Who are Petite Maman, and why should you care?

A guest post

Previously, I wrote about my difficulty in finding nursing bras in my size, Breasts & Bras, and Ash contacted me with details of her business, a true Mumpreneur.

 

I have always struggled to find bras to fit my 34AA boobs, and when I became pregnant last year I knew that it would be a mission trying to find nursing bras. With people constantly telling me that your boobs go up at last 2 cup sizes when you have a baby I was hopeful but not entirely surprised when I barely grew into an A cup by the end of my pregnancy!

By that point I had spent a lot of time online, trying to research suppliers that make smaller sized nursing bras and found a fantastic manufacturer that would offer me samples on a wholesale basis. That’s when the idea for Petite Maman started to take shape. I became even more determined that I had a right to feel comfortable and beautiful in a bra that fitted well while embarking on the journey of breastfeeding for the first time. The only A cup bras on offer from other retailers left a lot to be desired with shapeless cups and stretchy white fabric. I received my first sample bra by airmail from a specialist international manufacturer just days before my due date! Finally, I had found nursing lingerie that was great quality, beautiful and most importantly suited my figure. Road testing began when my baby boy arrived and I was so impressed with the bras that I wanted to make them available to other petite mums!

In my experience, when it comes to breastfeeding there can be enough obstacles to overcome without having an ill-fitting, ghastly nursing bra to contend with as well. I think all mums deserve the chance to feel great about themselves and what they’re wearing, especially when they have a new baby to look after.

So without further ado, I am pleased to offer these A and B cup bras to help you become the 'Yummy Mummy' you were born to be!

 

www.petitemaman.co.uk

www.facebook.com/petitemamaninfo 

Please add a comment to let me know of any problems you had finding pregnancy and / or nursing wear?

                             

Breastfeeding (postnatal thoughts)

Following on from my Breastfeeding (antenatal thoughts), what, how, and why did I do following my baby being born?

I breastfed. Yep, that's right. I could and I did. So far, successfully. 

In the hospital I was told to wake her and feed her every hour. She would only feed for five minutes, then sleep again. The staff were concerned she wasn't feeding long enough or not latched on correctly, they checked, she was. When I was discharged (20 hours after her birth), there was a gap on approx. 3 hours between feeds, which she slept through. After waking her, she fed about 20 minutes before falling back asleep.

I continued to wake her every hour, but was exhausted myself, often falling asleep whilst feeding her. Not good! We incrased the gaps between feeds, although still had to wake her! 

As we've gone on she will let me know when she's ready. She is skilled at emptying a breast quickly! It can be painfully full, but within 5 minutes of starting a feeding, it's dry and baby is contently full and asleep. 

I have fed her wherever we are when she needs feeding and have never received any negative comments. There are a lot of places that have feeding rooms now, although I have never used one. 

During our trip to London for the Olympics, I fed her in the Olympic Staduim. I felt quite self conscious at first, but your dignity soon goes after the first leak! When she was about 6 weeks, we were feeding in a cafe, she let go, and the milk kept coming, straight over the table! I was so embarassed, I wanted to hide, but I couldn't, so on we went, with mumbled apologies.

As I was still having therapy, I restarted my appointments four weeks after her birth. At that point I couldn't express, she just wasn't leaving enough behind. To be honest, she's now 13 weeks and I still cannot express a lot unless she misses a feed so it defeats the object. 

Anyway, so no boob and no expressed milk. I did the unthinkable, I left a bottle of formula for her! Oh no! Terrible mummy. She wont take a bottle. She'll get nipple confusion. She wont go back to breast...

Utter crap! She took the formula and the bottle no problem, and went back to breast with no issues. She now has formula one or two feeds a week and she is fine switching between both.

Breastfeeding (antenatal thoughts)

Just in case you don't know by now, Breast is Best.

So what happens when you can't breastfeed, or actually just don't want to? You become the scum of the Earth.

Throughout my pregnancy I was constantly told about how breast feeding is best for both, mum and baby. At every appointment I went to I received more leaflets on it. Now whilst I was pregnant and not in the best of (mental) health I was really struggling with everything. One of my major issues (and I'm fairly certain I'm not alone in this) is that EVERYTHING I can or don't do is a reflection of sh*t I am, an excuse to beat myself up and generally set the negative emotions and thoughts flowing, until I feel so crap that life isn't worth living.

