I have attended Baby Umbrella with both of my children and am extremely grateful to have had access to such wonderful support.
For my son, I attended a couple of sessions to ask for positioning advice and this was extremely helpful in improving his latch. With
my daughter, Baby Umbrella were nothing short of a lifeline to me.
The early months with my daughter were very difficult due to (what we now know were) multiple food allergies and tongue tie. When other professionals were dismissing me, the wonderful team at Baby Umbrella were always there every week to listen, offer support and advice and, without them, I would not have been able to continue breastfeeding her. Here I am today, still breastfeeding my 15-month-old and, for that, I will always be grateful
to the Baby Umbrella team.
The early days
After sharing how difficult I was finding things and my midwife identifying possible signs of tongue tie, she recommended that I attend Baby Umbrella. I first attended the group when my daughter was 4 days old, having not slept for more than 1 hour since she was born. She wouldn’t be put down, fed every 30 minutes to 1 hour and cried constantly.
By the time I got to Baby Umbrella, I was on the verge of tears from the exhaustion, guilt and overwhelm I felt – why was I finding it so hard adjusting to life with two children when everyone else was managing it so well!?
I was met at the group by one of the Peer Supporters and, as soon as she asked how I was getting on, I started crying. She was so empathetic and kind, listened and reassured me that she had found it overwhelming too initially and that it would get easier (she was right!).
Further support
Due to ongoing feeding difficulties, I continued to attend Baby Umbrella every week until my daughter was around 4 months old and every single person at Baby Umbrella showed me the same kindness and warmth. Every week, Baby Umbrella (especially Karen!) was my safe space to go and seek help. I was always given the space to share my experiences, cry (most weeks!), and always given other tips and strategies to try. It didn’t matter how many times I returned, at no point did I feel like a nuisance or rushed, I was always given the time and space to seek help.
Tiny tips, like putting a muzzie under my breast to help her maintain a latch, made a big difference for us. Other weeks, a team member would just sit with me, discuss our difficulties, talk through my options and help me make an informed decision about next steps. Elsewhere it seemed there was constant misinformation e.g. I was told I could have poor quality breast milk and to swap to formula; or that it was just reflux and I needed drugs to fix it.
Although our daughter’s tongue tie had been snipped privately, we weren’t seeing the expected improvements, so Karen carried out her own assessment and referred us on the NHS pathway. The tongue tie nurses knew Karen and Baby Umbrella very well and the whole process felt very joined up and like the right course of action for our daughter. The re-division happened when our daughter was 3 months old and around this time I also began to eliminate foods from my diet. These two things were a real turning point for us as my daughter could finally maintain a latch and was comfortable during feeding. Her gastro symptoms started to settle, her rashes went, she could finally be laid down and, ever since, has been the happiest little baby (and had a much better latch!).
Reflecting on our journey
I cannot emphasise enough the impact Baby Umbrella had on our feeding journey and early days. I wish all new mothers had access to this wonderful charity as if it wasn’t for their continuous support, I would have probably believed the misinformation and swapped to formula due to my ‘poor quality milk’ (the complete wrong course of action for a baby with dairy allergy and for a mother who desperately wanted to breastfeed).
It didn’t matter how exhausted, drained or tearful I was, I was always met at Baby Umbrella with endless kindness, empathy and support. I love breastfeeding my daughter and am so grateful to the whole team at Baby Umbrella for making that happen, for always treating us with care and compassion every week and for being a real ray of sunshine for me during a tricky few months.
Thank you.
Charlotte
Stories of early parenthood
One of the things parents often say when they’ve recently had a baby, and even more so when they've had a difficult journey, is why did nobody tell me that this was going to be so hard? Why did nobody tell me the truth about breastfeeding, or birth, or sleep, or the emotional transition, or the physical recovery? If I'd have known some of this, I could have prepared myself... and maybe I would have known better if something was wrong.
We'd like to start to tell some of these stories. Every story you will hear here is unique, but it can still be helpful when you’re going through a difficult experience to realise that you’re not the only person who's been through this, that someone else has been here before.
So we want to open up the floor to you all and give anyone who would like to a chance to tell their story of early parenthood - both the joyful parts and the challenges you faced. Not just the shiny story on Instagram or Facebook but the truth of the things that were beautiful and delicious and wonderful as well as the difficult things, the things you might have struggled with, the things you miss from your old life, the things you regret or you wish you'd known.
If you’d like to contribute to our stories of early parenthood we would be really happy to hear from you. Please email or message us.
We hope you enjoy the series and do let us know what you think.
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