Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Tuesday Baby Link-Up : Week 31

Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!


Another week gone by, I cannot believe how quickly the month of May has flown by! We are enjoying the mild winter weather with warm days and cool nights, spending plenty of time outdoors (I find we spend more time outdoors in the winter than in the summer because the sun is just too hot in summer). This weekend we will be making the trek to join up with a local March Against Monsanto, have you found your nearest march? Here's a google doc of all events worldwide.


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Placenta Encapsulation in South Africa {Guest Post}

Melissa from Organic Birth shares a bit about placenta encapsulation and how it is growing in popularity in South Africa. 

Placentophagy is the act of consuming one’s own placenta for cultural, religious or medicinal reasons. This has been reported for decades to help stop the baby blues and diminish postpartum fatigue. Some women have cooked the placenta in a stew, mixed it into a smoothie, or even taken it raw to tap into its powerful effects. For many who feel squeamish about this or want to reap the benefits of placenta for more than just a day or two, there is another option: encapsulation. Powdered placenta has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries. In the study “Post-birth Rituals: Ethics and Law”, it states that at least 10% of South African mothers wish to take home their own placentas for either consumption or for post birth rituals. With the availability of placenta encapsulation, we estimate this percentage to rise.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Tuesday Baby Link-Up : Week 30

Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

I do apologise this is going up late! Still plenty of time to link up below! :)



Saturday, May 11, 2013

GIVEAWAY: Naturalmente Bio Baby Body Cream, Body Oil & Baby Shampoo Set {25.05;SA}

Naturalmente is offering readers the opportunity to win a hamper of their Bio Baby products, including their Calendula Chamomile Body Cream, their Calendula & Chamomile Nutrient Body Oil and their Mandarin Baby Shampoo. For entry details, please read to the bottom.
Naturalmente is a great ethical choice if you are looking for body and especially hair care products in South Africa. They stock a wide range of products ranging from body, hair to baby care and even have a natural home care range. Naturalmente products are gentle on us, and the environment. They use ethically sourced ingredients which are organically grown and harvested, and use only essential oils and natural fragrances. Even their packaging is Eco-friendly! Products are available to purchase from their online shop for ultra convenience.

 photo Bath_zpsfaa7f6ff.jpg
Jesse loves water, full stop! :)
The Bio Baby range does not contain petrochemical by-products, preservatives, sodium lauryl sulphate, mineral waxes, paraffin and silicones nor does it use synthetic fragrances, oils or colourants.


Wednesday, May 8, 2013

30 Before 30 Challenge {Update}

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On my birthday last year I posted this list of goals, or to-do's that I wanted to accomplish before my next birthday, i.e. before I turn thirty. I promised to keep you all updated on how I was doing, but that didn't really happen... until now! ;)

I have been slowly working my way through this list, ticking them off and changing a few as I grow and as my circumstances change, here is how it stands at the moment.
1. Start my diploma in nutrition - this one is not going to happen this year, mostly because instead I have started a diploma in metaphysics. I will postpone this goal until after I have completed my metaphysics diploma. So, number one will now read: Start my Diploma in Metaphysics :)

2. Find a daily routine and rhythm that I can stick to and be proud of - who knew this would be so difficult! Wow, anyone with any tips, please share them! Clearly I am not a routine kind of gal, and we never know what we are doing from one day to the next... my poor son :(

3. Write and publish a small ebook - in the works, watch this space ;)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The Tuesday Baby Link-Up : Week 29

Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

My sister has left gone back to the UK after a lovely three week visit, *sniff. And now life goes back to normal :) Expect a few more blog posts from me this month, I have big plans :)



Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Tuesday Baby Link-Up : Week 28

Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

We have had such beautiful weather this past week here in South Africa, the days have been quite summer-y. I hear we are in for a warm winter, which makes me smile - I don't enjoy the cold. We had a busy weekend of two birthday parties, so plenty of avoiding sugary foods and explaining why to nosy but well-meaning relatives ;)



Thursday, April 25, 2013

Mama on the Mat - For Healthy Kids

Today I welcome Jennifer of Every Breath I Take for a guest post on the best ways to get your children involved in your yoga practice. Jesse loves the idea of doing yoga with me, but more often than not doesnt end up doing many poses, Jennifer has some great tips here and spoiler alert, you can get Jen's current 5-class virtual yoga series for only $25 when you register using the discount code MAMAONMAT!

MamaOnTheMat_LG 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The Tuesday Baby Link-Up : Week 27

Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

Have you all seen my current giveaway? Joanna Steven has kindly offered up two copies of her wonderful eBook, The Milky Way: The Ultimate Guide to Breastfeeding on a Raw Food Diet, be sure to enter for a chance to win!


Thursday, April 18, 2013

Latching [Guest Post]

Welcome to Mommy's Milk : A Breastfeeding Series, today I welcome Rachel from even one sparrow to share her experience and advice on latching whilst breastfeeding.

