alexist

Do not take meat out of the freezer in the dark.

Otherwise, you may discover later that instead of 2 packages of mince, you took out one package of mince and one package of chicken fat. (The packages of mince were on the small side, so I needed 2.)

Tonight's dinner is brought to you by... erm... well, it's not meat loaf.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for baby health and safety, but the latest DoH guidelines on preparing formula are over the top. They say formula should not be made up in advance as milk powder is not sterile. Their procedure?

Boil water, cool 30 mins.
Make up 1 bottle.
Cool the bottle to the correct temperature under the cold tap.
Use immediately.

Now that's practical when your baby isn't on a schedule! Never mind that it's incredibly inconvenient, especially at night.

I'll be honest: I boil the water the way they say, but then make about 4 bottles up at a time and put them in the fridge. When Aliza starts fussing, I boil the kettle, pour some water into a jug, and heat the bottle that way. All the formula gets used up within 12 hours. I'd never leave made-up formula out of the fridge, or save unused formula for more than 30mins or so (Aliza tends to stop, wait 10 mins or so, then want the rest; I think that's all right as bacteria can't possibly multiply THAT quickly) but I draw the line here. Even if milk powder isn't 100% sterile it can't be that full of bacteria, and I use it fairly quickly.

What's next, telling breastfeeding mothers to sterilise their nipples in case baby catches something?

I made the mistake of reading the formula feeding section of one of the UK parenting websites. Let's leave the hot potato issue of women who don't even try--what got me were the women who quit early when they may not have had to, either through ignorance or actual bad advice. Women need to know that if it's painful, there are things they can do to make it more comfortable. A lot of breastfeeding problems can be fixed. (Not all, as I may yet be evidence of that! But many.) And it's even worse when they get wrong advice from health visitors or midwives. Usually, from the stories I read, they think the baby's not getting enough, and tell the mother to add formula. There's 2 problems here: 1, in some cases the baby's weight gain is just fine! Breast fed babies gain more slowly than formula fed ones. I know of one woman who was told to supplement even when everything else seemed fine (plenty of dirty nappies, baby happy, feeding plenty and no other signs of malnutrition--the baby just didn't conform to the chart). 2, advising formula supplementation straight away can often lead to a cycle of lowered milk supply. Unless supply is critically low and formula is really needed, they should be focusing on trying to improve milk supply--and even if formula is added in, they should emphasise how to keep production going along with the supplement.

Of course, I realise I'm in a privileged position. Being a serious BF nazi is a very privileged thing. In some ways, it shouldn't be. All women should have access to this kind of knowledge and they should be supported rather than being given the "easy" way out. But it's also expensive. We've spent quite a bit of money on trying to make breastfeeding work. A hospital pump (rented directly from Medela) costs £49 for the first 10 days (including personal collection kit, delivery and pick-up) and £40/month thereafter. (For comparison purposes, a Medela Swing, which is a single portable pump, costs £89 to buy and a Pump In Style [double electric aimed at working mothers] costs £220. They're suitable for expressing when supply is established; the hospital grade pumps are better for exclusive pumping and/or early days.) We were also able to try specialist feeders--again more expensive--and supplements to try to bring in my supply. It's doable for us, but not for everyone. And I wish that weren't true. Breastfeeding is something that should be available to all babies, and my sense is that many babies aren't getting it because their mothers aren't in the good position I am. They get the double whammy of not getting the support they need (hospitals have improved, and they support it in hospital, but do women have access to the help they need when things don't work according to plan?) and not being able to afford expensive help if simple things don't work.