gentle discipline & loving guidance

LLL has 10 concepts (see the bottom of our blog for all 10.) One of them is From infancy on, children need loving guidance which reflects acceptance of their capabilities and sensitivity to their feelings. Today at the LLL of Murray meeting Timbra talked about ways to put gentle discipline in action in our lives from gently helping a breastfeeding baby not to bite, to keeping toddlers out of mischief. When we give our babies and children respect as fellow members of the family and take their personality and needs into consideration we are giving them more than just discipline that will keep them from harm, but valuable tools that will help them deal with others throughout their lifetime.

For more information on gentle discipline read this article from LLLI, entitled What is Gentle Discipline?

Breastfeeding the Adopted Baby

Here is what La Leche League has to say about adoptive breastfeeding.

How wonderful for you and your new baby that you want to breastfeed. You can read stories from mothers who have breastfed their adopted babies. Each situation is unique so it is important to educate yourself as much as possible about this exciting endeavor.

Most mothers are able to produce at least a little milk. Whether you have been pregnant before or not does not affect your ability to produce milk. Adoptive mothers may be able to induce lactation by using a breast pump every 2-3 hours, either before the baby comes or after. Some also use a device such as the Medela Supplemental Nursing System or the Lact-Aid Nurser Training System. These both enable you to feed your baby while he is at your breast. This way, your baby gets enough milk while stimulating your body to produce your own milk. The key to all this is that the more stimulation your breasts receive, either by pump or baby, the more likely milk will be produced.

Mothers who have breastfed adopted babies often say that having achievable goals for inducing lactation helped them feel successful in the long run. They also say that breastfeeding has numerous benefits in addition to nutrition.

Mothers who induce lactation vary widely in the amount of milk they are able to produce and in the amount of time required to produce milk. All agree that inducing lactation is a process that takes patience, commitment, diligence and education. Even mothers who have breastfed previous babies may not ever be able to fully breastfeed an adoptive baby. A sensible goal, then, might be to try to provide some, or maybe most, of your new baby's nutrition yourself, while fully enjoying the closeness and bonding that breastfeeding brings. Even if your baby does not breastfeed, you can still hold him for all his feedings (and lots of holding in between!) and foster the same kind of attachment that all babies have for the mommies and daddies who love them.

Attend a La Leche League Group meeting in your area for additional information and support. To find a Leader of a local Group, check out the section of our Web site entitled Finding a Local LLL Group.

Resources for Additional Information

These items are all available from the LLLI Online Store or through your local Leader.

Baby Wearing

Tuesday we talked about baby wearing. There are many different types of carriers, but our focus was on soft carriers. Ring slings, mei tais, wraps and pouches are easy and comfortable ways to keep baby close and wonderful for discreet nursing. There are many benefits of baby wearing including ease for mother, less crying and increased learning for baby.
LLL on baby wearing
Dr. Sears on baby wearing

LLL of Sandy currently has two Maya Ties for sale. If you're interested in purchasing one please email Renee at lllofsandy@gmail.com.

October 26 Enrichment

All LLL members are welcome to our enrichment meetings. Tomorrow's topic is babywearing. We'll be talking about the different types for baby carries, have displays and discuss the benefits of baby wearing. Hope to see you there!

Series Meeting Tomorrow

Join us tomorrow, October 12, for series meeting #2
Baby Arrives: The Family and the Breastfed Baby
Preparing for birth, getting nursing off to a good start, and establishing nursing in the early weeks

LLL meetings are free for all interested women. Babies and young children who need you are welcome.

Infant Sleep, breastfeeding & Bed Sharing

Join us for our Enrichment meeting tomorrow at 10am! Hope to see you there!

New Beginnings

Check out an excerpt from the new revised edition of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding about birth and it's important roll in the success of breastfeeding!
NB_ISSUE3_10_FINL_zmags.pdf

Nutrition and Weaning

This month, led by Rocio, we discussed what natural, baby led weaning looks like, the changes we go through as a parent as our babies turn into toddlers and preschoolers, myths surrounding extended nursing, and how to wean gradually and with love.

