Mmm, mmm, good😋! We love homemade food! They are delicious, healthy, and nutritious!Wait, then would homemade baby formula be better than the ones in the shops🤔? The answer is NO! If you wonder, here&#39;s why:<hr>What is in baby formula?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/froala/boards/4008/7b30fe90-0dc6-4f27-a8fa-37bb99c05c13.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">Have you ever wondered what is that white powder made of? Basically, baby formula is made to replicate human breast milk as much as possible🥛. The biggest difference between formula and breastmilk is that the latter is a living composition while the formula is inert.Purified cow&#39;s milk is the most commonly used ingredient for baby formula. Formula made with soy milk or oat milk is often seen as well. A blend of vegetable oils is used as a fat source🫛, and lactose as a carbohydrate source. Ingredients for vitamin and mineral mix depend on the manufacturer.<hr>Making my own baby formula at home! Is it possible?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/froala/boards/4008/a0923c6f-2df8-4ad4-bc4c-7306c1205064.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), making baby formula at home is not safe🙅. Why is that? It&#39;s because infants need very specific nutrition in order to grow and it&#39;s very hard to meet all the needs at home. Commercially manufactured formulas, however, are designed to contain protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals well balanced.Also, you&#39;ll be using commercial goods as ingredients to make baby formula at home🏠 - for example, raw milk. Commercials refine those ingredients to be suitable for infants, but we can&#39;t do that at home!&nbsp;<hr>What should I do if I can&#39;t find baby formula around?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/froala/boards/4008/a38ea4a4-a502-4848-8939-a4bcf34d8f17.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">Middle of the night🌃, no formula, no shops open, and your baby is crying from hunger! Many of us have already dealt with, or can face this situation!If there&#39;s no way to get the baby formula, try calling your pediatrician or nearby clinic for help. They might have an emergency formula supply to help you👨&zwj;⚕️. If they don&#39;t have it stocked, they can recommend you other ways to fill your little one&#39;s hunger.&nbsp;If your baby is approaching age 1, you might consider feeding whole cow&#39;s milk or soy milk as the very last option. It would be a better option than giving her homemade or diluted formula! To ensure safety, ask your pediatrician for guidance in advance if your baby is good to drink these as an alternative!

Why homemade baby's formula isn't safe

Parenting isn&#39;t one-size-fit-alls. You might feel a lot of pressure to pick one style of parenting, in reality, the act of parenting is a true journey, not a set of required practices. You&#39;re welcome to take your time to figure it out.😀<hr>Attachment parenting<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3236/06210511-ece5-44c5-ae2b-f2760ad42f0c.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👪Definition of attachment parenting?Attachment parenting is not all about a frenetic attempt to deliver the fastest responses when your baby sends a signal. It&#39;s actually about finding a balance between parents&#39; lives and childcare duties.⚖️The ancestral implication that mothers are designed to devote themselves to child-rearing to the point that they can&#39;t have a private life is out-dated.⚠️ Something is wrong if you and your baby cannot enjoy the parenting journey. What it truly means is attending to your child&#39;s cues and taking action accordingly that suits both you and your baby.🥰👪Common practices of attachment parentingIf you choose attachment parenting, you may find yourself frequently holding your baby, breastfeeding🤱 whenever your little one cries even in the middle of the night.🌙 You become sensitive and responsive to your child&#39;s emotions. You decide to co-sleep with your baby to monitor them better.<hr>Benefits of attachment parenting<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3236/d5c89260-f950-4fef-b450-c0319fec5b86.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👪Secure bondsUnlike unresponsive and more controlling parents, sensitive mothers tend to pay attention more to the child&#39;s interests and needs.👂 The quality of communication between you and your child indicates more secure attachment relationships.👪Promote independenceInfants are less likely to develop fearful tendencies if they know that you are always there by their side.👩&zwj;👦 They show a greater level of positive mood, more constructive coping and better regulation of emotion on their own.&nbsp;👪Help children cope with stressSkin-to-skin contacts and co-sleeping can help your baby develop a healthy stress response system, improved sleep patterns and better cognitive control.🧠 Once the kid receives warm and sensitive parenting, they are protected from brain-shrinking stress and autoimmune disorders.👪Fewer behavior problemsSecurely - attached children are less likely to develop behavior problems since they develop better cognitive flexibility and perspective taking-skills.🤗 Moreover, if they are engaged in mutually responsive, positive reactions with you, it is more likely that they develop consciences and comply with adult instructions.😛

