Just after my son turned one, I returned to work and he started going to nursery. He picked up hand, foot and mouth disease during his first few weeks there, and so began his first nursing strike. He became dehydrated, as he was barely having any fluids, and after six days the doctor sent us to the … [Read more...] about A week of nursing strike
Breastfeeding Matters
LLLGB members receive a bi-monthly publication in the post or via email. Here are a selection of articles from recent issues of the magazine.
What do you say when people ask why you breastfeed?
“I just don't know what to say to my friends. They can see me struggling with breastfeeding, and they can't understand why I don't just formula feed like they are. They're all going to the cinema next week without their babies, and there's no way I can go with them because I can't be away from my … [Read more...] about What do you say when people ask why you breastfeed?
Twelve Months of Mothering – A Good Night of Sleep
Children’s sleep is a much discussed topic in parenting communities, in the media, on social networks and in families. Often, when a new baby is expected, well-meaning souls warn of the sleep deprivation to come and the challenges of getting enough rest. Before I was a mother I too thought of the … [Read more...] about Twelve Months of Mothering – A Good Night of Sleep
Twelve Months of Mothering: Carrying the Load
Recently, comic artist Emma took the internet by storm with her comic strip illustrations of the mental load carried by women. I looked at her work knowingly, nodding, feeling empathy for so many women in similar positions to me, who have to know and remember everything. This is the part of being … [Read more...] about Twelve Months of Mothering: Carrying the Load
Life with a new baby across the world
I have always been a keen reader, and in the sleepy haze of my first baby's earliest weeks, I was delighted to discover that I could get plenty of reading done during our long breastfeeding sessions. I found my tastes had changed a bit, though; I really struggled to enjoy almost any fiction, as I … [Read more...] about Life with a new baby across the world
Dear Mama
Dear Mama, I’m coming soon, to be with you, and there are some things I wish you knew, about feeding me, and how we can be together. I come hard-wired to feed, and usually, you won’t need to do very much but follow my cues, you’ll need to learn those, watch and see my rose-budded lips … [Read more...] about Dear Mama
Finding the right support
My second child has recently turned one and I find myself once again breastfeeding a wriggling, giggling, distractible toddler. I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for the best part of four years, which is incredible when I think how hard it was to establish breastfeeding with my … [Read more...] about Finding the right support
My breastfeeding journey
I never for a moment doubted that I would breastfeed, it had never even crossed my mind that I might not be able to breastfeed; unless you count the times I imagined what would happen if I died or became hospitalised and wasn’t allowed access to my baby. During pregnancy, I couldn’t really think … [Read more...] about My breastfeeding journey
Moving heaven and earth
Before my first baby was born, I fully expected that I would happily return to the teaching work which I loved, and that in most ways my life would carry on as before. My husband and I had just bought a house with a mortgage that depended on our two salaries. I had accepted the terms of my … [Read more...] about Moving heaven and earth
Mothering through special care
Rebecca’s second son was born early, and spent several weeks in Special Care. Here she writes of that difficult early time, and of learning to balance her fragile newborn’s needs with those of her older child. Throughout my first pregnancy I felt like some sort of earth goddess woman – strong and … [Read more...] about Mothering through special care