Hi! My name is Grady and I am 4 months old

Hi! My name is Grady and I am 4 months old. I love watching trees sway in the breeze and going for walks in my MOBY wrap from the Pump Station. I am a champ in the bathtub where I like to kick my Rubber Ducky. My parents are happy they can go to the Pump Station for anything they need for me, and I am glad I meet so many friends at my mommy and me class with Heather T!

Pump Station, thank you for all of the things you do to make babies happy!
love, Grady

Ok, let's face it - we all think we have the cutest (and most precocious) baby on the block - well at the Pump Station & Nurtury™ - we believe you! You do have the cutest and most precious baby!

With that said, we invite you to send us your own personal Baby Bio! Send us a great picture of your baby or a friends and then include a little information about him or her. Does your baby have a nickname? a favorite food? a favorite vacation spot or even a favorite sports team? Baby Bios should be under 220 Characters long. Photos may be cropped to fit in the allotted space.

Send your photo to info@pumpstation.com.

Ask the Pediatrician

Tuesday, February 22nd from 6:30pm to 8:00pm
at our Santa Monica Location for Expectant Parents

Don’t miss this chance to ask three local Pediatricians anything as you prepare for your newborn. Expectant parent’s questions will guide the discussion. Here are some possible topics:

• Well baby care: what is the schedule?
• How will I know if my baby is sick?
•  When should I call the doctor?
• Which thermometer is best to use?
• Normal baby behaviors (hiccups, sneezing, burping)
• Skin care—rashes, wipes, diaper cream,  lotion, powder
• What is colic and can it be prevented?
• When might my baby sleep more?
• Blocked tear ducts
• Whopping cough epidemic (Pertussis)
• Vitamin D supplement
• Vaccines

Snacks will be served.
Don’t miss out on our Grand Prize Drawing!

$10 per couple. Space is limited to 14 couples. Register today by
calling our Santa Monica Location at 310-998-1981

Our Pediatrician Panel:

Tyler D. Krohn, MD, Santa Monica Pediatrics
Tyler D. Krohn, M.D. is currently a pediatrician at Santa Monica Pediatrics and an assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.  His partners include renowned pediatricians Marshall Sachs, Dennis Woo, Sharon Kaminker, and Chiaki Jutabha and their group is one of the oldest and most well-respected pediatrics practices on the Westside of Los Angeles.  After graduating magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a focus on biomedical science and health care studies, he moved to Los Angeles  where he received his Medical Doctorate from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.  He then began his career in pediatrics doing his internship and residency training at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, which has been ranked as one of the top 10 children’s hospitals in the United States and the best children’s hospital on the West Coast (Source: US News & World Report).  He has spent time in the leadership of the American Academy of Pediatrics and has conducted research in the area of cystic fibrosis, which is an area of particular interest to him.  He and his wife live in Brentwood with their two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Henry and Jack, and they are currently expecting their first child.

Cara Natterson, MD

Cara Natterson, MD is a board certified pediatrician and member of the AAP. She was in practice at 10th Street Pediatrics for many years before moving on to a career in writing and consulting. Cara has published three health and parenting books, the most recent of which came out this past October. She is a blogger on sites such as HuffingtonPost.com and Intent.com, and she has appeared as an expert on TV, print, online, and speaking engagements. In her consulting practice, Worry Proof Consulting, Cara works with parents to review medical issues and wade though conflicting research or advice. She lives here in LA with her husband and two children.

Rebecca DiMundo, MD
Rebecca DiMundo, MD, is a Pediatrician and owner of a small private practice in Santa Monica.  She attended medical school at Keck USC School of Medicine, then completed residency in Pediatrics at L.A. County - USC Women's and Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. After graduation she spent 5 years working with the National Health Service Corps bringing medical care to under served communities along the Texas - Mexico border and in the Central Valley of California before returning to her hometown of Los Angeles.  She lives with her husband and 3 children. 

Ameda Purely Yours Ultra $50 Rebate Ends Jan 31

You only have a few days left to send in the $50 rebate if you've purchased an Ameda Purely Yours Ultra Double Electric Breast Pump since November 1, 2010. Rebated ends on all purchases after January 31, 2011. (Form available on our Ameda Purely Yours Ultra™ page)

Thinking about a Breastpump Purchase? Check out the Ameda.

The Ameda Purely Yours Ultra™ Double Electric Breast Pump with CustomFit Flanges was designed knowing not all breasts are a like. It's quiet with separate speed and suction settings, and more flange options for a customized fit. The HygieniKit milk collection system (BPA DEHP free) prevents milk and moisture from entering into the pump's tubing. The Hygienikit is dishwasher safe and converts to a manual pump.

• Tote, ultra-suede with faux leather
• Cool N Carry™ Milk Storage Tote with 3 cooler packs and 4 extra storage bottles
• Extra Valves, Nylon bag for parts
• Easy clean pumping pad
• 12V Car Adapter
• Can run on 6 AA Batteries (not included)
• Model: 17085

Valid for Purely Yours Ultra Pumps purchased from November 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011.

