Split the trees

The sun is shining, it has been roasting for the past few days and I really think Shakespeare was onto something when he wrote, "For now, these hot days is the mad blood stirring."  (Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 1)

Anyway, I know that my blog post yesterday might have raised some heckles and I've been in enough bunfights on the Mumsnet forum regarding formula feeding vs breast feeding to know it is an emotive subject.   Some of the sites I read only refer to formula feeding as artificial feeding and breastfeeding as natural feeding, but I guessed that may have been a step too close to alienating people, so I refrained.

I know my point of view is unlikely to be shared with 100% of my readers and that some will think I'm an actual cow for producing milk from my breasts and harping on about it  (But some of the facts were there, folks and I can't apologise for that)

So, to be more lighthearted today I'm posting videos of 2 of my favourite songs from the past few years. 

The first came out in 2007 and I used to dance like crazy when it came on the radio, just a lovely summer tune and even Adam was dancing to it this morning.   The video isn't great, but ignore that and listen to the song.  Generator, by The Holloways.

  The second is one of my favourite songs ever, although it might be a strange choice for that category.  It came out in 2008 and is darker in tone and subject.   Unlike the above, this video is superb and really suits the song.  Listen to it at least twice and you too will love it, perhaps or perhaps not.  Handlebars, by Flobots.

Fight for your right (to breastfeed)

In case it has escaped your attention, I am a lactivist.   I was so happy to breastfeed Adam for 11 months and intend to do it again (and possibly longer) with our second baby when he/she is born.

The best and most wonderful thing is the knowledge that you aren't stuffing your child full of chemicals from the day and hour he/she is born.   With breast milk you're actually feeding him/her milk tailored by your body to suit his/her needs - sometimes it is more watery to quench thirst and other times it is thicker and richer full of fat and nutrients.  It is always at the right temperature and you don't need to worry about heating it up or fretting that you've heated it up too much. 

I will sound sentimental if I say much about how breastfeeding impacted my emotions and self-esteem.   Not only had I given birth to the most lovely baby born in 2010, but my body had fed him for 11 months and he was thriving on it.   Even now he's almost 2 and a half years old he is rarely sick and is a picture of health, thanks to me passing my anti-bodies to him via milk.

We have been breastfeeding from the beginning of time, but in the past number of decades the West has been pushed this notion that formula is as good as, if not better than breastfeeding.   Better perhaps in that it means a mother can leave her child earlier to return to work, or social occasions, but not better in the fact that it costs the mother a lot of money and is not as good for her own health or that of her baby.   

"...the fact that a mother can put a baby on the breast and do something else while breastfeeding, and have the baby naturally come off the breast when it’s had enough, was seen as disorderly and inexact. The medical/ scientific model replaced this natural situation with precise measurements – for instance, how many millilitres of milk a baby should ideally have at each sitting – which skewed the natural balance between mother and baby, and established bottlefeeding as a biological norm.

Breastfeeding rates also began to decline as a consequence of women’s changed circumstances after World War I, as more women left their children behind to go into the workplace as a consequence of women’s emancipation – and the loss of men in the ‘killing fields’ – and to an even larger extent with the advent of World War II, when even more women entered into employment outside of the home.

‘There was also the first wave of feminism,’ says Renfrew, ‘which stamped into everyone’s consciousness in the 60s, and encouraged women get away from their babies and start living their lives.

So the one thing that might have helped – women supporting each other – actually created a situation where even the intellectual, engaged, consciously aware women who might have questioned this got lost for a while. As a consequence, we ended up with a widespread and declining confidence in breastfeeding, a declining understanding of its importance and a declining ability of health professionals to support it. And, of course, all this ran along the same timeline as the technological development of artificial milk and the free availability of formula.’" (The Ecologist) FYI, this is a BRILLIANT ARTICLE, click to read it NOW!

Formula feeding requires lots of expensive kit - teats, bottles, anti-colic liquids, steriliser (although this is handy to clean a breast pump), bibs, bottle cleaning brushes, pots of powder formula at around £8 a week etc etc.  If you go to a local supermarket or chemist you will be overwhelmed at the amount of formulas on offer - those for newborns up to 6 months, formula packed full of extra crap for 'hungry babies', formula for babies over the age of 6 months, formula for children aged +1 year, formula for children +2 years.  Astonishing.

Getting mothers to believe she cannot breastfeed, or that doing so is odd is a marketing man's dream and we're sold it as being the norm in Northern Ireland.   For every £20 that is spent promoting formula by the manufacturers 14p is spent on promoting breastfeeding (Thomas, P.; 2006).   Actually, they aren't allowed to advertise formula for babies under the age of 6 months as a way to stick by the World Health Organisation's (WHO) guidance that breastfeeding to 6 months is optimum.  So this 14p is basically spent on posters and leaflets, I can't see much else.

"‘If anybody were to ask ‘which formula should I use?’ or ‘which is nearest to mother’s milk?’, the answer would be ‘nobody knows’ because there is not one single objective source of that kind of information provided by anybody,’ says Mary Smale, a breastfeeding counsellor with the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) for 28 years. ‘Only the manufacturers know what’s in their stuff, and they aren’t telling. They may advertise special ‘healthy’ ingredients like oligosaccharides, long-chain fatty acids or, a while ago, beta-carotene, but they never actually tell you what the basic product is made from or where the ingredients come from.’

The known constituents of breastmilk were and are used as a general reference for scientists devising infant formulas. But, to this day, there is no actual ‘formula’ for formula. In fact, the process of producing infant formulas has, since its earliest days, been one of trial and error.

Within reason, manufacturers can put anything they like into formula. In fact, the recipe for one product can vary from batch to batch, according to the price and availability of ingredients. While we assume that formula is heavily regulated, no transparency is required of manufacturers: they do not, for example, have to log the specific constituents of any batch or brand with any authority.
Most commercial formulas are based on cow’s milk. But before a baby can drink cow’s milk in the form of infant formula, it needs to be severely modified. The protein and mineral content must be reduced and the carbohydrate content increased, usually by adding sugar. Milk fat, which is not easily absorbed by the human body, particularly one with an immature digestive system, is removed and substituted with vegetable, animal or mineral fats.

Vitamins and trace elements are added, but not always in their most easily digestible form. (This means that the claims that formula is ‘nutritionally complete’ are true, but only in the crudest sense of having had added the full complement of vitamins and mineral to a nutritionally inferior product.)" (ibid)

Northern Ireland has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe and the lowest in the UK.   Even though we have generous maternity leave packages many mums still don't attempt to breastfeed beyond the first feed in the hospital, or at all.  

I was brought up in a family of non-breastfeeders, each with their own reasons but the main one being a shrug and a 'formula is just as good' attitude.  Fair enough and I'm not saying anything bad about their decision as I love my family, just that it wasn't an attitude I agree with for myself and my children.

When pregnant I read a lot about breastfeeding and dug into my hippy earth mother heart.  I decided I wanted to breastfeed and wanted to do it fearlessly.     However, despite being 25 years old when Adam was born I had never actually seen anyone breastfeed so I had no baldy clue how to do it!  Thanks be to my midwife in hospital who gave me a stack of leaflets and helped me with Adam when he was a newborn to get him latched on and positioned correctly.   I made a vow to myself that I wanted to breastfeed in public so other women could see it happen and learn it is normal, and for younger people to see it and accept it is perfectly natural.  One of my favourite memories is of a close friend's 4-year-old daughter seeing me feed Adam and asking me questions about it.   She was curious, accepting and glad that Adam was happy.  Of course I was always discrete, and I did have a few wobbles of confidence when around people who I knew were uneasy with it.   In those cases I took myself and Adam to another room for privacy, but in my heart I deeply resented it.

I know I come across as a bit evangelical about this topic and it might be alarming to some, but it genuinely is something I feel passionate about.  Read the points below: how could one not be passionate about that?!

Reasons to be proud

First Feed:

• For baby – helps to stabilise baby’s blood sugars and protect baby’s gut.
• For mother – a great opportunity for the first skin-to-skin cuddle.

1 Day:

• For baby – the antibodies in mother’s colostrum provide natural immunity from infection. 
• For mother – helps womb to contract to normal size.

