At my baby shower, I was given a preggy roll by one of my friends. “What is a preggy roll?” you ask. Picture a large banana-shaped pillow. You sleep with one end between your legs, one end under your head, and the curve supporting your belly. It sounds a bit strange, but it’s amazing.

After the first night I used it, I couldn’t believe I’d spent seven months of my pregnancy without it. By that point I was so large and uncomfortable that trying to find a good position to sleep in was an exercise in futility. I’m still not sure how Hubby managed to sleep through my constant tossing and turning. (Probably the same way he sleeps through our daughter’s chattering on the baby monitor in the wee hours of the morning. On weekends he has the night shift, and I have to wake him to go settle the princess back to sleep.)

One afternoon I entered the bedroom to find Hubby trying out the preggy roll for himself. On waking, he proclaimed he also needed one. He’s used it several times since. I understand his envy – it really is comfortable to curl up with the preggy roll and drift off to dreamland. Our daughter is almost six months old and I’m still using the preggy roll.

Its use is not limited to sleep, however. The preggy roll makes a fantastic breastfeeding pillow. Sometimes Angelique gets so comfortable that I don’t need my hands to support her head, and as most moms know having the use of two hands at any time is a luxury to be appreciated.

You can also use your preggy roll to prop your baby up when she starts sitting. Angelique likes to lean back, her arms resting on the preggy roll and her legs crossed in front of her as if she’s on the beach. I have a feeling she’s going to love the preggy roll as much as her parents do.

But now it’s naptime. Excuse me while I go snuggle up with my preggy roll …

Any free lovin’, huggin’ hippies out there? If that’s you, take note of the following names: Poppy Honey, Daisy Boo, Petal Blossom Rainbow and Buddy Bear Maurice. These are the names of chef Jamie Oliver’s four children. I love Jamie but seriously… Buddy Bear? It’s hard not to judge.

Keen for more? Check out these beauties:

Australian soap star Ingo Rademacher called his son Peanut.
Geri Halliwell’s daughter is named Bluebell Madonna.
US actress Shannyn Sossamon has a son called Audio Science.
Jordan ‘s daughter is Princess Tiaamii.
Frank Lampard’s little girl is called Luna Coco Patricia.
US magician Penn Jillette named his daughter Moxie CrimeFighter .

Be afraid. Be hysterical. Be inspired. The aforementioned names certainly result in some kind of ‘Be’. Perhaps that’s the point?

…and Medela pump gets thumbs up

I wrote a post a couple of months ago I wrote an article entitled Tommee Tippee to the rescue. Well, I spoke too soon. My pump broke shortly thereafter. I can’t be sure what the exact problem was but I think that it had something to do with water being sucked through the pipe into the swing and eventually destroying the electronics. I have since purchased the Medela breast pump, which was a budget stretch but definitely worth it.

One small difference between the Tommee Tippee pump and my new Medela pump pumps is the ‘how to look after’ advice in the Medela manual, which states that if the pipe gets water in it (or milk), leave the pump on (without being attached to the breast attachment) until the water has evaporated to make sure that it is not sucked into the swing device. Maybe it’s a logical solution but it would have been nice if Tommee Tippee had informed its users of this small but significant piece of ‘pump care’ information. It would have saved me some money.

I am sure that this care info is applicable across all pumps, so make sure those pipes are dry ladies!

Colic is commonly perceived as an incurable, illusive illness that plagues small babies and sends parents into a deep, dark pit of desperation. The aforementioned view is both true and false; colic is not an illness and although it often can be extremely stressful for parents and uncomfortable for babies, there are ways to manage the condition. Bupa describes colic as “inconsolable crying in a healthy newborn baby with bouts of fussiness and irritability. The condition has no known cause but is harmless, although it can be very distressing for parents or carers.” Colic is quite common, affecting up to two out of every 10 babies, and it usually desists after about 4 months.

A recent colic survey carried out by Consumer Analysis Ltd, revealed that the third most common treatment for baby’s colicky symptoms, after giving medicine and using massage, was to change the feeding bottle used to another brand. Consumer Analysis undertook this survey, commissioned by Central Medical Supplies Ltd with a view to producing a set of independent, practical recommendations for a better understanding of colic, its symptoms and remedies. 1000 respondents took part across 12 UK regions. Key findings informed that

• Dr Brown’s Natural Flow was the first choice (43%) for mums changing their baby’s bottle to relieve the symptoms of colic.
• Three quarters of babies with colic (75%) whose mums changed to Dr Brown’s Natural

Flow saw improvement in their colicky symptoms after their bottles were changed.

