Halloween Costumes: Amelia Earhart, Nemo...

Caroline (8 mo.) as Amelia Earhart in her red Lockheed Vega

Logan as Squirt from Nemo

Libby as Nemo

Abigail and Amelia as Ariel

Last Chance...

More than 200 entries and counting for the Diaper Cake giveaway which ends tomorrow at 7 pm ET. Click here to go to the giveaway post to enter.

Breastfeeding Multiples Can Be Done!

By Rachael
BBA Contributor, Mother of Triplets

Of course, breastfeeding isn't possible for everyone. Often it is an incredibly personal choice a new mother has to make and it is one that needs full support of family and friends. If you choose to go with formula for your multiples' early needs, there are a lot of wonderful benefits to doing so. But if breastfeeding your multiples is something that you would like to do, it can be done. In fact, I was successfully able to pump for/breastfeed my triplets for 14 ½ months.

After a lot of trial and error in the beginning, I realized some very important things…

1) Invest in a good quality pump, preferably a hospital grade pump. If you cannot afford to purchase a hospital grade pump, they are available to rent through your hospital or other locations such as medical device stores. They are often covered by insurance, so check with your carrier prior to renting or buying one.

2) Pump or nurse regularly (and avoid supplementing as best you can) in the beginning. If you nurse, do so on demand and put the babies to the breast each and every time they are hungry. It will likely be rough with constant feedings, but that is their way of increasing your milk production. If you stick with it, it will be over in a few days! If you pump, do so every 2-3 hours around the clock for the first few weeks, then every 2-3 hours during the day, with 4-5 hour stretches at night. Make sure you vary the times that you pump as well. The body operates on a supply and demand schedule, so the more you pump or nurse the more milk you will make.

3) A baby is far more effective at extracting milk from the breast than a pump, so put the babies to the breast as often as possible!

4) Drink plenty of liquids. Seriously, this is probably one of the most important things you can do. If you are dehydrated, logic would indicate that you will not be able to make as much liquid.

5) Eat plenty of calories. This is also one of the most important things you can do. Your body needs the energy provided by calories (and fat) to make the milk your babies need.

6) Get plenty of rest. I know, something that is so difficult in those first few months, but your body is working hard to make milk so you need to let it rest. Let things go (it is only temporary) and sleep when the babies are sleeping.

7) If someone offers to help, accept it! Let them come cuddle the babies while you get some shut eye or pitch in around the house. Whatever you do, don't fall into the trap of thinking you can do it all or you will be overwhelmed and exhausted in no time at all!

8) Preemies can nurse. Although it is usually a more difficult beginning, they will likely eventually get the hang of it around their original due date. Persistence is key! Keep putting your preemies to the breast, starting slowly at first and gradually adding in more sessions as they get stronger. Also, until your babies are nursing like pros, make sure that you pump after each nursing because it is likely that you will need to help stimulate your milk production.

9) Be willing to be flexible. There may come a time when you realize that your body just isn't able to produce enough milk for your growing babies' needs. If you reach that point, don't be discouraged. You can continue to pump and give your baby a mix of breast milk and formula.

10) If you decide to call it quits, there is no shame. Both you and your baby have to enjoy the experience for it to be worthwhile! It was a difficult road at first, and I was armed with a lot of inaccurate and misleading advice, but I stuck with it and the experience turned out to be quite fulfilling to me and my babies. In fact, when my babies stopped nursing and I returned my pump I was sad. It signaled the end of my babies being babies and their transformation into full-fledged toddlers.

Happy Halloween!

We hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween. Don't forget to enter your little ones in BBA's 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Contest. Check out some of the entries so far. Email your photos to us. Contest ends Sunday, November 2nd at 7 pm ET.

Halloween Costumes: From a Cabbage Patch Kid to the Chrysler Building

A few more entries for our Halloween Costume Contest. It's not too late to enter. You have until 7pm, Sunday, November 2nd. Email your photos to us.

The fighter pilot is worn by Faron and the Chrysler Building by Ruby. They live in Brooklyn, NY.

Baby Betty as a Cabbage Patch Kid

Betty's Mom said, "My husband and I decided to have our baby be a Cabbage Patch Kid for her first Halloween because everybody says she looks like one. We built the box out of wood and painted it by hand, it is 1.75 scale of an original Cabbage Patch Kid box...and yes that is her real hair. She is 6 months old. We had a lot of fun creating this fun costume and our baby loved it too."

There is a story behind the Wizard of Oz costumes. Check it out on their blog.

