If breastfeeding offends you, put a blanket over YOUR head. The attitude of modern society when it comes to breastfeeding really annoys me and I'm sure it annoys many mom's out there who do it and have received negative comments. On our second day out of hospital I was walking around town with a blanket over my shoulder and over little one (only because it was drizzling and very cold out) and we went to my husband's work place to introduce our new addition. On arrival, I whipped off the blanket in front of everyone so they could have a look at him even though he was nursing. They all fell completely in love and ooohed and aaahed at him nursing. It was fantastic. The only person who has ever made me feel uncomfortable feeding is my mother. She didn't want me to do it in front of her and if I did I had to "cover up". This attitude annoyed me to the point of rage.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding in public and to any new mom's out there who are nervous about doing it, don't be. When you're feeding you either have to pull your top up so no one sees anything anyway, or you have to pull your top down, in which case if you're uncomfortable, by all means cover up. But don't be pressured into thinking you have to. I'm not remotely modest (probably because I was poked and prodded at so much during pregnancy, the birth, after the birth and during my PCOS tests) and am proud to be a non-modest nurser! It's the most natural and beautiful thing in the world and should be looked on with fondness and admiration.
Happy feeding! :-) xxx
About Me
- backtobasicsmom
- Breastfeeding,co-sleeping, attachment parenting mother. Trying to save babies from unnecessary exposure to infant formula. Supporter of proper information distributed to mothers worldwide on the benefits of breastfeeding and the risks of infant formula. Doing everything possible to make the risks known!
Wednesday 25 January 2012
Monday 23 January 2012
Breastfeeding is such a pain!
Yes, it can be horrendously painful. More painful for some than others. I was lucky enough to suffer a minimal amount of pain (and I have a very low pain threshold) but I think your ability to cope with the pain depends very much on how much you want to breastfeed. I was determined to breastfeed and so didn't give up when it got sore. What every new mom/breastfeeder has to remember is that the pain is only temporary. If you suffer with pain throughout a feed then your baby's latch is wrong. If you only suffer pain in the first few sucks of a feed, then congratulations! Your baby is latched correctly.
There are many ways to minimalise the pain in those first couple of weeks of breastfeeding, and here they are:
Paracetamol - yes, we come back to the only painkiller you're allowed to take throughout pregnancy! Pop a couple of paracetamol, even if it doesn't do it for you, and I guarantee the pain will be slightly lessened if not greatly reduced!
Lansinoh - otherwise known as lanolin cream. Apply before and after every feed. It speeds up the process of healing and can toughen your nipples up quicker.
Nipple-shields - I personally have never used these but have heard fantastic success stories of those who have. Be warned, nipple shields are NOT to be used at every feed. Nipple shields should ONLY be used when you can't take the pain anymore and you need to give your nipples time to heal before the next onslaught. If you wear nipple shields at every feed, your nipples won't toughen up.
Breastmilk - That's right! Breastmilk! It's fantastic stuff. If you express a little and spread it on your nipple and allow it to air dry it can speed up the healing process. (other uses of breastmilk are for your baby's eye infection - when their eye gets all gammy from a blocked tear duct, breastmilk will clear it up in a couple of hours. Breastmilk can also be used in the treatment of eczema. Express some into a bowl and use it as a wash after your baby's bath!)
I hope these tips will help you through those first few painful days of breastfeeding. Just remember that the more your baby feeds, the quicker your nipples will toughen up.
I'd just like to say that I am NOT against formula feeding. I realise that there can be legitimate personal reasons why someone may choose not to breastfeed. I can fully understand for example, a mom giving up because she can't take the pain. All I would like to do is to encourage mom's to battle through the pain because it is the most rewarding journey a mother can go on with her child by breastfeeding. You build such a special special bond with your baby through breastfeeding and none can rival it. I have many friends who formula feed, sadly I don't know anyone who still breastfeeds their baby, and I would just like my formula feeding friends to know that I don't judge you at all. I know you ladies and you're FANTASTIC moms. If you read my blog please try and understand I'm not having a go at formula feeding mom's, what I'm trying to do is encourage new and veteran mom's to give the best to their baby.
