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World Breastfeeding Week with Tommee Tippee #dadsgotthis

breastfeeding #dadsgotthisWhen you think of breastfeeding you think of mothers. Mothers bonding with their baby’s over those precious moments spent together during feeds, but you know what? Bottle feeding is precious too.

Holding your newborn closely while they close their eyes and fall into a little state of milky drunkness isn’t just something mums get to enjoy, but dads too.

Tommee Tippee recently launched their Express and Go kits which are perfect for when dads want to feed. Whether you exclusively express breast feed (like I did with Lamb), fancy a night out with the girls, or simply want to share the experience, the Express and Go kit allows you to express straight into a storage bag to pop into the freezer, or attach a teat and allow dad to feed straight away.

#dadsgotthis breastfeedingIf you’ve followed my blog since the beginning, you’ll know I could only feed Lamb breastmilk by expressing, he just wouldn’t latch. BB is the opposite. We are 12 weeks into our breastfeeding journey and he has yet to take more than half an ounce from a bottle. I’m being persistent though!

Tommee Tippee kindly sent me their Express and Go kit to try out. I really want to get daddy helping with feeds. I think it’s been a real adjustment for him not being as involved this time round. Obviously with Lamb he could help from day one, but with BB he must feel a little useless.

I expressed a little in the beginning but was so keen on establishing breastfeeding I didn’t store that much. I’m definitely ready to work on my supply and build it up a little to express feeds for daddy to give.

Nows our time to try our Express & Go and I’ll keep you updated on how I get on with it.

According to an independent survey of 132 mums, over half of them said they would breastfeed for longer if they could share the responsibility with the dads. The Express and Go really does give dads the responsibility I’m sure they crave.

So ladies, if you’re thinking of expressing or already do, why not make it a little easier and try out the Express and Go and show that #DadsGotThis too.

~A~

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Dressing BB In Vertbaudet

Vertbaudet is a brand I’ve grown to love after having kids, mainly because their kids clothes are so damn cute. I think it was my Auntie who bought Lamb his first Vertbaudet items and I loved them. A gorgeous set of long sleeved, kimono style vests. I kept them and when BB was born he had the privilege of wearing them too.

Their Spring/Summer collection has some really fab ranges including:

  • Convertibles – clothes that can be worn in multiple ways and accommodate to different types of weather.
  • Adaptable – adjustable waists, narrow, medium and full fitting hips in stylish shapes meaning you can find the perfect fit.
  • Reversible – One great style, 2 fab looks.
  • Indestructible – perfect for mini adventurers that like to rough and tumble!

Vertbaudet kindly sent BB some of their gorgeous newborn items and I’m so sad they don’t fit him anymore. The quality is amazing and they wash really well. The only tip I would give when buying baby clothes from there would be to go up a size. I found the newborn came up a little small and my son was only 6lb 12oz when he was born. Just double check the sizing guide before you buy. Don’t let that put you off, like I said the quality is fab, just the sizing a little smaller than I’m used to.

vertbaudet collage pinvertbaudet newborn itemsIn my opinion Vertbaudet is a great place to get good quality basics, as well as beautiful gift clothing items, like the cloud set BB is wearing.

I love their children’s range so much I’ve had a little look at their website again and picked out a little newborn wish list for BB…

VERTBAUDET WISHLISTOh what a surprise, it’s all grey… 😉

~A~

*I was sent some products free of charge for the purpose of this review. All opinions are honest and words are my own.

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We Made BB

This year I’m working with We Made Me and have been trying out there wraps/slings.

About the brand…

“We Made Me Ltd, formerly known as BabaSlings Ltd, is set to become synonymous with excellence and innovation in babywearing.  The collection, which promises to offer a progressive carrying solution for every family, now includes the Wuti Wrap™ (a stretchy wrap) and the Pao Papoose™ (a 3-in-1 front and back, soft-structured carrier), together with the much-loved, award-winning theBabaSling®.”

For a little fun I thought I’d write a post about in the form of an interview with BB.

