Baby Weigh-In Surprise

So, yesterday, I fully intended to put B in the sling and walk to Tiny Times at the Sure Start Centre to get her weighed. I haven't done this for several months, and the curiosity was getting the better of me. No matter that she has her 1 year review next week - I need to put her weight at 1 year old into her baby book, don't I?
Well, it looked like rain. We stayed at home. No walk for me, so I decided I'd better get on the Wii Fit and burn some calories. And then I had my genius idea! I would weigh B on the balance board, no probs.
I designed a Mii to look a bit like her. Short, big round head, large doe eyes, little rosebud mouth. Fine, but she looked like a grown up - that was a bit freaky.

Take One Half Empty Carton of Buttermilk...

This week we are mostly using up leftovers and tins that have been in the cupboard since before B was born.
I have become quite aware recently that we spend too much money on food, and now our daughter will more often than not eat an adult sized portion for dinner, I need to find ways to cut back on the cost of food. With sensible purchasing of a few items here and there, I think we'll manage at least a week with what we already have in the house.

My Breastfeeding Journey... So far

Yesterday was my daughter's 1st birthday. I have been breastfeeding for 1 year and 1 day.

Our First Feed in the Hospital

I am so proud of myself for getting this far, when, at the beginning, it looked like we wouldn't even reach a week! It has not been exclusive breastfeeding, much to my dismay, but this couldn't be helped, and she has had as much as she possibly could from me.

Bible in a Year - Day 122

Day 116 - 2 Samuel 13 & 14; Luke 20:1-26 


Day 117 - 2 Samuel 15 & 16; Luke 20:27-47

Day 118 - 2 Samuel 17 & 18; Luke 21:1-19
For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. (Luke 21:15)
But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win life. (Luke 21:18-19) 

Bible in a Year - Day 115

Day 109 - 1 Samuel 25 & 26; Luke 16:19-31
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.” (1 Samuel 25:39)


Day 110 - 1 Samuel 27, 28 & 29; Luke 17:1-19
“If a brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” (Luke 17:3-4)


Day 111 - 1 Samuel 30 & 31; Luke 17:20-37


Day 112 - 2 Samuel 1, 2 & 3; Luke 18:1-17
For the Lord promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’ (2 Samuel 3:18)
And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. (Luke 18:7-8)
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. (Luke 18:16)

Bible in a Year - Day 108

Day 102 - 1 Samuel 7, 8 & 9; Luke 13:1-21
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God...Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (Luke 13:10-16)
 

Day 103 - 1 Samuel 10, 11 & 12; Luke 13:22-35
After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. (1 Samuel 12:8)
Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety. (1 Samuel 12:11)
For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. (1 Samuel 12:22)
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. (Luke 13:34)

Bible in a Year - Day 101

Day 95 - Judges 12, 13 & 14; Luke 9:37-62
You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. (Judges 13:5)
Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For whoever is least among you all is the greatest.” (Luke 9:48)


Day 96 - Judges 15, 16 & 17; Luke 10:1-24
Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi. (Judges 15:19)

Bible in a Year - Day 94

Day 88 - Joshua 21 & 22; Luke 6:1-26
So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. (Joshua 21:43-45)
Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. (Luke 6:9-10)

Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God. 

Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh. 

Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you and insult you
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man. 

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. (Luke 6:20-23)

Bible in a Year - Day 87

Day 81 - Joshua 4, 5 & 6; Luke 2:1-24
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11)



Day 82 - Joshua 7 & 8; Luke 2:25-52
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. (Luke 2:26)
For my eyes have seen your salvation, 
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel. (Luke 2:30-32)

Bible in a Year - Day 80

Day 74 - Deuteronomy 23, 24 & 25; Mark 14:51-72
For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. (Deuteronomy 23:14)
If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them. (Deuteronomy 23:15-16)
If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. (Deuteronomy 24:5)
Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a person’s livelihood as security. (Deuteronomy 24:6)
Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is an Israelite or is a foreigner residing in one of your towns. (Deuteronomy 24:14)
Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each of you will die for your own sin. (Deuteronomy 24:16)