My pregnancy (physically) was straight forward, despite the ongoing drama that can be the NHS. OK, so it wasn't the Disney 'life is wonderful, all glowing' experience, but no major issues either. I hoped that I would be able to breastfeed, I did not think otherwise. But then, what if I can't? I mean some women produce no milk, can't get baby to latch on, don't like it, and a million and one other reasons why they might not or cannot breast feed. This made me quite panicky, given my mental health and my uncertainty about being a mother, things obviously escalated quite quickly. It's the only thing I can do (personally) as a mother, so what if I can't? Obviously I'm right if thinking she'd be better elsewhere....

In the final months of my pregnancy I was admitted to The Mount. I had spoken about my fears with the staff there, who gave me lots of positive words. The phrase that stuck with me was 'There's a reason we have a milk kitchen'. And it helped, to an extent, but I decided I didn't want to think or talk about it. 

My Health Visitor came to meet me and her first question (not the only person to do so, I hasten to add) was, 'Are you going to breastfeed?'. I burst in to tears!

Introducing baby

Just in case you didn't know, I have had a baby!

This is my beautiful baby's first picture.

 

This was about an hour after she was born, (when my birthing partner actually arrived! Thanks Fran *laughs*)

Newborn Checklists - What do I need?!

I posted recently about What the heck do I need in my Hospital Bag? and thought whilst I was asking you lovely people for help, I may as well ask this question too...

What does my newborn baby actually need? 

There are again a million and one posts, websites, etc. that list the 'essential you MUST buy for baby' lists, but I don't believe I actually need it all. Am I being naive? Or realistic?

Please take a look at my lists below and do please comment on anything you think is unnecessary, or that is blatantly missing.

Things we definitely need:

• A pram, pushchair, or buggy that lies flat, so is suitable for newborn babies.
• Car seat
• Cot (with mattress) and sheets and blankets or a bottom sheet and a baby sleeping bag
• Feeding equipment - I'm hoping to breastfeed, so do I need anything? Although should I have bottle feeding equipment just in case? e.g.  bottles / teats / bottle brush, formula and sterilising equipment.
• Nappies - I am planning to use disposable for first few weeks at least, then possibly reuseable.
• Changing mat
• Nursing bra, breast pads, and nipple cream.
• Baby toiletries - nappy wipes, cotton wool balls, cotton buds, a good nappy rash cream (Do baby’s need wash / shampoo etc.? General consensus is no.)
• Brush and comb
• Plenty of towels / flannels / muslin squares
• Shawl or snow suit
• Six sleep suits/ long sleeved suits
• Six vests/ short sleeved suits
• Two cardigans/ jackets
• Hat, socks, and bootees

Things that are nice to have:

• 2 or 4 pacifiers (if I choose to use these)
• A special 'feeding' pillow or a 'V' shaped cushion
• Baby bath - although baby can use the big bath (have support), share with me, or I could use a new washing-up bowl at the very beginning.
• Baby box or bag
• Baby carrier or sling
• Baby monitor
• Basket/ crib (plus mattress, sheets and blankets)
• Bath thermometer
• Bottle rack
• Bouncy chair
• Breast pump and Breast milk storage bags
• Change table / unit
• Changing bag with a change mat
• Digital ear thermometer
• Highchair
• Mattress protectors (one for my bed as well)
• Mobiles
• Nail scissors/clippers
• Nappy wrapper
• Night light
• Playmat for tummy time
• Playpen
• Portable cot
• Rocking chair for feeding and swaddling
• Scratch mittens (one or two pairs). Don't use these unnecessarily: most infants don't actually need them, and all babies benefit from having their hands free for exploring, and for self comforting by sucking their fingers. It's better to keep baby's fingernails trimmed, rather than their hands hidden away!
• Sunshades for car windows
• Rattles and other baby toys - although not really necessary at first, they are nice for me and baby to enjoy together.

As always all comments greatly appreciated, and needed before I pull my hair out!