Baby Words Archives - We're Parents

Grain Free Pancakes: Perfect for Baby

August 30, 2013 by Larisha Campbell

We have been doing Baby-Led Weaning ever since Baby Skibbles was ready to eat solid foods (6 months is the recommended age according to the AAp, WHO, & CDC). because we had done out research we knew there were some things she shouldn’t have and things she should be limited to having. One of those being grains. The problem is, this mama right here loves carbs and I wanted some pancakes. I remember someone telling me to mash a banana and add eggs but I thought they were crazy; however, desperate times call for desperate measures, so I decided to give it a shot!

Start by mushing completely one whole banana. Next, add in two eggs with yolks and beat them with the banana until you have a liquid-y batter. Finally, add a teaspoon of cinnamon into the batter.

Next drop spoonfuls onto a greased (we use coconut oil) skillet. When I say spoonfuls, think small Micky Mouse pancakes or silver dollar pancakes as I’ve seen them called. There is nothing really binding these together so they are much harder to flip than a normal pancakes. About 2 minutes on each side.

Cut them up and serve! That’s it! Baby Skibbles loved every minute of it! I must admit I ate them too and they are really sweet, but amazingly yummy! Give it a try!

Leave us a comment!

What’s yours or your child(ren)’s favorite breakfast?

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I Support You Movement: Coming Together to Unite All Moms

August 4, 2013 by Larisha Campbell

I was roughly 6 months prego this time last year and also freaking out about being informed about my options in case I wasn’t able to breastfed. The truth is, I’m a worrier. I had read all the info (twice) on Kellymom, read books, went to La Leche League meetings, but still in the back of my mind I kept thinking “what if”. I found this amazing Facebook group of AP moms who happen to Formula Feed and they were warm and inviting and best of all, most were local to me in New Jersey. The time came and I had Baby Skibbles and we breastfed. We worked and worked and worked and I was one of those moms who was “successful” at it. But I still got the notifications for the Facebook group and I sat back and quietly observed the interaction between them. I read the comments about how breastfeeding moms made them feel. They felt guilty and ashamed and embarrassed. And I didn’t fully understand. Until a few weeks ago, when one mom who was in both this group and another breastfeeding facebook group who I had been “interacting” with over the past 8 months, wrote an article for the Huffington Post. She changed everything about how I have been interacting with all moms (read the article HERE).

You see, I have been judging you. I have been judging you for not being informed. I have been judging you for not trying harder. I have been judging you for listening to bad advice. I have been judging for you not picking the “best formula”. And I was wrong. So wrong.

And I apologize.

I apologize because I don’t know your story. And don’t experience you hard times. And your tears. And anguish. And emotion behind the decisions that you have had to make. I am, however, thankful. Thankful that Kim Simon, Suzanne Barston, and Jaime Lynne Grumet have given me this opportunity to come together say and “I SUPPORT YOU”. Because for nothing more than mommyhood is too darn hard for us to all be fighting all the time.

To learn more about this movement, visit Kim’s page here.

Photo credit: Google

I wanted to take part in this to show my support and I am extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to “interview” one of my closet mommy blogger friends. Here’s the interview with Alex from Mommys Craft Obsession:

Q1. Please share a brief summary of your feeding experience.My son was formula fed from 2 1/2 months and he did great! He was happy as a clam and always had a full belly after a bottle!

Q2. What was your original plan for feeding your child, and how did that compare to what you ultimately ended up doing? When my son was born, I was determined to breastfeed him, only the odds seemed to be against us. From day one my son had trouble latching on and the hospital’s lactation consultant was less than helpful. She sat by me and attempted to get my son to latch for all of 20 minutes before she huffed and puffed out of my room, only to return a few minutes later with a Nipple Shield. I was less than thrilled to use it but at that point my main concern was getting what little colostrum I had into my sons belly. Fast forward a month later, we were exclusively breast feeding but still using that darn nipple shield and my milk production was horrible. Around 6 weeks, I noticed that my son was having tiny bits of blood in his poop so I took him to the pediatrician and had all sorts of tests done to find out what was going on. After the test results came back perfectly fine, his doctor suggested that it was possibly a lactose intolerance from the dairy that I was consuming and suggested that I cut out all dairy from my diet, and since my milk production was low, that I should supplement with a lactose free formula. I was less than thrilled to have to supplement but I fully trusted my sons pediatrician (since he at one point was my pedi too!) and I did what he suggested. So there we were, breast feeding and formula feeding, the blood in his poop magically disappeared and all was going well until one day my son just refused my breast milk. Every time I tried to nurse he screamed and screamed so I’d give in and give him a bottle [of formula]. From 2 1/2 months on my son was a formula fed infant. Our experience with formula was great – he loved it and was 100% healthy, but it completely broke my heart that he no longer nurse. To this way I wish that before I gave up I had more resources, patience, and help with breast feeding.

