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As you carried your baby in your belly, you dreamed of an instant connection between you – just like the soft focused television ads. He would instantly know you are his mother, the one who will protect him and love him forever and he will love you back. You will be his special person, the one he loves more than anyone else in the whole world.

Right now, though, it doesn’t feel like that. Of course you love him and feel utterly responsible for him but it’s not like the ads – you feel like a zombie craving sleep, he seems more like a tiny poop machine who cries and squirms and feeds endlessly and all you want is some feedback that your endless hours of nurturing are truly making a difference.

Your care is helping your baby thrive. It is helping love grow between you and as this bond grows, he will show you in his own special ways that you are the most important person in his world:

When you really think about it, breastfeeding is pretty bloody amazing.

After a woman gives birth, on cue her post-birth hormones kick in, telling her body to produce breastmilk – the perfect amount at the perfect temperature.

Ah-mazing, right?

It’s also the ultimate portable on-the-go snack, has countless health benefits for both mums and babies, and the rush of oxytocin (the ‘love hormone’) stimulated by breastfeeding helps to promote a special bond between mum and baby.

From the practical to the magical, real mums shared with us what they love most about breastfeeding.

Your baby is completely portable and so is his food source if you are breastfeeding. This can make travel with a little one much easier and safer than contending with potentially unsafe sources of infant food, formula and water. It’s also much easier not to have to carry feeding equipment and premixed formula on top of the ‘basic’ baby gear.

If you are planning to travel with your breastfed baby, you may have some anxiety about how this will work in actual practice. So here are a few simple things you can do to enjoy the experience without stress for you or your baby.

by Suzanne Robinson Thursday, February 20, 2020

Having a baby is a life-changing event and one that requires preparation. I read books, looked online and asked other mums about their experiences. For me I was not just having one child first, I ended up having twins as my first children. I don’t know how many do this but I am sure that it is not that common. BigW invited me to be a part of their Bub & Me Education Program in collaboration with select midwives across Australia. This post is the first in my three-part series about being a new mum, breastfeeding, childbirth and great things you can get from BigW for your new little person/people.

MY INTERVIEW WITH PINKY MCKAY

Below are my questions to Pinky and her answers, I hope that this interview is helpful for all new mums.

Pinky McKay is Australia’s most recognised breastfeeding expert

Q1. The expectation of what it is like to be a parent to the reality can be qui

You are exhausted, you are recovering from growing and birthing your beautiful baby. And no, he doesn't sleep ‘all night ‘ yet (in infant sleep studies ‘all night’ is defined as five hours).

If even five uninterrupted hours sleep sounds like a dream come true and the pressure to ‘teach’ your baby to sleep for much longer right from the early days has you doubting your mothering skills, your milk supply and your baby’s ‘goodness’ take heart.Your baby isn't being a dick if he wakes every couple of hours through the night wanting a boob.

Check out these five fun facts you need to know about night time feeds – they will settle all those niggling doubts and help you believe in your self, your baby and your boobs.

As you sit and gaze into your baby’s eyes while you nourish your little one with your sweet warm milk consider, you are saving precious resources that cost the earth – literally.

This isn’t about shaming mums who for whatever reasons do use infant formula, it’s about acknowledging that if we gave more support to women who want to breastfeed, we could have a significant impact on the environment.

If your baby’s bum isn’t as smooth as it should be according to the old adage (‘smooth as a baby’s bum’), but red and inflamed instead, your little one will no doubt cry and be miserable, especially as urine scalds his delicate skin. Although babies with very sensitive skin or a family history of skin disorders such as eczema or psoriasis may be more prone to nappy rash, any baby can be a candidate.

You may have noticed the topic of ‘donor milk’ pop up in your news feed while scrolling through your socials. If you are yet to give birth to your first baby, or you are not familiar with contemporary milk sharing practices, you might find the whole concept a bit…weird. And you could be forgiven for thinking that way, as there is a certain degree of stigma attached to human milk donation. This is mainly due to the fact that we exist in culture which has normalised animal milk consumption, the use of infant formal, and the sexualisation of women’s breasts.