(UPDATED) When our daughter was just born I tried breastfeeding her. I thought it would come naturally. I never anticipated the problems that would arise. My nipples cracked, bled, became engorged, and all the while my precious baby had difficulties latching on. I would fluctuate between feeling afraid I would starve her, to producing too much milk. We had to find different uses for all the bags of milk in the freezer. In the early days I promised myself to stop breastfeeding her when she turned 6 months old. I hated it so much, I felt broken, raw, and most of all I felt that breastfeeding did not come naturally at all.

But then after six months of breastfeeding her, I did not stop. I had gotten help from a lactation consultant, a great network of mothers, and of course, my always supportive husband. So, though I continued breastfeeding my baby, I still encountered a few hiccups. I got mastitis (inflammation of breast due to infection) a few times and our daughter went on two nursing strikes. Luckily with the information I gathered, and with the support of a midwife friend and other mothers, I stuck with it. The internet has a lot of information, and filtering it out can be daunting. Therefore, having somebody help you in person is very important. And also, having a support network with other new mommies is crucial to success in your new role.

But, as with anything, I did meet people who were less supportive of my choices. I remember getting negative comments from strangers and family members. They asked me why I was (still) breastfeeding my baby. Not only were their comments hurtful, but it felt like I had to defend my choice of feeding my child through the healthiest method possible. It made me realize that not everyone was accessing the widely available information regarding breastfeeding, and that personal breastfeeding stories from mothers were not told.

I felt like giving up on life many times when our daughter was still a baby. But because I knew she needed my body and breast milk to strive and stay alive, I continued to live. In this sense, not only was breastfeeding healthy for my child, it saved my life as well. I went on with it until my daughter was three years old, and she self-weaned before we moved to China.

Information and help for new mothers and mothers who are breastfeeding should be made widely available. Even though you may be living away from your family and home country, you should still get necessary help and support. International hospitals have midwifes to help as well as breastfeeding classes for those that need them. Below are a few websites that mothers can refer to when they need help. Add BecTaylor on WeChat for more guidance and ask to be added to breastfeeding support groups on WeChat in Beijing.

La Leche League International
“Our Mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother.”

Kelly Mom
“This website was developed to provide evidence-based information on breastfeeding and parenting. I am the mother of three lovely children, and I am an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). I hope that my articles are helpful and encouraging.”

The Badass Breastfeeder
“A recourse to inspire, inform and empower parent.”

Editor’s note: Paragraph 2 originally mentioned “meningitis,” or an inflammation of meninges, or protective membranes in the brain and the spinal cord. We have corrected it to “mastitis,” or the inflammation of the breast due to infection. We’re sorry for the mix-up.

Pauline van Hasselt has been working for beijingkids since October 2016. Born in Wassenaar, The Netherlands, she moved with her husband and her 3 year-old daughter to Beijing in June of last year. Prior she lived in the Netherlands, Belgium, Paraguay, Texas, and London, studying and working as a chef. Pauline enjoys biking around Beijing, finding markets and new restaurants, reading crime and fantasy books in bed, and most importantly, turning her house into a home for her family.

My nursing friend’s son took ill recently. Colicky, bloated, and suffering from rashes, through a gradual process of elimination, her doctor discovered her little boy is allergic to dairy, gluten and soy. She since has revamped her diet, and in the process they’ve both reaped the benefits. His skin, digestive and respiratory systems have cleared up, and she also feels a new balance and lightness. Interested to learn more, I asked Bec Taylor, a leader at La Leche League (LLL), some basic questions about the impact of diet on breastfeeding.

Do nursing mothers need to follow a special diet?
A breastfeeding mother doesn’t require special foods to produce or increase her milk supply, nor must she avoid any food in particular. A baby’s sucking determines the quantity of milk that is produced. A breastfeeding mother’s body uses a combination of all the foods that she eats, completing them with nutrients stored in her body to produce the milk that she gives her child. What this means is that mother’s milk is made every time, following the same process and resulting in milk that has a fairly constant composition. If the mother’s diet is not adequate, it is her body that makes up the difference. It has been seen that even in cases bordering on malnutrition in poor countries, the milk produced by these mothers satisfies the needs of the child, who will grow adequately if he is breastfed on cue. You can read more here.

An "ideal" diet for a breastfeeding woman is simply a varied, balanced, natural diet. Every woman will choose the diet that is best adapted to her, depending on culture, lifestyle, personal preferences, as well as the information available to her. A whole food diet that is as close to nature as possible is the recommendation we share in our LLL meetings. LLL have published a variety of cookbooks especially for nursing mothers and their growing families. My family are loving two new recipes in particular (Red Kidney Bean and Quinoa Chili and Karen’s Sesame Noodles) from one book called Feed your Family, Feed Yourself.

