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!

Normal. Am I?

Am I normal? I mean to the extent any of us are normal.

My baby is due in just less than 6 weeks and I'm feeling fine, ok, calm about it.

The cot is up, the pram / pushchair system set up into pram mode (liner added, etc.), the first lot of baby clothes are washed and hanging ready in the wardrobe, hospital bags are packed (mine & baby) with lists ready of last minutes things to grab, checklists checked and double checked, appointments all booked in for next few weeks...

So what's missing?

The only thing I'm conscious of is my need to get some nursing bras, there's a post on that challenge coming up!

But I am not worrying about the labour or the birth. It wasn't something I even thought about until recently. Not because I was worried, but I generally just didn't think about it.

I have read quite a bit on labour and birth, pain relief, coping strategies, and even the what if it all goes tits up information in the last couple of weeks. I had an appointment today with an Obstetric Anaesthetist to see if I can have an epidural should I want or need one. I have been to my 1 three hour antenatal talk provided by the NHS to prepare me for childbirth. I have got an appointment at 36 weeks to discuss it all with a midwife.

I had a wobble a couple of weeks ago. Hormones, build up of stress, depression, whatever you want to call it. Not about the labour but about after, when the baby is here. As I've said before I have never really been around children younger than Seven. But I asked for help. I referred myself to Home Start and the Pregnancy Support midwife. The lady from Home Start was lovely. The Pregnancy Support midwife cannot fit me in for an appointment until two weeks after the expected birth.

My community midwife team referred me to the NSPCC for their new Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond course. This is a new course, currently with 4 mums to be in Leeds. I have only been to one class / group meeting so far but it was helpful as it is the first chance I have had to actually meet other pregnant ladies. This in itself is a great help at making me feel normal! I said one thing I am looking forward to (not the only one mind) is to actually go for a wee! Now that may sound odd, but I think most pregnant ladies will know how I feel. I have spent majority of the last six months worrying I wouldn't make it to the toilet every 30 seconds to be only rewarded with a drip!

I am stressed about housing, finances or rather lack of, my health, etc. but I'm not worrying about birth.

Is this normal? Will it hit me all of a sudden? Will I suddenly be a jibbering wreck in a couple of weeks?

Due to health problems I have not had a named midwife. I have being seeing LGI Antenatal Clinic as well as a midwife team based at my local children's centre. Maybe that's why I'm not panicking, as I have had great support from the hospital already?

The only thing I'm concerned about is that I haven't actually seen the delivery suites. Anxiety and stress are common for me, I can get panicky in new places, often hyperventilating just at the thought of getting there, so I really would like to visit it beforehand. Unfortunately the hospital no longer offer delivery suite tours, they did have an online version that I couldn't find, but that has since been taken down whilst website is redesigned.

Busy

I'm sorry that I haven't had time to blog recently.

I have a lot on at the moment, but I'm remembering to enjoy the rainbows whilst working towards my pot of gold.

Unfortunately, I had to visit the LGI last Friday evening due to having reduced movements, all was fine but as it was my second episode of reduced fetal movement I was booked in for a scan. On Monday, I had the scan, the baby and amniotic fluid were measured. Again all was as should be, but the sonographers need to see the baby move twice during the scan. 

And she just refused, lazy bugger (mummy's girl). 

I ended up stood up, jiggling my stomach and telling her to move. I'm sure it would have looked rather strange to anyone watching. She did as was told. Eventually!

So although I have an OU assignment and an OU EMA (which is worth 50% of my course) that are both due before my daughter. Plus a couple of WIPs that I want to finish for various reasons; financial and exposure mainly, I'm not stressing.

I was also lucky enough to get a place on the So You Want To Be A... Writer at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. An amazing opportunity, I hope to make the best of. The showcase of this is the day before my baby's due date.

I am in the final six weeks of my pregnancy now and am lucky that I'm not at the 'I just want it all to be over' stage. Obviously, I'm looking forward to her arrival, but I'm really hoping that she follows my time keeping and makes a late appearance.

She is due on Saturday 2nd June, which is Jubilee Weekend, also England face Belgium at Wembley that day for the last Friendly before the Euro 2012 starts days later.

Hospital appointments, antenatal groups, final baby checklists, and life are taking up the rest of my time. I promise I haven't neglected you, well I have, but hopefully not for much longer.

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!

What the heck do I need in my Hospital Bag?

I have decided to pack a bag properly for the hospital. I started to do this as I progressed in pregnancy, but as with most things in my life, I lose interest quickly, so it is currently full of lots of things but I'm not sure how useful.

A quick search on Google for hospital bag returns a staggering 46,400,000 results! Wow!

Most of the pregnancy sites have a (downloadable) checklist for what to take.

Aptamil

Asda Baby & Toddler Club

Baby Centre

Baby World 

BBC

Boots

Bounty

Cow And Gate

Emma's Diary

Everyday Maternity

Good To Know

HiPP Baby Club 

Huggies Club

Mumsnet

Netmums

NHS

Pampers Village

Sainsbury's Little Ones

Seraphine

SMA

The Baby Registry

Which?

Ok, at this point, I have three options:

1) Print of all the checklists and cross reference what I need, stressful & time consuming

2) Say sod it! and buy one pre-packed - expensive and probably missing something vital

3) Breathe and ask people (i.e. new mums) who know what I actually need.

The current list I have:

Before you go:

Do a supermarket shop before your due date so you have all the essentials.

If you can, make and freeze a few meals for when you come home.

As do not have a car, I could call a taxi. Alternatively, arrange for an ambulance to pick you up. 

