A lot of talk about boobs!

International breastfeeding symbol

August is breastfeeding awareness month and though I am THRILLED to see breastfeeding take the spot light I am a little confused why we even need to promote it.  Breastfeeding is one of the greatest things we can do for the health of our children and it's free! I had a terribly difficult start with breastfeeding my first child and it took a lot of patience, practice, help from friends and professionals as well as just good ole sweet time before we finally got it down.  And in the end, it was well worth it in every aspect.  I hate the argument that too much talk about breastfeeding makes mothers that choose not to breastfeed or cannot breastfeed feel guilty.  Well, I hate to break the news to all the moms out there, but motherhood can be filled with guilt if you let it.  We are never going to be a perfect moms because we're not perfect people and we live in an imperfect world.  So we all do the best we can with the best of what we've been given and most of us turn out to do okay.  Not perfect and sometimes not even great, but we do okay.  Our babies are loved, healthy and happy and our children seem to be developing into great little people.  So it is silly not to talk about what is best for baby because some don't like it! So in honor or this month's breastfeeding awareness, BREAST IS BEST!  Here's the link to a public service announcement about breastfeeding.  If you are afraid to hear a lot a talk about boobs, and a lot of words for boobs, you better not listen to it.  (BTW, a word for breast in Spanish not included in the PSA is mama.  Kinda funny don't you think.)   

Breastfeeding Awareness Month PSA

Countdown to Baby!

Today I found thebump.com.  It's from the same makers of theknot.com that we all poured over as we and our friends married.  Now the makers have followed us right along into the next great event of our lives, becoming parents.  Though I do not intend to make a shameless plug for the site, I do love the baby ticker you can design and post wherever you like.  So we have a ticker now here at this blog counting down the days until my estimated due date.  (Top of the blog page) So the official count down to baby has begun!

Banana smoothie- yummy

A few weeks back a Dominican friend of mine made me a banana smoothie when I was visiting in her home. Since then I have thought about making one in my own home but was sure it was loaded with sugar, like most good Dominican beverages, and didn't want to have to feel guilty about the extra calories and refined sugar. So today my craving got the best of me and I ventured out into the world wide web to find a simple banana smoothie recipe. I was happy to find one cooks.com. Here it is:

BANANA SMOOTHIE
1 c. milk
1 ripe banana, cut into halves
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-3 ice cubes
Place milk, banana, vanilla and ice cubes in blender container; cover. Process for 20 seconds. Pour into glass. Serve and enjoy. Yields: one smoothie.

I am pleasantly surprised that the smoothie was tasty without the added sugar! I doubled the recipe which really then makes 3 servings. I made a double portion thinking my son would enjoy the cool beverage on this hot afternoon. But though he said it was good, he was too busy playing to drink it, so I drank his portion too! So I am satisfied as my tummy is full of smoothie yumminess and my baby is thrilled to have gotten a extra special dose of calcium and potassium today.