A love/non-love relationship with tandem feeding...okay mostly non-love

I fell into tandem feeding by accident. Gorgeous little John John, now 3 months old took us by surprise when those two little lines appeared on the pregnancy test. Evie was only 10 months at the time.  

My doctor, my mother, and pretty much everyone else told me to wean. I took their advice on board and fully intended on weaning at least 3 months before the due date. I hadn’t heard of tandem feeding a toddler and a newborn, had never even considered that would be a thing. But there I was with a baby and pregnant with another. I certainly wasn’t ready to stop breastfeeding yet. It seemed unfair to force Evie to wean due to unplanned circumstances. I went searching for nutritional information for pregnancy and breastfeeding concurrently and found none. What I did find was an article about tandem feeding and it seemed to be encouraged. I was relieved. I felt like I had options.

The months passed, Evie never indicated she was ready to give up breastfeeding just yet. Breastfeeding was her downtime, her comfort, her relaxation at the end of a long day. It was quiet time bonding with mummy. Breastfeeding was cuddly and close. We both loved it.

 As the pregnancy progressed my milk supply dwindled. Evie’s interest in feeding gradually declined accordingly. She still enjoyed a feed to get off to sleep, or whenever she was feeling discomfort, or just felt like a snuggle. We got to the stage where Evie didn’t seem to mind if she fed or not. Some nights she’d go off to sleep without feeding at all.

But then at 36 weeks my colostrum was in and Evie, now 18 months, suddenly became booby obsessed. She loved it. The due date got closer and I didn’t mind the breastfeeding so much, I thought it would help bring on labour. I realised it was now too late to wean her. Even if I did wean as soon as she saw her little brother feeding she’d want in.

Evie didn’t come meet John John until he was two days old. I’d been missing her terribly. When she saw me sitting to feed her little brother of course she wanted some too. She hopped up on my knee and grabbed my spare breast. It was a juggle and awkward to feed them both, but we managed. We have some gorgeous photos of the moment.

My earliest memory is of my mother breastfeeding my sister, 20 months younger than me. I wanted some too, but Mum refused. I told myself before John John was born that I wouldn’t do that to my daughter. Unfortunately by the time I’d been home 24 hours I’d rejected Evie’s requests for breastfeeding more times than I could count.

Once home the reality of feeding two children of different ages set in. I was producing milk for a newborn. Yummy fatty deliciously sweet milk and Evie loved it. She wanted boobies all the time. More than was necessary or practical. Sometimes I’ve been sitting down for a long time feeding John John. Sometimes he’s asleep in his bassinet and I can finally do a bit of housework or whatever in the few minutes until he wakes up. Sometimes she just doesn’t need it, and I want some space.  And so the tantrums begin.

Tandem feeding is much harder than I expected, and much harder than any breastfeeding support information page or online mother’s forum let on too. I was managing the newborn, who was as floppy and helpless as a rag doll, trying to balance him one arm, as he learned how to latch properly, and managing my now giant looking toddler Evie on the other arm. She was curious of her brother and had trouble keeping her hands to herself, not yet old enough to understand that she might be hurting the baby, or introducing germs with her poking and prodding. When I put her down after she’d had way over and above what a normal feed was for her to focus on the newborn she screamed the house down, looking at me from the floor with tears in her eyes and shaking her head.. It was a nightmare. I felt tremendous guilt for having another child, and loss that my ‘just us two’ relationship with my daughter had been interrupted.

If only she would eat some food… Food has been given the flick for breastmilk. I’ve been trying to offer foods she likes, and restricting breastfeeding until she’s had a decent meal. She usually doesn’t manage more than a couple of bites. After 7 weeks I was starting worry. I don’t want to deplete her nutritionally. My sore muscles and achy teeth told me the breastfeeding was depleting me. I up my supplement intake. My symptoms improve.

I love breastfeeding my toddler when it’s just us two. We snuggle together and have a little chat and a giggle about our day, eventually she’s had her fill or goes off to sleep.

There’s times when both children are screaming, I sit on the couch, or lie on my bed, give them a boob each and then there’s silence. Sweet wonderful silence for 5 - 10 minutes. I can even hold my phone in my hand and entertain myself during these quiet feeding moments.

My favourite tandem feeding moments though, are when baby John John loses the nipple, and Evie reaches over and guides it back into his mouth for him. It’s the sweetest thing, a sister helping a brother out.  And when John John catches sight of Evie across the other side of my chest and gives her a big gorgeous smile it melts my heart.