See all our Breastpumps and don't forget we also offer Breastpump Rentals.

In order to insure the most successful and gratifying breastfeeding experience for mother and child, we recommend you schedule a one-on-one visit with one of our experienced IBCLC's.» Learn More

A Roadmap to Improving Support for Breastfeeding Mothers

Surgeon General's Call to Action: Washington, DC
Three out of four women in the United States provide their infants with the healthiest start in life by breastfeeding, and today Surgeon General Regina Benjamin (pic on right) called on the entire nation to support the removal of barriers to this important public health behavior. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding is an unprecedented document from the nation's highest medical source, calling on health care providers, employers, insurers, policymakers, researchers, and the community at large to take 20 concrete action steps to support mothers in reaching their personal breastfeeding goals.
The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) applauds the Call to Action, which is based on the latest evidence about the health, psychosocial, economic, and environmental effects of breastfeeding. The document includes action steps and implementation strategies for six major sectors of society:

Mothers and their Families: emphasizes the need to educate and inform families about the importance of breastfeeding, and provide the ongoing support mothers need to continue.

Communities: calls upon the entire community to support breastfeeding mothers, including the provision of peer counseling support, promotion of breastfeeding through community-based organizations and traditional and new media venues, and the removal of commercial barriers to breastfeeding.
Health Care: urges the health care system to adopt evidence-based practices as outlined in the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, provide health professional education and training, ensure access to skilled, professional lactation care services, and increase availability of banked donor milk.

Employment: calls for paid maternity leave and worksite and child care accommodations that support women when they return to work.

Research and Surveillance: emphasizes the need for additional research, especially regarding the most effective ways to address disparities and measure the economic impact of breastfeeding, and calls for a national monitoring system.

Public Health Infrastructure: calls for enhanced national leadership, including creation of a federal interagency work group, and increasing the capacity of the United States Breastfeeding Committee and affiliated state coalitions.

According to USBC Chair Robin Stanton, "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding truly paints the landscape of breastfeeding support in the United States, demonstrating a society-wide approach to removing the barriers that make it difficult for many women to succeed. The United States Breastfeeding Committee urges all Americans to be proactive in using these action steps as a springboard to extend support so that mothers throughout the country get the care, help, and encouragement they deserve. USBC looks forward to partnering with both public and private entities on implementation of the action steps."

» See also The Surgeon General's FACT SHEET

For more information on the Call to Action, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov.

The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) is an independent nonprofit coalition of more than 40 nationally influential professional, educational, and governmental organizations. Representing over a million concerned professionals and the families they serve, 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 about USBC, visit www.usbreastfeeding.org.

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding FACT SHEET

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding outlines steps that can be taken to remove some of the obstacles faced by women who want to breastfeed their babies.

How many American women breastfeed their babies?

• Three out of four mothers (75%) in the U.S. start out breastfeeding, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2010 Breastfeeding Report Card.
• At the end of six months, breastfeeding rates fall to 43%, and only 13% of babies are exclusively breastfed.
• Among African-American babies, the rates are significantly lower, 58% start out breastfeeding, and 28% breastfeed at six months, with 8% exclusively breastfed at six months.
• The Healthy People 2020 objectives for breastfeeding are: 82% ever breastfed, 61% at 6 months, and 34% at 1 year.

What are the health benefits of breastfeeding?

• Breastfeeding protects babies from infections and illnesses that include diarrhea, ear infections and pneumonia.
• Breastfed babies are less likely to develop asthma.
• Children who are breastfed for six months are less likely to become obese.
• Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Mothers who breastfeed have a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

What are the economic benefits of breastfeeding?

• Families who follow optimal breastfeeding practices can save between $1,200–$1,500 in expenditures on infant formula in the first year alone.
• A study published last year in the journal Pediatrics estimated that if 90% of U.S. families followed guidelines to breastfeed exclusively for six months, the U.S. would annually save $13 billion from reduced medical and other costs.
• For both employers and employees, better infant health means fewer health insurance claims, less employee time off to care for sick children, and higher productivity.
• Mutual of Omaha found that health care costs for newborns are three times lower for babies whose mothers participate in the company’s employee maternity and lactation program.
  

What obstacles do mothers encounter when they attempt to breastfeed?

• Lack of experience or understanding among family members of how best to support mothers and babies.
• Not enough opportunities to communicate with other breastfeeding mothers.
• Lack of up-to-date instruction and information from health care professionals.
• Hospital practices that make it hard to get started with successful breastfeeding.
• Lack of accommodation to breastfeed or express milk at the workplace.

What can the health care community do?

• More hospitals can incorporate the recommendations of UNICEF/WHO’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
• Provide breastfeeding education for health clinicians who care for women and children.
• Ensure access to International Board Certified Lactation Consultants.

What can employers do?

• Start and maintain high-quality lactation support programs for employees.
• Provide clean places for mothers to breastfeed.
• Work toward establishing paid maternity leave for employed mothers.
  

