Breastfeeding - Mandy Mazliah

Newsletter 

Brixton, Dulwich and Streatham and Riverside branches 

Spring 2012 

Health and 

wellbeing 

Out and about - our 

favourite days out 

Real experiences: 

jaundice, weaning, 

breastfeeding

Contents 

3 Ed’s letter 

4-5 Welcome letters 

6-7 How to hold a street 

party 

8-10 Meet the latest 

members of our family 

12-13 Purees and baby-led 

weaning: a learning 

curve 

14 Recipe ideas 

15-17 Breastfeeding: the 

hardest thing I’ve ever 

done 

18-19 Jaundice - our 

experiences 

20 Out and about 

21 Nursery wellbeing 

22-23 Diary dates 

24-25 Breastfeeding support 

26 Book review 

27 NCT vacancies 

28 Nearly new sale 

40-41 Meet the teams 

42 Natural approaches to 

baby ezcema 

Got an opinion about us? 

What do you want from 

your newsletter? Why not 

email newsletter.editorial@ 

southlondonnct.org and let us 

know what you like and don’t like 

about the mag. 

The NCT is the UK’s leading charity on 

pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. 

www.nct.org.uk 

Find out about your local branch at 

www.nct.org.uk/in-your-area 

In this issue 

Editor’s letter 

Welcome to our Spring newsletter! We 

are celebrating it with lots of great articles 

focussing on yours and your baby’s health 

and wellbeing. I love spring, especially in 

London where there seem to be daffodils, 

crocuses and irises bursting through on 

every corner; even the smallest bunch of 

flowers really brightens up the scene. My 15 

month old son, Jonah, is now old enough to 

enjoy running around all the wonderful parks 

in our branches’ areas and is fascinated with 

flowers of any kind. 

We do live in a wonderful city, and to help 

you get the most out of it and connect with the community, we share 

our favourite local top spots to take your children of all ages (see 

p20) and include a weekly guide to some of the great parent/child 

local activities (see p22). Also, we give some tips on how to hold a 

street party (see p6) and our members share their experiences on 

breastfeeding (see p15), purees / baby-led weaning (see p12), and 

jaundice (see p18). We’ve included our top weaning recipes to help 

inspire you in those ‘what can I feed my baby tonight for a bit of a 

change’ moments (see p14). To help with maintaining everyone’s 

health and wellbeing, we have articles which suggest how to deal 

with baby’s eczema (see p42) and create a calming and lovely 

space in the nursery (see p21). We’ve added a new ‘cultural’ page 

to nourish our minds, and this month it features a member review 

of the parenting book ‘What Mothers Do - Especially When It Looks 

Like Nothing’ by Naomi Stadlen, which certainly gave me some food 

for thought (see p28). Parenting can be a very rewarding but really 

tough job, especially on a budget so we have an article on the Nearly 

New Sales at which you can get great baby bargains (see page 28). 

You’ll also find a list of local breastfeeding services which can help 

with all aspects of breast feeding. I have certainly enjoyed editing 

this newsletter (my first), and hope that you find it a helpful and 

entertaining read! Please enjoy! 

Tarnya Wilkins, Editor 

Next issue 

If you’d like to help out with our next 

newsletter please get in touch. I’d love 

to hear your ideas. 

newsletter.editorial@southlondonnct.org 

Please note that the views in this newsletter are 

those of contributors and not necessarily of the 

NCT. The inclusion of any advertisement in this 

newsletter does not constitute endorsement of 

the advertiser or its products by the NCT. The 

information in this newsletter is intended for the 

use of NCT members, only in conjunction with 

NCT activities and may not be used for commercial 

purposes. 

Printed by Captiv8, www.captiv8.co.uk 

Newsletter Spring 3

Peta Alvares 

Chair, Riverside branch 

4 Newsletter Spring 

Welcome 

Letter from Peta (Riverside) 

Welcome to our wellbeing-themed Spring edition branch newsletter! 

For those who have not yet met me, I am the new Riverside Branch 

Chair. Along with the rest of our new and existing team of volunteers we 

have been working hard to meet as many of our members as possible 

– whether that be at our new tea groups (see What’s On section, page 

22), our nearly new sales (our next NNS is on Sunday April 22 - see page 

28) or at the wonderful playgroup on Friday mornings at St Stephen’s 

Church, Stockwell (see What’s On section, page 22). 

