Museums are great places to go – not only are they free, but they are open free spaces where you can take the little one whilst you take in the history/arts/crafts whatever you prefer. As the little grows its a great way to get them accustomed to the culture.

Being at home with a baby or even more than one can be hard and the days can drag – getting out to a museum is always a great day out. Museums are a stimulating, sensory and social place for children so its great to start early.

Whats mos daunting though is how to breastfeed in such a public yet confined space – In the first Kids in Museums Manifesto six years ago, visitors demanded breast feeding facilities in museums – this has now been dealt with and you should find a lot of museums baby friendly with breastfeeding being easy to do in a discreet way.

So take out your nursing top and take the baba out to experience a great day out

I think most of us have been there when we take some time from our baby, miss a feed or keep up with a growth spurt – we think we are doing good and next thing you know you look down and there are two circular wet patches on your nursing top from leaking milk!

It happened a few times to be when I didnt think to put in breast pads and realised I had that awful feeling of being wet at the front! The first thought it was a waste of breast milk – I could have used that to breastfeed my baby – instead its in front of my breast feeding top! Nursing your baby is hard enough as it, what with the burps, followed by a little milk bought back up by baba i found I was changing my clothes so many times – good thing I had bought quite a few pieces of breastfeeding clothing.

What made me find comfort was that Claire Danes felt the same during her first time away from her baby who she is breastfeeding – she was on the red carpet for the golden globes and The actress, who is breast-feeding, candidly added: ‘I’m hoping I don’t leak!’ Her baby son was being looked after by her parents in a nearby hotel!

Of course I didnt look as good her – but still we are all human

It seems the whole issue of breastfeeding in public will never go away – though accepted that breastfeeding has a number of benefits there will always be a people and situations where breastfeeding isnt viewed comfortably.

Recently a group of mothers in Delaware were hassled for breastfeeding in public and they staged a protest outside the mall at where that happened.

Its interesting to think that in summer women and men can parade down the street with barely any clothing, or women can go out clubbing with extremely revealing clothes – yet when it comes to breastfeeding in public – no matter how discreet people do a double take to see whats happening.

Nursing your baby is quite intimate but also seen as not a big deal by those that do it – breast feeding is hard to get the hang of in the first place, and once a mother has that stopped she has to try getting herself into a decent postion when she is out in public with her baby.

However you have to admire all those women that do breastfeed and nurse their babies no matter where they are, there is always the option of nursing clothes which helps in these situations and makes it easier to access for breastfeeding. But babies neen milk and feeding and its something that will never change

What a day – it was great to have a stall for our nursing clothes at the barn hotel. It was a great chance to show off our Milkbug range of breastfeeding clothes, the best bit must have been all the mums we met that had set up their own businesses – such as cake making and special gifts for mother and baby.

We met so many mums who are expecting who loved our nursing clothes and tops and it was interesting to hear all of their experiences and feelings towards breastfeeding. Most were worried that they wouldnt be able to feed for some reason, but having been in that boat myself the best advice I could give is that ‘ask ask ask for help from midwives and support workers’ dont be shy.

Our sailor knot breastfeeding top did really well today and the Coral Taara nursing dress also did good as mums loved the colour for summer – the best compliment we had were the comments on the material – all mums loved the softness of the material and also how it would feel against their newborns skin.

All in all a great day for Milkbug – our breastfeeding clothes got a viewing and we met some great mums to be and also mumprenuers!

Have a look at some of the images of the day or view online our nursing dress range: www.milkbug.co.uk

Finding good breastfeeding clothes can be hard, and what’s even more difficult is buying the right size given that your body has changed considerably after giving birth.
We know our mums love our clothes so we are offering mums that live in Hillingdon or Harrow the opportunity to come to our offices and try on our clothes and see what fits best. You can bring your baby and come in the comfort that you will walk away with breastfeeding clothes that will fit you and look good on you.

We also do breastfeeding clothes parties – its a fun way to get some mums together that you have met either by nct or other groups and just have a girly laugh. Again you have your baby with you and we bring the clothes to you – we will even make the tea for you!

So have a look at our site and if you want the luxury of having the nursing clothes come to you let us know – www.milkbug.co.uk

INTRODUCING MILKBUG BREASTFEEDING COLLECTION FOR SUMMER 2012

Cosmos Nursing top

We have been selling breastfeeding clothes for a number of years now, we have worked closely with our designers and ensuring that we get the styles that are well-liked by our mums. For us its important that each piece is smart and stylish as well as highly functional for breastfeeding. We have seen a number of designs over the years and using our expertise and knowledge we have designed and launched our own breastfeeding collection.

Designing clothes isnt an easy thing to do, so I am being honest to say that we studied hard the world of fashion and design – added to this the complexity of breastfeeding openings. We had a number of samples and prototypes made and we tested each item ourselves. Taj recently had baby number 2 and was key in testing in each sample both at home and out and about and we were able to tweak according to feedback.

