Ways to Increase Your Milk Supply

 Some ways to  Increase Your Milk Supply

Breastfeeding mothers all have a common concern: is my baby getting enough to eat? Am I producing enough milk for my baby? Many times moms worry simply because they no longer have a strong noticeable milk letdown reflex once the milk supply has become established. Or else they notice their breasts are no longer so full between feedings. These are actually signs that your body has adjusted to breastfeeding and your baby's demands for milk.

How Do You Know Baby is Getting Enough During Nursing?

- Baby seems satisfied after feedings. If baby isn't frequently fussy and seems to be full and content, chances are he is getting plenty at nursing sessions.

- Baby has several wet diapers a day and the urine is colorless. Seeing a lot of yellow tinged urine means concentrated urine, which is a sign of dehydration.

- Expect baby to gain four to seven ounces a week if baby is getting sufficient nutrition.

- Another subtle clue? Baby gulps during feedings.

- Regular poopy diapers. Every baby is different but expect at minimum a soiled diaper a day.

Activities to Help Your Preschool Child Succeed

 

 

Fine Motor Skills: 3 Activities to Help Your Preschool Child Succeed

The term, “fine motor skills” refers to small muscle movement; and for preschoolers, the focus is hand and finger coordination. In order to get dressed, feed themselves, hold a crayon, and later learn to write, young children use the small muscles in the hands and fingers. To adequately develop fine motor strength and coordination, preschoolers need to use their fingers and hands on a daily basis.

Fine motor development is crucial for preschoolers, but the good news is there are plenty of artsy, fun and age appropriate ways to help children strengthen their tiny hand and finger muscles.  

Activities such as painting, cutting, and drawing that your child does now are steps that later will help your child learn to write, type, knit, do home repair, etc.Most kids will be excited about the activities suggested below, all of which are all playful and fun.

Parents, use the following tips to help your child develop the muscles in their hands and fingers and to prepare your child for success in school and life.

Fine Motor Development:Tips for Parents

5 Fun Activities to Promote Good Writing Skills

Before entering Kindergarten, a preschooler is expected to have basic writing skills.  He or she should be able to recognize and write letters in the alphabet and write his or her own name.  According to information in the book “Smart Start,” by Pam Schiller, researchers have found that doing activities that use fine motor skills will stimulate the brain.  Great news for parents and children alike, because playing with messy stuff, like play dough and beads, is a very useful tool when learning how to write – and it‘s fun. 

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Along with exercising fine motor skills, reading a lot to a preschooler is the best way to expose your child to letters and words.  Reading is an important gateway into writing.  Patricia Winward, a literacy interventionist, suggests giving preschoolers a head start at writing by helping them learn the association between uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and punctuation.  Knowing their relations can improve their ability to recognize letters and help them understand how words and sentences are constructed.

Activities that incorporate fine motor skills and letter exposure are a fantastic way to help your preschooler develop good writing skills. Here are a few:  

Top 10 Things to Know When Raising Daughters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Having a sibling of a different sex made things pretty easy for me and for my parents. 

Now, as a mother, I can admit that in a million years I never imagined that I would be raising 4 females under one roof.  (And please, save the “Your Poor Husband” woes because the hard truth is I have to deal with them more than anyone else does).  So now that I am knee deep in hair scrunchies and emotional melodrama, I have some advice to pass on to those who are also raising a house full of estrogen producing offspring.