When I think of ‘wellbeing’ it’s not just my 14 month old daughter I am 

thinking of – after all a happy mama makes a happy daughter… Our 

family is looking forward to welcoming another baby in the summertime, 

so quite frankly, I am taking advantage of every ‘twosome’ outing 

opportunity my daughter and I have. Her favourite thing right now is 

swings. Teething and winter colds may hinder her appetite for food, 

but not her enjoyment of swings. Through the winter you could see us 

bundled up in the park swinging backwards and forwards, backwards and 

forwards – she seemed not to notice the ice on the ground? But now in 

the glorious afternoon sunshine we share a special period of peace and 

happiness at the end of the day: me basking in the sunlight, her swinging 

backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards… 

Perhaps there is something we can do to improve your wellbeing 

and enjoyment of parenthood? Keep in touch and get involved with 

Riverside goings-on via our new facebook page, by joining our google 

group (where you can receive updates, participate in forums and share 

information with other local parents/carers), or perhaps you are a twitter 

guru and want to follow us there? Of course, our website continues to 

grow and so can still be replied upon for helpful information. 

Website www.nct.org.uk/branches/riverside 

Facebook www.facebook.com/nctriverside 

Google group http://groups.google.com/group/nctriverside 

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/nctriverside 

Whatever tickles your fancy, I look forward to seeing you out and about in 

the branch soon or via one of our internet media resources! 

Peta 

nct.riverside_chair@yahoo.co.uk

Letter from Victoria (Brixton, Dulwich & Streatham) 

Welcome to the Spring edition of our branch newsletter. I loved the few 

days of sunshine we had recently, being able to open the doors and play 

out in the garden. With two boys, one almost two and one almost five, I 

find spending some time outdoors everyday is a must. Current favourite 

things to do outside are chalk drawings, we usually decorate the front 

step or write on the patio stones. Also picnics, where we set out paper 

plates, plastic bowls and buckets and create a feast of grass, leaves, 

twigs, petals, stones and whatever else we find in the garden. Teddy 

bears picnics are also a lot of fun (best with proper sandwiches and 

treats). 

Being outside inevitably makes me dream of summer holidays – then 

thoughts turn to wearing a bikini. If like me this time of year inspires or 

reminds you to get a bit healthier then our wellbeing issue might have 

some tips for you. I’ve invested in a pair of roller blades (supposedly a 

very high calorie burning exercise). I can currently be seen circling the 

local skate park crashing into the fences as I haven’t yet mastered how to 

stop. I’ve been assured that once I’ve mastered the brakes I’ll be off and 

able to blade whilst pushing the pram. 

I’m pleased to be able to announce our new Facebook page - search 

for our group ‘NCT - Brixton Dulwich and Streatham’. Please join us 

to find out what’s going on in the branch and tell us what you’re doing. 

Which leads me neatly into a plea for your support. We desperately need 

volunteers to fill some vacancies in our branch team. Please see page 

27 for more information on the current vacancies. If you are able to offer 

even just an hour a week of your time and are interested in any of the 

roles do get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Victoria 

chair@southlondonnct.org 

Welcome 

Victoria Eldridge 

Chair, Brixton, Dulwich and 

Streatham branch 

Newsletter Spring 5

Community 

How to hold a street party 

In the year of the Queen’s 

Diamond Jubilee and the 

London Olympics, street 

parties are a brilliant way 

to bring your neighbours 

together to celebrate and 

grow a welcoming community 

atmosphere where you 

live. They’re really easy 

to organize and make you 

feel good. There’s only 

one golden rule – KEEP IT 

SIMPLE! 

The essence of a street party is for 

everyone to simply come out of their 

homes on the same day, and have 

a picnic outside together. Anything 

else is a bonus and you don’t need 

to organise anything more unless 

you or another resident would like to. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to get 

you going in time for this summer: 

1. Talk to any neighbours you 

already know and see what they 

think. Would they like a street party? 

What time of year? Would they come 

to a meeting about it if you organized 

one? 

2. Speak to others you know who’ve 

had a street party and have a look 

for ideas and guidance on websites 

such as www.thebiglunch.com and 

www.streetparty.org.uk. 