Q3. What was the best part about how you fed your child? What was the worst? The best part about formula feeding was no sore swollen breasts and cracked nipples and that anyone could make the bottle and feed my son. The worst was having to pay for formula – that stuff is so expensive.

Q4. What myths about how you fed your child were the most hurtful? What is your “truth” that counteracts those myths? Every time someone looked me like I was the worst mother on this planet because my son was formula fed, I died a little bit inside. Many breast-feeding mothers firmly believe that “breast is best” and I do agree, but for those of us that couldn’t breastfeed or breastfeed to the extent that we wanted, it does hurt to be constantly reminded. They say that breast feed babies are healthier babies but my son was/is always perfectly healthy and to date has been sick less than 4 times!

Q5. What would help you (or would have helped you) to feel supported/understood in your choices? I feel like I would have been able to pursue breast feeding for longer if I had more resources to do so. I felt like the lactation consultants in my area weren’t the most helpful and unfortunately I was the first of my friends to have a child, so I had no friends to lean on. Also I will admit that I was a little naive about breast-feeding, I thought it would be easy so I really didn’t do a lot of research on it.

Q6. Then ten, twenty years into the future. If you could give your grown child one message about how you chose to feed him/her, what would it be? I’d tell my son that the decision was really his and that I had no choice but to follow his lead! But I’d also tell him that I loved him very much and my main concern was filling that sweet tummy of his so that he could grow and be healthy!

Q7. What can I do (what could I have done) to better support you in your feeding journey? Larisha, if I had known you when I began my journey with breastfeeding I would have leaned on you for all of the support in the world! Now that my son is almost two and no longer on formula, you can be sure that I’ll be calling you once we decide to have a baby #2! My goal with our future #2 is to exclusively breastfeed to at least 12 months!

To read my answers to the Interview Questions go visit Mommys Craft Obession HERE.

We’d love to hear from you now!! Comment below letting us know about your feeding experiences.

**Negativity towards any posts will not be tolerated.

5 Tips for Joyful Parenting {Guest Post}

February 2, 2013 by Larisha Campbell

Lauren’s blog is ReelMama.com, specializes in parenting, family entertainment,

and creative ideas for family activities.

Five tips for joyful parenting by Lauren Ivy Chiong

Every parent wishes he or she could be “perfect.” Often as parents we are so focused on what we wish we could do better, that we forget to make the most of the moments we share with our kids. I don’t know if becoming a mom makes me a parenting “expert”, but I can share a few tips that have helped me enjoy parenting a lot more.

Stop focusing on being “perfect” and focus instead on how you can be happy and fulfilled as a parent. What is it that you love about parenting? Make sure to make time for those things, whether it’s reading a story with your child or making a game out of putting away the toys. Even mundane tasks can be an opportunity to learn, share, and have fun with your kids. Tasks take longer with your 2-year-old “helping,” but these little moments can be tremendous opportunities for quality time with your kids that will help build their self-esteem and will put a smile on your face.

Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself.

Have fun with your kids for at least a few minutes each day. It’s the little things that count, and even sharing a few minutes of fun time can make you feel like a million bucks. It can be hard to drop what you are doing and put important tasks on hold, but focusing on your children and seeing the world from their perspective will make for some great memories.

Let go of the guilt. It’s so hard to enjoy parenting if you feel guilty all the time. Maybe you feel guilty because you work, and you might not get to spend as much time with your kids as you would like. Perhaps you feel guilty when you hire a sitter to have a mom’s night out. Yet guilt is an unwelcome intruder that can wreak havoc on your personal time with your family. Let it go. Whether you work out of economic necessity or personal fulfillment, it’s an important part of your life, and so is personal time. It makes you, “you,” and ultimately maintaining a balance can make you a better parent!

Reward yourself and make time for you. It’s important for you to have moments when you can relax, reflect, and enjoy yourself away from your kids and the pressures of daily life. This is time to rejuvenate. You might even find that you miss your kids while you’re away from them having this personal time! Afterwards you’ll have a fresh well of patience and appreciate your time with your kids that much more.