Bella - 3 months old. Her mom said, "We are organic dairy farmers, so it was only fitting for her to be a little cow this year."

Finley the flapper

Zachariah the monkey

3 lil' pigs

Halloween Costumes: Piglet, Stitch and Yoda

Here are a few more entries for BBA's 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Contest. Email us your entries by 7 pm ET, Sunday, November 2nd. You may win one of two custom blurb books or a diaper clutch from JackaroosBoutique.com.

Sydney as Piglet

Davis as Stitch

Baby Yoda

This Weekend: Breastfeeding Challenges

We have a very informative article that we'll post this Saturday. One of our BBA contributors, Rachael Schirano, is a mother of triplets and will tell her story about the challenges of breastfeeding multiples. Rachael will detail ten important things she learned along the way and share a very important message.

Check back with BBA on Saturday for Rachael's story.

Halloween Costumes: Campbell's Soup, Fairy Princess & Lamb

Here are a few more entries for BBA's 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Contest. Email us your entries by 7 pm ET, Sunday, November 2nd. You may win one of two custom blurb books or a diaper clutch from JackaroosBoutique.com.

Baby Campbell as Campbell's Soup

Savannah the Fairy Princess

Olivia the Lamb

DIY Halloween Costumes

Halloween Headlines

:: A doctor's answer to the Halloween candy conundrum...
:: Candymakers push fewer new candies...
:: Top 10 candies...
:: Keeping kids safe...
:: Hollywood's Halloween baby names...
:: Halloween costumes are cruel to babies...

"Word Girl" Election Day Episode

The 2008 Emmy Award-winning animated television series “WordGirl” offers a special Election Day episode Tuesday, Nov. 4 on PBS stations across the country. Called “A Vote for Becky,” this episode, produced by Scholastic Media, introduces young viewers to the concept of voting, as well as using and defining the words “candidate” and “elect.”

Below is a sneak peek of this episode. Mark your calendar and set your DVRs to introduce your children to voting.

Super Why Costume and Logo

The Super Why costume seems to be very popular and VERY hard to come by this year. The costume is sold-out online and has been for weeks, except if you want to pay upwards of $75 on ebay, which isn't even an option now, since I need it by Wednesday. Can you tell that this is all my 3-year-old son wants to be and now I'm trying to creating a costume for him...at the last minute, I might add?

I came across a homemade costume at Just Treadmilling Around and she has posted great step-by-step directions with pictures for everyone. She also has the logo as a pdf that she can email, but I found a crisp one that I've attached here. You can click on it to make it bigger, save it and print it onto iron on transfer paper. I purchased some HP Iron-on Transfers at Target, but I'm sure you can get it at an office store or maybe even Michaels.

I hope this helps!

Baby Born on New York-Bound Plane

The New York City Port Authority says a pregnant woman went into labor during an afternoon flight from Casablanca to JFK Airport. The baby was delivered on board before the plane landed. [ Video ]

Amy Poehler Misses SNL, Gives Birth

One of SNL's best, Amy Poehler, participated in Thursday night's Saturday Night Live special and rehearsed up until Friday for the main production, but couldn't make it because of more pressing matters.

"Amy Poehler is not here tonight because she's having a baby," Seth Meyers said Saturday at the start of the "Weekend Update" newscast parody he normally cohosts with Poehler. "Now here are tonight's other top stories..."

Poehler and her actor husband Will Arnett are now the proud parents of Archie Arnett. In a statement, NBC said the baby weighed in at 8 lbs., 1 oz., and that mother, child and father were all healthy and resting comfortably.

The Saturday delivery caused SNL staffers to scramble to get the show ready. The bad news now is that Poehler's time on the show has ended. But what a memorable run - and political season - she's had. Her Hillary Clinton impersonation was as good as Tina Fey's Sarah Palin and her "Sarah Palin Rap" (below) will probably go do in SNL history as one of the best skits she's ever done. Throw in the fact she was eight months pregnant and it's brilliant.

Giveaway: 3-Tier Diaper Cake

:: THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. TO SEE IF WE HAVE A NEW GIVEAWAY, CLICK HERE.

Diaper Cakewalk makes adorable diaper "cakes" and they are giving away a DIAPER CAKE to one lucky Baby Blog Addict reader! The winner will be able to choose any 3-tier diaper cake on their bestsellers page.

Here's how to enter:

1. Go to DiaperCakeWalk.com to check out their adorable diaper cakes.

2. Come back to this post on BBA and leave a comment letting us know which diaper cake is your favorite. Make sure we have your contact info (email or blog address) in your blogger profile or comment itself, so we can contact you if you win. Only one entry per person per giveaway. Must have a U.S. mailing address.