Here’s what I asked him…

  1. BB, you are 9 weeks old, how has life been so far? Well, the big, wide world seems a little scary but I’m happy to be here. I have a very loving big brother who gives me lots of kisses and cuddles (sometimes too many 😉 ) so he makes it a nice place to be.
  2. What are your loves/hates? I love sleeping on mummy or daddy’s chest, that’s much better than being stuck in a crib, although mummy got me a Purflo Breathable Nest and that makes me feel cuddled and secure. I love drinking boobie milk and midnight snacks are my fave. I love my big brother, he makes me smile. I hate being in the car, I think I’m the only newborn who doesn’t sleep in my car seat.
  3. Do you have any hobbies? I really like laying on my changing mat and shaking my head from side to side, that’s funny. I recently watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, have you seen it? It really captured my attention and was the only thing that stopped me screaming on our way back from Wales. Apparently my brother loved it when he was a baby too.
  4. Do you have a favourite toy? I haven’t really had time to play with many toys, the only thing I seem to do when I’m awake is drink milk. Mummy likes to shake my Nook Nook rattle when I get fussy and that calms me down a little. Apparently when I’m big enough I can play with my brothers trains with him.
  5. What makes you smile? When mummy tickles my cheeks and calls me a cheeky monkey!

we made bb collage

Wuti Wrap™ key features

  • *Designed to carry babies from newborns to 9 months + (tested and safe for babies 3.6–15.9kg | 8–35lbs)
  • *For a comfortable fit, we recommend the wrap for babies (9kg | 20lbs), but it’s often used by parents with toddlers
  • *One size fits all
  • *Innovative breathable mesh material
  • *Machine washable at 40°C
  • *Available in three colours: midnight black, lavender and pebble
  • *Cyan blue binding creates the signature feature of the we made me™ brand
  • *Tested to Safety Standard CEN/TR 16512:2015 and ASTM 2907 – 14a
  • *Tapered ends and contrasting colour binding allows the wearer to check the correct positioning of the baby
  • *Includes educational Babywearing Guide, a delightfully unique, character-led, illustrated instruction booklet inspired by sacred animals

I wasn’t much of a baby wearer with Lamb but knew I wanted to wear BB. The Wuti Wrap is super comfy and feels very secure (once I got the hang of wrapping it!)

I can’t wait to try the next one!

~A~

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BB’s 2 Month Update

2 month update pinCrikey we got to the 2 month update quickly. Well he’s actually 9 weeks so over 2 months old. My little baby boy is growing so fast, but I’m actually not feeling emotional about how quickly the time is going anymore. I’m just loving watching him develop and change everyday.

His smiles are infectious and his baby chat just melts my heart. I’m so in love with him it brings a tear to my eye. Which isn’t something I expected to feel so early on if I’m totally honest, it took a lot longer with Lamb due to my severe baby blues.

Feeding

My little guzzler is still feeding pretty regularly. There’s no pattern to his feeds and unfortunately our 3 hourly night feeds have gone out of the window. After his first leap at around 4 1/2-5 weeks his feeds can be anywhere from every 1 1/2 hours to every 3 hours. Yawn.

Breastfeeding is full established and I haven’t needed to give him a bottle. I’m producing plenty of milk for him and he’s still gaining around 3/4 of a pound every 2 weeks. Last time he was weighed he was 10b 14oz, so I’m sure he’s at least 11 1/2 lbs now.

Sleeping

I’m sure you can tell from how often he feeds he’s obviously not sleeping for long periods of time during the night. Having said that he has definitely learned the difference between day and night. He’s much more awake/alert during the day and at night even when he’s ‘awake’ for a feed his eyes are almost always closed and he’s straight back to sleep after 5/10 minutes of feeding.

Over the last week of so I’ve started putting him to bed on his own. He’s really good at falling asleep on his own without crying. I can tell when he’s tired as he gets pretty agitated and shouts at me. His bedtime is around 8pm and he will usually sleep until midnight. That’s his long sleep. after that its every 2-3 hours.

He doesn’t sleep for long periods of time during the day either. I thin he’s quite a light sleeper so easily startles himself and can often have quick 10 minute naps (hence why the blog is a little neglected at the moment!)

Unlike his brother BB hates his car seat. Hence why it took us 9 hours to drive back from Wales yesterday. He literally sleeps for 10 minutes then wakes up screaming. If you were a fly on the wall it would of been like a comedy sketch. We had to stop so many times. Yes, I also cried.

Development

His smiles and coos are happening daily. He’s definitely trying to ‘talk’ to me and it’s the cutest thing ever. He has a super strong head and seems to enjoy tummy time (certainly more than his broth did).

