before I even get my bra open. Unfortunately, even though he’s gone as many as ten days straight without nursing, I don’t think he’s going to wean completely any time soon. Especially with Operation Nap Indoors in full effect.

I don’t mind offering the breast for comfort when it’s not painful. At night he’s been pretty well-behaved on the occasions when he nurses. During the day it’s just horrendous. I have battle scars. So the two issues- napping indoors and breastfeeding are intertwined, but it’s not like I’m trying to make two major changes at once.

As for Operation Nap Day 3, I have a prenatal appointment at nap time and Bob will be home with Sam and possibly the guys who’ve been working on our heat. (We have no heat in our bedroom and a few other radiators in the house won’t work. We’d be screwed without space heaters and our wood stove. The current temperature in our house downstairs is 58 degrees except for in our laundry room and powder room where it’s so cold you can see your breath. The current temperature in the room with the wood stove on the second floor is 85.) If the heat guys are here I imagine it will be day three with no sleep. If they aren’t here Bob’s going to attempt to get him down in his bed. I’m sure you’ll be awaiting my update with bated breath.

Operation Nap Indoors day two was a bigger failure than day one. A very sleepy Sam and I read a few stories and rocked in the glider together. We got into bed and I rubbed his back. He said, “Up mama, up.” I explained again that it was nap time and we had to stay in bed. I held him and he struggled and cried. I whispered to him and shushed him and cuddled him and rubbed his back. He cried harder and harder.

I decided to try physically holding him down in the hopes he’d just collapse from exhaustion. He cried even harder and struggled, hitting me and pulling my hair. I explained to him again that it was nap time. He hit me again so I left the room and told him I’d be back in ten minutes. Ten minutes later he’d thrown several diapers, three books, and two hats over the gate.

He asked to nurse so I picked him up and brought him into bed. He nursed for a while and fell asleep. I tried to remove my breast from his mouth and he clamped down hard. I nudged him to relatch and he clamped down again. I suffered through for a few minutes until his breathing grew slow and heavy again and tried to remove myself again. His eyes opened wide and he cried, “nurse, nurse, nurse.” I switched to the other side. It was fine for a few minutes until he clamped down hard. I asked him to let go but eyes closed, he clamped harder and said no through his teeth. I burst into tears, stuck my finger into his mouth to unlatch him and sobbed in his bed while he cried to nurse more.

After I calmed down a bit I opened the gate and left the room. He followed me out and I’ve been crying on and off ever since. I don’t think this is going to work.