3. We'll select a random winner on random.org, then post the winner here on BBA after the contest ends. The winner will get their choice of any 3-tier diaper cake on the bestsellers page.

This contest runs: Sunday, 10/26 - Sunday, 11/2/08 at 7:00 PM ET.

:: Our BBA Halloween Costume Contest also runs through Sunday, 11/2/08 at 7:00 PM ET.

:: For more giveaways going on in the blogging world this week, check out Bloggy Giveaways' Quarterly Carnival with a list of more than 730 current giveaways and counting!

A little about Diaper Cakewalk:

Diaper Cakewalk's diaper cakes make great baby shower gifts. If you are hosting a baby shower, just use a diaper cake as a centerpiece or guest book table decoration, then give it to the parents-to-be after the shower.

All of their diaper cakes (except the EcoFriendly cakes) are constructed with Pampers Swaddlers size 1-2 disposable diapers, "the cadillac of diapering". Their EcoFriendly diaper cake is a great alternative for the lucky baby born to a family who cares about preserving the planet, and an even better way to introduce the 'ecologically challenged' to a simple and significant way to go green! These are made with Seventh Generation disposable diapers.

Halloween Costumes: Bumble Bee, Star Wars & The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Our Halloween Costume Contest ends Nov. 2nd at 7 pm ET. Email your entries to us for a chance to win one of two blurb books or a diaper clutch from JackaroosBoutique.com. Here are a few more entries. Click here to see more.

Cadence the Bumble Bee

Jolene says, "Here are my 2 Star Wars fanatics! Connor (5) is Boba Fett and Myles (7) is Obi Wan Kenobi! They are just posing with R2 D2 the pumpkin, which was not ours. I don't want to take credit for someone else's creativity! I just thought it was very fitting with their costumes!"

Baby Sam as a not-so-happy caterpillar...maybe she's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"?

Spunky Sprout - 10% OFF for BBA Readers

Spunky Sprout is a one-stop-shop for a modern child's lifestyle. They are offering all Baby Blog Addict readers 10% off any purchase until Dec. 24th 2008! Just use the code: babyblog10.

Stay tuned for a great giveaway from Spunky Sprout coming up in a couple of weeks here on BBA!

Halloween Costumes: Sushi Roll & Raggedy Ann

Here are a couple more entries for our Halloween Costume Contest. Email us your photos before the contest ends on November 2nd at 7pm. Prizes: 2 Blurb Books and a diaper clutch from JackaroosBoutique.com.

Here's what Gracie's mom said...

My daughter is Asian and I just HAD to make her a sushi roll.....look at her candy bag....I took a fabric tote and printed "Kikko-GiGi Soy Sauce" (GiGi is her nickname)...It is something she can use and smile about when she thinks about the Halloween when she went as "The Gracie Roll"!!!

Raggedy Ann

Popsqually + Co. ~ 15% OFF For BBA Readers

It's October, so most of us are in the Halloween mindset. However, it's not too early to start thinking about Christmas and holiday gifts, especially with Popsqually + Co.'s early bird discount.

They have given an exclusive offer to BabyBlogAddict readers for 15% off Popsqually + Co. purchase for any orders (except Christmas cards, but those are still too cute to pass up) placed before November 1, 2008! Just include coupon code BBA15 when placing your order!

Don't miss their adorable holiday tags! It's all part of their holiday collection.

Blog Hopping: The Pram is Dead, Long Live the Pram

:: If you are not familiar with what a pram is, you may want to start here.

By Emma
BBA Contributor

My old pram fell apart and it was the happiest day of my life. We never liked each other - that pram made sure I was miserable every day of my life and I made sure I kicked it at least once in the morning and twice in the evening.

It took me about three months of insisting to get Eric to ride in it and even then I never left the house without the baby sling. Many times he would decide he was fed up with the pram and I had no choice but to pop him into the sling. Otherwise he would scream the whole way home.

That pram had small plastic wheels and they made every little bump feel like a BUMP. It was so difficult to steer - both hands (my rock-climbing hands!) weren’t enough. Getting on and off the sidewalk was a pain. I had to lift the whole damn thing. The hood easily came off, and when it did, it fell right on the babies’ head. If, God forbid, I would put anything in the under-seat basket, the pram would start to behave like a sinking ship.

So thank you, my old pram - you showed me what a real pram needs to look like, what features it must have and what it should and shouldn’t do. Thanks to you, I now own a pram that I love because it makes my life so much easier!