Babies are so needy that they actually cry when they need something, which makes people get them what they need. Must be nice, babies. If I cried every time I needed something, I'd be wiping mascara off my cheeks all day. I'd rather ring a bell and have my wants delivered to my door. Wait! I have that if you count pizza delivery.

Babies are needy little buggers, it's true. Really cute, amazing ones. It's us adults who are spoiled. Sometimes rotten. We're so rotten we forget that babies need stuff, a lot of stuff, and that stuff has to come from us. And I don't mean toys and bouncy seats. I mean love. Attention. Care. Why do we complain when baby won't sleep through the night? Why moan and sigh when they cry because they want to be held? Well because it makes us stressed. But it doesn't have to!

There is a new breastfeeding initiative in NYC that I am so very proud of yet it's being met with a lot of criticism and controversy. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley put together a program to encourage breastfeeding starting in hospitals, to help women nurse their babies by offering support and lactation consultants -- making more hospitals "baby friendly". It will also help educate the public and help nursing moms in the workplace.

People are upset about it. And perhaps the loudest person who opposes this is Whoopi Goldberg. On The View she said to Bloomberg on his initiative, "Very nice, but back off." She even called the lactation consultants who come to your room in the hospital to help moms nurse boneheads. There's more ... plus video.

I love breastfeeding. And I love Oreo cookies. And just like peanut butter and chocolate, some things do go really well together. Oreos and breastmilk? Okay, probably not for everyone, but why couldn't a toddler enjoy a little cookie and a little milk from mama? That's why when I saw this ad for Oreos featuring an adorable baby breastfeeding while holding a cookie in hand, I thought YES! A product that's a household name supporting breastfeeding (unintentional or not) is a great step in the right direction to help people see it as normal and natural and (as my son loves to say) 'not a big deal' if someone is nursing in public.

The ad, rumored to be only shown in South Korea, has the tagline "Milk's favorite cookie." Check it out for yourself.

If January Jones can eat her placenta, why can't we!? Oh celebs. They really are just like us. Well, the crunchy moms amongst us who want to take placenta pills. But a little known (and very morbid) fact about this placenta eating business is that moms have to visit the morgue in order to acquire their nutrient-rich afterbirth.

Yes, imagine that. Congrats on your new baby! Bask in new motherhood! Come on down to where we have dead bodies so you can get your organ which supplied life to your baby. Kind of strange, don't you think? The morgue visit, not the placenta eating. (Or maybe you think both are bonkers.)

While I knew some mothers breastfeed adoptive children, I'd always assumed that it was because they still had milk from nursing a biological child. I had no idea that after a woman's milk dried up she could start producing milk again months, perhaps even years later, without another pregnancy. But some can, and it's amazing.

The process is known as relactating, and in a video on CafeMom Studios, mom Teglene shares her story of breastfeeding her adoptive daughter. I'm honestly in awe.

So, Alicia Silverstone spits ABC food into Bear Blu's mouth and the world says, "YUCK!" I have to admit, it does look gross and it's not something I would do. But it turns out Alicia did not invent Mama Premastication. And she's defending it as an ancient feeding practice.

"People have been feeding their kids that way for thousands for years. It’s a weaning process." Really?!? Yes, really. Check it out -- a study that shows people have been doing this since the time immemorial to ensure "nutritional adequacy" and support infant health. In fact, the researchers are concerned because parents (in poor communities) have stopped it. So maybe Alicia isn't off her rocker after all!

If you have your baby in a hospital, there are many ways the scenario will play out. But one thing is almost always certain -- you will have access to free formula. Lots of it. Even if you are nursing and baby has that sticker on the little rolling crib that says "I'm a breastfed baby." Now I wasn't always sold on the idea that this is a bad thing. If a mama is formula feeding, why not be able to get a whole bunch of expensive formula courtesy of the hospital where you (or your insurance) spent a whole lot of money to have a baby there? Makes perfect sense. But then I started thinking some more.

Those formula companies who place their products in hospitals ... do they have an ulterior motive? And, most worrisome, for the mom who really wants to breastfeed, those first moments and days are very important, and if formula is there to tempt her to just let the nurses feed the baby, it can derail her breastfeeding efforts.

There is much more to it than just some free stuff.

Want to save money on diapers? You could clip coupons. Or you could try "Elimination Communication." In a nutshell, it's having a close enough connection with your baby that you can read the signs she gives off when she's ready to, er, eliminate something. Then you take her to the nearest toilet and let her go. Wave buh-bye to those toddler toilet training battles -- because you can get started with this as early as right after birth!

In their new book, The Other Baby Book, moms Megan McGorory Massaro and Miriam J. Katz gently walk you through this practice. And they would know how -- they both got it to work for their babies.