Children have a more wholistic view about the world through their multi-disciplinary lessons
You teach, plus your children learn, about patterns, which will turboboost their learning.
Bringing Learning To Life Through Multi-Disciplinary Experiences
Some of the best experiences we can have are multi-sensory. And some of the best lessons we can be part of are multidisciplinary.
Multidisciplinary lessons are lessons that are from different disciplines, which are better known as subjects such as reading, writing, math, spelling and so on.
The neat thing about having a curriculum that combines many disciplines, is that you can customize the curriculum this curriculum not only based on your child’s needs but on your memories and experiences as a family.
Do you remember how slowly one year seemed go by when YOU were a kid?
You savored every season. You were barely done celebrating one holiday when you wanted to celebrate the other.
And it wasn’t just those holidays that had a long vacation attached to them that you enjoyed. You enjoyed pretty much all of them, because they gave you the opportunity to celebrate in community.
Holidays At Home
One of the best things about teaching your children at home is that you help your kids foster a love for learning, and a love for holiday celebrations.
Introducing holidays to your kids for the first time is even more special because they’ll always remember (knock on wood) when you introduced them to this holiday. But even if they don’t remember everything you taught them, when they go to traditional school, they will already have a notion about what that holiday is.
While everybody’s situation is different, here are 7 factors to consider before sending your kids to traditional preschool (if you have the opportunity to either send your children to preschool or not send them):
The cons of sending your kids to preschool
The pros of homeschooling your preschooler
Your kid’s desires and the impact consideration (or lack of consideration) of those desires will have on the relationship between you and your child
The importance of truly valuing the process of education
How to handle peer pressure
Listening to your heart and intuition
A happy solution for addressing early education
Top 5 Cons of Sending Your Kids To Traditional Preschool
As convenient as sending your kids to preschool may seem…. it is important that you fully think-through the ramifications of what sending your kids to preschool can mean for your family.
Let’s start off with the tiny things and work our way up.
Propensity To Get Sick
Your kids will be exposed to more germs year-round and this will increase their propensity of getting sick. And getting their siblings sick. And getting you sick. (Bet you hadn’t thought of this possibility thoroughly, had you?)
Yes, this germ exposure will strengthen their immune systems, hopefully, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they’ll get sick.
You Will Start To Chauffeur Your Child Around A Year Sooner*
(* Or more, depending on what age your kids are when you send them to preschool).
This might not seem like a big deal, but it’ll have repercussions on your night routine, sleep (or lack of it), morning routine, time, stress, gas, pocketbook, vacations and end-of-the-school-day arrangements.
They Will Pick Up Bad Habits
Umm, how can we put this lightly? The more people your kids encounter, the more ideas they’ll get (whether they’re positive or negative). And no, our kids aren’t saints, but as parents we try our best to minimize their exposure to certain things in life, language, topics, bad habits, ways of being. And when they’re not under our supervision, what they get exposed to is not something that we can control. And that will be tough on you. But more than ever, character development is important.
You Will Surrender Teaching, Educating And Your Overall Time With Your Children To Someone Else During This Impressionable Age AND Your Authority, Whether You Like It Or Not, May Be Diminished
You will no longer be the only one your kids want to please. Take that in for just a second. Yep, someone else can be above you in their totem pole of “the important people in their life” and that will hurt your heart, your soul, and let’s face it, your ego. You will probably start hearing things like, “my teacher says that __.” or “That’s not the way my teacher Ms./Mr. (blank) taught me.” And while yes, there are other adults who can show your child about school subjects, life, and manners… sharing your child’s love, appreciation and admiration with other people may be difficult. Plus, knowing kids, what other people teach them can be used to challenge you.
You Will Miss Your Child When They’re Away
And once you let them go to school… it’ll be a constant letting go. That time that you decide that you want them to spend in preschool will be time that you will never, EVER get back. (Don’t you just get teary-eyed thinking about it?)
One of the most important decisions you have to make in your child’s early life is deciding whether or not you will send them to preschool.
As parents, our ultimate desire is to do what’s best for our kids.
