Lanolising wool for cloth nappies

Once you get the hang of it, caring for your wool nappy cover is quite
simple:

It won't need washing after every use, only when it starts to smell,
which I find happens about every 2-3 weeks when used every night.

To preserve the lanolin coating it is best to handwash using a wool
wash which contains lanolin:

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Fill a bowl with enough hand warm water to cover your wool & add a
generous squeeze of wool wash.

Place the wool into the water & squeeze to make sure the water is
fully absorbed.

Leave to soak for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Take the wool out of the water and spin in the washing machine. Any
speed will be fine as on it's own the wool will stich to the side of
the drum. (I usually turn longies inside out to prevent felting)

Air dry flat to keep the shape.

When the wool starts to feel damp on the outside you will need to re-
lanolise it. I usually lanolise at every other wash. I.e. roughly
every 6 weeks.

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Place a teaspoon of lanolin in a mug of boiled water and stir until
lanolin is completely melted.

Add a generous squeeze of wool wash or baby wash and stir. The mixture
should go a milky white colour and there should be no oily lanolin
floating on the surface. Add more wash if necessary.

Add the lanolin mixture to a bowl of hand warm water and continue as
for regular handwashing above.

The lanolising process also washes, so it is not necessary to wash the
wool first.

Charlotte's Birth Story

So, the short version:

Charlotte May was born at home and in water 12 days overdue at 4:20am weighing 9lbs after a very quick 1hour 10mins of labour.  No drugs & no tears, just an all natural, happy experience!

And the (very!) long version:

A few weeks ago I was getting very worried because Baby was overdue and the hospital were starting to get tetchy about induction.  That day I decided that the stress of it was holding things up and I had to do anything I could to relax and help baby come naturally.  So we blew up the birth pool and filled it to have a splash around with Henry as a way of visualising my home waterbirth and reconnecting with the idea that it could still happen!

After that we put the lid on it, still filled and covered it with duvets to stop the cat popping it again!  Thank goodness we did, because at the speed everything happened once it got started I would have never made it into the pool otherwise!
That night I went to bed thinking "It could be tonight!" but in the morning I woke up disappointed that still nothing had happened.  This was 40+10 days.

That day I had a second membrane sweep with the midwife and told her how serious my anxiety about hospital birth was.  I recognise now that it is actually a phobia.  She was amazingly supportive and very encouraging. She told me what to do if the hospital staff started with the bullying ("Do you want your baby to die?" was said to a friend of mine who opted for monitoring) and ended by saying the sweep went very well & she was sure to see me during the night anyway!

I went home feeling so much more positive and even had some mild contractions about and hour after the sweep.  The contractions slowly became more frequent and slightly stronger throughout the evening until I was almost ready to say something to Hubby. But just at that moment he ran into the bathroom and threw up!!

My first thought was Norovirus!! How can I possibly give birth in a house with a sickness bug! I'll have to go to hospital, and Hubby won't be able to come with me!!  And immediately the contractions stopped.

After seeing me in tears, Hubby decided it was better to own up to having eaten a piece of cheese from Henry's leftover lunch after it had been sitting out for 8 hours!  So I went to bed with no sympathy at all for the sick Hubby, but at least I was calmer.  The contractions didn't return though.

Day 40+11 marked the first day of monitoring.  We went to the hospital where the Triage midwife was surprised to see us a day early (on the orders of the consultant) and said "I don't know what they're worrying for, there's no room to book you in for induction for a week anyway! You'd think they'd be pleased."

Monitoring was fine, but tedious. I was strapped up for over an hour, but eventually baby woke up & did some big wriggles and I was free to go.  

I was so grateful to be spared the tough talk from the consultant, who I wouldn't see until 40+14 due to the bank holiday. I felt so much more relaxed that I had 3 more days before I had to face the bullying and now I knew the monitoring itself would be no problem.

So after a long, strange day that involved missing my brother's wedding, Hubby being sick in the car, while driving (!?!) and being peed on by Henry I went to bed exhausted.

At about 3am a mild contraction woke me up.  Then another came pretty quickly after it, this time much stronger. Hubby woke up as I got up to go to the loo & I asked him to get the TENS out.

As I was on the loo the feeling of needing to do a poo wouldn't go away.  I doubted myself as I had 18 hours of contractions before I got to that point with Henry, but contractions were strong, lasting 50s to 1min and only 2.5 to 4 minutes apart!  I told hubby to forget the TENS and go straight for the pool!

In the mean time I phoned the delivery suite and asked for the midwife to be sent.  Contractions held off until the second I put the phone down when a big contraction wave crashed over me, I heard a squeaky pop and the waters sploshed onto the floor, like in the movies!  Thank goodness I was in the lino-floored bathroom!

Called down to Hubby to see if the pool was up to temperature yet before running downstairs to get straight in.  By this point I knew it was coming quickly!  Thankfully the 1st midwife then arrived.

She'd come straight from another homebirth and was a little flustered and went about trying to do her checks, while contractions were strong and very close together.

The next contraction I felt the baby crowning, but didn't believe it! It was all happening so fast, I must be mistaken!
Then with the next one the baby's head was out.  "It's here!" I muttered, which took the midwife by surprise. "Oh yes - I haven't got my gloves on yet!" She said!  But she was there to guide the baby out with the final contraction -- I felt the baby do the shoulder wiggle and there she was!

The cord was short and where I'd been on my knees she was behind me, so I had to lift my leg over her and the cord (kicking the midwife in the head!) to bring her round and onto my chest.  She breastfed beautifully within 10 minutes of her birth and we were relaxing in the pool waiting for the placenta to be delivered when the 2nd midwife arrived.

The labour was 1 hour 10 minutes from the first contraction, the pushing stage is recorded as 5 minutes!  The natural 3rd stage took 45 minutes.

Henry woke up shortly after Charlotte was born and came down to enjoy the cheery atmosphere and meet his new sister, who he hasn't stopped kissing yet!  Once I was out of the pool he joined her for our first tandem breastfeed and lots of cuddles.
I am so glad I got to have my perfect home waterbirth again, and so glad that I planned it in the first place - even if I'd wanted to go to hospital I'd have never made it in time!!

If you made it to the end, thanks for reading and for those of you looking forward to meeting your own babies, I hope you have a story with as happy an ending as mine to tell soon!
xxx

Iced raspberry leaf tea recipe

Do not drink raspberry leaf tea before 37 weeks pregnant.

This is the only way I've been able to drink this pretty foul tea! As
an iced drink it is actually quite refreshing.

In a large mug place 6 Raspberry Leaf Teabags and 9 tsp sugar (or
adjust to taste). Pour over boiling water and leave for 5 minutes to
infuse.

Remove teabags and stir to ensure the sugar has completely dissolved.

Pour contents of mug into a large jug and top up with cold water and
ice. Refridgerate and drink 1 glass per day from 37 weeks.

Happy Hippy Mummy and proud of it!

In an interesting blog post @2moms2babies asks what kind of parent are you?

This prompted me to think about the things that really are important to me and to summarise the kind of parent that I have found myself to be.

While I was pregnant with Henry the two most important things for me were Breastfeeding and Cloth Nappies. I am still very proud to say that at nearly 18 months Henry has never tasted formula and never touched a disposable nappy. I say it not to show off (although if I'm truthful there probably is a bit of that!) but because I feel they are achievements of mine that I have worked hard at. Especially the breastfeeding - it was not easy and we really struggled to get things established in the beginning. It was through sheer determination that we succeeded and eventually things settled down.

Since Henry arrived I have learnt a lot more about attachment parenting methods and "happy hippy" parenting, some of which we have taken on board and others we have been indifferent about.

Like most people we bought a Baby Bjorn carrier before Henry was born, only to discover the delights of wrap slings and ring slings through the breastfeeding support group once he was here. We used a Kari-Me stretchy wrap quite a bit in the first 7 months, but not as much as we could have. I look back at some situations where he was unsettled, etc and wonder why we didn't think to try the sling! I plan to use babywearing a great deal more with no. 2 - to the extent that I have decided not to get a double buggy and join the Phil & Teds fashion parade.

We cosleep when we need to, but Henry has also always had his own basket or cot. He was over 11 months before we moved his cot into his own room though - I think that was more for me than for him though! We've got an Arms Reach Mini Cosleeper for no.2, partly so we can safely have Henry and the baby close by at the same time, without our bed feeling very small or Henry squishing baby.

I have amber teething bracelets for Henry but am undecided as to whether they work. He did go through a phase of asking for it on though, so maybe he's noticed their effect?

