Natural Nursery Blog

Many breastfeeding mums are happy  to breastfeed just about anywhere and in all circumstances. For them the very idea of a breastfeeding shawl is confusing. Why would you need one? “If my breastfeeding offends you, just put a blanket over your head” says a series of messages going around Facebook and other social networking websites. I write from Scotland mums have a legal right to breastfeed in public. In nearly 5 years of breastfeeding my children, I have breastfed in many places and never received a negative comment, only smiles and nods. Sometimes a giggle when the person sitting across from me didn’t realise there was a baby hiding in the sling, only the gurgling sound gave it away! One day, breastfeeding my two-year-old in an overcrowded train got the ticket inspector to find me a seat in first class.

So why would you need a breastfeeding shawl?

Not everyone is comfortable breastfeeding in public and having a shawl to give yourself some privacy feels reassuring.

Even if you don’t mind breastfeeding in public, it may make some people around you more uncomfortable. Maybe you don’t mind, maybe you do and that’s fine too. If it helps make parents, grandparents, other relatives and friends more supportive of your breastfeeding then it may be worth it.

A  breastfeeding shawl will also make breastfeeding more comfortable as it protects you from the cold. It allows you to see clearly how your baby is latched on while respecting your privacy. This might be important when your baby is a newborn and you need to check that the latch is optimal.

It also creates a quiet space for babies with less stimulation. Some babies are easily distracted by sounds and light, the breastfeeding shawl will help isolate them slightly from what’s going on around them.

Breastfeeding shawls are well designed and convenient to use to breastfeed your baby, whether you’re in the house or out and about.

What makes a breastfeeding shawl different from any other scarf is that it has a weight in one corner which will help the shawl stay in place. Your hands are free, you can rest, eat a biscuit, hold your baby, drink some water, read a book to your toddler…

A great present for a new mum.

breastfeeding in public

“Excuse me madam, were you about to nurse your baby?” asked the waiter.
“Oh no, here we are!” I thought

I was in a restaurant with our families and my 2-month old son. Friends had told me stories of how nursing mothers had been harassed when they were breastfeeding in public and asked to leave or cover up. I was fully expecting a negative comment when the waiter continued:

“Would you like a more comfortable chair?” the waiter continued.
“Oh!….yes, thank-you”, I was dumbfounded.

After changing my chair, he brought me a complimentary decaffeinated coffee and some chocolates. Talk about VIP treatment!

Fay sent us this story when her little boy was 7 months old and still happily breastfed.

Breastfeeding a baby is hard work, it takes determination, patience and perseverance so such warm welcome and recognition of their commitment to their children is always very much appreciated. Every time someone smiled to me or offered me a seat while I was breastfeeding my babies, it warmed my heart and left me smiling for the rest of the day, no matter how tired I was.

So if you come across a breastfeeding mother, don’t sigh and turn your head straight away. Look at her in the eyes, smile then turn your head! She is not doing anything illegal, she is feeding her child the way nature intended, the way that guarantees the best start in life for her baby. What would you prefer in the bus? A screaming baby? Or a contented baby snuggled up against his mum? Most likely you’ve come across dozens of nursing mothers before and never noticed them.

In the name of my fellow nursing mothers, we thank you for your support.

Medela

Before choosing the products to sell in Natural Nursery, we review dozens and dozens of products. We ask breastfeeding mums what they think of the products. Quality, easy of use, design, every aspect is carefully considered.

For breastfeeding mums, we have chosen to carry the Medela breastfeeding products. Medela has been a pioneer in supporting breastfeeding and serving mothers and babies since 1961. Medela actively promotes breastfeeding as the best form of nutrition for babies and young infants.

Breast milk provides baby with all the nutrients they need for the first six months of life and helps them to grow into healthy children. No other milk, food, drink or even water is required. The WHO recommends that children be breastfed at least until 2 year old.

Medela’s products are designed to support a mother’s desire to breastfeed her baby as she wishes. This means helping a mother maintain her milk supply when she is away from her baby either at birth or when she returns to work.