3. Write a letter to all of your 

neighbours asking them if they’d 

like to join in with holding a party, 

and suggesting a time and a place 

for a meeting to talk about it (eg. 


your house or a local church, pub or 

restaurant). Include a tear-off reply 

slip on the letter so that people can 

tick Yes/No to the party/meeting and 

include their email address so you 

can contact them by email in future 

– and then they can post that back 

through your door. 

4. Deliver the invitation letter by 

hand and knock on all the doors if 

you have time –you’ll get a chance 

to speak to people in person that 

way and you’ll get a better response. 

Plus they might invite you in for a 

cuppa! 

5. At the first meeting discuss a good 

date for you all, and which part of the 

road you’d like to close off. Everyone 

will have lots of ideas about how 

to arrange things, but remember 

to KEEP IT SIMPLE! Make it clear 

that the party belongs to everyone 

so people are welcome to bring or 

do whatever they’d like to (within 

reason!). People should go away 

with ideas for things they want to do, 

but not feeling obliged or burdened 

with things to sort out. 

6. Contact the council to register 

the date for the party and apply to 

get your street closed for the day. 

Every council has a contact for this 

eg. Lambeth has a Traffic Manager. 

It is FREE OF CHARGE to hold a 

residents party, however there are 

some basic guidelines to adhere to 

and YOU MUST USUALLY GIVE 

AT LEAST 3 MONTHS NOTICE 

BUT THINGS ARE SLIGHTLY 

DIFFERENT THIS YEAR BECAUSE 

OF THE JUBILEE AND THE 

OLYMPICS so check in your local 

area – Lambeth’s guidance is here: 

http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/ 

Business/LicencesStreetTrading/ 

HowToOrganiseStreetPartyLambeth. 

htm 

OFFICIAL GUIDANCE FROM 

LAMBETH.GOV.UK WEBSITE: 

If you wish to organise a Street 

Party in Lambeth this year then you 

must put in a request, by no later 

than 29 February 2012 for parties 

or social events being held in April, 

May and June 2012. If street party 

requests are received after this date, 

the organisers may have to pay the 

costs of the necessary Temporary 

Traffic Order. 

To help our residents celebrate the 

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and also 

The Eden Project’s The Big Lunch, 

we have shortened the normal 

three-month notice period required 

for road closures for street parties on 

2 to 5 June 2012. For road closures 

to be processed applications must 

be received no later than 31 March 

2012. 

If you wish to hold a street party 

in July, August or September of 

this year, then you must notify us 

in writing by no later than 6 June 

2012, otherwise, once again, the 

organisers may have to pay the 

costs of the necessary Temporary 

Traffic Order. 

7. Organise, think, make and grow 

things in preparation for the event. 

You can have more meetings if you’d 

like to – eg. ‘open house’ evenings 

where people can pop in if they’ve 

got questions or ideas. Gather a 

group of you to make bunting from 

old sheets and worn-out clothes, and 

help each other grow some salads,

potatoes, herbs and veg in time for 

the day. Someone can make a pass 

the parcel for children and grownups 

to play together, and anyone 

with musical, dramatic or other 

talents can prepare their equipment 

ready to set up outside (perhaps 

under an awning or gazebo in case 

of a summer shower). 

8. The week before the party, 

someone will need to collect the 

road closed signs from the council 

depot – or you can pay to have 

them delivered to you. Re-leaflet 

all the houses so that all residents 

know the party’s happening. Also, 

it’s worth putting a note on all of the 

cars asking them to move them on 

or before the morning of the party so 

that the road is free from cars on the 

day. 

9. On the morning of the party you 

will put the signs out to close the 

road. Then you can get decorating 

with bunting, put out furniture from 

everyone’s homes, and let the party 

begin! 

10. Enjoy the fun of meeting your 

neighbours, seeing the children 

playing in the street and sharing 

some home-cooked food. 

Community 

11. Get excited about what might 

happen next! Depending on what 

everyone would like, you could 

start a Neighbourhood Watch, have 

parties at Christmas and Halloween, 

become community snow wardens, 

share garden tools, have coffee 

mornings, share information about 

local plumbers, builders, cleaners 

and babysitters, and generally enjoy 

getting to know everyone around 

you. 