What do mums need to know about alcohol? Is it necessary to pump and dump?
There is no reason to pump and dump if the mother has drunk limited amounts of alcohol.

The occasional alcoholic beverage is not going to cause harm to the baby as very little alcohol passes through to the milk if drunk in moderation. The LLL FAQ on alcohol explains more here. I also recommend Feed Safe, which is an app that helps nursing mothers determine when they are safe to breastfeed their baby.

Is caffeine ok?
A moderate intake of caffeine (1-3 cups of coffee or tea) per day is unlikely to upset a nursing baby. However, every baby is different so reactions will vary widely. As with all parenting, look to your baby first before following any general guidelines. See the LLL caffeine FAQ here.

Many parents keep their kids away from foods that commonly trigger food intolerance, once they are off the breast and on solids. But as my friend’s story illustrates intolerance can be triggered much earlier through mum’s milk. Does LLL have any guidance on potential allergens to avoid?
Sometimes mothers feel that because a food could be a potential allergen, it is best to avoid it entirely. If there is no history of allergy to these foods in the mother’s or father’s family, this may be an unnecessary precaution. Eating foods a mother enjoys will help her to find breastfeeding more satisfying. Mothers do not have to give up foods they love while breastfeeding. Only if a baby shows allergic symptoms should a mother consider avoiding certain foods.

In general, if an immediate family member has a known allergy, it is recommended that that/those foods are introduced later in the first year, or into the second year. The big three (gluten, dairy and soy) are the most common allergens avoided by nursing mothers, simply because they cause the most reactions and are the first three to be targeted in an elimination diet. (Nursing mothers of colicky or very upset babies are often encouraged by their health care providers to try eliminating these allergens one at a time to see if it makes a difference.)
Find out more here and here.

Spicy foods can upset our digestive systems; do they pass through to breast milk and affect the baby?
Babies are given a continuous flow of flavors in utero so if mothers are eating a wide variety of foods while pregnant, it is unlikely that those same foods will cause upset for their newborn babies. More info here.

LLL meetings are always free, and held every second and last Tuesday of the month, at 2067 Gahood Villas, Shunyi,
Address in Chinese:
顺义区后沙峪
白辛庄村
嘉浩别墅2067
(80462585 for directions in Chinese and English)
LLL Leaders can be contacted via email: lelechebeijing@gmail.com or text/WeChat 18600628481

Photo courtesy of Piknikas (Flickr)

 The mothers of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China’s  Beijing office now have a place of their own. The Chamber launched its Mothers’ Room earlier in April, to provide private, dedicated facilities for staff to breastfeed or to prepare breast milk for later use and refrigerated storage.

The idea came from a variety of sources, including the European Chamber’s Pediatric Nutrition Desk (PND) and staff members, said Adam Dunnett, Secretary General of the European Chamber, in a telephone interview. Twenty percent or more of the Chamber’s female employees in Beijing became pregnant or gave birth during 2013, spurring both the organization’s desire and need for the space.

“We have a very strong baby and family culture here in the Chamber office, and we are always asking what we can do for Chamber staff,” Dunnett said. He added that women without access to dedicated spaces find themselves having to handle breastfeeding in places like public lavatories, which, when preparing milk for later use, will not necessarily meet desired hygiene levels.

The move is part of a trend supported by the Women Workers Committee of the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions to build 1,000 more such rooms over the next three years.

Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for newborn babies and infants, the European Chamber’s Pediatric Nutrition Desk said. Beijing currently has 3.25 million women of childbearing age, but only 7 percent of nursing mothers have dedicated maternal space, according to a report by Women of China. With the relaxation of the one-child policy expected to spur a new baby boom, there will also be an increasing need for such facilities, the report said, both at workplaces and public areas like airports and railway stations.

UNICEF is also in on the action, having launched its China-only “10m2 of Love” app for the iPhone for mothers to conveniently locate breastfeeding spaces. The UN organization calls it “a digital breastfeeding advocacy campaign that aims to locate, register, certify and publicize breastfeeding rooms, both for employees during work hours and for patrons and customers in public buildings and stores.”

Dunnett said that their Mommy Room is not only available to staff and European Chamber member company employees, but also to employees in the Kempinski Office Building where they are located, and users of the UNICEF app.

Does your employer offer a Mommy Room? Why or why not? Let us know in the Comments section below.

Photo courtesy of Le Leche League

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This week we have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. There is quite a lot happening just before we head off into the Chinese New Year holiday.

