29Dec 2023 by Sarah Glenn
IBCLC VS LC: What’s the Difference?

IBCLC VS LC: What’s the Difference?

Breastfeeding, Health, Work
Historically, women would look to their mom, sister, aunt, friend or grandma for support through pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and child rearing.  Since formula made its debut in the mid to late 1800s, less and less women have been breastfeeding.   By the 1970’s only 1 in 5 women were attempting to breastfeed.  Sadly, those who did breastfeed were outcast by their peers and doctors.  These mothers would hide their parenting style as if it were a “bad” thing to do.  Finally, a feminist group in Chicago, Illinois noticed the need to support mothers who wish to breastfeed in 1956.  The seven founders began private meetings for mother to mother support, open to anyone who wished for breastfeeding information.   This group is still in existence today and is called La Leche League;…
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23Dec 2023 by Sarah Glenn
A Time for Reflection

A Time for Reflection

Health, Life, Parenting, Relationships
My thirties were a time for reflection. Learning about oneself can be quite eye-opening. Follow my journey to understand all of me. Some parts are so ingrained it may take a complete remodel. Many good and bad things came to pass. It was the first time I experienced a close family member die (my husbands’ grandmother and I were very close). I also learned my mom and stepfather had cancer. It was also the first time I was not pregnant or nursing in 10 years. As well as the beginning of a new millennium, and I started to “find” myself. My thirties were the flowering of who I am. The child in me was finally growing up. Sort of! Evolving I stopped blaming my mother for my happiness and past; I…
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19Dec 2023 by Sarah Glenn
The Many Uses of Breastmilk

The Many Uses of Breastmilk

Breastfeeding, Health, Infants, Pregnancy
The many uses of breastmilk may surprise you! It was eye-opening for my family. My then 14-year-old daughter worked in a pizza parlor and dropped a whole pie on her hand, cheese side down! FYI, the oven temperature was 500 degrees. This was bad, VERY bad but we managed to heal her burn with breastmilk swabs on her hand for a week--nothing else! She is 27 now and there is no evidence of this fiasco. Thankfully, she did not need skin grafts or other medication, breastmilk did the trick. The proof is in the pudding (or milk). We were sold and have been ever since. The many uses of breastmilk are likely to help alleviate the dilemma of throwing away any forgotten bags in the freezer. Or help a mom…
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09Dec 2023 by Sarah Glenn
Increase Your Odds of Conception

Increase Your Odds of Conception

All, Health, Life, Pregnancy, Relationships
We will cover the best tips to increase your odds of conception in this blog. In my last blog about fertility, I talked about the basics in creating another life by following a love story of a maiden (egg) and her knight (sperm). What is seemingly a simple story that should have a happy ending, has proved to be a more complex task to achieve. At some point in puberty, we find out about the Birds and the Bees through family, friends, health class, reading, pictures, and exploration of our sexuality. Only to realize later in life that what we once believed right about sex and baby-making may have been a rumor or misconstrued by our undeveloped brain. Consequently, we will focus on relearning (and exploring) the birds and the…
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07Dec 2023 by Sarah Glenn
You Don’t Need Milk. Here’s Why.

You Don’t Need Milk. Here’s Why.

All, Breastfeeding, Cooking, Health
Really, I was just as surprised to learn you don't need milk, so here's why... Anyone else feel duped by the dairy farmers? I grew up believing that drinking milk (from cows) was the most wholesome food, and I was allowed to ingest as much as I wanted. I'm quite sure my mother spent more money on milk than any other food group when I was young. It was a quick, easy, cheap way to get vitamins, calories, and minerals into her growing daughter every day. The best part was how much I liked it and could easily down 1/2 a gallon per day. Some of the slogans I heard growing up: Drink milk to get big and strong- quickly makes children interested.Milk does a body good- sold me!Got milk?-famous people…
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04Dec 2023 by Sarah Glenn
Sibling Rivalry

Sibling Rivalry

Health, Kids, Life, Parenting, Relationships
Sibling Rivalry-a competition between brothers and sisters-is, not a comfortable term coming from any parent. Matter of fact, it is the bane of every parent's existence. When pregnant with a second or consecutive child, we spend countless hours in a dream world of how we envision our perfect little family. Even those that grew up with sibling squabbles or still have some today will find themselves thinking, "that won't be my family." Seriously, don't we all think we can raise better kids than that? Or, you may be thinking that your parents didn't handle the rivalry the way you did and therefore escalated the situation. Always the parents' fault. Worse yet, could be the parent that still believes his or her sibling is "the favorite." I'm sure he/she thinks they…
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18Nov 2023 by Sarah Glenn
What you need to know if you’re trying to get pregnant

What you need to know if you’re trying to get pregnant

Health, Infants, Life, Parenting, Pregnancy, Relationships
What you need to know if you're trying to get pregnant and may have fertility questions. *By definition “fertility is the natural capability to produce offspring.” FERTILITY: Such a beautiful word! The image one might conjure up in his or her mind is of something lavish.  After all, some of the synonyms associated with this word could be: abundant, arable, fruitful, lush, productive and rich.  All of which bring allurement to consciousness.  Close your eyes and try imagery with this word. Impossible to think of anything gloomy.  Now try this exercise in relation to humans and conception.  First thoughts may have been a beautiful, perfect, angelic baby or some of you may have given in to thoughts of the activities involved in producing this angel.  Both are pleasing symbolisms. It’s…
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17Nov 2023 by Sarah Glenn

One Baby, Please, Hold the Sugar: A Birth Story

All, Birth Stories, Breastfeeding, Health, Infants, Life, New Parenthood, Post Partum, Pregnancy, Relationships
One baby, please, hold the sugar is my daughter's birth story told from her perspective. These words are her own and don't necessarily express my personal views or opinions. I welcome all women to share their birth stories! Please contact me if you'd like to publish your birth story on The Incomplete Guide to Parenting. If you are interested in my doula or lactation services, please visit my website Disclaimer: No artificial sweeteners here I've gone back and forth about putting my story out into the world. I never wanted to scare anyone, and so when asked, I would come up with a glossed over, toned down version of my story, the "polite" version. But I recently read a birth story that was such a blatant bunch of sugar-coated bull****…
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16Nov 2023 by Sarah Glenn

Tips for Breastfeeding with Yeast

Breastfeeding, Health, Infants, Parenting
*If you click some of links I’ve added to this educational information, I may earn a few cents to help keep this operational. I’ve either used these products myself or trust the recommendations from the moms I serve and choose to pass on the great tips. Win-Win Tips for breastfeeding with yeast is not a replacement for medical advice. Determining the cause of candida albicans is most important when breastfeeding with yeast. Latch difficulties, tongue tie, nipple shields, breast pads, hormonal imbalance etc can cause sore nipples and may mimic yeast-like symptoms. Working with a professional to explore the potential problems before starting a plan, is the quickest way to relief. Diet: Lower your sugar, dairy, gluten, alcohol, high mold, artificial ingredients or anything you feel increases inflammation in your…
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15Nov 2023 by Sarah Glenn

Fascinating Facts About Your Placenta

Health, Pregnancy
These fascinating facts about your placenta will have you feeling fully informed about the world your fetus lives in. From the time you saw the pregnancy test appear positive, you’ve likely done a lot of reading about pregnancy, labor, birth and babies.  Maybe you’ve even watched a bunch of videos or taken a class to become more comfortable with the process of bringing a baby into the world or perhaps talked to a variety of seasoned moms.  Whatever route you are using to gain the most enlightenment into motherhood, it probably does not include enough information about the amazing environment your protégé is growing in. This is impart due to the parents focusing on HOW the baby will leave its warm cozy habitat and end up on your breast. After…
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