You know how we feel about breastfeeding here at Gimme the Good Stuff. Our president, Maia James, breastfeeds her kids until they are pushing three. She has written about why she thinks the benefits of breastfeeding have not been overstated, despite headlines to that effect last year. And whenever we talk about the best formulas out there, it's always with the caveat that no formula comes close to
Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Postpartum
The 20 Best Brooklyn Baby Names
This post originally appeared on Maia's blog on The Huffington Post. We recently moved from the Upper East Side of Manhattan to Brooklyn, and despite being less than five miles away, it feels like we've relocated to another planet. Perhaps the biggest change is that, in this borough, no one recoils when we introduce our son as "Wolf." I've stopped mumbling my answer or quickly changing the
Are the Benefits of Breastfeeding Overstated? I Doubt It.
Have you heard the news? It turns out that nursing your baby is a big waste of effort because formula is just as beneficial as breastmilk. At least that’s the conclusion you could reasonably draw from recent headlines that assert that there are “no long-term benefits of breastfeeding,” and “breast doesn’t beat the bottle.” Bloggers and reporters suggest we “hold the guilt!” because a “new study
When Will My Pre-Pregnancy Jeans Fit Me?
My second son is 6 months old, and I'm just about back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I think it happened slightly faster this time, probably because instead of lying around nursing and stuffing my face, I'm schlepping two kids around the city for all of the four-year-old's activities. I found the following journal entry on my first postpartum experience, when several months in I was still far from
The Secret Reason I Didn’t Have an Epidural
I recently gave birth without the use of any pain medications for the second time. While recovering and getting to know my new son, Wolf, I've been reading over the journal entries I penned right after Felix's birth nearly four years ago. Here is that birth story, with an admission of the real reason I went drug-free. I am a delicate flower, otherwise known as a massive wimp with no
What if I Don’t Love My Baby?
I had forgotten that during Felix's infancy, and before I had launched Gimme the Good Stuff, I sometimes wrote about my pregnancy, birth and postpartum period before falling asleep at night. I recently found the entry below, and it brought me some comfort as I have again been worrying about not loving the baby I've been gestating for the last 39 weeks. I spent pretty much my entire pregnancy
5 Super Easy Ways to Create a Safer Prenatal Environment for Your Baby
When I was pregnant with my second child, I realized that all the clichés about how different the prenatal period is the second time around were really spot on. I barely could keep track of which week of pregnancy I was in, at 8.5 months pregnant I had not yet taken any baby clothes/blankets out of storage (let alone buy something new for the little guy), and had no idea where the ultrasound
5 Tips for a Safer Prenatal Beauty Routine
I recently wrote the following guest blog post for a local parenting website. How do I know which skin- and hair-care products are truly safe to use while I am pregnant? Answer: As you probably suspect, many beauty products advertised as “natural” or "organic" contain lots of questionable chemicals in their ingredients lists. Sadly, this is even true for those products marketed specifically
Older Dads More Likely to Have Autistic Kids
It's hard to not worry about autism as a parent or potential parent. When I was pregnant in 2009, one in 120 kids was on the autism spectrum; earlier this month, we learned that this number has jumped to one in 88. Autism is particularly rampant in boys (affecting roughly one in 50). Is my baby "on the spectrum"? When Felix was a newborn, I wondered why he didn't gaze at me the way all the books