Towel Time Meditation

Towel Time Meditation

I just spent a 10 days on holiday with my kids, sister and a few girlfriends getting some much needed Vitamin Sea. When you are on holiday with friends and family you really get to know them. I was quite shocked how hard it is for some people to switch off and relax. My niece and I were chatting about towel time the one evening. Towel time (sure there are better names) is when you get out of a hot shower or bath, wrap yourself in a towel, then lie on your bed. The exact amount of time spent in towel time is difficult to determine as it is a place where you lose all track of time. It is mindless time of just being, meditating, looking at your phone or watching brainless TV. When the discussion expanded to others in the group, some acknowledged that they also do this, even suggested climbing under the blankets during towel time, while others became distressed with comments like “what if there is a fire and you are not dressed” or “how can you lie there knowing that dishwasher hasn’t been unpacked and lunches for the following day still need to be made”. This is when I realised just how difficult it can be for many people to switch off their brains and just be.

Now probably wondering what this has to do with breastfeeding! During my holiday my baby support group continued their banter over Whatsapp, but being in a different space and thinking about how tricky some find it to chill, I was reminded that so many new parents are so stressed.

Back to work after a glorious 10 days in the sunshine, I decided to try an exercise with my support group, just to see what happened and hopefully help a few.

I asked the moms to write down a quick diary of the past 24hrs. No rules, a piece of paper with no name, and using crayons to write so neatness can’t deter them. Then we sat and did a 7 min relaxation exercise. It is so interesting to observe a group doing an exercise like this. Some completely embrace the experience, a few appear to feel observed and can’t quite completely give into the experience, some have a time limit in that 7 min was just too long, and 1 or 2 just couldn’t even attempt it. I implored them to look at their day and see where they had 10 min and try any form of meditation as it could really make a difference.

Another observation I stumbled across while tidying up the papers was the diaries, majority of the moms wrote down what the baby’s did the previous 24hrs and not what they had done. The only reference to their days was how they had fed baby, played and put baby to sleep. This seems to speak so loudly to the notion that new moms put very little value in what they are doing and feeling.

How can meditation help new parents?

Meditation is a practice that helps to calm and quiet the mind. There are many types, but the purpose of each is to train you to become aware of your thoughts and feelings and let go of mental clutter. Many articles actually say that meditation was designed for parents. The benefits of meditation can touch many areas of your life, helping you decrease stress and anxiety, better manage your emotions, let go of mental distractions, and be more present and attentive with your kids.

 

Research shows us that even 5-10 min a day can make a huge difference in your life. Some even say that 5 deep meaningful breaths can help. Three types of meditation include guided meditation (lead by a series of vocal prompts); mantra meditation (mental or verbal repetition of a phrase or affirmation); and relaxation (imagining each area of your body relaxing).

Where can I find something?

There are a number of places that you can go to find ways to help you start meditating, from articles, videos, websites, and apps to retreats and seminars on the topic. The Calm app has recently won a number of awards in this area. The team at www.easybaby.co.za  has put together a mindful section in our free course that you can download and use to get you started on this journey.

Taking 10 min in your busy day to heal your mind, try some towel time, could be life changing.

You Got This

References

1.       https://www.todaysparent.com/family/family-health/meditation-for-moms/

2.       www.headspace.com 10 reasons parents should meditate. Andy Puddicombe

 

Oral Restriction – What is it, Does my baby have it?

Oral Restriction – What is it?, Does my baby have it?

What are Oral restrictions?

A frenulum is a small fold of tissue that secures or restricts the motion of a mobile organ in the body. They are present in the oral cavity (mouth), digestive tract and male and female genitalia. There are 3 common types of oral restrictions that we see, tongue ties (ankyloglossia), lip tie and buccal ties.

Tongue tie by definition is the embryological remnant of tissue in the midline between the under surface of the tongue and the floor of the mouth that restricts movement of the tongue. (IATP). If there is a tongue tie, the frenulum can be made up largely of collagen which stretches very little max 3%, compared to normal frenulum which is normally made up from mucous membrane. Lip tie which is less common is attachment of the upper lip to the gum tissue. Buccal ties are the least well known and most uncommon.  These are tethers extending from the cheeks to the gums.

What should the tongue be able to do?

