Creative people~please help!!

Breastfeeding was part of a doula training class I went to. The instructor brought in a bunch of brightly colored balloons and had us each take one. We then had to make them into a breast using water and a Sharpee. She poured water into each one and then had us create the areola (sp). We then used them to practice latching. I think it might work well with pre-blown up balloons, too. I'm not sure if it would work for you, but maybe it will help to get the ideas to flow.

Shaun

Cute idea! Just make sure no one is allergic to latex. I am, and balloons give me the worst reaction of anything.

ok, so let me get this straight... when you mean "practice latching" do you mean that everyone was sucking on the balloons???? Funny!!

Thanks for the idea!! p.s. how's arizona?? my sis lives in Tucson, and keeps wanting me to move there...

take care

well I am a uk midwife soon to be us obs nurse and I have done loads of presentations about breast feeding problems my favoriate is to get a box or a bag and but items in it then pass it around the class and get each person to pick some thing out of the box and ask them if they can link it to breastfeeding if they can through it open to the whole class. items can be things to explane bfeeding problems. Like a walnut- this represents the size of a new born stomach only takes 7 mls to fill can explain why they feed so often. a packet of seeds to explain the more you plant the more that grow, so more the babe goes to the breast the more milk that is made. Ear plugs to stop the old wives tales and negative comments being heard. small jars of different shades of yellow to deminstrate the colour of breast fed babies poo. Condoms to sate that she may still be fertile even though your are feeding. A clock to deminstrate your babes internal clock they will tell you when they want a feed. etc I hope this helps

Belinda~What a GREAT idea!! I am LOVING it!!!

Thanks so much...

Good luck on your move here to the US~Hope everything goes smoothly for you!

Glad to help- hope all goes well. Thanks for your kind thoughts will be working my last shift as a midwife UK on sunday- looking for ward to our move but a little sad to be leaving the midwifery part of my life

I came up with a song to remember the steps of manual expression of breasts. it is sung to the tune of the "Hokey-Pokey"

Massage the breast here

massage the breast there

massage the breast here-massage it all around.

Then you do the strokie - strokie (to facilitate milk letdown)

then you shake them all around.... (dangling the breasts)

thats how the milk comes down....

Squirt - Squirt

its even more fun if you demonstrate while singing the song. :chuckle