Do You Have A Velcro Baby

Do you have a velcro baby
Are they with you, never maybe
Do they cling with all their might
All the day and through the night?

Do they need to feel your skin
Seem as though they want back in
Are they stuck to you like glue
No matter what you say or do?

Are they always at the breast
As they nurse from right to left
Are your boobs more out than in
Does milk dribble when they grin?

Are you ever so touched out
if you leave they start to shout
Will no other person do
Even if you need the loo?

Oh I know it is so tough
And you’ve had more than enough.
All you want is time and space
With no one pawing at your face!

I promise that the day will come
When the velcro comes undone.
When your arms are free to rest
And no one sleeps upon your chest.

When you’ll finish what you think
Your tea will still be warm to drink
When their needs aren’t all consuming
And their confidence is blooming,

Thanks to all the love you gave
When it was only you they’d crave.
Thanks to all the needs you met
When they were happy or upset.

Because you taught them to feel safe
By always being their safe space
They won’t need you quite so much
Won’t need to always feel your touch.

Then slowly freedom will return,
And you’ll look back and you will learn
That though the velcro days’ve passed
the bond they built will always last.

So if you have a babe who clings
And you wish they’d find their wings
Please take heart and hold them close
For it’s YOU they LOVE the MOST!

You Don’t Need A Nursery

You don’t need a nursery
Much less one with a theme
It’s not safaris or seasides
But of boobs babies dream

You don’t need a cot
With sheets pink or blue
Babies sleep best
When they’re right next to you

You don’t need new gadgets
To amuse and distract
Just your skin touching theirs
Can work magic in fact.

You don’t need a pram
To get baby around
Slings keep baby happy
When they don’t want put down.

You don’t need a schedule
For naptimes and feeds
Babies have their own rhythms
That change with their needs.

You don’t need to sleep train
Sleeping isn’t a sport
Babies need to feel safe
And mums need support.

You don’t need to wean
Because it’s what “they say”
Nurse as long as you want to
They all wean one day.

You don’t need to sign up
To all the groups and the classes
Babies don’t care about trends
Or keeping up with the masses.

You don’t need to love it all
We all struggle sometimes
You’re not alone in wishing
For earlier bedtimes.

So don’t stress about a nursery
Or all that fancy baby stuff
Baby only needs you
And you are more than enough.

Yes some will love all the extras
Everyone’s different it’s true
And I’m thankful for our choices
‘Cos circumstances vary too.

But it’s OK to ignore all the chatter
Of society imparting it’s views
No one knows your baby better
Trust yourself, you get to choose.

So don’t give in to peer pressure
They can’t know what you “should” do
Whether basic or all bells and whistles
It’s your journey, you get to do you.

What Will I Remember?

What will I remember, what things will come to mind
When I think about breastfeeding years on down the line
Will I remember the hours spent with you at my breast
The imprint on my arm from where your ear pressed
Will I remember the pain of those first newborn latches
And how cute baby nails left razor like scratches
Will I remember your hands searching for something to twiddle
And how feeds blurred together with no start, end or middle
Will I remember milk-drunk smiles and limbs gone limp
How your face lit up if you even caught a glimpse
Of my bra and how you knew the sound of the click
Meant nursies were coming and how you’d wave and kick

Will I remember the nights you never unlatched
And the neighbours and postmen we unintentionally flashed
Will I remember when everything was covered in spit up
And muslin cloths lay about to catch every hiccup
How milk leaked through my clothes and pooled in the sheets
And when meals, rest and showers were coveted treats
Will I remember how you looked in my arms as you slept
When I wondered what secrets your milky dreams kept
Will I remember your smell and how soft your skin felt
How feeding you made us both seem to melt
High on hormones, falling in love, and asleep

Will I remember all the times you just wouldn’t sleep
And I’d walk you and rock you and find strength somewhere deep
Will I remember the nerves from our first feeds in public
And when every conversation returned to the subject
Of babies and boobs and how we felt far from perfect
Will I remember when I dropped my phone on your head
And the crumbs in your hair ‘cos we both needed fed
Will I remember the milestones, and all the wild places
From beaches and forests, to pools, planes and staircases
Birthdays and holidays, celebrations and sick days
And those times you’d only feed upside down or sideways

Will I remember how feeding you made me feel proud
How, in moments of bliss, we were on the ninth cloud
Will I remember too, feeling trapped and touched out
Overwhelmed, overburdened, full of worry and doubt
Will I remember how every stage passed like the last
And how days that went slowly changed to years that went fast
How you giggled when milk got sprayed in your face
And how eventually you weaned, slowly, at your own pace
I want to remember how it all made me feel
The joy and the struggles and the mundane inbetween
I want to keep all the memories that made my heart sing
When I look back… I want to remember everything.

Silver Boobies

Congratulations Mama on getting to month 6!
For fueling all baby’s rolls, giggles and tricks,
With milk tailor made and lovingly fed,
Through good times and tough, you’ve come out ahead,
‘Cos half a year breastfeeding, means you’re not newbies,
And earns you the coveted “Silver Boobies”!

It’s no mean feat and no small thing,
All the love and protection and joy it can bring,
To nurse your baby, watch them thrive and grow.
Just think that first feed was 6 months ago!
So be proud and celebrate what you’ve done,
And look forward to new messy mealtime fun!

You’ve learned so much on this journey together,
And if you choose to continue it only gets better,
‘Cos the gift of breastfeeding is something to treasure.
With memories you’ll cherish forever and ever.

Breastmilk

Breastmilk

Some say it’s nature’s “Liquid Gold”,
A gift more precious than anything sold.

Some say it forms a bond like no other,
Of connection and trust between baby and mother.

Some say the milk babies get from their mamas,
Is the super food you can make in your pyjamas.