When the baby’s mouth is open it should be able to elevate the tongue and maintain this elevation, move the tongue side to side (lateralise the tongue), cup and spread the tongue.

How does the baby suck the milk?

Baby opens mouth wide, the lips create a seal to help create a vacuum. The tongue then curls around and cups the breast creating a seal. The baby then lifts and drops the tongue to create a vacuum to remove the milk from the breast. The tongue also grooves to help control the bolus of milk. Cheeks, jaw and facial muscles help stabilise the breast and facilitate the tongue to  drop and draw out the milk. The palate plays an important role creating the vacuum, also closing off the nasopharynx for swallowing.  Can see that if there are restrictions or problems with any of these areas, it can affect how effectively the baby is able to remove the milk from the breast and effect breastfeeding relationship.

Symptoms of the baby

The baby symptoms can be varied amongst babies but can be irritability or colic, coughing, choking and gulping during feeds, tired and falling asleep at the breast most feeds, difficulty latching, gassy or having excessive wind, sliding off breast and continuing to have to relatch, gumming, chewing and clamping down on the breast, clicking noises or poor suction noses, poor weight gain or weight loss, and reflux. These symptoms can be masked at times if the mother has an oversupply of breastmilk or if the baby is being topped up with expressed breast milk or artificial milk.

Mothers symptoms

The mothers symptoms are as important as the baby symptoms and must be assessed. These can be cracked, blister, bleeding and painful nipples. Nipples look pinched, creased, bruised, or abrasions on the nipples after the feed. White stripe on the end of the nipple. Discomfort or pain while breastfeeding. Low milk supply. Plugged ducts or mastitis. Thrush. General frustration with feeding and dreading the baby waking up and not wanting to breastfeed. Many of these symptoms have a variety of causes which is why important that they are thoroughly assessed by a certified lactation consultant.

How are oral restrictions treated?

A simple surgical procedure called a frenotomy can be done with or without anesthesia in the hospital nursery or doctor's office. The doctor examines the lingual frenulum and then uses sterile scissors or, if trained can use a laser, to snip the frenulum free. The procedure is quick and discomfort is minimal since there are few nerve endings or blood vessels in the lingual frenulum. Babies generally don’t like being held down or restrained which can cause some agitation. If any bleeding occurs, it's likely to be only a drop or two of blood. After the procedure, a baby can breast-feed immediately. Complications of frenotomy are rare — but could include bleeding or infection, or damage to the tongue or salivary glands, usually when done by untrained practitioner. It's also possible for the frenulum to reattach to the base of the tongue.

The upper lip tie is a little different, as the upper lip frenulum has extensive blood supply and many pain receptors. This procedure needs to be done under anesthesia. It is suggested that the tongue tie be addressed first, once tongue position and function is corrected, the upper lip frenulum can be reassessed and treated only if upper lip is being prevented from being everted. A wait and see approach is valid for upper lip frenulums.

While deciding on treatment

It is important that while deciding on treatment you feed the baby.

·         Work with your lactation consultant to find ways to get that baby to latch and drink as effectively as possible using various techniques such as nipple flipple and laid back positions.

·          Protect your milk supply. If baby is not adequately removing the milk, discuss with your lactation consultant ways to increase and maintain your supply through expression or other methods to keep the milk flowing adequately.

·         Treat other issues in the meantime. If the mother has developed cracked painful nipples, or thrush, make sure work with lactation consultant and health care provider to treat these issues so when you have made your decision you are starting from the best possible place.

·         Educate yourself on the short and long term consequences of treating or not treating the oral restriction. This is the best way to make an informed, evidence based decision. Ultimately it is the parent’s decision whether or not to treat or wait and see.

Aftercare

If you have decided to do the frenotomy, it is important that you

·         Breastfeed immediately. After feed the practitioner will check that bleeding has stopped.

·         Functional exercises to improve mobility and suck strength must be taught and done. This baby may have been sucking incorrectly from birth so important that teach baby how to suck correctly.

·         Pain relief is rarely needed but paracetamol can be given if necessary.

·         Contact your health care provider if bleeding reoccurs.

Take Home

If you are having feeding concerns and suspect that might be oral restriction. Contact a qualified lactation consultant in your area. Important that full feeding assessment done, including maternal  and infant history, examination and feeding observation. Importantly Protect your Supply.