2-3 Days:

• For baby – sticky black meconium is cleared more readily from baby’s bowel. 
• For mother – instant relief for hot, swollen breasts when milk comes in.

1 Week:

• For baby – transition to world outside womb is eased. 
• For mother – frequent feeds mean time to sit or lie down and for you to get to know each other.

2 weeks:

• For baby – food & drink always ready at the right temperature, adapting to the baby’s needs. 
• For mother – hormones help you to get back to sleep after night feeds.

4 weeks:

• For premature babies - lower risk factors for heart disease in later life. 
• For mother – saves time sterilising and making up bottles.

6 weeks:

• For baby – half the risk of chest infections now and up to 7 years old.
• For mother: Breastfeeding likely to be easier and you can go out and about without bottle feeding equipment.

2 months:

• For baby – lower risk of food allergy at 3 years old if breastfed only.
• For mother – reduced risk of ovarian cancer in later life.

3 months:

• For baby – five times less likely to get diarrhoea now and a reduced risk for the whole year.
• For mother – fewer visits to gp as baby is less often ill.

4 months:

• For baby – Half the risk of ear infections.  Less risk of asthma now and protection continues for up to 6 years.
• For mother – feeling of empowerment at having been solely responsible for growing your baby for 4 months.

5 months:

• For baby – five times lower risk of urinary tract infections.
• For mother – a lovely way to reconnect with the baby if you go to work.

6 months:

• For baby – lower risk of eczema now and up to three years old.
• For mother – less risk of osteoporosis in the long term.

1 year:

• For baby – three times less risk of becoming obese by age six and a lower risk of heart disease as an adult.
• For mother – no need to by formula milk at all saving at least £450 this year.

2 years:

• For baby – likely to have higher average scores in intelligence tests.
• For mother – expect fewer visits to orthodontist when baby is a teenager.  Risk of breast cancer reduced by 8%.

The usual shoutout when mentioning breastfeeding is for someone to say, "Oh I couldn't breastfeed because of X, Y, Z" and I accept for some there are illnesses, medications, circumstances whereby breastfeeding is harder or not possible.  But for all my reading about it the % who can't breastfeed is something tiny like 2%.   It appears to me that either a lot of that 2% live in my town, or there just hasn't been enough education or support to help the 98% do it. 

Group B Strep

I said a few posts back that I was intending to do a post about Group B Strep (GBS) which I was diagnosed with last month.   This is that post.

DISCLAIMER:- I am not a medic, in fact I only got a D in GCSE Science.   Whatever I write about GBS here is just a mix of information I've learnt from different websites and leaflets from the hospital.  

Seriously if you type 'Group B Strep+pregnancy' into Google you will find scores of sites.  You'll find medical advice from different countries and forum debates.  In amongst these are people's stories and experiences about perfectly healthy babies, illnesses caught and treated and also experiences of infant death or disability caused by GBS.  

Some of the best info I've got has come from Mumsnet forum but I am slightly biased as I love this site for every sort of debate, advice and time-wasting imaginable.  

Also good is the UK based Group B Strep Support and the hospital info I was given was taken from this site.

If you're looking for some medical info about the use of IV anti-biotics for treating GBS in pregnancy then you could do worse than read this Cochrane Summary.   To be honest I have only skimmed it, but will read it fully closer to the time of my due date and before speaking to the Consultant next month.

When I was diagnosed with GBS it was following an internal examination and resulted in me being given a 5 day course of oral anti-biotics.   GBS is a common bacteria found in around 1 in 3 women at any one time, in itself it isn't harmful and people rarely are aware they carry it.  The only reason it was an issue for me is as I'm pregnant.

www.sogc.org says "It is estimated that 15 - 40% of all pregnant women are GBS colonized (which is have tested positive for the infection). Between 40 - 70% of colonized mothers pass the bacteria onto their babies during the birthing process. While most babies are not affected by the bacteria, a very small number (1- 2%) of these babies will go on to develop a GBS infection. Babies who are infected with GBS may have mild to severe problems which may affect their blood, brain, lungs and spinal cord. No one method of screening (testing) and treatment will prevent all GBS infant deaths." (2011)

The way in which the baby is exposed to the infection is after the women's waters have broken, as till then they are a protective sac for the baby.   Due to this, myself (and other women in my position) have been advised to go straight to hospital when our waters break so they can start off the IV treatment to best effect.   

