Burlesque Breastfeeding promotional vid on youtube

I stumbled across this pearler this morning. As you do on the internet.

I like it, I really do,
the lyrics are catchy
like the flu!

But seriously, you sexy-sassy-breastfeeding-women rock!

*singing (quietly to herself as tot is napping) baby loves mommas breast...*

LYRICS:

Apple Dumplings, Angel Cakes, Bongo Baps & Betty Boops
Cherry Pies, Charlies, Coconuts & Cantaloupes
Doobies, Dingoes, Dairies, Fleshy Flappers, Gags & Globes
Happy Hangers, Hemispheres & Heavy Hilly Homes

You make the milk, so don't let it go to waste
Woman let your baby enjoy that yummy taste

Baby loves Mamma's breast because her milk tastes the best and it beats all the rest
Baby loves Mamma's milk, when its time to re-fuel
Dontcha know how it's cool

Igloos, Jubblies, Juggernaughts, Jumbo Jugs & Jelly Jibs
Kettledrums, Kazoogas, Kumquats, Knockers & Kids
Lollies, Lemons, Lactoids, Love Cushions & Loaves
Mambo, Mammeries, Macaroons, Melons, Mounds & Mangos

You make the milk and can take it any place
Woman, let your body be your baby's saving grace

Baby loves Mamma's breast because her milk tastes the best and it beats all the rest
Baby loves Mamma's milk, when it's time to re-fuel
Dontcha know how it's cool

Nunga Nungas, Nectarines, Noogies, Norks & Nancies Nibs
Oobies, Oompas, Oranges, Palookers, Pillows & Pips
Quarts of Love, Rib Balloons, Snobs, Scones & Sweater Swellers
Totos, Tangerines, Twinies, Taddies, Tits & Tooters

You make the milk and it's ready all the time
Woman, make that tummy fat be on the downward climb

Baby loves Mamma's breast because her milk tastes the best and it beats all the rest
Baby loves Mamma's milk, when it's time to re-fuel
Dontcha know how it's cool

Tonsils, Teats, Twangers, Tweakers, Tortillas & Torpedoes
Upper Decks, Volcanoes, Wahwah & Winnebagos
Watermelons, Weather Balloons, some Wongas & Front Wings
Yabbos, Yams, Yard Dogs, some Yayas & Zeppelins

You make the milk, throw the thick stuff in the bin
Woman open up those breasts and let the health shine in

Baby loves Mamma's breast because her milk tastes the best and it beats all the rest
Baby loves Mamma's milk, when it's time to re-fuel
Dontcha know how it's cool. -- Repeat x2

Exclusive Breastfeeding in the Workplace - Philippines

We now live in the Philippines, have been for the past 5 months. It is a wonderful country filled with happy and friendly people. Also filled with poverty, heartbreaking gut wrenching poverty, which is in your face on a daily basis.

Women have babies, women need to work (its literally a life or death scenario), ALL babies deserve to be breastfed. When I first arrived I was shocked at the amount of formula available... aisles dedicated to the stuff. Plus the expense... over PHP1000 per can. Some woman who work as nannies only earn between PHP2000 and PHP3000 per month!!! (That is why formula gets watered down). Plus they leave their babes at home to go work in the cities. What ever happened to basic human rights for infants? They have the right to their mothers milk, especially vulnerable at risk infants (those living in poor families).

My husband's current employer has a new building going up, he tells me that they have really lovely lactation rooms in them for their employees. This kind of news makes my heart sing.

Milk Sharing is Making a SPLASH!

Breastmilk provides the optimum nutrition for human infants. End of. 

What happens if you truly cannot breastfeed but still want the best for your baby? Well then you will simply have to get some breastmilk for your baby. BUT HOW?

Get a hold of EatsOnFeets today: This is what they do:

Eats On Feets is an online space (with regional chapters around the world) where people can connect for the purpose of providing human milk to human babies. We strive to provide educational resources to facilitate the process of informed choice for all parties wishing to share milk

Easy peasy squeezy - go and post your request on EatsOnFeetsUK (or your local chapter which can be found on facebook and on their site EatsOnFeets.org). A lactating mum who is willing to share and local to you will contact you and you can organise to collect her expressed milk or ask her to wet nurse your baby. Visit their website and read their extensive FAQ's. Everything is covered from hand expressing to flash-pasteurization. Brilliant. Simple. Necessary. Safe. Green. Natural. Perfect. Healthy. 