Weather Labor Myths

October 29, 2012 by Larisha Campbell

Photo credit: Adapted from Idpinthat

As we are bracing for Hurricane Sandy here in New Jersey, seen as one of the worst storms in hurricane history, we have to talk about some of the weather labor myths associated with increase in labor. While there are TONS of myths throughout all of pregnancy from determining gender based on how you are carrying to myths about how to induce labor…there are two main myths associated with weather, both of which I am having to worry about right now with just a few weeks left of our pregnancy.

Myth #1. Full Moons increase births.

Myth #2. Hurricanes bring more babies.

Both of these are simply myths. There have been many studies researching both and while a few studies have shown some correlation, the majority show it’s just simply false. What these researchers do point out in the case of hurricanes is that labor is brought on simply by hormones and the stress from preparing for any type of natural weather disaster, may trigger those hormones, putting a mom in labor.

Today, there is a full moon, in addition to the hurricane set to to make landfall just 45 miles from here, so I guess we will soon see if either of these myths are true for us!!I know that we have been preparing for everything that can possibly happen and while I’m trying not to stress, the thought of having to get to the hospital during a torrential downpour and high speed winds, is definitely not something that I’m trying to think about! I will say that my baby girl was going crazy all day yesterday and has started going crazy all day today too. Who knows!? Maybe I will have a hurricane baby, maybe not 🙂

**Please everyone stay safe if you are in any of the affected areas**

Open vs Closed Breast Pumps

August 9, 2012 by Larisha Campbell

There are so many things to consider when having a baby. I had no idea there was a difference in breast pumps when I decided that I would breastfed, but I quickly learned that there are actually two types of systems: OPEN and CLOSED. So what’s the difference? Does it matter? I’ve tried to highlight the main points below to the best of my ability. **Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, just a soon to be first time mom, learning as I go, hoping to help others make educated decisions.

Open Systems Basics

No barrier between milk collection and the pumping mechanism–This means your milk is exposed to an outside air impurities (examples–dust, smoke, pet dander, viruses) and vulnerable to contamination. It also means that milk can be sucked into the tubing parts. If milk gets into the tubing unnoticed, mold can begin to grow in the tubes and the motor.
With open systems it is recommended to dry the tubing after thoroughly cleaning with isopropyl alcohol; however, while this speeds up the drying time the alcohol vapors can stay and thus be drawn into collected milk.
Common open system breast pumps: Medela Pump in Style, Medela Symphony, Evenflo Elan, First Years Easy Comfort, First Years miPump

Closed Systems Basics

Barrier between collection and tubing– This prevents any outside air impurities from your breastmilk. Also ensures no milk will enter tubing or motor which eliminates need to wash tubing and prevents mold from being able to grow.
The first closed system was made by Ameda.
Common closed system breast pumps: Avent ISIS iQ, Ameda Elite, Ameda Purely Yours, Playtex Embrace, Lansinoh Double Electric, Medela Swing, Hygeia EnDeare or EnJoye

While I haven’t decided which brand I’m going to go with, I know that I want a closed system.

Breastfeeding…How Long Should You Do It?

July 31, 2012 by Larisha Campbell

There has been a lot of debate lately about breastfeeding.

First, TIME magazine put a very controversial cover featuring a woman breastfeeding an approximately 4 year old child.

Then, two military moms were featured in the news for breastfeeding while wearing their uniforms.

I was about 3 months pregnant when all of this controversy started and I have to admit it confused me even more. The military mom debate upset me because I don’t believe there is anything wrong with this; however, with the TIME magazine article, I have to admit, the thought of still breastfeeding while preparing my child for school in the fall, scares me. The thing about the TIME cover that angered me was the title “Are You Mom Enough?” To me, it suggests that if you don’t breastfeed that long, or even at all, you aren’t as “MOM” as women that do. And in a country where breastfeeding is already frowned upon in public, this should not be the message being portrayed.

Enough about my opinions on the articles….I knew way before I became pregnant that I was going to breastfeed. My mom breastfeed me and my sister has breastfeed both of my nieces and plans on it once her new baby arrives. I know the health benefits of breastfeeding over formula feeding, as well as the cost benefits (obviously my breasts are free vs paying for formula).

After speaking and hearing some local moms in a variety of FB mom groups I’m in, I know this is one more thing I need to spend a lot of research on. Obviously, anything can happen and there’s always the possibility that maybe I won’t be able to breastfeed at all….(I pray constantly this doesn’t happen)….but my first goal is going to be 6 months exclusively breastfeeding (EBF). This means nothing for my baby except breastmilk.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have both reaffirmed their recommendations to EBF until 6 months. A baby simply doesn’t need anything beside the nutrients a mother can give during this time. The WHO also has a great article on when to start introducing other foods after 6 months as well.