Some say it’s unique and cannot be matched,
Its secrets imparted when baby is latched.

Some say, from Hera’s breast, the spray,
Formed what we still call, The Milky Way.

Some say it’s a powerful healing elixir,
A mysterious, milky, all around fixer.

Maybe it’s a little of all of the above,
Or maybe it’s simply Liquid LOVE.

For the Lockdown Babies

For the Lockdown Babies.

 

For The Lockdown Babies

“Sure you were only a baby” I’ll tell her when she asks,
About that time in photographs when everyone wore masks.
“You don’t remember the chaos when the world was forced to rest.”
“You had all you needed in my arms and at my breast”

“You never even noticed” I’ll tell her then I’ll say,
“I held you as the weeks went by, we took it day by day”
“We were safe and happy, right where we needed to be”.
“I fed you snuggled in my arms, protecting you was key”.

“You were only a tiny baby” I’ll tell her and explain,
Why so many people were afraid, anxious and in pain.
“It wasn’t always easy, those isolating newborn days,
But feeding you flooded me with love, got me through the haze”.

“You were a lockdown baby” I’ll tell her when it’s time,
“I was your whole world back then, just as you were mine”,
“And now, though it’s just a memory, I still smile when I see,
A rainbow in a window, put there for you and me.”

For those requesting a he/him version 🌈

 

Healing

New motherhood was looming and I thought I knew it all,

I’d breathe and pant and push just right after bouncing on my ball.

Instead a surgeon’s knife was called when my induction failed.

A perfect baby boy was born though my birth plans were derailed.

~

Finally they placed him on my chest, under my gown.

And though the golden hour had passed, with help, my breast he found.

So grateful I could feed him, at least I could do that.

Exhausted, sore and stapled, legs laid numb and flat.

~

I fed him and I loved him but it never was quite right

My nipples bled and up and down I’d pace the hall at night.

Turns out I really didn’t know what was normal, who to call.

All too soon I doubted if I could make enough milk at all.

~

It wasn’t getting easier, “What’s happened to his sleep?”

Without support, I just assumed he wasn’t getting enough to eat.

Everyone agreed of course. “You’ve done enough” they said.

“You’ve earned a break.” “It’ll be alright.” “It only matters that he’s fed.”

~

So despite the guilt already creeping in my mind,

I searched the shelves of powder for the “Hungry Baby” kind.

Life moved along. “It’s for the best.” I’d often tell myself.

Though secretly I felt ashamed, like I had failed the test.

~

Now motherhood’s no longer new and each baby taught me more.

How every journey is unique like every one before.

And looking back it’s clear to me that they were wrong to say,

That how I chose to feed them didn’t matter anyway.

~

Because breastfeeding matters! Of this there is no doubt.

Of course it does or why else would that voice inside us shout.

I’ve also learned that I was wrong to feel either guilt or shame

I was failed. I did not fail….I was not to blame!

~

I should have been supported, informed and made aware

Of how baby’s only happy when mummy is right there.

Told how nights are easier when mum and babe co-sleeps,

Of feeds that come in clusters and growth that comes in leaps.

~

Though I grieve what might’ve been I’ve made my peace and know

I did the best that I could do, learning’s how we grow.

Information isn’t pressure. Mums deserve the truth, cos when

You know better, you do better when you get the chance again.

~

Breastfeeding should be valued as the gift it is to all.

We need to move past talk of guilt and help heal wounds still raw.

I can’t change what happened but I can help the next mum,

To listen to her instincts, to succeed and overcome.

~

All Mothers deserve better and it’s time we made demands

Better births and fairer treatment, health care that understands

Bottles aren’t the only answer. Breastfeeding works when it is seen

As a skill that’s worth investing in and when we’re all on the same team.

I Make Milk

I Make Milk.

~

It grows you from newborn, fuzzy and creased,

Transforms wrinkles to rolls, each sweet milky feast,

Makes you rounder and stronger, smarter too,

More amazing, more perfect, more uniquely you.

And it gives me a confidence, a quiet trust,

In my body, my ability, that I am enough,

So if anyone questions why I do what I do,

I tell them straight, on the bus, at the zoo,

No matter the place, the season or hour,

“I make milk – what’s your superpower?”

~

 

Pumping.

(A poem for the amazing mothers pumping milk for sick or premature babies)

~

A photo sits beside me,  a machine plugged in.

The whirr of suction motors, tissues in the  bin.

Milk drips into plastic, ounce after precious ounce.

Arms longing  for my baby, to kiss and hold and bounce.

~

Wall clocks tick-tock and cold pumps hum low.

Through endless NICU days and nights painfully slow.

A voice within me whispers, ‘keep going, don’t you stop’.

I’m pumping for my baby and there’s love in every drop.

 

 

 

 

Magic Milk.

My milk must be magic, It has a few tricks.

Makes tears disappear and for more I just switch.

My milk must be delicious, both the left and the right.

Baby Mmmms and she Aaaahs, smacks her lips with delight.

My milk must be strong, with it’s own knock-out punch.

She can’t keep her eyes open when she’s had a big ‘lunch’.

My milk must have powers, and a mind of its own,

It comes when baby’s hungry, even when I’m not home!

My milk must be addictive, judging by the response,

When she wants it, she needs it and she needs it at ONCE.

My milk must have secrets, cos we don’t fully know,

How it heals and soothes her and makes her skin glow.

My Milk must be special, it’s too obvious to miss,

The look on her face, of such satisfied bliss.

So never underestimate just what your milk can do,

It’s gifts will last a lifetime, both for baby and for you.

And don’t doubt that you can do it, even if being a mum is new,

Cos here’s a little secret … Your milk is magic too!

( .)( .)