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Breastfeeding

Early on in my pregnancy, when my doula asked me whether I was planning to breastfeed, I was baffled by this question. Being raised in Russia, I did not understand what was being asked. I am having a baby, the baby needs to be nourished, that’s what the breasts are for, hence – yes, of course I would be breastfeeding.

After reading more literature regarding postpartum, I realized that in North America formula is for some reason considered a viable alternative to breastfeeding (and not just an emergency measure), and breast- versus formula-feeding is a hot political topic. Leaving out … Read more

Alcohol and breastfeeding

The issue of alcohol consumption while breastfeeding is one of the most debatable ones and it is hard to find reliable information on it. However, I was able to dig out the following:

There is a rough calculator of the length of time that alcohol will be present in breast milk, depending on the number of drinks and the mother’s body weight. As a general guideline, it takes as long for alcohol to clear the milk as it does for the blood alcohol level to subside. Alcohol taken with food takes longer to clear out of the system. … Read more

Tongue-tie and breastfeeding

The first issue I had to face was that my baby was born with a tongue-tie. This is a (often genetic) condition where the frenulum (the little piece of skin attaching the tongue to the bottom of the mouth) is too short and does not allow the baby to fully stick the tongue out. In severe cases, the tongue looks upside-down-heart-shaped and can prevent the person from being able to perform motions many of us take for granted, such as licking an ice-cream cone. In moderate and severe cases, the tongue-tie can interfere with breastfeeding by impeding the latch, and … Read more

Puzzle: Basler Stadtplan von Matthäus Merian, Historisches Museum Basel


Translation: City Map of Basel by Matthäus Merian, 1615-17
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 49cm x 36cm
Producer: Historical Museum Basel
Story: “Since it was executed by Matthäus Merian in 1615 and presented to Basel’s City Council, the large map of the city of Basel, a handcolored pen-and-ink drawing now housed in the Historical Museum, has always been greatly admired. Its correct reproduction of numerous details that have since disappeared make the map an incomparable document on the image of the 17th-century city.

Careful observation will reveal that this is not only an artistic … Read more

First month baby care – lessons learned

He turned the stiff pages in horrified fascination. They opened into another world, a world of quite stupefying problems… It was amazing, he decided after reading a few pages, that a swamp dragon ever survived to see a second sunrise. Even walking across a room must be reckoned a biological triumph… They lived on a chemical knife-edge the whole time. One misplaced hiccup and they were geography… Omnivores or not, what they must really live on was their nerves, flapping apologetically through the world in mortal fear of their own digestive system. [Terry Pratchett, “Guards! Guards!”]

Below are a few … Read more

Puzzle: Liguria, Italy


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 35cm x 48cm
Producer: Canada Games, Windsor
Location: Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Liguria borders France to the west, Piedmont to the north, and Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany to the east. It lies on the Ligurian Sea. Liguria is a narrow strip of land, enclosed between the sea and the Alps and the Apennines mountains, it is a winding arched extension from Ventimiglia to La Spezia.

The capital Genoa, one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean and home to … Read more

Book: Sign with your baby, by Joseph Garcia

Title: Sign with your baby: How to communicate with infants before they can speak
Author: Joseph Garcia
Source: Ottawa Public Library
ISBN: 0963622927
Available online

Notes: This is a useful book for people who want to start signing with their babies. It outlines in a straightforward manner the benefits of sign language (in this case ASL) to infants that do not yet talk and the order in which to introduce the terms. The author also covers ways to combine terms, how and when to introduce a sign, and how to create games using … Read more

Puzzle: Dromoland Castle, Ireland


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: Big Ben
Location: Dromoland Castle is a castle, now a luxury hotel, located near Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare, Ireland. The present building was completed in 1835. However the first building constructed here seems to have been a 15th or early 16th century tower house and is recorded as being erected by Thomas, the son of Shane Mac Anerheny. There were at least three houses on the site, at various times, called Dromoland. While Dromoland later became residence of eight generations of the O’Brien family, early records suggest … Read more

Book: Baby Massage for Dummies by Joanne Bagshaw and Ilene Fox

Title: Baby Massage for Dummies
Author: Joanne Bagshaw and Ilene Fox
Source: Ottawa Public Library
ISBN: 9780764578410
Available online

Notes: This book describes advantages of baby massage for a child’s physical and emotional development, bonding with the caregiver, and as an aid in treating various ailments. Besides discussing the benefits and the overall principles of massage, the book covers specific techniques to masssage babies with normal development, premature babies, babies with fetal alcohol syndrome and other developmental problems, as well as those exposed to HIV.

The most useful information besides the techniques … Read more

Book: How to Have Your Second Child First, by Kelly Colburn and Rob Sorensen

Title: How to Have Your Second Child First: 100 Things That Would Have Been Good to Know the First Time Around
Author: Kelly Colburn and Rob Sorensen
Source: Veddma library
ISBN: 9780811869881
Available online

Notes: Second time parents have to juggle responsibilities of taking care of more than one child at the same time. This naturally cuts down on the amount of attention given to each child compared to constantly attending to the needs of a single offspring. Thus this book encourages the first time parents to relax the strict rules … Read more

Puzzle: Sheffield, Yorkshire, England


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: Big Ben
Location: Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. The City of Sheffield is built on seven hills and is near the confluence of five rivers. It is estimated that Sheffield has over two million trees, more per person than any other city in Europe; 61% of the city is green space. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Agawa Canyon, Ontario


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 48.6cm x 73cm
Producer: Sure-Lox
Series: Chateau
Tour train: http://www.agawacanyontourtrain.com/content/tours/canyontour/
Location: The Agawa Canyon is a shallow canyon located deep in the sparsely populated Algoma District in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created 1.2 billion years ago by faulting along the Canadian Shield and then enlarged by the erosive action of the Agawa River. The Agawa Canyon Wilderness Park is only accessible by hiking trail or the Algoma Central Railway, and is located 114 rail miles north west of Sault Ste. Marie. [Read more

Book: My Mother Wears Combat Boots, by Jessica Mills

Title: My Mother Wears Combat Boots: A Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us
Author: Jessica Mills
Source: Midwifery Collective
ISBN: 9781904859727
Available online

Notes: A very thorough, well-researched, and informative book written by a punk musician and activist interested in raising her child in a way that promotes free thinking and discourages consumerism. This book is so full of useful advice and links to more information that making notes on it would result in me writing an article having the length of half the book itself. I found it so useful … Read more