Bottles and Teats

I get asked a lot of questions about bottle and teats.  Read full article

 

I wish someone had told me before...

some mothers share their thoughts

We asked the question from a group of mothers, to prepare other mums-to-be for the truth about life after baby arrives

Read the full article

Breastfeeding Pics

A customer recently shared these b/f photographs with us.  View here  cluck cluck

 

Warming Infant Formula

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority have provided some key points about warming baby bottles.  Key points and full document can be viewed here: Warming Infant Formula

 

 

Dads & Breastfeeding

 

A real story from a Dad. "It shocks me that dads don't want to help out with mum and baby especially in those first few days.  Since my wife was hurting I would do all the nappy changes and I would let the new mummy sleep. I loved looking in to my babies eyes and saying I'm your dad and NO ONE can take that away. Coming home, my wife recovered really well after her C sec, I put that down to a great LMC and myself, I didn't let her do ANYTHING except make milk and sleep. I joined a Mens Group and was shocked with the amount of guys who didn't think that a baby would change there life. They were complaining about the lack of sex Continue reading…

 

Breastfeeding & Ministry of Health

I’m involved with the Ministry of Health’s “Breastfeeding Campaign” in New Zealand.  You might have seen some of the adverts on TV and in magazines.

 

The next phase of their project is using social media, and creating a 2-way communication with NZ mothers.  The emphasis is that breastfeeding is a normal part of life.

 

It would be fantastic if you could please spread the word to your contacts, and come and join yourself. 

 

The page has just started (after weeks of discussion and approvals!)  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Breastfeeding-NZ/193386893968

 

(Its nothing commercial though)

New Baby Gifts

A few ideas on the perfect baby show gift, read the full article here: http://www.breastmates.co.nz/newborn_baby/Gift_Vouchers.html

Feeding baby with a tube

"My daughter, who is now 18 months old, absolutely refused to latch on when she was a newborn (to my despair). So the first photo shows her at one week old being fed expressed breastmilk via a tube that she sucked from my finger. As you can see in the photo I kept on doing skin to skin contact to hopefully encourage her to latch. After 4 weeks of persevering (and help from my midwife, a lactation consultant and a cranial osteopath!) she finally started to latch on to the breast and we successfully breastfed until she was 12 months old. The second photo shows her having a feed at 20 weeks old."

Words shared by a customer

View baby feeding tubes like the one used in the first photo

View more breastfeeding photos

Read more breastfeeding stories and tips

 

BF after CSection

A friend of my recently said she would be willing to share her story on Breastmates Website "Due to complications, I had my first baby at 37 weeks by way of "elective" (and I say that very loosely as it was not my choice!!) c-section under General Anesthetic followed by a Total Thyroidectomy operation - and so I woke up about 3 hours after my daughter Emily was born. I was determined to breastfeed and stressed for days prior to the operations/birth about how I was going to achieve this when I needed an operation immediately following the c-section. However I did manage to breastfeed exclusively despite this (with the help of my fabulous midwife) by way of expressing colostrum prior to the double operation (which was fed to Emily via syringe) and then with the midwives help who put Emily on and off my breast for the first day or two …. Continue reading the breastfeeding story

 

Medela BPA

A customer asked me these questions about the Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump:

1. Is the Medela Breast Pump  product BPA free?     Yes all medela products are BPA free.

 

2. Seems like the breast pump does not come with a teat for the bottle.  Will teats from other bottles fit?  Is there a BPA free teat I can buy that will fit the bottle in this set?  No medela do not manufacture their own teats in New Zealand, but I always recommend these “Chu Chu” ones.  They are BPA free, fit medela bottles, but also are rather unique in that baby has to suck with the same motion as breastfeeding so doesn’t get lazy.  Ideal if you are doing both breast and bottle.  There is more information about this product here:  http://www.breastmates.co.nz/store/Feeding/Teats/chu_chu_teats.html

 

Boob Size

“How Long Do your boobs Stay Big?” When women are in their first trimester of pregnancy, they will usually notice a change to their breasts.  Some may increase a cup size or two, and other women may just have a feeling of more fullness. This size usually then stays the same for the majority of your pregnancy.  You may also notice that the band on your bra feels tighter, which is because your ribs are expanding to allow room for your baby.  This is the reason that nursing bras have 6 rows of hooks around the back, as you can wear them during your pregnancy too. Lactation Consultants suggest not to wear any underwires during your pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester, as this can impede the development of milk ducts.  Another reason why you can wear a nursing bra during pregnancy, as none of our HOTmik bras have underwire. What's the 'best time to asses your bra' is another common question…...   You can continue reading the full article here:  Breastmates

 

 