Alright, here's my deal with breastfeeding.
Everyone posts about how it's not easy but it's amazing, and then they give a gazillion pointers on how to get through the rough patches.  But can I tell you about MY rough patch -- the one that tends to get glossed over?

Latching.
It absolutely drives me crazy to hear things like, "Latching is as simple as X, Y, and Z."  Because you know what?  I've tried X, Y, and Z.  A million times.  And latching has never been that simple for me or for my babies -- not for my first daughter, nor for my second.  For whatever reason, latching has been and always will be a source of great difficulty for this small little family.

Since I figured I'm probably not the only one with this problem, I thought I'd share a few things I've learned along the way to ensure a good latch (or at least, help steer you in the right direction).  

Please note:  What I will NOT do is give a step-by-step guide for getting a baby to latch.  Numerous resources from lactation experts are available (herehere, and here, among other places).  Personally, I "knew" the diagrams inside and out, but it didn't actually do anything until I followed the following steps.

1) Diagnose the Actual Issue 
There could be a number of reasons why your baby is not latching.  Are your nipples flat or inverted?  Do you have an overabundant supply?  Is your infant tongue-tied?  Seriously, before you get worked up over the whole thing, really figure out the exact issue.  

For instance, with my first child, I had flat/inverted nipples and ended up using nipple shields for three months to get her to latch (I wouldn't recommend using them for three months, but that's a separate topic).  With my second child, I figured it was the same issue -- until the lactation consultant informed me that my nipples were now fine having breastfed my first child.  It took me a while (and a lot of research) to actually diagnose the problem this time: an overactive letdown and overabundant milk supply.  These are two entirely separate issues with entirely different solutions.

2) Lactation Consultant = Your Biggest Ally 
Before you go ahead and try to figure it out on your own, save yourself the headache: see a lactation consultant.  They'll be able to see things you don't and can save you WEEKS of unwarranted stress.

Now to be honest, LCs don't come cheap, so do some digging in your area and with your insurance.  For instance, I found out that my insurance will cover an LC visit if it's connected to a practice.  Luckily for me, one of the doctors at the pediatrician's office is also an LC.  Problem solved.  Some other idea: La Leche League, asking around for friends of friends who are training to be an LC, etc.

However you can manage it: go see a lactation consultant early on before habits form and before tears are shed.

3) Play With Positioning
Find out what positions are best for what type of problem you may be experiencing.  For instance, did you know that the football hold is the best position for mothers with flat/inverted nipples?  Did you know that the side-lying position is the best position for moms with an overactive letdown/overabundant milk supply?  Did you know that there are moms who don't even use the typical 3-4 positions and make up their own?  

So try the positions out.  ALL of them.  At different times.  Is it time consuming?  Yes.  Will you be able to breastfeed and multitask?  No.  But it will be temporary.  Figure this out, and your baby will get more effective at nursing -- and, over time, will become a better latcher.  

4) Have Patience
It won't be easy.  If you don't have a baby that latches naturally, you have to go in to breastfeeding with great patience.  I freaked out the first time around and didn't give myself or my daughter the time and patience needed to get the latch down correctly.  I wanted to rush things.  Eventually (three months in), she got it -- but maybe she would have gotten it sooner had I just had patience.

This time, I didn't freak out in the hospital.  I asked for help, and I tried out different things.  I let my daughter take her time.  If she started to get upset, I gave her to my husband to calm her down before trying again.  I had patience.

5) Change the Scenery 
If nursing in bed isn't working and you're both getting flustered, take a minute and change locations.  Seriously, I would get so worked up in the middle of the night that we'd wake up my husband or my toddler, that it wasn't worth trying to figure it out in bed.  So for the first few weeks, I'd run downstairs to the couch and try again.  We were both calmer and it helped to just change the scenery a bit.

6) Relax
...and by this, I don't just mean, "breathe," I literally mean R E L A X.  Find a position that's comfortable.  Make yourself comfortable.  Get more pillows.  Get a glider.  Get whatever you need and can afford to make yourself INCREDIBLY comfortable.  I couldn't believe what a difference it made once I gave myself the extra two minutes I needed to rearrange the pillows on my bed.  If I was relaxed, my baby was relaxed.

7) Research, Research, Research
And finally:  use the internet.  I just spent hours upon hours reading every article I could on breastfeeding -- even ones that I didn't think related (special thanks to Christine of this blog for her breastfeeding series -- which I de-voured!).

Also: don't underestimate the powerful help of Youtube.  I just searched high and low for videos on different positions, different latching techniques, different breastfeeding issues, and some of the videos I found were unbelievably helpful.  


Rachel Stephan Simko is a mother of two, a professional writer for a marketing company, and loves cooking with squashes.  She blogs about faith, simplicity, and mommyhood at even one sparrow.