Let it GO!

But It's only $25 a Month
Just $25.00... That’s how much a special feature on my cellular phone service was, before I cancelled it. Now, it’s zero a month, which is even better. This morning, I caught myself thinking, “but it’s only $25 a month.” And the cable is only $35, the newspaper delivery is only $12.00, and those sodas we like to buy while we’re driving around running errands are only $1.19, Starbucks regular coffee $2.00....

But let’s take that just one step further. The extras on the cell phone for $25 a month equals $300 each year. Cable TV, at $35 a month, equals a whopping $420. That inexpensive newspaper subscription (even just $12 for the weekends), will cost you $144. Sodas at $1.19, let’s say three times a week, comes out to $185.64 per year! Just these few items come to a grand total of $1049.64!!!

It’s so easy to fall into the “it’s only $25 a month” thinking, most of us know better but we still do it. Right now, my priorities are just in a different place. It’s not that I can’t “afford” certain things, its just that larger goals and future stability is more important to me.

This morning I thought about lots of things that would also be nice to have, all of them costing just around $10 - $20 a month. But I knew that each one represented a bigger number (when multiplied times 12 months), and though by themselves they may seem small, add too many of them and you can have quite a dangerous threat to my budget--Especially when you add INTEREST into the mix and you are paying someone a heavy interest rate to finance that $10-$20 a month...you get the picture!!So, next time you find yourself thinking "it’s only going to cost $25 a month," get your calculator out and think again.

Reasons to Breastfeed...

Breastfeeding
is a challenge
in today's day and age, but it is the most basic way to give nutrients to a new human life. According to the AAP, "Human milk is species-specific, and all substitute feeding preparations differ markedly from it, making human milk uniquely superior for infant feeding. Exclusive breastfeeding is the reference or normative model against which all alternative feeding methods must be measured with regard to growth, health, development, and all other short- and long-term outcomes. In addition, human milk-fed premature infants receive significant benefits with respect to host protection and improved developmental outcomes compared with formula-fed premature infants… Pediatricians and parents should be aware that exclusive breastfeeding is sufficient to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first 6 months of life and provides continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection. Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child."A.A.P. Breastfeeding Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk Pediatrics Vol. 115 No. 2 February 2005

Here are the top 25 reasons WHY to Breastfeed your bambino:)

1. The American Dietetic Association promotes breastfeeding


2. Breast milk is more digestible than formula


3. Not breastfeeding increases mother's risk of breast cancer


4. Baby's suckling helps shrink mother's uterus after childbirth


5. Formula feeding increases baby girls' risk of developing breast cancer in later life


6. Formula Feeding is associated with lower I.Q.


7. Breast milk is always ready and comes in a nicer package than formula does


8. Breast milk helps pass meconium


9. Breast milk contains immunities to diseases and aids in the development of baby's immune system


10. Breastfeeding satisfies baby's emotional needs and increases bonding between mother and baby


11. Breast milk provides perfect infant nutrition


12. Not breastfeeding increases mother's risk of developing ovarian cancer


13. Nursing helps mom lose weight after baby is bornPre-term milk is specially designed for premature infants


14. Breastfeeding protects against Crohn's disease (intestinal disorder)


15. Formula feeding increases risk of children developing diabetes


16. Breastfeeding baby helps decrease insulin requirements in diabetic mothers


17. Breastfeeding may help stabilize progress of maternal endometriosis


18. Baby's suckling helps prevent post-partum hemorrhage in mother


19. Not breastfeeding increases mother's risk of developing endometrial cancer


20. Formula feeding increases chances of baby developing allergies


21. Breast milk lowers risk of baby developing asthma


22. Formula feeding increases baby's risk of otitis media (ear infections)


23. Formula feeding may increase risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)


24. Breastfeeding protects baby against diarrheal infections


25. Breastfeeding decreases child's chances of contracting Hodgkins disease