Supporting a breastfeeding group, I get an eyeful of newborn every Wednesday. It is lush. I love everything about a tiny baby: the way the curl up (though mine never did), their often closed eyes, their fragility. I am in constant wonder that this is where life begins. But I do not want one. Not now. Of course, if I were take a test tomorrow and find it positive, I’m sure my feelings would change without prompt. Just covering myself … →
Jetlagged, Friday night found me playing with tupperware on the kitchen floor (with Talitha, I promise), procrastinating from childproofing the kitchen. Laurence came home to a powerful reminder that housekeeping isn’t why he married me. I stared at him for a moment, trying to work out why he’d come home from work early. Then it clicked, he wasn’t early. I was late. I was supposed to be meeting Mum of One, Purple Mum, Medicated Follower of Fashion, Knitty Mummy, Mutterings … →
So many points in our breastfeeding journey have given me space to reflect. The last time we got back from Trinidad and Tobago, I was still buzzing with excitement over the revelation that I was making enough milk to breastfeed without other milk, expressed or artificial. This time, I’m just feeling quite celebratory about how easy and enjoyable breastfeeding my fifteen-month-old made our trip. So I’ve come up with five benefits of breastfeeding while traveling. If you’ve taken this show … →
It’s been pretty quiet around here. We’ve just got back from a month away in Trinidad and Tobago. So much has happened in that time I can scarcely believe it’s only been four weeks. It was just enough time to make me feel disoriented and a bit sad upon returning to Bristol. The distance from my parents hurts more now that we have Talitha to share. I always leave wondering whether I’ll ever live there again. Not knowing the answer … →
We’ve just come to the end of day nine of Talitha’s mystery illness. A sick baby on holiday – not exactly planned for. A paediatrician I spoke to over the phone thinks it’s a minor virus. Up until day three I thought she was teething. With not a swollen gum in sight and an unrelenting fever, it was pretty clear something else has been going on. She seems to be getting better now but she’s gone hoarse, so we’ll be … →
I actually laughed out loud when I read this piece of creative writing by Dr Miriam Stoppard yesterday. I call it creative writing because it certainly wasn’t an exercise grounded in scientific fact. Anyone using the title “Dr” to qualify their statements needs to feel the full weight of their responsibility to their audience. Most of what she’s written doesn’t deserve a response. OK, actually all of it is. I am tempted to mention that some babies are born with … →
Scared to fly with a baby A week ago I did something I’d sworn I’d never do again – take a baby on a plane. On my own. I didn’t even blog about the last time I did it, when she was six months old, because it really was that awful. At fourteen months it could only be worse. OK, no, I take that back. It could have been much worse the time before. She didn’t cry the whole way … →
What happens when you put out a call for bloggers to share their breastfeeding photographs? A whole lot of beautiful. Twenty-three bloggers responded with images of themselves and their babies. Most are pictures of them breastfeeding. One is a post-milky cuddle. Kylie Hodges from Not Even a Bag of Sugar sent a picture of herself pumping in a hospital room so that her premature baby could have her milk. These pictures represent diverse breastfeeding experiences. Some of these women really … →
Tolkien’s Shire, black gentlemen in the industrial era, Caribbean migrants after the war, a choreographed NHS, “Jerusalem” and other classic hymns, a lesbian kiss, light, colour, sound, James Bond, The Queen… The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics was ambitious, accomplished and, well, trippy. My only real criticism? They didn’t show the Trinidad and Tobago team for long enough. We’re a small country so I understand why we didn’t get much screen time but what little time in the … →
Remember that I said Wellies and Worms had stepped in last minute as my sponsor for blogging conference Cybher 2012? When I say last minute, I mean we were on the phone that morning on the train up to London. Hence, I’ve been sporting their banner ad since then. Scroll down and look that way —> Anyway, I’ve been meaning to tell you a bit more about them and now that it’s the summer holidays, it’s the perfect time. They’re … →
We’re hoping to make breastfeeding history. We’re heading to The Downs in Bristol for The Big Latch On on Saturday 4th August 2012. At 10.30am, all the breastfeeding mums present will latch their babies so we can break a world record for the most women breastfeeding at the same time. Women all over the globe will be doing it. It’s a bit of boobie fun for World Breastfeeding Week 2012 (August 1st-7th). Huh? But it was just Breastfeeding Week?! Actually, … →
