So Busy

Usually these days when Fifi goes down for a nap, I spend her naptime working. I've got about a hundred (only very very slightly exaggerating there) reports to work on for my friend's company, advertising for two companies and house-work always waiting. But today, Fi went down a bit late, and we have to leave in about 30 minutes for my breastfeeding course, so there's no point in delving into any of the above work. So I'll sneak in a wee blog post.

Good things are happening with TinyTalk. Well, okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration as it's only one thing, but it's big. We'll be working a stand at the Scotland Baby Show 2008. The Baby Show is in Glasgow, which is excellent because loads of people from my area go into Glasgow for things like baby shows. The only downside is... the Baby Show is the weekend my mom arrives. I'm going to work one day of it, so I'm sorry, Mom, but it's too good an advertising opportunity to pass up. I might buy my mom and mother-in-law tickets to the show so they can come (with Fifi) so I can see them for a little bit.

There are a few dates coming up which require me being away from Fif for the whole day. I know most people would think 'big deal' because most people have already spent many a day away from their babies at this age. But not me. However, there are three days in March/April which will require it. I know Fifi (and I) will be fine, at least physically, but I'm sure it'll be a hard few days on us both regardless. Fifi still loves to nurse during the day, and I still love to nurse her. However, she can't come to Edinburgh with me for a TinyTalk regional meeting, or the TT Training Day, or the Baby Show so... it looks like the time has come to deal. I'm actually really nervous about it.

I don't think I'll feel much better about it in a few minutes when I take her to the creche just for her to refuse to go in.

(However, the weather is gorgeous today so maybe the kids will go outside during the creche time, and Fifi would then forget about me completely. She loves the outdoors.)

(In fact, the weather has been lovely for days.)

Well, I need to go now and get stuff together for the afternoon.

Firefox Users and Other Stuff

Scott has switched us over to Firefox (I know, about time right? But we're lazy that way.) I am annoyed to find that our blog doesn't look right with Firefox. However, I don't have any time in the foreseeable future for redesigning the blog, so I suppose we'll all just get on with it (as I suppose other Firefox users already have with us).

Scott just brought me my cup of tea, which means (in McFarlane language) 'Git aff mah computer, wummin' so eh, bye.

Happy St Paddy's Day (tomorry).

The Car Saga (Cont.)

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...

My car broke down again. This time, the exhaust fell out at 10.30 at night while it was just me and Fifi in the car in a somewhat dodgy area.

If it's never happened to you (or if you are car-stupid like me), let me just tell you how scary it is... the exhaust is bigger than just a puny pipe... I thought the transmission had fallen out or something (not like I know what that is, either).

It's also due for its MOT, so we took it to the garage to see what the damage (in £ terms) was. For two driveshaft gators, a new back box, two more other things that I didn't recognise the name of and the MOT, he was going to charge us, well, more than the car could be sold for. We thought it was time to say bye-bye to Skoda.

However, we then took it elsewhere for a second opinion, and the guy quoted us half what the other guy did, so we're getting it done tomorrow. For the time being, we've got a really noisy car that makes me sound like a boy-racer any time I drive it.

As much as we can't afford a new car, I was kinda crushing on a new one of these...

Baby Signing

Well, I'm not sure that I have ever mentioned this on this blog, as I was waiting for everything to be finalised, but once it was finalised, I just assumed you all knew.

Anyway, I don't think you do so I'll tell you the news now.

Starting next month, I'll begin teaching baby signing classes through my new TinyTalk franchise!

This might explain why I feel so stressed and overwhelmed these days... with Lori Borealis, my breastfeeding groups and courses, TinyTalk and of course my baby... I just feel I have quite a lot going. But I am extremely excited about starting my classes. I've been advertising around town. It's a bit harder than I thought (though not as hard as advertising for Lori Borealis, I've discovered).

On that note, I'm going to get back to printing more leaflets.

Fun in the Snow

I didn't expect there to be any remaining snow this morning when we woke up, which was sad because Fifi didn't get a chance to really play in it yesterday, as she spent most of the time playing with Timmy the Sheep (who, by the way, I am very devastated to say, died last night). However, we woke up, and the snow still covered the ground! Our front garden (which we treat as a back) was almost completely untrodden (except for some four-legged creature like a cat or a fox), so I really enjoyed taking Fifi out in it this morning.


Fun in the Snow from superlori on Vimeo. THIS JUST IN: As I typed this post, the postie came by and handed me a package from my sister-in-law and brother, Kristen and Danny. It was this unbelievably amazing, perfect, gorgeous plaque that Kristen woodburned for us. Kristen, I LOVE IT!!!! Gotta find the perfect place to hang it!

Timmy the Sheep

In spite of the fact we got about five inches of snow today, my new friend Claire and I took Fifi down to the farm to see the orphaned lamb that they are nursing. His mum was killed last week during all the rain storms.