BLW we took on 100%. It just made sense. I read Gill Rapley's book and it seemed easier, more effective and so much more natural. I'm not the kind of person that does things by halves - if I believe in it, we go all out. So again, Henry never had any purees at all. In some ways BLW was a bit of an experiment for us - we believed it would work, but the results have been even more astonishing that we could have imagined.

I guess I want to produce happy, healthy, confident and secure babies that know they are loved. I value these things by far over having a baby that sleeps through the night, or my bed to myself. I also believe that if your baby knows you will be there to kiss it better if they fall, to comfort them if they get scared or to be close to them if they need to feel safe then they are far more likely to have the confidence to find independence for themselves - safe in the knowledge that you won't be far away if they need you.

That, I suppose, is what is really important. and what "Happy Hippy Mummy" means to me.

Labour massage oil

www.treehuggermums.co.uk/articles/pregnancy/article.php?article=93

Made up this labour massage oil from the article above:

30mls Apricot Kernel Oil
2 drops frankincense
3 drops lavender
1 drop bergamot
40 drops Neroli 5% dilute in Jojoba oil

Didn't have pure Neroli essential oil, so used 5% dilute instead.
This means 20 drops of 5% Neroli = 1 drop of 100% Neroli
Therefore 40 drops of 5% Neroli = 2 drops of 100% Neroli

Jojoba oil is a base oil anyway, so it doesn't matter that you are also adding it to the mix.

The resulting massage oil smells very earthy and due to the Neroli & Frankincense it has a strange effect on the mind. Its very calming and generally relaxing, but in a meditative way. Frankincense is used in religious rituals and trance experiences for precisely this effect; something I think is similar to the concentrated meditation that I experienced naturally when in labour with Henry. I'm hoping this blend will help to induce this state of mind for the birth of baby #2 as well. I'll keep you posted!

Feminism and Motherhood

www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/12/france-feminism-elisabeth-badinter

This article recently published in the Guardian newspaper fired up some strong emotions for me, as a more or less stay at home Mum. Now before I continue my rant, I should say that I haven’t read the book referred to in the article, so this rant is purely based on the article itself.

It states that: “according to one leading feminist, the French model of motherhood is facing an unprecedented threat from a "dangerous" new brand of thought which seeks to keep women at home and make them the slaves of their children.”

This “dangerous” brand of thought is the green movement - i.e. that breastfeeding and cloth nappies mean that mothers are “tied” to their children in a "regressive" movement that could set back feminism by decades.

The article closes with a quote from Sabine Salmon, president of the association Femmes Solidaires, who says “that during school visits over the past two years her employees had noticed more and more French schoolgirls expressing a desire to stay at home. "It's a very worrying indicator," she said.”

This quote angered me the most. The problem is that this reveals an underlying opinion that being a stay at home Mum is not a worthwhile profession. These so called “feminists” actually do not believe that feminity has any value and that in order to be “equal” members of society, women must be more like men.

While I am grateful, in awe, of those women who faught so hard in the past for our rights - for the vote, to be able to work alongside men and to have the same opportunities as men, I am also grateful that I have the choice to be a full-time Mother to my children. In todays culture, I am incredibly lucky to be able to do this, as so many women have no choice but to return to work.

And surely it is the *choice* that is important. These “feminists” seek to take this choice away from me, to limit my oportunities in life, rather than to expand them and to say that I am a second class citizen if I choose not to enter the corporate world and instead to be a “slave” to my children.

My work as a mother is the most important thing in the world to me. If you had a job you were proud of, would you not want to do it to the best of your abilities? So for me, doing my best involves breastfeeding my children, using cloth nappies, not just for the environment but for the health of my children and being there to comfort them when they need me.

By doing this job I contribute something I feel is priceless to our family. If we were to pay a childminder 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks in a year it would cost a fortune. This could be a starting point for putting a price on my work.

But I don’t do it for money. How many employees, with fancy jobs that they have to commute to and work long hours for, could say that they would continue to do their job if one day they won the lottery?

I wouldn’t give up my job for all the money in the world. I might pay someone to do the washing up, but the childminder? Never. It is my privilege to be able to care for my children.

