Archive for the ‘breastfeeding’ Category
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
If you’re self employed it can be hard to take a long break. I felt very privileged, though, that with my second baby I was able to build up work again gradually. Compared to the first time around when I was employed and had to go back to a full day, it was much easier to work for a couple of hours while J slept. This time, even though it is more of a juggle with three, I’m building things up again. I even took K with me to the Mumpreneur Conference in October as I’m still breastfeeding and couldn’t leave him overnight. And it’s good to know I’m not the only mum who will combine babies and conferences. Sarah Beeny was back presenting at Social Media 09 when her baby was less than three months old, and she brought him with her. You can see her here in the Waves PR blog, where Claire writes, “this is the first time I have seen a serious, successful professional business person outside of a parenting related business acknowledge that side of themselves so openly”. Do you think that taking your baby to a work event is a great step forward for womankind?
Posted in breastfeeding, business mums news, childcare, flexible work | 2 Comments »
Breastfeeding When You Return to Work
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
If your maternity leave is ending, you may be wondering how to continue breastfeeding when you are back at work. Geraldine Miskin is a leading independent breastfeeding specialist, with her own private practice in Twickenham called The Let’s Breastfeed Practice. Geraldine’s aim is to empower mums with practical solutions. Here she gives her tips for going back to work with a spring in your step, whilst leaving a contented little one at home. (more…)
Posted in breastfeeding, maternity leave | No Comments »
Babywearing for the Work At Home Mum
Monday, September 14th, 2009
So, you work from home? And you have a baby? As if being “just” a mum isn’t hard enough, now you have to juggle emails, phone calls, design and manufacture work and trips to the Post Office too!
Thankfully, I have been there – and I have a solution. You can wear your baby in a sling, get your work done quicker – and spend time with your baby while you do.
Your baby is happy; you are close by and can still attend to her every need without completely dropping your work. There are so many benefits of babywearing, and even more so for a work at home mum.
While she is in the baby sling – she’ll benefit from increased learning, since she is close to you, and can learn from you and her surroundings. She is more relaxed, and usually babies who are worn cry less than those who are not (leaving you more time to do your work).
As a mum, or a working woman, you never seem to have quite enough hands – you need twice as many! If you carry your baby, it leaves your hands free to type, pack, phone – you can even breastfeed your baby whilst getting stuck into that important conference call.
When it comes to naptime, you won’t need to jiggle your baby in your arms – the baby carrier will do that for you, as you pace around, clearing the general debris from your living room/office or strolling to dispatch that last-minute order for your customer. Before you know it, she will be snoring softly. And if you do have a baby that needs jiggling, a sling makes it so much more comfortable than arms.
Babywearing promotes bonding, something you might miss out on if you are trying to fulfil that important order, whilst your bay is left in her bouncy chair. You will find yourself naturally talking to her as you go about your day together, and of course, when you are ready for a well earned break, what nicer way to take a walk, than with her snuggled up close?
If you are a WAHM, Mumpreneur, or whatever your preferred term is, you really ought to consider a baby sling, mei tai, carrier, or wrap – it could make your life so much easier!
Claire Willis is a work-at-home-mum with two sons. She began her own business making mei tai baby carriers, which she sells through her website www.snugbaby.co.uk after the birth of her youngest. Claire is now working on promoting babywearing throughout the UK with her new resource website www.getyourhandsback.co.uk
Posted in Mum's Home Office, breastfeeding, childcare, house and home, working from home | 3 Comments »
Juggling With Too Many Demands?
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Most of my Twitter posts this week have been moaning about how hard it is to juggle half term and still heep my work under control. Today I decided to leave work, and concentrate on house and home. (OK, I’m still typing this because I have a spare hour while ds2 is asleep and dd and ds1 are playing on the pc).
It is clear that my problem is that I’m trying to do too much. I’m proud that I can multitask, but sometimes you just need to know when to concentrate on one thing. Read Karen Miles’s views on being present, and how switching off Twitter and the Blackberry can help you feel less tense and enjoy life more.
And you might like to check out millionaire mumpreneur Emma Wimhurst’s musings on whether she keeps everything in balance. I was emailing Emma yesterday, and she was helping her ds with revision while I was feeding the baby. Sometimes it is hard to do just one thing at a time when you’re a mother.
