Today is the start of Maternal Mental Health Week hosted by the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership.

To mark the occasion, our new ‘Peace of Mind’ emotional wellbeing group is starting tomorrow. Running weekly at Ince Startwell Family Centre, we hope this will become somewhere that mums and mums to be can come along to share their inner thoughts and recieve meaningful support from our non judgemental team of peer supporters.

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether on 28/04/19 as part of the sharing sunday series.

I always knew I’d like to breastfeed. My mum had breastfed me, and I just knew it that it was what I wanted to do. I was adamant that if for any reason breastfeeding didn’t work out for us, I’d be happy that I’d tried and I would give her formula instead. However, I largely underestimated my own determination (and maybe stubbornness).

Unfortunately, I had to be induced at 39 weeks due to excess fluid around Jasmine. My labour was long and intense, and by the time she was born I had been pushing for two full hours, and awake for almost 48 hours. To say I was exhausted would be an understatement! But she latched on perfectly within 20 minutes of being born and fed for forty minutes. I was over the moon and the rush of hormones and love were something I couldn’t even describe.

She was feeding so well that the midwives let me home on the same day, with me promising to bring her back in if we experienced any problems. Which we didn’t. She fed every two-four hours and all was going perfectly (with many hormonal tears, snacks and lots of lanolin cream!) At 5 days old, she had actually gained 2oz and now weighed 8lb7. I was extremely proud of myself! And convinced that we were both made for breastfeeding.

However, problems started to arise when Jasmine was around two weeks old. She was either asleep or crying, she was never ever content. People told me this was normal and as a first time mum I ignored my instincts and tried to push through. She then started with recurring oral thrush which she kept passing back to me. We were both in pain but continued to battle through. This finally cleared up at around 8 weeks old, but Jasmine was still very clearly uncomfortable.

At 8 weeks old, I began to notice mucous in her stools. I contacted my Health Visitor, and got her reviewed by the GP and the lactation consultant. Everybody told me that there was no problems as she was still gaining weight fine. However, two weeks later I also started noticing blood specks in the mucous. It was suggested that Jasmine could be allergic to dairy, and I could either start her on prescribed formula, or give up dairy and soya from my diet. Of course, I chose the latter.

For four months, I gave up all my favourite things in the hope that Jasmine would become more comfortable and her little bowel could heal. Dairy and soya seemed to be in absolutely everything – it wasn’t as simple as just giving up chocolate or cheese. Eating out was a nightmare – and I would feel indescribably guilty if she seemed to have a flair up. I would convince myself that I had accidentally eaten something to set it off.

This went on until she was six months old. Jasmine was still visibly uncomfortable, and still having mucous and blood in her nappies. I was at my wits end. This is when I saw an article about oversupply. I decided to do some more research on this, and realised how forceful my letdown was. I had never known this as obviously you don’t really have anything to compare to! I contacted the health visitor again who advised me to try blockfeeding, and the change was almost instant!! Jasmine was comfortable, content, smiley and her nappies were normal for the first time since she was a few weeks old!

Jasmine is now nearly 11months old, and we are still going strong. She’s such a happy girl now and is honestly a joy to be around. I am SO happy we persevered. We both love breastfeeding and I feel that we have an amazing bond due to this.

Thank you so much to breastfeeding together for all your help in the first 6 weeks, the weekly phone calls helped ensure I never felt alone. And I used online chat a few times when I was really worked up and worried when she was having her issues, which helped calm me down and kept me going without ever reaching to formula.

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether on 23/05/19 as part of the sharing sunday series.

Finally the sun is shining!!

And while in the BfT office we have our own air conditioning related issues to deal with  we know that lots of our mums and babies are struggling too!

Often babies can become a bit more unsettled in the heat, keep them as cool as you can and out of direct sunlight and feed feed feed!

Exclusively breastfed babies don’t need cool boiled water or any additional drinks, your milk will become more watery and thirst quenching in the heat to meet your baby’s needs. This can sometimes result in heavier wet nappies or the occasional green poo, which should go back to yellow if (when!) the weather goes cooler again. Remember you can’t over feed a baby at the breast, so ‘If in doubt, boob out’- you can simply meet their needs for food, drink or comfort, any time any place.