Realistically I see no easy way out of tandem feeding in the near future. Sure I can hardline it and cut her off, but she’ll be reminded of the goodness of breastfeeding every time little John John cries out for a meal. It’d be like taking away a smoker’s cigarettes and then lighting up in front of them 8 times a day. But “No - you can’t have any.”

My instinct is that breastfeeding serves her emotional wellbeing. The times when I tell Evie no to boobies she becomes incredibly enraged. I can actually use my boobs as a bribing tool. “Do this for me and you can have some boobies” not that I want to bribe her, but you know, desperate times call for desperate measures.

So I’m feeling stuck with this, waiting for a green light to tuck my boob away for the last time ... as far as the toddlers concerned anyway. I’ve been waiting for this light for about six months now and it’s just not coming. It’s now clear it would have been much easier to wean when my milk supply naturally dropped off during pregnancy…at around 14 or 15 months old. She would have missed it for a few days and then it would all be forgotten about. Now she’s tasted the sweet nectar that is newborn mummy booby goodness, she’s not giving it up in a hurry. It must be like ice-cream, all sweet and fatty.

A new resolve to start a loving-kindness weaning process was shot down a couple of weeks ago by what I initially thought was severe teething with lots of clinginess and boobies required. It soon became apparent it was actually hand, foot and mouth disease making her so miserable. Everything she put in her mouth was hurting and her response was to eat nothing. On day 5 of no food whatsoever breastfeeding had become a true hero, offering not only nutrition, hydration and comfort but an immune boost as well. I was grateful I have such good breastmilk to help her through that week of horrors.

Her health is now restored however and I don’t feel tandem feeding is sustainable. A 21-month old toddler surviving primarily off my breast milk is not healthy for either of us.  I could be waiting months or even a couple of years for her to self-wean.  And so I tentatively embark on a weaning journey. I anticipate lots of struggle, lots of resistance. Many a time when the small baby will be woken and disturbed and resented by a toddler screaming for boobies. It’s going to suck and perhaps be one of the greatest battles of will I’ve ever known. We’ll get there in the end.

What's causing your Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?

I want  to talk about some of my least favorite things. Stomach pain, flatulence, bloating, the runs, and constipation. Does this sound like you?

Irritable bowel syndrome is a really common, in fact it's the most common condition I see as a naturopath. However there's no simple solution. Everyone is different and what’s causing your trouble may not be the same as your friend.

Numerous theories abound as to what may be causing your digestive upset. I’m going to cover the most researched hypotheses right here.

Excessive Stress

Your brain is in communication with your digestive system via a few different pathways in your nervous system.

The parasympathetic nervous system is known as ‘the rest and digest’ nervous system. This is switched on when you feel relaxed and there is no danger. Conversely the sympathetic nervous system is your ‘fight and fright.’ When you’re feeling stressed this will be switched on.

When you’re in stress mode, your body switches on your brain and muscles and turns off your digestive system. This is because digesting the food you just ate is the last thing you need to be doing when you’re in danger. No you need to be running away and figuring out how to outsmart the threat.

If you’re chronically stressed, this has an ongoing negative impact on your gut, where food in not digested properly causing pain and discomfort. You’ll also be missing out on the nutrients in your food because you won’t be absorbing them properly.

Altered Serotonin Signalling

You may have heard of this neurotransmitter that often has feelings such as happiness and joy attributed to its actions. Did you know much of your bodies serotonin is actually manufactured in the gut? 95% of body stores are found in the digestive system. Serotonin has a major action on your gut motility – that is how well your digestive system passes food from one end to the other.

Researchers have found an excessive level of serotonin is likely to cause diarrhoea whereas too little tends to cause constipation.

Visceral Hypersensitivity

Do you have an awareness of your digestive function? People with IBS tend to have a painful awareness of the stomach, small intestines and large intestines. Increased hypersensitivity has been associated with lower levels of serotonin.

Infection

After a severe bout of gastroenteritis the upset to your happy commune of gut bacteria may be enough to completely through the balance out of whack and IBS symptoms ensue. The harsher the infection, the more likely you will develop post-infection IBS. Other risk factors include depression, being female, longer duration of illness and fever.

Alterations in Gut Flora

Gut flora is commonly altered in incidences of IBS. This can be caused by antibiotic use, poor diet, the contraceptive pill, stress, and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Alterations in gut flora can eventually lead to overgrowth of the wrong kinds of gut bugs leading to poor immune defence and less production of short chain fatty acids. These short chain acids help water absorption and also feed the good bacteria. They are crucial to good gut health.