Good luck! 

By Sophie Broadbent – volunteer 

writer 

Newsletter Spring 7

Welcome to the world... 

Meet the latest members of our family... 

ANNIE WASDELL 

Callum Percy (Sarah & Graham Smit) on 

17 September 

Emily Eve (Zöe & Matthew Avila) on 19 

September 

Jonathan (Lilian & Martin Koder) on 23 

September 

Edward Jasper Robert (Becky & Sam 

Foster) on 26 September 

Eleanor Rose (Clare Gilmour & Mark 

Saldanha) on 2 October 

Edward “Teddy” Alexander (Rebecca 

Towers & Matthew Wooding) on 9 October 

Reinna (Peggy Li & Peng Hong Ooi) on 20 

October 

William “Billy” John David (Becky & Alexis 

Haslam) on 30 October 

Andrey (Evgeiya & Kirill Kondrashina) on 2 

September 

Alexander (Vivienne & Thanh Quan) on 6 

September 

Xenia Isabel (Charlotte Madsen Pringle & 

Edward Pringle) on 1 October 

Kairav (Rashmi Pandey & Ronnie Mitra) 

on 3 October 

Sylvia (Penny Clayton & James Boxell) on 

6 October 

Charlotte Mei (Fiona Trinh & Ken Taing) on 

9 October 

Gabriel Alejandro (Araceli Canedo & Pete 

Bebbington) on 24 October 

Daphne (Federica & Daniel Bartolomei) in 

October 

Charlotte “Charlie” Elizabeth (Sarah Moore 

& Paul Maidment) on 8 November 

Rufus (Lydia Adetunje & Sam Coates) on 

23 November 

Olive Lily (Megan McMichael & James 

Levitt) on 23 November 

Matthew Gregory Maxwell (Naomi & 

Joseph Cicero) on 6 December 

Elena Marie (Ashley Boyd & Santi Ibanez) 

on 10 December 

Freya Daisy Grace (Hannah Thompson & 

Rob Porter) on 15 December 

Maya Elise (Rowena Campbell & Adam 

Wallace) on 17 December 

Nicholas Jacob (Emily Thomas & Peter 

Stanley) on 20 December 

Benjamin Tomas (Victoria & Alex Smith) on 

4 January 

Lola Suki (Fiona Carver & James 


Brocklebank) on 8 January 

Alexander “Alex” (Kylie Evans & David 

Whybrow) on 12 January 

Renae Elizabeth (Hannah & Edward 

Neequaye) on 13 January 

Wilfred Kip (Rosalie Neath & Nick Morgan) 

on 24 January 

Frankie (Claire McCarthy & Chris 

Callender) on 29 January 

Albert “Berttie” (Megan & Matt Collins) on 

19 February 

Lola Teresa (Claire Leaver & Marcus Scott) 

on 4 January 

Oscar (Jacqueline & Simon Milward) on 8 

January 

Alexander Frederik (Janne Karpf & Matt 

Woolgar) on 16 January 

Isadora Dellen Rose (Emma Coombes & 

Rob Moss) on 16 January 

Joseph Aidan (Ruth Harris & Dan Scorer) 

on 27 January 

Sara Linnea Aili (Anna Metsaranta & 

Jonathon Taylor) on 5 February 

CAROLINE FLINT 

Jacob Alexander (Maria Nicholson & 

Michael Petrevinos) on 13 August 

Caspar Friedrich (Natalee Jeremic & 

Clamor Vehring) on 17 September 

Finn (Pamela & Rob Grundel) on 5 

September 

Leela (Seema & Tom Mowlam) on 6 

September 

Orson Tommy Samuel (Lily Pender & Sean 

Casey) on 25 August 

Thomas (Emma & Chris Pell) on 12 

October 

Hannah Joy (Rebekah & Daniel Fairhead) 

