Breastfeeding Mums Blog

Baby gives 2 fingered gesture from within the womb!

Have you seen this yet? It's a sonogram image taken of a baby boy at 27 weeks of pregnancy giving a 2 fingered salute from within the womb!

I think it's hilarious and you can read all about it here.

Have you any baby ultrasound images you'd like to share? if so, email them to me and I'll get them up asap :)

Got a Favourite Breastfeeding Book?

A close friend is currently pregnant and has asked me to recommend some good breastfeeding books. I've mentioned a few of my own personal favourites, (a few of which I've reviewed here) but thought I'd throw the question out to all you breastfeeding mothers. 

What books did you find were best for you and why?

Follow on Formula Adverts are not a Problem says UK Food Watch-Dog

Watch these two ads which are often on UK television and then tell me what message you would get about formula if you were a mum considering breastfeeding or feeling a bit undecided/ having a few problems:

The first ad is of course adorably cute and the second is just plain underhanded and of course both make out very clearly that follow-on formula is as close to perfect as it gets. However, what is so frustrating for me, and I'm sure for many other mothers, is that these types of adverts are something UK mums are constantly being shown on television. Every time a new one appears I feel a deep despair that they are allowed at all.

Medicine Free Cold Sore Treatment for Breastfeeding and Pregnant Mums

I blogged a while back about how a breastfed baby died after being exposed to the Herpes virus which had caused her mother's coldsores during pregnancy.

Well, for anyone who suffers from this unpleasant condition (including yours truly!) there's a new product on the market which promises to get rid of coldsores quickly and easily without any mess. Best of all, it's suitable for breastfeeding mums and pregnant women and promises that you'll never need to use another coldsore treatment again.

Herpotherm looks like a lipstick and emits heat which you apply to the affected area as required. The heat kills the virus and you can get on with your life without worrying about how messy your face looks - which is the main problem with many of the creams and patches used to treat the problem.

Now I haven't tried it (although I'd love to as every year I get at least two or three breakouts!) but it certainly sounds promising. And if it means less gunk on your face it's got to be worth a try!

Find out more here. 

Why Support for Breastfeeding Matters More than Ever

I want you to take a look at: Why Support for Breastfeeding Matters More than Ever

I think you'll agree it's a great post which makes makes for fascinating reading and makes a lot of sense. 

Having recently taken a cold hard look at my own diet and made some very beneficial changes to it, I can understand now more than ever why its so vital we all start looking closely at how well we feed our children from birth. It's crucial that we give them the very beast nature offers and there's only one source of newborn food that Mother nature recommends - breastmilk.

Tell all your pregnant friends and siblings about it now. It's perfectly adapted to your baby's needs and comes fresh and jam-packed full of healthy living nutrients every time! it also comes in a variety of ever-changing flavours to guarantee baby never tires of it and it has a multitude of alternative uses too!

Breastfeeding is Good for Babies and Mothers too!

Well, I know it and many of you know it too but today's news includes a report that the American Dietetic Association has issued an evidence-based paper saying it's breastfeeding is good for babies and their mums. You can read the article I read about it for yourself but basically the writers of the paper have agreed that:

exclusive breastfeeding provides optimal nutrition and health protection for the first six months of life, and breastfeeding with complementary foods from six months until at least 12 months of age is the ideal feeding pattern for infants.

Hey Kids, Parents Need Help Too!

I'm not ashamed to admit that my children literally drive me to distraction, particularly as they get older and find the silliest things ever to fight over. Right now here's what's happening:
Tara: Look what I've got for sale (pushing a toy fire-engine into the room). Do you want to buy it?

Sarah: Cool. Yes!!

Tara: Well ya can't! It's not for sale anymore! 

Sarah (ear-piercing shriek) That's not fair! 

So, this goes on practically all day long and often poor Sarah is stuck in the middle between Tara, the eldest, and Jack, the youngest. She's the one who keeps getting told off by me simply because she make the most awful noises as the other two tease her. (They do say the middle child has to shout to be heard!) 

