Travel Tips with “Baby on Board” – Our Recipe for Success

Airport travel during the holidays can be a recipe for frustration that looks something like this:

• 2 Over Tired and Frazzled Parents
• 4 TSA Security Agents
• 3 Overworked Flight Attendants
• 2 Bags of Peanuts & Warm Cokes
• 1 Lost Suitcase
• Add-in in a new little baby
• Sprinkle in ALL the supplies necessary to take care of that little baby
• End Result: Wishing you never left home!

In summary - This experience can be much like trying to bake 4 dozen cookies in an Easy Bake Oven. (Let’s face it - it’s not happening with a 100 watt light bulb)

We understand how much work traveling with an infant is so we’ve put together our own little Recipe for Success when traveling with “Baby on Board”. Click on the link below and you can learn some of the tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years that’ll make your Travel come out “Just Right!” Oh yeah, If you’re not traveling by plane you might still find some sage advice for car travel that’ll make your holidays much Sweeter!

>> Planning a Flight with Your Baby

BREASTFEEDING CRITICAL FOR PRETERM INFANTS

Press Release from USBC
November 24, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, DC--When a baby is born premature, helping the baby survive is usually the first priority for new parents. The benefits of breastfeeding, including protection from many diseases, are especially critical for premature infants. As the country recognizes Prematurity Awareness Month, many are aware that more than a half million babies--one in every eight--are born prematurely each year in the United States. There is virtually universal agreement among health care experts that breast milk is the ideal form of nutrition for all infants, including those who are born premature.

Research has shown that breastfeeding protects infants from illnesses such as ear infections, respiratory infections, and diarrhea, as well as chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and childhood leukemia. For preterm infants, studies have demonstrated that breast milk provides additional protection from life-threatening conditions that are more common in prematurity, including necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis, and pneumonia.

Given all of these benefits, the United States Breastfeeding Committee joins the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the DHHS Office on Women's Health in recommending that infants be exclusively breastfed for six months, and continue to breastfeed for the first year of life and as long afterwards as mutually desired by mother and infant. Although many premature infants cannot feed from the breast right away, mothers can express milk manually or with a breast pump so it can be fed to their babies through a tube, with a dropper, or from a bottle. By expressing milk regularly, a mother keeps up her milk supply until her baby is able to breastfeed directly. The early milk, or colostrum, provides a boost to the developing premature infant's immune system.

USBC Chair Joan Younger Meek, MD, MS, RD, FAAP, FABM, IBCLC, calls upon hospitals and physicians to recommend human milk for premature infants, either through direct breastfeeding or by using the mother's expressed milk. Dr. Meek says, "Breastfeeding education and support should be provided as early as possible to mothers of preterm infants, and mother-infant skin-to-skin contact and direct breastfeeding should be encouraged as early as feasible."

When mothers are unable or unwilling to provide their own milk, donor human milk is the ideal replacement. The use of donor human milk saves infant lives and positively impacts health outcomes of countless premature and sick infants through prevention of disease. Human milk banks in North America adhere to national guidelines for quality control of screening and testing of donors and pasteurize all milk before distribution. Fresh human milk from unscreened donors is not recommended because of the risk of transmission of infectious agents.

For more information about Prematurity Awareness Month, visit http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=iTkkQCDKaB4BbuSlZArecWgsZ5lrDFDc. For more information about the benefits of breastfeeding, visit The National Women's Health Information Center at http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5jDQ3JJIguuaPcYi3ucVR2gsZ5lrDFDc. In addition, the USBC has published a paper, "Benefits of Breastfeeding," and a position statement on "Safe Use of Donor Human Milk." Both are available for download at http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/.

Physicians and other health care providers can offer assistance and answer questions about breastfeeding. Knowledgeable breastfeeding support personnel to assist with breastfeeding the premature infant or expressing milk can be located through the International Lactation Consultant Association (http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OhWTCv4KuCX5zea%2FKZFG02gsZ5lrDFDc), the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program (http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kYcZMewySsnYBQiwWuMszWgsZ5lrDFDc), and La Leche League International (http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BM8MGmO4QwDi0AHHtzOGbZH8Hqw9LvPk). Parents and health care providers seeking donor human milk may contact the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=KOzhYQCE4Xg52icy80Dzk2gsZ5lrDFDc) for further information.

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The USBC is an organization of organizations. Opinions expressed by the USBC are not necessarily the position of all member organizations and opinions expressed by USBC member organization representatives are not necessarily the position of the USBC.
United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC)The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) is an independent nonprofit coalition of 41 nationally influential professional, educational, and governmental organizations. Representing over half a million concerned professionals and the families they serve, the USBC and its member organizations share a common mission to improve the Nation's health by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. For more information on the USBC, visit http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/.