         When my waters broke with Adam's labour I hung about at home for a few hours before the pain got too bad and I wanted to go to hospital.   This time I just have to go straight in, which already worries me as I'm concerned about who I'll leave Adam with, what time of day it will be and if I'll have a long labour like I did last time (Adam's labour was 17 hours from waters breaking-his birth).   Furthermore, waters breaking is only the first sign of labour for a % of women, but I suppose I'll find out what way this labour will go when it actually starts.   All I know is, I need to be ready to get myself to hospital swiftly.

 Some women are at higher risk of passing the infection on to their babies:

• If labour starts pre-term (which is before 37 weeks)
• Those who have labours lasting +18 hours
• If they have a fever during labour.  
• If they have had a previous pregnancy with GBS

Likely there are other risk factors, but these are the main ones listed.  To be honest at this stage I don't have any of these risk factors, but I suppose I'm still only 27 weeks, so don't know when I'll go into labour with this baby.  

The treatment I've received so far has been to get those oral anti-biotics, to have 2 big 'Group B Strep ALERT' stickers put on my ante-natal notes (not quite a leper but still it certainly marks me out), and to be told by the midwife at my scan that I won't be under midwife led hospital care when in labour, but rather I'll be treated by a Consultant.   We have a meeting with this Consultant next month and I'm looking forward to hearing what she has to say.

When I'm in labour I'll get IV anti-biotics every 4 hours (I think) and this is a preventative measure to ensure that the baby can have the treatment but without actually having to have the anti-biotics him/herself.   If for some reason my labour is really quick and I don't get the IV, then he/she will have to be treated directly, which I really don't want.

I've read a bit about risks of anti-biotics for newborns, basically there is a slight chance their body could be allergic or reject the meds which could mess them up, but my thinking is that the chance is that small that it's worth the risk.   I'm prepared to be swayed on this, but currently that's my thinking.

The hope is that this IV during labour will prevent the baby having the infection passed into their system.   The hospital will keep baby and I in for around 48 hours after birth for observation.    This is quite a nice thing and I think being in hospital will settle my nerves a bit, plus give me time to get used to breastfeeding again and to have some 1-1 time with this baby before I go home.   Of course I'll miss Andrew and Adam (and Matilda the cat!!) but I know it's important to be in hospital. 

The observation in hospital is really to look out for the 'early-onset' infection,

(ibid) "There are two types of GBS infections that can happen to newborn babies. The most common type is called early-onset disease. In this case, the babies are almost always infected during their journey down the birth canal because the bacteria were in their mother's vagina. The symptoms of early-onset infections show up before the baby is seven days old. Some babies show signs of this infection as early is six hours after birth. Early-onset disease can cause infections in a baby's lungs, brain, spinal cord or blood. This type of GBS infection can be very serious and frequently hard for a newborn baby to fight off. This is the infection that antibiotic treatment in labour is aimed at preventing."

The types of illnesses a baby can have range from meningitis, swelling of the brain, blood poisoning or infant death.   Have read a few stories about these online, which is upsetting and worrying, but the vast majority of them have been in babies where in the infection wasn't know about in the pregnant mother and thus not treated during labour.

(ibid) "The second type is called late-onset disease. In this case, the babies don't show signs of a GBS infection until after they are more than seven days old. About half of these babies were also infected during their birth. The other half became infected after the birth by being in contact with their GBS positive mother, or another person who is a carrier of the disease. Late-onset infections can also cause serious problems for the newborn. The most common problem is meningitis - an infection of the membranes which surround the brain and spinal cord. The risk of late-onset disease is not decreased by antibiotic treatment in labour but antibiotics are available for the baby once it is born. Babies with early-onset disease are more likely to die than those babies with late-onset disease."