Today, I discovered that there is a fairly new website which deals with all aspects of parenting and it's run by some of the world's leading experts in child development, health and parenting. I'm off there now to find some answers to my many questions! Here's the link so you can check it out for yourself, if like me you want some proper advice about how to deal with some of the problems we parents face: New Parenting Website Launched by Pediatric Experts Offers Support to Parents

Preserve your Precious Family Photos Forever!

Given my recent experience of losing some very precious photos off my Western Digital (WD80) external hard disk drive, here's a new product that caught my eye and which I've no doubt will be of interest to anyone who wants to really keep their photos safe forever... or for at least a thousand years! Here's the link: New DVD Discs 'Etch' Digital Photos and Movies Using High Tech Stone to Preserve Them for Centuries

I'm a Desperate Housewife!

Okay, here's a question. Was this a compliment or an insult?

 
I went to get my hair coloured on Saturday and the following conversation occured:

Hairdresser: Oh, do you know who you look like?

Me: Hmm, me?

Hairdresser: No, you look like one of the Desperate Housewives! Do you watch it?

Me: No

Hairdresser: Oh, you'll not know which one you look like then.

October Carnival of Breastfeeding: What I Wish I'd Known Then

Welcome to the October Carnival of Breastfeeding. This month the theme is What I Wish I'd Known Then. 

Don't forget to check out all the other fantastic posts at the bottom of the page!

Here's mine:

15 Breastfeeding Facts I Wish I'd Known as a First Time Breastfeeding Mum

 

1. When I first became a mother I wish I'd known that breastfeeding would be exhausting but oh so worth the tiredness.
2. I wish I'd known just how much satisfaction I would feel from being able to instantaneously sate my baby's hunger.

Breastfeeding Support Maketh the Breastfeeding Mum!

I was just reading an article about breastfeeding support and it reminded me of my own time attending a SureStart Breastfeeding Support Group in my hometown of Newry, Co Down.

I've mentioned it often here about how valuable breastfeeding support is and that is especially true in my own case. I personally found breastfeeding quite the struggle when I had my first baby but thankfully, being strong-willed and very, very determined, I managed to continue on my own until she reached 16 months.

Join the September Carnival of Breastfeeding: I Wish I Had Known Then

Join the September  Carnival of Breastfeeding!

The September Carnival of Breastfeeding will focus on the topic 'I wish I Had Known Then'.

 As usual, when considering posts to include, we're looking for: 

• Well written and grammatically correct posts.
• Posts which are thoughtful and on topic. 
• Posts from blogs that are on topics that are of interest to readers of breastfeeding blogs (parenting, breastfeeding, etc.)

If you'd like to participate, please email me your post by October 19th, 2009 for consideration. The Carnival will take place on October 26th, 2009. 

Boycott Nestle? Count Me In

I can't quite believe I haven't been involved in the Boycott Nestle campaign until now. Of course I've heard about it over the years, but for some reason or other just never got around to finding out what it was all about.

For someone so involved and passionate about breastfeeding, I'm ashamed it's taken me so long but as they say, better late than never and thankfully my eyes have been well and truly opened.

Frankly, I'm disappointed and upset about what I've discovered. I had no idea how much suffering this company causes to people in third world countries. I had no idea how many underhand techniques they use to persuade families that formula is as good as breastmilk. I had no idea how badly they treat their employees. I had no idea child slavery is part of the Nestle package. I had no idea they broke so many formula marketing rules as do some other well-known brands.

Worse than that is knowing that I joined in their money-making enterprise, like so many other unwitting parents, by specifically seeking out Nestle products to collect the box tops offering free books for schools to help my children's school. After all, the school regularly sends letters home to parents asking us to collect the box tops!!!

When my 6 year old announced yesterday, 'Look mummy, they're wholegrain so they're good for you' I was shocked. Not because she knew this, but because I had been reading about their bad practices just a few days ago and had still put a box of Cheerios in my shopping trolley. I didn't even notice before or think about noticing who made this cereal. 'The little oats with a hole' are a favourite in our house with the children and without thinking about it at all they went into my shopping trolley alongside goodness knows what else.

Well, no more. 