However, what we want to do and what we end up doing can sometimes end up being two very different things.
The reason why this happens is that in our busy-ness, we hardly ever take the time to ask ourselves the tough questions that we need in order to gain the clarity we seek, much less answer them.
So, if you have a child approaching preschool age or is already a preschooler, let’s take the time to analyze some questions to start thinking whether preschool is right for them.
You will explore questions about
The logistics of sending your kids to preschool
The potential Pros of sending your kids to preschool
The potential Cons of sending your kids to preschool
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you buy the item using the link, you’ll allow me to earn a small commission for the same price that you would pay by going to that site directly. THANK YOU in advance for your support!
In the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, it’s always nice coming across gift ideas for both the ladies and gentlemen in your life because they save time AND they tend to be pretty cool gifts…. that most likely, at some point, you’ll want yourself.
Wanna Bet?
Take a look at this gender neutral holiday gift guide.
For The Techie You Love And Treasure
Other than love and health, at the top of practically everyone’s Christmas list are Apple products. So let’s start with those gift recommendations, which this year happen to have a great line of products.
One of my favorite items of ALL time… like ALL TIME … is Apple TV. It’s SUCH a great product and it keeps on getting better and better. And every release there has been has been totally worth it. Especially the newest release in which the remote allows you to swipe and easily find what you’ve been craving to watch.
Every TV in your home needs an AppleTV.
Man! If nobody gets me another AppleTV (which they probably won’t since we already have two)… I’m going to upgrade to the new one for my birthday. Why? It’s the kind of gift you just want to give yourself.
I watch very little TV, but when I do, I like it to be efficient. Think of it this way, the new Apple TVs that come out are like new versions of the iPhone. You don’t HAVE to get the latest one as soon at it’s released, but it’s eventually a good idea to upgrade.
But, it’s possible that you have someone in your life that wants an Apple Smart Watch. More power to them. But either choice is useful for keeping track of your health and increasing your productivity.
Have you seen the latest MacBook Pro? OMG! Talk about a culminating moment after the Mac has been around for 25 years!
One of the coolest tech items EVER and especially this year, is the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. The Touch Bar is almost like having a skinny iPhone on the keyboard itself.
Anybody who you gift this to, is one lucky person.
And then, there’s the other tech products, which you’ll see are not too far behind Apple’s coolness.
How do I say this? This scanner… which is one of the neatest, most durable and most highly rated AND loved scanners on the market is one of those things that isn’t sexy… as a gift (unless you totally geek out on technology)… but man, it’s SUCH a Godsent.
If you know of someone who has lots of paper, someone who has lots of photos, someone who has lots of clippings, someone who is in transition to largely reducing their paper records… this is just the thing! It’s useful for the entrepreneur in your life, the professional in your life, the memory keeper in your life or you, if you would like to get a grip on your paper situation once and for all.
Look, if you have stacks upon stacks of photos that you were thinking about manually scanning… listen to me… this is the ScanSnap. Why? Because it scans in a snap… one after the other. You put the file of photos in the machine (no matter what their size is)… and swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
It’s an ideal gift for a family your love or your family, if you love them. ?
It’s one of those things that will make you wonder how you lived without it.
Is it just me or would you like to project your the sound of your phone to other places?
These speakers are ahh-mazing and awe-mazing. They’re small. They’re cute, but they’re powerful.
They really are. You have to try one for yourself and gift another to your friends. Don’t worry, there are several animals to choose from and not fight over.
If this is not one of the coolest tech gadgets, I really don’t know what is. Like, really! Look at this thing!!! It’s genius, it’s sleek, it’s affordable and it’s bound to be a super crowd pleaser. Not only for the recipient, but for their family as well. ?
Here are just some of the features:
It protects against over-heating
It works with iOS and Android phones and tablets… so no issues there. 🙂
It’s an anti-scratch cradle
Comes in crowd-pleasing colors
Recognizes the connected devices and delivers the safest and most efficient charge.