Again, I hope these tips help anyone planning/experiencing breastfeeding. Please feel free to post any questions you may have.
Happy Monday!! xx
There are many ways to minimalise the pain in those first couple of weeks of breastfeeding, and here they are:
Paracetamol - yes, we come back to the only painkiller you're allowed to take throughout pregnancy! Pop a couple of paracetamol, even if it doesn't do it for you, and I guarantee the pain will be slightly lessened if not greatly reduced!
Lansinoh - otherwise known as lanolin cream. Apply before and after every feed. It speeds up the process of healing and can toughen your nipples up quicker.
Nipple-shields - I personally have never used these but have heard fantastic success stories of those who have. Be warned, nipple shields are NOT to be used at every feed. Nipple shields should ONLY be used when you can't take the pain anymore and you need to give your nipples time to heal before the next onslaught. If you wear nipple shields at every feed, your nipples won't toughen up.
Breastmilk - That's right! Breastmilk! It's fantastic stuff. If you express a little and spread it on your nipple and allow it to air dry it can speed up the healing process. (other uses of breastmilk are for your baby's eye infection - when their eye gets all gammy from a blocked tear duct, breastmilk will clear it up in a couple of hours. Breastmilk can also be used in the treatment of eczema. Express some into a bowl and use it as a wash after your baby's bath!)
I hope these tips will help you through those first few painful days of breastfeeding. Just remember that the more your baby feeds, the quicker your nipples will toughen up.
I'd just like to say that I am NOT against formula feeding. I realise that there can be legitimate personal reasons why someone may choose not to breastfeed. I can fully understand for example, a mom giving up because she can't take the pain. All I would like to do is to encourage mom's to battle through the pain because it is the most rewarding journey a mother can go on with her child by breastfeeding. You build such a special special bond with your baby through breastfeeding and none can rival it. I have many friends who formula feed, sadly I don't know anyone who still breastfeeds their baby, and I would just like my formula feeding friends to know that I don't judge you at all. I know you ladies and you're FANTASTIC moms. If you read my blog please try and understand I'm not having a go at formula feeding mom's, what I'm trying to do is encourage new and veteran mom's to give the best to their baby.
Again, I hope these tips help anyone planning/experiencing breastfeeding. Please feel free to post any questions you may have.
Happy Monday!! xx
Sunday 22 January 2012
Why Breastfeed?
Indeed... Why should a mother breastfeed? Why should she breastfeed when there is a perfectly "good" breastmilk substitute on the market?
The sad thing is, there is NOTHING, that can even come close to breastmilk. My little boy has had one gastro bug and one cold in his 15 month life span. I firmly believe that my breastfeeding and supplementing him with vitamins and minerals has prevented things like bronchitis, flu, pneumonia, allergies and so on and so forth. In comparison, I know many bottle fed babies close in age to my son who are very sickly little souls. This is not their mothers fault however. My one friend was advised at her son's birth NOT to breastfeed because she was so badly torn "down there". I fail to see the logic in the advice but I certainly don't blame her for listening to the professionals. They are the professionals after all. Aren't they?
Unfortunately, breastfeeding is not only a choice and preference of some mothers but it's also a choice and preference for many in the medical profession. A doctor, nurse or midwife may have had a bad experience with breastfeeding and so during the rest of their career, wrongly and untruthfully advise their following not to breastfeed or that there's "no real advantage" to it. I believe that they tell themselves and others this nonsense to validate their own insecurities when it comes to breastfeeding.
What are the health benefits?
There are SO many health benefits to breastfeeding. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to describe them in detail to others because they feel resentful at being proven wrong. But lets have a look at these benefits shall we?
Benefits for Baby
- They have less chance of contracting diarrhoea and vomiting bugs and having to go to the hospital as a result.
- They have fewer ear and chest infections and having to go to hospital as a result.
- They have less chance of being painfully constipated.
- They have less likelihood of becoming obese and developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
- They have less chance of contracting eczema
- It lowers the risk of cot death (SIDS) by 50%
Benefits for Mom
- It lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancers by a percentage each year that you breastfeed
- Naturally uses up to 500 calories a day
- It's free
- It builds a strong emotional bond between mother and child
So why don't mothers give breastfeeding a go? There are a number of reasons for this. "I don't like my nipples being touched" - guess what love, if you were living in the 1500's your baby would DIE because you "don't like your nipples being touched". Another reason is "I don't make enough milk" - if you didn't make enough milk, your baby would DIE. Your body is DESIGNED to make enough milk. There are however, legitimate medical reasons why a mother SHOULDN'T breastfeed and there are only two of them. 1. She has HIV. 2. She is on medication that would harm her baby. Anymore? Nope. There are only two legitimate reasons why a mother shouldn't breastfeed. And yet, there are thousands of reasons that women use to justify not breastfeeding and unless they are the two afore mentioned reasons, the rest of them are selfish, silly reasons that would mean your baby would die if you were living a few hundred years ago. As said in my previous blog, times may have changed, but that doesn't mean our parenting methods have too.
In my next blog I will be giving advice and tips on how to deal with the initial pain of breastfeeding.
Happy reading everyone! :-)
The sad thing is, there is NOTHING, that can even come close to breastmilk. My little boy has had one gastro bug and one cold in his 15 month life span. I firmly believe that my breastfeeding and supplementing him with vitamins and minerals has prevented things like bronchitis, flu, pneumonia, allergies and so on and so forth. In comparison, I know many bottle fed babies close in age to my son who are very sickly little souls. This is not their mothers fault however. My one friend was advised at her son's birth NOT to breastfeed because she was so badly torn "down there". I fail to see the logic in the advice but I certainly don't blame her for listening to the professionals. They are the professionals after all. Aren't they?
Unfortunately, breastfeeding is not only a choice and preference of some mothers but it's also a choice and preference for many in the medical profession. A doctor, nurse or midwife may have had a bad experience with breastfeeding and so during the rest of their career, wrongly and untruthfully advise their following not to breastfeed or that there's "no real advantage" to it. I believe that they tell themselves and others this nonsense to validate their own insecurities when it comes to breastfeeding.
What are the health benefits?
There are SO many health benefits to breastfeeding. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to describe them in detail to others because they feel resentful at being proven wrong. But lets have a look at these benefits shall we?
Benefits for Baby
- They have less chance of contracting diarrhoea and vomiting bugs and having to go to the hospital as a result.
- They have fewer ear and chest infections and having to go to hospital as a result.
- They have less chance of being painfully constipated.
- They have less likelihood of becoming obese and developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
- They have less chance of contracting eczema
- It lowers the risk of cot death (SIDS) by 50%
Benefits for Mom
- It lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancers by a percentage each year that you breastfeed
- Naturally uses up to 500 calories a day
- It's free
- It builds a strong emotional bond between mother and child
So why don't mothers give breastfeeding a go? There are a number of reasons for this. "I don't like my nipples being touched" - guess what love, if you were living in the 1500's your baby would DIE because you "don't like your nipples being touched". Another reason is "I don't make enough milk" - if you didn't make enough milk, your baby would DIE. Your body is DESIGNED to make enough milk. There are however, legitimate medical reasons why a mother SHOULDN'T breastfeed and there are only two of them. 1. She has HIV. 2. She is on medication that would harm her baby. Anymore? Nope. There are only two legitimate reasons why a mother shouldn't breastfeed. And yet, there are thousands of reasons that women use to justify not breastfeeding and unless they are the two afore mentioned reasons, the rest of them are selfish, silly reasons that would mean your baby would die if you were living a few hundred years ago. As said in my previous blog, times may have changed, but that doesn't mean our parenting methods have too.
In my next blog I will be giving advice and tips on how to deal with the initial pain of breastfeeding.
Happy reading everyone! :-)
Breastfeeding is disgusting!
The attitude of my mother... What an old fashioned hag! How the bloody hell do you think people fed their children before formula was invented?!
Unfortunately this is the attitude of most people these days. I can't stand it. Breastfeeding has been the most unbelievably rewarding journey for my son and I. So I thought I'd share a few tips for those mom and moms to be out there.
Latch
A baby's latch is very important if you wish to successfully breastfeed. Bring baby to breast, not breast to baby is the best piece of advice ever given. If you bring your breast to the baby you're undoubtedly going to get it wrong. Bring your baby towards you with their head tilted back and their nose in line with your nipple, tickle their cheek to get them to open wide and then pop them on! They need to get as much breast tissue in their mouth as possible so that they can successfully latch. At first your baby will swallow often and rapidly as they drink the foremilk and cope with your let down, then you will notice they swallow long and deeply as they get the all important hindmilk out. Don't worry if this doesn't happen straight away. You and your baby need time to get the hang of breastfeeding and it will undoubtedly take a week or two of practise. You never know, you might be lucky like I was and have a baby who latches perfectly straight away! :-)
Clusterfeeding
Clusterfeeding is when your baby is feeding for hours on end. Please don't make the mistake of thinking this means your milk is not enough. Clusterfeeding is your baby's way of telling your body to make more milk to meet their growth requirements. Babies typically have growth spurts every 2 - 4 weeks and the growth spurt and clusterfeeding can last a day or two. When these times come the best thing you can do is have lots of skin to skin contact with your baby, maybe lie in bed with some drinks and snacks close by and just let your little one feed feed feed. If you have a toddler in the house, the best thing you can do is have them over at your mom's or at nursery in those first few weeks of your baby's life. If that's not possible, purchasing a sling is your next best option. That way your baby can feed and sleep through the growth spurts and you can continue with your daily life. Just make sure you've given yourself adequate recovery time after the birth before you get back to your daily tasks.
That's my advice for today!
I have started this blog to try and influence more mothers to go back to basics. For millenia breastfeeding, co-sleeping and attachment parenting have meant that the human race survived! And just because times have changed, it doesn't mean our methods of parenting have to.
Have a lovely day all and I hope I've helped mother's and others to understand the joy and challenges of breastfeeding! :-)
Unfortunately this is the attitude of most people these days. I can't stand it. Breastfeeding has been the most unbelievably rewarding journey for my son and I. So I thought I'd share a few tips for those mom and moms to be out there.
Latch
A baby's latch is very important if you wish to successfully breastfeed. Bring baby to breast, not breast to baby is the best piece of advice ever given. If you bring your breast to the baby you're undoubtedly going to get it wrong. Bring your baby towards you with their head tilted back and their nose in line with your nipple, tickle their cheek to get them to open wide and then pop them on! They need to get as much breast tissue in their mouth as possible so that they can successfully latch. At first your baby will swallow often and rapidly as they drink the foremilk and cope with your let down, then you will notice they swallow long and deeply as they get the all important hindmilk out. Don't worry if this doesn't happen straight away. You and your baby need time to get the hang of breastfeeding and it will undoubtedly take a week or two of practise. You never know, you might be lucky like I was and have a baby who latches perfectly straight away! :-)
Clusterfeeding
Clusterfeeding is when your baby is feeding for hours on end. Please don't make the mistake of thinking this means your milk is not enough. Clusterfeeding is your baby's way of telling your body to make more milk to meet their growth requirements. Babies typically have growth spurts every 2 - 4 weeks and the growth spurt and clusterfeeding can last a day or two. When these times come the best thing you can do is have lots of skin to skin contact with your baby, maybe lie in bed with some drinks and snacks close by and just let your little one feed feed feed. If you have a toddler in the house, the best thing you can do is have them over at your mom's or at nursery in those first few weeks of your baby's life. If that's not possible, purchasing a sling is your next best option. That way your baby can feed and sleep through the growth spurts and you can continue with your daily life. Just make sure you've given yourself adequate recovery time after the birth before you get back to your daily tasks.
That's my advice for today!
I have started this blog to try and influence more mothers to go back to basics. For millenia breastfeeding, co-sleeping and attachment parenting have meant that the human race survived! And just because times have changed, it doesn't mean our methods of parenting have to.
Have a lovely day all and I hope I've helped mother's and others to understand the joy and challenges of breastfeeding! :-)
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