Purchasing a breast pump

If you are interested in expressing some milk to leave for baby when you go out for dinner or to the gym, then an effective breast pump is crucial. There are several Medela pumps available through the babycafe japan amazon store at varying prices:
Swing
Mini Electric
Harmony


If you need to increase your milk supply or your baby is separated from you due to sickness or your return to work, it is better to rent a proper hospital grade pump. You can do this via Hoxon. See the rental breast pumps link in the right-hand column.

If you have cracked or painful nipples after your baby is born, the first thing you need to do is have a midwife or lactation consultant come and work with you while you correct baby's latch. Breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt! Some mothers find that some special lanolin nipple cream helps relieve the pain. There are a few brands around, watch out for any that need to be removed before nursing: these are NOT the brands to buy.

A well-known brand is Purelan, available through BabiesRUs, Tokuyama baby, or amazon here

Carrying your baby

We all want our babies to cry less, grow well, and sleep contentedly. We want them to learn easily, to have good muscle development, and to feel settled. Isn't it amazing that just carrying your baby in a sling can facilitate all those things?

For more detailed insight into how this works, see the book "Babywearing".
From the Amazon description "If someone told you they knew a secret to help your baby sleep better, cry less, and learn better, you would certainly be interested... Babywearing, the practice of carrying baby in a soft carrier close to our body as we go about our daily business, is parenting's best kept secret. Good things happen when we wear our babies. Babies who are worn cry less, are more calm and content, sleep more peacefully, nurse better, gain weight better, enjoy better digestion, and develop better. Babywearing benefits parents! It enhances parent-baby bonding, is practical, facilitates breastfeeding, helps working parents reconnect, and makes transitions from one caregiver to another easier. But most importantly, it allows you to meet your baby's need to be held while allowing you to meet your need to get things done! Anyone can wear baby - mom, dad, sister, brother, grandparents, baby sitters, and day care workers. The more baby is worn the happier baby is. And, a happy baby makes a family happy."

I have a copy for loan to mothers who attend Little Angels groups at my house, and LLL Tokyo Central library has a copy for loan and another for sale.

There are so many baby carrier options available these days, it can be very hard for parents to know which one would suit them best. As the site Mamatoto says, "You only need to learn ONE carry with ONE type of carrier." Don't let the variations overwhelm you. The site has details on all the different ways to use the various styles of slings, with photos and diagrams.

For reviews of the various kinds of carriers and the people who sell them, check out The Babywearer.com

Oh and by the way, I am obviously biased by the fact I stock and sell Maya Wrap slings I try not to let this colour my judgment too much. Any sling is better than no sling. It is the act of wearing your baby that matters. Different slings work for different people, and I started to import the Maya Wrap slings several years ago when you couldn't buy slings in Tokyo at all. In fact, one resourceful mother bought a Maya Wrap, copied it, starting sewing them for her friends, and now she runs a HUGE sling company in Japan, selling the same basic type of sling for about 10 times the price. Seriously, a sling does not have to cost the same price as a small vehicle. Fashion item...possibly. Useful tool for parents...definitely!

Breastfeeding in Japan photos!!

Would you like to share your breastfeeding photos? Babycafe Japan is going to start a gallery of breastfeeding photos on our blog. You don't need to have your name included, nor your face if you don't want to, but we know that if everyone can see more babies breastfeeding, it makes everyone more comfortable that breastfeeding is the normal way to feed your baby. You could send us your picture of breastfeeding in the park, on the subway, in a restaurant, visiting a shrine, while hiking in the countryside, at the pool, while wearing your baby in a sling: happy breastfeeding babies ...anytime... anywhere!

Send photos here, and include any story you'd like to share about breastfeeding...maybe we can put them all together in another format. Just one thing to note: the photos must be owned by you.

Getting round with baby

One of the secrets to a comfortable life as a parent in Japan is to "wear" your baby, much like local parents do. While in our home countries we expect to always put our babies into prams or buggies, pushchairs, strollers or other vehicles, there are so many places, especially in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka, which are just down-right unfriendly for wheels, whether they be wheels for babies or disabled people. Subway stairs are one of the biggest challenges. Not every station has escalators and elevators or lifts all the way to the platform or up to the street. As many experienced parents can vouch, it is not part of the culture here for people to offer to help carry buggies and strollers down the stairs for you, so it becomes necessary to be very self-sufficient, especially for mothers out with the baby by themselves. (Alternatively you could become very proficient in a Japanese phrase along the lines of "Hey mate, give me a hand with this stroller would you?"...)

The other thing is, even if you manage to get down onto the platform, getting on a crowded train with a Rolls Royce of a stroller is quite challenging. At least if your baby is being held close to you, you can protect him with your arms, and cover him from commuter germs with the sling fabric or a light blanket or cloth.

If you find yourself suffering through varying degrees of frustration and anger at the facilities when you go out with your baby in a stroller, it is time to consider baby-wearing. You may have found that, inadvertently, you have begun to limit your social life to days when both parents can go out together, or you only go to local activities which you can get to on foot...and only if it's not raining. Yet if both parents begin wearing your baby as soon as possible after birth, when baby is still relatively light, you will develop the strength and stamina to wear your baby for longer periods of time, and you will begin to find babywearing quite natural, convenient and easy.

Of course it is never too late to start wearing your baby, but if you haven't been doing it from the start, you may find you need to practice, just round the house, for a few minutes each day, so you and your baby can get used to the idea, and your strength will build up.

Depending on the sort of carrier or sling you buy, they can also be used for convenient and dicreet breastfeeding in public, which is particularly helpful for new mothers who are not yet comfortable with that idea. Practicing babywearing and breastfeeding at home means it will feel quite normal for both baby and you to use the sling like that while you are out.

There is a plethora of slings and baby carriers on the market, ranging from very simple structures to things with so many buckles and straps you need a degree in technology to get the thing on. Prices also vary enormously...don't be persuaded to buy slngs which are the same price as a small vehicle...remember they are just pieces of fabric!!! Many economical and attractive options are available, both in Japan and over the internet. There is an excellent babywearing site which has product reviews and user comments, as well as good information about the added benefits of babywearing: babies who are worn are more settled and content, grow better, develop good muscle tone responding to the body movements of the wearer, cry less and learn more rapidly.

Dr William Sears, a well-known pediatrician and author, popularized the baby sling idea with Western parents in the 70's, and has since found in his practice that babies who are worn do better in so many respects. Read more here and you will be amazed.

Of course all over the world babies have been worn in all kind of carriers and slings for centuries. But for some people, baby-wearing has a bit of stigma attached to it: once someone told me that babies were carried in slings only by poor people in her country. There are so many beautiful fabrics and fashionable slings available these days, that I am sure you can bring yourself to overcome this sort of thinking! Babies are important human beings, who need closeness and nurturing, no matter which socio-economic group you are from! And the convenience in Japan is indisputable!

Baby wearing is not only for babies. Toddlers also benefit, and it can help keep them safe in crowded streets or busy shops or even airports. Even if you decide to use a stroller, having a sling tucked in your bag for emergencies is also a good idea, because there will be days when your child simply refuses to stay in the stroller, or is very upset in the stroller, and with the sling on stand-by you don't feel so reluctant to pick them up and carry them. A quiet, content baby or toddler in a parent's arms is always preferable to a thrashing, screaming or tantrum-throwing one, especially when you are trying to rush for a train or plane!!