We have ensured that our items are not made of cheap material which will shrink in the wash, we have selected modal cotton which is supersoft, lightweight, soft and smooth which is ideal for you and your babys skin. Our material is resistant to wear and tear and can be washed a number of times with no impact on the quality….and the price? Well thats the best bit, we have not compromised quality and we have worked closely across the supply chain to keep costs down to ensure that our prices for each item is competitive and affordable.

Here is our collection for 2012:

Have a look online at: http://www.milkbug.co.uk/Spring-Summer-2012/

Beyoncé quickly regained her figure after giving birth (Picture: AFP/Getty)

And the singer urged all new  mothers to feed their babies the natural way if they want to shed the pounds quickly.

‘I lost most of my weight from breastfeeding and I encourage women to do it – it’s just so good for the baby and good for yourself,’ said the 30-year-old, who gave birth to daughter Blue Ivy in January.

She showed off her impressive figure as she donned a bikini during a holiday in the Caribbean with Blue Ivy and hubby Jaz-Z.

She also admitted to watching the calories in her quest to get her body shape back. ‘I counted calories. I worked out maybe three to four times a week. I did a lot walking in the beginning and now I’m running. But I had to work my way up. I couldn’t just go right from being pregnant to running,’ she said.

In true diva style, Beyoncé also told how she tried to look as glam as possible when she went into a New York hospital to give birth.

‘I did have a fresh eyebrow wax. I got my nails done, I got my feet done, had my hair done and I had my little lip gloss,’ the singer and actress told People magazine.

‘I didn’t feel that I looked beautiful during birth but who does?

‘After being pumped with all those fluids and gaining so much weight. I barely recognised myself. But after many hours of labour I could care less about anything but my child. I didn’t care how I looked.’

If you are looking for clothes that help you feed in public and are so stylish that even beyonce would wear them then head to: www.milkbug.co.uk

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/897874-beyonce-reveals-breastfeeding-blue-ivy-was-secret-to-rapid-weight-loss#ixzz1tedH1eKg

Baby cries……

I think: “oh no…please….NO” (whilst my heart sinks and a feel like crying)

Husband says: “I think she is hungry – are you going to feed her”

I think: “NO….you get your boob out and feel the pain for a change”

I actually say: ” Yes…give me two seconds…I’m on my way”

Those first few weeks of breastfeeding are by the toughest and for me very soul destroying. I had totally not got the latch right with my daughter (she was my 2nd child and I thought breastfeeding would be a doddle). This meant I had cracked, sore nipples – bleeding. The latch on was pain which ran through my very core and feeding her was painful, tearful and something I didnt want to do. Hence my heart sinking when I needed to feed her.

I kept thinking this wasnt what it was like last time – I remember it was hard at first, but this was on-going. I couldnt see how it was going to get better. When my daughter cried to be fed, my heart sank and I was scared of feeding her as I knew what the pain was that was about to come. When she did latch on, I would cry through the feeding. However I suffered in silence, I didnt want to tell my husband or midwife how hard it was. I kept thinking it would be ok, and that by admitting it wasnt right would mean that I would have failed. I soon became disillusioned by it all, and thought forget this – give her formula.

Though thats not something I really wanted to do – and I just wanted to see through it all. In addition to the pain, the milk was coming in and production hadnt regulated which meant the boobs were sore and gorged and no matter how many cabbage leaves I put on – it wasnt helping.

I finally caved in and asked for help when the midwife came and she came armed with improved techniques and advice on how to help the sore nipples heal. In a matter of a few days the pain subsided as the latch on was correct and the nipples started to heal. In a matter of a week I could latch her on without any pain and I wished I had asked for help earlier. That bliss lasted for a few days until the mastitis kicked in and the pain associated with that..however it would be my luck that the masititis got worse and developed into something more serious which required serious medical help in the form of surgery…….but thats another story and not something I want to shock anyone with

However out of all this – I am still breastfeeding and my heart no longer sinks when I need to feed – though the night time feeds I could do without. Finally it all feels natural.

My advice to anyone finding breastfeeding hard – don’t be a martyr. Get support from your midwife, health visitor or anyone else in the medical profession and keep an eye on how your feeding and how often.

Good luck.

As the days get shorter and colder   – wrapping yourself and baby up warm becomes a priority. This also means that when you are at public places you are removing layers in order to get the best postion to breastfeed in.

If you have layered up in order to feed in comfort – its worth looking at investing in some simple breastfeeding tops which you can put on under a cardi and coat. You can then just pull your cardi to one side giving you access to your top while keeping yourself warm.

This winter we have quite a few tops which are ideal to wear in this weather and we are pleased to stock a few new brands as well. CK england has been designed by a mum herself who is a designer and she has put a lot of attention to detail to each aspect. The material is supple enough to stretch to give access to the breast, but it retains it shape when put back. We simply love these tops, for their simplicity and elegance.

Its coming really close to the birth date now – and being organised is normally something us women are brilliant at! However pregnancy hormones can always clutter our minds. Here we extract a list from Babycenter which can be used to ensure you have the essentials packed and ready to go!

For labour:

For your birth partner:

After the birth:

For your baby: