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hello from milkmakers delicious cookies that boost milk supply and replenish key nutrients moms need.
 This month we're honoring Dads with the celebration of fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Although there are limited ways for Dad to directly help out with breastfeeding, there are so many other ways for Dad to pitch in and create his own relationship with this new person in your lives.
Here are a couple stories I've heard from friends about how Dad got involved:
"From the day we brought home each of our babies, my husband took over bath time. He took pride in knowing what the babies liked and figuring out the little tricks to keep them happy while washing. That was his special time with the kids and helped establish their relationship very early on." Katie "My husband walked our babies. When the baby hit the fussy evening time at the same time that I was at the end of my rope after a day of endless nursing, diapers, crying, and lack of sleep, he would strap that baby to his chest and disappear out the door for long walks. Regardless of the weather. By the time he came back, all of us were much happier." Christine My husband Matt did his part by taking over the house every time one of our babies were born. He's the one that made sure the dishes, laundry, and cleaning got done and the house didn't turn into a complete disaster zone. That took so much pressure off me so that I could focus on feeding our baby.
I'd love to hear from you and hear the story about how the Dad in your life got involved when baby arrived and what he did to support you while you were breastfeeding.  | | My husband Matt and our beautiful daughters. |
emily
mom to Isabel, Olivia & James and founder of milkmakers |
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Four Sisters, One Vision.
The Story Behind Simple Wishes
There's undoubtedly something special about the bond between sisters. So when four spirited girls who grew to be successful young women decided to create a product that they - as new mothers - felt was missing from the market, there was quite simply no stopping them. Though the connection of this foursome is the foundation for Simple Wishes, each sister brings her own unique strengths, talents and ideas to the table, resulting in a powerful professional force mixed with love, laughter and loads of creativity.
We sat down with Joy, the sister responsible for Business Development, and here is what she had to say:
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Keren Nelson-Jozwiak and son Logan; Joy Nelson-Kosak and son Cole; Lydia Nelson-Bartoszek, son Owen and pregnant with daughter Natalia; Debra Nelson-Abbaszadeh, son Luke and daughter Sophia.
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How did you come up with the idea for your business/product?
My sister Debra was exclusively pumping for her first baby and was frustrated with the available hands-free options. None of them were truly hands free. They were functional but not ideal. As the bottles filled up with milk they would tip away from her body, start slipping down and more importantly as she lost her pregnancy weight no longer fit. Debra has a background in apparel production and knew with her contacts and expertise she could design and produce a hands free bra that addressed all the issues she was experiencing. Debra approached Lydia, Keren and I, we're all sisters, with her idea. I have a background in sales, Keren in online merchandising, and Lydia in finance/business operations. Our combined strengths made up the foundation to successfully launch our business. I started selling the concept of our product to retailers before we even had a sample to share. Fast-forward 2 years and our product has now helped over 80,000 moms simplify the pumping experience.
What makes your product unique?
The main feature that makes the Simple Wishes Hands Free Breastpump Bra unique is that you can adjust the size of the bra as your breast and/or body size increases or decreases. The bra's patent pending design incorporates a Velcro back panel that allows a mom to adjust the size by up to 10" to guarantee a custom and supportive fit for the 1,000th pumping session as it did for the 1st. Additionally the bra comes with straps that may be worn for extra support and a 2" center panel that can be inserted between the breasts, for women who's chests are a bit broader, to achieve exact bottle alignment with the breast.
What advice can you share with our breastfeeding/working moms?
Don't beat yourself up if you can't do it all every day. Like most working mothers, I continually strive to find the delicate balance between work, home, family and time for myself. It's a constant challenge in which I succeed on some days but not so much on others. When I get caught up in the stresses of work I try to remind myself to focus on the things that I'll look back on with fond memories when I'm 80 years old. They won't be that last email I need to get out or the latest pressing business challenge...they will be playing with my children, spending time laughing and loving my husband, growing in my relationships with my friends and family and taking care of my own health and personal growth.
What is the most rewarding part of your business?
I LOVE hearing feedback from moms who have discovered our bra. It's great to be able to run a business that allows me to support my family but the real gratification comes in knowing our product is having such a huge impact on the breastfeeding success of so many moms.
I have heard Simple Wishes does a lot of charity work, can you tell us about this?
Yes, we have donated samples of our bra to almost every Women's Infant Childrens (WIC) agency across the country. WIC is a federally funded program that supports grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding mothers, infants and children up to 5 years of age.
