The Babe in Arms

04/11/2025

Infant formula is not toilet roll.

Let me explain.

There are lots of things in life where you get what you pay for. Meaning the more expensive a product the better quality it is. I believe this to be true of toilet roll, cheap toilet roll is crap (pardon the pun) and not comparable with a more expansive brand. I’m sure someone may disagree or have a better example, you get what I’m saying, right?

Infant formula is not toilet roll, it is tightly regulated in the UK and is all much of a muchness. If cost is a consideration in your household please know that a supermarket own brand is much the same as a more expensive brand - dispite what the manufacturer tells you in their adverts. You are not doing your baby a disservice by buying something that more comfortably sits in your household budget. An ingredient that is beneficial for a baby will be in every brand; it would be unethical and inappropriate for some brands to be inferior in make up.

And, a baby having infant formula as part or all of their diet only ever needs a stage one formula and can have your usual household milk once they have had a birthday. Follow-on milks, 6+ months, hungry baby, comfort, goodnight etc are additional products developed by manufacturers to get through a legal advertising loophole to get their brand colours on your telly. There is no evidence that these additional products have any benefit over a stage one infant formula.

As a Breastfeeding Counsellor I am here to help you reach your breastfeeding goals, whatever they are. I am also here to share information with you if you make the decision to add infant formula to your baby’s diet. I feel it’s important that parents have robust conversations about choosing, preparing and using infant formula safely.

I’m always here to answer questions and sign post to great, evidence based information.

You can find lots of unbiased, independent information here:
https://www.firststepsnutrition.org/

02/11/2025

I’m feeling like a broken record, many parents that I speak with, and many health professionals too, have a very old fashioned, outdated, unevidence based idea about mastitis. The evidence base was updated about 4ish years ago and not everyone you meet is aware of it.

So let’s clear some things up:

Mastitis - means a sore b**b. It might be too full of milk, it might have been squashed into a ill-fitting bra, it might have been held tightly to help a baby latch, it might have been bitten/kicked/headbutted by a bigger breastfeeding baby, it might just have been rolled on while you were asleep.

Mastitis = sore breast.

When you injure part of your body, it sends a greater blood supply and additional fluid to aid healing. If you’ve sprained your ankle, this can be very helpful - it can help immobilise the joint while it heals. When your breast hurts and this additional fluid arrives it often makes it feel more uncomfortable and can cause milk flow to slow. This is often referred to as a blocked duct. It’s not plumbing, your toilet is not blocked! Swelling in the tissue around your milk ducts can constrict them and make it harder for the milk to flow.

Your breast is a beautifully efficient, delicate organ (we forget this as it’s stuck on the outside of your body), if you had a problem with your liver folks would not be recommending vigorous massage to “shift the blockage”!

It’s the swelling that causes discomfort and restricts milk flow leading to full, hard, lumpy often hot and tender to touch breasts. The current research suggests three self-help measures; cooling the breast down; a cold compress or some frozen peas in a tea towel will help reduce swelling and promote milk flow. Some mothers might take ibuprofen which will reduce swelling and help with discomfort. And lymphatic massage, a way to move the fluid out of the breast and reduce the swelling. This is a gentle fingertip massage, as soft as you would stroke your baby’s face, moving in long strokes from your ni**le back towards your body - up into your armpit and up towards your collar bone. Feeding your baby or expressing as you normally would is recommended, kept the milk flowing as best as you can. For most parents symptoms will improve in around 24 hours with these self help measures.

Antibiotics are not prescribed for mastitis and they will not fix the problem. Antibiotics can be useful to treat a bacterial infection that might be linked to your sore b**b (mastitis). If you have a temperature, feel unwell, have achy joints or a headache then it might be a good idea to seek some medical support as they are signs there might be a bacterial infection that needs treatment.

It’s important to try and identify what has caused this problem in the first place, this helps you avoid it in the future. Seek some skilled support with your feeding or expressing if you feel you’d like support to work it out, especially if this is something you’ve experienced more than once.

31/10/2025

❤️ Caleb
❤️ Rueben
❤️ Ettie
❤️ Naomi
❤️ Albie
❤️ Henry
❤️ Elliot
❤️ Penelope
❤️ Ruby
❤️ Jacob
❤️ Hattie
❤️ Gideon

These are the babies that have made my heart happy today.

Happy Friday you beautiful people xx

19/10/2025

This Mothering malarkey is tough.

So tough.

Never have you had a job that’s been so important, with so much invested in it. That’s also relentless and exhausting. Where everyone is a critic, especially yourself.

