Flip the birdie

A random photo from earlier this month: this is what Badger Cub has to say to anyone that doesn't like breastfeeding in public...!

Elephants and boobies

We had a day in Kent on Sunday. The lovely Menai is back from India for a little while and it was her youngest daughter's christening.

It was a 10:30 service so we opted for travelling the night before and staying locally rather than trying to wrangle both children into leaving the house at 7:30. We had a relaxing night's sleep at a local Premier Inn, leisurely breakfast and headed back to our room to get into our posh clothes (we sensibly decided they weren't a good mix with a three year old eating baked beans).

Back at the room I made a discovery... in my haste not to forget anything the children needed, I had forgotten my bra. I would be freeboobing in my white strappy summer dress. Oh well. At least the breastfeeding meant I had the cleavage to carry it off. What could possibly go wrong...?

The christening service was good fun, with Menai's father (a Methodist minister) presiding. Afterwards we went for a lunch at the local WI hall, which had been decorated with an elephant theme. This is where disaster struck...

It appears that the plastic adjustable clasps on my strappy dress did not appreciate me pulling them over my shoulders to feed Badger Cub. They broke. Yes, both. With no bra. Thankfully I managed not to display my baps to the world.

Thank you to Menai (for being supermum and prepared for anything and supplying a safety pin) and Father Badger (for not being bothered to remove the dry cleaning tag from his suit and therefore supplying the other safety pin.

Image courtesy of koratmember / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Your Body, Your Birth, Your Choice

Do you watch One Born Every Minute or Call The Midwife? ITV are showing Home Delivery at 9 o'clock tonight, a documentary following an independent midwife in Kent.

You may not know that this October the government is bringing in legislative changes that are going to prevent independent midwives from practising, meaning that childbirth will be one of the few areas of healthcare where you will have no choices. Independent midwives have a huge amount of knowledge around childbirth that our NHS maternity units are generally lacking, and this knowledge and experience will be lost to us.

Independent Midwifery is widely recognised as the gold standard against which the NHS cannot compete (no doubt because of cost and staffing levels). The solution should not be to remove that gold standard so what remains becomes the norm.

There are a number of ways you can show your support:

Sign this petition urging the government to find a workable and affordable way for independent midwives to obtain the compulsary insurance and continue to practise

Join midwives, mums and other supporters in a peaceful protest in London on Monday 25th March, details on the Facebook ChooseYourMidwife page.

Most importantly, spread the word. Don't let our choices be quietly taken away from us.

Another Badger has arrived!

As you may have worked out from my recent Silent Sunday posts, Badger Cub has arrived! He has been keeping me busy, mainly as a boob appendage as he's an enthusiastic feeder. Obviously, there will be a birth story to follow, just as soon as I get both hands free for the keyboard for longer than five minutes!

Baby Badger has reacted amazingly well. She spent the night with my parents on the day that Badger Cub was born, coming home the following morning with grandma and grandad. She clocked him on Father Badger's knee while I gave her a hug and kiss (we made sure I was free to see her), but decided not to go over and instead spent a couple of hours playing on the other side of the room. Once that initial period was over she came for a peek and since has been excited but gentle, wanting to hug and kiss him but without flattening the poor thing!

She has, however, been playing up a little with us. Dinner time and bedtime have been slightly fraught, and taking longer each day as she pushes boundaries, but over the last few days things have taken a turn for the better. I'm guessing it's nothing unexpected - her life has been radically altered. I keep reminding myself of this and hope that I have the patience on reduced "I've got a newborn" sleep to get through the next month!

Image: Jonathan Fitch / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to feel useless

Last Thursday I was called by the nursery to pick up Baby Badger: she had a temperature of 40 and wasn't looking very happy. I rolled up with my scarcely used bottle of Calpol (we are not big on medication), got the staff to administer (yes, I wussed out) and took her home for cuddles. She perked up a bit (mainly due to repeated Igglepiggle), had some dinner and went to bed. It all went wdo so and keep an eye on her.ell until she woke up at 10pm, demanded milk then promptly threw up all her dinner.

The following day she stayed home with Father Badger, the vomiting episodes becoming more frequent until the point where not even water or breastmilk were staying in. NHS Direct advised waking every hour that night to get her to sip a little water, and Father Badger generously offered to sleep in the nursery to do so and keep an eye on her. What do you do when nothing stays in? Time to feel useless #1.

Saturday was the scary point: she would wake up, have a sip of water, then her eyes rolled up, her head slumped and she'd be asleep again. We knew she was dehydrated but couldn't get anything into her. Time to feel useless #2. We cracked and took her to the out of hours doctor who reassured us. The moment we arrived she demanded milk and spent the entire examination attached to my boob!

She's now on the mend. She's not eating much and has mainly had booby milk and water, but things are definitely improving. Time to feel useless #3... She's not eating much but happy to nurse and I'm in Leeds, 200 miles from home, for the next four nights. I want to be with my daughter and I'm stuck here with work when she needs me the most.

Being a working mum sucks sometimes.

Image: Sayan Samana / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Little Britain's Legacy

We spent New Years Eve with a group of friends and all stayed over. The following morning we had the traditional fry up and got to talking about Baby Badger's new words. Father Badger is (thankfully) proud of me breastfeeding her and got to talk about mornings when she comes into our bed and immediately demands mlk! mlk! (milk).

Our friends are all aware I still feed her. It doesn't happen much in public now as she mainly feeds first thing in the morning and at bedtime. I don't make a big thing of it, but I do expect them to respect it. So I was a little taken aback when one of them suggested it would be really funny to teach Baby Badger to ask for bitty instead of milk.

I didn't say anything and let the moment pass, but I'm regretting it a little bit. I'm not bothered as such by the term, but it's the existence of this sort of joke that discourages new mums from nursing in public.

Little Britain has a lot to answer for.

Image: www.bbc.co.uk

Merry Christmas, etc.

Last night (or technically the early hours of this morning, Boxing Day) I went all Bah Humbug on Twitter...

Is it wrong/unfestive to say I've not had an amazing day?

Christmas Eve: somehow my Mother and I were roped into running the church crib service (Nativity story with carols and puppets) even though neither of us wanted to. I consoled myself that at least it wasn't a proper church service (I'm a closet agnostic, bordering on atheist: To believe or not to believe) only to find that Mum had inserted a prayer and blessing for me to read out, making me feel like a hypocrite. Add to that the stress emanating from her during our morning preparations for the service (she tends to go into meltdown when she feels overloaded) and it was not the most relaxing start to my Christmas.

Once the crib service was over, all the family came back to the Badger residence for supper (sandwiches and easy finger food), which was much more relaxing, but my evening was neatly rounded off by Baby Badger chundering a mixture of booby milk, snot and food over my shoulder and chest. Nice!

Christmas Day: Father Badger's Mum moved down to the next village about 18 months ago, which is lovely: we get on well, respect each others' space, and Baby Badger gets to grow up knowing all her grandparents. It also means that we have stopped alternating Christmas Day between families and this year was our second Christmas bringing both families together for Christmas. For Father Badger's family it's much more relaxed than in times gone by (arguments and family feuds), but my parents don't seem to settle when out of their house at Christmas. Once again, my evening was rounded off by being coated in booby milk, snot and partially digested food. Merry Christmas Mummy!

That's when I tweeted.

Boxing Day: today has at least been more relaxed. A walk around the village followed by soup, baked ham and brownies with ice cream at my parents' house. And no vomit. Hurrah!

Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

And we're off!

My weekend starts on Thursday evening at the moment: I'm using up the annual leave I accumulated during maternity leave to have Fridays off until the end of November. My weekend may be a long one but it's been slightly challenging so far.

As per my usual Thursday, I left work, collected Baby Badger from nursery and went to collect Father Badger from the railway station. The guy that got into the car looked more or less like my husband, just a little... inflated. He'd called the surgery on the train and I took him straight to his appointment. I wrestled a tired and snotty Baby Badger in the waiting room, eventually getting her to fall asleep in my arm, boob in mouth. Note to self: trying to breastfeed discretely in a fitted blouse and tank top is impossible, but I got an approving smile from the lady opposite. The verdict from the doctor? Mumps.

The last two days have been spent looking after a very snotty and mainly grouchy toddler whilst staying out of Father Badger's way. I'm knackered.

Now to the point of this post... Yesterday afternoon I was watching Baby Badger practise crouching down and  standing up, pausing to hold a toy, then crawl across the room. I said to Father Badger: "she's going to be unstoppable when she finally walks". Two hours later she got up, walked across to her Dad, and spent the rest of the evening walking the length of the lounge! So... at least there's a plus point to Father Badger being off sick: he got to see her proper first independent steps!

Image: Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Why is it so hard to help?

I've been passionate about breastfeeding since Baby Badger arrived. My views have developed and, in some ways, mellowed since my first posts, but I do still passionately believe that all mums should be given the knowledge and support they need in order to make it a success. For that reason, I decided I would see if I could be of any help to the local breastfeeding support group.

I have no grand airs about this. I'm aware that to become a fully qualified lactation consultant (such as The Analytical Armadillo) takes years of training, but if there's some way in which I can help improve our breastfeeding rates, and also improve our culture's perception of breastfeeding, I'd really like to have that impact.

The support group helps the local community in several ways. It has someone present at the local Children's Centres at the lunchtime drop in session to help with any breastfeeding issues and queries. One member carries the on-call phone to help anyone having issues outside surgery and clinic hours, either via phone or by a home visit. A monthly antenatal class is run to introduce mums to be to the pros and cons of breastfeeding, potential problems and what a good latch might look like (the NHS midwives also run a similar monthly daytime session, again with a member of the group to assist). Lastly, the group also tries to raise awareness (asking local cafes to display breastfeeding welcome signs, etc.). I work full time so can't help with the Baby Cafe or the daytime antenatal session, and was clear about that when I joined the group, but hoped I could help with the rest.

The first obstacle I've hit is training. The group insist (as do the Children's Centres) that peer supporters have been through some sort of training. I'm all in favour of that - currently I can only advise from my own experience and what I've researched, and I've had no experience of common issues such as thrush and mastitis. I'm a smart cookie and consider myself as having good judgement, but I would be much more confident of giving appropriate advice after training. The issue is not that I don't want training but that I don't seem to be able to get it. The next local course is in January (bear in mind I've been participating in this group for four months already) over eight consecutive Mondays... 10-3! That would involve a full day of annual leave for each as it spans lunchtime, using up almost half of my annual entitlement.

It appears that being a working mum and a peer supporter is going to be quite a juggling act.

Image: http://breastfeedingpinay.wordpress.com/

Who covers for Mum?

I'm on day eight of the cold from hell. I've gone through sore throat, stuffy head, tickly cough, stuffy nose, lost voice, snotty cough, and I'm quite frankly fed up of it!

My first mistake was being Mum. Baby Badger came down with a cold last Wednesday, and the poor thing was sneezing snot everywhere and really not happy about it. The stoopid voice inside my head was grateful that I'd only got a sore throat and had obviously escaped the full force - Hello! Seriously, I thought that?! - and she came into bed with us for the night for some extra comfort and unrestricted booby milk. It did, of course, mean I got much less sleep than normal as our bed is simply not big enough for the three of us, and the cold took hold. Bah!

My second mistake was attempting to carry on regardless: I had a full week of evening activities that I didn't want to cancel. A couple of years ago I could have done it. Apparently now I can't. Bah!!

This wasn't intended to be a rant about feeling unwell, honestly! It is, after all, just a bad cold. I guess my main point here is this: who covers for Mum when she's ill? I had one relatively recuperating day while Baby Badger was still ill so we spent most of it in bed together feeding and sleeping, but for the rest of the week I've had a bright and bushy tailed 11½ month old wanting stories, games, food, carrying around and general full-on awake attention while I've worked my way through mountains of tissues (which I then had to stop her from eating).  Exhausting! It was such bad timing: family members were either away or unavailable; Father Badger wasn't able to work from home at all.

So... what tips do you have for low effort entertaining? Not that I intend being this ill again, but it's always best to be prepared.

By the way, I was amazed at just how quickly Baby Badger recovered from the whole thing - yey for booby milk! I'm actually quite jealous that I'm taking so much longer to kick it - I've had a few people suggest that I express my milk, shove some up my nose and drink the rest. That doesn't entirely appeal, but if it's not gone in a few days I may be reduced to giving it a go...

Image: Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Steps, sleep and missing my mocha!

Baby Badger has now been in her cotbed in the nursery for two weeks, and is doing remarkably well. She has been sleeping from 11pm until 7am quite happily, so I decided it's now time to work on an earlier bedtime so that we're established with a good night's sleep and a 6:30 start in time for my return to work in June. Obviously, it was never going to go smoothly.

Monday evening went well: she was in bed asleep at 7:45 ready for my mum to babysit for an hour or so, but woke soon after 10 (luckily I was home) screaming at the top of her lungs for milk - screaming so hard that she gave herself hiccups! I got her back off to sleep again, and she woke again at 3am. I've reminded myself that compared to a few months ago when she was waking 2-3 times per night, this was actually a good night! After the recent luxury of a full night's sleep, it didn't feel so good...

I'll put forward my excuses now: after a disturbed night, day two of the new healthier me was not quite as good as day one. I had two biscuits at Baby Signing, but I did skip my usual (much enjoyed mocha) and get a  mug of tea instead. I'm not sure that entirely balances out, but it's a step in the right direction! Speaking of steps, I managed 5,777 of them, again with a 20lb Baby Badger strapped to the front of me for most of them. She did do her best to help me make up for it however, as she ate going on half of my chilli pasta bake at Baby Lunchbox! Don't you just love Baby Led Weaning?!

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Running out of time

Spring has sprung and the countdown has begun. Baby Badger is now over nine months old - as Father Badger puts it "she's spent more time out than in"! All of these things are lovely and exciting but it also means that my maternity leave is running out and it's causing an internal conflict I never would have predicted before becoming Mum.

There's a big part of me that wants to return to work. I've worked hard since leaving university, soaking up knowledge in my field and climbing a decent way up the ladder. The professional in me desperately wants to continue advancing my career, gaining knowledge and respect from my peers along the way. I've simply put too much into it to throw it away. I'm also a strong, independent woman and I feel very uncomfortable with the fact that I am unwaged at the moment: not because we are in financial difficulties (although obviously things have been tight over the last few months) but because I have always been on an equal footing with Father Badger in terms of what I contribute to the coffers and I somehow see that as earning me an equal footing in the decisions we make about our home and lifestyle.

The same part of me worries that I've changed on my year away from work and won't be able to pick up where I left off. The job I do requires me to care about what I do; to throw all of myself into my work, providing top customer service and going above and beyond to make sure the best possible outcome is achieved. My priorities have changed: I can't easily put in the extra hours the job sometimes requires; I assume all I'm going to want to do at the end of the day is rush out to see Baby Badger. I can count on one hand the times I've had more than four hours sleep in one go: can I really function on this much sleep? Ultimately, will I care enough about what I'm doing when it will naturally come second to my daughter? I take pride in doing a good job and can I cope with only giving 80% of myself to my colleagues?

There's the hassle factor... I am still breastfeeding and don't intend to stop as I would like Baby Badger to decide when to wean from the breast. We're doing Baby Led Weaning, which is great, but she's not yet taking in food in any great quantity so she's not yet dropping feeds. This wouldn't be an issue except that a few months ago she stopped taking expressed milk: she now flatly refuses the bottle. We're making slow progress in getting her to drink water from a variety of sippy cups so hopefully we can progress onto milk - we've got two months to get it sorted! I've had the conversation with HR regarding somewhere to pump at work (oh, the dignity) and although it took them by surprise they have come back with a sensible suggestion. This is a good thing but it does mean that I will have to pump and eat lunch at the same time. I shouldn't complain though as it's my decision to still be breastfeeding.

There's also the childcare... We are lucky enough to live near both sets of grandparents and they are covering two days per week between them. I think this is fantastic as Baby Badger will grow up knowing them well. She will be going to a local nursery for the remainder of the week. It's a good nursery, and they say they are happy with the less mainstream things I'm asking of them, namely feeding expressed milk and using cloth nappies. I am dreading leaving her there as she is experiencing really bad separation anxiety - unless Father Badger is around, I can barely make it out of the room before she screams, and I can't bear hearing her unhappy.

Then there's mealtimes. As I mentioned, we're doing Baby Led Weaning. The more I think about it, the more I am against traditional weaning. It seems crazy to shovel food down Baby Badger's throat, distracting her in order to sneak another spoonful in. Yes, I know generations have been fed that way, but it doesn't mean it's right. It's very important to me that she continues to be in control of what and how much she eats as I believe it will lead to a more adventurous palate and the ability to listen to her appetite. My worry is that either the nursery staff or grandparents aren't going to entirely "get it" and mess it up. Is this the control freak in me trying to get out?

Then there's the last little problem. I'm going to miss her. I don't want someone else seeing the first time she walks; the first proper words; her cheeky grin. Maybe this is the biggest issue for me...?

All the above makes it look as though I'm in a dilemma, but that's not the case. The terms of my maternity package mean that I'm tied to going back for at least six months (or pay back a sizeable chunk of money), so I don't really have a choice to make: I'm going back at the start of June. I guess my dilemma is convincing myself that it's the right choice. I'm working on it...

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Breastfeeding is Ick

It's been a while since I blogged, mainly because Baby Badger is demanding much more of my time. She's awake much more, wants to be involved in everything and I'm pretty sure the dreaded separation anxiety has kicked in (a few months early if you believe the books). That, however, is not why I'm writing.

I've written a few times about breastfeeding (Breast is Best and Breast is Best: the backlash), and I was pretty damning about mothers who don't attempt to breastfeed. That was back in August and the time I've spent reading blogs during the endless night feeds (hurrah for the iPhone) has mellowed my view on things. That doesn't mean I'm any less passionate about breastfeeding, but I've learnt a lot more about the real obstacles that face many (if not the majority of) mums.

Something that's grabbed my attention over the last few days is the uproar caused by Facebook's curious double standards over what is deemed acceptable content. The Leaky Boob is a page that provides support and advice to breastfeeding mums and with over five and a half thousand "likes" it has supported a huge number of mums to continue with breastfeeding. A few days ago, this Facebook page disappeared, apparently because of the breast-related content. There are also numerous personal accounts being suspended because proud mums are uploading photos of their babes breastfeeding. Ridiculous! The Leaky Boob has since been reinstated, thanks to the efforts of thousands of supporters, but most of the personal accounts have not been. What kind of society do we live in when the mammary gland is considered as inappropriate subject matter unless sporting a Wonderbra?

A favourite parenting blog of mine is the Analytical Armadillo. There is a wealth of information, not just on breastfeeding but also on other aspects of parenting. Recently she invited mums to share their experience of breastfeeding and the support they were given, and these stories are starting to be published: try reading Verity's story or Kayleigh's story and I challenge you not to be touched and concerned. Next, have a look through some of the other articles, such as 70% of mums have felt pressure to stop breastfeeding - I was one of those who replied yes to the poll. Now have a look at recent press coverage of breastfeeding: among other publications we can read Heat's article about Natalie Cassidy, with "Ick" and "Eeeeww" used in reference to breastfeeding.

It seems to me that we have two huge problems to overcome. The first is the NHS: most healthcare professionals are very well meaning when it comes to supporting breastfeeding but the service is hugely under-staffed, lacking in training and there is no consistency in the level of knowledge and care. The second is that western society sees breastfeeding as theoretically good but in practical terms a bit of a taboo, and certainly not something to be considered past six months.

It really makes me feel rather sad.

Green poo, the importance of a good latch and other musings

We've been very lucky with Baby Badger. After our early difficulties with feeding in the first few weeks, she's been a good little feeder: hungry (although thankfully not constantly so), hardly ever sick and nothing beyond the expected amount of trapped wind. We completely escaped the colic that two of my NCT friends were plagued with for months. That was until we went on holiday.

Here I divert slightly... Other than spending a week travelling round the north of England to visit relatives, my grand plan for our week away was to wean myself off co-sleeping. Baby Badger was 5 months old and soon to outgrow her crib so she would need to move into her own room: if I couldn't get her out of our bed how on earth would I get her out of our room? I decided the best time to try this was while we were away: I wouldn't want to co-sleep in a strange bed, and Father Badger would be able to help me with the night shift as he wouldn't have to work the following day.

The first night was mainly spent treading the boards with a screaming baby. The second night was much the same. The third and fourth nights were better but still not much sleep was had. And so the week went. Unsurprisingly, we thought it was down to the change in sleeping arrangements. Then came the raging farts and consistently green poo!

We arrived home from our holiday rather tired, and Father Badger went back to work. A couple of days later I was at the local Children's Centre and mentioned the wind issues and green poo to the breast feeding advisor. She watched while I was feeding Baby Badger and said immediately: "she's grown out of that latch position". I had been sitting Baby Badger on my knee and leaning her over to the opposite breast - it meant that I didn't have to support her entire weight on my arms. It had worked for a couple of months, but she was absolutely right: Baby Badger's head was no longer tipping back and she was taking in air because the latch was bad.

It simply hadn't occurred to me that a good latch could become a bad latch.

A week later and we're back to good again. The wind has gone, as has the green poo (after a spell of being spectacularly green, in fact the greenest my health visitor had ever seen!), and Baby Badger is even spending the majority of the night in her own bed. Hurrah!

Image: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Breast is Best: the backlash

You're probably aware of the NHS slogan "Breast is Best", and perhaps also the recent media attention suggesting that it's actually having the opposite effect on new mums by suggesting that breast is not the norm. I've been experiencing another unwanted side effect...

I've written before about Baby Cafe, a lunchtime session at my local Sure Start centre where mums can chat and get support while feeding. From the start I've noticed that the formula feeding mums tended to stick together and reassure each other that it is OK not to be breastfeeding. I'm guessing this has something to do with the way that "Breast is Best" is pushed by the NHS during pregnancy, and also that much of the feeding support offered to new mums is focussed on breastfeeding. It's obviously very easy to end up feeling like a failure when being told "at least you tried" and no new mum needs that on top of the other anxieties.

There's always been a mixture of breastfeeding and formula feeding, but I'm finding myself increasingly in the minority as mums are switching over to formula. I'm actually beginning to feel ostracised, as if the fact that I am breastfeeding is somehow an unwelcome reminder that there is an option other than formula. This week I was chatting to another breastfeeding mum (the only other one in the room) about the rights she had when returning to work as a breastfeeding mum. Someone commented "surely you won't still be feeding her when you go back?" to which I answered without thinking: the more I think and read about formula, the less I want to give it to my daughter. You could almost hear the tumbleweed. I heard myself reassure the rest of the group that I respected every mother's decision to decide how to feed their child, but formula just wasn't for me.

I resent this. I'm actually going to retract that statement. I respect all the mothers who have been unable to breastfeed for medical reasons: milk not coming in; medication making their milk unsuitable; babies or mothers too unwell to feed. I sympathise with all the mothers that were not given the necessary support to make breastfeeding work; also those who were pressured into using formula by well meaning relatives. I really don't respect those that simply decided not to give breastfeeding a go; those that did it for a month but decided it was only fair that they got their lives back. When I made the decision to have a child, I committed myself to bringing that child up as best I could, and part of that commitment was to keep that child as healthy as possible: fresh air, exercise and a healthy diet. Why on earth would I choose to use a commercially synthesised version of the perfect food provided by mother nature? Why would any mother? I simply don't understand, I'm done with pretending to agree that it doesn't matter and I don't apologise for it.

Image: healingdream / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Party Line

On tuesdays I go to Baby Cafe. All the babies three months old and younger go to one room, older babies to another, accompanied by mums of course. It's a drop in session where you can chat to other mums, babies get to meet on the mat, and for a couple of quid you get a spud or sandwich that you've not had to juggle baby in order to make (in the early weeks that was a godsend to me). More importantly for those that are just getting used to breastfeeding, it's a friendly environment for your first public feed, and there's always a health visitor around to advise.

Which brings me to the point of this post...

Today the health visitor did her usual thing: she had an informal chat to each of us, checking we're were happy, no questions, feeding (breast or formula) going well. The conversation went along these lines:

"How are you today? How's the feeding going?"
"Fine thank you. A bit tired but that's to be expected."
"Why? How often is she feeding overnight?"
"About every two to three hours."
"Hmm... you really ought to be trying to stretch that to four hourly, day and night. Are you sure you've got enough milk for her? Can you tell whether your breasts are becoming full again?"

I've got several problems with that last bit:

1. A nine week old formula fed baby may well be able to go to four hourly feeds, but it's much less likely that a breast fed baby can do so: breast milk is more easily (i.e. quickly) digested than formula, and they are more likely to take just as much as they need to feel full (as opposed to bottle fed where they may end up taking more than they need). When I checked with health visitor number two at baby clinic this afternoon she told me this: demand feeding (i.e. feed whenever the baby wants milk) is the NHS breast-feeding strategy and all health visitors should be advising as such.
2. Rather than ask me if my milk supply is good (something that's rather difficult to work out), how about ask me about Baby Badger's weight gain and number of nappies (something that's easy to quantify and gives a good indication of if she's getting enough)?
3. A mother less inquisitive/confident/bolshy than myself may not have asked for a second opinion regards the four hourly feeding, and could have had the seeds of doubt planted regarding her milk supply. Health visitors are meant to be supportive!

This is not a post abusing the NHS. I can't fault the care I've received during pregnancy, birth and beyond. I perhaps haven't received as much attention as some, but that's fine as I've had a pretty easy ride of it. What I do expect from the NHS is that the staff should have the same up to date information and provide consistent and good advice. That isn't always happening (I experienced similarly conflicting advice while in hospital with Baby Badger).

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Breast is Best

As you've probably worked out from my previous posts, I'm exclusively breastfeeding. I do it because I believe it's best for Baby Badger: breastmilk is designed for babies, and babies are designed so that breastmilk is the optimum nutrition. It should help me get back in shape, protects me and Baby Badger from a list of ailments, and best of all is convenient (once over the embarrassment of getting your baps out in public).

I've come across a couple of interesting articles today so I thought I'd share...

Breast Milk Sugars Give Infants a Protective Coat, from The New York Times, gives some fascinating insight into the composition of breastmilk, including the great work it does for baby other than providing nutrition.

101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Child is a little dry in its content (and rather a long read), but give it a chance: it's actually a great list of the positives together with citations of clinical studies that back up each statement. You'll definitely know some of the reasons given (especially if you already breastfeed), but there will definitely be a few you hadn't heard of (such as "Breastfeeding enhances vaccine effectiveness").

This post is in no way meant to be a dig at mothers who choose to formula feed. I respect their right to choose. I also appreciate that for some mothers breastfeeding simply doesn't work out, whether it be to do with milk coming in too late, separation from their newborns at the critical time or lack of support.

www.freestockphotos.es

Just call me Clover

Baby Badger was born 24 days early and was more interested in sleeping than feeding. Who can blame her - she was robbed of three lovely weeks' slumber in the womb. She was a good weight for her age - 5lb 14oz - but lost 12oz in the first four days. That was 12% of her initial body weight, which is more than the expected 5-10% that breastfed babies often lose.

The community midwife gave me two options: either try to get her to feed more and monitor it myself; or take her to the special baby unit at the hospital and get her checked over, with the expectation that we would have to stay the night. I was reluctant to go back into hospital, but didn't feel confident that I knew what I was doing in terms of feeding, so the midwife made the hospital appointment and in we went. A pediatrician took some bloods and checked her over, and we were admitted for the night with a written feeding plan: feed three hourly and top up with a bottle, then express, the top up being the expressed milk from the previous feed.

Once up on the ward I was introduced to Clover. Clover is a hospital-grade double breast pump, looking like something left over from world war two (at this point I was very glad I was in my own room). The nurse showed me how to assemble the pump and how to sterilise the pieces and left me to it. What followed was three days and nights of almost constant feeding, pumping and boredom, interspersed with visits from family, but I would do it all over again: Baby Badger put on a couple of ounces and, just a importantly, latching on improved, I learnt how to pump and I came away much more confident that I was providing for my daughter.

Baby Badger is now seven weeks old and 8lb 1oz, so it was all worth the effort! I no longer have to pump to top up, but at least know that it's an option if I want an evening off.

I'll leave you with some top tips from my experience:

• If you want to exclusively breastfeed and the staff suggest topping up with formula, tell them you'd rather top up with breastmilk and ask for a pump.
• If you're struggling to get much milk when you express try a different pump. The first one I was given in the hospital seemed to be all about ferocious sucking, but I was swapped to one that had a two stage action to mimic baby's sucking and my milk yield improved.
• Once home I used a Medela Swing Electric Breastpump
  electric breast pump. It's not the cheapest option (manual pumps are far cheaper, and your local midwifery or Sure Start centre may be able to lend you one), but it was worth the money.
• Milk yield is much better in the morning when you're less tired.

Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net