By RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT health http://ift.tt/1X6S4dQ
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1. I.E: Max OD, Max body length , Max Leg length etc.Leg Bends etc.
Once you understand these basic principals for creating and engineering your unique torsion spring you will be better prepared for spring design. Remember, a great torsion spring is one that will function properly in the confined parameter of your product with low stress and fatigue, and high cycles of life.
Torsion springs can have offset bends coming right off the body that give you your choice of different radiuses that can be put on your spring’s legs. Example: 90 degree, 45 degree, 25 degree, just about any kind of angle can be manufactured into your torsion spring. Your bend angles can be on different planes as well as different radiuses. The legs on a torsion spring can have hooks, loops, u-turns, and even additional springs can be made from a leg length such as a smaller torsion spring of a leg from the bigger torsion spring.
When the environment is such that a coated spring wire will not meet the requirements of an application, then stainless steel spring wire should be considered. Type 302 stainless steel is usually the first choice. This spring wire can yield very corrosion resistant springs for most applications. When the environment is a high temperature application then 17-7 PH stainless steel is recommended (650 F. max operating temp.) If you need to go higher then inconel x750 or inconel 718 can go up to (1,100 F) is a high-quality choice.
Happy Friday :-D
It’s the last Friday of September, which means summer is coming to an end. I don’t mind honestly, I am more of a boots and scarf gal. Today I’ll be sharing with you some favorites of the past three weeks for mommy and baby.
Even if you aren’t a mom, you’ll still enjoy a few of these:
Pepperidge Farm Soft-Baked Granola [Cookies]. I tried one from Target’s $1 section; post-delivery, I was eating oatmeal cookies (oats help with breastmilk production).
Yes, I could make my own and healthier... but between my online work and baby Samantha, these were perfect to have as a quick breakfast with a banana or a night time treat with milk. I love that they have a little bit of fiber, protein and of course, carbs!
Plenti Greek Yogurt (Yoplait)Another quick and delicious way to get some increased lactation. Not only may oats increase, but flax can help too. Plus you get calcium to keep building strong bones, but my all time favorite Greek Yogurt is Fage.
Starbucks Iced Coffee + Milk [Light]. I can’t go on my usual Starbucks run nor do I always have the time to get my coffee brew on. That’s where these puppies come in. Each one comes out to about $1.40, which is about $1.00 less for a tall iced coffee.
I get to save money for baby wipes and if I am running late for work, I can grab one and still get my Starbucks fix. I can’t work without Starbucks in hand.
Babyganics Hand Sanitizer & Stain RemoverBabies (and moms) can get messy! I love the hand sanitizer and wipes. The Babyganics stain remover is amazing for getting out those tough stains. Definitely going to stock up on that.
Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema Relief Cream Samantha was getting very dry and cracked wrists, so we needed a cream for her dry skin. This cream healed her in less then two days.
Seventh Generation Dish Soap & Disinfectant Wipes All products are plant-based; the wipes have been great to clean her changing table and other things she may dirty. Instead of getting a “baby friendly dish soap,” we opted to go with one for the whole family.
The dish soap was only 50 cents more then the one we usually buy and it’s safe for washing Samantha’s bottles/ breast pump gadgets.
I am linking up with Heather for Friday Favorites. Thanks for hosting!Question: What are some of YOUR favorite products lately?
The first months of breast feeding can be filled with challenges, irritations, and frustrations. If you’ve decided to breast feed your baby, you need to know that you’re doing something incredibly important and beneficial for your child. Please stick with it, and do not give up. Often women give up right before it gets easy. I was determined to breast feed no matter what, and was delighted to discover that it got easier after about 3 months. Every month I nursed my baby, the easier it got… so we just kept going!
