Say Milk ! : the spider hand

One thing that can get a bit irritating when you're breastfeeding is the wandering hand : in mummy's mouth, gag like, under mummy's armpit (can't stand that one!), scratching, tickling, pinching, pulling hair.

But sometimes the wandering hand is very gentle, moving tenderly, as light as a feather, like this spider hand.

Guest post : 'What being a breastfeeding peer supporter means to me!' by Becky

Our very first guest post is from the lovely Becky at This Is Me, young mum to Tyler and blogger who mixes posts on fashion and gentle parenting! Thank you, Becky for visiting our blog :)

Hi, I'm Becky, 25, mum to a nearly 2 year old named Tyler and this year I went through my breastfeeding peer supporter training!

Training to be a peer supporter was something I was really excited about taking on! I left my job when my maternity leave was over as childcare costs were too high.

I believe in empowering mothers to trust their bodies and its abilities! Sometimes this can be one of the most rewarding parts of volunteering. A mother recently came to see me worrying about her supply, firstly because her baby was going through a growth spurt (which she didn't realise!) secondly because she was pumping less milk than baby would drink from the bottle in one sitting and lastly she had a fear of baby 'emptying' the breast and running out. We spent some time together, going through how the breast works, how it never runs dry, how pumping isn't an indicator of supply and how growth spurts work. She went away with a huge smile on her face, and told me how confident and happy she now was with her ability and felt ready to carry on with her new confidence. Nothing beats that feeling!

Being a peer supporter means sharing those 'light bulb' moments with a mum, supporting through previous bad advice or 'booby traps', becoming a support network for a mother who doesn't have it elsewhere, empowering daddies (and mummies!) to help support the breastfeeding mother and to encourage and praise.

I believe more money should be spent on training peer supporters to see mums in the flesh, I know in my early days I relied on strangers on the internet to support and help me but in those lonely first 6 weeks it would've been nice to see someone. Training is my way of being that person reaching out I wish I'd had!

Peer supporting also gives me a sense of pride that I'm giving something back. I think in life people spend a lot of time taking what they can, but not often spend that time to give something back. I don't get paid for my role of peer supporter, I give my time because I have a passion for wanting women to have accessible support!




If, like Becky, you wish to be a guest blogger on our page, please email andoverbfmums@gmail.com 

What breastfeeding means for me ?

I often say that breastfeeding is a relationship between mother and baby.

And, as a relationship, a lot that defines it has to do with each individual's personality and in the case of the mother her life experience.

I knew long before I was pregnant that I would breastfeed my children. When I was expecting my first child I pictured our life together, a gurgling baby, drinking my milk and gazing into my eyes... But at 32 weeks of pregnancy I was told that my baby had died and he was stillborn two days later.
Three days after he was born my milk came in - a complete shock - and the pain of loss was even greater.
Then a while again later we had an appointment with the consultant to hear the results of the postmortem. Nothing... But the human mind has troubles coping with nothing and the consultant still tried to find an explanation to give us. He said that the baby had been a bit small, probably the placenta had not been working well (now five pregnancies later and I know that the placenta had been working fine up to the point where, for a reason still unknown, I bled inside and the baby died in a matter of hours, if not minutes). what I translated was : I haven't given to my baby everything he needed.

So it was really, really important for me to breastfeed my children, to know that my body was able to make a baby grow and thrive, all on its own, for 6 months.

It's hard to lose an unborn child. It's hard too, to become a parent. In a way giving birth is also a loss although you also gain something new. You lose the 'bump', the anticipation, the closeness of having your baby always with you. From the word go you have to start letting go, letting your baby be exposed to the attentions and feelings of others. I will always remember, when DD1 was very small, visiting a friend of my mother-in-law's and that she gave my baby to her friend to hold. DD1 started crying straight away (the friend strongly smelt of cigarette) and it hurt to witness this, it felt as if I had let my baby down.
And you have to let them be exposed to illness, accidents. Being a parent awakens the imagination and not always in a good way!

So, breastfeeding... It's a bit a continuation of being pregnant. Like blood, breast milk is a living fluid. Blood through the umbilical cord, breast milk from me to my baby.

A mum recently posted on a Facebook breastfeeding group: 'Thank you breastfeeding, for immediately calming and soothing my croupy two year old in the middle of the night. It might be tough going sometimes, but times like this really do make it all worthwhile. I'm glad we kept at it.'

This is so true, and it's really something I've learnt to value, as a breastfeeding mum, to have a poorly baby, or a baby who's had a fall, or a baby who got scared, or a baby who is sad, and being so easily and effectively able to comfort and heal.

So that's a little bit of what breastfeeding means for me. I know it will mean something very different for someone else. I know sometimes it's not to be and it can cause a lot of pain. But if that's what you really want to do and if somehow you manage to make it work, it's really worth it!

Anne x

Blocked ducts

Even with good positioning and attachment, at any stage of breastfeeding, a 'plug' of milk can sometimes block milk ducts and cause one or all of the followings :  lump, engorgement, sensation of bruised breast, tender to the touch, red patch, pain when baby latches on.

Some women find that they are particularly prone to blocked ducts and, unfortunately, it's often unclear why.

Left untreated blocked ducts can cause a lot of pain and lead to mastitis.

So, have you experienced blocked ducts? What did you do to treat it?