I am sad to have GBS.   I know there are many other issues I could have, but still I really didn't want to have GBS.   On the other hand, I'm thankful that it was picked up because it means I can be treated.   Screening for GBS is not routine in Northern Ireland, although it is in various other countries.    There are campaigns to roll out routine testing in NI following the deaths/illnesses of babies in recent years:

NI-centric

Poots and campaign

I've been told that getting the IV during labour isn't a big deal, and I agree it isn't.   I've had IV treatment before (with fluids and pain killers) when I was hospitalised with hyperemesis, and I'm not afraid of having a drip in my arm.   I'm just worried about the possibility of what could happen to my baby, that unknown 'what if?' is hanging over me and I won't be able to settle till he/she is born and I see a picture of health.

I'm trying to just focus on each step:- getting through the final trimester of pregnancy, getting to hospital when my labour starts, ensuring Adam is well looked after, getting through labour and all the related blood and gore of that, and having my little newborn placed on my chest when it's all over.   

I just want to be alright and for the newest addition to our family to be alright too.

Pray for us, please!   Now while I'm pregnant and onwards till August comes. 

Pee and poo

I am too afraid to count up how much I have spent on nappies since Adam was born, but I estimate I could have bought a car with the money spent.   This estimate does not make me happy and is the main reason why I've resisted doing the sums...  Suffice to say I spend around £12 every fortnight on nappies.   I'm throwing cash into a huge pit and creating a mountain of landfill.

With that in mind I'm seriously considering using cloth nappies for 2nd Baby C when he/she arrives in the summer.   I know this further cements my hippy credentials, but I really do think those earth mothers are on to a winner.  

The cloth nappies of 2012 are vastly different to the terry cloth nappies fastened with a clip used decades ago.   In fact, the ones on the market today look like disposable nappies, except they are washable material, suitable for the washing machine, with a liner which can be binned or cleaned for re-using.   Not to mention the fact that they come in super-cute designs and colours....

I've been looking online and am overwhelmed at the huge range of choice.   I genuinely have no baldy clue what to do next!  

Some councils in England (and possibly Scotland) offer grants to parents wishing to use cloth nappies.  Great for them and shows good intentions regarding the environment.   Pity that I live in Northern Ireland where we haven't caught up with them.

Furthermore, some websites I looked at offered 'Trial Packs' to offer mums the chance to try a few different types before they chose what suited them and their baby.   Delighted I clicked the link only to be told that the nearest suppliers of this service were in Fife, Scotland or Chester, England.   Both are +120 miles away from where I live.  Meh!

So my quest continues!   2nd Baby C isn't due until August, so maybe by then I'll have been taken by the hand by some wise oracle and advised well, or maybe I'll find a website that answers all my questions.  To give them their dues the websites I've seen have been really informative and easy to navigate, but it's just the sheer amount of information that baffles me!  

Any tips, ideas or Northern Ireland centric businesses please get in touch with me.   I have money I'm willing to spend, as long as it's less outlay than a car (or 2+ years of buying disposables).

Here are some websites I've been looking at and enjoying, if you too are curious about turning away from disposables and instead using cloth then have a look at them:

Go Real Nappies 

Dr Momma

Ok so this one isn't a site about nappies, but another mum who has put together a huge list of nappy related links

....When you're having fun.

I'm hurtling towards the 3rd and final trimester in my 2nd (and likely final) pregnancy.

Currently sitting in the living room watching Question Time, which I'd recorded during the week.   Got up at 6am, oh lovely early waking due to extreme need to pee and extreme Irish dancing by baby.

Andrew and Adam are both still blissfully asleep, so I'm enjoying the peace, quiet and lack of incessant CBeebies watching.   Ahhh!

Anyway, the point of this post is thus:-

It'll come as no shock to learn that Andrew and I have been parents since Feb 2010 when Adam was born.   That is +2 years.   Take into account the 9 months of pregnancy and we've been parents for 3 years.

Lots of changes over those 3 years, some of which don't require dwelling on or trying to figure out.   Other changes have brought joy, reassurance, and maturity.

We were recently in Portugal on holiday.   Our son is 2 years old, and has travelled to Ireland, Hungary, Ukraine, Scotland, Switzerland and Portugal - some of this was while he was still in utero, but still he's a well-travelled child!

