Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding

Nursing my children was the best decision I ever made. I was not a breastfed child, however I wanted to establish a bond with my children and I understood the nutritional benefits that my milk would provide for my children. And I was blessed to be able to provide them with what can be considered the best nutrients for babies. The benefits of human breast milk greatly exceed any other alternative method of infant feeding and most health organizations around the world have united to promote breastfeeding as an option for the nutritional and emotional benefits for babies.

The World Health Organization,  encourages women to breastfeed exclusively for six months and to continue  to breastfeed for at least two years to take advantage of human milk’s ability to provide the best nutrition and protect against infection (ouch, I could not imagine breast feeding my babies once they started teething).

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about six months also, followed by breastfeeding with the introduction of solid foods for the next six months and thereafter the mother and infant could continue to breastfeed as long as there is a mutually desire.

A quote about breastfeeding

“Breastfeeding is like an art, and like anything new it takes a little time to make it work smoothly. New mothers and babies must learn how to make a nursing relationship successful. The only way to succeed is determination.”—anonymous

References

http://www.who.int

www.aap.org

http://www.wicdirectors.org



Child Birth Customs around the World

I found a wonderful article on www.parents.com , where parents share their birthing experiences/customs around the world. I read one parents, story from the Netherlands, and how the Dutch women usually only give birth naturally, no painkillers……not sure I would be able to handle it, but more power to the women that do, in my book, you would be consider a “Superhero”.

http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world

My Birthing Experience

My first born, Dexter at 3 weeks old. I had morning sickness until about 4 months, then I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, which then I had to monitor what I could eat, he was due on March 12 which was a Monday, I worked until that Friday March 9th, I was induced on March 12th at around 5:30 am, contractions started, epidural given around 10:30 am, went to sleep afterwards, awoke around 12ish, was told to push at 1:30pm, he was here at 1:44pm, was simply and quick, by 3pm I was already asking when I could go home, my work here was done....haha.

This time was interesting, as this is my princess Kelsey Grace. Pregnancy went about the same as the first time, morning sickness until about 5 months, no Gestational Diabetes, but this time I went into labor naturally. I was due 12/05, I remember having a Dr. Appt on 11/25, the day before Thanksgiving and the Doctor telling me I was already 2 cm, so she could come any day now. I remember that I worked up until that Monday, 11/23, as she told me I could no longer commute to work longer than 30 minutes, and that Wednesday afternoon after my appt., I remember going into a "nesting mode", where my family and I just went shopping all over the mall, which also included a lot of walking for me, later that night I felt pains in my thighs, so I went to bed, I awoke about 5am and felt my first contractions which I let last almost two hours, as I was not sure it was the real thing. We started moving and getting ready to go and I knew that this time it was the real thing. So I gave birth to my daughter on Thanksgiving Day, I received the epidural about 7am, that only worked on my left side, it did not take on my right side, so I was crying and pleading with my nurse to call the Anaesthesiologist back to see what went wrong, he came back and fixed the problem and I was ready to push at 11:25 am, she came at 11:30 am.

One thing that I have learned through both of these experiences is that having children changes your life forever.

THANK YOU

Dear Classmates and Dr. Kien,

Thank you for your time, comments, and resources throughout this course. I look forward to hopefully working with each of you in the future.

Ideals from the NAEYC Code of Ethics

Blog Assignment Week Seven

Ideals from the NAEYC Code of Ethics

-To be familiar with the knowledge base of early

childhood care and education and to stay informed

through continuing education and training.

-To recognize and respect the unique qualities,

abilities, and potential of each child.

-To create and maintain safe and healthy settings

that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and

physical development and that respect their dignity

and their contributions.

These ideals from the NAEYC Code of Ethics are similar to my goals and aspirations of being an owner of a Child Care Facility.  As a person entering into the ECE field, it is necessary to have the knowledge of the changes in this field. It is also important to meet each child’s needs as individuals as well as a group, to ensure the comprehension and engagement of the children in your care. I will also want to focus on the health and wellness of each child, as some children only receive healthy meals and outdoor activity at school.

Course Resources

Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42–53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.

 Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
• Websites:
• World Forum Foundation
  http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
  This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage
• World Organization for Early Childhood Education
  http://www.omep-usnc.org/
  Read about OMEP’s mission.
• Association for Childhood Education International
  http://acei.org/about/
  Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week’s Application assignment.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
• Children’s Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
• Institute for Women’s Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
• Voices for America’s Children
  http://www.voices.org/
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,” and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.)

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education

I am pursuing this field in an effort to become a child care facility owner or administrator, the following sites, I use to increase my knowledge and training purposes are:

-www.decal.ga.gov (Georgia’s Bright from the Start program website)

-http://www.ccrrofsoutheastga.org

-http://www.parenttoparentofga.org

-http://www.coastalfirststeps.com

Blog Assignment 4

From this week's Discussion:

Marcy Whitebook

-"Children in early care and education are better prepared for school when their teachers have

higher levels of education and specialized training." (Excerpt taken from, Who Cares? Child Care Teachers and the Quality of Care in America)

Sylvia Chard

-“Teacher instruction or Children’s construction? Children need explicit direction for acquiring skills, as well as ways to apply their knowledge to relevant work.” (Excerpt taken from , The Project Approach: Making Curriculum Come Alive)

From the video:

Renatta Cooper

-Working with children and families, was like earning a doctorate degree, as there is always a new challenge to meet, not only for me, but for my staff, and the families I worked with each day.