I received the latest catalog from "Current, Inc." - greeting cards, gift
wrap, etc. The page entitled "Only the best for baby" features "labels for
baby's belongings"-self stick labels shaped like a baby bottle with three
blank lines for labeling. The suggested use for these labels in day care
centers-to "label baby's bottle, label milk for the freezer"-they must be
referring to breastmilk although not specified. Another item on this page-a
laminated wipe off memo board called "The Baby Bulletin"-so a new mom can
record baby's feeding, sleeping and pooping schedule! The first half of the
board is marked off by hour, so mom can fill in the times baby's been fed.
The sample shows the following: 2:00 Nursed   6:00 Nursed  11:00 Nursed
  3;00 Daddy tried Bottle   4;00 nursed   8;00  nursed.  The other half of
the bulletin board, also marked by hour,  shows when baby pooped : the 11OO
time slot has DIAPER followed by three exclamation points! (Otherwise known
as a mudslide, per my beloved colleague, Catherine W. Genna!)
These references to breastfeeding are included with no fanfare, seems like
something ordinary and everyday. The memo board is inexpensive and actually
sounds like a good idea for a new mom who's frazzled by the demands of the
new baby. When my oldest (now 18) was newborn, I used to joke that I needed a
time clock to punch every time he nursed so I'd know how often he ate-I never
really knew! We were obviously a feed-on-demand dyad. I didn't know about
"finish the first breast first" in those days-we might have had less colic if
I had! My kids gained really well , one of them gained 4 pounds one month!
Reminiscing here in Brooklyn, NY where we are expecting one foot of new snow
today!
Pearl Shifer, M.Ed., IBCLC