Sunny days and impromptu barbecues can often bring other challenges to think about. If you’re going to be at family or friends’ houses, don’t forget to make sure you’ve somewhere safe for baby to sleep whilst you hopefully relax in the sun. Car seats are not suitable sleep spaces so make sure you’ve got somewhere firm and flat, like your pram, and that you’re using a parasol rather than a blanket to keep the shade off, to avoid severe overheating.

Many mums ask at this time of year about hayfever medications. Many are compatible with breastfeeding, but always check out the ‘Drugs in Breastmilk fact sheets’ to make sure what you are taking is suitable.

So enjoy your fun in the sun, and I’ll prepare next week’s topic Tuesday……how to keep babies warm in freezing temperatures.

https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/how-can-i-keep-my-baby-safe-during-hot-weather/

https://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/drugs-factsheets/

Hi I’m Sarah,

One of the many who work within BFT. I have two monsters who drive me crazy, but am more than lucky to have.

 

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeeding together on 17/04/19

Making a decision to breastfeed your baby may be a very easy one, or not, and it’s a very personal choice. At BfT we’re all about giving families the information they need to be able to make an informed feeding choice.

I’m Emma mum of 2. I started volunteering almost 2 years ago. I volunteer at Beech Hill group, live chat and provide support at RAEI’s maternity ward.

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether on 14/04/19 as part of the sharing sunday series.

Prior to trying breastfeeding, I never really liked the idea of it to be honest. I never thought it would feel natural. From the beginning, myself and my wife always said I would give breastfeeding a try, but if I didn’t want to or if I couldn’t then we were more than happy to formula feed after those first few feeds of colostrum.
However after his arrival, it becane more important and I became more stubborn, as the times he did latch well, I absolutely loved it and felt so proud that I was directly feeding our son the goodness that comes with breast milk.

I would say our journey started antenatally. I had gestational diabetes and it was suggested by one of the midwives at clinic to collect colostrum, due the benefits of this to help to control the baby’s blood sugars. From week 37 I tried to hand express colostrum. I wasn’t able to express any so my wife got in touch with BFT on Connect and Share for advice. Vikki offered to come out and see us. I declined as I was too embarrassed. How stupid does that seem now, lol?!

Straight from birth our breastfeeding journey was difficult, our little boy Austin couldn’t latch, we tried every two hours and I think every midwife and student had a go at trying to get him to latch in any which position possible. I still wasn’t able to hand express either, so midwives and students alike would express for me, and syringe feed and top up with formula via a cup. Austin had jaundice so we needed to ensure he was feeding well. As syringe and cup feeds are generally given by the midwives rather than parents, my wife and I weren’t able to actually feed our boy ourselves. One of the (many) midwives to try and get Austin to latch noticed I had flat nipples (I never knew that was a thing), so we tried a nipple shield, he would then intermittently latch. We thought this was the road to our successful breastfeeding journey. On around day 5, I started to express with a pump and we would bottle feed the expressed breast milk (EBM), if he wouldn’t latch. It was an amazing feeling that we were finally feeding our son.

Upon returning home, I tried to continue with getting Austin to latch, he would maybe latch 2 or 3 times a day varying in time from a few mins to 55mins. It was getting increasingly difficult for Austin to latch even with the nipple sheilds. He would scream and cry and get himself so worked up each time, and in turn I would get upset. The BFT have been such a support, be it online chat, on the phone and of course the numerous visits I had from them. Sometimes, just having them come out and reassuring me that I was doing a good job, was the best feeling ever, and just what I needed.

As Austin’s demand went up unfortunately my supply didn’t, despite pumping day and night. Therefore, we continued to feed EBM and also top up with formula. Eventually, Austin was not latching at all so I continued to pump, even when I had damaged nipples, as I wanted him to have my breast milk so desperately.

Austin had bad reflux and struggled to gain weight, again this was discouraging as I felt I was failing our son. He started to gain weight well, despite the reflux. It was then advised from the paediatric team to put him on anti reflux milk, as by then he was on roughly two thirds formula and one third EBM via a bottle. The anti reflux milk made a massive difference but he would still throw up alot of the EBM feeds, so we stopped giving him EBM and we froze in bags. I stopped pumping at around the 4 month mark and have around 60 bags stored for when Austin needs it.

I am so proud to have got to the 4 month mark, and I know I didn’t fail our boy, I certainly tried through blood, sweat and tears!! I found the Connect and Share Facebook group to be a great source of encouragement. Although I found breastfeeding hard, it has been so fulfilling knowing that I have given our boy the best start in life.

Everyone’s journey is different and not always straight forward, be proud of your achievements no matter how small you think they are. You’ve got this!

 

 

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether as part of the Topic Tuesday series.

Feeding choices, The World Health Organisation gives us five different feeding choices, when it comes to feeding our babies, and lists them in the order of preference.

Four of these are quite well known.

We’ve got exclusive breastfeeding and expressed breast milk coming in as first and second and a combination of breastmilk and formula milk, and exclusive formula feeding as number 4 and 5.

But then what’s in the middle, what’s number 3?

Ok, so it’s a bit of an obscure one, and not one that’s well known, or really ever considered in our society where we have easy access to formula milk, clean running water and sterilizing equipment.

It’s donor milk.

Yep, the milk from another mum.

So, it’s not just from the mum in the next bed to you in the hospital, but from a human milk bank. Mothers express and donate their breastmilk to the milk bank. It’s treated like blood donation, mums are screened and the milk is sterilised and pasteurised.

We get it, it sounds a bit strange, why would anyone want to feed their baby someone elses breast milk, especially when formula is so readily available and viewed as the norm. But remember, it’s only really seen as odd because it’s from our boobs! Donated milk gets a strange look and questioned in a way that donated blood never really does, but it can actually be as vital to a baby’s survival as blood can be.

Very premature babies can struggle to tolerate formula milks (in some cases it can cause a serious illness called NEC) And as mums who have birthed premature babies can often struggle to produce breast milk, doner milk can become a lifeline.

Breastfeeding mums can apply to the human milk bank to donate their breastmilk, knowing they are helping these babies.

Other mums may choose to go down a less formal route. ‘Mum to mum’ milk sharing exists, and sites that put mums with extra milk in touch with mums who are in need are only a Google away! This milk isn’t tested or screened and you accept the risk, but for many families the risk of giving untested breast milk that you know another mum is giving to her own baby out weighs the risk of giving formula milk and creating potential allergic sensitisation within the baby’s gut, the risk of over feeding, and not offering baby all the additional antibodies and immunity breast milk gives. Milk sharing can also suit mothers who want to donate just what they’ve got when they’ve got it rather than having to commit to more regulated donation.

Either way, number 3, donor milk can play a big part in many breastfeeding journeys.

Hopefully the more milk donation is talked about the more we can help to normalise it!

#believeinbreastfeeding
#donormilk
#milksharing
#humanmilk

Hi!  

My name is Jess, I have 2 young sons, both of which I breastfed for different amounts of time, after intensive support with my second I decided I wanted to give something back and applied to do the Level 2 Peer Support training, I completed this in March 2018 and have been actively volunteering since. I have volunteered across many different settings but I mainly volunteer on our live chat service or on the maternity ward.

In July 2018 I was lucky enough to be offered a paid role with Breastfeeding Together, I provide information to mums antenatally at various clinical settings across the borough and also visit mums postnatally to provide them with breastfeeding support.

I really enjoy being a peer supporter and being able to support mums with their feeding choices.

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether as part of the Sharing Sunday series.

I’m Ashley and my little girl is called Ivy-Grace I always wanted to breastfeed from the start of my pregnancy. I was really looking forward to all the benefits it has for my little girl.

When she was born we seemed to be doing well until day 3. She was admitted to hospital with jaundice. Whilst we was there her blood results came back saying she was dehydrated which upset me, making me feel I was letting her down. I was advised to top her up with formula to help hydrate her and get her weight back up.

When we got discharged, Breastfeeding together visited me at home to support with my feeding. I continued to breastfeed because this is what I wanted, but continued to give her some formula too. I also expressed to give her some breastmilk in a bottle so she wasn’t always having the formula. I continued expressing for when I’m not with her due to me being at university for two days, but I didn’t want this getting in the way of our breastfeeding.
The home support from breastfeeding together was fab. I use the Facebook group, Breastfeeding Together Connect and Share, to get information and ask for support.
6 months later my journey still continues. I am still breastfeeding with a nipple shield, and I still Express. I’m so pleased and proud I’ve continued to provide breastmilk for my baby for this long.