We also support an amazing breastfeeding advocacy group called Best for Babes. Their mission is to give breastfeeding a makeover, and to beat the Booby Traps - the barriers to breastfeeding success. As they succeed in their mission we have the opportunity to help more moms who might otherwise never even try breastfeeding or quickly give up.
What else would you like to do, or what is next from Simple Wishes?
In the coming years we plan to capitalize on our established brand by expanding our line to include products such as nursing apparel and breastmilk storage solutions. Stay tuned...
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Dads: After the Baby
 Although written for fathers, this article is intended for anyone who is a support to the new mom. Husbands, partners, boyfriends, girlfriends and family members are all included.
You have attended breastfeeding classes, interviewed pediatricians and maybe even read a book or two about breastfeeding. Now the baby is here! What can you do to contribute to breastfeeding success? Here are some ideas to help you support your partner.
Continue to let her know that she is doing a great job. Acknowledge that she is uniquely qualified to breastfeed her baby.
Make sure she gets enough rest! Remind her that she is recovering from birth (and surgery if she's had a c-section), she is not getting a full night's sleep and she is making milk for another human being. An excellent guideline is "sleep when the baby sleeps."
Make sure YOU get enough rest! (See guideline above.) You won't be much help if you're exhausted.
If she's having a hard day, listen! Remind her that there will be bumps along the way. Remind her of the reasons that she chose breastfeeding. Ask her what she needs from you. She probably doesn't want you to tell her to quit breastfeeding.
Limit visitors to 15 minutes or so. One visit per day.
Encourage her to stay in her jammies. Visitors won't linger if mom isn't dressed for entertaining.
Give her shoulder or foot rubs.
Ask her if there is anything that is driving her crazy or making her feel stressed-then fix it.
Make sure she is physically supported when breastfeeding with pillows, etc.
If she meets with a lactation consultant for breastfeeding help, attend the meeting with her. Ask questions. Take notes.
Bring her a nutritious snack or meal every few hours. You know what she likes. No need to ask a lot of questions.
If you haven't already done so, arrange for meals from friends every other day or so for a few weeks.
Tell her she is beautiful and amazing.
Remember how important you are as the protector of this mother/baby unit!
Written by Renee Beebe, M.Ed., IBCLC. Renee is available for in-home consultations. Enlist Renee's help to create a customized plan for re-entering the workforce. Renee also offers phone consultations for a wide range of issues including childcare, pump selection, pumping and storing milk, increasing milk production and getting enough rest. Renee can be reached at www.second9months.com .
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Real Mom Story
 | | Laurette, mom to Diego (3 years) & Romero (12 months) |
I work full time as an Acute Care Physical Therapist and prior to having my second baby, I was a top-ranked triathlete racing almost every week-end. This necessitated some careful pre-race orchestration: while other athletes were fine tuning their gear, I was sitting in the grass doing one last breast-emptying feed before heading to the start line. I still enjoy training but have less time now that I have two children and continue to work full time.
Breastfeeding, training, and working was daunting at first, but once I fell into a routine, it became easy and now it requires very little thought.
milkmakers have helped me boost my milk production, which keeps the freezer stocked and reduces my stress with regard to the home-life/work-life tango. As a testament to how good milkmakers taste, my husband eats them too, but so far he hasn't started pitching in on the lactation, which is probably a good thing!
q+a
my baby has taught me
that life's most beautiful moments are organic, spontaneous, and often very messy, so let go of how things are "supposed to be" and enjoy.
becoming a mother has taught me
to be more accepting of myself and others, and I am more appreciative of my own parents.
my advice to new moms
give children the freedom to fall down and get dirty!
my biggest challenge with breastfeeding
was the pain; nobody told me about that!
the best thing about breastfeeding
is that it is a time to be still and connect with my baby.
the best thing about being a mom is
everything (except the lack of sleep)!
What's YOUR story?
| We would love to hear from you! |
realmom@milkmakers.com
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 | | milkmakers' featured giveaway |
Win a Simple Wishes hands-free pumping bra!
To be eligible, simply like both the milkmakers and
Simple Wishes Facebook pages!
The Simple Wishes Bustier allows multi-tasking moms the chance to be more productive while they pump. Don't miss out on this stylish and functional pumping convenience! 
http://facebook.com/milkmakers http://www.facebook.com/SimpleWishes4 |
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our gift to you
Dads love them too!
We know how much dads love
milkmakers cookies
so in honor of Father's Day we are offering a 20% discount.
Sale ends Saturday, June 18th so
order now!
Enter promo code DAD2011 at checkout | |
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