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Archive - January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016

World Breastfeeding Week: Hope & Frustration

August 7, 2016

author: Jeanette Mesite Frem

It was World Breastfeeding Week last week.

World Breastfeeding Week was created to encourage global organizations and community organizations work together to improve sustainable development through the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding. I meant to post something last week but got busy helping babies with breastfeeding and watching and reading of all...

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Nurturing for Those with a New Baby

July 24, 2016

author: Jeanette Mesite Frem

Congratulations on the arrival of your new child! As a new parent, your body, heart and mind are undergoing changes. If you gave birth to a baby, your body just grew a human and is now healing after releasing the baby and placenta. For any parent, your heart is growing as you get to know your new child. Your mind is changing with your new sleep rhythms, new role, new...

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Dad vs. Nurse: Advocacy in the Labor Room (part two)

April 4, 2016

GUEST POST by Melissa DuBois

If you haven’t already, please read DAD VS NURSE: Advocacy in the labor room, Part 1

In part 1 of this blog, I discussed factors that influence the relationship between a partner (especially a male partner) and a labor nurse. I also discussed why some approaches and gender dynamics can create a defensive and adversarial relationship between dad and nurse when a dad...

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Dad vs. Nurse: Advocacy in the Labor Room (part one)

April 4, 2016

GUEST POST by Melissa DuBois

Jeanette Mesite Frem, owner/director and executive momma of Babies in Common (BinC) recently posed a question to a group of current and former labor & delivery nurse friends (me included). The question was: How can partners (especially male partners) best interact with a labor nurse when advocating for the laboring mother’s birth plan without causing the nurse to get...

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"Natural" is Now a Bad Word, says AAP Journal Article

March 31, 2016
author: Jeanette Mesite Frem
 
In an article in the journal Pediatrics (April 2016, released late March), Jessica Martucci and Anne Barnhill discuss the "Unintended Consequences of Invoking the "Natural" in Breastfeeding Promotion".
As parents and professionals around the US balk at this, I just wanted to illustrate how preposterous this really is by using the authors words but with a twist....
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How to be the perfect parent: Let go of any notion of being perfect.

March 19, 2016
 
GUEST BLOG POST by Jessica Curtis

 

In those first few years of parenting, I focused my energy on being the best parent that I could be. I set high expectations for myself and for others. I worked hard to create a safe and engaging environment that would help my kids to flourish. I provided social opportunities and activities to enhance their experiences. I read Dr. Sears and Dr. Brazelton. I...

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The Art of Self-Care

January 20, 2016

GUEST POST by Jessica Curtis

In the first few years of parenthood, I made the mistake of equating who I was with the roles I played: mother, spouse, household manager. I worked hard to be the best mom and the best partner that I could. And how did I measure my success? I measured my success (read: worth) by how happy my family was, by how well I was meeting their needs.

 

I was putting one foot...

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