Feb 2011
Oscar Fever....
Check out the highlights in the frock-fest that is the 2011 Oscars....
Our special favourite (not that we are biased or anything) is Natalie Portman in Rodarte. Beautiful.
December 2010
Winners in the run-up to Christmas!!
December 13th - Suzy Brown from East Sussex has won a Koochu Lincoln change bag for dishing out flyers at her local ante natal group
December 14th - Clare Harrison from Edinburgh has won two bars of Keep Calm and Carry On Chocolate for telling her pregnant sister in law about us
December 15th - Nuala Smith from Norwich has won a belly band for holding a coffee morning and wearing her Evita dress! How lovely.
December 16th - Jennifer Dawes from London has won a boobie buddies breastfeeding reminder bracelet for sending a gift voucher to her pregnant sister
December 17th - John Austin from Bristol has won two bars of chocolate and a baby belly oil gift set for ordering from us and recommending us to his wife's pregnant friend
December 18th - Ceira McFadden has won a fruit basket for passing on her second hand nursing clothes to her local baby charity shop and leaving them some flyers as well.
December 19th - Two lucky ladies won gift vouchers at today's Baby Loves Disco for strutting their bumpy stuff in a most appealing manner!
December 20th - Suzanne Gellings from Hertfordshire has won a nursing top for sending our link to all of her NCT friends.
December 21st - Sonia Byford from London has won a Baby Belly Oil gift pack for sending our link to her post natal group
December 22nd - Katie Davies of Cardiff has won a luxury Koochu change mat for sending our Twitter link to her friends
December 23rd - Anonymous of Lincolnshire has won a Christmas Hamper of pregnancy goodies for recommending us spontaneously on Mumsnet!
December 24th - Finally Julie Howard of Littlehampton has won a Ruby and Ginger Nappy Purse Set for telling all her new-baby friends about us!!
Thats it for our Grand December Giveaway - stay tuned for more brilliant competitions over 2011 and a Happy New Year to all!!
December 2010
Winners this week in our December's Grand Give-away - see front page for details on how to enter:
December 7th - Chris Morrison from Aberdeenshire has won a gift voucher worth £15.00 for holding a breastfeeding coffee morning and giving out some flyers
December 8th - Niki Bryan from the West Midlands won a Baby Bear Shop gift set and two bars of Keep Calm and Carry On Chocolate for recommending us on an internet breastfeeding forum.
December 9th - Jess from Epsom won a belly belt for sending her pregnant friends a link to our wesbite
December 10th - Nuala from Straban won a Koochu luxury change mat for dropping some flyers at her local doctor's surgery and breastfeeding group
December 11th - Christine from Suffolk was sent a bunch of flowers for wearing her dress to a wedding and telling all her pregnant friends where she got it
December 12th - And finally so far, lovely Pippa from Arundel won a Boobie Buddies Breastfeeding bracelet for writing a small piece about breastfeeding tops for her NCT newsletter and giving us a mention!
We are so grateful to anyone that takes the time and trouble to recommend us, for one month only we would like to pay you back as best we can! Let us know what you have been doing and we will send you something lovely!
December 2010
Winners so Far in our December's Grand Giveaway: See full details of the competition below
December 1st :Vicki Abbot got a change set - For wearing her top to her local breastfeeding groups and recommending us to her friends.
December 2nd: Louise Wilcox - got a Boobie Buddies bracelet for e-mailing her pregnant friends with our link
December 3rd - Sonja H - We sent her two bars of Keep clam and Carry On Chocolate in both colours - all the way to Denmark (!!), for mentioining us on a breastfeeding forum!
December 4th - Marion C - She will be getting a bunch of flowers and some chocolates for asking us to send her some flyers to leave at her post natal group coffee morning
December 5th - Emma W - A Koochu luxury change mat is winging its way to Emma for buying three lots of gift vouchers for pregnant friends. They were only small value but they might help people to place an order where they otherwise wouldn't have done. Thanks Emma!
December 6th - Today's lucky winner is actually a chap! We had a testimonial and offer of a flyer drop from Keith in Ebbw Vale, who has bought a top for his wife and has earned thousands of brownie points as a result! Go Keith!! A Boobie Buddies reminder bracelet is on its way to you and your wife to say thank you!
Surprise us this week with your ingenuity - We have a Ruby and Ginger Out and About set, more chocolates, more flowers, more change mats and a belly belt up for grabs if you can help us spread the word about Mummy Looks Fab!! Well done to all our winners so far
xx
The Grand December Giveaway!!