Bacteria who are good in one place can be bad in another. Sometimes they start colonising in places they shouldn’t, such as your small intestine. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is found in 50% of IBS cases.

Possible causes for SIBO include gastrointestinal surgery, proton pump inhibitors (medications for indigestion such as Omneprazole), immune insufficiency and malnutrition.

SIBO has been associated with medical conditions such as depression, acromegaly, diverticulitis and interstitial cystitis, cystic fibrosis and fibromyalgia.

Food Hypersensitivity and Intolerance

Do your symptoms get worse after you eat certain foods? Some food intolerances may be because you lack an enzyme required to break the food down. For example you may lack lactase required to break down lactose, a milk sugar found in dairy. Others might be because your body can’t transport that kind of food molecule effectively. Basically in some way shape or form, your body is just not equipped to deal with that food.

When you do eat one of these foods you can’t handle, your intestinal wall becomes inflamed. This inflammation causes further sensitivity and creates even more intolerance.  Food you were able to eat as a teenager is suddenly making you feel very under the weather.

The good news is, you may be able to recover from most of your intolerances once the daddy of all intolerances (milk, fruit, wheat, soy whatever it is for you) is removed from your diet).

If you regularly suffer digestive discomfort I’m sure you might have an idea or two about what might be contributing to your symptoms, especially after reading the above. Once we figure out the source of your discomfort we can go about treating you as quickly and as effectively as possible.

Naturopaths are great at treating gut problems. We have an arsenal of gut soothing herbs, intestinal wall repairing nutrients, and can offer support and direction in your dietary choices. You don’t have to live your life afraid to go out in case you suffer a flare up/make a lot of smelly gas/feel bloated and disgusting.

If you’re a Perth local  please make an appointment here I’d love to help you.

I wish you peaceful meals

References

Sheppach W, 1994, GUT an International Journal of Gastroentology and Hepatology Effects of Short Chain Fatty Acids on Gut Morphology and Function.

Hectman L 2012, Clinical Naturopathic Medicine, Churchill Livingstone Elsevier

Gorgeous photo credit to artist Camila Carlow, isn't it amazing? A floral digestive system. I love x

Wild edible plants in your garden. The Sow Thistle.

I love the term wildcrafting, don't you? It's so earthy and free. It means to harvest produce that grows wild, be it for food, medicine, or beauty. Wildcrafting is going into the wild and taking what is naturally available. There’s something so gorgeously real, primitive and abundant about getting what you need from the earth. There’s no exchange of paper money, or disconnectedly swiping a piece of plastic card through a machine.

What you need is just there waiting for you in the sun, freely available and ready for the taking.

Last year I planted some mustard lettuce in my vegie bed. It fed me well and eventually it’s life circle completed, I let it go to seed, it seeded. Everywhere. And then it died.

This year I have mustard lettuce growing up through the lawn and in cracks of my brick paving, It’s adorable and tasty and full natural goodness. And so so convenient too. I love pulling lettuce out of my lawn, giving it a wash and putting it in my lunch.

I have another weed growing ambitiously all over, and I had a sneaking suspicion was the medicinal dandelion species we use in herbal medicine as a liver cleanser and digestive tonic, but couldn’t be sure.

I looked it up and although my weed and the medicinal dandelion had very similar leaves and flowers, their sizes varied hugely. This was definitely a different plant.

The Taraxacum officinalis (botanical speak for Dandelion) seems to hang out low to the ground, whereas my ‘dandelions’ were towering up to over a meter high.

I had get to the bottom of this.

I pulled off a baby leaf of my mystery weed and gave it a little chew. Hmmm, a little spiky around the edges, slightly bitter but definatley palatable. Tastes like healthy greens, not poison. This was a good start.

So here comes the part where most would get on google, but I decided to meditate on my weeds first, to see what my intuition could tell me. I had a guided meditation waiting on my computer specifically for connecting with nature and this was the perfect time to use it.

 I asked the plant what it could do for me.