Their research has led to the development of breastfeeding aids that are physiologically correct and are easy to use, reliable and of a consistently high quality.

Extensive research on electric breastpump (University of Western Australia) has developed the 2-Phase Expression® technology (stimulation & expression), the only research-based breastpump that imitates the baby’s natural sucking rhythm, resulting in faster let-down, increased milk flow and reduced pumping time.

Medela is also the only manufacturer who continuously invests a significant share of its profits into medical research on breastfeeding.

The Medela breastfeeding pledge: “We pledge our dedication to breastfeeding as the best nutrition for babies and families. We further pledge that our breastfeeding accessory products and literature shall never be used to influence mothers to switch from breastfeeding to infant formula feeding or to promote artificial baby milk in any way.”

Breastfeeding advice

New mums hear it over and over: ‘Breast is best‘. Yet few of us are familiar with breastfeeding before our baby is born. We might not have had other nursing mothers around us to learn from.

Trust yourself. Remember that nature has planned for women to feed their babies. The culture of artificial infant feeding is making natural feeding more difficult.

Here are a few suggestions to prepare yourself to breastfeed.

Learn. The more information you will have, the easier it will be to take in all the breastfeeding advice – often conflicting – you are given when your baby is born and make your own decisions with the help of health professionals if need be.

Talk about breastfeeding with your antenatal midwife. Make sure that she is supportive of breastfeeding and is trained to give you support and breastfeeding advice.

A supportive partner is essential for successful breastfeeding. Explain to your partner how he can support you, prepare snacks and drinks, pass you the baby, be supportive when you are encountering difficulties…

While you’re pregnant, make a list of all the breastfeeding resources available in your area. Should things not go smoothly at some point, it will be a lot easier to have their contact details handy so you can find breastfeeding advice quickly.

We hope you have found this article interesting. For more breastfeeding information, visit BreastfeedingNaturally.co.uk.

Using nipple shields can help breastfeeding

When my son was born, I was so happy and really looked forward to being a new mum. In hospital, breastfeeding went well. The nurses would help me latch my son on to me correctly.

When we arrived home, it became much harder as William couldn’t latch on correctly. I became very emotional and felt like a failure because I could not get him positioned.

My sister came over to help and brought some nipple shields. I found these a life saver and with these I could get my son to latch on and take my milk. Gradually I managed to wean my son off from the nipple shields. The nipple shields made breastfeeding in public difficult so I was glad to stop using them and start going out more often.

My son wouldn’t settle when he was lying down so I took him to see a cranial osteopath. She noticed that as he had a trapped shoulder from being delivered by ventouse. This might very well have been the underlying cause for the breastfeeding problems. After a few sessions she relieved his trapped nerve and he became a completely different baby.

William was now contented and would settle much more easily. I wish that I had taken him to Cranium Osteopath when he was only days old. It would have saved William and I a lot of stress and upset from the latching on issues.

William is now 11 months old, and I still breast feed him. I am so glad that I never gave up on trying to breast feed and feel this has helped the two of us share a close bond.

Please note: whilst nipple shields are an excellent way to protect sore and cracked nipples, if the symptoms persist we recommend that you consult your midwife or breastfeeding counsellor as incorrect positioning and/or latch are often the cause of soreness. Using nipple shields for prolonged periods of time can interfere with your milk supply and cause nipple confusion.

Breastfeeding Naturally supports nursing mothers

We would like to introduce the latest addition to the Natural Nursery Family, welcome to Breastfeeding Naturally.

We believe that breastfeeding is natural: all you need are breasts, a baby and tremendous support. Nursing mothers sometimes need more help.  Breastfeeding Naturally offers carefully chosen products, breastfeeding information and great customer service.

From breast pumps, to aids for breastfeeding problems, nursing bras and breastfeeding pillows. We also stock easy to use baby slings. If someone else needs to feed your baby and you’re worried about nipple confusion, we stock feeders and feeding cups. We strongly believe that the benefits of breastfeeding are immense. Mums should be free to breast feed as long as they want, even after going back to work. We hope that you will find everything you need for successful breastfeeding (and stay comfortable too!)

