Who doesn’t love a wedding? Glammed-up guests, free booze, yummy food, and the feeling of love in the air. Well, this week I found out who weddings aren’t great for; new mothers with two and a half week-old babies, sporting lingering postnatal baby bumps and overzealous lactating breasts!
Actually, the wedding was fabulous, but shopping for an outfit for it was not. I managed to scamper into town, with Rowan in the sling, between the preschool drop off and pick up, and I headed to the high street with hopeful expectations. After 3 hours, 4 outfits, 2 lattes and a few tears I managed to find a navy jump suit that provided the necessary ‘boob access’. Now came the inevitably disastrous underwear search.
Now I have to admit that I am a bit of a ‘middle of the road’ underwear purchaser – I’m a total Marks & Spencer girl. So because I’m used to getting my 2 t-shirt bras for £20 I totally begrudge spending quadruple that price just because some designer has sewed on two plastic clips to enable me to flop my boobs out. So I gave up and went with my trusty M&S nursing top.
Another way to calculate how much to feed your baby is to multiply her weight by 2.5 and divide that by the number of feedings per day (For example: 8 lb. Baby x 2.5/6 feedings = 3.3 ounces of formula per feeding). Try to start your first feeding around 7 or 8 a.m., and feed her until she has lost interest in the bottle, burped and seems full. Aug 17, 2004 Feeding Frenzy - posted in Birth-6 Months: Hello LadiesMy bub is 6 days old and we came home from the hospital 2 days ago, in hospital she slept and feed every 3 to 4 hours now at home todays shes.
I shouldn’t have worried though as the control pants I wore to keep my tummy in were so huge that I could have tucked my breasts in the top of them. And after my first sniff of Pimms in over 9 months, an hour in I didn’t actually care who was looking at me.
The wedding did highlight the ‘issue’ of public breastfeeding though. The fact that this is even a phrase baffles me. ‘Public’ breastfeeding suggests that either my baby is aware when he is mingling with the general public, and his bowel habits would tell me otherwise, or that it is a conscious and courageous decision for me to continue my parenting skills outside of the family home. If I don’t feed him in public then I either need to not go out, ever, or let him starve. Neither seem like great options to be honest.
I consider myself to be quite open-minded and understanding of other people’s opinions on most things but ‘anti-public breastfeeding’ I just don’t get. Seriously, grow up! It’s a nipple, both sexes have them, don’t be scared. I encourage all the women I see as a midwife to get out there and feed in public as early as possible, whether breast or bottle feeding, not in order to make a political stand or flash the world their areolae, but because socialising and resuming normal daily life is crucial to positive postnatal mental health. Oh yeah, and because babies need milk!
Your chosen method of infant feeding should NEVER stop you getting on with your day. Whether women feel more comfortable under a cover, in a corner, sat with other feeders, or fully exposed outside the Houses of Parliament, I don’t care, just get out there and do it.
Feeding Frenzy Free
I could go on and on about this subject, but I won’t, mainly because my baby needs feeding. But all women should know their rights, so here is a link explaining the Public Breastfeeding Rights in the UK.
XxxxxXX
Two weeks in, and we seem to be doing ok. I have managed to get both children up, dressed, fed and out the door by 9am twice this week by myself. I’m expecting my medal any day now.
My husband is taking a bit of a staggered paternity leave so this has obviously meant me having to negotiate handling a three and a half year old who adores her new brother, but who is also learning how to share her mum for the first time. We have had mixed results…
As well as table graffiti and cereal tantrums my daughter also decided she would refuse to take part in a single race at her sports day, despite her practising for weeks on end. But rather than getting frustrated or angry at this whilst I sat between the other proud parents watching all their children partake, I did what most early postnatal women do and I just cried my little heart out. So much so that another mum had to come and console me on the side lines – mortifying!
So I am therefore concluding that my postnatal feeding hormones have kicked in this week. Not only because of the irrational teary outbursts but because I am absolutely ravenous. I feel like the hungry caterpillar; on Monday Claire ate one giant bar of Dairy Milk, on Tuesday she had two peanut butter and banana sandwiches (at 4am!) and on Wednesday she devoured 3 platefuls at the Pizza Hut buffet – seriously!
But I am in good company, as Rowan has also found his appetite this week. After initially losing weight on day 5 (a very normal, physiological part of early newborn life, a post to follow on this) he was weighed this week and he is 300 grams above his birth weight. He put on 10 ounces in 4 days – chunk!
It is always so reassuring as a mum to find out your baby is thriving and gaining weight well. This is especially true I find when women are breastfeeding. It is extremely common in our society for breastfeeding mothers to question ‘whether they have enough milk’. And unfortunately frequent feeding is often misinterpreted as a sign of insufficient milk supply. I totally understand why, though. If women are brought up to believe that babies feed every 3-4 hours and that the clock plays such an important role in feeding (duration, intervals, sleep), and then their babies come out wanting to feed every 1-2 hours, sometimes with gaps of no longer than 5-10 minutes and lasting occasionally over an hour, they will naturally deem their child to be starving.
Some babies will feed every 3-4 hours but most babes certainly will not. That is why ‘baby led’ feeding or ‘responsive feeding’ is so important. Neither your mother, your neighbour, your midwife, and especially not Gina Ford, knows how regularly YOUR baby will want to feed, but luckily your baby will. So follow your baby’s lead and feed them whenever they show signs of being hungry. This way your baby and boobs will be in sync.
For the purpose of the blog and to hopefully give mums a ‘normal’ perspective of a healthy, breastfed, newborn’s feeding pattern I have recorded Rowan’s feeds over the past 24 hours.
- 22:20 8 minutes right breast
- 22:30 8 minutes left breast
- 22:47 7 minutes left breast
- 01:06 9 minutes right breast
- 01:29 5 minutes left breast
- 02:57 6 minutes left breast
- 03:04 5 minutes right breast
- 04:38 7 minutes left breast
- 06:29 7 minutes right breast
- 07:00 5 minutes left breast
- 08:09 3 minutes right breast
- 08:55 4 minutes left breast
- 09:02 3 minutes left breast
- 09:37 8 minutes right breast
- 09:55 4 minutes right breast
- 11:31 6 minutes right breast
- 11:39 8 minutes left breast
- 12:55 9 minutes left breast
- 14:35 15 minutes right breast
- 16:05 10 minutes left breast
- 17:05 8 minutes right breast
- 18:55 9 minutes left breast
- 19:20 6 minutes right breast
- 19:42 6 minutes right breast
- 19:58 3 minutes right breast
- 20:18 4 minutes left breast
He’s a feeder!
Feeding Frenzy 3 Game
Counting each individual episode at the breast that is 26 feeds in just one 24-hour period. I honestly had no idea that Rowan actually fed this often. But this schedule is HIS very own ‘baby led’ feeding log. It’s a boring read, I am well aware, but hopefully mums can take away from this that frequent feeding is often NOT a sign of low milk supply. You can also see from the feeding log that not one of Rowan’s feeds lasted longer than 15 minutes, and that I am rubbish at remembering which breast I fed off last.
Miraculously in between all this feeding I still managed to take my daughter to and from preschool, care for my new son, let our cleaner in (I’m such a trooper) and obviously I made time for a food shop.
**Sneaks off to the cupboard for a late night bowl of Rice Krispies. Or two.**
3 Week Old Pregnancy
XXXXxxxxxX