Category: Attachment Parenting

Does A Newborn Need Additional Vitamin K?


(Q16 on the birthplan: Would I like my baby to be given a vitamin K injection?) more

Labour Plan Or Checklist For A Homebirth


I’m not a list person. There’s something about spending time making a list that irritates me. It takes my hubby about as long to make a to-do list as it takes me to just do the stuff on the list. Yet, when it came to my last pregnancy and labour, I made a list long… more

39 Weeks Pregnant: Head Down, Bottoms Up


Dear Squidgy, I’m writing this a few days in advance of actually posting it. It’s called ‘scheduling’ and at the moment it’s one of the few things I seem to be able to do to feel like I’m doing much to prepare for your birth. I have this persistent cold that comes and goes, but… more

Things To Prepare For A Homebirth


My lovely midwife gave me a list of things we needed to get ready for our homebirth, and – no surprises here – but I lost it! I’ve been trawling the web looking for the definitive guide on things you need to prepare for a homebirth but ‘definitive’ is so subjective. more

Respectful Interaction With Other Parents


I found myself in an interesting situation recently. A friend, in a moment of toddler-induced rage reacted in punishment towards her child in what I – and several laws – would consider child abuse.  This isn’t a bad mother, and isn’t a social welfare case, but in that moment, she lost control of herself and… more

What Does The Birth Partner DO At A Birth?


What does the birthpartner do at the birth? That’s a really simple question, actually, with a ridiculously difficult answer, because the variables on it depend on the birthing woman, the environment, the birthing assistants, experience, relationship and about as many other things as you can imagine! *For the purpose of this post, the birth partner… more

Positions For Labour And Childbirth


(Q6 on my birth plan – positions for labour) (Q9 I would like to be in the following position to give birth:) I sat in a hospital waiting room during my first pregnancy, waiting to see someone when a couple came in looking for labour ward. Her waters had broken and they were trying to find… more

Pain Relief Methods In Childbirth


(Q4 on the birthplan: During labour, I would like the following pain relief:) I’m just a few weeks off the birth of my second child right now, and with the birth of my first I was so prepared. I’d spent eight months reading, learning, studying. This time I’ve been less focused on the birth, and more on surviving a… more

Books To Prepare Children For Childbirth, Homebirth Or Waterbirth


I went to my library recently to find books to use to prepare Ameli, not only for a new sibling, but also for the arrival of a new child. While there were plenty books and stories, there weren’t any that didn’t have the older sister or brother going in to the hospital room to see… more

Breastfeeding A Toddler During The Third Trimester Of Pregnancy


If scientists want to really understand how milk changes during pregnancy, they should study a group of pregnant women still breastfeeding their talking tots. more


Breastfeeding during pregnancy is an interesting experience.  More so with a child that’s able to talk to you. Really, if scientists want to fully understand breastfeeding, the production of milk during pregnancy and the changes in milk during that time, they need a core group of mothers breastfeeding children with communication skills. I don’t think there’s any more reliable evidence.

At around 20 weeks – I don’t remember exactly when, Ameli was nursing away happily one day, when she unlatched, looked at me with an obvious question mark on her face and said ‘that’s not milk, it’s something else’. Then threw herself at my nipple and guzzled away before pulling off again and saying, “what is it?” (more…)