Adam, enjoying the Portugal sunshine, April 2012

He is a little man now, not a baby.   Still our precious first born, but he has his own little personality, preferences, appetites and phrases.  I could look at him all day, and one of the double edged swords of being a stay-at-home-mum is that I often do look at him all day as I'm with him all the time.    But he's part of me and when I look at him I see flashes of myself - the intense blue of his Hamilton eyes, facial mannerisms and tones of voice.    I also see his dad reflected in him - the Cupples nose, the lack of facial freckles, the sandy brown hair.   In short, Adam is a super-cute child!

At home, in PJs, January 2012

These two years really have flown.   I remember back to when he was around 4 months old and going through a growth spurt.   He was at that stage of development when he was learning how to hold his own head up, getting stronger, starting to edge slowly towards being able to sit upright and move more.  He used to cluster feed for long periods every day for around a fortnight or so.   I was demented, sitting up in bed hourly during the night feeding him, looking over at Andrew who stayed asleep.   I used to swing between two thoughts: 1) I love Andrew so much for being my husband and giving me this baby, 2) I want to kill Andrew for not having breasts or being able to lactate right now.

But we got through it, Adam grew and new blessings and challenges came in the form of teething, walking, speaking, ability to eat with a fork and spoon.   Plus all the rest that goes along with parenting and teaching a young child.  Small tiny pieces of a huge wonderful jigsaw.

I see him running the length of our living room, arms behind his back, pretending to be a duck.   I see him running round in circles moving his arm like he's pulling a cord, shouting "choo choo" pretending to be a train.   I remember back to almost exactly a year ago when I used to stand him at the side of our bed and encourage him to walk to me where I was sitting about 3 foot away on our bedroom floor.  He used to take a step, falter then fall down.   But he got there eventually and it was great!   I saw his first steps and his dad was the second person.   Not a nursery worker or a relation.    When he first learnt to walk he was unsteady and fell over a lot, he used to walk in a straight line but not know how to turn corners.   Now he runs full speed, is more flexible and able.

Him learning to walk is a bit like our learning as parents.   In the early days I held him very tightly to me through nursing, through holding him a lot, through being his primary caregiver.   Now I'm learning to loosen that a little bit and he mixes well with other kids, loves seeing friends and family and will badger any visitor to our house with a stack of books he wants to 'read' to them.   We're becoming more confident and content, and so is he.

Adam and I, Portugal, April 2012, building sandcastles, woo!

Parenting a toddler has felt a bit like building sandcastles at times, but I'm a bit of a stickler for routines so he's learnt good habits and sleeps well.   I want what is best for him, as most parents do, and I think that consistency of care and routine is a huge part of this - honestly it's as much for my sake as for his.

He loves to have adventures, to test what is around him, as long as he knows he's safe and one of us is nearby.   But like his parents he enjoys a good time to rest and chill out and cake eating is a chief pastime.   In fact, the first time he ever picked up a fork and used it was to eat cake!    I can't recall exactly when it was, but I suppose around a year ago as well, I'd gone into Belfast to meet a friend for tea and cake.   Had broken the cake into small pieces to offer him some by hand, but instead he'd picked up my fork and started to lift the cake to his own mouth with it!   Impressive.   Now he's older and is a master cake-eater (just like his dad).

Adam & Andrew, Portugal, April 2012, not eating cake, but likely contemplating it.

I know having another baby will throw the mix of things askew for a while, but I'm looking forward to it all, and to seeing how it enriches the lives of the 3 of us who are already here.   I know August will soon be here as these past 2 years have flown in and time really does fly when you're having fun!

Fit to be flamed

So this has been an interesting few days in regards to people having opinions on my mothering practices.   This has caused me to raise my eyebrows ever so high, and also to chuckle at their ignorance.   Deeper down, though, I find myself annoyed and irritated with them, but generally I've been bold enough to tell them to clear off.

Cases in point:

1) On a popular parenting forum I frequent (see right-hand button linking to Mumsnet) I have locked horns with many people over the years and I have enjoyed it!  Most recently has been a poster (poster B) who innocently posted ill-informed ideas about why another poster's baby (poster A) was feeding so much.   Basically Poster A had a days-old newborn and as such this baby was attached almost constantly to his mothers breast.   THIS IS NORMAL.   Repeat:  THIS IS NORMAL.    