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United States Breastfeeding Committee2025 M Street, NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036Phone: 202/367-1132Fax: 202/367-2132E-mail: office@usbreastfeeding.orgWeb: http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/

November 24, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Megan Renner
301-807-4963 (cell)
mrenner@usbreastfeeding.org

Welcome to our Quandary - REVISED

By Wendy Haldeman MN, RN, IBCLC, Co-Founder of The Pump Station & Nurtury™

We are delighted with the success of our first two sizzling hot topics held at the Aero Theater. The feedback for the attendees has been very positive and we feel confident that our speakers had much to share with the audience. Our third and final afternoon should also prove to be valuable to new parents; however, the topic may prove to be a bit controversial.

Those of you who attended Dr. Karp’s and Dr. Stamm’s talks may recall that Harvey said he was not really in favor of sleep training and Jill stated, “I would never Ferberize a child”. Several of you have approached me and asked if The Pump Station is not being hypocritical in presenting a session on helping a baby to learn positive sleep habits.

Corky and I have wrestled with the concept of sleep training for years. As breastfeeding advocates, we are very conflicted with the idea of total night weaning, particularly in a baby less than 6 months of age. Our general philosophy and experience is that exclusively breastfed babies will often need at least one middle of the night feeding, regardless of the age and weight of the baby. We have sometimes had to counsel mothers who night weaned their baby only to discover that their milk supply had been significantly reduced and the baby was no longer gaining the proper amount of weight. This is more common when the baby is under 6 months in age. Admittedly, we are aware that many babies are able to nurse enough during the waking hours to maintain proper weight gain. We have discussed these issues in depth with Sleepy Planet and they are always careful to encourage parents to discuss any potential night weaning with their lactation consultants and to avoid weaning too quickly if there are milk supply, weight gain or medical issues of any kind.

The other burning question addresses the “emotional safety” of learning how to sleep by “crying it out”. The professional opinions on this vary greatly. Corky and I are also confused and conflicted by the whole concept. We work daily with mothers who are in true crisis due to sleep deprivation. (Isn’t this a tried and true method of torture?) Exhausted parents are not effective parents and sometimes attachment can be compromised when parents are too tired to function. We have seen sleep training completely turn families around to the benefit of everyone. But, is it a responsible technique to practice on an infant, particularly one under the age of 6 months? Sleepy Planet is very careful to present a gentle perspective on crying and gears its program to keeping crying to a minimum. However, they are respectful and nonjudgmental in this arena and encourage parents to do what feels right to their hearts. Parents can still implement many of Sleepy Planet’s recommendations, even if they choose not to do any kind of formal sleep training (i.e. creating a good sleep environment, well timed sleep schedule for night and naps, excellent bedtime routines, incorporating transitional objects into sleep, etc.)

In order to gain a better perspective on this subject, I turned to the magnificent mothers in my Hollywood breastfeeding support group. These moms are currently raising infants of ages ranging from 4 to 9 months. Sleep and the lack there of, is the constant subject of every group meeting. The mothers reminded me that The Pump Station is about presenting choice. The consensus was to definitely go forward with our sleep program and the parents can then decide what is best for their own families.

So, to continue our path of excellence, we can’t think of two better, more qualified women to present sleep training than Jennifer Waldburger and Jill Spivack. They are the co-founders of Sleepy Planet and have helped hundreds of families to achieve peaceful, heavenly, sleep filled nights. Jennifer and Jill are kind, caring, nonjudgmental women who will share their techniques and speak about the new research in the area of sleep. They are respectful, first and foremost of what feels right for each individual family and they offer alternatives to their methods including co-sleeping options.

Please join us on November 22nd at 1 pm. The program generally lasts for 90 minutes. Tickets are $25.00 per seat and all the proceeds go to charity. You may purchase tickets ahead of time at The Pump Station (by phone) or simply show up at the Aero Theater on Montana Ave. in Santa Monica the day of the event. We hope to see you there and we would love for you to share your thoughts with us regarding sleep or any other topics you would like to hear discussed.

Learn More

Jennifer Waldburger & Jill Spivack of “Sleep Easy Solutions”

“Sizzling” Hot Topics Parenting Lecture Series at the Aero Theatre

Sleep Easy Solutions
November 22nd- 1pm

• Co-Founders of Sleepy Planet
• Co-Authors of "The Sleep Easy Solution - The complete Guide to Getting Your Baby or Toddler to Sleep"
• Licensed Clinical Social Workers
• Sleep Consultants, Psychotherapists
• Leaders of Mother-Infant-Toddler Groups for New Moms
• Charity-Cure Autism Now
• http://www.sleepyplanet.com/

Jennifer Waldburger & Jill Spivack will provide valuable information from their book with tips and tricks for new parents. The Lecture will be followed by a Q&A and book signing!

All ticket proceeds go to Charity!
Click here for more information

Don’t Miss This Unique Event!
Visit http://www.pumpstation.com/ for more information.