on 27 October 

Henry (Catherine Henderson & George 

Tew) on 2 October 

Lucy Ines (Susan Roots & Timothy 

Gordon) on 23 October 

Oscar Renzo (Kaori & Toby Hamilton) on 

25 October 

Daphne Tess (Mimi &Ned Rumpletin) on 

18 October 

Joshua (Nicola & Robert Hamilton) on 8 

October 

George Ernest (Ashleigh Keall & Will 

McDowall) on 4 October 

Albert Long-an Delano (Anh Phan-Perring 

& Ralph Perring) on 8 September 

Isibeal Ciara (Lily & Kieron McCann) on 5 

October 

Matilda Anne Jouett (Rosie & Jonathan 

Black) on 19 November 

Alexander (Clare Bowerman & Dan 

Becker) on 22 November 

Molly Lelia (Chloe & Jonathan Duffy) on 4 

November 

Vivienne (Renee & Paul France) on 4 

December 

Violet Susan Jennifer (Carly & Ned 

Hartley) on 25 November 

Jude Edward (Jennifer & George 

Campbell) on 17 November 

Eliya (Mara Carter & Marc Bautista) on 14 

December 

Benjamin Ronnie (Angela & Ronnie Harris) 


Thomas Anthony Duke (Liz & Will 

Coleridge) on 9 December 

Luke Benedict (Nicola & Marcus Loveland) 

on 4 December 

Zoe (Stephanie & Mark Buckle) on 6 

November


Aria Lucille (Leslie Fabello & Robert Sloan) 

on 6 October 

Felix Lewin (Nina Miall & Tom Uglow) on 

17 November 

Alice Alexandrovna (Alexandra Milekhina & 

Alexander Milekhin) on 13 November 

Anaiya Jairaj (Megha & Jairaj Amin) on 27 

October 

Meher (Jasmine P. Balsara & Tusha 

Balsara) on 14 November 

JOANNA BRIEN 

Ruby (Rachel & Paul Hibberd) on 12 

September 

Jack (Emily & David Marron) on 16 

October 

Elsie (Jenny Brehaut & Ben Pester) on 2 

October 

Sophie (Xanthe & Mathew Smith) on 17 

September 

Sienna (Lindsey Bickerton & Rory Reid) 

George (Fran & Nick Gibbs) on 2 October 

Luna (Taba Recio & Franco Valastra) on 

22 October 

REBECCA BYRNE 

Anton & Marco (Chihiro & Jaya Thursfield) 

Lucille Mary Kyne (Daisy Griffiths & Ben 

Kyne) 

George (Diana & Paul Greenhalgh) 

Arthur (Jessica & David Owen) 

Hannah Elizabeth Sumner (Adam Sumner 

& Judith van Zyl) 

Zuka Crawshaw Bhatti (Nabeel Bhatti & 

Julia Crawshaw) 

Finlay David Sharp (Pamela & Paul Sharp) 

Arnaud Florian & Ella Marine (Veronique & 

Alain Kermarec) 

Ruby Grace Green Barnes (Rachel Green 

& Grant Barnes) 

Janice Lau (Haishan Pan & Henry Lau) 

Conall James McCormick (Rosie & Gerry 

McCormick) 

Eva Victoria Kathleen Hinch (Francesca 

Rogers & Robin Hinch) 

Ann-Louise Sarah Mair (Lily Gogan & 

Jonathan Mair) 

Charlie Paul Sophocli (Cathy & Andy 

Sophocli) 

Tobias Edward James Clark (Julianne & 

Nicola Clark) 

Tabitha Joy Trevett (Sarah & Steve Trevett) 

George Anthony Moss (Martin & Lara 

Moss) 

Lenny Baxter John Hilson (Sara Alice 

Thompson & William Iain Hilson) 

Amelie Joy Ackford (Claire & Robert 

Ackford) 

Russell Cade Burgess (Marc & Nicole 

Burgess) 

Betty Lonsdale (Abi and Richard Lonsdale) 

Harry Peter Honeysett (Rob and Debs 

Honeysett) 

Theo Lister Campbell (Claire Lister and 

Chris Campbell) 

SARAH SAVASKAN 

Joshua Benjamin (Carrie Cromwell Hunt & 

Andrew Hunt) on 12 July 

Thomas Coglon (Margot Knight & Todd 

Coglon) on 16 July 

Sadie (Eireann & Ed Sharpe) 

Arjun Singh (Soniya & Harpreet Saroya) 

on 30 August 

Louis John Redford Stephens (Tara 

Danischevsky & Henry Stephens) on 28 

August 

Brenden William (Laura Jerram & David 

Harris) on 20 September 

Astrid (Sasha Blackmore & Lewis Neal) 