For more information on toddler nursing and weaning please visit the following links.

Advantages of Toddler Nursing
Breastfeeding During Pregnancy
Breastfeeding and Weaning a Toddler
Would Weaning Make my Life Easier?
How to Wean

World Breastfeeding Week

The first week of August marks World Breastfeeding Week.

There are many ways you can be involved in the promotion and protection of breastfeeding and it's "normalcy" this year.

1) Drop by read and comment on the blog Carnival posts http://yeoman5.blogspot.com/2010/07/baby-friendly-one-baby-at-time-718.html is where one mother blogs and at the bottom of each post, a list of other bloggers sharing their thoughts and ideas about each topic, EVERY DAY from July 18-31st

2) Take part in our fundraiser: The La Leche League of Murray will be holding a fundraiser for World Breastfeeding Week in the form of "Mini Breastfeeding Portrait Sessions." Timbra Wiist will be offering her photographic services and time as a donation to the Murray LLL group and to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. Please email landslidephotography@hotmail.com to RSVP for this fundraiser which will be held

~Murray Park Wednesday August 4th 4pm-7pm (Outdoor)
~Private Home in Sandy Thursday August 5th 1pm-4pm (Indoor/Outdoor) also silent auction to raise funds for LLL of Sandy
AND
~Liberty Park Friday August 6th 3pm-6pm (Outdoor)

Further location details will be given through private email at time of RSVP

Minimum donation for Mini Breastfeeding Portrait Session is $20 and includes 5-10 Full Resolution digital images (emailed or uploaded to a photo purchasing site)

Snacks provided and additional donations for WBW appreciated

AND the third way to take part in WBW is to either visit or volunteer at the Salt Lake City Breastfeeding Cafe, which is in it's FIFTH year, being held in the Share Space at the Downtown Library. Check out the blog for more information http://breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com/

Next Series Meeting

Join us on July 13, 2010 for topic #3: The Art of Breastfeeding & Avoiding Difficulties:
The normal course of breastfeeding, recognizing challenges, caring for yourself, getting support.

All LLL meetings are open to any interested women and any children that may need her. As always LLL is free of charge. Hope to see you there!

Supporting Troubled Kids

Don't forget to join us for our monthly enrichment meeting for members! Laurel, with LLL of SLC will be leading our topic "supporting troubled kids." If you don't have a membership but the topic interests you we encourage you to come check it out!

A Planet Friendly Period

This week we talked about natural menstrual products based on this article in Mothering Magazine. Cloth pads and pantyliners benefit women in lots of ways are are good for the planet too. They are free of toxic chemicals, are cute, and feel much nicer on the skin to name a few benefits. We also talked about menstrual cups and sea sponge tampons. Check out this article and decide if natural menstrual products are for you!

Look Inside >> March/April 2010

A Planet Friendly Period

Our enrichment meeting tomorrow is about how to have a natural/plant friendly period. Enrichment meetings are open to all members, but if you aren't a member and this topic interests you please join us!

LLL Philosophy

La Leche League's philosophy is based on 10 concepts. Here they are:

*Mothering through breastfeeding is the most natural and effective way of understanding and satisfying the needs of the baby.

*Mother and baby need to be together early and often to establish a satisfying relationship and an adequate milk supply.

*In the early years the baby has an intense need to be with his mother which is as basic as his need for food.

*Breast milk is the superior infant food.

*For the healthy full-term baby, breast milk is the only food necessary until baby shows signs of needing solids, about the middle of the first year after birth.

*Ideally the breastfeeding relationship will continue until the baby outgrows the need.

*Alert and active participation by the mother in childbirth is a help in getting breastfeeding off to a good start.

*Breastfeeding is enhanced and the nursing couple sustained by the loving support, help and companionship of the baby's father. A father's unique relationship with his baby is an important element in the child's development from early infancy.

*Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible.

*From infancy on, children need loving guidance which reflects acceptance of their capabilities and sensitivity to their feelings.

Meeting Tomorrow

Join us tomorrow at 10am for Series Meeting # 4: Nutrition and Weaning
Starting solids, family nutrition, extended nursing, approaches to weaning, loving guidance.

As always, our meetings are free to all interested women & any children who need them. Our meetings are informal discussions, so don't worry if you're running late! We hope to see you there!

Art by Kathy Grossman

A special thanks to Sandy leader Kathy Grossman for generously letting us use images of her beautiful paintings of mothers and babes for our website!

Attachment Parenting

Thanks to Ginger for leading this month's Enrichment meeting on The Attachment Parenting Book by William Sears.

What is Attachment Parenting (or AP)? Attachment parenting is a style of caring for your infant that brings out the best in the baby and the best in the parents. The 7 B's or attachment tools, according to Dr. Sears' book, are: Birth Bonding, Breastfeeding, Baby Wearing, Bedding close to Baby, Belief in the Language value of your baby's cry, Beware of baby trainers, and Balance. That said, here is a bit more about AP:

• AP is a starter style. There may be medical or family circumstances why you are unable to practice all of these baby B's. Attachment parenting implies first opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your baby, and eventually you will develop the wisdom on how to make on-the-spot decisions on what works best for both you and your baby. Do the best you can with the resources you have – that's all your child will ever expect of you. These baby B's help parents and baby get off to the right start. Use these as starter tips to work out your own parenting style – one that fits the individual needs of your child and your family. Attachment parenting helps you develop your own personal parenting style.
• AP is an approach, rather than a strict set of rules. It's actually the style that many parents use instinctively. Parenting is too individual and baby too complex for there to be only one way. The important point is to get connected to your baby, and the baby B's of attachment parenting help. Once connected, stick with what is working and modify what is not. You will ultimately develop your own parenting style that helps parent and baby find a way to fit – the little word that so economically describes the relationship between parent and baby.
• AP is responsive parenting. By becoming sensitive to the cues of your infant, you learn to read your baby's level of need. Because baby trusts that his needs will be met and his language listened to, the infant trusts in his ability to give cues. As a result, baby becomes a better cue-giver, parents become better cue-readers, and the whole parent-child communication network becomes easier.
• AP is a tool. Tools are things you use to complete a job. The better the tools, the easier and the better you can do the job. Notice we use the term "tools" rather than "steps." With tools you can pick and choose which of those fit your personal parent-child relationship. Steps imply that you have to use all the steps to get the job done. Think of attachment parenting as connecting tools, interactions with your infant that help you and your child get connected. Once connected, the whole parent-child relationship (discipline, healthcare, and plain old having fun with your child) becomes more natural and enjoyable. Consider AP a discipline tool. The better you know your child, the more your child trusts you, and the more effective your discipline will be. You will find it easier to discipline your child and your child will be easier to discipline.

You can find a complete AP index for this book at askdrsears.com.

Attachment Parenting

Join us tomorrow, March 23, 2010 at 10am for a discussion on William Sears' The Attachment Parenting Book: A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby.

hope to see you there!

Making Your Own Luck

As mothers we often think we need many gadgets and accessories to get the job of mothering done. Nursing clothes, breast pumps and nursing pillows are on many "must have" lists for breastfeeding moms. As we discussed in this month's series meeting, most nursing moms find they need very few accessories to breastfeed. We also talked about coping with criticism, overcoming common and not so common obstacles. Here are a few helpful links for helping the breastfeeding mom to make her own luck!
Discreet Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding after a c-section
Engorgement
Sore breasts
Increasing milk supply
Sleeping through the night

Thanks to all the new moms that attended, and of course thanks to all our regular moms who keep coming back!

The Art of Breastfeeding & Avoiding Difficulties

Join us tomorrow for series meeting #3, The Art of Breastfeeding & Avoiding Difficulties at 10am.
The normal course of breastfeeding, recognizing challenges, caring for yourself, getting support

Meetings are open to all interested women. Children who need you are always welcome. Series meetings are group discussions, not lectures. We encourage pregnant moms to come before baby is born to get information and support. Hope to see you there!