Birthdays and Blogiversary

Can't believe that it's been more than 1 year since I started this blog! My very first post was a compilation of breastfeeding support groups which I thought was very helpful especially to new nursing moms.   More than 100 posts later, I'm still up although not blogging as much as I did in the first couple of months.  From a high of 18 posts per month, I'm now down to a more manageable average of about 8 posts per month.  I'm happy to report that I've been included in a list of top ten breastfeeding blogs and I'm really appreciate all the emails and posts from readers saying how the blog has helped them or how informative the blog is.  
Naima is almost 2.5 years old and still shows no signs of weaning.. so this blog remains as chronicles of a nursing mom :D 
Aside from this blog, I'm sure a lot of readers know that I also have an online store, Mama.Baby.Love,  focusing on nursing moms - with several brands of nursing bras, clothes and accessories plus other fab, fun finds for moms and babes.  May is actually my online store's birthday month with my blogiversary being 2 months earlier.  
However, since I wasn't able to celebrate in March, I'm celebrating my 1st blogiversary with weekly give-aways for the whole month of May!!  Contests will posted every Saturday (that's May 1, 8, 15 and 22).  Here is a sampling of the prizes I have in store for my readers:

Instructions on how to join the contests will be posted every Saturday and will run for the entire week.  So make sure to visit and check out the contest for each week.  Meanwhile, back to regular programming :) 

Compilation of Breastfeeding Quotes

Received this compilation in one of my egroups from Judy of OnePlanetNoah. I thought of posting it in my blog so I can refer back to it whenever I need inspiration.

Top Ten Breastfeeding Quotes

1) A newborn baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts, and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three. - Grantly Dick-Read

2) While breastfeeding may not seem the right choice for every parent, it is the best choice for every baby. - Amy Spangler

3) All I ever heard was everyone bitch about it, nobody ever said, 'You are not going to believe how emotional this is. - Jennifer Garner

4) I love that I'm someone special and that I feed him. I'm the milk cow! My theory is that nursing gives you superhuman powers. How else could I be doing all this when I'm usually a sleepaholic? - Gwen Stefani

5) There are three reasons for breast-feeding: the milk is always at the right temperature; it comes in attractive containers; and the cat can't get it. -Irena Chalmers

6) If a multinational company developed a product that was a nutritionally balanced and delicious food, a wonder drug that both prevented and treated disease, cost almost nothing to produce and could be delivered in quantities controlled by the consumers' needs, the very announcement of their find would send their shares rocketing to the top of the stock market. The scientists who developed the product would win prizes and the wealth and influence of everyone involved would increase dramatically. Women have been producing such a miraculous substance, breastmilk, since the beginning of human existence. -Gabrielle Palmer

7) It is only in the act of nursing that a woman realizes her motherhood in visible and tangible fashion; it is a joy of every moment. -Honore de Balzac

8.) People need to understand that when they're deciding between breastmilk and formula, they're not deciding between Coke and Pepsi.... They're choosing between a live, pure substance and a dead substance made with the cheapest oils available. -Chele Marmet

9) Breastfeeding is an instinctual and natural act, but it is also an art that is learned day by day. The reality is that almost all women can breastfeed, have enough milk for their babies and learn how to overcome problems both large and small. It is almost always simply a matter of practical knowledge and not a question of good luck. - La Leche League

10) People say, 'You're still breast-feeding, that's so generous.' Generous, no! It gives me boobs and it takes my thighs away! It's sort of like natural liposuction. I'd carry on breast-feeding for the rest of my life if I could. - Helena Bonham Carter

Enough please!

Last month, it was all about Daniel Angerer and his breastmilk cheese.  This month, the spotlight is on Abi Blake who claims to be the Nigella Lawson of breast milk cookery. She has more than enough breast milk and sells breast milk cupcakes at various festival to customers who are intrigued by the novelty.  She has even developed a modest menu - from main course (lasagne) to drinks (fruit smoothie) to desserts (milk fudge) - where the main ingredient is her breast milk!  She claims to have gotten the idea during her stay in India where women regularly use breast milk in their cooking. She now regularly serves her breast milk dishes during dinner parties at her home, with vanilla breast milk cheesecake as her specialty.
Some comments in the article are just plain irritating and ignorant but seriously, I think serving food made out of breast milk to adults is just strange.  I have no qualms about serving food made out of my breast milk to my daughter or my niece.  But I believe that breast milk is for babies and there are other better uses for extra milk than making breast milk cheese or breast milk cupcakes for sale!  If you have extra milk, please choose to make food for YOUR baby or donate your milk instead.

