Breastfeeding and Beyond
Being fed is about more than just the milk or food - it's a matter of being lovingly nourished, with touch, eye contact and connection as well as nutrients.
The way your baby feels when he is fed sets the tone for his relationship with food for years ahead. It's also a central aspect of the way your baby bonds with you. Our courses look closely at breastfeeding, bottlefeeding and weaning, and at the common issues parents face wtih 'fussy' toddlers.
Breastfeeding
Your baby knows how to breastfeed: to find your nipple, latch on, and suckle to get milk. It’s a powerful instinct. And her frequency and type of suckling tells your breasts how much milk to produce, and the precise components to put in it – depending on your baby’s needs from one feed to the next. Your baby knows, and your body knows too.
Boosting breastfeeding
Babiesknow encourages breastfeeding as the best possible source of food for your baby. We look at the 'dyad' of mum and baby, and how and why breastfeeding helps you both feel good. We explore what you might need in place for breastfeeding to be comfortable and nourishing. We discuss simple ways to get a good atmosphere, to relax into it and to look after yourself and your baby. And we discuss the obstacles that sometimes put mums - and dads - off, and how you may overcome them.
We encourage you to tune into your feelings around breastfeeding – mums as well as dads. We explain how some of your early experiences may affect the feeding partnership with your baby today, and if this is causing or adding to difficulties, what you can do.
Bottle feeding
Most babies bottle feed at some stage, and occasionally babies are bottlefed from birth. On a babiesknow course, and with even more attention on a babiesknow birth-one workshop, we explore ways of getting maximum benefit out of bottle feeding, for you and for your baby.
Toddlers
When it comes to toddlers eating can become a flash point in the family day. We take you beneath the refusals and the tantrums to consider the emotions that simmer in the kitchen, and how you can change some of the attitudes to food you might have inherited from your family of origin, or the media, if they don't suit your family today. We explore this further in our babiesknow Age 1-3 workshop.