Fifi was fascinated.



She even picked up the bottle herself to feed him.



She was very gentle with him.



Well, most of the time.

Fiona and Timmy the Sheep from superlori on Vimeo.

(Video taken from my phone, hence the bad quality.)

Leap Day

Before I go back and see if I wrote about Leap Day four years ago, I'm going to say this: This is one of my favourite days. I love the fact that Leap Day only comes once every four years; it's like a comet or something that has to be caught or you'll miss it. I love Leap Day.

Today's Leap Day included, you'll never guess, a broken-down car. The car was driving just fine, until I tried to leave the dentist office and discovered the car was dead. The battery couldn't have been dead, at least not fully, because the lights and the radio still worked. Just not the car. I tried to phone my father-in-law to rescue me, but then I remembered he was working today. So I tried my mum-in-law and got no answer. Scott was at work, so Fifi and I were stranded. I could've walked back home, except today was one of the worst days we've had this year for crazy wind and rain. I would've been blown away, as would the pram, if I'd attempted it. Well finally, I got ahold of Marion, and she picked us up and took us back to her house to dry off (I was soaked, not from the car ordeal, but from just moving from one vehicle to the other) and have a cup of tea.

Anyway, when Scott and Andy got home, they went and jumped the car and it was fine. Stupid, stupid car.

So now we're home, finally. We had a late dinner; I had fish out that needed to be eaten today or be thrown out. Fifi is asleep on the couch. I can't bear to wake her to take her upstairs. I don't want to go through the process of putting her back down. Last two nights I got something like 4 hours of sleep because of her (she's teething, so she's sleeping horribly), and I'm not ready to face that again for the third night in a row.

(Yeah, and as for the no sleeping thing, I'll just add that trying to chart one's BBT for Natural Family Planning is already hard enough when you are breastfeeding, but genuinely impossible when you never get the solid three hours in a row of sleep necessary for an accurate reading.)

Anyway, I'm tired. I think I'm going to pray Fifi stays asleep a little longer and go take a quick bath. I still feel pretty water-logged from this horrible day.

Happy Leap Day! (I finally caught the comet!)

Who knew toddlers were ACTUALLY as much work as they say? I deserve a medal each time I even finish a....

Cars Are Like Boys...

More trouble than they're worth...
Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em...

Eh, I'm out of lame idioms.

Our car has lasted us a while and done us well, to be sure. But in the past two and a half years (or has it only been two?), we've spent more on repairs than we did on the actual car. (Which is a joke, because we got the car for free, but I'm sure we've spent more than we would have if we had paid for it.)

The past few months have included new tires, a new battery, a new alternater, three home-starts and one roadside tire change on our breakdown cover, and another new tire. That happened yesterday.

Scott pulled out of the drive on the way to work and noticed the steering wheel pulling strongly to the left. I dropped him off and headed to the petrol station to air up the tires. It unfortunately wasn't just low air; there was a nail in the tire. Dang it. Thus the roadside assistance. My mum-in-law met me at the petrol station and tried to change the tire for me (she's a real woman), but we couldn't get the jack to work. So a recovery truck arrived and changed my tire for me. Which leads to why we had to buy a brand new tire, as the tread on the nail-punctured tire made it not worth repairing.

But here's the kicker.

The recovery guy? He recognised me. 'Oh, I've been up to your house a few times! Battery, wasn't it?' I could've died.

Complaining

I don't normally write complaints. An issue must both be one of great importance to me and be something I'm fairly knowledgable about. The following is one of those rare occasions.

Copied from Junior Pregnancy & Baby, Feb/Mar 2008, p115 "Breastfeeding
Advice" ('Agony Aunt' style column by Clare Byam-Cook, author of "What
to Expect When You're Breastfeeding And What If You Can't?"

Q. My three month old son is always hungry! He breastfeeds for at least half an hour, every two hours, even at night. I'm exhausted. Any ideas?

A. Poor you - I'm not surprised you are exhausted. At three months, most babies should sleep through the night and last three to four hours between daytime feeds. You don't say if your son is gaining the right amount of weight, nor what he weighs, but both are relevant. If he is not gaining enough, he is clearly hungry and not getting enough milk; if his weight gain is normal, he is getting enough milk overall, but in snacks rather than 'proper meals'. If he weighs well over 6kg/13lb it may also be that he's struggling to drink enough milk to get the calories he needs and may need to start solids a bit early (i.e before six months).

First, check your milk supply to assess his feeding and whether you have enough milk. You can do this in one of two ways. Method one: put him to both breasts until he won't suck anymore, or up to a maximum of one hour. Then offer a top-up bottle of milk (expressed if you have some, formula if not) to see if he is still hungry. If he drinks this (as much as he wants), then immediately use a breast pump to see how much milk you can express compared with how much he has taken from the bottle. If he drinks more than you can express, your supply is low; if you express the same amount, it means he is feeding badly.

