The difference a smile makes

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I had lots of errands to run today and had to take all 8 of my children with me. I was not looking forward to it, as it can get hectic. You never know if a child is going to have a meltdown right in the middle of the store. But thankfully, nothing of that caliber happened today. Despite being gone for over 6 hours all the children were good. It was very easy to smile and show the world that “yes, I am very happy with my life.”
But what if my day had gone quite differently? What if I had been annoyed with my children? What would I be saying to the world then? That I am no different and life is crappy. That is not what I want to do with my life. I want to be an influence, a positive one to others. How can I do that?
The answer is very simple……a smile. What a difference a smile makes.

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Each cashier that I came in contact with, did not look very happy. Most looked downright annoyed. Each and every one I had to interact with I made sure to ask them a question and address them by name with a smile. I would listen to their complaints and try and leave an encouraging response. Even my “in training” bagger I was sure to say what a great job she was doing and that the store was very fortunate to have such a hard worker like herself. That instantly put a smile on her face. Did it stay with her? I don’t know, but I hope that even though her day was going quite dimly, she might look back on that one word of positiveness and smile.

The bible says in Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

A complaining spirit drains us emotionally and takes away our joy. It reflects pessimism, not optimism. But those who learn to think and speak about “‘praiseworthy things” have a joyful heart.
Try it today. Smile at your children more, let them know that Mom or Dad delights in them. How about your spouse, do they get to see a smile when they first walk in the door? How about the people you interact with at work? Its amazing what a little smile will do for a person’s soul.

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Breastfeeding your babies – part two

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In part one, I talked about the reasons why it is a good idea to nurse your babies. In this part I will give some resources that I have found over the years to help in your endeavor to breastfeed.

First thing I highly recommend is drinking plenty of fluids. Keep a large special cup just for yourself that you can keep refilling all day long.

A tea I recommend drinking to help boost your milk supply is from Traditional Medicines called Mothers Milk tea. A great investment, I wish I would’ve known about this babies ago. Mother’s Milk can be highly effective; it works by increasing levels of lactation-related hormones including prolactin and progesterone.

The way I would drink this, as I don’t care for the black licorice flavor, is by filling my water cup up with tap water and dropping in a teabag. Just let it sit out for a bit then drink it down. I would use one teabag a day. I keep my water cup filled all day long, reusing the tea bag.

A word of caution this tea can cause extreme gas in both you and your infant. I have only had one child that could not tolerate this ( one out of ten isn’t bad) Our last baby was extremely colicky, I had to discontinue drinking this tea, in order to help his tummy. But I still strongly recommend it as it has helped me so many times over the years. The tea contains Fenugreek, which is one of the primary components of the herbal tea to increase breast milk production. It is generally safe and widely used in food, but can cause many of the discomforting side effects such as bloating, gas and mild diarrhea.

Another product I recommend to moms to purchase is my Brest friend nursing pillow. A great way to nurse baby and be mobile. Helps in those first few weeks to have newborn latch on properly at breast level. Your back, shoulders, and neck will feel ten times better. I have used a Boppy pillow over the years and various other items, nothing comes close to the comfort of this pillow.

Make some homemade nursing tops so you will feel comfortable and confident in your nursing adventure. Check out my other post on how I made these modest and inexpensive.

Get your rest mommas, nothing will lesson your milk production more than a worn out tired momma. So step away from this blog and get some sleep:-)

 

(By the way, I am not being paid to say any of this, I am just expressing my own delight in it).

 

1 Thessalonians. 2:7-8

“But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother nursing and cherishing her own children. So, being thus tenderly and affectionately desirous of you, we continued to share with you not only God’s good news ( the Gospel) but also our own lives as well, for you had become so very dear to us.”

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