One thing that I struggled with at first was finding the right under garments. I purchased handfuls of nursing bras and tops to find the right one. I personally couldn’t stand the nursing bras that have a flap that you pull down. They just get covered in milk (who wants to put a wet bra back on after nursing?!) and they’re not easy to hide under your clothes if you live anywhere besides the North Pole. They have wide straps and are usually full cup coverage so they peek out from your shirts. It’s already pretty obvious to everyone that you just had a baby. You’re not feeling like yourself, and dealing with the flush of hormones too. No one wants to feel bad about their image or uncomfortable on top of that. So here’s how I overcame this issue…
You know those nice little padded cups inside your bras? Take them out… and put them in a comfy, wire-free sports bra or “sleep” bra. I found very lightweight, wire-free bras at department stores in the pajama/lingerie departments. They are usually in the sleepwear. You can also find a super comfy bra on Amazon under the brand name Coobie. I bought bras that are completely convertible, so the straps can be removed, worn normally, or crossed/connected to make it racer-back. Then I cut slits at the top of the inside of the bra cups, and inserted the nice pads from my favorite normal bra. Some wire-free bras like Coobie have pre-cut and finished holes in the cups, so you don’t have to cut a hole in your clothes. However, a small hole on the inside isn’t going to show and unlikely to tear. Also, some of these “sleep” bras already have pads in them that you can use or replace with better ones. I found the best pads inside my nicer athletic tops. They are thicker and hold up better in the wash. I also wash and dry all of my bras, contrary to laundering guidelines. I just don’t care. Who has time to hang up clothes and wait over night for them to dry? Not me. I barely have time to wash them in the first place!
Here’s another trick. Cami-tanks that have a shelf bra can hold the pads inside the shelf bra without sewing them in. If you wear a lot of tanks, try putting the pads directly inside the cami so you do not need a bra underneath. The least layers you have to wear, the easier it is to breastfeed– especially if you’re in public. It’s difficult to pull up your clothes and bunch them all up over your chest if you’re trying to be discrete in public. Pulling them down just causes them to get wet from milk drips.
I found that camis can still be a little cumbersome, but they come in handy when you have a sheer top.
Ok, in case the numerous free samples of milk pads you received while pregnant weren’t a clue, you’re going to need some disposable milk pads too. Medela makes a comfortable disposable breast feeding pad that you insert inside your bra. It will soak up the excess milk from unnecessary let down or little leaks during the day. This keeps your bras fresh and dry. After about 6 months, I was able to just wear one (on the second side that my baby nursed from, so only during let-down). After 1 year we were still breast feeding (yay), and I was able to go without any paper pads. You’ll want to experiment with these to find the best product and timing for when you will need them.
Finally, GIVE UP TIGHT CLOTHING. You’re probably not going to feel like wearing tight tops at first anyway, but if you’re a fashionista you will learn really fast that being a mommy comes first now. If anyone actually cares about what you’re wearing, they are not your friend. Just stating the obvious again! There will be time later to get back to looking your best, and you’ll look back on this time like a little blip in history. Just remember that what you’re doing for your baby is most important right now! Next year, you won’t remember the massive milk leaks, sore nipples, and drama over finding a place to nurse in public, but your child will be healthier, stronger, and better adjusted in life.
And, you can still look great with a few hacks–
Want to wear a dress? Find one with cami-straps and an empire waist. Easily pull it off your shoulder to nurse (just fold a burp rag onto your the top so it doesn’t get wet). Avoid zippered backs and tight dresses while you’re nursing or you’ll end up with your husband standing in front of your car window while you undress to nurse your baby in the car because you forgot to wear a nurse-friendly outfit (happens to the best of us).
Hot summer day? Wear an athletic top with padded shelf bra. Wear it as a tank top– no one will ever know you’re wearing an exercise top, or they will think you just came from yoga. Lululemon and Gap Athleta have beautiful tops in a variety of styles that are padded and even provide support. For my thriftier mamas, try Marshalls or TJ Maxx athletic section. I found many cute tops there complete with support and padding.
What other things have worked for you? Please share them with us!
This morning in the shower, after much massaging and squeezing, I got the teeniest tiniest white drops forming in my nipples.
Yes that’s right folks, I got DROPS!
I mean “drops” is probably an exaggeration, they were absolutely the smallest hint at a drop of milk. But they were there.
Let me back up a bit. A week or so ago I decided to see if a clumsy attempt at hand expression in the shower would do anything. Warm water running over your breasts apparently helps milk let down. Nothing happened but I did not lose heart. Birth control pills inhibit milk production, regardless of the fact the Domperidone should be heightening my prolactin levels. I didn’t expect anything but I thought I’d give it a bash.
This morning I thought I would try again. I am onto my third day of constant lightning boob, it feels as though someone is driving needles in and out of my left nipple. Seriously.
(So far Righty is the slacker and hardly hurts at all!)
I massaged and did compression/expression for a few minutes. I looked at Lefty and could have sworn I saw a tiny white speck in the centre of my nipple. I tried not to get too excited and told myself it was a trick of the light or soap, after all my boobs were wet. Righty had nothing.
I carried on for a minute or so and suddenly had what can only be described as a gurgling rush moving downwards in my lefty. I thought I saw another white-ish speck.
I stopped the shower, hurriedly dried myself and tried expressing first on the Lefty. After only a minute or so, there it was. Another tiny white glistening speck!! I squealed!!
Immediately I tried on lazy Righty, it took slightly longer and harder expression but there too appeared the tiniest glisten of whiteness!
I bounced into the bedroom and said to Dax:
“So I think you may be grossed out by this but I squeezed my boobs and the tiniest little white bubbles appeared on both!”
He humoured me and actually looked pretty pleased for me!
“No way!” He said. He told me he wasn’t grossed out, he was really happy for me and told me he was so proud of me and my determination!
I got dressed, wearing a light grey top and noticed after I’d done my hair and put my moisturiser on that I had the tiniest wet patch on my top!
I have since tweeted about this development (I could hardly contain myself all morning!) and I called SSIL and told her! She was massively excited for me too, although my poor brother had to listen to the whole ‘I squeezed my boobs’ story on speakerphone hahaha!!
Lefty has not stopped tingling/hurting all morning. It keeps having a weird bubbling/tingling sensation on top of the stabbing in the nipple area…
Seriously, this is a very exciting day.
One of the best parts of my job is when I get to watch a baby find its way to the breast. Its just magic! It can make me shed a tear. But what’s truly upsetting to me is the fact that many mothers do not get to experience this, purely because no one has told them about the phenomenon of baby-led attachment.
Here is a quote so powerful in its truth:
Babies breastfeed and mothers make milk
I can’t remember who said this (if you know please tell me so I can credit them). Often this is forgotten, all the responsibility is placed on the mother. She feels that burden. But what if we gave some of that responsibility back to the very capable infant and set the stage for success. Babies breastfeed – lets give them the controls. It could be said that a baby’s instinct is much stronger than its mother, whose intuition has been withered away by a culture that has fostered a loss of primal knowledge replacing it with doubt and fear. A society that lacks confidence in women and their bodies. If we can’t trust our bodies, let us at least trust our babies.
If you place a baby prone on her mother’s chest (mother is reclined and baby is lying on top – chest to chest), like any other mammal she is wired for survival and will use her innate reflexes to find and attach to the breast. This instinct exists for a couple of months, and is a great technique to try when experiencing breastfeeding difficulties. Some babies initially resist a conventional mother-led breastfeeding position, perhaps due to birth trauma/pain, over stimulation etc. It is especially useful for that first feed, when baby is placed skin to skin on the mother immediately after birth. A natural progression. In fact the first breastfeed could be considered the “4th stage of labour”.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that:
“the process of childbirth is not finished until the baby has safely transferred from placental to mammary nutrition”.3
Most babies can find their own way to the breast within an hour. Routine procedures can wait for an hour or so, and any observations of the infant can be done on the mother (the baby’s natural habitat).
It is important for mothers to know that labour medications and epidurals (used in vaginal birth and caesareans) may interfere with baby-led attachment. It is striking to see such dulled reflexes in some babies; no rooting or gaping (turning towards the breast with the mouth open wide); no nibbling; which may persist for days resulting in increased stress for the mother and the need for formula supplementation. Often mothers aren’t told about these deleterious effects on early breastfeeding. This information is essential for mothers to make an informed choice.
Unfortunately the routine practice of uninterrupted skin to skin is not yet commonplace and some midwives have never heard of baby-led attachment. This may mean pregnant women need to ask for it. In order for change to occur there needs to be a demand. It can be difficult for first time parents to challenge the status quo in hospital (as a consumer parents do have the right to speak up) alternatively hire a doula (or me!) to do this for you. A doula is trained to be a woman’s strong supportive voice (and much, much more). I still regret not hiring one for my first birth.
Mothers also need to be aware that choice of birthplace can make a significant difference to breastfeeding success . Choosing a hospital that is baby-friendly accredited will help to increase breastfeeding success. A baby-friendly hospital adheres to the “Ten Steps To Successful Breastfeeding”. Step 4 is:
“Place babies in skin-to-skin contact with their mothers immediately following birth for at least an hour and encourage mothers to recognise when their babies are ready to breastfeed, offering help if needed.”
As a health professional I have to force myself to be hands off. There’s an urge to interfere, to help the baby get to the breast. But if we can be patient, so much can be gained. This sacred space cultivates a mother’s confidence, breeds trust and starts the captivating process of bonding.
Suggestions for pregnant mothers who wish to breastfeed: