jemjabella

Server Downtime – Planned Maintenance

Clook are having a planned server move thingy this weekend which means my site will be unavailable from 10pm-6am GMT on the 26th November (Saturday). I have no idea what that is in foreign times, but probably smack bang in the middle of the day. My email should be fine because it’s hosted elsewhere.

This will also affect:

• theqbee.net
• rev.iew.me
• sirbendy.co.uk
• telfordslingmeet.co.uk
• babyledweaning.com

..and a few other hosted sites who may or may not post their own bloody notice :P

Apologies for the dreadful inconvenience.

Isabel is Weaning

Except by weaning, I mean weaned. But if I write weaned all official like that in my title it’ll mean it’s true, and I don’t think I can handle that at the moment :(

Truth be told she’s not had a feed that involved actual milk transfer in well over a month (early October). She’s nursed a few times since then but usually for a few seconds, before announcing “finished” and toddling off… not long enough to stimulate let down, never mind actual milk flow. Thus, my boobies have all dried up.

I wish that I could say it was because I’m pregnant, at least then the guilt I’m feeling would be rational. Instead I feel like I’ve let her down but can’t put my finger on why.

You’re all probably thinking I’ve lost my marbles about now. She’s 2, she’s not a “baby”. I guess my problem lies with the research that tells us babies typically self-wean around the age of 4, and if my baby hasn’t lasted that long, then what did I do wrong?

It all started ‘going wrong’ when she began sleeping through the night around 6 months ago. I’d wanted her to sleep for so long, and when she did (no influence from us) … well, I had no idea that it would be the beginning of the end of our nursing relationship. From there she was down to 2 feeds a day (after nursery, and before bed). She replaced the first with a yoghurt — her choice; tantrums if we had none in — and the last with cuddles.

I did everything as I “should”. She never had bottles or a dummy. She slept sleeps in our bed. We didn’t night wean or sleep train. She had on demand access to the boob when she wanted it. I didn’t restrict her feeds to certain hours or enforce rules about “only at home” (not bothered about feeding a toddler in public). I guess I went back to work. But I only work 4 days, so why didn’t she compensate over the other 3?

I don’t have answers, and I don’t understand why I’m so bothered about something so totally out of my control. Maybe it’s the hormones. Maybe it’s normal to feel this way when something so special comes to an end.

Sigh.

Beansprout

I, err, wasn’t going to post about this for a while… but given that I’ve gone into hibernation mostly and people are questioning wtf I’m doing with myself these days, I might as well.

I’m pregnant (bundle of cells currently cheesily-nicknamed Beansprout, thanks Katy) — currently 9 weeks 1 day — due 2nd June 2012. The good news is that the hyperemesis has not returned. The bad news is I have just regular morning sickness/nausea, which is still fairly gross and exhausting. I’ve been going to bed at 7pm just so that I make it through the next day without crashing in a tired heap. It doesn’t help that I have a cold/cough, which as you can probably imagine, is not conducive to keeping food down.

So anyway, there you go. Scan pics as and when they happen, should everything stick around.

Ultimately failier than you

So, I had my second driving test yesterday.

Perfect drive – probably one of my best. Remembered all the mirror signal manoeuvre crap, pulled off a perfect parallel park, avoided several knobbers driving over my side of the bloody road, wasn’t affected by the rain. All going GREAT.

And then it’s the independent driving part, and I read the sign as straight over the roundabout. Got in lane, approach exit, suddenly worry I’m going the wrong way and instead of doing the sensible thing and leaving at that exit and assessing the situation I decide to carry on around the roundabout. But I’m in the wrong lane and haven’t signalled.

FAIL.

What a stupid cock-up. I mean, yeah, I felt like crap and thought I was going to hurl, but it’s no excuse for such an amateur move.

Oh well, third time lucky.

I hate the media (breastfeeding in the press)

In January of this year, Mary Fewtrell & co published an opinion piece in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) questing the evidence behind the WHO’s recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months. This caused newspapers and online news sites to come out with headlines like:

Six months of breastmilk alone is too long and could harm babies, scientists now say — The Guardian

Too much breastfeeding ‘puts children off greens’ — The Independent

Weaning before six months ‘may help breastfed babies’ — BBC News

Parenting forums everywhere rapidly filled with threads, everything from “omg am I killing my baby by exclusive breastfeeding?!” to smug “I told you to start on purees at 8 weeks” from a generation of older parents. Suddenly people were telling all and sundry that the Government guidelines on weaning were changing and that mums should take note. A cursory glance at mumsnet just now and I count 2 references to the BBC article in one topic (posted on this weekend… not an old thread by any stretch of the imagination) to support early weaning.

The piece was heavily criticised by doctors, midwives and professors in the rapid response section of BMJ; by Baby Milk Action; by LLL GB (La Leche League GB); by lactivists and breastfeeding supporters everywhere. (There are some fantastic responses on the rapid response from people much smarter than me. Definitely worth a read.)

So why is it that, 6 months on, when an actual study featuring our controversial friend Fewtrell was published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (and elsewhere) confirming the adequacy of breast milk and exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months (emphasis my own):

Results of this prospective study reveal that when mothers are well supported and follow the World Health Organization recommendation on breastfeeding, milk intakes are high and increase over time, and there is adequate energy intake, normal infant growth, and no marked changes in breastfeeding practices. This new empirical evidence on adaptations during exclusive breastfeeding should help health professionals promote the initiation, duration, and exclusivity of breastfeeding.

…it gets nary a mention in the media? This is an actual study, using actual sciencey bits, and isn’t just the opinion of a baby-food industry puppets. And yet, no BBC telling us that in reality, breastfed babies are ok on just breast milk; no Guardian telling us that actually, 6 months of breastfeeding is just bloody fine.

Oh yes, that’s right, because telling mums they’re doing well (instead of admonishing them for yet another failure) wouldn’t boost sales, would it?