Attachment parenting

Hi mommy and daddy, it&#39;s me! 👶 It&#39;s only been a few months since we met, and I am so happy that I met both of you as my family!&nbsp;Since we&#39;ve just met, I can see you having a struggle bonding with me. But don&#39;t worry, it is very normal to feel that way. Just like you meet new friends, it will take time for us to feel close to each other👩&zwj;👧&zwj;👦!&nbsp;<hr>How come I can&#39;t bond with my baby right away?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3929/99077b85-9a01-4471-a248-961e1d6f3d66.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">What is bonding?Bonding is an individual experience that differs for everyone. Some parents feel it right away when they meet their baby, but it takes some time for others. Mommies and daddies who suffer often feel guilty because they feel like they are &#39;bad&#39; parents who don&#39;t love their babies, but we all know that is not true❤️&zwj;🩹!&nbsp;Why is it so hard?Stress may be the reason why. New parents feel frustrated and panicky in the early weeks after birth because the pressure on them is big😵. Some babies cry all the time, and many parents find it hard to care for them, making bonding more difficult. (I&#39;ll try my best not to do so, so you will have less burden!💪)<hr>What are some ways to bond with my baby?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3929/b5868501-87e5-44a2-b439-280897a18882.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">Bonding with your newborn is like any other social relationship. Touching, holding, talking, cuddling, and making eye contact a number of times is needed for both of you in order to feel love and attachment.&nbsp;If you want to shorten the process, physical contact is always the best way💗. Breastfeeding is also a good way to build a tight bond. Carry me in a sling or front carrier! It helps both of us to feel each other&#39;s warmth and scent from a close distance. Giving me a bath and an infant massage is also a good way to have physical contact.Let&#39;s have plenty of cuddle time every day! Talk to me even though I can&#39;t answer yet😋. If it is a little awkward, reading could be a good option!<hr>When should you be concerned about bonding?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3929/41189ba8-a40d-482b-a79b-7c9c50ebca3b.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">A couple of weeks could be taken for us to feel closer. However, if you keep feeling awkward with me after enough time has passed, postpartum depression (PPD) could be the reason😔. In this case, you might want to discuss it with your doctor immediately and ask for help.What are some signs of PPD?When you have PPD, you can feel constant sadness throughout your days. Your energy level can decrease and can lose interest in your usual activities and hobbies. You might gain or lose weight because you&#39;ll either start eating too much or lose your appetite.&nbsp;Worrying excessively about your baby is one of the common symptoms of PPD. You&#39;ll panic because you feel like you don&#39;t have the ability to care for your baby, which, if it gets worse, thoughts of harming yourself or your baby could arise😱.Help, I think I might have PPD!If you are continuously suffering from these symptoms for more than 10 days, or your depression worse day after day, talk to your doctor right away. The doctor will refer you to a therapist or psychiatrist for treatment and could prescribe you with medications. There are many Hotlines that can help you 24/7 for emergency support, so note the number in advance for emergency cases 📞!

Bonding with your newborn

Whenever your baby feels sad or angry, do you try to empathize with their emotion or just ignore and move on? Emotionally supportive relationships can be beneficial more than you think.😎<hr>Emotion coaching<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3239/aeed4dab-1fdf-4c16-b65f-d6f77fdb76ee.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👪What is emotion coaching?Based on the principle that emotionally supportive relationships provide the best context for children to grow up, emotion coaching is the practice of helping your baby learn to self-regulate negative emotions when you tune in your child&#39;s feelings and show empathy.🤗 Because the kid is not capable of handling difficult emotions and having rich life experiences like adults, you are the ultimate guide who needs to accept and validate their feelings, helps them label emotions with words and instructs them to overcome hardships.🤱👪Why kids need you to emphasize?Young children lack our life experiences and are incompetent at reading others&#39; feelings and intentions. Your kid needs you to guide them to learn and practice.👩&zwj;🏫Some kids have a tougher time than others at mood management. The key is you can provide help and teach them to handle those emotional storms.😀<hr>Ways that emotion coaching works<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3239/0d81a628-7de5-4ac6-a284-aa790aa501e1.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👪Notice signs before your child&#39;s emotions get intenseIs your kid looking a bit frustrated?😤 Although your initial reaction might be to ignore it and regard negative emotions as offensive, this is actually the golden opportunity for you to better understand your child and help them cope with it.💪Talk to your child how they look different now and ask the reason why they behave so.️ If you suspect a trigger, gently bring it up so that the child feels like they are being heard.😀👪Listen, validate and show empathyYou need to stay calm even though your child is furious in front of you.😌 What you really need to do is to relate to your kid&#39;s experiences by drawing parallels in your own life.Imagine when you are upset at your coworkers when something goes wrong at your work. That is also your child&#39;s feelings when they are rejected or humiliated at school.🏫 You can relate to the situation and understand why your kid feels that way.😇👪Find verbal labels for emotionsAs you listen and empathize with your kids, you can help them identify what exactly their feelings are.😍 Learning how to verbalize emotions teaches them to shift into a more detached and analytical point of view and view emotions as a normal reaction to a triggering situation.&nbsp;The method isn&#39;t merely telling your baby how they should feel. But rather to ask questions, align with our own experiences and help them understand their own emotions better.🤗👪Allow your child to take time to calm downPowerful emotions, such as anger, anxiety trigger a fight or flight response. They block the ability to reason and control impulses, making us vulnerable to overreacting.🛡️The same thing happens to your child. If your baby is highly distressed about an uncomfortable situation, let them take a pause and allow the stress response to wind down.😮&zwj;💨 Don&#39;t be tempted to start problem-solving and expect them to reason with you when they are not ready.

Emotion Coaching

Sleeplessness is a common companion of newborn parenthood😪. But fear not! We hold the key to that first glorious night of uninterrupted sleep.&nbsp;<hr>How much sleep do newborns need?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/froala/boards/4100/743c0f59-8360-4216-9c04-49487219f3d9.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">In the early weeks, your baby may sleep a lot😴, but usually not for more than two to four hours at a time, day or night. Newborns typically initially sleep around 14 to 18 hours a day and around 12 to 16 hours per one-month-old. However, because their stomachs are small, they wake up every two to three hours to eat🧑&zwj;🍼. It&#39;s common for babies to have their days and nights reversed, sleeping longer during the day and being more alert at night. This phase will eventually pass!&nbsp;<hr>My baby sleeps too much. Is it okay?&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/froala/boards/4100/0702f26d-db26-41b0-b0e2-b38a81bd8bd1.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">Ah, the delightful world of newborn sleep😣! Brace yourself for the eat-sleep-repeat cycle. In those early weeks, your little one will master snoozing, briefly waking up to refuel before dozing off again. But don&#39;t worry! As they hit one month, get ready for wide-eyed moments as they explore the fascinating world.Newborns handle about an hour to an hour and a half of wakefulness before demanding some quality nap time. Beauty sleep is crucial🛌, after all! And those extra-long snooze sessions? No worries! It&#39;s usually harmless. They might be catching up after a mini-cold, experiencing growth spurts, or recovering from superhero shots. But if marathon sleep comes with a fever or respiratory distress, reach out to your pediatrician!&nbsp;<hr>Tips to help your baby sleep&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/froala/boards/4100/86f85f1a-981f-4b6f-8acb-7acc03ea610a.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">🌙Create a nighttime routineCreating a nighttime routine for your baby can be a wonderful way to help them relax and prepare for sleep. It establishes a sense of consistency and signals that it&#39;s time to wind down. Here are some tips to help you start a soothing nighttime routine:🌙Begin by setting a consistent bedtime for your baby.&nbsp;Choose a specific time to put them to bed each night. This regularity helps establish a sleep pattern and supports their internal clock.🌙Create a calm and peaceful environment in the bedroom.Dim the lights, close the curtains, and minimize noise to create a soothing atmosphere. These adjustments help your baby understand that it&#39;s time to sleep. Establish a sequence of relaxing activities that you can do before bedtime. This can include giving your baby a warm bath, reading a story, singing a lullaby, or gently rocking them. The goal is to choose activities that promote relaxation and comfort.