What are your thoughts/opinions on breastfeeding? What age is too old and why do you feel that way?

Updated 2/13/15 — Interestingly enough as confused as I was at the time of posting this, I am currently nursing my 26 month old while pregnancy with Baby #2. How time changes things!

Am I an Eco-Mom?? My decision to cloth…

July 7, 2012 by Larisha Campbell

I’ve never been extremely eco-friendly. While I do recycle and recently started my own garden…it really ends there.

Then I became pregnant.

Almost immediately I started considering cloth diapering. Where these ideas came from… I have no idea. But halfway through this pregnancy, I am diving head first into learning everything cloth diaper.

And let me tell you…it’s hard…these aren’t my moms cloth diapers with just some folding and pins. There’s prefolds, all-in-ones, all-in-twos, one size, fitteds, covers, pockets…overwhelmed yet…I sure was am.

So why do I want to? (The four main reasons)

It saves a ton. The average cost of disposable diapering until age 2 is $2000. The average cost of cloth the entire time a child is in diapers is approximately $800. Plus if you have more than one child, you can continue to reuse the cloth diapers, yielding an even bigger savings.
It’s healthier for baby. Many people don’t realize that there are harsh chemicals in disposable diapers that cloth simply don’t have, including dioxin and polypropylene, amongst others.
Convenience. Ever run out of diapers and are stuck leaving a dirty diaper on your child until you can gather find everything your keys you need get to the store? Never again. You can never run out of cloth diapers…though you may need to do a wash.
Prevent waste. In addition to just making yourself feel better about protecting the baby, you will help the environment by eliminating up to one ton of waste that is estimated to come from every child’s disposable diapers by age 2. Plus a diaper taskes approximately 500 years to decompose.

The first reason, is really all I needed. I’m very frugal spending aware, especially as we are trying to save for our downpayment for our first house. Which is essentially how I convinced my fiance to do it with me. His initial thought was literally, “Hell No! I’m not touching poop”. After explaining the modern convinces to cloth diapering plus the savings, he was all in. Thank God!

While the average cloth diaper costs anywhere between $5-$25, the initial shock was overwhelming. However, the more I read, it’s recommended for 2-3 dozen diapers for newborns-6 months and as little as 6-8 once older, depending on your washing preferences.

There’s also no more “dunking” associated with cloth diapers like many people initially assume and the adorable bright colors and prints are to die for!

Do you cloth? What are your favorite brands? This is just my initial post on how I came to my decision to cloth. I will be posting a lot more once I start to build my stash and obviously once the baby is here, so I can update everyone on how it’s going!!

Updated: Read more on Cloth Diapering

5 Cloth Diaper Accessories You Need

A look into our Fluff Stash

Our Eco-Friendly parenting Journey Updated (2015)

Be Band Maternity Review

July 5, 2012 by Larisha Campbell

*Disclosure: Affiliate links contained in this post. You purchase like you would normally, but we receive a small commission.

I freaked out when, at only 6 weeks, my pants were already tight. By 8 weeks even my “big girl” jeans weren’t fitting. I wanted to break down and cry…okay for a few minutes I actually did. Whether it was because of the jeans or the hormones, I’ll never know…but I’m blaming the hormones.

What in the world was I going to do…I was still in shock that I was pregnant. Hadn’t even told any of my family yet and I was going home for Easter to break the news to everyone and I couldn’t even find anything to pack.

I had heard that Target had an awesome maternity section, but was dreading going there to look for maternity pants. Not only did I not want to buy them yet, I heard so many stories about them not fitting until you were readily showing (which I wasn’t at the time).

Once I got there, I found, on the end aisle, a “BeBand Maternity” (similar to this one). I was intrigued to say the least. The thought of being able to use this for multiple months would save me a ton. They had them in white, black, and a nude color. I took it out of the package in the store and tried it on right there in the middle of the aisle…I was desperate to find something. I was hooked!

Be Maternity BeBand as shown on Target website

So what are my initial thoughts … 13 weeks after buying this….

Pros:
It doesn’t feel constricting whatsoever
Whether I unbutton or completely unzip my pants it holds them up
Multiple neutral colors, give you the option to just look like you are wearing another tank top
Still just as tight after multiple washes

Cons:
Because it is a fairly thin material, depending on the shirt you decide to wear, you can see that the buttons are undone on your pants

17 weeks wearing with jeans from Forever 21

20 weeks wearing with shorts from Forever 21

For less than half the price as a new pair of maternity jeans, you really can’t beat it. I have recommended it to all of my friends that are currently expecting and will continue to recommend it to anyone that I find out who is!!