From now onward, I too am boycotting Nestle. Any company that pushes formula onto unsuspecting parents and particularly those who don't have the knowledge that we do about the importance of breastfeeding, is not getting my support. I abhor the thought of someone else's children been used as slaves, particularly when I look at my own children and feel my deep love for them overwhelm me. I am sickened by the very thought of babies dying because their mothers can no longer breastfeed after being given free formula until their milk has dried up and then being left unable to afford to buy the very formula that causes this happening. 

I could go on but I won't waste any more of my time on Nestle. All I can do is ensure I don't buy any more of their products and make sure my children are aware of why our family doesn't support such a company.

This morning, over breakfast we studied the box again. I explained to my children and husband what I'd learnt about Nestle and the Boycott Nestle campaign. My eldest daughter, who is nine, in particular was extremely interested and will today be telling her teacher and friends all about it. My husband asked me to email him more information about it so he can forward it to his friends and colleagues. And if you want to spread the word and find out why you too need to boycott Nestle then follow these links right now:

Baby Milk Action

PhD in Parenting

Breastfeeding and Working in the UK

Welcome to the September Carnival of Breastfeeding. This month's theme is breastfeeding and working. We've had a huge response to this one so it's obviously something that strikes a cord with a lot of breastfeeding mothers. You'll find links to all the other bloggers' posts at the bottom of this one so make sure to pay a visit and leave some comments if you'd like to have your say!

I decided I'd have a look at what it's like to be a working breastfeeding mum in the UK. In my own experience, as I've mentioned many times in the past, when I returned to teaching after my first daughter's birth, I was fortunate in that she was seven months old and was taking solid feeds regularly. I tended to breastfeed her before I went to work and as soon as I returned home in the evenings. In between times she drank either expressed milk, water or occasionally a formula feed. In those days I didn't realise or even consider expressing at work, but I don't actually think it would have been as easy to do so as it appears to be these days. I don't ever recall being aware of any private rooms in schools I worked in where a mother could have expressed her milk and actually I have a feeling that I would have had to nip out to my car!

Thankfully, I was only away from my baby from 8.30am until about 4.00pm so the arrangements I had worked fine for us and as a result I continued to breastfeed her until she was 15 or 16 months old.

However, in recent years, UK law has begun to take note of the importance of keeping their breastfeeding employees happy. Since I became self-employed after my second baby was born I've never had the chance to personally find out if in practice breastfeeding in the UK workplace is commonplace or if the law is adhered to as required, but below is what UK law says in regard to breastfeeding and working in the UK.

Breastfeeding and Working in The UK

Many mums are unaware that UK law protects working breastfeeding women.

The law states that breastfeeding women must not be put at any risk. However, in the event that this is not possible then employers must either:

· change a woman’s work hours or
· offer alternative work at the same wage or
·suspend her on paid leave for the duration of her breastfeeding

Fix my Western Digital WD800 for Free and Get 2 Month's Free Highly Targeted Advertising plus a Glowing Review!

Okay, it's come to this. A while back I blogged about how my Western Digital WD800 had suddenly stopped working after an unfortunate accident. Having discovered from initial inquiries that the problem is likely to be a technical one, I was dismayed to discover it would cost upwards of £200.00 to fix it. 

Now, at this moment in time I simply can't afford that; but the lost material includes a year's worth of precious photos which I am desperate to get back.

Like many parents, I've taken probably thousands of photos of my children as they grow up and usually I am extremely cautious when it comes to making backups (and backups of backups!). However, for some inexplicable reason there is a whole batch that weren't backed up anywhere else but on the passport??? Unfortunately this batch includes photos of my eldest daughter's First Holy Communion and my second daughter's first days at school. Aaargh!!!!

Times are hard all around and I don't expect anyone to simply fix my passport for free, so this is my proposal:

If you run a reputable UK based company which specialises in retrieving lost material off external hard drives (particularly lost photos), and you succeed in retrieving my photos, in return I will give you a prominent sitewide advert for free on BreastfeedingMums.com and Breastfeeding Mums Blog for the next two months. Between them the two sites have around 1500 pages and attract around 2000 unique and highly targeted visitors per day - many of whom are snap happy photo-taking mums just like me. 

Join the September Carnival of Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding and Working

Join the September  Carnival of Breastfeeding!

The September Carnival of Breastfeeding will focus on Breastfeeding and Working.

As usual, when considering posts to include, we're looking for: 

• Well written and grammatically correct posts.
• Posts which are thoughtful and on topic. 
• Posts from blogs that are on topics that are of interest to readers of breastfeeding blogs (parenting, breastfeeding, etc.)

C-Section Stories Urgently Requested for UK media

If anyone can help out with this request I've received, please contact Joan Walsh at the UK number below:

'I'm working on a report for a Sunday supplement on the situation regarding C-sections and would like to find two women who've had elective C-sections, one who feels positively about the experience and one who perhaps regrets her decision and would choose to have a natural delivery if given her time again. They'd both need to be comfortable being pictured with their babies. And I need to talk to them urgently - the piece needs to be in early next week. Thanks for your time.' 

Joani Walsh 
07803 618116 
0207 328 9353

Join the August Carnival of Breastfeeding: Prepared for Life

Join the August  Carnival of Breastfeeding!

The August Carnival of Breastfeeding will be based on the La Leche League's World Breastfeeding Week theme: Prepared for Life. 

"This year we focus on supporting women in their efforts to do what is most important for the health and survival of their children even during emergency situations.

• Being able to continue breastfeeding even during an emergency can bring comfort and a sense of normalcy even in the most stressful situations.
• Breastfeeding can continue even when an emergency interferes with the family’s established food supply. Situations that would otherwise be devastating for families that rely on sufficient funds for and access to formula, sanitation for feeding supplies, and refrigeration are no cause for alarm when the established food supply for the baby is mother’s milk.
• A breastfed baby is better prepared to deal with health challenges, avoiding some medical emergencies."

Have you a story to share that fits the bill above? Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were thankful your baby was being breastfed because otherwise her life may have been compromised? For example, during a natural catastrophe when fresh water was hard to access, in a breakdown when no help was immediately available, during a severe illness when your baby needed all the help he could get, after the birth of your preemie who required breastmilk to save her life? If so, we'd love to hear it.

Join the August  Carnival of Breastfeeding!

The August Carnival of Breastfeeding will be based on the La Leche League's World Breastfeeding Week theme: Prepared for Life. 

"This year we focus on supporting women in their efforts to do what is most important for the health and survival of their children even during emergency situations.

• Being able to continue breastfeeding even during an emergency can bring comfort and a sense of normalcy even in the most stressful situations.
• Breastfeeding can continue even when an emergency interferes with the family’s established food supply. Situations that would otherwise be devastating for families that rely on sufficient funds for and access to formula, sanitation for feeding supplies, and refrigeration are no cause for alarm when the established food supply for the baby is mother’s milk.
• A breastfed baby is better prepared to deal with health challenges, avoiding some medical emergencies."

Have you a story to share that fits the bill above? Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were thankful your baby was being breastfed because otherwise her life may have been compromised? For example, during a natural catastrophe when fresh water was hard to access, in a breakdown when no help was immediately available, during a severe illness when your baby needed all the help he could get, after the birth of your preemie who required breastmilk to save her life? If so, we'd love to hear it.

Spanish for Breastfeeding Support: A Self-Guided Course to Help You Support Breastfeeding Mothers in Spanish

Spanish for Breastfeeding Support: A Self-Guided Course to Help You Support Breastfeeding Mothers in Spanish is a newly published book co-written by Tanya Lieberman of Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog. Although I haven't had the opportunity to read it yet, it promises to be a fantastic resource for all those who are involved with Spanish speaking mothers who need breastfeeding information and help.

Nursing in Public - What's a Breastfeeding Mother to Do!! - Carnival of Breastfeeding

Welcome to the Carnival of Breastfeeding! Nursing in public is this month's theme and there have been absolutely loads of contributors for this one! They're all listed below and will be updated throughout the day as they become available. Without further ado, here's mine:

Nursing in Public - What's a Breastfeeding Mother to Do!

Nursing in Public... oh just the very the thought of it filled me with dread.

What if someone was offended and made a big scene? What if some school kids started giggling and pointing at me? What if I caused someone other than myself to get dreadfully embarrassed? What if my baby was making a great big fuss and I started leaking all over the place? What if I just couldn't do it? 

So many what ifs, so much to worry about and no idea what to do about it all.