Saffron

From the article: "The government has stepped back from a campaign launched 18 years ago to encourage new mothers to start and continue breastfeeding, in spite of the low proportion of women who breastfeed their babies in the UK for any length of time. "National Breastfeeding Awareness Week, which begins on Monday, is no longer receiving central funds from the Department of Health. Events will take place around the country, organised by local hospitals or groups such as the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), but there will be no central co-ordination or national campaign, which the Royal College of Midwives said was "very disappointing". "The Department of Health, which has cut back on all forms of social marketing, is said to be reviewing the situation. But also worrying campaigners is the disappearance of a network of regional infant feeding co-ordinators who were based in the strategic health authorities which are now being abolished."

buggie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Admittedly I've only read a small piece on this, > but was under the impression it had been dropped > in favour of locally organised initiatives - which > could be more helpful surely?? My read of it was that locally organised initiatives are being supported in theory alone. No funding is provided to local initiatives, and funds have been totally withdrawn from the national initiative.

Otta, I totally get what you're saying. However, I just can't help feeling disappointed at the sentiment that the Dept of Health seems to be sending, i.e. it would rather spend loads of money to treat diabetes, obesity, etc in the future, than to spend a little money now on promoting the choice to breastfeed, when breastfeeding is known to have a high correlation to lowered risk of such diseases in later life. IMHO they've made completely the wrong decision. More money, not less should be put into promoting breastfeeding. I also find the government's promise of an extra 4,200 HVs by 2015 to be next to useless where breastfeeding is concerned, considering what a load of shite advice I got from multiple HVs at 2 different clinics.

Fuschia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Might be worth buying the sing and sign dvd > (amazon) > Not instead of getting him checked out, but as an > adjunct to supporting him a she finds his tongue I second that suggestion. Tiny Talk uses children's BSL, or there is also the Makaton system. Sometimes it is mistakenly claimed that learning sign language inhibits speech development. The argument generally runs something like, children need a certain level of frustration in order to learn to speak. (I know it sounds crazy when you see it in print!) Toddlers (shouldn't they be called 'babblers' :) ) can often make a simple hand signal long before they can form words. Always say the word when you make the sign. The sign reinforces the speech and helps your child learn. xx

Breastfeeding Awareness Week Dropped by Dept of Health: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/17/breastfeeding-awareness-week-dropped-government Any thoughts Forumites?

It seems that "the wrong crowd" and drugs get blamed for a lot of problems, when, we as parents need to look within the child. Sometimes it is the troubles within an individuals that turn them towards problematic people or lifestyles. As parents it's very hard to see this in your own child. Their loss of Freddy must be truly heartbreaking. Sol, I felt so sad after reading this last week too. Most people probably read it and wondered how they could prevent such a tragedy with their own child/ren. I read it and actually thought, I could have been Freddy. I'm very conflicted on the use of rehab facilities for minors. My personal feeling is that sending children away is rarely the answer. I feel so sad for the parents, and I'm certainly not blaming them in any way. I'm just wondering what other options are out there.

http://theotherbabybook.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/is-habiba-a-hoax/ (excerpt below) "I?ll admit ? it seems almost too hard to believe. That major news stations are not picking the story up only adds to the skepticism. It also adds to the tragedy. CNN.com has completely ignored the issue, and today?s feature articles are on cole slaw, the top ten most expensive housing markets, and Hugh Hefner?s fiance. I can?t tell you for sure why they think Playboy bunnies are more newsworthy than the oppression of an Attachment Parenting mother, but I have a pretty good guess: their bottom line." Does anyone know how to contact the BBC to ask them to investigate and broadcast this story? After all isn't that what we pay our license fees for?!?

ratty Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Are you all ganging up on someone? Why do you ask? Are you offering yourself as a choice? ;-)

I did not appear to me that anyone was suggesting that formula feeders love their children less. What cannot be disputed is the scientific evidence that human breastmilk is the best food for human babies, conferring many physiological advantages over formula milk. You're right of course that different people do things differently and have different priorities. But having tolerance of others' choices is not the same thing as tolerating misinformation or tolerating the lack of support for mothers who want to breastfeed. Many women end up formula feeding because they have fallen vitim to the many myths that abound about f/fing vs b/fing and the conflicting advice sometimes given by (albeit well-meaning) health professionals. I would also like to point out that others, in turn, could take offence at some weird statements above suggesting that because a woman is "better off", she "would not consider it and employ maternity nurses to bottle feed day 1". That's a sweeping and facetious generalisation, sure to be extrememly hurtful to any well-to-do woman who tried and failed to b/f due to illness or lack of support. It shouldn't come as any surprise that it provoked some heated replies. It also insults the less well-off by implying that they are forced to b/f by their lack of funds to employ a mat nurse. Coming at this from another angle, rich women would historically have employed maternity nurses. But, these would have been wet nurses who breastfed the baby. The rise and commercialisation of the formula industry helped seal the fate of wet nursing, where it is now practically unheard of in the western world. Truly sad.