Bible in a Year - Day 73

Day 67 - Deuteronomy 3 & 4; Mark 11:20-33
Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you. (Deuteronomy 3:22)
What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? (Deuteronomy 4:7)
But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 4:37-38)

Day 68 - Deuteronomy 5, 6 & 7; Mark 12:1-27
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deuteronomy 7:6)
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

Bible in a Year - Day 66

Day 60 - Numbers 23, 24 & 25; Mark 8:1-21
God is not a human, that he should lie,
    not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?    Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19)
I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;     a scepter will rise out of Israel. (Numbers 24:17a)
I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. (Mark 8:2)

Day 61 - Numbers 26 & 27; Mark 8:22-38 
Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. (Numbers 27:8)

Day 62 - Numbers 28 & 29; Mark 9:1-29 
Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (Mark 9:7)
But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. (Mark 9:27)

Keep Britain Breastfeeding 4 - After the 1st Month

This is my fourth post in the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt in the run up to National Breastfeeding Week 2012. If you've missed my previous posts, you can find them here:

Why I Breastfeed 

Mother to Mother Sharing 

For the Dads

This week's theme is breastfeeding beyond the first month. I thought I'd write about a few of the obstacles we faced after the first month.

"Overall, only 35 per cent of UK babies are being exclusively breastfed at one week, 21 per cent at six weeks, 7 per cent at four months and 3 per cent at five months." (UNICEF)

Far from being the massive pressure group they are often accused of being, women who breastfeed after the first month are in the minority. So, it can be difficult to find out the truth about obstacles you might face as you progress along your breastfeeding journey. Myths abound; horror stories are plentiful; doubt and worry sets in. We hear about hungry babies, who hit 4 months and threaten to consume their mothers. We discover that growth spurts keep on coming, and get longer and tougher. We are told that after 6 months breastmilk loses all its goodness and babies need extra iron. How do we sort the fact from the fiction when it's hard to find women we know who have fed past a certain point?

Bible in a Year - Day 59

I have to admit, I'm really struggling with Numbers - it's just so full of lists, and numbers! It's very hard not to just skim it.

Day 53 - Numbers 7; Mark 4:21-41
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. (Mark 4:39)

Day 54 - Numbers 8, 9 & 10; Mark 5:1-20
For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!” (Mark 5:8)

Day 55 - Numbers 11, 12 & 13; Mark 5:21-43
I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone. (Numbers 11:17)

How Dads Can Support Breastfeeding - Keep Britain Breastfeeding 3

This is the 3rd post as part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt in the run up to National Breastfeeding Week 2012. This week's theme is support, so I asked one of my greatest supporters to guest post. So, without further ado, I hand over to my husband, Chris, who will spill the beans on ways to support your partner in establishing breastfeeding:

I've been asked to do a guest post as part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt. I'm a father of one darling daughter, B, (DD in the mummy online speak) and have been in the profession for nearly 10 months and wow, what an amazing time it's been. My wife, Laura, and I had been married for 1 and a half years before B came along which has also been an amazing time, with more fun times to come.

So...breastfeeding. During her pregnancy, Laura and I had been discussing how we were going to care for our baby and how we were going to feed her, which really helped flush out any issues that could have come up post-arrival. Laura had been breastfed until she was 2 years old and I was breastfed until I was I few weeks old. Laura's mum had lots of support from La Leche League. My mum didn't. Support is key in enabling a mum to establish breastfeeding.

There are so many techniques, books, strategies out there that people follow to bring up their child. Some more than others. But we decided that we would breastfeed B. Well, Laura would. And herein lies the reason for writing this guest post:

How can we support our partners to establish and continue breastfeeding?