Sitting in the garden, sun flowing over my face, headphones in my ear’s and computer by my side. I clear my chakras under the guidance of the beautiful Karina Ladet. I put my hands around a particular healthy specimen of this mystery ‘dandelion’ and felt a cleansing tingling feeling throughout my body. My blood felt clean flowing and light filled. My mouth moved towards a leaf and made a chewing motion, my bodies way of showing me it’s ok to eat this plant, and if fact I should eat it. I sat with my hands on the leaf for a little longer, I then decided to chew off a bit of leaf as if were an ape in the jungle, tearing the end of the leaf with my teeth, straight from the plant. It was a wild moment of connection with my inner animal, followed by a self-directed laugh at my gorilla-like behavior.

Giggly and amused, my guided meditation ends leaving me with a giant warm and open heart. I got the message that this plant is super healthy and definitely edible but the scientist in me wants some solid proof.  Inside I identified my mystery weed as the Sow Thistle aka Sochus oleraceus, thanks to the wonderful guide to Edible Weeds and Foraging in Perth by Charles Otway (see reference below). Some sources report that this baby has a whopping 1500mg of calcium per 100g and 45mg of iron.  It’s also high in potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and a good source of vitamin C. Not to mention the phytochemicals the flavones, stilbenes, polyphenols and glycosides that exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour and all round good stuff properties.

Charles Otway thinks Sow Thistle tastes better when it’s still quite young, before it shoots up and flowers. I tried a mature flowered sow thistle though and I thought it was still good.

It’s very name ‘oleraceus’ is latin for good eating.

In short, you can safely pick (wildcraft) the leaves from these plants and nutritiously mix them through your salad, through your scrambled eggs, put on your pizza, use absolutely anywhere you use greens FOR FREE!

Traditionally more mature plants are boiled or steamed, but young leaves are good raw. I do recommend mixing the leaves up with other greens, rather then eating a bowl of sow thistle all by itself, simply because like all things, you can have too much.

Wild Plant Medicine

A New Zealender by the name of Mawalagedera (2009) wrote a thesis about the antioxidant value of this plant, and makes a point that the a particular New Zealand Maori population has less incidence of colorectal cancer dispite being in a very high risk group for the disease. She writes that sow thistle is a staple in the diet along with sweet potatoes, silverbeet and watercress. Perhaps these foods are offering the protective factor?

She also writes the more mature plants have a higher antioxidant value.

A 2013 study reports sow thistle is may be an effective option for treating Diabetes because the high antioxidant value protects the liver, kidneys and blood plasma from damage caused by high blood sugar.

Wildcraft away. I know what’s going in my salad.

SENSIBLE SALLY SAYS: Make sure you wildcraft from places that you know havn’t been sprayed or wee’d on. And always wash wash wash. 

References:

Mofor Teugwa^1*, Pascaline Chouadeu Mejiato¹, Denis Zofou³, Bruno Tugnoua Tchinda¹ and Fabrice Fekam Boyom²  BMC Complimentary and Alternative Medicine 2013,Antioxidant and antidiabetic profiles of two African medicinal plants: Picralima nitida (Apocynaceae) and Sonchus oleraceus (Asteraceae) 2013, 13:175  doi:10.1186/1472-6882-13-175

Sundara Mudiyanselage Maheshini Rangika Mawalagedera 2014, Antioxidant Activities of Sonchus oleraceus L.

Otway, Charles (undated) Edible Weeds, Common Plants and Foraging Around Perth, www.terraperma.com.au

Karina Ladet www.karinaladet.com

Are you low in Iron? Quick Quiz + what all the fuss is about.

So what's the big deal anyway?

You need iron to produce red blood cells. These deliver the most essential nutrient of them all, oxygen to all the cells of your body.

Low iron left unchecked and untreated can develop into iron deficiency anaemia, this is where you may notice symptoms of fatigue, weakness, pale skin and shortness of breath.

On top of this, iron levels affect cellular energy production, hormone production and detoxification pathways. If your levels are low your going to be feeling under the weather...all the time. 

Iron is absolutely crucial for periods of growth, especially pregnancy, teenagers and for children six months to four years of age. If iron levels aren’t up to scratch in these special times, you might see suboptimal growth and development.

Do you have low iron? Read through these questions and take note of how many yes’s you have.

1. Do you feel tired or fatigued?

2. Do you feel weak?

3. Do your skin, nails or gums look pale of feel cold?

4. Do you get short of breath or breathe rapidly?

5. Do you get dizzy or lightheaded?

6. Is it difficult to concentrate?

7. Does your pulse race?

8. Do you have heart palpitations (are you conscious of your heart beat often?)

9. Is your menstrual cycle irregular

10. Do you have numbness or coldness in your hands and feet

11. Do you have Restless Legs that keep you up at night?

12. Are you irritable and grumpy?

13. Do you feel sad or depressed?

14. Do you suffer from recurring infections or colds?

15. Is you have haemoglobin levels less then 130 – 170 g/l for adult males and 120 – 150 g/l for adult females (you’ll get this in a blood test)

16. Have you ever been diagnosed with anaemia?

If you answered yes to five or more of these questions, you may have an underlying iron deficiency. We'll have to test you to be sure. It's important not to commence iron supplementation without consulting a health professional. I highly recommend you discuss this with your naturopath so we can further evaluate your iron status, and set you on the path to wellness.

You need to be especially vigilant if you're

• pregnant
• an athlete
• a teenager
• have a digestive problem that affects nutrient absorption
• vegetarian or vegan
• have recently lost a lot of blood or continuously lose blood

If you're a sandgroper and worried about your iron please drop into the Fremantle Markets and speak to a qualified Naturopath at the NatMed stall on the weekend. Otherwise contact the lovely reception girls at NatMed 9339 1999 and make an appointment.

Look after yourself

References: Hectman L, Hywood A, Newton T, Integria Pregnancy Intensive Handouts, Eagle 2014.

Why your goldfish can teach you how to eat + Winter foods

The discovery of hundreds of happy little mosquito larvae wriggling around in my backyard pond caused me substantial alarm. To counteract this direct threat to backyard safety and comfort I brought home 5 sweet and beautiful little goldfish. I had gone to the aquarium store with the mind to get some of these mosquito-eating machines, not really considering that they would become part of the family, but once they were bagged up and looking at me adorably through the clear plastic goldfish bag, my heart filled with warmth and opened up for new pet-love, they had me 100%. I gently placed their aquarium bags in the water, praying they would survive, gradually adding pond water to their plastic bag to acclimatise them as the hours passed. They were psyched to be there, they could see all the wrigglers floating around freely available and were keen to start eating.

This morning I was thrilled to find them still living and I let them fully integrate into the water. They were cautious at first, but I can see it is a goldfish paradise for them, complete with live food to chase, plenty of natural sunlight,  and aquatic plants to hide amongst and chew. Inside that pond they are 100% free to be themselves and express their personalities fully, I'm happy for them. They bring mega positive feng shui vibes through the back yard …I’ll take a goldfish pond over a mosquito farm any day.

I’d been concerned for their survival due to the reputation goldfish have for kicking the bucket. They’re sensitive little beings. I’m also aware that often a goldfish may be brought home and added to a bowl, or tank, perhaps with no plants, no one else to play with and a set feeding time each night, quite unnatural for a fish, who likes to swim all day nibbling at pleasure and weaving through flora. If I was suddenly placed in a sterile boring unnatural environment, far removed from my internal yearnings, I might just die too.

These days of artificial light and artificial sweeteners and even artificial grass have us living further away from our forest dwelling ancestors then ever. We make our goldfish live in environments like ours. We give them a sterile house, artificial food and electric lights and wonder why they don’t thrive.

All night  entertainment from computers and tv, and shift style work schedules force us out of natural cycles. Is it really surprising that many of us feel out of touch with our own bodies?

Since the event of electricity in homes and the massive technological advances in the decades following, depression and mental illness have risen exponentially while male sperm counts have dropped by over 50%. Experts are pointing the finger at man-made chemical contamination and sedentary lifestyle as the major culprits (Sharpe, 2000) We’re unhappy and it seems our ability to reproduce healthily is suffering.

There’s plenty we can do to get back into nature, or feel ‘Earthed’ as I like to call it. One of the easiest and simplest ways to get in tune is with your food. Within the Eastern medicine and the Shiatsu world, eating with the seasons is vital for a vibrant circulation of body chi and good health.

When we consider mental illness such as depression is accompanied with disconnection from nature, eating with the seasons may have humongous positive impact.

Consciously eating in line with natural Earth rhythm is a great way to connect with your intuition and improve connection to nature. Eating whole natural, seasonal and locally produced foods prepared at home feels healthy, supports your community, is budget friendly and great for the environment too. Sounds like a recipe for good karma and happiness to me. Below is a list of winter produce in season for WA, add a few to your shopping list this week. If you read this from afar, google seasonal produce in your area to stay in the loop.

I’ll be sharing some wonderful winter warmer meal creations on the blog, so keep an eye out.

Winter blessings for you my friend x

Love Lib