Best for babes - Human milk is miracle milk #bestforbabes

Since I am passionate about breastfeeding and the benefit of it for babies and toddlers, I am sharing this initiative for Mother's Day in Canada and the United States.
The first Nationwide Miracle Milk Mother's Day Stroll will be held creating awareness that human milk helps save the lives of 500 premature infants that die annually.

I have a large number of readers from that part of our Globe, and I think it is wonderful that they are planning to highlight the importance of human milk to babies.

Miracle Milk Stroll

Press Release - 1st Nationwide Miracle Milk Mother's Day Stroll


To take part, people can register for the walk, donate money, and even donate breast milk.

The importance of Donor milk for preemies

How cute are these?

Miracle Milk t-shirst

PediaSure for sure?

I was invited to a talk on child nutrition, but was unfortunately not notified that it was cancelled! Not nice when you organise with Hubby to pick up the little one, and drive through afternoon traffic to get to venue! Luckily it was a great venue and Hubby and Little Missy joined me at Panettones in Parkview. Definitely a place to go with little ones.

So I got the goody bag from the marketing people, which includes pamplets on PediaSure, and a Mr Growing Grass Head which are giving us a daily fun factor when we arrive home. To see how much the "hair" has grown!

I am giving extra vitamins to our little one, but I don't think supplements are the final answer to nutritional deficiencies. We need to get the right stuff from the original source. But sometimes it can help, especially when you knows she needs that extra oomph after a few days of bad eating.

We tried the PediaSure milkshake and it is very tasty. I can't get my preschooler to drink milk. Only once in a blue moon, and then only a few sips. I don't know if it has anything to do with my extended breastfeeding (which hasn't stop), but I think she is only getting a little bit at this stage.

I am not worried, as my oldest was also not into drinking milk!

The Pediasure tastes like vanilla milkshake, and she loved it. But she also only drank half of the glass!
I think I will try and put the PediaSure into some of our food to get her to consume more. They have very nice recipes to try out!

There are days when the sweets of the day far outweigh the healthy food consumed! It happens with a manipulating picky eater who LOVES the sweet things in life! This is great to have in your cupboard as a back-up when you want to ensure they get in a little bit extra nutrition!

Disclaimer: I got the goody bag with the PediaSure as pictured in the photo above.

Day care woes and first report card

The working mother has a daily nightmare. Worrying about the day care and leaving your child in the care of somebody else is a daily niggle at the back of your mind. Especially if you leave a crying child, or a very sad face, in the hands of somebody else.

Even more so when you pick your baby up from school (last Thursday), and see that she has not had anything to drink for the whole day. When you taste the “milk” bottle, you find that they have mixed the milk powder with the fruit juice. (Horrors!)

I have spoken to the people before about giving Mieka all her bottles during the day, and it really bugs me when I see that she as only offered the one bottle during the day. Apparently it is also problem to not heat up the bottle in the microwave... (One of my pet peeves - I do not heat food or anything else for Mieka in the microwave.)

I wrote a long letter to the school again on Friday, to ensure that there is no misunderstanding. I do hope it is the last time I have to ask them. Next time: Powerwoman to the rescue! (Determined face!) I will take it to the head of the school, or else! (You know what! Mothers do not keep quiet when their children are involved.)

Mieka got her first report card back from the day care:

• It states that she is a “pleasure in class.” (That’s our little girl! Big smile by Mom!)


• “She is too young for certain activities.” (Is she in the right class?)


• Also that she has adapted well! (Big smile again!)


• She apparently also has a problem with putting stuff away – she has to be “encouraged”. (We are working on that! Wink smile!)

I like getting feedback in the form of report cards. It helps us to focus on the areas where there is still a developmental need. I will focus more on teaching Mieka about the identification of her body. She could only identify a few of her body parts. (Does she need to know all of them by now? She is 17 and a half months old.)

Expressions

I am a bit sad today. I have been contemplating to stop expressing milk at work, but yesterday it came to decision time. I have been struggling to remember every day to express at exactly the same time. If I did not do it on the minute, my milk takes long to “come in”. Yesterday my milk did not come for both times. So I had only a measly portion of milk to send to school today. It becomes very stressful. The day mother also told me that Mieka does not like drinking milk, and mostly prefer her food. So, from now, I will only be giving her the breast at night, and early before she goes to the crèche. Because I am sad already, I wonder what I am going to do at the end of the year when I am planning to stop breastfeeding altogether?

Expression and lactations

I am still breastfeeding at seven and a half months. Great! I think so! I think so?
From the beginning I said I would see for how long I could carry on. Arnia (the 16-year old) did not want anything to do with a bottle while she was breastfeeding, and at 4 months I had to put her on bottle only. That was extremely traumatic (for me mostly) at the time.
When I went back to work in May this year (2009), I took my breast pump with me, and closed my studio twice during the day to express milk. I am still doing it, and sending two bottles with Mieka to the daycare.
(One of my biggest fears still is that I will walk out of my studio with my boobs still hanging out.)
The rest of the time she is still breastfeeding – at night, during the night (red eye syndrome for me), and in the mornings before I drop her off at daycare.
At seven months I am still trying to get used to the breastfeeding thing. In the beginning it felt like she was hanging on my breasts 24/7. I could not do anything else. And it was extremely sore. They tell you it is not supposed to be sore, because you are doing something wrong. Like latching… When I was hospital, I tried to ask for somebody to help me with the latching, but nobody ever pitched up. Is it worth it to complain now? And when I complained to the doctor that she latches very strongly, and I can’t get her off, he just shrugged and said that I must time her… Yeah, right!
Luckily we are past the extremely trying first few weeks. Dries, my husband, said he was not used to seeing boobs all the time. And he did not say it as if it was a good thing, or a treat to him.
And my boobs are still not my boobs. I miss my B-boobies which could fit into any top. I hope I hope I get them back.
I still don’t know when I am going to stop. When Mieka is one years, or two years? It is stated on the Purity baby food jars that it is good to continue breastfeeding until they are two years of age. (A very long time…)
The other thing that is sometimes very trying is when you are expressing at work, and the milk does not “come in”, or you don’t get the letdown reflex. I give myself 15 minutes in the morning, and again in the afternoon. Maybe it is stress, but sometimes I can sit with the electric pump running, and nothing is happening. I have also noticed that when I do not stick to a precise time-frame with regards to the expression of the milk, I do not get the desired amount. Mostly I do not get more than 100ml of milk at a time. I know it is supposed to be more, but I have decided that it is still better to give that, than nothing at all.
But all in all, it is a wonderful feeling to have the little one drinking from you. They are so completely dependent, and there is nothing that makes her go to sleep as putting her on the breast. Maybe that is why I am still doing the nightly rounds?
I have asked Dries to stand in for me. We are going to arm him with bottles tonight, and I am going to SLEEP! He always says that he is also not sleeping, but I bet you that it is much better to stay just where you are, than to get up every hour, or on a two-hourly basis. I can’t wait to hit the cushion tonight!

Photo by Patrick Pretorius.