B4 you get caught up in all the products you think you and your baby may require, remember all you really need is yourself and a sling. More and more people are discovering a 'new' way to care for their infants.
Slings have been around for centuries and are used exclusively in many countries.
 Keeping the baby skin to skin is not only important in the first few hours after birth, but for many months to come. Using a sling is also something that Dads' can do and is an important bonding time for a new parent. It becomes more than just about nursing, it provides warmth and security. Feeling safe allows infants to focus on learning and trust. Having that trust and bond makes for happy babies.
Just imagine being inside the womb for nine months, being rocked, listening to voices, feeling safe. Then suddenly there you are, placed in a car seat, bassinet, crib. Where did everyone go! Babies don't know you're in the next room, on the couch, walking behind the stroller. Of course they cry when you put them down. They want to feel you and smell you, they want to be held. And the easiest way to do this is with a sling. There are many types out there, you can even make your own. So before you spend a small fortune on that must have stroller, consider the relative low cost of wearing baby in a sling. Your baby will thank you.

No Such Thing as a Free Gift

B4 you click that mouse to receive a 'free' backpack from a formula company please think twice. It is indeed a lovely backpack and the companies website states it supports breastfeeding and that breastfeeding is the optimum way to feed a newborn. But...and its a big but, inside the 'free' backpack are also 'free' supplies of formula. That doesn't seem to make sense you think and anyway you don't have to use the formula, right?
But its 2am and its been an exhausting few days with little sleep and there it is in the house conveniently supplied for 'free'. You are so tired, you can hardly think straight. So what harm can it do.
Well, a lot. First of all it is normal for babies to feed a lot in those first few days and the more you put baby to breast the quicker you milk will come in. Colostrum in days 1-3 is thicker and it means a small amount goes along way. A newborns stomach is only the size of cherry and only holds 5-10 mls at each feed.
Giving formula interrupts this frequent feeding cycle, a baby will not feed as often and so begins the downward spiral of supplementing. Formula is much slower to digest and yes baby may sleep a little longer but when he sleeps your breast may be ready to nurse and he is not.
This is the goal of the 'free' backpack, to take advantage of parents when they are in a very vulnerable place.
Another issue that arises with the use of formula (artificial baby milk/ABM) is often it is given using a bottle. More things to buy and that 'free' sample does not last long and now you have to go out and purchase more ABM and all the equipment to go with it. The formula companies have succeeded, the 'free' backpack ends up not being so free after all.

The Fourth Trimester

B4 you become stressed about going back to school or work., or simply trying to get back to an organised life, take a step back and take a deep breath. Hopefully you have carried your baby to full term and life with your newborn has just begun. You have achieved an enormous goal and life has changed beyond recognition.
The term fourth trimester encompasses life in the first couple of months that baby is here. This is an important time for bonding and breastfeeding. Babies need to be close, they do not know you are in the next room or that you will pick them up in 2 minutes. Babies do not know about clocks and that maybe in half an hour they will be fed. One of the biggest changes in the way you can cope with this new way of thinking, is to begin to understand the very basic needs of your new baby. They want to know you are nearby 24/7. You are their security, the place where they feel safe and learn about the world they now belong to, as well as their primary food source. Without you they cannot survive. Now, some people may say this is a stressful burden to undertake, that the baby will be spoilt by being held all the time, that you are unable to provide all the nutrition he or she needs. The facts are this, there is a very small % of women who will be unable to breastfeed but the majority can and are able to with help and support when and if needed.