I’ve noticed BB watching his dad enter and leave the room. Obviously because I’m breastfeeding he spends most of his time bonding with me, close to me, and his poor dad has to work hard for his attention. But to our delight he definitely knows who his daddy is and really does follow him with his eyes as he leaves the room. It’s lovely.

We get lots of smiles when Lamb is mourned BB, he really does love his brother and recognises his voice. I think this is why I’m not so emotional about him growing so fast. I just love seeing there relationship develop.

At exactly 8 weeks BB had his first immunisations. He did so well considering they have 3 injections and one oral medicine. The poor guy cried but was soon comforted by a bit of boob. I gave him calpol straight away, but completely forgot to give hi a second dose 4-6 hours later and he soon reminded  me. His temperature didn’t rise luckily but he was obviously suffering. He was totally fine the next day and only needed 3 doses of calpol.

That’s it for now. Come back next month for his 3 month update 🙂

~A~

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Breastfeeding – My Hopes & Fears #MedelaMum

breastfeeding hopes and fears pinBreastfeeding has always been the path I wanted to take when I had children. It was a no brainer for me. Unfortunately with Lamb it didn’t go to plan. You can read about my breastfeeding challenges with Lamb and also what products I used when he couldn’t latch. Lamb just wouldn’t latch and I couldn’t breastfeed.

 

Because of my first experience I prepared myself for bottle feeding (with expressed breastmilk) and expected feeding naturally to be really difficult. Of course I hoped more than anything that my second baby would latch, but I wanted to prepare myself and make sure I’d be ok with expressing again.

Feeding with expressed breastmilk is really challenging. Not only are you feeding your baby around the clock, you are also expressing around the clock. First time round I used a single electric breastpump, so this time I chose to use the Medela Swing Maxi Double Electric Breastpump to make sure I could save time and make expressing as quick as possible.

Throughout my first pregnancy I produced a lot of milk, in fact I was wearing breast pads from around 25 weeks because I leaked so much. With my second pregnancy this wasn’t the case and I was worried I wouldn’t product any milk when BB was born. My breasts just didn’t feel the same. I was reassured by friends that they didn’t feel like they had produced any milk throughout their pregnancies and it was totally normal, however I couldn’t help but compare to my first pregnancy.

When I was expressing for Lamb I had a huge supply in the fridge (around 6 large Tommee Tippee bottles at one time) and I also had loads in the freezer. Even though my intention was to breastfeed baby number 2, I also wanted to build a supply of milk in the freezer for days when I needed to leave him with Daddy. I hoped I had enough milk again to do this.

My main fears with breastfeeding this time has been baby not latching and not producing enough milk to satisfy baby. Luckily, apart from BB not latching perfectly and my nipples being extremely sore for the first couple of weeks breastfeeding is going really well. My fear of not producing milk was quickly forgotten as I’m currently over supplying breastmilk and BB doesn’t even drain the breast each time he feeds.

I’ve managed to express some milk and store it in the freezer using my Medela Harmony breast pump which is so good for a manual pump. I haven’t used my double electric pump yet because I was unsure how double expressing would effect breastfeeding.

Medela’s lactation consultant Sioned has answered a couple of questions for me regarding breastfeeding and her answers have been really helpful. I was particularly interested in her advice on combination feeding (with expressed breastmilk) as I’d love to introduce a bottle eventually to allow me to share feeding at night, but I don’t want to effect my supply for feeding BB naturally.

Here are her answers…

1.       What advice would you give to a breastfeeding mum who wants to start expressing to build up a supply in the freezer?

Ideally get breastfeeding off to a good start so invest in the first 4 weeks to get breastfeeding established and get lots of feeding practice for you and your baby. By 4 weeks your baby will have gone through his 3 weeks growth spurt when he just needs to nurse and power feed. You will also have been doing loads of baby watching and will have picked up his feeding cues and loose feeding routine.

You may find that you prefer to pump in the morning after your little one has had a feed (wait about an hour and half and just pump off one breast to start with;  just in case little one wakes unexpectedly), or you may prefer to express when dad is feeding your expressed milk once you have some supply in store so that you get the same stimulation and milk removal as you would if you were nursing.

There is no better time – early evening maybe when your baby just grazes and you cluster feed, this maybe a time you prefer to put your feet up watch a bit of tv and nurse so many mums find this is a time that doesn’t suit them. Others pump in the night. It is totally up to you.

If you are going to give expressed milk within the following 4 days you can store it safely in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, if not place in freezer, as frozen milk does change a little with the freezing process.

Be realistic in the volumes you get – there is a huge range in volumes – a baby has on average around 74mls of milk from both breasts per nursing session ( range 54-234mls) so when you express if you feed on average 8 times a day and you get 90mls of milk when you express this is 810mls in 24 hours and these are great volumes.

In relation to your pump – make sure you use the maximum vacuum that you can enjoy without any discomfort on your pump and also check that your shield is the right size for https://www.medela.co.uk/breastfeeding/products/collecting/personal-fit-breast-shield The PersonalFit breast shields ensure high milk volume, good breast drainage and comfortable pumping and prevent nipple trauma. For best results, combine the breast shields with the natural suction rhythm of a Medela 2-Phase breast pump.

2.       I’ve heard about mastitis from other breastfeeding mums and it doesn’t sound nice. Can it be prevented and what should I do if I get it?

Mastitis is a condition where milk isn’t removed effectively from the breast and you get engorgement when the milk ducts and milk sacs get over full and leak into other cells and tissue so that you get inflammation, pain and redness.- this can progress to infective mastitis Or you can get mastitis following on from a cracked nipple and skin infection when it tracks up the duct and then causes an infection in the duct and milk sac . Because of the inflammation and your body’s response to localised trauma  you can also experience flu like symptoms aches , pain and fever.

The management for mastitis is ideally preventing it  – you can minimise this by ensuring initially that you are feeding regularly every 2-3 hours with no longer than 4-5 hours between feeds  alongside making sure baby has a good latch with effective sucking and swallowing.

If you feel a bit full even if baby is asleep put baby on the breast – this is a 2 way relationship or express a little to comfort.

Get to know your breasts – feel them regularly for any lumps as these may be early signs of a blocked duct. After 4-6 weeks following birth you will find that they no longer feel full and this is normal as you are working in demand with your baby.

·         If you do get mastitis the advice is increase your feeding frequency, or alternatively express complimenting your feeding pattern. 

·         Take pain relief such as paracetamol / ibuprofen to manage the fever and aches and pains. ( follow instructions for use )

·         Drink plenty of fluids and rest.

·         You may find cool flannels soothing – place a few damp face flannels in the fridge ready to place on sore tender breasts.

·         Lots and lots of feeding – good latch

·         If baby not feeding well or you have cracked nipples– contact your midwife or breastfeeding advisor to do a feeding assessment

·         Soothe cracked nipples with Purelan nipple cream to help with healing – but also get advice on the latch

·         If it doesn’t improve within 12-24hrs with increased feeding, good breast emptying, pain relief make an appointment with the GP as you may need antibiotics.

3.       How important is diet when breastfeeding? Other than alcohol, is there anything that should be avoided?

If you look after what you eat it does make a difference to the quality of your milk. Nursing women in Scandinavia and Japan have a higher fat concentration in their milk because of the omega rich foods they eat through fish etc.

A variable healthy diet is all you need. It is recommended to eat 2 portions of oily fish twice a week such as salmon, mackerel etc , 5 portions of fruit and veg daily, a balance of proteins, carbs and fats. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/breastfeeding-diet.aspx

As a nursing mum it is recommended to take vitamin D supplements and if you are vegetarian additional vit. B.

Certain foods  such as cruciferous vegetables can make you a  little more gassy and this can affect your baby too. don’t limit or exclude any food groups  but keep a food diary to see if baby is more fussy after Sunday dinner, or a curry and adapt the following day so that you can  still enjoy the meal in future but know that little one may be a little more fussy and colicky.

Alcohol is a taboo subject , but it is a common sense approach, young infants have immature livers so it is best avoided, your tolerance is also lower – if you want a glass of wine opt for a wine spritzer or a smaller glass. Only have 1 or 2.  A treat for occasions is fine – alcohol can cross over the blood milk barrier and can delay your milk ejection triggers, baby may be a  little more drowsy or more fussy so it is your choice to weigh up the facts.

I’m so, so happy that I was able to breastfeed BB. I’ve finally got my wish to experience breastfeeding. At the moment I’m unsure if we will have anymore children, it’s not ruled out, but at the moment I’m very content with my boys. I have no plans to stop breastfeeding, but I’ll soon be trying different bottles with BB to get him used to one in case I choose to stop feeding him myself.

At the moment I’m loving the extra cuddles while he feeds. 🙂

~A~

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