If you know of a sophisticated, intelligent person who LOVES to read, this E-reader is precisely what they would appreciate and tell you merci for.
While, yes, it’s true that there are many less expensive Kindles on Amazon, this one, my friend is ergonomic. It has a bezel that makes it a joy to read. The controls are easily accessible on the right hand side (or if you’re a leftie and prefer to read your book with your left hand, you can have your controls be on the left-hand side. Genius!). It’s super light… in fact it’s the thinnest and lightest Kindle ever. This makes it easy to take anywhere. AND you can read without ever having to recharge your phone for months.
It’s lighter than a paperback.
It reads like a book, so you don’t have to deal with glare while reading out in broad daylight. AND you can adjust the light to comfortably read in the dark.
It’s easy to export notes as a simple file or as a PDF to your email.
It doesn’t distract you with the web, social media, email or text messages.
You can build your vocabulary by reading a definition that populates on a word you don’t know and quizzing yourself on these words later.
You can connect to the Goodreads Community and share, well, your good reads. ?
You can borrow books from your public library. Isn’t that great? It was one of my favorite new discoveries last year.
You can buy a Wi-Fi version or a Wi-Fi + 3 G version.
You can email yourself personal documents to read them on here.
This Kindle holds thousands of books… it’s your personal library in the palm of your hand.
The purpose of this Kindle isn’t to spend more time browsing the internet. It’s to read. It has great parental controls, so this could be a good gift for a pre-teen or teen.
Serif TV
If money is not an issue for you… you might want to gift a classic… that looks like a classic. It’s probably the most elegant Smart TV you’ve seen for a while. IT’s bezel looks like a frame… and it even has a stand that makes it seem like you have a fancy piece of art in your home. And since it’s smart, it has apps, a full web-browser, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. I love the juxtaposition of modern and artsy. Investment? $1,500 at www.samsung.com Even if you don’t buy it, you gotta check it out.
Ever since I attended World Domination Summit (WDS) last year, I have been obsessed with my ChicoBag! Like obsessed! It’s so light… so versatile… that I was over the moon happy when I discovered that my Boppy Travel Pillow fits perfectly in here. I use this ChicoBag practically every time my family and I have an outing.
And if you give this to someone, they will most likely be super happy to have a light bag that they can toss their odds and ends in when they go out or even when they travel. It’s SUCH a cool gift. And I’m telling you this from experience… given that this was my favorite swag item I received at WDS. (Shout out to the organizer, the amazing Chris Guillebeau).
The Chico Bag is eco-friendly since it can make you think twice about using plastic bags for a small shopping trip AND the ChicoBag is made out of recycled plastic bottles. Isn’t that cool?
It comes in its own plastic pouch to be at the ready when you need it. And you will. So get one for you and one for your gift recipient.
Do you know of someone who sometimes gets a bit of paranoia on the plane when they want to sleep for a few minutes but fear their glasses, phone and passport may fall or may get stolen or left behind? Well they have to fear no more because this memory foam neck pillow has pockets (both zippered and open) that will allow them to store their valuables and literally keep them close to their heart. They can also use this on roadtrips. And if they want to get really comfy in movie theaters… they can wear that there as well.
Do you travel with your phone chargers and wired earbuds? Or do you like having them in your purse to juice up while you’re out and about… here are the travel cord rolls. They’re $20.00 and you could get an additional 20% off with code ORPAH at broukandco.com
Now that we’re on the travel theme… imagine your gift recipient not going over their suitcase weight limit. OR having a charging station built-into their suitcase? You know, like to charge their phone, their iPad and stuff. I think that just this last feature is enough to protect the beegeezus out of this suitcase. They will probably want the A22 carry-on size, just so that nobody touches it or messes with it. The A22 Carry is $295.00. The A28 Check (the check-in size) is $395.00 and the Carry-on and check-in set are $595.00 www.raden.com
As someone who has gifted luggage to my loved ones before, you can rest assured that for the traveler, gifting them luggage is so appreciated. AND, they will be sure to remember you no matter where they go.
It has location tracking, 4 silent spinner wheels, water-proof zippers and an integrated TSA lock.