For Exclusive Pumpers

When I was a new breastfeeding mom with latching problems and contemplating exclusive pumping, I was told by one of the lactation consultants I met with that choosing to exclusively pump would lead to a short-lived breastfeeding career. As I grew older (in terms of breastfeeding years!) and wiser, I realized that it IS possible to exclusively pump long-term and I have developed a high regard for exclusively pumping moms.

My own sister-in-law exclusive pumped for 6 months for her son. I have known other mothers who have exclusively pumped for 1 year or more for their babies. There is even a group for exclusive pumpers (or EP-ers). When acquaintances and clients ask me if it is still possible to breastfeed exclusively even without latching, I tell them YES but it takes hard work. Exclusively pumping would mean pumping at least 8x a day, waking up at night even when your baby is asleep, purchasing and using a good quality pump and keeping to the schedule no matter what. I also advise them to read relevant websites and inspiring blogs.

Recently, an article about increasing number of exclusive pumpers came out in TIME. Tanya of the Motherwear blog pointed out some items that needed clarifying - such as same health benefits and bottle feeding issues. For moms who rarely pump and are able to be stay at home moms and directly nurse their babies, fiddling with the pump and taking time to pump and clean the paraphernalia is tedious and time-wasting. However, as a work-out-of-home mom who started with pumping 4x a day at work, I realized that once the routine is established, setting up and cleaning pump parts becomes automatic, leading to less time needed as mom becomes more practiced.

I do think agree with the article that a major reason for the surge in exclusively pumping moms would also be the wide availability of pumps and the marketing efforts by the pump manufacturers. And as emphasized by Tanya, good information and help is essential as well as support for moms who are contemplating exclusive pumping.

Breast Milk can KILL cancer cells

We all know that breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast and other types of cancer. But a study has come out showing that a particular component of breast milk can KILL cancer cells. Click here for an abstract of the study (Thanks Jenny Ang for the link!). The substance known as HAMLET was found to kill 40 cancer cells in laboratory experiments. As reported in this article:

Although the special substance, known as HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumour cells), was discovered in breast milk several years ago, it is only now that it has been possible to test it on humans. Patients with cancer of the bladder who were treated with the substance excreted dead cancer cells in their urine after each treatment, which has given rise to hopes that it can be developed into medication for cancer care in the future.

HAMLET was discovered by chance when researchers were studying the antibacterial properties of breast milk. Further studies showed that HAMLET comprises a protein and a fatty acid that are both found naturally in breast milk. So far, however, it has not been proven that the HAMLET complex is spontaneously formed in the milk. It is speculated, however, that HAMLET can form in the acidic environment of the babies´ stomachs. Laboratory experiments have shown that HAMLET kills 40 different types of cancer, and the researchers are now going on to study its effect on skin cancer, tumours in the mucous membranes and brain tumours. Importantly, HAMLET kills only cancer cells and does not affect healthy cells.

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg are focusing on how HAMLET can be taken up into tumour cells. The researchers, Roger Karlsson, Maja Puchades and Ingela Lanekoff, are attempting to gain an in-depth understanding of how the substance interacts with cell membranes, and their findings were recently published in the prestigious journal PLoS One.

Earlier, I read that long term breastfeeding is tied to more aggressive cancer. Although breastfeeding was reduces risks of cancer, it also stimulates prolactin which promotes tumor growth. BUT, the study authors themselves admit that "the relation between breast-feeding, prolactin and breast cancer is complex and not fully understood."

Women who breast-feed for six months or more face a higher risk of developing the most aggressive types of breast cancer, but it's not clear whether there's a cause-and-effect relationship, a new study finds.

Researchers also don't know if these women are more likely to die of cancer than others. Overall, breast-feeding is thought to reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Aside from fight breast cancer cells and reducing cancer risks, breast milk was found to also fight acne with one of its component - lauric acid.

American scientists found that a component of mother's milk, called lauric acid, which also is found in coconut oil, had acne-fighting qualities.

They found the new treatment has no side effects because it comes from natural products unlike current available treatments which can cause redness and burning.

The miracles of breastmilk are really astounding - from health to aesthetic purposes, new benefits are continuously being discovered - all the more reason to call it liquid gold.