• Only two out of five mums with young babies (42%) could correctly name one or more of the symptoms of colic.
• According to mums in the survey, the most recognised sign of colic is the baby’s legs curling up to their stomach (26%), followed by long periods of crying (23%).
• Colic led 62% of mums to be frustrated because they couldn’t solve the problem, 29% felt that the crying caused a lot of stress in the household and a fifth (20%) felt guilty because they thought that they were doing something wrong.
• Concerned mums were more likely to turn to their health visitor than their mum for advice about their colicky baby (47% vs. 29%).

There is no known cure for colic but there are a wide range of medicinal remedies available, which the survey revealed were not always welcomed by mums. In fact, 46% of mums reported they were concerned about giving medicine to such young babies. This suggests that mums are more inclined to remedy their baby’s colic in a non-medicinal, more practical manner. The fact that mums reported getting very different messages from health professionals on how to treat their baby’s colic would also suggest that practical solutions are preferred. According to the survey, GPs often offered conflicting advice; some GPs avoided prescribing medicines altogether, whilst others believed it to be the best solution. Many recommended gripe water and rubbing the baby’s tummy or back.

Of the 28% of mums who attempted a more practical solution by changing their baby’s bottle to an alternative brand, 43% chose Dr Brown’s Natural Flow feeding system as their number one choice. Three quarters (75%) of mums who used this brand went on to report an improvement in their baby’s colic symptoms. Some mums, 35%, stated that the new bottle relieved symptoms instantly, after just one feed, with over half (53%) seeing an improvement within a day in their baby’s colicky symptoms.

Dr Brown’s Natural Flow is a fully vented, vacuum free baby bottle. The company’s goal is to provide the best technology-driven products available whether a baby is fed on expressed breast milk or infant formula.

Reported by Response Source

The verdict on my Tommeee Tippee breast pump is in: it’s awesome. Why? Because it makes expressing milk as non-weird, convenient, quick and painless as possible. I decided as soon as I fell pregnant that I was going to breast feed and that my lifestyle would demand that I express milk – a thought that completely grossed me out. I am not keen on the whole idea of milking myself like. I am no bovine. I knew that expressing by hand was a big no-no and even expressing manually with some sort of device was out of the question for me. So it had to be an electric breast pump that would allow me to maintain some semblance of a social life with my newborn. I purchased a Tommee Tippee breast pump because it was the one on special when I went pump hunting. And the decision paid off. Expressing takes little concentration and effort and I usually do it in the company of BBC iPlayer to alleviate boredom. So thanks Tommee Tippee for a great device that has helped me maintain some independence as a new mom.

Related Breast pumps are weird

I remember a friend telling me of a vision she had as she was bringing her new born son home from the hospital: masses and masses of mounds of nappies … nappies that are not biodegradable but just hang around for years and years. She told me that the guilt she felt was insurmountable before she had even committed the unforgivable act of using disposable nappies in place of the ‘towlies’ that all of our parents used.

I do my best for the environment: recycle, public transport, energy saving light bulbs, organic veg … blah blah blah … but I just can’t bring myself to use a ‘towly’. I have never changed a nappy in my entire twenty-seven years of existence and, with my baby girl due in three weeks time, I need the process to be as non-disgusting as possible otherwise I think I will freak out – seriously! Nappy changing is always gross – I have no doubt – but at least disposables can be thrown away whereas towlies have to be washed. And if the poop and pee leaks *gag* into a towly, it will absorb it and then *gag* have to be washed (rather than chucked), and I am certain that the harsh and thus non-enviro-friendly chemicals required to effectively clean the poop-absorbed-towly will make up for the non-biodegradable disposables that I intend on using.

Whilst I justify my decision to consciously assist in the destruction of our already fragile planet, let me reveal that it does not have to be this way. The Nature Babycare brand has created a range of eco-friendly disposable nappies as well as nappy bags, nursing pads, disposable bibs and the list continues. It’s all very exciting to have a means to save the environment from mass nappy mounds but is it an affordable option? Check out the table below, which provides a brief comparison in price between nappy brands:

The Nature Babycare brand seems to be the eco-friendly brand that is most easily available in frequented stores around town but there are also online sites that offer alternative enviro-friendly disposable nappy brands:

Naturebotts.co.uk
Spiritofnature.co.uk