Posted in breastfeeding, business, childcare, house and home, run your own business | No Comments »
Family Friendly Working: Theme Ideas
Sunday, May 17th, 2009
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the last week’s Breastfeeding themed posts as much as I have enjoyed writing and editing them. In the past we have had themed mumpreneur profiles, travel and eco mums for example, run over a month. My ideas for the future could include a month of franchisees, a month of party planner profiles, with relevant articles and tips. Next year, I could theme a week around Real Nappy Week.
Do you prefer themes lasting a week or a month, and are there any themes you’d like to see on here in the future? Any awareness weeks coming up which you think would tie in well with this blog? Let me know.
Posted in blogs, breastfeeding | No Comments »
Mumpreneur Profile: Laura of JojoMamanBebe
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
Name of Business: JoJo Maman Bébé
Maternity & Nursing – Baby & Child – Nursery & Toys
Laura and her sons
Your Name and Age: Laura Tenison MBE, Founder & Managing Director, age 42
Tell us about your family
I have two children and would have liked to have at least four! I am married to a criminal defense barrister.
What did you do before coming up with your business idea and how was it making the transition?
Before launching JoJo I was working in Brittany, France. I have always been involved with design, fashion and retail.
What were your own experiences of feeding your baby?
Running very hands-on company and not wanting to be a part-time mother, I was concerned about how I would juggle the baby and my work. When I had my first child, 13 years ago, JoJo was a very small company and I could not take maternity leave or afford a full time nanny. I brought the baby to work with me and he spent a great deal of the day sleeping – which of course meant he wanted to play most of the night! This was great apart from the fact I really survived on virtually no sleep. However, it meant I could breastfeed him at will. I am extremely lucky to have had this chance.
When did you launch your business?
JoJo was launched in 1994.
How did you get started?
I had sold my previous business based in France and wanted to offer some decent maternity wear alongside a collection of baby styles with a French nautical style theme. I had noticed the gap in the market for interesting styles available to pregnant women, especially by mail order and decided to fill it. The bank matched my start-up capital of £50,000 which was the proceeds from selling my business in France.
What research did you do before launching?
I carried out a huge market research survey – far too big! I handed out about 10,000 questionnaires to new mums trying to establish what they really wanted from my new collection. After reading 100 responses, I realized I should have only handed out 1,000! Maternity wear was in biggest demand and our nursing collection followed.
How does the business help mums to breastfeed?
We offer more nursing styles than any other multi-channel company in the UK – with everything for for breastfeeding including fashion style, cleaverly cut to allow discreet nursing. Our collection includes dresses, tops, swim and sleepwear and of course lots of bras. In addition we offer a great breast pump – after years of research we still consider the Medela pump to be the most effective and best value for money. We have a selection of nursing cushions, which are really helpful for mothers with a tendency to backache – as I had. Plus we offer a great value nursing chair and footstool which is a very worthwhile investment if you intend to nurse your baby for several months.
How do you promote your business? What has worked best?
JoJo is multi-channel, we have a free 200 page catalogue which we are happy to send, call 0871 423 5656, a website www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk and 23 stores across the country.
What has worked well about your business?
Our attention to detail, good quality clothing collections and innovative products ensure we are unique in the market. Our products are designed in-house and unique which ensures we have little competition.
What has been your biggest challenge so far? How have you dealt with it?
Opening stores is extremely costly and obviously in the current economic climate funding is hard to secure. However, we are determined to remain an independent company for as long as possible. Our company ethos is to put a great deal of time and effort into our staff, our customer service and our company charity. These values are expensive and obviously cut into our profit margins. We are determined to pursue our goals to grow the company without diluting our brand ethos, which means we will almost certainly continue to expand organically.
How do you fit in work with the family?
JoJo is naturally a child friendly company. We try to allow school work patterns with many of our teams working hours around their children. We try to employ parents and in some cases our employees work from home via computer log in. I have this option wherever I go and ensure that I can always respond to my emails – even on holiday. I work from home most evenings so that I can spend time in the house with my children – I often stop work at 4pm, collect them from school do homework, dinner, baths, etc, then get back to work. Fortunately my husband also works from home a lot in the evenings – we have a study each and leave the doors open so we can talk to each other as work!
What advice would you give to someone else wanting to work in this area?
Expect to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week for up to 5 years before you make any money. Every penny needs re-investing and even now I take very little money out of the business, despite a turnover of £20M.