Birthing Partner - A pillow, blanket, and change of clothes for your birthing partner in case s/he’s in for an overnight stay. Ask them to pack their own bag, one less thing for you to do.

 

Mum’s bag:

Labour: 

• Mobile Phone (with music & portable speakers) and charger 
• Address book (contained in mobile). Make sure you have hospital number (phone number and reference number) somewhere accessible!
• Watch with a second hand or digital timer to time contractions (if using mobile phone one or app, make sure you know how to use it. Practice beforehand). 
• Pen & paper (notes in mobile if forget or it has this capability, most do)
• Contact details for your partner/birthing partner 
• Birth plan and maternity notes, Picture ID, insurance card and any other hospital paperwork you might need. 
• Money in change / coins about £10 for parking, snacks, drinks {although check parking costs online, they’re bloody expensive!} 
• Books/magazines/games
• Nightie or pyjama’s (Choose an old nightie or long t-shirt for labour you'll feel comfy walking around the delivery room or ward in) 
• Cardigan or sweatshirt (you may feel chilly in strong labour) 
• Dressing gown - Hospitals can be very warm, so a lightweight one is better
• Slippers 
• Socks (you may feel chilly in strong labour) 
• Underwear - (7-10 pairs). Either disposable or old, cheap knickers. If your waters break, no matter where you are, you'll want a change of underwear to help make you feel more comfortable. 
• Hot water bottle, cool pack or Massage oil (unscented) for pain relief. 
• TENS pain relief machine, if you are planning to use one.
• Your own birth ball – although your hospital may provide them 
• Facial sponge, for dabbing and sucking on or water spray / fan. Keep a water spray in the fridge until you leave for hospital. It's great for gentle cool-downs during labour.  
• Drinks and sandwiches or snacks in a cool-bag with (for you and birth partner) to keep you well hydrated throughout labour. Pop a flexible ice pack in the cool-bag before you leave to keep the drinks cool. It can double as a cool-pack for your forehead whilst in labour. Take bendy straws too, they will make drinking easier if you are lying down. It is a good idea to take some food in case you feel hungry; you will need to keep your energy levels up. Bananas, cereal bars, and glucose tablets. 

   

After birth: 

• Birth announcement cards, pen (if you are staying in overnight) 
•  Your favourite treat - you deserve it! 
• A mini bottle of bubbly and some chocolates to celebrate 
• Antibacterial wipes or hand solution to help protect from bacteria 
•  Camera & memory card, extra batteries 
• Arnica tablets to help with bruising after the birth. Although there is no conclusive evidence that they work (NHS 2007), many women report that taking arnica helps reduce bruising and helps the healing process. 
• Nursing bra (at least two, as you can get sweaty in hospital and if your milk comes early, your bra may get wet). A well-fitting ordinary bra if not, just remember your breasts may be larger than usual. 
• Breast pads you’ll need these even if you don’t plan to breastfeed (to absorb leaks of colostrum and milk).
• Lansinoh lanolin cream for breastfeeding to aid sore or cracked nipples. 
• Maternity pads - for before the birth if your waters break, and for afterwards when you'll bleed quite heavily (24)
• Toiletries - pack a sponge bag with a:
  • Body cream
  • Cleanser, toner and moisturiser
  • Contact lenses and spare glasses (even if you wear contacts)
  • Deodorant
  • Ear plugs, in case you end up on a noisy ward!
  • Eye mask, If you have trouble sleeping with the lights on
  • Face wipes
  • Flannel
  • Hairbrush, a hair band or scrunchie to tie back your hair or keep it off your face
  • Lip balm (gas and air can make your lips very dry)
  • Make-up and remover
  • Medications (check suitable if breastfeeding)
  • Mirror
  • Shampoo
  • Shower gel
  • Soap
  • Tissues
  • Toothbrush
  • Toothpaste
   
• Towels (preferably dark coloured so won’t get mixed up with hospital laundry). 
• Flip flops for the shower. The best hot shower you will ever take is after giving birth 
• Going home clothes - Bring something loose and easy to get into - preferably a selection from your maternity wardrobe - along with a pair of flat shoes. 
• Laundry bag for dirty clothes 
• Front opening nightdress or pyjamas for after the birth for easy breastfeeding (if you've made the breastfeeding decision) 
• Pillows - It is comforting. Just make sure you have a colourful cover on it to distinguish it from the hospitals. Also a v-shaped pillow (can help make baby feeding more comfortable)

Baby’s bag: 

• Sleepsuits / babygrows x 2 /3 - 6 
• Vests x 2/3 – 6 
• Scratch mittens 
• Hat 
• Socks – that can fit over babygro’s
• Going home outfit
  
• Outdoor clothes suitable for the time of year (cardigan, jacket, snowsuit) 
• Baby bottles - if you are bottle-feeding. Some maternity units may have sterilising equipment, so check with them and bring your own formula milk and sterilising equipment if needed
• Muslin squares 
• A pack of newborn nappies, nappy bags and nappy rash cream (if you're using terry towelling, include your own nappy pins) 
• Top and tail bowl (in case the hospital does not provide one - check with your midwife in advance)
• Cotton wool balls / unperfumed baby wipes / baby sponge - for bathing. 
• Hooded baby towels 
• Baby nail clippers 
• Colic drops may be useful as many newborns suffer
• Blankets 
• Pushchair or car seat - babies travelling home by car must be strapped into properly fitted car seats
• Soft toy suitable for newborns

How much of this is necessary? Anything I have forgotten? Or any extra nice to haves?  

Please leave me a comment if there is.

I am at hospital numerous times shortly, so I will check with them.