Having a baby come into your life is exciting (and let’s be honest, it can also be super scary and exhausting!). Everyone has advice to offer but… 

Certain memory lapses like forgetting where you put your car keys or your neighbour’s name are common concerns for many pregnant woman and new moms. In fact, 50-80% of women report some degree of memory change during pregnancy.

There are many nutrients that are safe to use to treat or prevent a common cold while breastfeeding. Some examples include: vitamin C, Echinacea, garlic, elderberry, vitamin D, zinc, oscillococcinum and coryzalia, and probiotics. Your naturopath may recommend other herbs or nutrients that are safe while under supervision. Make sure you are consuming extra fluids, especially water, during this time as it is common for milk production to decline during a cold. Some moms find the use of a humidifier helpful as well as salt water gargling twice daily (1/4 – ½ tsp of salt in 1 c of water).

If you can avoid over-the-counter (OTC) medications during this time that is best as almost all drugs transfer into breastmilk. Below are some common examples of OTC medications and their safety profile with respect to breastfeeding.

There is almost nothing better (or more uncommon) than feeling well rested when you have a newborn, especially after you’ve been up with your baby throughout the night for days, weeks and months after delivery. Having used the Calmmother feeding and sleep program with both of my babies, I was sleeping 8 hours through the night when they were each 8 weeks old and 10+ hours when they were 12 weeks. 

Once in a while my babies would wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes for a few minutes and other times for longer periods of time, especially if we were travelling, they had colds, were teething, or if they experienced a growth spurt and woke up for an extra feeding. Each time I worried they would get off track of the schedule we had worked so hard to put them on, but they would always transition back on schedule without much of a fuss. Other parents we’ve received feedback from about the Calmmother feeding and sleep program have reported similar experiences.

Below are our top tips for getting your baby back on track if they get off of the schedule you’ve put them on

A well-equipped diaper bag can be the difference between a pleasant outing and a potentially disastrous one. As a general rule of thumb – it is best to be over prepared. You can never predict what is going to happen or how equipped the space is that you find yourself in. Trying to remember everything can be challenging. You often find gaps in your packing at the most inopportune time (when things have gone sideways). To help in this process, here is a list of “must haves” and some “nice haves” compiled by experienced moms who have learned from a few disastrous experiences of their own! This list will vary according to weather as well as the age of your child.