Mothers... new, old, expecting, and the hopeful...

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) I know we've all heard about it. However, if you properly research it, you'll find that they are quite mistaken about a few things.

Young parents, especially the fathers, get frustrated when their baby cries in the middle of the night. They aren't hungry, they aren't hurt, but the minute they pick them up the babe instantly falls to sleep again. All they wanted was comfort. Think of it this way. That baby has been with someone constantly for the past 9 -10 months. The sounds of the womb and the mothers breathing as a lullaby. Girls, what is a main reason that we cry? Loneliness... That baby is placed in a cold, hard crib, far away from anyone. Surrounded by frightening objects in the dark... sheesh! I'd cry too! Mothers, sleep with you newborn babies. It is a myth that you will roll over and smother them. If you do your homework, you'll find that those couples they used as a basis for the research were obese or intoxicated. The fact of the matter is, SIDS happens when the babies heart suddenly stops beating. A newborns heart is in sync with the mothers. Their tiny hearts use the mothers to form a rhythm, and a pattern. Placing the baby away from you while they sleep will sometimes startle the heart, and it will stop because it doesn't fully understand what to do yet. The same with breathing. Those systems are so new, and fragile. They are still learning. My daddy used to sleep with me on his chest. (I am the first child) There were moments when my breathing would halt and he'd jerk awake until I started breathing again. My mother has slept with every one of her children in the crook of her arm. That way if the baby started choking, stopped breathing, or woke in the middle of the night hungry she was right there. Though, not one of my mom's kids has ever woken screaming in the middle of the night unless they were sick...

If you aren't comfortable with placing your baby in between you and your husband, at least place the baby in a basinet next to your bed. Don't give me the whole, well, we have a baby monitor next to our bed. We'll be fine. By the time you wake up and realize that your baby isn't breathing, and run to their room will be too late. Crib mattresses are flame retardant. It is illegal to make them any other way. The problem with this is, the chemicals used to make it flame resistant are toxic to a baby. This in one reason why they tell you not to place the baby on it's stomach while sleeping. In Europe and Canada they have designed a specially made crib mattress cover. It has dual layers. A plastic layer that will help trap the toxins and keep them encased, and a soft top layer for the baby to sleep on. It is required that you purchase a mattress cover when purchasing a crib in these locations. I don't know why the US hasn't picked up on this yet.

The last issue I will address in this blog/note is breast feeding. Awkward to some, beautiful to others. Either way it is still the most beneficial thing you will do for your baby. Breast feeding is also a special time of bonding for the mother and the baby. The Lord gave us boobs for a reason. No men, it isn't just a pleasing feature. They are a means to raise healthy children. Breast milk is the most baby friendly substance out there. It fortifies and strengthens the baby's immune system. They receive the most nutrition from it, and it keeps the baby's digestive system happy. Formula is hard for a new system to work through. It has to work double time to break down the formula into nutrients, often times constipating the baby. If you have ever felt a formula fed baby's stomach you'll notice that it is hard as rock. This is because the formula hardens in the system and refuses to completely digest. Creating a horrific belly ache and a very unhappy baby. Breast milk is another of God's miracles. It makes for a happy, healthy baby with a soft tummy. Often called the "perfect food" for a human baby's digestive system, breast milk's components - lactose, protein (whey and casein), and fat - are easily digested by a newborn's immature system. Not to mention it is FREE! Formula gets expensive over time. As a group, formula-fed infants have more difficulty with digestion than do breastfed infants. Breast milk tends to be more easily digested so that breastfed babies have fewer incidences of diarrhea or constipation. Breast milk also naturally contains all the vitamins and minerals that a newborn requires. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates formula companies to ensure that they provide all the known necessary nutrients in their formulas. Commercial formulas do a pretty good job of trying to duplicate the ingredients in breast milk - and are coming closer - but haven't matched their exact combination and composition. Why? Because some of breast milk's more complex substances are too difficult to manufacture and some have not yet been identified. Again, the Lord knew what he was doing when he created the woman. He made us with the ability to carry and feed the baby. Both in the womb and out. Our bodies keep the milk at the perfect temperature. No need to worry about it being too cold and lumpy, or burning the baby's tongue! Breast milk has been proven to to reduce the risk of childhood obesity. Not to mention the higher IQ factor. Recent studies have shown that children who were exclusively breastfed for 6 months have IQ's 5-10 points higher than children who were formula fed. Breastfeeding is beneficial for the mom too! It burns calories and helps shrink the uterus, so you can return to your pre-pregnancy shape and weight a lot quicker. It also lowers the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, and helps reduce the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer. Oh, and did I mention that a breastfed baby's poop doesn't have a scent. So, until you incorporate solid foods into your babies diet you won't be able to perceive a smell. I understand that some women can't breastfeed and other just aren't willing to do it in public, or at all. For those of you embarrassed by breastfeeding, I would suggest you invest in what is called a breast pump. This pumps the milk so that you can freeze and refrigerate the breastmilk. If you refuse to breastfeed, Enfamil is the best you will be able to find. It is the most gentile, and easy to digest. Also, DO NOT get iron fortified until your baby is 9 months or older. They cannot handle the added iron. It is too hard for them to digest. Use sterilized water to mix with the powder or condensed formula until the baby is at least 6 months of age. If the baby doesn't finish a bottle, after 1 hour throw the unused milk out. Don't microwave the bottles. It will cook chemicals from the plastic bottle into the formula which is extremely dangerous to your baby. Run refrigerated bottles under warm water. That goes for both breastmilk and formula bottles.

If there is something you don't feel I covered well enough, or you have questions of any sort... please feel free to ask. I or my mother will be able to answer any questions or worries you may have. My mom is a licensed and registered midwife, and I've just studied this a bit too much... :)