Breast Feeding Videos

Here is a collection of Breastfeeding Videos that I’ve been working on.
Ad: Breastfeeding Videos Wanted
Baby Feeding Tube
Breastfeeding Sounds
Crying Baby Milk Squirts
Dream Feed
Extended Breastfeeding
Latching for Feed
Nursing Baby
Waiting for Letdown

Boosting Your Breast Milk

Here are some articles that I’ve written about how to improve your breast milk

Breastfeeding Food Intake
Complan Milkshake
Drinking Alcohol While Breastfeeding
Improve Breast Milk Supply
Lactation Boosting Cookies

 

Breast Pump Questions

I get a lot of questions about breast pump parts, so I'm compiling a list of common questions.  The spare parts for Avent and Medela breast pumps are listed at our store (Breast Pump Parts) but if you are not sure about the parts you need, please contact me.

Avent Spare Parts for Manual Breast Pump
Avent Uno Breast Pump Parts
Breastshield Sizes for Pumps
Medela Breast Pump Parts Diagram
Medela Breast Pump Parts- Harmony Swing Diagram
Medela Power Adapter
Medela Valves
Motor Unit for Medela Pump
Tubing for Breast Pump

Breast Pump Tight

Medela Breast Pump Not Working
Medela City Style Bag
Medela PNS Pump
Medela Pump Motor

 

Breastfeeding Pictures

Here are some beautiful breastfeeding photos that our customers have sent us.  Feel free to send us yours too!

We really want to encourage you to take a few shots while breastfeeding your baby, its such a special moment to share between mother and baby

Baby Feeding at 6 months

Big Brother Helper

Breastfeeding 3 hours old

Breastfeeding 8 month Old

Breastfeeding Newborn

Battle to Keep Feeding

Breastfeeding Pic

Lacta Aide Feeding Tube

Close Up Image

Feeding with Large Breasts

First Feed 45 minutes old

Full Figure Breasts and Nursing

Glamour Photo

Gorgeous Big Eyes

Multitasking Breastfeeding

Newborn Baby

Nursing in Bath

Breastfeeding in Bath

Nursing with Large Breasts

Professional Portrait 

Upright Breastfeeding

Wedding Day

Mother and Baby Photograph

Skin to Skin Day 1

BF at 8 days old 

Nursing at 7 and a half months

Loving the Breastfeeding

 

Bottle Feeding Articles

This is a summary of the articles that I have been writing about Bottle Feeding

Bottle Feeding - Storage and Heating
Bottle Feeding Costs
Bottle Feeding Special Teats
Bottle Feeding Tips
BPA Free Bottles
Heating Baby Bottles
How to Give Baby a Bottle
How to Prepare Baby Formula
Large medela bottles
Medela Bottles
Starting Baby on a Bottle
What Baby Formula to Buy

Baby Kicks in Belly

I asked a question to the mums on my Facebook page, to describe how it feels when you first feel baby kicks in your belly for the first time  How do you know what it feels like? With my first son, I felt the kicks at about 21 weeks.  But with my second son I did feel them earlier, about 18 weeks, because I recognised the feeling.  For me it was like a muscle twitch - you know how sometimes you get those in your eye?  Well this was a muscle twitch in my belly, and then it was a ripple feeling.  But the end of my pregnancy, there was no doubt about baby movement, and sometimes I could see a heel or some belly movement through my maternity top! When you start to get further along in your pregnancy, there will be a lot of baby movement!  Midwives say that you should feel (and count) 10 kicks per day so that you know baby is okay.  Take a look at our Reminder Wristbands - they will help you keep count of what number kick you are up to during the day so you can make sure you get all those kicks.  Then after baby is born, use this as a reminder for breastfeeding times. Anyway, read our article about how mothers described their first baby kicks

 

Thank you to the ladies that contributed their thoughts.

Breast Pump not Sucking

medela breast pump not working?

If your medela breast pump is not working, there are a few things that you can try at home first: With the little white membrane and the small plastic valve parts: Valve and Membrane: Is it there? What condition is it in? Has it become distorted or torn? Are there any cracks in the valve head? Is the membrane clean etc? Often problems can be resolved by putting on a new membrane.

Read the full article here and more helpful tips for your breast pump  http://www.breastmates.co.nz/breast_pumps/Medela_Pump_Trouble_Shooting.html

 

How to use a breast pump

Expressing breast milk with a breast pump is a very strange experience and it does take a while to get used to it.  Different models of breast pumps make different noises, some are quieter than others

Don't be surprised if you don't get a lot of milk when you first start expressing.  For your first attempt a volume of 20mL would be a good effort.

It does take time to build up your milk supply, especially if you are breastfeeding baby and also using a breast pump for extra milk storage

Read the full Breastmates article here