So why should it be worrying that more teenagers aspire to live a life like mine, full of laughter and cuddles and the rewards of watching your children grow and mature? Certainly we should all aspire to getting a good education, an income and being self sufficient as women. But if the oportunity arises to be a stay at home Mum, to contribute something *more* than money to your family, shouldn’t we have the choice to take it?

I am not a slave to my children, this implies enforced labour. I give myself freely.

My Breastfeeding Journey So Far - The First Week

I always knew my children would be breastfed, even before I knew I would have children. It was obvious. I didn’t ever consider there would be an alternative. So when I fell pregnant with Henry that was one less thing to think about. Decision made - I would breastfeed. Now to get on with the decorating and buying baby clothes.

All through the pregnancy I *intended* to go to the local breastfeeding support group, but there was always more decorating to be done and somehow I never got around to it. Due to my work I couldn’t do a full ante-natal course with the NCT, so I signed us up for a one day intensive, which very briefly touched on the subject of breastfeeding. But I don’t think I really took it in, among all the information about dealing with the labour. So even though I was dedicated to the idea of breastfeeding my baby, I was seriously unprepared for it. But it’s natural, right? What more can there be to it than just whipping out a nipple?!

Henry was born at home with a perfect (idealistic, some might say) water birth. I had no pain relief apart from the TENS machine and the warm water - it just wasn’t necessary. He was born into the water and bounced on the bottom of the soft pool, arms and legs splayed in a startle position and eyes looking up at me from under the water. Incredible. My husband lifted him up to the surface and into my arms where I held him close and looked at him in amazement.

The next few moments passed in a blur of relief, happiness and a feeling of, “right, what do I do now?!”. I knew I should breastfeed soon, but I didn’t have a clue where to begin and I assumed the midwife would talk me through it. In such a dazed state of mind I worried that I should really know what to do and if I asked for help I would look stupid and the midwife, who had been so supportive during my labour, would laugh at me, or tell me off for not knowing. So I waited for her to tell me when to breastfeed.

After a short while with my baby - perhaps half an hour - the midwife started to worry about the delivery of the placenta. So with time ticking on she suggested that Daddy take the baby into the other room while we try a few things to get the placenta delivered. I think her suggestions were to stand up, try pulling gently on the chord and if all that didn’t work we’d try some nipple stimulation. Why she suggested all this, when putting the baby to the breast might be much more effective I don't know. But after 45 minutes the placenta was delivered and I got out of the pool.

Then followed examinations and various poking and prodding before unglamoursly staggering upstairs to the bathroom for a shower. Once I was clean & fresh I climbed into my bed and Henry was brought to me to try feeding. I don’t really have any perception of how long this was after he was born, but I suspect it must have been around 2.5 hours. He latched on immediately, but it was quite painful. The midwife smiled and said “there you go, you’re both naturals!”, so I assumed it was supposed to feel like that. After a few minutes she left us to it and saw herself out.

The next few days were a dizzy high of watching Henry sleeping and falling in love so much that it hurt. I got used to the feeling of him feeding and it seemed to be going so well. But on day 5 things started to change. I felt feverish and hot, my breasts were full and tender and the mild pain of feeding turned into agony. I had several open blisters and one side had a groove that seemed to cut through a third of the nipple. Each feed felt like someone taking a pair of blunt scissors to my breast and twisting them. At the same time I was getting after pains in my abdomen and aches in my back and neck. This was much worse than anything I had experienced during the labour.

As feeding Henry became more and more painful I began to hold back from it. I would put off feeding him until it was absolutely necessary and would withdraw as he went to latch on. I looked up websites that could tell me how to latch him and tried to control it rather than letting him just go for it. He began to throw his head from one side to the other at what seemed like lightning speed each time I tried to latch him. It was impossible for me to bring him up to the nipple quickly enough. Nighttimes especially turned into a fight between Henry and I - him trying desperately to grab what he could and me trying to stop him and control the latch. Often we would be fighting like this for well over an hour before I would take a deep breath and let him feed while I cried with the pain or bit hard into my wrist to take my mind of it.

Only once did my husband offer to go out for formula in a desperate attempt to be of some help while he watched his wife and child battling together at 3am. I said no. I didn’t care how much it took. Breastfeeding my baby was the most important thing in the world to me and I wasn’t about to give up. Instead I would get help. I would percevere another couple of days until I could go to the support group. So we battled on until finally Monday came and I ventured out on my own with Henry for the first time.