Contrary to popular belief, breastfeeding — once you get the hang of it — is the easiest way to nourish your baby. It’s also the healthiest, proven to reduce many childhood illnesses (including ear infections) and health threats in later life (obesity, to name just one). You also save time and money because you don’t have to buy and prepare formula, which can cost up to $1,200 a year. But how can you breastfeed and still have a life? What if you want to go out to dinner or have to travel? What if you go back to work? We’ll show you. Nursing in public This can feel unwieldy the first few times you do it, but after having to feed your baby in the ladies’ room while everyone else is enjoying their meal, you get it. The secret is to wear the right clothes; a loose pullover or nursing top is best. Also practice at home or another “safe” place before you venture out. Here’s how to do it Hold your baby with one hand, use the other to unhook...

They call it “momnesia”: those times you put the milk in the cupboard instead of the refrigerator; or you walk into a room, only to forget why you’re there. But “mommy brain” is more than a punch line, says Shoshana Bennett, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in San Ramon, Calif., who specializes in prenatal and postpartum counseling. Experts say it’s a very real neurological issue resulting from powerful endocrine and brain chemistry changes. Fortunately, Bennett says, you can take steps to minimize the impact of mommy brain: > Trimester 1 Start eating brain...

Worry has always been a side effect of pregnancy. But one anxiety — will my baby be normal? — has recently come to include a new concern: autism. First identified in 1943, the disorder is commanding unprecedented interest, mostly because of the reported rise in its incidence, but also because its origins lie in the fascinating crux between genes and the environment. "Autism is primarily genetic, but something beyond genes is also involved," says pediatric neurologist Andrew Zimmerman, M.D., an associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine...

Blamed for everything from nursing marathons to night waking, teething isn’t just difficult for baby; it’s hard on the whole family. Though a necessary and inevitable right of passage, teething is one of early life’s toughest experiences. Indeed, the thought of bone cutting through tender gums even makes most adults cringe. Babies seem to take it all in relative stride, drooling and chewing for weeks to help the little chompers pop through. Nevertheless, pain and inflammation can cause even the mellowest of infants to become fussy and irritable, and others to be downright inconsolable...

Whatever your life was like as a couple, pregnancy changes it irrevocably. Your focus, once centered on just you two, zooms in on the coming baby. So begins the transition to parenthood, an experience that can strengthen your bond as a couple if you communicate and nurture your relationship. Before baby arrives "All parents should realize that they must consciously decide to make their relationship a priority after the baby is born," says Mark E. Crawford, Ph.D., author of When Two Become Three: Nurturing Your Marriage After Baby Arrives (Revell). "Talk to each other about both the...

You are what you eat. That's old news. So is the fact that your diet during pregnancy affects your newborn's health. But the new news is that what you eat in the next nine months can impact your baby's health, as well as your own, for decades to come. Here are easy nutrition tips that will help you both. 1. Get enough folic acid. Ideally, you need 400 micrograms of this B vitamin daily before conceiving. Because sufficient intake in the first trimester reduces neural-tube defects such as spina bifida by 50 to 70 percent, you should increase the dose to 600 micrograms when pregnancy...