Tips to help your baby sleep

Oops did your baby just fall off a chair? Let&#39;s go check them out if there is any serious injury!<hr>What should you do when your baby just falls off?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3231/7244cf82-aeb8-4270-9764-7f8d3be60573.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👶The baby looks okay to youThe moment your baby falls off gives you an adrenaline rush.🏃&zwj;♀️ You run as fast as you can to your baby to make sure that your child doesn&#39;t have any serious wounds.If the baby looks okay, probably the fall doesn&#39;t cause serious injury or break some bones.🦴 You still need to continue observing your baby for the next 24 hours to see if any symptoms develop.&nbsp;👶The baby feels uncomfortableIf your baby is crying out loud, probably they must have gotten hurt or they are irritable because of the fall.😭 The best decision is to take them to the doctor to get checked out thoroughly.&nbsp;It&#39;s not necessary to keep the child awake although it&#39;s better to monitor their health when they are still active.🤾&zwj;♀️ What is dangerous is that they probably fall on their head, feel dizzy and want to sleep but can&#39;t easily wake up. If they sleep, you should wake them after two hours to see if the child is still alert.💤<hr>Stay calm to identify serious signs<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3231/496588b0-fcb3-451f-8b00-44f29e38c6d6.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👶Simple signsYou can&#39;t help feeling anxious when you see your child crying nonstop.😭 If the baby just has a light bump, their tears come from pain or fright and will not last longer than 10 minutes.&nbsp;👶Serious signsConstant headache or dizziness can be the result of a serious hit.🤕 Your baby might be extremely irritable and cry incessantly. More severely, you may see them excessively sleepy and have a difficult time waking up. The baby might vomit after a strong hit on their head.🤮<hr>Treatment for your baby<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3231/644751a4-aa6b-4700-a75a-cae4e3fa85f4.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👶Treatment at homeIf you have successfully ruled out serious injury, you can treat your baby&#39;s mild bump at home. Wrap an ice pack🧊 in a thin towel or diaper and hold it onto the bump for fifteen or twenty minutes. You can nurse them or say something sweet to your little one to soothe them and distract them from the pain.😀If your baby is constantly in pain, you can give them the appropriate amount of acetaminophen or ibuprofen.💊 Avoid aspirin because it can cause a rare but serious condition called Reye&#39;s syndrome.👶Call the ER!If your child experiences loss of consciousness, unresponsiveness, non stop bleeding, you have to call for an emergency.🚑 Any signs of a fractured bone, a concussion, inability to walk steadily or talk, prolonged screaming indicate your baby can be in danger. You have to talk to their doctor immediately and take the baby to the emergency room.👩&zwj;⚕️

What if your baby falls?

The definition of positive parenting varies but the core idea can be summed up to warm, positive family interactions and guidelines!<hr>Tips for positive parenting<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3240/8be28f30-2fdb-4c5a-a038-10251ea0017d.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👪Get inside your child&#39;s headAlthough on the outside your child&#39;s behaviors look unjustified and irrational, they are motivated by legitimate needs.🧸 If you can get inside their heads, you can address their needs. Always keep in mind that they are still developing and give them the benefit of the doubt.😎👪Empathetic, supportive and constructiveYou don&#39;t have to agree with your child&#39;s demands all the time. Instead, the goal is to be the kind of arbitrator and mentor you would want for yourself and your baby.😀Your kid would love a parent who is prepared to listen to their side of the story and reassure them that they are being heard.💖 They know that they will get a fair-minded and sympathetic hearing. You are the one who will reason with them, use encouragement and humor to steer them away from negative emotions while introducing solutions.🥰👪The art of distractionIf you notice that your baby has gotten hold of a forbidden object, you just camly remove it and show your child something else. Look at these colorful toys!🪅 Your child might be attracted to them immediately when you find them more interesting. &nbsp;Distraction is useful for old kids too. When your child is overwhelmed by feelings of outrage and confinement, they don&#39;t know how to stop but they can divert their focus into something else.👀👪Humor and playfulnessJokes and silliness are considered excellent distractions.😚 Your kid might feel more excited and motivated if you make requests with humor and transform work into play.👪Make sure that most of your interactions are positiveKids are mirrors, reflecting images of what happens around them.🪞 Positive social interactions create more trusting family relationships and motivate kids to be cooperative.<hr>More tips for positive parenting<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3240/af053bd6-49a1-4509-a0ee-1b19a381bf54.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👪Validate your kid&#39;s reasonsIt&#39;s important that you don&#39;t expect your kids to read your mind.😊 Two-way conversations are much more beneficial when you don&#39;t just recite the rules but rather to explain the rationale of the rules and undertake your baby&#39;s questions and concerns.👪Try to say yes as much as possible&#39;No&#39; can be viewed as a negative word that fuels resentment and resistance since your kid is not yet able to understand how to learn from negative feedback. Parental criticism can also trigger feelings of hopelessness.😞 Hence, you should either suggest alternatives and help the kid accept different options.&nbsp;👪Catch children at being goodIt&#39;s crucial that you give praise at the right moment.😘 Children may respond to rewards and compliments more readily than punishments. After your kid finishes homework, let&#39;s offer simple praise &#39;well done!&#39; for the kid&#39;s good behavior.👪Be a good mentorTalking with your child about their feelings and discussing helpful strategies for handling difficult emotions indicate your respect for your kid and your willingness to offer sympathetic hearing.👂 You also provide your little one with concrete support and assurance that no matter what, mommy is right here!&nbsp;

Tips for Positive Parenting

That nervous feeling when you&#39;re about to meet your baby for the first time is engraved in your heart.💓 You just look at them in awe every time and gain strength to become the best parents for them. But you can&#39;t avoid stress along the way&hellip;<hr>Parenting stress<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3234/f35db480-c86e-4079-b434-9cf543dd0373.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👪What is parenting stress?Parenting stress is the distress when you feel you can&#39;t cope as a parent.😞 After pregnancy, expectations and demands placed on you are so high that you seem to run out of resources and strength to meet them.&nbsp;👪What causes parenting stress?The causation varies depending on each family. Stress can originate from poor economic status, inadequate support system, and exposure to hostility.⚔️ Anything that makes you worry about your ability to protect your child and thrive can contribute to parenting stress.🙁<hr>Ways to cope with parenting stress<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3234/96a703ed-89e8-4ef2-8774-ac4322d93a12.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">👪Reach out for supportParenting is a lot easier if you have your supporters on your side.👪 Contact your friends, family members and especially your partner to share your feelings. You can always count on their support for emotional support, financial aid💰 and childcare help.If you don&#39;t live near friends or relatives, you can look for local parenting cooperatives, online communities and trained therapis&zwj;ts.😀 Enrolling in parenting classes can be helpful too as you can seek new friends, reduce your feelings of guilt and stress while gaining more knowledge.👪Avoid unnecessary exposure to signals that drag you downAfter a very brief exposure to negative emotional content, it&#39;s natural that you pay attention more to upsetting images, replay bad memories and worry about the future. Such thoughts keep circulating in your head, causing more anxiety and gloom.😥Overdosing on bad news spikes up your stress levels, undermines yourself and hurts you gradually. Instead, try to put yourself together, think constructively, think brightly.🤔 Everything will be just fine and you can do it!&nbsp;👪Focus on the goodYou can induce good moods by downloading happy memories into your head. Do you remember when your little one just took the first step or called your name for the first time? When you return home from work, remember how you feel when you see your child&#39;s smiles and hugs.🤗Reflect on good memories and read jokes, uplifting stories to make you feel better. Focusing on acts of kindness and positive messages will help you decrease stress responses.😀👪Re-appraise the situationWe often think that we are good at predicting things if we have a plan. Actually, we are pretty bad at anticipating future discomforts. Sometimes, stressful things just occur along the way.😞When bad things happen, you may find a coping strategy when you reconsider the situation from a new angle. Stop dwelling too much on your personal emotional reactions, try to view the problem with more objectivity.💪&nbsp;

Parenting stress

When you pick up your baby from the crib🛏️, you might have noticed their hands and legs got stiffened! This is normal! It usually happens when your little one gets too excited or frustrated👶, and her muscle gets tightened up. However, rarely there are some other cases that can indicate a problem!<hr>What is hypertonia?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/froala/boards/4052/53cc0942-1774-4805-8957-80861c8686e7.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">It is considered hypertonia when a baby&#39;s muscles get stiff and hard to move because of damage to the brain or spinal cord that controls muscle movements🧍. Babies with hypertonia move in different ways because their range of motion is limited. Walking, balancing, grabbing, and letting go of objects could be difficult for them.There are two types of hypertonia, which are Spastic and Dystonic. Spastic hypertonia is when muscle spasms when a baby moves. On the other hand, when a baby is with Dystonic hypertonia, their muscle tone stays the same whether the baby is moving or still. In order to figure out which hypertonia the baby has, doctors will move a baby&#39;s muscles in different directions at various speeds🚶.<hr>Why does it happen? Any symptoms I should be aware of?<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/froala/boards/4052/41b14a84-bfe7-4947-a7c1-597845f03d49.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">To move muscles, we send signals from the nervous system travel to the nerves. However, if the brain🧠 or spinal cord is injured, those signals can&#39;t reach the nerves, which causes hypertonia! This could happen when a baby had a lack of oxygen during birth. If his/her brain is injured or has a tumor, could cause hypertonia as well.A baby with hypertonia generally shows trouble moving her joints in the arms, legs or neck. Their range of motion👋 gets limited, and they fall often because they lose their balance.&nbsp;If a baby has severe hypertonia, he can&#39;t move the affected body part much because his joint freeze in place, which is called a contracture.&nbsp;<hr>Other reasons why your baby may stiffen their body<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/froala/boards/4052/7d8fdc92-0864-4c5a-95cf-158ff6529527.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">There are a few other possible medical reasons🏥 for a baby to stiffen their body. Other medical conditions related to brain damage, such as infantile spasms, cerebral palsy, seizures, and epilepsy can cause this symptom as well.&nbsp;Occasional muscle stiffening isn&#39;t something to worry about. But if you feel suspicious too often, you should contact a doctor for a check-up and start a diagnosis and treatment👩&zwj;⚕️.