What can community leaders do?

• Strengthen programs that provide mother-to-mother support and peer counseling.
• Use community organizations to promote and support breastfeeding.

What can families and friends of mothers do?

• Give mothers the support and encouragement they need to breastfeed.
• Take advantage of programs to educate fathers and grandmothers about breastfeeding.
  

What can policymakers do?

• Support small nonprofit organizations that promote breastfeeding in African-American communities.
• Support compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
• Increase funding of high-quality research on breastfeeding.
• Support better tracking of breastfeeding rates as well as factors that affect breastfeeding.

Information from: Breastfeeding Fact sheet

To order a printed copy of The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding, call 1-800-CDC-INFO or email cdcinfo@cdc.gov and reference the publication title. For a downloadable copy, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov.

Prepared January 20, 2011

Free Ground Shipping on Orders $50 or More

Enjoy free ground shipping! Offer applies to all orders totaling $50 or more until midnight Monday January 17, 2011.

» Shop Now

» Click here for more details...

Mini Moby & How to Wrap a Moby Wrap

Everyone loves their Moby Wrap, but did you know you can now share your love with your little one? Pump Station is now offering more Moby Wrap styles online including the Moby Mini. The mini is a plush toy or doll carrier for kids. Let your little one carry their wee little one or wee-fluffy one, just like Mom and Dad. It's too cute!

We now carry the Adult Moby in 8 colors including: 2 organic styles and the new Moby Wrap UV with 50+ SPF protection.

Don't forgot about Pump Station's FREE sling Clinics too. We demonstrate a variety of slings and carriers in a one hour class.

Learn how to carry your little one in a sling, a wrap, a carrier with a teether, a rattle or wubbie. You'll be smiling wonderfully with your w'ittle w'one wrapped, with a Moby and a WubbaNub. All w'eady for your day.

Watch 2 videos on how to use the Moby Wrap below. There's more than one way to wrap a Moby. Actually there are more than just to two below. See our website for a PDF.







(We apologize to Dr. Seuss)

Taking Control of Your Maternity Leave

By: Lauren Wallenstein, Human Resources Consultant

It's natural to understand only about 50% of what your Human Resources advocate tells you. At least, that's what my husband says. Maternity leave laws in California are extremely generous, but also confusing. It seems that the laws are created in a vacuum without regard to how they will overlap or dovetail with existing laws and this leads to confusion over how they should be implemented. And then you have to figure out how your company's policies work into the equation on top of that. To top it off, most people wait until their baby is born and they are massively sleep-deprived to explore these issues! Alas, there is a better way.

I recently met with a client who was on her eighth week of maternity leave. It was her understanding that she was only entitled to 12 total weeks of leave. Her company outsources their HR so she could only speak with someone over the phone who didn't understand the intricacies of the leave laws herself. As a result, she was provided with a huge amount of information but had no means to apply it to her particular situation. Because having a baby is such an individual matter in terms of circumstance and timing, there is no one way to figure out how long you can be out of work. Not to mention how much of that time will be paid. After combing through the details of her delivery, post-partum experience, company benefits and leave policies, I determined that she was entitled to at least one—and maybe two—more months of leave time than she had anticipated. You can imagine the delight on her face with this news! It's not that companies deliberately mislead employees, but let's face it: You are an asset, and they want you back at work.

Come learn how to apply the leave laws to your situation. Leaving money and/or precious time with your newborn on the table is a terrible waste, especially when it is avoidable. I will make what can be a rather dry topic informative, interesting, and beneficial to you and your family. We will also cover nursing in the workplace and whether or not you decide to return to work, how to "milk" every last ounce of available benefit from the company and the state.

So much of the childbirth experience is an unknown universe. Being prepared and informed about your rights will make you feel more in control.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
Lauren Wallenstein is part of our Sizzling Hot Topic Lecture Series

Sizzling Hot Topic »See "Maximize Your Maternity Leave"

Lauren's Favorites:

My Brest Friend

Ultimate Receiving Blanket

Aden+Anais

For More Information...
Website: MilkYourBenefits.com

Hot Topics Schedules:

• Santa Monica
• Hollywood
• Westlake Village

Expressing Motherhood

The hit show Expressing Motherhood is back for two weekends this month! This live stage show consists of real mothers sharing real stories about motherhood. Expressing Motherhood will play at The Lillian Theater in Hollywood, CA, January 21-23 and 28-30. An all new cast, including The Daily Show's, Beth Littleford, is ready to go with stories of encouragement, laughter and tears. Tickets are available through theatermania.com. 

All Pump Station Clients receive 

a 10% discount on their ticket purchase. Just use the word Pump 

as the promo code.

At the January show, Expressing Motherhood will be collecting donations of diapers and wipes to support Help A Mother Out, a non profit organization helping mothers diaper their children.

Expressing Motherhood will also be accepting submissions for their next show February 1-15! This show will be just in time for Mother's Day. For all other information on submissions or upcoming showtimes, please visit expressingmotherhood.com.

See you at the show!