Breastfeeding May Boost Children's IQ?

Xena (Lucy Lawless) seen here breastfeeding her baby gal for the campaign.

"Suckling at the breast results in changes in the mother's brain—increased blood flow and oxytocin release [a hormone promoting bonding between mother and infant], and probably in the baby's brain."

Children breast-fed longer than six months scored a 3.8-point IQ margin over those who were bottle-fed, according to a seven-year study by researchers at Jagiellonian University Medical College in Poland.

Medical epidemiologist Wieslaw Jedrychowski and colleagues followed 468 babies born to nonsmoking mothers. The children were tested five times at regular intervals from infancy through preschool age. The data showed that cognitive abilities of preschoolers who were breast-fed scored significantly higher than bottle-fed infants, and IQ score was directly proportional to how long the infants had been breast-fed: IQs were 2.1 points higher in children who were breast-fed for three months; 2.6 points higher when babies were breast-fed for four to six months; 3.8 points higher in children breast-fed longer than six months. The results were published in the May 2011 issue of the European Journal of Pediatrics.

This research confirms observations reported 70 years ago by Carolyn Hoefer and Mattie Hardy in JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association, as well as many subsequent studies. This body of research provides the scientific basis for the World Health Organization's recommendation that all infants should be exclusively breast-fed for the first six months of life. But what is the missing ingredient that undermines the cognitive development of bottle-fed babies?

Chemists searching for a specific compound in mother's milk have been overlooking the obvious difference between breast-feeding and bottle-feeding—something that could easily account for the difference in cognitive development, wrote Tonse Raju, a pediatrician and neonatalogist at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the current issue of Breastfeeding Medicine, October 2011. (Raju was not involved in the Jedrychowski study.)

"Sometimes even the most obvious facts need to be reiterated," he wrote. "An infant suckling at his or her mother's breast is not simply receiving a meal, but is intensely engaged in a dynamic, bidirectional, biological dialogue." It is the physical and psychological bonding and interaction between infant and mother during breast-feeding that nurtures development of an infant's cognitive abilities.

Jedrychowski strongly agrees with Raju's statement, and adds: "I believe the IQ effect may in part be explained by this dynamic interaction between mother and child in the breast-feeding process."

Brain bulk and white matter in early life (Continue next page)

Muscle pull in lower back

Everything is so high above me!

Recently we've lowered down her playpen & crib to the bottom level, for safety purpose as she's started pulling herself up already.

We decorate the playpen with her favourite toys, distract her when we put her down. She fusses a little but got used to it really fast & started exploring her new little world :)

Now the challenge is for us to lift her up. By bending all the way down all the time to pick up a 9kg is gonna take a toll on our back. It doesn't help that me & my mom are already unfit & having a weak back muscle.

For the crib at night is even tougher for me, as we used to wear her to sleep, bend over to lay her down into the crib & slowly pull ourselves out from the sling. Now it's impossible to do that. So we put her down onto our bed & then transfer her to the crib, which risking her waking up. Putting her down gently & slowly also required much strength from the back.

My worry came true. When I'm getting her ready for bed, I lifted her up from mom, at that very moment it hurts, & I pulled my back. Later on I found out I couldn't even bend down or minor stretch. I've pulled my muscle.

What's next? Appointment with a sinseh for some tui-na or orthopedist for some painkiller jab?

My Little Darling Turns 7 Months Old Today!

My first Liverpool kit!

It couldn't be time flies just like rocket. It feels like just yesterday that i was pregnant!

My little Sunshine you've learned so much now everyday I discover new things about you!

Your 7 Months Milestones

- Ever since you mastered the ability to grasp an object, so excited you started transferring it from one hand to the other! :) I'm overjoyed witnessing your first throwing moment (I think I was the first one!)

- You're able to sit up independently, occasionally topples over. So we put up pillows barriers while you exploring around.

- Able to get from your tummy into a sitting position by pushing up on your strong arms.

- Refusing to sit most of the time, & wanting to stand instead!

- Enjoying the joy of jumping with your strong little kickers, while holding up by human jumperoo :) Mommy's getting some serious arms workout!

- You tasted your very first spoon of semi-solid food, & you loved it! Your favourite food of the month: brown rice cereal :)

- First time holding & drinking from the sippy cup by yourself, though it's more like you're playing with it like a teether :)

- Mommy managed to shed off 5kilos (yep, took me that long!) part of your contribution too as Mommy lost weight by breastfeeding :) though I still have the remaining stubborn 5kilos clinging on me :(

- You enjoy riding a imaginary pony on all fours (very furiously till u topple over!) as much as we enjoy watching it :)

- First experience of socialising with other babies. Reached out & touched each other's face. Awww...

- You amazed Mommy the most by starting to hold the objects around & pull yourself up already! :D

Love
Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo

Blood Test or Not?

Had fun riding the rattan horse in Dr Koe's clinic!

2 weeks ago we finally brought Darling to see the highly recommended Dr Koe Swee Lee, a consultant pediatrician & lactation consultant. Was planning to get the allergy blood test which she explained to me on the phone the other day.

Went there at about 10.15am & we're at #19 of the queue! Some families went for lunch in between so we got to skip a few slots earlier, only waited for about an hour, not too bad on a Saturday right?

Dr Koe doesn't recommend the allergy blood test especially at this young age, as the result won't be accurate. She did a few test with other patients & was very disappointed cuz couldn't find any culprit.

I shared with her on our case & diagnosis of the stool with streaks of blood. She explained that lactose intolerance is very rare in babies. If it does occur it will be from the day they born, & not after few months. Symptoms are vomitting & diarrhoea. So far Darling never experience those.

But the fact that I'm on a strict elimination diet & that still happening, it really worries me. Hence the decision of taking the allergy blood test, however that she doesn't seem to recommend. She said that happened only twice in last month, with only very little fine lines of blood & tiny bit of mucus. That indicated improvement of her condition.

Elimination Diet (Continue Next Page)

Review: Nutritionists' Choice Cookbook

Lovely gift from Lynnora!

I mentioned about receiving this lovely gift from Lynnora when I was sharing my EBM with her for her 5 months old baby boy (read about breastmilk sharing!). A beautiful [Nutritionists' Choice Cookbook]!

(Top) Fruity Snack - bananas, mangoes, yogurt & oatmeal
(Bottom) Pumpkin, spinach & potato mix... mmm...
Fish in mixed vegetable soup

Comes in useful guides & yummy recipes of baby foods with lots of pretty images. Covering all you need to know from starting solids to feeding toddler!

(Top) Meehun with sweet potato/ Fish with Kei-chi porridge
(Bottom) Minced chicken with carrot porridge/ Broccoli in tomato rice

That'll be pretty handy for me as we're just started solids, I'd really love to make our own baby foods!

Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo

Any recipes you'd like to share with me?

Sippy cup do's and don'ts

Plain water? Blegh...

When should I introduce a sippy cup?

Some babies enjoy a sippy as early as 5 or 6 months, and others aren't interested until after their first birthdays. Most babies seem ready around 7 to 9 months, though.

What's the best way to transition to a sippy cup?

Some babies take to a sippy cup immediately; others take a while to get used to the idea. Here are some tips on making the transition easier:

- Start off with a soft, pliable, nipplelike spout, which will feel more familiar to your baby than a hard plastic spout.

- Show your baby how to raise the cup to his mouth and tip it up to drink.
Give it some time. Until your baby masters the maneuvers, you may want to put only water in the cup. When he shakes or throws it, even a sippy might not keep purple grape juice from hitting the carpet. Don't worry if your baby doesn't use the sippy cup properly for a while. It makes a fine toy, too!

- Try different models until you find one that suits your baby. Some cups have valves that are so effective at keeping the liquid from spilling that children really have to work to get a drink.
Encourage your child to use a regular cup when you think he's ready.

What should I do if my child refuses the sippy cup? (Continue Next Page)

Starting Solids: The 10 best foods for babies

Lovely gift from Lynnora :)

Yesterday I was sharing some of my extra EBM with Lynnora for her 5 months old baby boy (read about breastmilk sharing!). Without expecting anything in return, Lyn gave me a hand book titled [Nutritionists' Choice Cookbook] which she got from the Ministry of Health Malaysia. What a lovely gift! I told her that'll be really useful as we're just started solids, & I'd really love to make my own baby foods!

Here are 10 of the absolute favorites of many parents. After introducing any new food, wait three days before moving on to the next new food to identify any possible allergic reaction. If your baby's still a beginner at eating solids (read about introducing solids to your baby), grind or puree the food as needed.

The 10 best foods for babies

Squash

Squash is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, is naturally sweet, and has a pleasing, creamy texture.

Serving idea: Sprinkle parmesan cheese and a little chili seasoning on half a squash, roast it, and scoop out a serving for your baby, suggests pediatrician Susanna Block, owner of World Baby Foods, an ethnic baby food line. "Cooked squash with a little cilantro, mild chiles, and garbanzo beans are another great combination," she says.

Lentils

Crammed with protein and fiber, lentils pack a powerful nutritional punch. They're also one of the cheapest healthy foods you can buy.

Serving idea: Combine cooked lentils with mixed vegetables, rice, and seasonings of your choice. "Try basil and oregano," suggests dietitian Karin Hosenfeld of North Dallas Nutrition. "Or toss in a bay leaf, which works really well with lentils." (Remove the bay leaf before serving.)

Dark green leafy vegetables

Leafy greens boast high amounts of iron and folate. While spinach is perhaps the best known of this group, there are many other varieties, including kale, chard, and collard greens.

Serving idea: Steam and puree a batch of greens, then mix with iron-fortified cereal to give your baby a double dose of iron. Experiment with the proportions to see what your baby likes; Hosenfeld suggests starting with two parts veggie to one part cereal.

Broccoli

Brimming with folate, fiber, and calcium, broccoli is also known for its cancer-fighting properties, says dietitian Kate Geagan, author of Go Green, Get Lean. And thanks to its sulfur compounds, it has a unique flavor that can help expand your baby's tastes.

Serving idea: Steam pieces until soft, then chill. "Steaming takes the bite out of broccoli," says Hosenfeld. "And chilled broccoli is sometimes better accepted by babies. It can also be soothing during teething."

Blueberries

The deep, brilliant blue of these berries comes from flavonoids called anthocyanins, which are good for your baby's eyes, brain, and even urinary tract, says Stephen Gass, co-author of Mix and Mash: Adventures in the Kitchen for Baby and You.

Serving Idea: Gass suggests this easy blueberry soup: Combine 1 cup of blueberries with one-quarter cup of water in a bowl, microwave for one minute, and let cool. Then swirl some plain yogurt on top.

Avocados (Continue Next Page)

Starting Solids: The 5 worst foods for babies

I'm pretty particular in terms of food selections for my little Darling. Would avoid baby jar foods as much as possible. Here's some handy tips of what to avoid.

The 5 worst foods for babies

Soda

It seems too obvious to mention, but believe it or not, some babies are served soft drinks as early as 7 months of age, according to a survey of more than 3,000 families presented at the American Dietetic Association (ADA) conference in 2009.

Whether regular or diet, soft drinks provide absolutely no nutrients. Regular soda contains a ton of sugar, which can wreak havoc on your baby's teeth. And filling up on either type means babies eat and drink less of the nutritious food their bodies really need.

Juice

Sure, it comes from fruit, but that doesn't mean it's healthy. The fiber in fresh fruit is largely lost in the juicing process, and what's left is a whole lot of sugar. "Juice is basically a waste of calories," says pediatrician Ari Brown, co-author of Baby 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year.

Using certain types of juice – specifically apple and pear – to sweeten your baby's food isn't a good idea either, says nutritionist Leanne Cooper, author of What Do I Feed My Baby: A Step-by-Step Guide to Solids. The sugars in these juices can speed up the food's passage through the digestive tract. "When food passes too quickly, the body doesn't have time to absorb all those lovely nutrients," says Cooper. It can also lead to diarrhea in some babies.

What about advertisers' claims that juice provides babies with necessary vitamin C? Don't be fooled. "Babies can easily get their vitamin C from one small serving of fruit," says Brown.

What should your baby drink instead? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that babies younger than 6 months drink nothing but breast milk or formula. Babies 6 to 12 months old can have small amounts of water, but breast milk or formula should still be their main beverage. After the first birthday, cow's milk is recommended.

Crackers (Continue Next Page)

Breastfeed: Study - Stem cells in breastmilk be reprogrammed into other cell types

Image: Earth Mama Angel Baby

One of the greatest discovery on earth I would consider is, stem cells identified in breastmilk. The question was whether the stem cells behave like embryonic stem cells - able to be 'reprogrammed' into new tissue.

It now appears that we have the answer. New research from the University of Western Australia is now showing that these cells can be directed to become other cell types:

Serious and fatal diseases such as pancreatic cancer, Parkinson's disease and diabetes may eventually be treated using stem cells from breast milk following a remarkable discovery at the University of Western Australia.

UWA PhD student Foteini Hassiotou has potentially broken through the greatest hurdle in stem cell research - the ability to ethically obtain stem cells in a non-invasive manner.

Her finding that stem cells from breast milk can be directed to become other body cell types such as bone, fat, liver and brain cells, could reduce the need to use embryonic stem cells and therefore fast-track future therapies.

Image: Wikipedia

This breakthrough is particulary important because stem cells in breastmilk are obviously far less controversial than other sources, and are also fairly easy to obtain. Note that this research won an award from AusBiotech-GlaxoSmithKline.
Many questions remain, but one interesting one identified by the study's author is what the function of these cells is in the breastfeeding infant. One prior study suggested that they may play a role in helping a child 'fulfill its genetic destiny.'

Source: motherwear.com

Would you think that this discovery could greatly encourage mommies to breastfeed?

Breastfeed: Does beer really increase milk supply?

Does beer really increase milk supply?

It's the day after St. Patrick's Day and it just occurred to me that it would be a great time to investigate the age-old advice to down a Guinness to increase milk production.

Here's what Dr. Thomas Hale says in the must-have guide to medications and breastfeeding, Medications and Mothers' Milk:

Beer, but not ethanol, has been reported in a number of studies to stimulate prolactin levels and breastmilk production. Thus is it presumed that the polysaccharide from barley may be the prolactin-stimulating component of beer. Non-alcoholic beer is equally effective.

Dr. Hale also cites two studies which suggest that, in the immediate period after mothers consume alcohol, milk production declines significantly and babies take in less milk.

So it appears that barley, a traditional food for increasing milk supply, makes beer effective at increasing prolactin levels, but that the alcohol in it causes babies to take in less milk.

Of course, drinking alcohol while breastfeeding can pose risks for your baby if it's not consumed in moderation. And beer, non-alcoholic or not, would not be the at the top of the list of recommendations for increasing milk supply.

Source: motherwear.com

Does beer really work for you?