Flying and breastfeeding

As I had never done a long distance flight or any flight while breastfeeding, I researched and asked friends for advice on how things would go during the flight and with jet lag. -
I did struggle with jetlag on the flight over. I believe a combination of not sleeping on the 14 hour flight and breastfeeding extra demands on my body added to it! I was dizzy, nauseated, vomiting and absolutely exhausted. Fluids, rest, food and getting out in the air/sun helped reset my clock.

Here are my tips and advice
* Feed on demand, it can be unsettling for your little one and comfort feeding is ok. Yes it may throw out a routine, but flying/timezones/jetlag will also.

* Water, water, water. Drinking lots of fluid is great for supply and also helps your body recover from jet lag. Plenty of water on the plane and the day or so after.

* If possible try and get some sleep on the flight. It was not possible for me with a 12 week old and and 4 yr old on the 14 hour flight over. On the flight back I got a few hours sleep and I didn't have any jet lag symptoms.

* Relax! If he/she wants to comfort feed for the whole flight or large chunks of it, make sure you have a good book / some movies and relax.

* I had read many stories of supply drying up mid flight, so we had some formula sticks Just in case. Luckily (though I have no issue with using them if needed) they were not needed. So we also had to pack a bottle in carry on.

* Healthy foods in the days leading up to and after the flight to give your body the best fuel to keep going if you do suffer jetlag.

* Patience and time for your body and your baby to readjust. Limiting your sleep during the day (if you land in day light hours) and getting sun and fresh air to help your body clocks reset.

* Try and remember your tiny person is experiencing jetlag too. Yes I know i wanted to go to sleep, but 2.0 had other ideas and I did have to pass her to her dad so I could get a few hours sleep.

* Know that flying and jetlag don't have to have a negative impact on your supply, if you do notice a drop in supply keep up the on demand feeding, fluids and healthy food.

Edit * look up breastfeeding laws of where you are flying in to and each place you will visit!

Hope someone finds this helpful! Have and great trip!

Baby wearing

Miss Lumpy is very in love with her little sister! She likes to copy - changing her dolls, breast feeding her dolls, baby wearing her dolls.
We walked to the post office with bo th  of us wearing our baby!

Zucchini chips!

Looking for a tastier way to have zucchini?

Thinly slice your zucchini.
Dip into a small dish of milk
Then push into a plate of crumb - we used bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

215° C for 15 minutes, flip sides and cook for another 10. Watch as they burn quick.

Dino dig

Lumpy is into dinosaurs lately and has been seeing archeological digs on her favourite shows. I decided to make some plaster fossils, and also use  some cheap (large container was about $2) small dinosaurs ams make our own dino dig!

Set up the box with the fossils, dinosaurs and some coloured sand. Place a few paint brushes and let her play! Lumpy loved digging. Her only criticism was that it isn't the same as on her show!

After the dig the dinosaur toys were played with in the sand - walking around and chatting to each other.

Water beads - observing and reporting

Water beads have been used for sensory play for a few years now. I only just recently got some off eBay.

I didn't want Lumpy just to play with them. I wanted her to to watch the process - observe what was happening and report and discuss what was happening.

At 4 different stages she looked at the beads, told me what was changing and then did a drawing of what she saw.
before we started i asked her what she thought would happen "they will shrunk"

She really loved this activity!

Science! inflate a balloon

Lumpy is really into how and why things happens (and also dinosaurs) at the minute.
So I figured we could do this simple experiment - inflating a balloon with the gas (carbon dioxide) created from the reaction of vinegar (acid) and baking soda (base) mixing together.

Marble run

Lumpy had seen a marble run getting made and wanted to try and make one.

So we collected inside of toilet rolls and wrapping paper. Some sticky tape and marbles.

It took a few adjustments to get the marbles to go along the run (had a few fly off the first couple attempts, had them get stuck on a few more).

Eventually we problem solved how to get a smooth run and she played with it for ages... We will get out of out PJ's sometime today ;)