Why does my baby stiffen their legs and arms?

Did you know breastfeeding can be much easier with proper positioning? Sore nipples, latching, and other breastfeeding problems can be solved if you do it in the right position💪!Some trials and errors will be needed, but as long as you find the position that works the best for you, you&#39;ll be a pro at breastfeeding your baby!😎<hr>How to hold the baby <img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3915/b3072eeb-b727-4c1f-bf1b-16cc0529e8f0.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">Let&#39;s learn from the basics - how to hold your baby🤱. Place your baby on one side, toward your breasts. Your baby&#39;s whole body should face your chest, and his/her ear, shoulder, and hip have to align in a straight line. The baby&#39;s body also has to be straight in line with the body, not turn to the side. Using a nursing pillow can help you because it can lower the weight and adjust the height👍.<hr>Find your best position for breastfeeding!<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3915/9ff30fab-5ef5-42e3-b9c6-49a473545b1e.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">Now, if you are ready, try these 5 positions and see which works best for you!👩&zwj;🍼Cradle holdCradle position is when you put your baby in your arms like they are lying in a cradle. For this position, bend your one elbow and rest your baby&#39;s head in, and use the hand on the same side to support the baby&#39;s body. 👶Now, use your other hand to cup your breast. Place your thumb above your nipple and your index finger at the spot where your baby&#39;s chin is. If the position is all set, lightly compress your breast so that your nipple points toward your baby&#39;s nose.&nbsp;👩&zwj;🍼Crossover holdDecide which breast you&#39;ll be nursing from and hold the baby&#39;s head with your hand on the opposite side of the nursing breast. To make the holding easier, put your wrist between the baby&#39;s shoulder and your thumb behind one ear👂, the other fingers behind the other ear. With your free hand, cup your breast and gently put it towards your baby&#39;s mouth.👩&zwj;🍼Football holdIf you have had a C-section, have large breasts, or your baby is small or premature, a football hold will be an option for you. Position your baby facing you, and tuck his/her legs under your arm on the same side of the breast you are nursing from. (Like you are holding a football!🏈) Support the baby&#39;s head with the same hand. Use the other hand to cup your breast.👩&zwj;🍼Laid-back positionLaid-back position is helpful, particularly for moms with smaller breasts, and newborns with sensitive tummies👶. As the name of the position suggests, you should lean back on a couch and put your baby on your body, facing tummy to tummy. Put his/her head near your breast so the baby can reach your breast naturally. If the baby finds it hard, you can lead him/her by directing the nipple toward the mouth.👩&zwj;🍼Side-lying positionFor night feeders😴, a side-lying position is a good choice because you and your baby both have to lie down on a bed. Put your baby on your side, tummy to tummy, and hold them with the hand on the side you&#39;re lying on. Use the other hand to cup your breast and feed the baby. This position could suffocate the baby, so you should never do this position on a recliner, couch, or water bed!<hr>Breastfeeding positions to avoid<img src="https://cdn.billyapi.com/posts/3915/29d0795c-ea72-4372-a61b-aa6e97d5a228.gif" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">If you nurse your baby in an improper position, your breasts might not be able to produce enough milk! The most common mistake new moms make is to hunch over their bodies to the baby. Keeping your back straight and bringing your baby up to your breast is the key to breast stimulation✨.&nbsp;For your and your baby&#39;s safety and comfort, always make sure the baby&#39;s body isn&#39;t too far from the breasts. (The baby can pull on your nipple while feeding! ouch!😵) Also, put the baby&#39;s body and head facing the same direction so he/she can swallow the breast milk without trouble.

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