You will also find information, breastfeeding tips and babywearing advice. Read other nursing mothers’ stories, including mums of twins or preemies. You will see that there is one theme that comes back over and over throughout the stories is how trying breastfeeding can be at times. It takes determination, knowledge and support. Prepare while you’re pregnant and tell your breastfeeding friends over and over: in many cases, it doesn’t have to be as hard. Get some help early on. Visit your local breastfeeding support groups, make a note of all the breastfeeding helplines that you can call for advice, support and to talk to another mum who is trained but has also been there.

Breastfeeding Naturally is a family-run business based in Exeter. Founded by Arabella Greatorex who breastfed her daughter and experienced breastfeeding problems at first, it aims to bring support to nursing mothers. It complies with the WHO International Code of Marketing for Breast Milk Substitutes.

Don’t hesitate to contact us, we are here to help.

breastfeeding

Help other mums breastfeed their babies and win a £100 gift voucher! We all take comfort in support from mums around us and knowing that other women have been there before us can make a big difference. Tell us your breastfeeding story and share it with other mums. If you can, send us a photo as well.

We look forward to sharing your experiences. Whether you found it easy or struggled, whether you stayed at home or went back to work and continued breastfeeding, whether you had support from your partner, travelled a lot, had older children to keep happy, breastfed your toddler… Share your stories.

Your breastfeeding stories will be published on our new website Breastfeeding Naturally. Breastfeeding Naturally will launch in a few weeks, bringing mums in the UK everything they need to breastfeed their babies successfully.

Send your stories to competition@naturalnursery.co.uk before November 7th. The winner will be drawn at random among the entries. To be entered, stories will be 150 words minimum and include a note to say you agree to see your story (and photo if applicable) published.

The Mother Magazine

I discovered The Mother magazine after my little girl was born and read it cover to cover without stopping. I was amazed by the thought-provoking views on pregnancy, birthing, breastfeeding, education, home-education, vaccination…

In a world where so many things make us doubt our skills as mothers and parents, where we are supposed to listen to so-called experts, supported by studies which often contradict each other, The Mother magazine brings a refreshing view: trust your instinct as a woman, as a mother, as a parent… Trust that we can follow our instinct to birth our children freely, to breastfeed them as long as they need it, that home education is a real option, that natural parenting and organic living aren’t just dreams …

Each editorial, article, story, recipe pushed me to challenge my preconceived ideas, to think things through for my children and my family. I don’t live by everything the Mother Magazine advocates. My children were born at home and breastfed until they gave up when they were ready, they were carried about in baby slings. Now they are in school, we aren’t vegetarians but what I love about The Mother magazine is being challenged to think more about our choices and to know that there are alternatives that I might want to explore at some point.

The Mother Magazine is in danger of closing, get your subscription now! If you are a business, consider advertising as well, their readers are loyal customers.

LatchAssist for Flat Nipples

Breastfeeding is the best start in life for your baby but sometimes it can be hard to achieve a good latch if you are suffering from flat nipples or engorged breasts.

Both these are temporary conditions but can prevent you from breastfeeding comfortably.

Luckily, Lansinoh have launched the LatchAssist to help.  The LatchAssist gently draws out the nipple, allowing your baby to correctly postion the nipple in their mouth, helping to create a good latch.

The LatchAssist has received very positive feedback from midwives and costs £7.95 from The Natural Nursery.

Luckily, most mothers don’t need to use nipple shields as they and their baby take to breastfeeding naturally.

For some mothers, however, nipple shields are a vital, if temporary, item to help them establish successful breastfeeding.

Nipple shields are used for protection if the nipple becomes sore or cracked.  They slip on over the nipple and the baby sucks through them.  As there is no direct contact between the nipple and the baby’s mouth, this can be less painful for the mother.

It is most important to realise that sore or cracked nipples are NOT the norm and are usually the result of a poor latch so it is vital that the mother receives support from a breastfeeding support worker, midwife or health visitor.  The aim is always to move to breastfeeding without nipple shields as quickly as possible.