Poster A was unsure if all breastfed babies did this and was seeking advice.   Poster B, who claims to only have formula fed her babies, states that this is unusual and there must be something wrong with the quality of the Poster A's milk and that the baby would not thrive.  

In the most polite way possible I told Poster B to check her facts and butt out, only to be labeled a 'breastfeeding militant' and 'zealous'.   Fair enough, and I admit I am a bit of a lactivist, but poor advice like that spoils peoples good intentions to breastfeed and turns more people over to spending £££ on formula their baby would be better without.

So in case either poster is reading this - although I doubt it - and for all you lot who are interested I will explain a few things:-

• A study in Peru found that little babies who were allowed unrestricted access to their mother's breasts fed every 29 minutes.    Even if it was just a little drink for thirst, or a longer drink for hunger, the point is these children wanted fed and also the comfort from their mums very often.

• Newborn humans are not a million miles away from other baby mammals, and as such they have tiny bellies which need filled often.    If you saw a litter of pups with their mother feeding and scrabbling about for her nipples you wouldn't chastise them and tell them they needed to be taught to wait, you'd just say "awww"and see it as natural.   Why is it that humans are put off this idea by other humans?

• Breastfeeding is a comfort and bonding between both the mother-child and the child-mother.   Frequent feeding builds supply and builds emotional bonds.   That is why anyone who tells me it's weird for my newborn to be attached to my breast whenever he/she needs it will be told to clear off and to keep walking far away from wherever I am.

2) On the aforementioned forum I got into a slight bunfight with a poster when I told her that dummies where 'un-natural'.   She told me I had a 'superior attitude' and was bringing the tone of the debate down.   Ok lady, fair enough.   To clarify, I actually don't have an issue with babies being given dummies and I did buy some for Adam when he was a few months old and going through that period of teething and never sleeping.   He didn't ever want a dummy and used to scream at the mere sight of it.   In hindsight I'm really glad he didn't take one and I'm not sure if I'd even offer it to this child I'm carrying now.

What I meant by calling dummies un-natural was this: a dummy is a fake nipple which is shoved into a babies mouth to provide comfort and to keep it quiet.   Argue with me all you like, but that is the long and short of it.  A nipple is a natural part of the body and provides comfort to a suckling baby.   On the other hand, the dummy is a man-made version of this to provide comfort but no food.   No hugs, skin-to-skin required when giving a dummy, whereas to breastfeed means only the mummy will do and she needs to be there most of the time.  It seems that some people have an issue with a mother being at home or around her baby for too long and are constantly pressuring them to lose weight and get back to work.   The media is part of it, but it's a wider Western culture too if you think about it.

3) And this really took the biscuit, it happened today and I am kicking myself for not speaking up at the time.   I sort of sat there dumbfounded and only managed to tell them that I wouldn't be back for many a month if that was their protocol.   

A international parenting group (which I shall not name) is held in a local church hall and I have attended with Adam for around a year.  This is a Christian organisation, but I think that is by the by and not relevant to the argument.   He loves going there to play with other toddlers and I have enjoyed being in a separate room with other mums to chat and drink tea.

I asked what will happen when my 2nd child is born re breastfeeding as I noticed that all children irrespective of age are looked after by leaders in another room.   I had assumed that breastfed babies would be allowed to stay with their mothers, but, oh no, I was wrong.

Allegedly in the past this has offended some formula feeding mums (yes, you read that right) so the protocol is that all children are to stay in the children's rooms and if a child needs fed the mother must either go to the children's play room to feed, or take them elsewhere as mums aren't allowed to breast or bottle feed in the main mothers room.   Seriously.

This this offensive to mothers whether or not they breast or bottle feed, but it does set breastfeeding mothers apart for further alienation.   Anyone can bottle feed a baby and as the chemicals in formula fill up their stomachs for longer they likely wouldn't need a feed during the hours the club was on.

I pointed out that newborns feed a lot and how I didn't think it was right for a lactating mum to be apart from a baby that young, but I was told that was the practice and that was how it is.  

I could be getting het up about a small matter in terms of global issues, but I am a bit peed off being told this by other women, other mothers, some of whom I know have breastfed their children and must have just fallen in line with this.

Not amused by any of that ignorance at all, as you can probably tell!