Funny and painful. x

R_B has captured my sentiments really well but I just wanted to add this... new mother Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The further sad point is that for some weird > evolutionary reason breast feeding actually > doesn't even work for many women. It is sad, but not for the reasons you say. Healthy women will all produce enough milk for their babies. A *very few* women will have serious physiological issues which prevent them from breast feeding, such as defects in the breast tissue or hormonal imbalances. Many western women simply assume for the wrong reasons that they are not capable of produing milk, when in fact THEY ARE. And finally a note on evolution. Humans have had not only physiological evolution (our bodies have changed over the millenia), but also social evolution. We are by our nature gregarious, not solitary. When a women cannot breastfeed, or has difficulties with latch etc, in historical/evolutionary terms there would have been someone else there to help her. Her sisters, aunts, or indeed her own mother may have been lactating, and/or would have had significant experience breastfeeding. A woman with more social contacts, ie more close female friends and family, would have had an evolutionary advantage over a 'loner' type. This advantage would be conferred to her offsping by her better ability to feed and raise them. Simples.

Last time I checked, WHO guidelines were breastmilk only for the first 6 months, but there is pressure from HVs to add formula earlier if your baby is not gaining weight rapidly. This is despite the fact that it is normal for exclusively b/f babies to gain weight slowly compared to formula fed babies. Indeed it should be looked at the other way around. Formula fed babies gain weight too quickly compared to b/f babies. That struck me as a very mixed message.

So is it deffo going? That seems like a shame. What would come in its place? (Please not another estate agent!)

Whatever time you choose, you might want to try splitting the 11am milk feed into 2 parts, a bit before and the rest afterwards. I always found that Little Saff didn't enjoy her swim if she was too hungry or too full. When we were only b/fing I always did a short feed 1/2 hour before her lesson, usu just before we got changed for the swim. That would probably have equalled around 2-3 oz of milk when she was 4-5 months old. When she started solids, I did a hearty breakfast (eg porridge oats) around 8/8:30. We went for a walk at 9ish. She would have a big bottle in the buggy and then a short nap till 10ish. Our swim lesson started at 10:30. Afterwards she wanted a b/f or bottle straight away. Then she would totally zonk out for a long nap. Snowboarder is right in that you will likely have to make rolling changes to your routine as your baby grows. And as mockney piers says, some babies don't like cold water. Try to find lessons at a pool that is heated, or at least warm. If your LO seems at all chilly, invest in a baby wetsuit. They're not expensive. A little fleecy suit for afterwards is good too. Look for something snuggly you can easily slip your hungy, tired baby into w/o too much fuss. Forget getting the arms and legs of a slightly damp and exhausted LO into complicated little onsie things. Have fun swimming! xx

Five weeks postpartum might be a little early to get a 'straight chat' out of your partner (mother OR father), so don't be surprised if it takes a bit more time to work through everything. Patience is the key to preserving sanity.

Formula milk is more difficult to digest, takes longer to digest. Babies tend to sleep more deeply afterwards because of this, although all babies are different of course. If breastfed babies don't sleep immediately after feeding, then there will be an adaptive, physiological reason for this, even if it is not immediately apparent. There is a tendency for some breastfed babies not to want soothers, while formula fed babies seem to take to them more. (Although, as I said above, all babies are different!) For infants, having a soother can help stimulate saliva production and so aid digestion (the same is true of comfort sucking on Mummy, the 'original soother'). So in this sense a soother doesn't have to be a bad thing, but then again neither does comfort sucking on Mummy. :)

I have a copy of 'The Diaper Free Baby' that you're welcome to borrow. It's all about understanding your baby's signal that s/he needs the toilet. I read of few chapters of it after Little Saff was born and decided no way did I have the energy for that. However, I do think that being *super* clued in to your LO makes it easier to potty train. You might find the book interesting even if you decide not to follow it's methodology. xx

Yes public toilets are generally not nice. I hated them as a child and still hate them as an adult. I have London mapped out inside my head as to where the best and worst toilets can be found. Is it just the shared toilets that your LO dislikes? Is it any better if you go in one of the large single toilets for the disabled? The Gardens Cafe (old electrical shop on Peckham Rye) has particularly good toilets. They were very clean last time I was there, and you can even do a 360 with a Bugaboo pram in them! ...plus the promise of cake afterwards, very tempting for any toddler. xx

We used a soother with Little Saff occasionally, mostly for car rides and sometimes for settling in the evening. Around 5 months old, she refused to take it any more. I've always done both full feeds and comfort feeds when breastfeeding. I'm not aware of any scientific evidence to suggest that comfort suckling leads to "snacking", or that foremilk causes digestive problems. Insufficient intake of hindmilk is probalby more to blame. Indeed some of what appears to be comfort sucking at the end of a feed at this age may in fact be the last few fatty slurps of milk just trickling down a sleepy baby's throat. Also remember that your Baby's digestive system is still maturing, and can sometime appear upset for no reason whatsoever. In general breastfed babies probably do better being offered the breast little and often. When it is actually a feed, rather than comfort sucking, try to make sure Baby stays on long enough to stimulate a good milk letdown, and try offering the second breast immediately if Baby is still very "sucky" after the first feed. Using a soother sometimes is fine too. But if Mummy feels like she'd like to comfort feed Baby when she's around, it's only natural and it's also just fine. Definitely not worth stressing over. xx

It could be mucus from the back of the sinus causing irritation to the larynx. If she doesn't have fever now, it was probably viral and she'll improve in a few more days. If you're worried see your GP. A GP can look at the throat and larynx to see if it's really inflammed, or just a little irritated. Giving some rehydration salts to drink might help the throat to clear mucus. xx

Ok, it's not seaside, but the river is very nice: Basel, Swizerland. The main Rhine is clean and good for swimming (mostly floating!), but it's deep and also rapid. Better for children would be one of the tributaries. I'm thinking of one in particular near where I used to live, which has wide grassy banks, good trees for shade, and shallow areas good for childrens' swimming. Tickets to Basel are usu fairly cheap b/c it's not a main holiday desitnation for Brits. EasyJet flies there, so do British Airways and Swiss Air. The older population in Basel tends to speak German/French, while you find the younger people speaking German/English. Public transport in Basel is great. Public transport all over Switzerland is great infact. You're only a couple hours train ride to the lakes and mountains for hiking etc. Since Basel is on the border with France and Germany, you're also a short trainride away from many other lovely small towns with distinctly different characters. I have friends living in Basel. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to put you in touch. xx

Belle Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ... there > was a theory that (if your feet are growing) you > shouldn't wear shoes that have been > shaped/stretched by another child. Yes that's a possibility. In an ideal world, all children would have new shoes. But better a slightly worn shoe, than a shoe with holes etc, as BB100 and you both observed. But also, there are inexpensive ways to repair lightly worn shoes. Obviously shoes like trainers with visibly uneven wear (eg, one sole worn more than the other) are probably best on the recycling heap. However, in many cases, modern shoes are so well made that simply adding new insoles to a properly cleaned shoe can give the shoe significantly more wear-time.

...but still probably better for Baby than formulated cow's milk... although I can't believe it's *exactly* the same as human breast milk. Still, very interesting.

BB100 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi Huggers, > I have just listed them for 1p or 10p and it > usually turns into a few pounds but then will give > free postage to cancel that out. It all started > when I listed some barely worn Clarks school shoes > for 1p once and got ?11 for them after some > frantic bidding. Great idea! > I discovered that charity shops are not allowed to > take in children's shoes, redistribute them or > sell them in the UK... Is that by law or just convention? And why??? Is it b/c of the misguided belief that shoes cannot be thoroughly cleaned? Of course trainers and other synthetic shoes are easily washed in any washing machine. But most people don't realize that you can wash leather and suede shoes too. I have put both my husband's smelly suede loungers and my leather paddock boots through the wash on a 'hand wash' cycle. (I did have to do the boot one at a time.) Husband was totally speechless that the shoes all turned out fine after a little reshaping and air-drying.

Yak Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > For the > past couple of years I've used Brekken at the > Runway Salon in Westminster, who is amazing, but > getting over there for a hair appt when > breastfeeding etc is proving a little tricky! Perhaps ask if they would do you a one-off home appointment since you have been such a good customer?