How do I get my baby to fall asleep quickly at night?

* taking a short detour from this week's themes.

Let's get something straight right from the get go... I don't do CIO... "cry it out" more like "scream it out". I was subjected to my neighbours baby girl screaming for what felt like hours every night for 2 months whilst her parents let her "CIO" to learn to self soothe. I can't bear to hear my child in distress, CIO is not for me.

So I have always nursed down as part of our ecological breastfeeding relationship.

My nursling had started falling into an irritating habit of late, she has always nursed down, and for the last 6 months we have nursed lying down (we co-sleep), but lately it's started taking over an hour to fall asleep. I was getting irritated so I knew something had changed and I had to alter our night time ritual. First thing we tried was
dropping the afternoon nap, score, day 1 it took us 20 minutes to fall asleep that night.

Day 2 it took an hour... mmm... Time for another change. Previously I would give her dinner, then a bath, then some play time, then I would try to nurse her down (full feed, both sides). But lately she had started having a full feed and then play about for an hour and then nod off. Tiring and irritating. 

So day 3 we dropped her afternoon nap, at 5 she ate dinner, then had a bath, then a lie down for a full feed. Once she had nursed her fill she sat up, so we went to play for an hour then I took her back to the family bed and she  nursed down in 8 minutes! Brilliant I thought... Finally.

BUT on day 4 she started teething, we don't teeth well in our house, her entire routine gets jumbled. So she missed her morning nap and was overtired but would not nurse down, despite 3 seperate attempts. I have a home made wrap sling which I decided to put her in to calm her and lo and behold she fell asleep in 5 minutes and slept for 1.5 hours (the longest daytime nap in a long while)! That night I put her in it again to nurse down after a few failed attempts and once again she fell right asleep. I let her sleep on my chest, assuming that when she woke I could put her down to go back to sleep. Uh no... She ended up staying awake till 11pm. Rookie mistake.

So today I nursed her down for her daytime nap in the wrap sling and let her sleep on my chest (once again a long peaceful sleep) and tonight I nursed her down in her wrap sling and moved her straight into the family bed! So much easier and simpler... Why didn't I think of this before, why didn't anyone tell me? 


Ps: I think the reason she falls asleep so quickly is because she gets "immobilised" in the sling which forces her body to relax. On the bed she rolls and sits up and shuffles about (she has just started crawling and is very inquisitive by nature).

I will call it our gentle no-cry quick and simple sleep solution! Woot!

Make your own wrap sling, instructions here  (mine cost £7!)

It's not what you can do for your Doula, But what your Doula can do for you!

Doula - (doo-lah) - My interpretation of a Doulas place in the baby rearing team: Support and Love, a calm presence during your labour and a breastfeeding supporter backed up by lots of useful information and experience. They say it takes a village to raise a child, then every village should have a Doula.

Advantages of Doula Care:

"Birth companions (doulas are one type) may help with shorter labor, less medication, induction and augmentation of labor and fewer Caesarian deliveries. Newborns in supported births have lower rates of fetal distress or admission to neonatal intensive care units. More doula-supported women breastfed. Women reported greater self-esteem, less depression, higher regard for their babies and their ability to care for them and higher satisfaction with their partner.^[12][13] These results are similar to findings that support from a female relative during childbirth has similar effects.^[14]

One study found doula support without childbirth classes to be more helpful than childbirth classes alone, as measured by emotional distress and self-esteem four months after birth. Women in the doula-supported group reported their infants as less fussy than those without support.^{[15]" Wikipedia}


DoulaTam - more about me.

I did my doula training in 2007 in Johannesburg South Africa, I have had the privilege of supporting at 7 beautiful births. I am a breastfeeding supporter and have completed a lactation management course and La Leche League breastfeeding support class. 

In terms of personal experience, I had my baby at home in water in October of 2009, she was exclusively breastfed (ecological breastfeeding) for 7+ months and is still breastfeeding.

I live in West Lothian Scotland and am currently available to take on new clients. 

For further information or just a general chat contact me doulatam (at) gmail (dot) com