Samantha Crompton RN RM Psych & Comm. SACLC lactation consultant

Developing Your and Baby's Routine

Developing your and baby's Routine

“I feel that one of the most important discoveries in the field of paediatrics is that the newborn baby is a human being.” John Lind 1979

On arriving to do a consult with clients, usually the first words that are said even before a greeting is an apology around the state of their house, which usually is 100% better than what I left behind on any given day. I start chatting to the mom, taking a history. She then will take out her phone and show me her baby’s exact movements how often it has fed, how many nappies and what is due next. When I ask what baby does to show signs of these events, the answer is not in the app or does not magically appear in the notebook. These devices and aids are what have replaced our village. The structure of our society is that we no longer have support. A parent is tasked with so much to do, and with the expectation of needing to do all these tasks with perfection. In the past, you breastfeed a baby on demand, slept with said baby, likely carried baby around with you for a while, had older children play with younger (or family) as they aged, they took on responsibilities and learned by watching, you had help from other women to get what needs to get done. Now we are isolated from this and it feels like we are thrown into it alone.

We know that a baby has basic needs that aren’t too complicated, food, sleep, play and love. The challenge comes in of knowing what your baby requires and when. As adults, we cope with our busy lives by creating a routine of when and how things are done. This helps us cope with the more challenging parts of the day because we don’t need to think about the routine things. So, this sounds like a great way to deal with the baby. There are countless books, articles, apps and podcasts that recommend various ways to get your baby into the perfect routine. The problem is that I see so many parents battling with sleep schedules, feeding schedules, stimulation schedules and so on, all with conflicting messages, that they get so overwhelmed and anxious that it brings them to breaking point.

So now we are at a place that we wanting a routine, but can’t seem to get baby to actually comply. Back to our mother that has all the information well documented but no solution. Lets journey back to the first hour that baby arrived. Starting the ground work for our routine here.

As your baby is born place your baby skin to skin on mothers chest, allow baby to follow the 9 instinctive stages. A baby in the right place on mother’s chest will need no help to find the breast and start drinking. From there allow mom and baby to have first sleep, while dad quietly observes his new family. This is the very beginning of learning your baby’s routine. For the following 6 – 12 weeks, keep your baby on a parent’s chest for as much time as possible. This can be done skin to skin, or in a wrap that allows you to be hands free. This is not spoiling a baby, but it is keeping this baby in a place that it feels safe, warm and has easy access to source of food whenever it is required. By doing this you are removing the baby need to be in survival mode. When a baby is away from a caregiver ie in a cot or in a separate room, they are not aware that they are safely being guarded by the latest monitor on the market, they feel vulnerable, they go into survival mode, keeping themselves safe from predators and other lurking dangers. This can give a false sense of what their needs really are.

Baby in Kangaroo Mother Care is having all basic needs met, this allows us constant observation of our baby in the perfect environment. We can start to take notice how they look, sound and move when they are hungry, windy, overstimulated and sleepy. This way we can respond to these needs quickly and efficiently. We then start to notice that as the baby gets older, patterns start to emerge around when these needs occur. This means that we can start predicting when baby will want to eat, and sleep etc. Slowly we can start creating our own routines around these events, tweaking them as we go. This also allows for the human factor, on certain days baby may be hungrier than others, maybe has a bit headache wanting some extra fluids through the night so battling to sleep, or growing and teething, and maybe starting with a little flu. We can also start to see our baby’s personality shining through, early signs of their love language.

If we think about trying to get this baby into a preset routine, that we think would work, based on what would work really well with our current routine. I use a business change management strategy that is applied successfully in many businesses. As a manager implementing a new protocol, if you arrive in the office Monday morning, announce the new way of working and shut you’re your office door and tell everyone to get on with it, the chances of your new protocol working is very slim. If your staff have had input and participated in developing the new protocol with your guidance, the level of buy in and potential for success is much greater.

So what if we apply this principal to our babies. If we base our routine on observed input from the baby, with a little compromise here and there from both of us, surely there will be better buy in and less frustration from both parties? I know you are frustrated by this article as a check box step by step approach is what you feel would be easier, remember that a newborn baby is just a little human being. If you don’t know what to do, think, I am a human being, what would I like in this situation.

Samantha Crompton RN RM SACLC

The Baby Lady