This Week:

Clicia’s Designs at Dragon Bay is having a “Ring In The New Year” gemstone clearance sale. Enjoy 50 percent off a wide variety of gemstones to fit all sizes of budgets. 10am-5pm until Friday, January 24. You can also book an appointment to see Clicia about bespoke design for you after the sale week. Clicia’s Designs and Shayne’s Treasures is at Lake View Place, Dragon Bay. Call the store on 8042 2203 or email clicia@cliciadesigns.com.

Tai Tai Tennis, the ladies doubles’ league in Shunyi, is holding registration sessions for its spring 2014 season. Sign-up will be held on Thursday, January 23, from 10am-12noon at Jamaica Blue in Yosemite Clubhouse. Tai Tai Tennis, now in its 15th season, is player-led, and women of all levels are welcome to join. The season runs from mid-February to early May and the registration cost of RMB 200 per person includes the end-of-season lunch and prize-giving. For more information, call 136 5134 6314 or email beijingpennant@yahoo.com

Not-for-profit breastfeeding organization, La Leche League is holding meetings in English twice a month in Shunyi, on every second and last Tuesday. Each meeting will be dedicated to a specific topic, with time put aside to discuss breastfeeding questions and issues. Some of the upcoming topics include: increasing your milk supply, weaning naturally while feeding complementary foods, and the first milk – what every pregnant woman should know.

The second monthly meeting, called Breastfeeding Café, is a way to come together with other nursing mothers (and babies) and talk about your experiences. All meetings are held at 2067 Gahood Villas from 9.30-11.30am. The next Breastfeeding Café meets on January 28. For more info, email becinthelibrary@yahoo.com.

Roundabout will be closed for the Spring Festival from Sunday, January 26. If you are doing any spring cleaning over the holiday, the charity store invites you to bring in your donations from Friday, February 7 when its doors reopen at 9.30am. Donations will be be gladly accepted to be sold in the store or donated to Roundabout’s designated charities. With our support, the Roundabout Ren can continue to do the great work that Leslie Simpson started. For more info, check out www.roundaboutchina.com.

As you may know, Roundabout is also open to volunteer work. Last Saturday, some local boy scouts did a few hours of community service work with the charity as part of their community service badge. The boys helped out in the sorting area of Roundabout’s donation center and each given a cup of hot chocolate as a reward for their hard work.

Ongoing:

BabyGro is having a pre-Chinese New Year sale for one more week, closing out some brands and selling out old stock. Pop into the store at Cathay View Plaza for a wide range of discounted merchandise, such as maternity wear (50-90 percent off), baby clothing (50-70 percent off), shoes and boots, UV-safe swimwear, baby car seats, double and single strollers, and much more. Cathay View Plaza is on Xiangjiang Beilu (same road as Beijing Riviera Villas). BabyGro is at the back, next to Switch Café. Call 8470 1690 for information.

Green T. House is offering every dining guest a good luck sky lantern. Perfect for the Spring festival, you can enjoy a five-course festive menu of the benue’s popular "T. cuisine" for RMB 388 per person. Food can be served individually or for sharing, just state your preference when you make your reservation. Free flow drinks are also available for RMB 200 per person, which includes wine, beer, and soft drinks for a two-and-a-half hour period. Prices quoted do not include their 15 percent service charge. Dining at Green T. House is by reservation only. Call 136 0113 7132 or 6434 2519 for bookings and directions. The festive menu is available daily until the end of February.

Dragon Bay is offering another venue for ice skating in Shunyi. While the lake is frozen over, you and your kids can come over to enjoy some time on the ice. Entrance to the lake costs RMB 30 per person. Bring your own skates or pick up one of the pairs available for rent for RMB30 per pair (no time limit). Other ways to get around on the ice include the ice trolley (RMB 30, no time limit), ice bike (RMB 50, no time limit), and ice motorbike (RMB 30 for 10 mins). Two winters ago, we brought our own wooden sled, hooked up the dog, and watched as he had fun pulling the kids along the ice. The Dragon Bay ice rink is open daily from 9am to 6pm.

We’d like to hear from you! What are your Shunyi favorites? Any recommendations or bits of news you’d like to see here on Shunyi Happenings, please feel free to send it on to us via email to: danamercado@beijing-kids.com

Dana is the beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent. Originally from the Philippines, she moved to Beijing in 2011 (via Europe) with her husband, two sons and Rusty the dog. She enjoys writing, photography, theater, visual arts, and trying new food. In her free time, she can be found exploring the city and driving along the mountain roads of Huairou, Miyun and Pinggu.

Photo by Dana Cosio-Mercado