The colors on these luggage pieces are just yummy! And the shine on them? Sleek.
Water-Proof Phone Bags
These little gadgets protect your phone from sand, water, and snow when you travel. But they can also protect your phone from grime, cooking ingredients or regular wear and tear on any given day. Plus, they provide a hands-free way to have your phone by you.
In my last post, I recommended some gender-neutral cases. Here they are again in case you missed them:
This is a universal waterproof case that holds your phone, ID, credit cards and keys and protects them from getting damaged (or lost) in water, snow, dirt, water sports or a chill-out day at the beach. It’s made of a transparent, environment friendly and non-toxic food-grade PVC screen. Wow! That was a mouthful. And in the unlikely event that you drop your case into water… guess what? This bag floats. Isn’t that something?!
Since the film on this pouch is both thin and clear, you can use your phone like you normally would AND you can take photos and videos. And… I know what you’re probably NOT even thinking about since you’re so focused on what this little pouch can already do for you, and that is… that with this pouch…. guess what? You can take photos underwater.
Now isn’t THAT something?
What phones can enjoy such protection… those that are up to 6 inches.
This waterproof case can accommodate smartphones up to 6 inches… measured diagonally. This life-saver has a cutesy little lock to keep water, dirt, dust and sand out. With this neck strap, you’ll be sure to have your device close to your heart and safe and sound. It’s waterproof up to 100 feet. And, don’t worry, you can still maintain full touchscreen functionality, even while you’re protecting it. AND since it’s clear plastic in front of and behind your phone you can take pictures, as well. And you can carry money and credit cards. You have several fun colors to choose from.
If you have a movie lover in your life (and who doesn’t?), a popcorn machine might just be the perfect gift. ORRR how about a Netflix lover? Yep, we all have one of those in our life (or (cough, cough) maybe it’s us).
They can pop their popcorn not in the microwave or even your stovetop, but with air. Yep, you heard that right, AIR!
They can then add as much or as little butter or oil as they’d like and season it to their taste. But then again, if you manage to make something delicious without oil, why add the oil. But if you musttttt add oil… I highly recommend coconut oil. YUM! It’s divine!
You know how there’s many more salt types than you ever knew existed?
Well, the same thing happens to be the case for popcorn. There are many varieties that come in all sorts of colors.
You can gift someone in your life the opportunity to try 3 colors… purple, blue and red of this gourmet popcorn.
You can buy this gift on it’s own or accompany it with one of the popcorn makers above. It’s perfect for the person who loves watching movies at home or sneaking in some popcorn from homes to the movie theaters.
If you know of anybody who is a galaxy above a regular popcorn maker, then R2-D2 can probably save the day. You can find him… or it? Is he a thing or a person?
Anyway, as I was saying, you can find him at www.thinkgeek.com. It makes sense you could find him there, right? ? Or you can find him on Amazon… it’s the best shopping place on this galaxy.
When it comes to getting the best popcorn maker to suit your needs, you can either go for quality, or for robotic looks. It’s up to you.
Whether you have a cook, a baker or an ice-cream lover … these scoops can bring added joy and uniformity to the culinary experience.
These ice cream scoops are chef-quality.
They can make meatballs, fruit scoops, cookies, muffins or cupcakes… effortlessly. Well, almost without effort. You know what I mean.
They’re 100% stainless steel (no plastic parts), which makes them eco-friendly… as they would be recycable, should you ever, for some strange reason, want to get rid of them.
If you have an ice-cream lover in your life… I’m sure they’ll want scoops larger than what a melon-baller would do. So this extra-large Jenaluca Ice Cream Scoop may be just what they were needing for their craving.
And you may be thinking… would an ice-cream scoop make a nice Christmas gift? Well, if it’s this nice of an ice-cream scoop, the answer is yes. They come nicely packaged in a gift box. And these ice-cream sets actually have hundreds of 5 star reviews.