We all know times are getting tougher, the weather is getting colder and we are all getting older.
Here at Mummy Looks Fab we are not going to let that trouble us!
O no......Whats more, we are not going to let it trouble you either....
By way of a huge end of year thank you to all of our lovely customers we have some amazing give-aways lined up in our "December's Grand Giveaway".
Every single day we will be awarding one lucky person a wonderful free gift...
It could be a free chocolate bar from the Chocolate Library, it could be a nursing bracelet from Boobie Buddies, it could be an Out and About set from Ruby and Ginger, it could even be a Koochu Lincoln change bag!!! We have got books, gift vouchers, champagne, belly belts and all sorts of other stuff all crying out to make someone happy over the festive period.
You don't even need to buy anything....
All we ask in return is that you spread the word about our site and help us enter the New Year with a great big festive bang!
You can enter a testimonial on our Testimonials page...you can refer a friend on to us and get them to mention your name on the order.... you can blog about us and send us a link.... you can tell your mates at a coffee morning and send us a photo of you enjoying your digestives...you can chat about us on a mums internet forum...you can ever suggest a link swap if you have your own website....
You can be as creative and spontaneous as you like....all we ask is that you send us proof of your recommendation of Mummy Looks Fab and we will go about the difficult task of giving away something lovely to one of our new friends every day between now and Christmas Day!
Think of it as a giant breastfeeding advent calendar, with even better stuff behind the doors.
Here are some of the lovely things we will be chucking at you over the coming weeks. Go on - surprise us with your fabulous and creative ways to send out the message that stylish breastfeeding starts here!
November 2010
Hello all you breastfeeding lovelies!
I am in the process of having a major pre Christmas clear out and having finished breastfeeding my little girl a few months ago I have an abundance of nursing bras that are too good to chuck but too well washed to E-Bay.
I found this appeal on T-J Hughes website - Bras4mums. They are offering to send on good condition used nursing bras and new cotton knickers to various African charities who believe that giving women the dignity of underwear can help reduce instances of sexual abuse.
They have been absolutely overwhelmed with donations but T-J has promised to let us know when she is ready to receive more, so add it to your favourites and keep an eye out. Its such a good cause for something that otherwise will almost certainly end up in land fill.
Happy Breastfeeding from all at Mummy Looks Fab!
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Our pictures from the Business Mums conference....
We were a runner up in the Growing Business Category and had an absolutely wonderful day!
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Autumn / Winter Advertising with Juno and Pregnancy and Birth....
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Vogue Coverage....
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Here is some of the local press Mummy Looks Fab has had.......
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Some of the fantastic press the Koochu Catalina has had!
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Stem cells could be the secret reason why breast is best
Scientist says mother's milk may play vital role in helping children 'fulfil their genetic destiny'
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Humiliated mother forced off bus for breastfeeding
By James Woodward, Press Association, Thursday 25th February 2010
A bus company apologised today after a "humiliated" young mother was told to get off a bus in the rain because she was breastfeeding. Amy Wootten, 25, was travelling home from Bristol city centre on the busy bus when her six-week-old daughter Emily needed a feed.
The driver pulled up the number 54 First Bristol bus and asked her to stop, saying that a passenger had complained. When Ms Wootten refused, he instructed her to step off the vehicle, despite the weather. Ms Wootten, a learning support assistant, took an £8 taxi for the rest of her journey home to the Stockwood area of the city. The driver told her she was "indecently exposing" herself and a fellow passenger had objected, but Ms Wootten insists the feed was discreet. First Bristol, which operates the bus, offered its "sincere apologies" today for any distress caused and accepted it was sometimes necessary to feed onboard. The company has since sent flowers and a gift to Ms Wootten, who had to leave the bus at 4.30pm on Tuesday in Wells Road.
Ms Wootten, who does not drive, said she only plucked up the courage to feed Emily in public in the last fortnight.
She told the Bristol Evening Post: "I felt completely and utterly humiliated, because it was a packed bus - if I hadn't fed her, Emily would have screamed and we would probably have had more complaints from people on the bus.
"I was showing a tiny bit of breast, but is it any different to showing your arm or your foot?
"I have really struggled breastfeeding Emily and had so many problems but was determined to do the right thing for her. It just makes you really reluctant to feed in public."
She has fed Emily on buses before and while another passenger passed comment, there had not been the same reaction from the driver.
NHS guidelines encourage women to breastfeed because of the health benefits.
Nicki Symes, breastfeeding development manager for NHS Bristol, said there were around 200 venues in the city that welcome breastfeeding. Participating places ask complainers to move, not the mother.
Ms Symes said today: "We have not yet approached public transport companies but in the light of this awful incident, it is something we will do.
"Often it is just one person within a large organisation that thinks it is OK and acts unilaterally. Most breastfeeding is done very discreetly and just looks like cuddling. From what I hear, this sounds very shocking. It is a view in a very small part of our society."
First spokeswoman Karen Baxter said the incident was a mistake by one driver. Staff would be given guidance to prevent similar incidents happening.
She said today: "We deeply regret the incident which was caused by one individual driver's actions and we have already expressed our sincere apologies to Ms Wootten for the distress caused as a result of it.
"We have launched an investigation into exactly what happened.
"As a company, we fully support a woman's right to breastfeed in public and understand that when travelling with a small child it may be neccessary to do this on the bus.
"We have already taken steps to ensure that this message is communicated to all of our staff."
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Gisele Bundchen forced to apologise over breastfeeding comments
Telegraph 04/08/10The fashion model Gisele Bundchen has been forced to make a public apology after her call for an international breastfeeding law prompted maternal outcry. In her blog, Bundchen, a 30-year-old Brazilian, insisted she was not trying to judge other mothers who fed their offspring from a bottle. She said: "My intention in making a comment about the importance of breastfeeding has nothing to do with the law."
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Breastfeeding should be 'the law', says supermodel
By Philippa Roxby. Health Reporter, BBC News
Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen says that all mothers should be made to breastfeed their children for the first six months of their lives.
In an interview with Harper's Bazaar magazine she said "I think breastfeeding really helped [me keep my figure]".
"Some people here [in the US] think they don't have to breastfeed, and I think 'Are you going to give chemical food to your child when they are so little?'"
"I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months,"she continued.
Gisele, who is married to American football star Tom Brady, gave birth to her first child Benjamin, in December.
The world's highest paid supermodel had a natural birth in her home in Boston after meditating throughout her eight hour labour.
She told the magazine that she got up and made pancakes the morning after the birth and was modelling swimwear just six weeks later.
Can all mums be as perfect as the beautiful Ms Bundchen?
For the full article - follow this link
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Denise Van Outen Quits Breastfeeding because of Paparazzi
Daily Star 14/07/10
Denise Van Outen has given up breastfeeding her daughter, claiming she finds it too embarrassing to do in public
TV presenter Denise Van Outen has given up breastfeeding her daughter after less than a month, claiming she found it too embarrassing to do in public.
The 36-year-old said: "I felt so conscious of the pressures of everybody looking, tutting and waiting to see how I dealt with the situation because they knew my face."
Miss Van Outen, who is married to West End actor Lee Mead, explained that self-consciousness wasn't the only reason for her decision to bottle feed her baby.
She added: "I wasn't producing enough milk and Lee wanted to be able to feed her."
The NHS supports the World Health Organisation's advice that breast milk is the best form of nutrition for infants.
They recommend breastfeeding only for the first six months of a baby's life because it provides all the nutrients needed for optical growth, development and health.
Breastfeeding and Guilt
26.06.10
One of the most powerful arguments many health professionals, government agencies and formula company manufacturers make for not promoting and supporting breastfeeding is that we should "not make the mother feel guilty for not breastfeeding". Even some strong breastfeeding advocates are disarmed by this "not making mothers feel guilty" ploy.
Because, indeed, it is nothing more than a ploy. It is an argument which deflects attention from the lack of knowledge and understanding of most health professionals about breastfeeding. This allows them not to feel guilty for their ignorance of how to help women overcome difficulties with breastfeeding, which could have been overcome and usually which could have been prevented in the first place if mothers were not so undermined in their attempts to breastfeed. This argument also seems to allow formula companies and health professionals to pass out formula company literature and free samples of formula to pregnant women and new mothers without pangs of guilt, though it has been well demonstrated that this literature and the free samples decrease the rate and duration of breastfeeding.
Let's look at real life. If a pregnant woman went to her physician and admitted she smoked a pack of cigarettes, is there not a strong chance that she would leave the office feeling guilty for endangering her developing baby? If she admitted to drinking a couple of beers every so often, is there not a strong chance that she would leave the office feeling guilty? If a mother admitted to sleeping in the same bed with her baby, would most physicians not make her feel guilty for this even though it is the best thing for her and the baby? If she went to the office with her one week old baby and told the physician that she was feeding her baby homogenized milk, what would be the reaction of her physician? Most would practically collapse and have a fit. And they would have no problem at all making that mother feel guilty for feeding her baby cow's milk, and then pressuring her to feed the baby formula. (Not pressuring her to breastfeed, it should be noted, because "you wouldn't want to make a woman feel guilty for not breastfeeding".)
Why such indulgence for formula? The reason of course, is that the formula companies have succeeded so brilliantly with their advertising to convince most of the world that formula feeding is just about as good as breastfeeding, and therefore there is no need to make such a big deal about women not breastfeeding. As a vice president of Nestle here in Toronto was quoted as saying "Obviously, advertising works". It is also a balm for the consciences of many health professionals who, themselves, did not breastfeed, or their wives did not breastfeed. "I will not make women feel guilty for not breastfeeding, because I don't want to feel guilty for my child not being breastfed".
Let's look at this a little more closely. Formula is certainly theoretically more appropriate for babies than cow's milk. But, in fact, there are no clinical studies which show that there is any difference between babies fed cow's milk and those fed formula. Not one. Breastmilk, and breastfeeding, which is not the same as breastmilk feeding, has many more theoretical advantages over formula than formula has over cow's milk (or other animal milk). And we are just learning about many of these advantages. Almost every day there are more studies telling us about these theoretical advantages. But there is also a wealth of clinical data showing that, even in affluent societies, breastfed babies, and their mothers incidentally, are much better off than formula fed babies. They have fewer ear infections, fewer gut infections, a lesser chance of developing juvenile diabetes and many other illnesses. The mother has a lesser chance of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and is probably protected against osteoporosis. And these are just a few examples.
So how should we approach support for breastfeeding? All pregnant women and their families need to know the risks of formula feeding. All should be encouraged to breastfeed, and all should get the best support available for starting breastfeeding once the baby is born. Because all the good intentions in the world will not help a mother who has developed terribly sore nipples because of the baby's poor latch at the breast. Or a mother who has been told, almost always inappropriately, that she must stop breastfeeding because of some medication or illness in her or her baby. Or a mother whose supply has not built up properly because she was given wrong information. Make no mistake about it—health professionals' advice is often the single most common reason for mothers' failing at breastfeeding!
If mothers get the information about the risks of formula feeding and decide to formula feed, they will have made an informed decision. This information must not come from the formula companies themselves, as it often does. Their pamphlets give some advantages of breastfeeding and then go on to imply that their formula is almost, actually just as good. If mothers get the best help possible with breastfeeding, and find breastfeeding is not for them, they will get no grief from me. It is important to know that a woman can easily switch from breastfeeding to bottle feeding. In the first days or weeks—no big problem. But the same is not true for switching from bottle feeding to breastfeeding. It is often very difficult or impossible, though not always.
Finally, who does feel guilty about breastfeeding? Not the women who make an informed choice to bottle feed. It is the woman who wanted to breastfeed, who tried, but was unable to breastfeed. In order to prevent women feeling guilty about not breastfeeding what is required is not avoiding promotion of breastfeeding, but promotion of breastfeeding coupled with good, knowledgeable and skillful support. This is not happening in most North American or European societies.
Written by Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC
May be copied and distributed without further permission
Call to end breastfeeding slogan
22.06.10
Health campaigners have called for the "breast is best" message to be changed after research suggested it may be failing to convince new mothers.
The Breastfeeding Network said the message suggests breastfeeding is the preferred - rather than the normal - way to feed babies.
It reinforces the view that formula milk is the "standard" way of feeding, with breastfeeding being an added bonus, the charity claimed.
Lesley Backhouse, chair of The Breastfeeding Network, has written to the Department of Health, calling for a change of approach.
"We've got to knock breastfeeding off this pedestal," she said.
"It seems to play straight into the formula manufacturer's hands by encouraging the view that formula is the normal way to feed a baby - whereas nothing could be further from the truth."
She added: "What we should be saying - and are intent on getting across - is that formula feeding is an avoidable health risk to babies."
A Department of Health spokesman said in a statement that "breast is best" was not its slogan, adding: "Breastfeeding is good for babies, good for mothers and incredibly convenient.
"It's crucial that mothers get the support they need to make breastfeeding a success for them and their baby."
Scientific studies have suggested that babies who are not breastfed have an increased risk of childhood obesity and gastrointestinal disorders.
London Evening Standard - 22.06.10
Your Stories
We are always interested in hearing your breastfeeding stories – especially those related to breastfeeding in public! If you would like to share a piece of advice, a funny story or a top tip, please contact us and we will share your breastfeeding gems with other fab mummies!