Method two: don't put him to the breast for several feeds, but use a bottle - then express after each feed, comparing how much he took from the bottle with how much was in your breast. If your milk supply is low, he should feed far less frequently when given extra milk in a bottle, and the expressing will stimulate your breasts to produce more. If your baby doesn't want or need any extra, he may have a problem such as wind, colic or reflux - in this case, consult your doctor.

My response:

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to the breastfeeding advice given on page 115 of the Feb/Mar 2008 edition of Junior Pregnancy & Baby by Clare Byam-Cook. The advice given was entirely inaccurate and incomplete. Not only will this bad advice influence the original enquirer but the numbers of women reading the column.

To begin with, the advice completely overlooks the most obvious of possibilities: a growth spurt. The baby is three months old – a classic growth spurt age. Breastfeeding babies approaching a growth spurt will always feed more often for the days leading up to it, in order to increase the mother’s milk supply; this is how supply and demand milk production works. As a breastfeeding ‘expert’, Ms. Byam-Cook should have immediately picked up on this distinct possibility.

Secondly, the most important question would be one of positioning and attachment. If the mother feels that there is more to the issue than an upcoming growth spurt, then she should check that her positioning and attachment are correct, for if it is not, then the baby could very well not be getting enough to eat and would then be feeding more often and not getting full. If positioning and attachment are not corrected in the early days, the mother’s milk supply will be negatively affected, as will the baby’s weight gain and calorie intake. She should consult a health professional experienced with breastfeeding to ensure the positioning and attachment are without error. The fact that this was not mentioned either is very irresponsible.

Aside from these important omissions, much of her advice is inaccurate or simply not true. She begins by asserting that at three months most babies should sleep through the night – how untrue! Very few babies will sleep through the night at such a young age without some sort of sleep training. Also, very few breastfed babies will last three to four hours between daytime feeds. Breastfed babies should not in any way be timed or scheduled, and to expect a three month old to last that long between feeds is unreasonable, and in most cases, unsafe. Again, trying to get a three-month old baby to last that long between feeds can seriously affect the mother’s milk supply and the baby’s weight gain and health.

It is also blatantly wrong to assert that breastfed babies should eat ‘proper meals’ instead of ‘snacks’. Breastmilk is very efficiently used by the body and runs through the system much more quickly than formula milk. Also, it is important to remember a baby’s stomach is very small, about the size of his fist. Breastfed babies often take in small amounts many times a day, which is perfectly normal and healthy. The advice given could lead mothers to try to time and regulate their breastfeeds, which as I’ve already mentioned, is not safe for the mother’s supply or the baby’s health.

Then, to address her advice on assessing how much milk the mother is making, not one bit of it is correct or makes any sense. Her first method goes against the very essence of supply and demand feeding. To top the baby up with a bottle after feeding from both breasts will keep him from suckling as much as he needs in order to stimulate the breasts to make enough milk for his needs. At three months he may very well be hungry enough to drink what is in the bottle, but this would then mean he is not stimulating the breasts as is necessary to ensure his mother produces the milk he needs. Furthermore, using a breast pump will never give an accurate measurement of how much milk a mother produces, as a breast pump does not work the way a breastfeeding baby does; a pump only ‘suctions’, whereas a baby ‘suckles’. A pump also does not encourage a release of oxytocin in the mother the way a baby does, which encourages milk flow. If the mother can not achieve a let-down with a pump, this will cause her expressed milk to be even less. Pumping should never be used as an accurate measurement of the mother’s milk supply.

Method two is just as faulty and dangerous as the first. To deny him the breast for a few feeds (once again) will only negatively affect the supply and demand nature of breastfeeding. Again, expressing does not stimulate the breasts as efficiently as a baby’s suckling. To try to measure how much milk a mother is making via expression is dangerous advice. To advise denial of the breast to a hungry baby is simply bad advice and will only cause more problems with feeding in the end.

All of these things (and others, such as advising the use of a bottle which can cause ‘nipple confusion’ and neglecting to mention the government’s recommendation of not introducing solids before six months, for instance) make for incredibly faulty and irresponsible advice for breastfeeding mothers. If one is to take on the responsibility of writing an advice column on any health issue (and writing a book to boot!), one must be certain she obtains and gives correct information, backed up by research and good medical authority. Ms. Byam-Cook seems to have no understanding of basic breastfeeding knowledge, such as supply and demand, positioning and attachment and many of the other things I have detailed in this letter, and should therefore not be giving advice on breastfeeding.

Thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely,
Lori McFarlane

If anyone else feels inclined to write in, the following email address was supplied after the article: pregnancy@juniormagazine.co.uk