If you choose to breastfeed after having your baby one thing you will need are good fitting breastfeeding bras. There are several different factors to consider when trying to find a good breastfeeding bra.

As most women who have had children know, your breasts get at least a cup size bigger during pregnancy. Even if you do breastfeed, after the baby is born your breasts will go down some. In order to fit your bra correctly, do the following:

Measure high above your arms above the breast to determine bra size. Then round your measurement up to the next even number. You will then measure the fullest point of your breasts. Subtract that number from the first number you got. If the difference is 2″ you are a B cup, 3″ you are a C cup, 4″ you are a D cup and so on.

Above all your bra should be comfortable. At this point fitting your breastfeeding bra is not necessarily about looks. Though there are a variety of stylish breastfeeding bras for you to choose from. Convenience is also another issue that most women consider when choosing a breastfeeding bra.

For comfort most women choose cotton for their bras. Some doctors recommend not using under wire bras because they have been known to clog milk ducts. Plenty of women have found that they prefer the under wire bras and have had no problems with them. Choose a bra that you can open and close with one hand, because that is what you will doing a lot of.

Article courtesy of Hermama.com – Maternity Nightwear, Underwear andLingerie.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: advice, bra fitting, breastfeeding, buying, clothes, comfort, hermama, lingerie, maternity, nursing bra, shopping, underwear by weezypops Date 10 March, 2010
No comments »

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: 2010, birthday, birthday party, Business Opportunities, calendar, classes, community, Competitions, days out, Dulwich Mums & Dads, eating out, essex mums, family, Family-friendly Eats, gift guide, groups, kids, places, restaurants, shopping, shopping guide, special offers by weezypops Date 1 March, 2010
No comments »

Recently I’ve had a few emails and contact from people who are having some problems or wanted some advice about baby led weaning. You’ll see from some of my earlier posts that I’m definitely not an expert but I think I’m well positioned to offer some reassurance. We’ve definitely bounced up and down the weaning road with some success but also some notable failures. For those of you out there who may be worrying about whether your baby is eating enough, or whether baby led works for you I hope this post helps a little bit.

Somebody mentioned baby led weaning to me before Little Legs was even 5 months old but I didn’t have a clue. I was already a bit worried about the whole weaning process anyway as we’d had such a difficult start to milk feeding in general. I won’t go into the ins and outs of my problems with breastfeeding because thats a post on its own but needless to say we battled on until she was 12 weeks old and then switched to formula. I felt as though we’d only just got the milk feeds established so the thought of weaning her was daunting to say the least.

Then two things happened. Someone leant me Gill Rapley’s Baby Led Weaning book, and the highchair arrived. I started to feel quite excited about introducing Little Legs to solids so we started. I started her with baby rice as she was only five and a half months old and I was too much of a coward to give anything else.

Then I started to get a bit braver, I started giving her rice cakes, cucumber, banana, fingers of roasted veg. I batted off the concerns of friends and family with a nonchalant wave. Baby led weaning was the way forward for us. I remember my Mum looking on with horror at every meal time as Little Legs would gum her food happily but then launch it across the room, Eating a big fat nothing every time.  I wasn’t worried though, I was quietly confident that she would eat in time. I thought it was a doddle, but then it happened, “that incident” as we now call it. Little Legs choked. She didn’t just gag, she actually choked. The culprit was a piece of sweet potato. All I remember was screaming as I saw her gasping for breath. I frantically got her out of her highchair. All my well intentioned first aid training went out the window as all I could manage in blind panic was to tip her upside down. It worked. Little Legs went back to giggling, as she does best whilst I sat with her on my knee and just cried.

Needless to say, the book went back to my friend and it was on with the purees. But for me, something just didn’t feel right with spoon feeding Little Legs. She’s such an independent little madam and seemed so curious when she saw us eating that I decided to give baby led one more try. It was the best decision I ever made.

Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been without its anxieties. There have been a few more gagging incidents but thankfully no more choking. For a long period of time Little Legs did just play with her food but when we started to relax a bit as opposed to monitoring every mouthful she was eating, so too did Little Legs. We slowly but surely realised that there was less and less food on the floor, and in the nooks and crannies of the highchair, and more and more in her nappy. Then the scales tipped the other way, I started to worry that Little Legs was taking too many solids and not enough of her milk as you’ll see from my earlier post Baby led weaning and formula feeding.

Little Legs turned seven months old this week and everything has finally fallen into place. She’s well established now on three solid meals and three milk feeds a day. Her weight gain is good and she’s a bright, beautiful little baby. The purpose of this post isn’t to push people down the baby led weaning path. I guess I just wanted to say that you should do what feels right for you and your baby. Follow your instincts, your heart, and your baby and everything will be fine.

by Kim, the writer of the blog Carrot in Mum’s Hair – A Baby Led Weaning Tale. Kim also has gorgeous range of cute and funky baby hats at Hats My Baby

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: advice, babies, baby, baby led weaning, blog, eating, family, gill rapley, hats my baby, kim, solids, starting solids, weaning by weezypops Date 12 February, 2010
No comments »

When I talked to a friend the other day about babywearing – she was completely confused as to what I meant. She thought perhaps I was suggesting that she use her little darling as a hat.

However, when renowned paediatrician, Dr William Sears invented the term babywearing in the 1980s, I’m fairly sure he meant it to mean “all the various types of baby slings”, and not “wearing babies as a fashion accessory” (at least we hope so!)

In all fairness to the human race, all Dr Sears did was come up with the name for something that had been going on since… well, since the first human mummy stood up, looked around and said, “Now, where did I put Baby?”

Even before that, our simian ancestors did (and still do) carry their offspring in a variety of ways attached to the fur of different parts of their bodies.

Humans around the world have been carrying their offspring for several millennia before Phil and Ted – and anything that has been going for that long is subject to local diversity, so it’s not surprising to find a wide range of different baby carriers.

Of course, in “less developed” countries it is still regarded as the best way of getting your kids around before they can keep up, so you will find African, Asian and South American varieties. It even used to be popular in the “developed” west before the Georgian and Victorian aristocracy persuaded everyone that children should be kept as far away from their parents as possible, handing them to nannies to be genteelly wheeled around in their wonderful little perambulators.

As well as the name, Dr Sears came up with some other interesting facts, for instance, did you know that carrying your baby upright can reduce the effects of colic and reflux – definitely worth considering if you have a colicky baby (and if you do, you will try anything…I did!). Babies who are carried learn more quickly, as they spend their time being involved in your world, not just watching knees and feet – but participating; developing a brain that is learning to learn.

Some people suggest that having your baby in a sling will make him clingy. Exactly the opposite, actually. Your baby will become more emotionally secure and independent as he knows you are around as a safe base from which to explore.

Need I go on?

Well, if us mums are permitted a bit of selfishness, there are always the extra calories you burn by carrying your baby, and the way you can breastfeed discreetly, and the general snugly cuddles you both get to enjoy, which stimulate your new-mum hormones, and can help to reduce the likelihood and severity of post-natal depression. What do you do to get your baby off to sleep in a pram? You rock him and talk to him to simulate the motion and closeness of your own body.

Now who’s starting to look more “developed”?

There are a huge range of different baby slings around, and everyone has their own personal favourite, although some people switch between different styles.

My own favourite is the Mei Tai, which is basically a square of fabric with straps at each corner. Because of its simple design it can be used in a variety of different positions.

Simply put though, the bottom straps are tied around your waist, and the top straps go over your shoulders and wrap around you, and are then knotted, securely strapping your baby to your body.

So, are they easy to use? Surely they can’t be as convenient as a pushchair?

Yes, they are very easy – you can go up stairs, through narrow doorways or for a pleasant summer walk. And you don’t have to push an empty one round town when junior decides he would rather walk. Not only that, but they’re light and fold up small – can you get a pushchair in your handbag? More importantly, can you afford a pushchair to go with every outfit!

But, your husband wouldn’t be seen dead in one? Well, men with babies are very attractive – remember that Athena poster; and Brad Pitt has carried baby Shiloh in one, so how can he possibly object?

Having said all that, the main benefit for me, at least to start with, was that I regained the use of my hands after months of trying to make lunch, hoover, iron and just about anything else you care to think of, all whilst holding on to my dear son. So, slings, carriers, mei tais, call them whatever you like, are starting to sound like a good idea, aren’t they?

I have to admit, I got in to babywearing almost through necessity rather than choice, but I love it now, and so does my now toddler son. The only difficulty now is choosing which fabric for the next one…

Claire Willis, is mum to two children, and the owner of SnugBaby

After the birth of her second son, she discovered babywearing and, decided to design and make her own brand of baby slings, which she now sells through her website, www.snugbaby.co.uk

She also runs “Get Your Hands Back” magazine and review website, which is aimed at promoting babywearing and its associated benefits in the UK. More information can be found at www.getyourhandsback.co.uk

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: attachment parenting, babies, baby, baby carrier, babywearing, breastfeeding, buying, Claire Willis. snugbaby, colic, development, dr sears, dr william sears, independence, mei tai, phil and ted, PND, pushchair, reflux, shopping, slings by weezypops Date 8 February, 2010
No comments »

….and five good reasons why babies should wear them

1) Babies spend a long time snuggled up in the womb to be then pushed out into the cold. Baby hats help to protect them from this change in environment, helping to keep them warm and snug.

2) When babies are newborn their heads are about one quarter of the total body surface area and they lose a lot of heat this way. This is more so for premature babies as their heads are larger in comparison to the rest of their little bodies. Baby hats help babies to maintain warmth in their bodies

3) Babies can’t regulate their body temperature very well until they’re at least 6 months old.

4) Baby hats also help to protect babies from sunburn. Babies are particularly susceptible to sunburn as generally they don’t have much hair.

Please note, baby hats should always be removed once inside or in a warm area to prevent overheating (unless you have been advised otherwise by your healthcare professionals).

By Kim at Hats My Baby

To see our gorgeous range of cute and funky baby hats, please visit us at http://www.hatsmybaby.co.uk

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: advice, babies, baby, baby hats, buying, clothes, hats, hats my baby, kim, shopping by weezypops Date 3 February, 2010
No comments »

As parents ourselves we have been aware to the dangers of toxic plastics for some time. It’s scary to read how dangerous BPA, PVC and other chemicals are for our babies. There have been plenty of medical studies highlighting the health problems associated with plastic chemicals and a growing number of parents are worried about this issue.

Not surprisingly, many States in the US are now banning the use of these chemicals in the baby products. Some European countries have also done the same. More surprisingly (or should I say shocking!) is that these chemicals are still found in many baby products available in the UK today.

And if you have made the effort of trying to locate toxic-free products in the UK, then you’ll know it’s an uphill struggle! That is why I am pleased to introduce you to VUPbaby, a newly launched UK website that is dedicated to give parents the ease and security of knowing that they are buying safe non-toxic products for their babies and children.

It’s a very cute and easy to use site and you’ll find most of what you could want, from bottles to teethers to toys and blankets. All products have been carefully vetted and chosen from the top branded suppliers of baby products. The website also hopes to raise awareness of the impact of chemicals on babies health and provides plenty of useful reading material.

All in all, VUPbaby aims to make it easy for mothers to have a choice on what type of baby products they use. And whatever makes the lives of mothers a little easier, is something I would gladly support!

Find VUPbaby in the baby category of the Essex Mums shopping guide or visit their website here: www.vupbaby.co.uk

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: baby products, bpa, bpa free, buying, non toxic, safety, shopping, shopping guide, vupbaby, websites by weezypops Date 2 February, 2010
No comments »

Good morning all, I hope you all managed to survive through the bleak month of January and are ready to start enjoying the milder weather that is inevitably round the corner (ahem). It’s been another busy month here at Essex Mums, but a productive one!

New Forum

I finally got round to upgrading the forum so it’s now much shinier and with all sorts of fun new features. Come and take a look here: http://www.essexmums.org/forum/index.php and please do say hello if you haven’t been around recently. If you run a group or class, or have some sort of service that is of interest to our Mums, please feel free to post an update!

Things to Do

You may have noticed that the calendar and classes pages have had a revamp. They’re now in a new ‘Things to Do section’ here: www.essexmums.org/thingstodo.html. Everything is now listed by area (Chelmsford, Colchester, London-area and Southend, decided by postcode, so for example Basildon is included in Southend as it’s SS.) which makes it much easier to find things to do – the old calendars were getting a bit too busy!).

If you have anything that you would like to be added to the calendars, please send them to me. I’ll be doing a homepage listing of half-term events in the next few weeks, so make sure you get them to me in time!

Shopping Guide

The shopping guide is filling up and has some great shops on it now. Having bought too much from there already I can vouch for the quality of the products, haha. It contains all kinds of goodies, from great handmade clothes, to health and safety equipment for babies; from maternity clothes and nursing bras to party goods and wedding favours. Now that we’ve got over the broke post-Christmas period, why not treat yourself to something nice! www.essexmums.org/shoppingguide.html

Bake It Better

We’ll be having an Essex Mums Bake it Better meet-up at Monkey Bizzness on Tues 9th Feb from 11am in aid of Great Ormond Street’s Kiss it Better appeal for children with cancer. The kind people at Monkey Bizzness also suggested having some baking for the kiddies with a small charge of a donation to the charity so that should be fun and messy! Bring along some cakes to sell, or just bring some pennies for yummy cake buying! It would be great to make this a really good day, so please bring friends and spread the word!

Second Birthday Party

The Essex Mums Second Birthday Party is coming up at the end of March and it would be lovely to see as many as you as possible at this year’s party! We’ve got some great ideas in the pipeline for the celebration so watch this space!

The plan is to hold the event at one of our Mum’s parent and toddler groups in Southend, and it would be lovely to make this a really fun day. I’m thinking of holding a site-wide competition so if anyone has any goodies they could donate (whether it’s tickets for a day out, money towards class fees or actual products, that would be absolutely brilliant!) Likewise if anyone can come along and do any kind of fun activities such as face-painting, music… anything, that would be wonderful and please let me know! Once I have more info I’m hoping to get some local press interested as they were last year, and if course anyone who gets involved gets a big plug on the site, and would be specifically mentioned, with a link to their website, on the homepage. So please, if there’s anything you can contribute, get in touch!

The rest…

As always, there’s lots of great new information across the site, and lots of great chatter in the forum, so come and take a look!

Hope to see you at one of the events soon!

Kind regards,

Louise

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: 2010, bake it better, birthday party, calendar, classes, days out, dulwich mums and dads, essex mums, family, forum, gift guide, great ormond street, groups, ideas, kids, Louise Ford, monkey bizzness by weezypops Date 1 February, 2010
No comments »

1        It is perfectly normal to just stare at your new baby for hours. He or she is pretty amazing.
However it is also perfectly normal to be far too knackered to be sentimental and just want to sleep!

2        New babies often sleep a lot in the first few days. No matter how proud you are or how many visitors you get, do not wake the baby. You will so wish you had taken advantage of the opportunity later.

3        It is perfectly socially acceptable to ask visitors politely to leave when you have had enough, and impolitely if they still don’t take the hint. Good visitors ‘pay’ for their visit with food or ironing.

4        Some children sleep through the night in the first few weeks. Many don’t. If you are lucky, smile inwardly to yourself or you may find yourself attacked by less fortunate sleep-deprived mothers. Please note ‘through the night’ means 5 or 6 hours, not 8.

5        If you have a baby girl, she will be forced to wear pink for the first 3 months of her life because small baby clothes don’t seem to come in any other colours. This is probably because every mother likes to think her little girl is so beautiful and so obviously a girl that anyone getting it wrong is castigated with a steely stare. Pink clothing therefore avoids shopping centre altercations.

6        Do not let Dad register the baby’s name by himself. Although, if you are unmarried he needs to be there, if you are not there, you only have yourself to blame for spelling mistakes or even the wrong name (it happens, honestly).

7        You swore it would never happen, but over the next 6 months you will become an expert on shade, consistency and aroma of poo.

8        You will receive copious amounts of conflicting and unsolicited advice from every corner. Feel free to ignore at will.

9        Before you are allowed to take the baby home you will need to sit and pass a parenting proficiency test. Actually, you don’t, but when you are first left alone with that tiny helpless being, you will wish you did.

10    At the end of the day, being a new mother is hard, fantastic, confusing, exhilarating and special. And it is an achievement you should be really proud of. Well done you!

Sam Thewlis is a freelance writer and copywriter and had a small pink and a slightly bigger blue baby of her own once. They are a little bit bigger now. Sam can be contacted at sam@samthewlis.co.uk or visit her site at www.samthewlis.co.uk

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: advice, babies, baby, baby poo, clothes, kids, mum, mums, new baby, sam thewlis, sleep, top tips by weezypops Date 29 January, 2010
2 Comments »

Mamabellis Indoor soft play Centre located in Harlow Town centre now offers a drop and shop facility. The idea was suggested during a staff meeting by a member of staff who has two children of her own and found it a struggle at times having to take them shopping around the Town. She suggested a service whereby parents could drop off their children for a couple of hours whilst they shopped, most of the full time staff at Mamabellis have children or grandchildren of their own and agreed that it is a great idea. The drop and shop service will allow parents the time to run errands such as a dentist appointment, a meeting at the bank, buying the groceries as well as time for little pleasures such as a hairdressers appointment or a manicure, whilst their children could spend time at Mamabellis having fun and meeting new friends. Few kids love to spend time shopping so why not give them what they like!!!!!

The ‘Drop and Shop’ service appears to be the first in Harlow and with Mamabellis being in the Town centre its ideal. Whilst researching the idea staff were able to find a similar services in the States, sometimes referred to as “Drop in childcare”, this service is very popular over there, mainly due to its flexibility, with no long term contracts and no commitment or ongoing fees. (A bit like a Pay as you go)

Initially the ‘Drop and Shop’ service at Mamabellis will be available at certain times mainly mornings (Mon to Sun) and after school ( Mon to Fri) with the maximum stay being 2 hours, it is mandatory that parents stick to the maximum 2 hour limit. It is important that there are always sufficient staff on duty therefore at this early stage customers will need to phone to check dates, availability and to book. Unfortunately Mamabellis will not be able to accept children in Nappies for now, however this will be reviewed in a few months time. There is a height restriction of 145 cm for older children. Parents will be asked to fill in a form when they drop off their children and provide contact details.

The ‘Drop and Shop’ service at Mamabellis will have staff with childcare experience, who have passed their criminal background checks and a member of staff who is CPR and First Aid certified. By way of security, Mamabellis has CCTV and a controlled entry system.

Costs will be £5.00 per hour with a minimum of two hours at peak times (Peak times = School Holidays and Weekends). Charges will fall into two categories either 0 – 1hr or 1 – 2 hrs.
Parents can get further details from Mamabellis on 01279 428 108 or email

mamabelli@mamabellis.co.uk

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: 2010, activities, childcare, family, harlow, kids, mambellis, places, shopping, soft play by weezypops Date 21 January, 2010
No comments »

Happy New Year to all Essex Mums (and Dads… and Grandparents…!)

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are currently enjoying your first of many enjoyable and restful days in 2010. Things here at Essex Mums have been hectic over the last few weeks but I hope you’ll be able to see the results of my labours in the form of two new exciting areas of the website.

Health & Fitness Special

We all tend to overdo it at Christmas, and then make resolutions to get fitter and healthier on January 1st Well, this year Essex Mums is here to help you make that happen! On the homepage you will see January’s special feature on Health and Fitness, with links to lots of great ideas for getting fit, eating well and getting your kids active. As well as information from fantastic organisations such as MEND and Change4Life, schemes and classes from Hockley playcentre Monkey Bizzness and Basildon gym David Lloyd. we also have help and advice from our very own forum members, which is probably the best support you can get. Come and post in the dedicated Health & Fitness support thread if you need some advice or would just like to talk about your own health and fitness journey.

Alternative Shopping Guide

Following the success of the Alternative Christmas Gift Guide, Essex Mums now has it’s own Alternative Shopping Guide, featuring lots of fantastic ideas for gifts, toys, clothes, house and home. It has everything from practical purchases for new parents to the most gorgeous handmade clothes you could wish to see. Come and take a look, and if you would like to be featured or have an idea for something that would fit in, let me know.

Events for January and February

I’m now compiling the events calendar for 2010 so if you have anything you would like to see added, please send it to events@essexmums.org. Likewise if the details of a class or group you run are not on the Classes and Groups page, please let me know. There is currently a lot of information on this calendar so in the new year it will be broken down into areas to make it easier – keep an eye out for that!

Specials this year

Over the next few months I’ll be running special features on using cloth nappies, and on young parents. If you would like to get involved, please let me know.

Competitions and offers

I’ve had lots of people asking if they can run competitions on the site and offers for Essex Mums. I can hardly refuse now, can I?! In the next couple of months you’ll see a new page for these, so if you have anything you’d like to be featured please get in touch!

Come and say hello!

If you haven’t stopped by the forum in a while, make it your new year’s resolution to come and say hello! You’ll be guaranteed a warm welcome in the introductions section, can just dive right in to one of our friendly daily chats, or see if anyone in your area wants to meet up. I can say with some certainty you’re unlikely to find a friendlier group of Mums this side of the internet!

Everything else

As always there is lots to work on, and I’ll be adding more to the Map and the Useful Website page. The forum continues to tick along nicely with everything from daily chatter to storming debates happening every day. On top of that we have the much-anticipated results of the Essex Mums Awards 2009 so keep an eye out for that! Once again I’d like to say that if there’s anything you’d like to see on the site, please do let me know!

Thanks for all your support and hope you have a lovely 2010!

Louise

www.essexmums.org

Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Tags: 2010, calendar, classes, community, days out, essex mums, events, family, fitness, gift guide, gifts, groups, health, Louise Ford, mums, places, shopping, shopping guide by weezypops Date 4 January, 2010
1 Comment »