I get it, ice cream is great. But the best thing you can do with great icecream is to actually enjoy it. Every. Last. Drop. Of. It. So, what better than to encourage your loved ones to do the same with these ice-cream spoons designed to scrape the very last drop of ice-cream. They’re divine, aren’t they?
For The Person Who WantsTo Be In The Kitchen Or Has To Be In The Kitchen That You Love And Treasure
Also for the health nut in your life, you can gift them this food scale that is able to determine the nutritional value of what you’re about to eat. It works with an app that helps you track your food consumption and meals. You can get it for $60.00 with an additional 20% off with code OPRAH at www.kitcheniq.com . Or you can just get it on Amazon with your Prime Shipping, hopefully.
If you have a suspicion that anybody that you know will want to keep a tight grip on eating healthy throughout the year, not just on January 2nd… then this sorbet maker will probably be for them. You’ll be surprised how satisfying banana all of a sudden becomes as it transforms into soft-serve-like dessert… just by being its sweet and cream self.
This year I’ve made a couple of variations of coconut icecream… and have made banana sorbet… and let me tell you.. ice-cream can lose much of it’s glamour once you have the peace of mind of eating something delicious and nutritious.
www.yonanas.com It’s $130.00 but with code Oprah it’s yours for $89.00 or you can buy on Amazon at regular price. Why would you buy it at regular price? Because, it’s out of stock on its site and you have to get on the waiting list to get it.
This might just be the last citrus/lemon press that your loved one ever needs.
And for those of you who have citrus press shame like I do… because those mighty lemons tend to erode the paint of less luxurious manual presses…. this might be coming to a kitchen near you, if you make the choice to upgrade.
One gift that isn’t by any means luxurious, but just super handy… both literally and figuratively is the Chef Remi Jar Opener. Why? Because it allows young ones, old ones and anybody in-between to open jars and bottles more effortlessly. At the time of writing, almost 1,000 people have given this simple, but helpful tool a 4 1/2 star rating.
Perhaps you’ll decide not to give this to anyone for fear that they think you’re cheap. Although you could add it to a couple of boxes of pasta, pasta sauce, pasta season, but it in a basket and call it a complete gift.
But what you have to make a mental note for sure on, is if you’re tired of losing or tearing those wimpy jar opener grips… then you can bring a teeny-tiny bit of peace into your life by gifting one of these for yourself.
You won’t get mad that you can’t open the darn jar, that nobody’s around to help you, that you can’t find the wimpy jar opener grip, that it’s tearing and that you’re not as strong as you should be. It’s a win-win-win for your self-concept, your sanity and your marriage. Less grunting, more enjoying.
Oh! And did I mention these lovely save-your-life jar openers have a lifetime guarantee? Well, guess what? They DO! Bye-bye to the wimpy good-for-almost-nothing jar opener grips.
They’re dishwasher safe.
And, perhaps their best feature is that they provide 10x more leverage. What product have you bought recently or ever that provides this much leverage? Not many, I’m sure.
So what seemed like a cheap jar opener, all of a sudden is much more than that.
If you have gardener in your family or someone who is very eco-conscious (aka a tree-hugger, which by the way, there is nothing wrong with) then this gift might just be the thing that they didn’t know they needed or wanted till they saw it. And if they’re a foodie to top it all, then they’ll just adore the quirky compost bin.
Despite the fact that it looks small, this been can hold eggshells from a dozen eggs. That’s neat… literally! (And nope, I didn’t know that eggshells could be recycled, either).
Do you Have a Health nut in your family? Or do you want to try out your green thumb? You can buy organic grow kits for $17-$19 on the site www.urban-agriculture.net or for a few more dollars on Amazon, and you get organic seeds, organic soil and a container made of 100% recycled tea bags. And you can cultivate cilantro, cucumber, tomato, lettuce or rosemary.
You can grow these kits indoors. Year round. ? I know.
So, essentially, you don’t need a garden to cultivate these items. Just a little TCL.
For The Person Who Has It All That You Love And Treasure
Glass Straws
The holidays are in large part about thinking about who the people we appreciate in our life are and delighting them with our thoughtfulness.
