You will hear from many sources how great it is to breast feed your baby and the amazing qualities of breast milk, etc. Beyond the old "breast is best" and all the talk about the qualities of breast milk and maternal bonding, breastfeeding has some other distinct advantages for a New York City parent: breast feeding is green and it will save you lots of money on formula, bottles and other paraphernalia, plus you end up schlepping a lot less, meaning less hassle wherever the city streets take you.

Most people know about the benefits of breastfeeding and plan on breast feeding their baby. Many people have no trouble getting started breastfeeding, but it can be difficult for some and it is easy to get discouraged in the emotional days after birth. Another time that can be a challenge to a mother's commitment to breast feeding is the transition back to work when the idea of pumping at work seems impractical or unappealing or you're just not sure how to swing it all.

While it's okay to stop whenever you want, sometimes just a little help at those important stages can bring the mother and baby through the difficult times and get them back on track for many more months of easy breastfeeding. If one phone call and an hour or two of help with a supportive lactation consultant can lead to many more days of happy and easy breastfeeding, that seems like a good investment.

Doulas are people you hire to stay with you and support you during your birth. Their role is to help protect the intention you have for your birth, offer practical techniques to help you get through the labor, provide information to you and your partner and offer emotional support. Doulas do not provide medical guidance. We like to think of doulas as very knowledgeable friends who have been to enough births and know when to make suggestions, when to be quiet and when to bring out a little inner fierceness—some people relate the rise of the doula as a replacement for mothers and other female relatives now that families are more spread out (physically and emotionally). There are also prenatal and postpartum doulas who help you before and after you birth.

[UPDATED: July 18, 2012]

A childbirth education class is exactly what it sounds like, a class either held over a weekend or once a week for a few weeks where you learn all sorts of nifty things about your pregnancy and impending birth.   One of the nice things about birthing classes is that you practice pain coping techniques that you might use in your labor, especially helpful if you are planning to have a natural childbirth. It's like a dry run and can help build your confidence—ok nothing quite compares to the real thing—but try being mildly uncomfortable by holding ice and observing your breath like you do in Birthing From Within classes and you'll laugh and figure out some things out about yourself before the 40^th week. Or try the relaxation techniques of HypnoBirthing.

Many pregnant women also make their first mommy friends in their birthing classes since you are meeting women who may live near you and will be having babies at the same time. Birthing classes are an important milestone for dads-to-be also, helping him become connected to the impending birth as well as prepared.

What you'll learn: signs and stages of labor, basic anatomy, pain coping techniques for women and partners, available pain medications and technology, basics of breast feeding, basic newborn care, cesareans and C-section prevention.

Timing: Most people suggest you sign up for a course so that it coincides with your seventh month.

Price: Usually $300-$500 per couple.

We've rounded up childbirth education classes offered throughout New York City.

A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but would it have self-image issues, would it get sick of everyone misspelling its name or that there were three other kids with the same name in it's class? Would a rose want a trendy name, an unusual name, or maybe an unusually trendy name, as is popular now. Picking a baby name can be hard, but the good thing about living in New York City is that just about anything goes. You don't have to worry that giving your child an unusual name will lead to teasing. Actually I don't think kids in New York today know that certain names are unusual...cool, unconventional names are more common than traditional names.

If you are researching baby names in New York check out these sites that can help you pick a good one, find baby name meanings, plus find out which names are top most popular in New York City.