This years world breastfeeding weeks theme is all about making a difference to working parents.

With that in mind, here are 6 of my tips for planning for returning to work.

When breastfeeding doesn’t work out.

Birth and breastfeeding are emotional times in a woman’s life and come with a weight that is deeply personal. Women will carry and tell their birth story over and over and it will stick with them throughout their life. Similarly, a breastfeeding journey can also be full of emotions. So when breastfeeding doesn’t work out, it can leave a lasting impact. So with that in mind, I want you to know:

SO HOW DOES ANTENATAL COLOSTRUM COLLECTION HELP US?

Well, it does a number of things. It helps women get to know their body, learn about their breasts and start stimulating their breast tissue, glands and ducts. The colostrum that is collected can be saved, frozen and taken to the hospital to be given to the baby if required. It can also help to kickstart your breasts so if anything does cause a delay, then we have given everything a little pre birth boost. It can also prevent unnecessary formula use if we have it in our back pocket, so for that reason, I do recommend giving it a go.

Cluster Feeding is a baby putting in their order. To tell your body to make milk. They bring a bunch of feeds together non-stop and basically feed around the clock. On day one of life, they are a little sleepy. Hopefully they do a lovely breast crawl and latch all on their own. They might have a couple of feeds but generally they snooze. You are wide awake mind you, hormones, oxytocin (hello you just had a baby, you rock star you!) So you’re awake and baby is a snoozer.

Did you know they are generally supposed to be a temporary measure and a short term tool to help you. 

Nipple shields are great for a variety of reasons and here are a couple. 

1 - Nipple Damage - Nipple damage is usually because of a bad latch in the early days while everyone is still learning and working it all out. But the baby could also have a tongue tie. If we have damage, the first thing we want to do is really check that the latch is the deep enough. Roll the baby back and if they fall off easily they usually aren’t on deep enough. 

If the baby has a tie this needs to be assessed and either cut or given exercises to help if it is minor. 

How can Dads and Partners Support Breastfeeding and Newborn Ideas?

- Attend a breastfeeding class with Mum. Chances are, her brain could go to mush after the baby is born. A second set of ears, taking in all the information, reminding Mum that night 2 in normal, suggesting positions learnt in class in invaluable.

- Being aware that breastfeeding is an all encompassing process that takes hours out of the day, every day. It is the equivalent of a full time job. That being trapped under a baby is a beautiful but exhausting job.

- BURP THE BABY! Babies are milk drunk after a feed, they don’t necessarily need to be burped but by burping them, Dads bounce around and have the baby up on their shoulders, are naturally hot bodied and babies love to fall asleep up there. Therefore baby learns that Dads shoulder is a great place to fall asleep and they then become masters at settling the baby!

A beautiful Mum popped into the shop this week, we got chatting and she also has a 4 month old baby who had just had his vaccinations. I asked her how things we going and she revealed she was upset because she had just spoken to the GP about how she was feeling like maybe she didn’t have as much milk as once before and the baby was waking up a little more than usual.