It’s about the big things and it’s about the little things. Speaking of little things… do you know who the straw lover in your life is?
Wouldn’t it be awesome if you did, because THEN, you could surprise them with their very own set of glass straws. Yep, glass…. as in that breakable thing.
But, instead of worrying about the straws breaking focus on two important things:
1) That they’re eco-friendly… because you’re not using straws and disposing of them.
2) That they’re allow you to consume using less plastic…. given that you know that plastic can leak chemicals into your body.
If you really want to impress the straw lover in your life focus on what they love to drink using straws. Is it water? Or is it smoothies? Or is it boba tea? (If you haven’t had boba tea Google it in your area and check it out… it’s a thing to check off your to-do list).
And, does the straw-lover in your life like their straws straight or slightly bent?
I’m telling you, shopping for straws is a feat in and of itself! But the reason this is useful information to know is because they sell different types of straws that are shaped and are wide or slim enough for these purposes. For example, if you’re just drinking water, a straw with a regular diameter opening would be just fine. But if they want to drink tapioca pearls out of them, then a larger diameter would be better.
Oh… and if you can’t figure out who loves straws yet…. guess what? This gift is a gift for the people in your life who have everything. Because think about it… what are the odds that they’ll have glass straws? Not high.
AND you could even gift a couple or a family these straws because you can find that they can be color-coded.
There’s something about words, or even individual letters that makes things more personal. You’re probably so used to seeing initials on everything from signs, to mugs, to towels, that you’ve forgotten that customizing something and putting it on display is one of the greatest delights you can have… and it’s one of the most thoughtful gift you can give.
This lightbox is battery operated and it includes letters and emojis. You can put this in the kids’ bedroom or in the dining room announcing what’s for dinner (as if you had time to prepare dinner and put up a sign, right ? )?
For The Person You Love and Treasure Who Likes To Have A Little Bit of Fun
For the game lover in your life, you COULD get a traditional game right off any shelf. OR you could get:
(This email contains affiliate links. Purchasing these holiday gift recommendations using these links will support this me and this site without costing you anything extra. Thank you for your support.)
This Christmas is a Christmas in which that special lady in your life needs a little more love and care than usual.
It was a tough year.
She’s tough. She’s amazing.
She deserves the best.
She deserves your love, your recognition and honor.
But let me warn you. Perhaps your lady prefers that you spend quality time with her in addition to giving her a gift. Or that you say or write a beautiful message to go along with it. Or that you do something nice for her like giving her a much needed break. Or that you hug her, kiss her and squeeze her more throughout this holiday season.
If you’re reading these suggestions and have nooooo idea what your lady would like the most…. because after all, you gotta focus on what SHE would like to receive, not on what you would like to receive, check out The 5 Love Languages.
Why? Because gift-giving is a language. And you have to make sure that you communicate thoughtfulness, consideration and a genuine interest in trying to please the other person.
I start by saying this because, think about it, the lines for returning items don’t get gigantically long starting December 25th because people have been truly tuning into what we want, but rather, because they haven’t. And truth be told, maybe neither have we.
So having said this, here are some ideas that can most likely brighten her day… not only on Christmas Day, but throughout the year.
Technology
We ladies love our technology. We really do! Some of us may say we’re not tech inclined, but as you’ll see, these gifts prove otherwise.
Are you wanting to breastfeed but are telling yourself what is probably the number one excuse we ALL use, (that I really shouldn’t have to tell you because you know it already) which is, “I don’t have time” to breastfeed.
When it comes to breastfeeding, “I don’t have time,” can mean three things.
It can mean that:
1) There so many doubts and hangups that you have about breastfeeding that you FEEL like you don’t have the time to figure out how to breastfeed, why to breastfeed, when to breastfeed, how often to breastfeed and everything else that breastfeeding entails. And don’t worry, I totally get it that that’s a lot of information.
2) You are a busy person and literally don’t know when you’ll be able to squeeze in the time to breastfeed.
3) You’re just using the phrase as an excuse.
So Now That You Know What’s Holding You Back In Your Breastfeeding, What Are You Gonna Do About It?
The good news is that when you use the “I don’t have time” excuse for any of the reasons mentioned above, you can actually test these the reasons/excuses by asking yourself a simple question that author of The Work, Byron Katie asks and that is “Is it true?” If you say yes, then you ask yourself her second question, which is, “Can you be absolutely know that it’s true?” Or you can take my shortcut and just ask yourself.. “Is that really true?”
Women, in general, seem to like comparing themselves to other women. I don’t know if we do it because we really CARE if we’re ahead of the rest of the women or not OR because we have SO many insecurities about ourselves that we just want to confirm that we’re not the worst player on the team.
But the fact that we want to run, run , run as fast as we can, turn back and say, “you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread gal” is a huge indication that we shouldn’t be wishing to get ahead just for the sake of getting ahead. That wishing to get ahead without a real focus on what TRULY matters is all mental games. And that instead of focusing our attention sideways to see if anybody is “caught up to us” or behind us or in front of us, when it comes to breastfeeding, we should pause, look down at our baby and re-engage with WHY we’re breastfeeding in the first place. We’re breastfeeding not to compare to other women. We’re breastfeeding to offer the best of ourselves to our baby.
What’s The Main Hesitation About Breastfeeding That You Need To Get Over?
I know that it SEEMS that some women have it “easy” when it comes to breastfeeding.
And you may THINK that you don’t have it easy or won’t have it easy.
Let me just pull back the curtain for you and reveal an important truth that I would REALLY like for you to TRULY process:
Out of ALL the breastfeeding women I know, NOBODY has had a 100% perfect breastfeeding experience.
Like NO-BO-DY .
Yet, many women have gone on to breastfeed for yeeeeears.
What Do You Need To Shift In Order To Get Over The Fact That Breastfeed Isn’t Easy?
Do you know what the difference between the women who breastfeed for years and those who don’t even breastfeed for 6 months is?
Breastfeeding is one of those topics where introducing it to someone won’t be enough or as “satisfactory” as it would be if you were getting an introductory overview of another topic.
You see, in order to understand breastfeeding, you have to actually DO IT.
What Is Required For You To Really Say You Know What Breastfeeding Is Like?
Before you even start breastfeeding, you need to really have a clear motivation for DOING IT and for CONTINUING TO DO IT. In other words, you need to commit to breastfeeding by remember who you’re breastfeeding for.
Obviously, you’re committing to breastfeeding for your baby’s wellbeing.
“Breastfeeding is no walk in the park. But you know what? It’s the best red carpet you can roll out for your baby.” – Haydee Montemayor
You need to learn aboutthe breastfeeding process and apply it. Breastfeeding isn’t about theory. It’s about practice.
You need to feel what it feels like to breastfeed.
The phrase, “you are what you eat (which by the way should really be, you are what you absorb) starts on the day that you’re born.
Your baby’s quality of life starts to be defined the minute you decide to give him/her breastmilk or formula.
Breastfeeding has nutritional, intellectual, immunological, emotional and psychological benefits.
Formula has nutritional benefits.
It’s important that when talking about any food item that you keep in mind that nutritional benefits are comprised of two things:
The actual nutrients found in that food item
And how those nutrients impact your direct and overall health
Today we will focus on the nutritional benefits of breastmilk and formula by doing a side-by-side comparison. And will discuss how these nutritional benefits impact your baby’s health now and for his/her lifetime.
My Story in Deciding How To Nourish My Baby
As I shared in the last post, when I became pregnant with my firstborn, I KNEW I wanted to breastfeed.
So when I was hours away from holding my baby in my arms, I was SUPER happy to see the best educational visual EVER hanging on the hospital wall (where I had my baby naturally with no medications) that showed how long the list of positive ingredients in breastmilk was in comparison to the list of ingredients in formula.
I didn’t need the extra push or validation to breastfeed, but if I did, seeing that poster would have made me sing “Whoomp there it is! Whoomp there it is! Shaka laka shaka laka shaka laka shaka whoomp!”
