20Dec 2023 by Sarah Glenn
So, You’ve Decided to Exclusively Pump

So, You’ve Decided to Exclusively Pump

Breastfeeding, Infants, Life, Parenting, Pregnancy, Work
So, you've decided to exclusively pump because you know that it is healthiest for you and baby. Exclusive pumping means the mother has decided to put her breastmilk into a bottle and feed it to her baby, exclusively. For one reason or another, she decided not to put the baby to the breast for his feedings. Exclusively pumping or "eping", is a full-time commitment and takes good planning. For some moms, this is not how she pictured breastfeeding to happen and pumping is her last resort after many days/weeks of trying to latch her baby properly.  For other moms, this is a choice and she always imagined herself only pumping and bottle-feeding breastmilk.  Or maybe the choice was made for the mom, for example, her or the baby have been…
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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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03Dec 2023 by Sarah Glenn
How to Build a Parenting Blog

How to Build a Parenting Blog

All, Life, Parenting, Pregnancy, Work
How to build a parenting blog starts with a bud of hope. Hope that my parenting wins and fails will entertain you. Hope that my expertise in pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and newborns will be enough to guide you on your unique journey. Most of all, hope that you will NOT feel judged but instead protected to find your inner voice. Emotions Used to Build a Blog It amazes me how much time, reflection, and planning I’ve put into this blogging venture. Many questions were swirling in my head about the goals and direction I’d like this platform to take for months before putting pen to paper (yes, I started with a pen). Not to mention the always nagging speculation on my self-confidence: could I, should I, what makes mine different…
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02Dec 2023 by Sarah Glenn
What you Need to Know About the Second Trimester

What you Need to Know About the Second Trimester

All, Infants, Pregnancy
What you need to know about the second trimester will give you the confidence to enjoy the rest of your pregnancy and prepare you for the arrival of your progeny. This period gives you an eagerness to learn about your changing body and find a way to embrace it. It's the time you'll relish the comfortability you feel in comparison to the rest of the pregnancy. By this time, you've accepted the pregnancy and put some semblance of order back into your life. You have more energy, feel hungrier, more clear-headed than you've been, and may even have a lighter mood. At some point between 16-21 weeks, you will no longer be "guessing" if you felt a kick and will likely cherish these odd sensations. Maybe you've even announced your pregnancy or…
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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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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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13Nov 2023 by Sarah Glenn

First Trimester Woes

Health, Pregnancy
If you’ve been feeling the first trimester woes, take it easy, give yourself permission to take a nap or go to bed early.  Understanding the changes your body is going through will help you conquer this first phase.  An amazing amount of effort is going on behind the scenes.  Not only does your body have to work double time to keep you both alive, but your brain must shift gears into the less logical and more nurturing side.  Imagine the magnitude of hormone changes to allow for this.  Here’s a peak at the most common first trimester woes: Tired all the time/low energy-those prenatal vitamins may be hard to swallow right now, but can aid in giving you the correct vitamins to give a little more energy. Unfortunately there isn't…
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10Nov 2023 by Sarah Glenn

10 Breastfeeding Positions to Master

Breastfeeding, Infants, Parenting, Pregnancy
These 10 breastfeeding positions to master will determine the path of your breastfeeding journey. Master these skills and you will be a pro. If this is your first baby, I’m sure you’re wondering what the “breastfeeding positions” hype is all about.  I mean really, what is the big deal about a specific position to hold and feed your baby at the breast?  Don’t you just put the kiddo there and he naturally knows what to do?  On the other hand, if you’re a seasoned successful nursing mom, you get it. You remember how integral the correct placement of hands could calm baby quickly and bring you comfortable tugging, not pinching.  If you’re not new to breastfeeding but didn’t have an easy go of it, maybe this blog is the perfect…
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