Bible in a Year - Day 52

Day 46: Leviticus 20 & 21; Matthew 28
Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him. (Leviticus 20:2)
Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head. If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife —with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. (Leviticus 20:9-10)
 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations. (Leviticus 20:24) 
You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. (Leviticus 20:26) 
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:6) 
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:10) 
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20b) 

Keep Britain Breastfeeding 2 - Mother to Mother Sharing

This post is part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt in the run up to National Breastfeeding Week 2012. This week's theme is mum-to-mum sharing. I asked several of my friends and family who have breastfed their children, or still are, for their experiences and tips. Here are their responses:

1) What was one thing you wish you had known about breastfeeding before you started?

• Even though you can't see how much your baby is having, it will be enough if you keep going. 
• I wish that I'd known it was normal for babies to feed frequently - every 30 minutes sometimes! 
• I wish I'd been prepared to be made to feel bad about breastfeeding by friends and family who hadn't breastfed their babies. They either tried to convince me that F wasn't getting enough, or that I was making them feel guilty because they hadn't been able to breastfeed, or that I was depriving them of time with F. Really!
• That it could be so easy, cheap, nutritious, bonding, and a very special feeling that lasts all your life! (I know it's not easy for everyone)
• That doctors and health visitors don't really know much about breastfeeding - it's not part of their training - and so they can give some very bad advice.

Bible in a Year - Day 45

Day 41 - Leviticus 10, 11 & 12; Matthew 26:1-19
Leviticus is a difficult book so far. I'm struggling to find evidence of our loving God, though perhaps Leviticus 12 shows His love for women. They are unclean from 33 (after a boy) to 66 (after a girl) days after birth. I do not profess to understand all the clean and unclean laws, but I do wonder if perhaps this law was to allow women the chance to rest, recuperate and bond with their new babies. They would be unable to do anything for anyone else, for fear of making them unclean too, so would be free to sleep, to cuddle, to breastfeed, to settle into motherhood. And while it seems unfair that the period of uncleanliness is longer after giving birth to a girl, perhaps this was to allow an extra time of bonding with a new daughter, who would not have the immediate status and importance of a son, and so might need extra love and attachment.

Bible in a Year - Day 40

Day 40 - Leviticus 7, 8 & 9; Matthew 25:31-46

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40)

I love that our God is so good that He calls us to love Him by loving others, by loving the least of these. God loves the people that society forgets and ignores: the hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the prisoner. I think this includes the unborn child, the homeless, drug addicts and immigrants too. It's about valuing people because they are God's perfect creations, and because He loves us first.

Keep Britain Breastfeeding - 1: Why I Breastfeed

DISCLAIMER: I am glad that formula exists - my girl would have starved without it. I believe that scientists who work to make it "closer to breastmilk" do care about babies and want them to be healthy, but the companies do seem to be solely profit-hunting. I am not judging women who choose not to breastfeed, though I admit that I struggle to understand why they don't.


Benefits of Breastfeeding
This week's theme is 'Benefits of Breastfeeding' which ought to be the easiest thing to write about. There are hundreds of benefits, but they're out there already for everyone to read at their leisure. Why should my repeating them be any better at spreading the word? So, I thought, how to make it more personal, more relevant? I asked myself the following - Why did I choose to breastfeed?

My Breastfeeding History

It's normal and natural

I grew up in a breastfeeding family, so to me it has always been normal. The slogan "Breast is Best" really bugs me. It's not best; it's normal and natural; anything else is substandard and unnatural. Hey, even Jesus was breastfed! That slogan is loved by the formula companies because it makes formula seem normal, and breastfeeding better. Who needs better, when normal will do? ¹ But, I digress. We're here to talk benefits of breastfeeding, not the disadvantages and risks of formula feeding, although they amount to the same thing. There are many risks involved in formula feeding.
My mum was a La Leche League counsellor. I have great memories of meeting with LLL families and playing with the other children while our mums sat chatting and nursing our siblings. And I remember going to women's houses and waiting while Mum helped them with feeding their tiny babies. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I really realised there was another way to feed a baby.