Before I start talking about The Essential Breastfeeding Log (Ballantine, 2009) I have to say that I didn't track feedings. After a few days of logging feedings and diapers, we set aside the chart and never looked back. Even when I returned to work and felt anxious about my ability to keep up with pumping, I recorded one day's worth of pumping and then let it go.
Fortunately, a number of the mothers at a breastfeeding support group I run do track feedings, so I had them take a look at this book and tell me what they thought. Their comments are below.
So, all that said, let's talk about The Essential Breastfeeding Log. It's attractive, with a clean design, and it's spiral bound so it lays flat. It would be a nice keepsake. In the introduction there is some encouragement about taking care of ourselves, with particular emphasis on exercise. This makes sense, given that both authors are health and fitness writers. There is space for tracking "me" time and "us" time, which is for tracking quality time with your partner. There are some good statements about not watching the clock.
There are a few things I wasn't as crazy about: there is a lot of emphasis on sleep training. I'm not sure if that's because both authors are mothers of twins. I was also disappointed to find that, while the index on sleep includes Ferber and Ezzo, but not Sears or Pantley. There are many approaches to dealing with sleep issues, and I think it's important to present the full range of options.
There are spaces on each page in the early months for "amount supplemented" and "amount pumped." This can come in handy for mothers who need to, or choose to, supplement and/or pump. But I worry just a tad that this might make a few moms think they need to pump or supplement when it's not necessary. One mom at my breastfeeding group thought it would have been better to include an "other" column instead. I was also surprised to see that the column for pumping disappears at week 19 - right in the heart of pumping for working moms.
The moms at my breastfeeding group liked the log in general. They also thought that it was a little big to fit in a diaper bag, and said that they would have liked one a ribbon bookmark to mark one's place in the book.
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