Amanda Cole

If transitioning your baby to using a cup, consider one with a straw. Breastfed babies tend to do better with a straw cup since it's more similar to how they extract milk from the breast. Cups with a straw are also said to be better for speech development, since they allow for the tongue to move into a more natural position. Dentists love them too since liquid flows quicker through the mouth, and therefore spends less time on the teeth. Despite these benefits, some moms think their babies' experience gassiness from using a straw cup. So if your baby prefers the spout for starters, that's fine too! Eventually, we all learn to drink from a straw. Here are some great tips on how to introduce a straw cup: http://www.parentingstartshere.com/index.php/2011/12/13/how-to-introduce-a-straw-cup-to-your-baby-or-toddler

Having a sense of what to expect throughout your breastfeeding experience can help alleviate unnecessary worry and give you a heads up on what’s to come as your baby gets older. Check out this helpful breastfeeding timeline, which you may want to bookmark on your phone or simply keep handy: http://www.thealphaparent.com/2011/12/timeline-of-breastfed-baby.html?m=1

There is no need to get your eyes checked out if you notice changes in the color of your breastmilk! In general, human milk tends to be clear or have a bluish tint when it first starts to flow and becomes more creamy and white by the end of a pumping or nursing session. In addition, certain foods, herbs, nutritional supplements and medications can change the milk's color to shades of pink, orange, red, brown, green and even black. Although the colors may be strange to see, the changes in the color of breastmilk are usually diet-related and not at all dangerous.

Boob Scoop: After months of pumping and washing bottles, at the end of each workday, a mom may be ready to hang up the pump but want to continue breastfeeding. If you're not ready to wean but are ready to ditch the pump, this piece is for you! ttp://hygeiainc.com/im-not-ready-to-wean-my-baby-but-im-ready-to-ditch-the-pump/#sthash.CHA5Y6aN.6jvqFJlQ.dpbs.

Boob Scoop: Healthy, full-term babies have enough iron stores in their bodies to last for at least the first six months. In addition, the iron in breastmilk is better absorbed than that from other sources due to its levels of vitamin C and lactose, which aid in iron absorption. Here’s an excellent piece by Kellymom on what’s normal when it comes to iron levels, why iron supplementation is not the answer for every baby and a list of great foods that are naturally rich in iron. http://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron/

When preparing bottles for daycare, store them in 2-3 ounce amounts. In doing so, the baby is not given more than needed, less is wasted and the caregiver doesn't feel the need to finish the bottle just because it's filled to the brim. As you may know, the amount of breastmilk you produce after the first month does not change much, but its composition continues adjusting to meet your baby's growing and developmental needs. Therefore, you may be surprised to learn that even at 6 months, your baby may not drink more than three ounces at a feeding, when getting a bottle.

After the first month of breastfeeding, your baby may begin feeding quicker than she used to, which may lead you to think that she didn't feed enough. However, with an average of about three-hundred feedings in one month, it's likely that she has reached pro status and has just become a very efficient nurser. So if you have a newborn, try to enjoy the days when a feeding can allow for enough time to read through your Facebook newsfeed. These days will pass quicker than you can fathom right now ;)

Yummy Mummy was featured recently on NPR.

Health insurance plans now have to cover the full cost of breast pumps for nursing mothers. This is the result of a provision in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), and the new rule took effect for many people at the start of this year.

It's led to a boom in the sale of the pumps, which can cost hundreds of dollars.

Yummy Mummy, a little boutique on New York's Upper East Side, has suddenly become a health care provider/online superstore. The company has been hiring like crazy, and just opened an online call center and a warehouse in Illinois. Yummy Mummy even hired somebody to talk to customers' health insurance companies.

And new moms now seem more likely to splurge on fancy new breast pumps. Caroline Shany, a Yummy Mummy customer, spent her own money to buy a breast pump for her first baby. She may buy another one now because insurance will pick up the tab.

"Why not?" she says.

Weird things happen when you take price out of the equation for consumers. For one thing, they stop looking for the best price. But even though breast pumps are free for new moms, somebody has to pay for them.

"Health insurance premiums are driven by how much we spend on health care," says Harvard health economist Katherine Baicker. "The more things that are covered by health insurance policies, the more premiums have to rise to cover that spending."

Advocates of requiring insurance companies to pay for breast pumps say that the measure will pay for itself in the long run. Babies that are breast fed tend to have fewer health problems, and paying for breast pumps should mean more babies are breast fed.

Whether that happens may depend partly on how the new rules are implemented. Insurers are still trying to figure out whether to pay for extra-fancy breast pumps, or just basic models.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/01/25/170259620/free-breast-pumps-and-the-cost-of-health-care

Oftentimes mothers say they didn't breastfeed in the hospital because they felt they weren't making any milk or because of the non-milky look of colostrum, which tends to be clear or yellowish. The good news is that mothers begin making colostrum by the end of the first trimester, so it's already there after birth. Secondly, it's never good to judge milk by its color. Although not white in appearance, colostrum is still milk and is loaded with carbohydrates, protein, antibodies, and properties that prevent jaundice and low blood sugar levels, making it a perfect first food for a newborn. Finally, the more a mother breastfeeds in the early days, the sooner her breastmilk will transition into mature milk which is more white in appearance.

P&N says: "[Yummy Mummy is] a great resource for all the gear recommendations and advice you might need. The purpose of this site started by Amanda Cole, lactation expert and owner of the specialty store with the same name, is 'to facilitate and enrich the breastfeeding experience by providing the information, personal attention, and products and services that mothers need to make breastfeeding enjoyable, rewarding and stress free.will serve as a gathering place for soon-to-be and new moms who are seeking support, guidance and sisterhood.' Sounds good to us."

You can find everything from breast pump rentals to nursing apparel to links to lactation consultants and breastfeeding information to books and DVDs and more. Emporium is the right word to describe this online haven for nursing moms—it's a one-stop spot for gear you can buy and ears you can bend for helpful tips. (If you live in the Manhattan area, check out their selection of classes.)

Peruse Yummy Mummy today—maybe you'll find just the boost you need to keep your breastfeeding success going strong.

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