With the birth of my most recent daughter (she’s 10 weeks old!), I recently discovered something that I really wish I knew about when I was nursing my first child 2.5 years ago: the Boob Long Sleeve Top!  Sold at YummyMummy, a store on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that provides a range of products and services that support nursing moms, this style top has a double-layer fabric design over the bust, allowing for discreet and comfortable nursing.

Yummy Mummy Boob Striped Sailor Top

With my first child, part of why I never left the home for the first 3-4 months was for fear of nursing in public.  Shortly before delivering my second child, a nursing friend introduced me to these style tops from YummyMummy and I stopped at the store right after I checked out of the hospital after delivering my youngest daughter.  The discretion it has provided me while nursing has also provided me with a lot more freedom to leave home since I am now much more comfortable nursing in public!  I highly recommend these types of tops to any nursing mom.

Note: My friend pointed out that she found the striped “sailor” tops to be more flattering than the solid colors.  I agree!  I’d recommend that you pay attention to the comparison if you go to the store to try them on.

Update on 2010 March 25:

I recently discovered very similar nursing tops at Momzelle.com and ordered a few (the organic fabric in black).  They work just as effectively as the YummyMummy tops but are only $50 versus the $69 tops at YummyMummy.  Readers of The S File may get a 10% discount if you use the discount code “SFile” at www.momzelle.com.  Let me know what you think if you try them!

Note: I have not received any discount or free items from either YummyMummy or Momzelle.  I just liked the nursing tops as a regular paying customer.

Related Content:

• Nursing Tops: My Newest Wardrobe Staple
• Beautiful Nursing Top / Dress / Cover
• Essentials for Infant Meals (including essentials for the nursing mom)

While heavily relying on my beloved neti-pot while congested during pregnancy, I often times wished for a similar solution for my 2.5 year old daughter.  Through one of my email mommy groups, I read about how much many moms love  the Nosefrida.  I tried it, and I’m a big fan as well!  My 2.5 year old daughter won’t let me use it too often but it has been hugely helpful with my infant daughter.  I’ve tried other nose aspirators and this is the most effective, reliable one that I’ve tried to date.

Readers of The S File get 1 free filter bag at NoseFrida.com — The Snot Sucker.  Just enter “The S File” in the comment line when you order aspirators.

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• Nasal Irrigation for Children?

The CDC estimates that right now BPA is in the bodies of 93 percent of Americans, with higher levels in teens than in adults, and higher levels in children than in teens.

BPA, commonly found in plastics, is a potent hormone disruptor that is increasingly linked to health effects like brain and behavior changes, cancer, and reproductive system damages.

Children are often times exposed through clear plastic baby bottles, toddler sippy cups, dental sealants, the interior coating of some food cans, sport bottles like Nalgene, and five-gallon water jugs.

You can reduce your family’s exposure to BPA by removing products with BPA from your home.  In Japan, where they have already banned BPA, they have seen a rapid drop in BPA levels in their bodies.

In addition, researchers at Duke University show that they could completely block BPA damage in animals, even in the face of significant exposure, by giving pregnant animals extra folate (found mostly in green leafy vegetables – foliage – such as spinach) or extra genistein (found mostly in legumes such as soy).

Click on Dr. Greene to read more about the latest research.

Click on Tips to Reduce BPA Exposure to learn how to further protect your family.

We have three step stools for my 2.5 year old daughter and two step stools for the adults. This is by far the most convenient one because it collapses easily to lean against walls and is very light. My daughter is able to move this stool easily to any location she desires.