Babies don’t have instructions, they also haven’t read the baby care books and got the memo about abandoning their physiology to fit to a schedule. They have never been in the world before and as they’ve yet to learn the English language they can’t tell you what they need. It’s overwhelming. It’s very common to feel out of your depth, to question if you’ve made a mistake, to feel like you just might like to run away and hide for a while.

These feelings are such a stark contrast to the warmth that you feel when your baby is calm, when they smile at you, when it’s “going well”

Something to remember in the depths of Motherhood:

We’re all just making it up, no one really knows what they’re doing.

Feed them when they’re hungry, hold them as much as they need and don’t drop them on the floor - bossing it.

Remember to drink some water, clean your teeth and eat food that feeds your soul - bossing it.

Find the other Mothers, be with women who will hold your tears and understand you in their heart.

And as a very wise and wonderful Mother once told me as she emerged from the darkest of times; the s**t bits are s**t, but it’s not all s**t.

As always, love for you from me xx

15/10/2025

For all those remembering babies no longer here.
I see you…

15/10/2025

This is exciting, we’ll be celebrating four years of community support in the new year. Come and join us for cake!

10/10/2025

I’ve bumped into some beautiful faces today. I love seeing people I’ve met and seeing just how big their tiny humans have grown.

One of them, we crossed paths in a shop, said I thought you might be in here, I spotted your car.

No wonder, there’s not many cars bombing about with two birth balls on the back seat!!

Happy Friday you wonderful people xx

02/10/2025

Today is a write off, that’s what I thought.

At 10am when my fourth night shift in a row ended I felt so tired. I looked grey, I felt a bit sick. I thought I’d have a little lay down. Three hours later I woke as a dehydrated husk, chugged some water, cleaned my teeth and put on some comfy clothes. I ventured down stairs to a quiet house. I made myself a massive sandwich and a hot cup of tea. I noticed the postie had delivered my new (smaller) Symfonie knitting needles. I decided to sit and knit, eat and relax.

Because of today I will have the energy to really enjoy baby day tomorrow. I’ll be recharged for a full on weekend of an intensive antenatal course with nine couples. Because I am rested I can be me, but better.

Slow down when you can, recharge when you can, replenish and nurture yourself as you might your best mate. Rest is a superpower!

30/09/2025

This week will be my last session with the current massage group, we’ve had hot drinks, sweet treats, great conversations and the babies have burped, farted, fed and slept their way through each massage.

There are just four spaces remaining on the next course, if you’d like to come and join us just let me know.

27/09/2025

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National Breastfeeding Helpline is provided by The Breastfeeding Network (UK), with Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.

[ID: Quote. Amazing level of support. Have used this service loads and really impressed at the speed and quality of replies. Thank you. National Breastfeeding Helpline 0300 100 0212.]

26/09/2025

Pink cake with coconut sprinkles.

I had an afternoon out with my younger daughter, now 21, this week, we were reminiscing, as we do. I said how much I missed our long walks home from school. The primary school my children attended is just over a mile from our home. I liked the Mummy I was on a walk home, I was not distracted by all the household chores I had to do, I couldn’t be distracted by food preparations. I had all the time in the world to listen to them, hold their hands, slow down and enjoy their company.

On days when adulting and mothering felt too much for me I would take them home via Oddie’s and the park. Prolonging the time outside and reducing the time we’d have to be indoors before tea and snuggles before bed. I remember them all chomping various parts from a gingerbread someone, each of them going at it in a different order. Francesca remembers the days they didn’t have enough gingerbread folks and she chose a pink cake. A simple vanilla cupcake with pink icing and coconut sprinkles. She lit up recalling them.

Of all the things I spent time and money on, a simple pink cake is what brings her the loveliest memories. So when you feel like you’re not enough, remember you absolutely are. It’s not the grand, expensive, work intensive things your children will remember when they’re adults. It’s the little things, the small acts of love and togetherness that take root in their memory banks.

And so we can be nostalgic this evening eating left overs I’ve baked a vanilla cake with pink icing and coconut sprinkles for Baby Club.

Maybe see you there xx

24/09/2025

It’s been a week, my first born son has been deposited in south west wales and our whole house is adjusting. Everything feels off kilter and strange. Daily messages and a quick FaceTime chat have helped. It’s a new way of life for us all!

I’m on annual leave from the National Breastfeeidng Helpline, so I’ve had some whole nights in bed which has been lush. I’ve pottered in my yarden, planted my spring bulbs, mulched and tidied.

I’m off to meet a pregnant couple this evening, I’ve just packed my bag and I feel like a very odd Mary Poppins! We plan to explore; ordinary physiological birth, supported vaginal birth, Caesarean and induction. Wow, think we’ll all sleep well tonight!