Just Keep Swimming! Just Keep Swimming!

Let’s talk about baby swimming or infant swimming as some people call it. They say that infants can start as early as 2,5 months old. However, in Greece, they usually start at around 6 months old as they believe that an infant will not make it through the half an hour lesson. Although the water is heated, babies do get cold after some time and they have found that infants above six are more likely to finish the lesson. Our pediatrician and dermatologist had no problem with starting the lessons sooner, so we took our baby swimming at 5 months old. She is absolutely thrilled. She splashes around, moves both hands and feet like a dolphin and I recon she really likes it. Her coach said that the younger they get in the water the better it is because the liquid environment resembles the womb so they feel like home. Furthermore, they haven’t yet developed the sense of fear.

They say baby swimming has a lot to offer to a baby. It helps babies develop their socialization skills, enhances their immune system, promotes appetite and so on. But let’s also see the benefits to the parent, from a parent’s point of view.

We figured that our baby has already developed a strong mommy bond, so we chose dad to swim with the baby. Therefore, they can spend some “together” time by doing something she really enjoys with her daddy. After swimming she tends to sleep for a loooong, looong time. These nights are actually the only nights that we get to sleep properly. In the same gym, there is also an adult swimming pool so at the same time, mommy gets a chance to also do some swimming, clear her head, relax and exercise (and maybe loose those last pregnancy pounds).

Of course, there is a huge lot of laundry. Washing the baby is also tiring but we found a “summer infant baby bather” at mothercare which made our life a lot easier. Fold it and it’s ready to go. We actually used it on our first trip too!

In Greece they will ask for a pediatrician permission. The cost here is about 40 to 70 Euros per month or you can use a day pass at 10 Euros per lesson. You will also need a waterproof diaper!

There’s a lot of information if you search the web and there is usually a babyswimming.com that can probably answer your questions.

I’ll be happy to hear how your first lesson went!

Have fun!

What on earth is BPA? Is it something you eat?

When I started buying things for my unborn baby, the only advice I got was

a. It is best to buy silicon pacifiers and

b. Prefer a glass baby bottle to a plastic one

So I am at the store, holding two baby bottles in my hands and looking for the differences like my life depends on it! The only sales assistant in store is trying hard to assist 5 customers at the same time (Oh, financial crisis! Get another employer people‼) Ok, I  am thinking, how hard can it be? And just when I am about to put the baby bottle in my cart, I see it. On the upper corner of the carton, a tiny green sign that reads: BPA FREE. So I started looking at other products and noticed the same or similar signs (like 0% BPA). What on earth is BPA? Is it something you eat? 

Then, I did a small research the moment I could get my fingers on the web and I discovered that not only you cannot eat it, but you should not have it on any product that you use for feeding or drinking! BPA (which stands for Bisphenol A) is an organic synthetic compound which can be found in baby bottles, plastic plates and glasses, plastic toys, baby products and in general in plastic staff. It is considered harmful for our health, especially for infants, however the results on the tests are controversial. I don’t want to bore you, so if you are interested, you can find info on the FDA site, Wikipedia, Mayoclinic, or you can just google it! 

And me? As my granny always says: BPA is a no no!

My baby is on strike

So we wake up one lovely Thursday and my little one refuses to nurse. She cries like there’s no tomorrow, she pushes my breast away and screams uncontrollably. I manage to nurse a little after a loooooot of time but it happens again after three hours. And again… And again....

It’s now Friday morning. Her first and second meals go smoothly. And just when I was about to believe that babies are like computers (restarting them makes all the problems go away!) her third meal comes and she starts all over again.

I go through Saturday like this, feeling so sorry for my poor baby and myself and on Sunday morning I call my pediatrician. I describe the symptoms, only to hear:
- No big deal. She’s on a nursing strike, she says casually.
- With what list of demands, I asked, totally frustrated while thinking about babies on the roads with strike banners in their little hands... 

Her polite giggle brings me back to reality, thinking how silly my question must have sounded. In a nutshell:
Babies can go on a nursing strike at any time. It may be caused by everything and nothing. To mention just a few reasons:
*Something might have scared them while they were nursing (i.e. a sneeze, a loud noise, you screaming because she bit you etc etc…)
*Teething pain, runny nose, earaches, etc,.
*They miss their mommy (especially if she has just returned to work)
*Mommy doesn’t have a mommy smell anymore (a change of shower gel, hormones, period etc.)

If it happens to you (and I strongly wish it doesn’t) they say that it usually lasts for only a few days (although I have heard of cases that lasted over two months) but there are some things that you can try (after talking with your pediatrician and making sure that the baby is not in pain). I tried the following::
1. Patience
2. Nurse while the baby is either sleeping or in a sleepy mode
3. Change the nursing position
4. Nurse without a top on and keep the baby with no clothes on at the same time to achieve maximum skin to skin contact
5. Take long baths with the baby (for the same reason)
6. Spend countless hours hugging your baby
7. Sleep with your baby
8. Nurse while standing, walking around the house (excellent exercise‼)
9. Patience (yes, I know I said it again but it’s THE most important thing). 

As I said, I tried them all. We would take long drives near her sleeping time because she dozes off in the car and I would nurse as soon as she slept. I would lay her on the bed and lay facing her and would nurse (which is ideal for night nursing strike or no strike). I caught a cold with no. 4. I mean, really, it was March and still a bit cold in Greece! No. 8 did not help. No. 7 is addictive for both mommy and baby! I took a PhD on no. 1 and no. 9!
And on the 25^th on March, when all Greeks celebrate the Greek War of Independence, my little one decided she no longer wanted to be independent and started nursing again. All’s well that ends well. 

 A few words of advice:
*If she doesn’t want to nurse, don’t push her. Stop and try again later.
*If everything fails and you need to pump out milk, use a breast pump and don’t do it with your hand. I tried it. It hurts and you can damage your breast.
*If you pump milk, try feeding her with a syringe or a spoon and avoid using a bottle.
*If you want to use a bottle, have someone else do it for you, so the baby will not connect you with the bottle.
*If you can’t stand it, do not be afraid to say “Enough is enough. No more nursing‼!”. Breastfeeding should be an enjoyable experience for both of you. Happy mums have happy babies. 

So that’s it according to my experience. But let us not forget that every mommy, every baby and every case is special and different. 

Welcome on board!

Ok. So this is my first attempt to translate my Greek blog. As our cultural customs are not the same, and as I am not an expert in English, please, bear with me as I try to make this thing work. I would like to welcome you in my journey of motherhood. I look forward to sharing my ideas, experiences and ventures with you and hear yours too! Whether you are a mommy to be or a full time mum already, I hope you will find my blog useful.
Thank you for joining!