Your website link. www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk
Posted in Mumpreneur Profiles, breastfeeding | No Comments »
Mumpreneur Profile: Lisa of Lactivist.co.uk
Friday, May 15th, 2009
I am Lisa Cole, 40-something single mum and I live in Bristol. I have a degree in Fashion and I have run a scrapstore, managed trainee railway engineers and taught art to adults with mental health problems. My CV is eclectic!
I started www.lactivist.co.uk in 2003 when I was critisised for breastfeeding my tiny son. I was left speechless, I had found breastfeeding very hard to start with and I knew I was doing the very best for him. So, later that day, I used my design skills to make a slogan t-shirt that promoted breastfeeding. It came in very handy at the baby clinic, stopping any mention of topping up with formula with one glance from the Health Visitors, and I got comments, but they were all – ‘where did you get that t-shirt?’.I sold a few I painted myself on ebay then invested a whole £100 to get some professionally printed. The Mothers Milk Marketing Board at www.lactivist.co.uk was born. (more…)
Posted in Mumpreneur Profiles, breastfeeding | 2 Comments »
Saira Khan Supports Flexible Employment for Easier Breastfeeding
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
NCT’s network of UK branches are calling on shops, cafes and leisure facilities to do everything they can to let local breastfeeding mums know they are welcome. Saira Khan, mum, entrepreneur, television presenter and runner up in the BBC’s Apprentice series is supporting this push as NCT’s ambassador for breastfeeding.
Nine out of 10 mothers stop breastfeeding before they want to. The NCT, the UK’s leading parenting charity, wants to see Government policies that support women to breastfeed for as long as they want, by making it easier and more acceptable to breastfeed when out and about or when they return to work. Saira Khan says: “I am a great believer in breastfeeding and fed my little boy Zacariah for 6 months. It wasn’t easy at first but I was determined to stick with it, I am so glad that I did because for me it has been so rewarding and fulfilling. I actually missed it when I stopped. I am promoting breastfeeding because I want other mothers to experience the joy and fulfilment that I did and to give it a go.”
Saira Khan combines caring for Zacariah with a busy media schedule and her own baby skincare company. As a working mum, Saira would interrupt her busy schedule of meetings and filming to breastfeed Zacariah and counts herself lucky to have been able to do so. She fully supports NCT’s call for flexible employment practices to facilitate breastfeeding or expressing breaks during the working day.
Posted in breastfeeding | No Comments »
Mumpeneur Profiles for Breastfeeding Awareness Week: Taj of Milkbug
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Having my baby changed my life. Born in March 2008, she became the apple of mine and my husbands eye. I decided to breastfeed my daughter and I needed something to wear when I was out and about which kept my dignity as well as not flashing to every passer-by! I searched online for clothes and though there were some items, there was nothing that I could see that I liked.
As we were out that afternoon, I kept thinking that other mums must have the same issues finding clothes and I don’t what made me say ” I think I should look into finding stylish breastfeeding clothes to sell”
I started looking more carefully online to see what other businesses offered and before I knew it I had completed a full business plan, researched suppliers, found a website package and selected a collection of clothes that I would wear and others mums loved as they were stylish and comfortable. The only thing left to do was to press the button and set up the business, but something was stopping me! It was the lack of confidence in myself to pull this off. All that self doubt was wiped out the minute I looked at my daughter and thought I wanted her to have a good role model and have the confidence to follow her heart……so I used my savings and launched www.milkbug.co.uk in July 2008
The hardest challenge was to ensure that my people could find my site easily and I had to work hard to make sure that happened. As a Marketing Manager I know the importance of marketing your business both online and offline and finding ways to generate repeat and word of mouth business. I concentrate on marketing my business locally to offer a personalized service to local mums.
I love being able to focus on Milkbug and am constantly looking for new designs for my customers to help and support them in their decision to breastfeed. Milkbug gives me the time to focus on my family and as I work for myself I can choose when I need to work or play.
My advice to anyone looking to work for themselves is to ensure that you have a idea which will work and do plenty of research, but once you have decided you are going to do it, go for it. There is nothing to lose only gain.
Posted in Mumpreneur Profiles, breastfeeding | 1 Comment »
Mumpreneur Profile: Keira of Mamascarf
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
My name is Keira O’Mara and I am 31. I am married to Dan, 35, who is a Mental Health nurse and we have a little boy Sam who is nearly 2. We live in Birmingham.My business is called Mamascarf. Mamascarf is a breastfeeding scarf allowing mums to feed discreetly in public whilst providing essential support without the need for a cushion.
I have just given up a job in Customer Marketing. It was really hard having to effectively do two jobs and be a mum and I was extremely tired but since I have given up work, it’s been great, I absolutely love working for myself.
Keira of Mamascarf
Mamascarf launched in November 2008.
I came up with the idea when breastfeeding Sam, as I was always really self conscious feeding in public and trying unsuccessfully to cover up. I would also get arm ache without my support cushions. I realised that there was a gap in the market for a product that would perform these functions. I then started cutting up fabric and deciding upon the perfect design. (more…)
Posted in Mumpreneur Profiles, breastfeeding | 1 Comment »
10 tips for successful breastfeeding
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
On est bien chez sa maman by Raphael Goetter
Breastfeeding doesn’t have to be the stressful experience you might imagine. Here are ten top tips to encourage and help new mums breastfeed successfully, from Maggie Howell, founder of Natal HypnotherapyTM, birthing expert and breastfeeder of 4 children.
1. Pick up on and respond to your baby’s cues to feed. Ignore the clock!
2. Accept that your baby’s need to breastfeed may not always be connected to being hungry – it may be for comfort, because they are tired or they simply want to have a snuggle.
3. Feed regularly during the night. Successful feeding is based on a healthy supply and demand cycle. If your baby does not feed for many hours your body does not get all the signals it needs to get ready for the next feed and so production decreases.
4. DO NOT expect your baby to be guzzling milk in the first few days. Babies do not need anything other than a tiny amount of colostrum (first
milk) so do not need “topping” up.
5. Give yourself time to get to know your baby and to trust your baby’s needs.
6. Babies have growth spurts – sometimes they need more feeding than other times – that is OK and normal.
7. Trust! Trust your baby – no baby was ever born with a pre-planned desire to upset or annoy. They simply feel what they feel and alert you in the only way they know how. Trust your body – milk production has nothing to do with the size of your breasts but is all to do with the cycle of suckling and milk production. If your baby suckles often and frequently, you will make the right amount of milk.
8. Look after yourself – drink loads of water and eat really well. It is one of the few times in your life that you can eat loads (of the right stuff!) and know that it is all good for your baby.
9. Enjoy this time – it is for such a short time. Even if you are tired and worn out, think of every feed as a blessing and one to be cherished and enjoyed.
10. Get help and support. Accept any offers from others to help with the daily cooking and chores! If you are having any difficulties or simply want to talk, contact your local breastfeeding advisors from La Leche League or the NCT
Posted in breastfeeding | No Comments »
Book Review: The Food of Love by Kate Evans
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
In a society where only 3% of babies are exclusively breastfed at five months, (Unicef 2005), breastfeeding can seem like a political act. Certainly where I live, it’s so unusual to see a woman breastfeeding that I can’t help doing a double take when I see it. Kate Evans – better known for her excellent cartoon books on climate change and the ‘war on terror’ – has produced a funny, subversive, supremely helpful and reassuring book for those who want to breastfeed but don’t necessarily find it all plain sailing (or sucking). Feeding a baby should be easy, Kate points out: when it’s hungry, feed it. It’ll stop when it’s had enough. It’s that simple; we don’t need to time it or measure anything or do it according to the clock, as many ‘experts’ would have us believe. She assures us that we can all do it (with very, very few exceptions), which gladdened my heart as I remembered attending an antenatal class where the breastfeeding counsellor advised that it was worth ‘trying’ to breastfeed, as if it were somehow only a possibility that one would be able to do it.
I loved this book because it was empowering and funny whilst not glossing over the trials of life with a small baby, which as every parent knows can be enough to send the sanest person over the edge. It’s well researched and beautifully illustrated, and includes information on post-natal depression, attachment theory, sleeping with your baby and various other topics, as well as an extremely useful bit on making and using a baby sling (worth the price of the book on its own). Having struggled with breastfeeding in the early days myself, I would have welcomed this book and it would make a wonderful present for new parents, and a valuable resource for antenatal teachers. Buy it now!
The Food of Love: Your Formula for Successful Breastfeeding
Books review by Andrea Needham
Posted in book reviews, breastfeeding | No Comments »