Catherine Elizabeth (Sian & David Ellis) on 

17 September 

Rafael (Sabine Bertin & Nicholas 

Macheras) 

Nisha (Anja Schiefer Jooste & Ben Jooste) 

on 12 October 

Laurie (Agnieszka & Steven Lenton) 

Noah Abraham (Shazia & Marc Kay) on 15 

November 

Fauve (Sarah Corbett & Stuart Mackinlay) 

Evelyn Jane (Ellen & Iain Colquhoun) on 

28 October 

Frederick Ellery Ford Freddie (Catherine & 

Greg Ford) 

Theo (Maiko & Kevin Broughton) 

Henry (Nancy & Adam Simpson) on 30 

October 

Sebastian (Lourdes Gonzalez Merello & 

James Gillespie) 

Harry Henry Alexander Dunn (Rebecca 

Claydon & Neil Dunn) 16 August 

Henry (Ewa & Karl Prazmo) 

Pierre Jean (Muriel & Sam Chapman) on 

10 October 

Continued overleaf... 

Sebastian Pasley (Marcie Maclellan & Will 

Fielding) on 13 October 

Frederick Lloyd (Jennifer & Jamie 

Johnson) on 7 October 

Olivia Lily Chan Atalar (Beryl & Kerem 

Atalar) on 4 October 

Alexa Lee (Phillipa Abbott & Lewis Hare) 

on 29 October 

Annabella (Hannah Lee & Peter Chan) on 

28 October 

Eilidh Isobel (Skye O’Neill & James 

Corner) on 16 November 

Astrid (Joanne Jordan & Nick Jones) 

Louis (Beatrice Guyoton & Andrew 

Johnson) on 2 December 

Theo Armando & Lola Evelyn (Alisha & 

Carlos Miranda) on 8 November 

Sarah Emily (Karen & Jonathan Parker) on 

26 November 

Kutya (Oxana Sytnik & Alex Popov) 

Hope (Helena Bryant & Damon Taylor) 

Aran (Kate Huang & Neelay Patel) on 22 

November 

Tabitha Grace (Anna & Tim Golby) on 8 

December 

Rose Winter (Ellie Smith & Robert Davies) 

on14 December 

Hollis Oscar (Helen Neary & Lee Bunch) 


Dexter William (Emma & Mark Jackson) on 

22 December 

Amelia Hazel (Kate & Tom May) on 8 

January 

Benjamin Clement (Lily Ford & Kieron 

Williams) on 14 January 

Jackson William Derek (Kali Pearson & 

Alex Foreman) on 14 January 

Freida Martha (Nicola Cadbury & James 

Trapmore) on 4 February 

TESSA DAILEY 

Ella Fleur Evelyn Samuel (Louise & James 

Samuel) on 30 September 

Alice Rose Purdy (Laura & Kevin Purdy) 

on 5 October 

Edith Anne Georgina Glennie (Kate & 

Campbell Glennie) on 02 November 

Enzo Ozbeser (Katy & Aytan Ozbeser) on 

02 November 

Sophie Warwick Osborne (Megan & Toby 

Osborne) on 11 October 

Newsletter Spring 9


Continued from previous page... 

Meet the latest members of our family... 

Ida Rose Dugan (Cynthia & Michael 

Dugan) on 27 October 

Amelia Florence Lila Jackson (Suzi 

Broadaway & Paul Jackson) on 16 

November 

Lily Mae Hughes (Louise & Adrian Hughes) 

on 23 October 

Isla Lucy Reid (Hayley & Peter Reid) on 29 

September 

Maya Alessandra Roati (Irene Lee & 

Michael Roati) on 26 October 

Sebastian Robin Nicholas Powl (Anna & 

Richard Powl) on 1 November 

Louis Henry Rossi (Teresa & Claude 

Rossi) on 17 October 

Livia Anne Birley (Kate & Chris Birley) on 

30 October 

Adeline Cherry Webb (Adela & Chris 

Webb) on 9 September 

Jacob James Terry (Alexandra & Kate 

Terry) on 30 September 

Oliver Wise (Louise & Stephen Wise) on 

16 September 

Aiden Jonathan (Kirsty Goodwin & Andy 

Tewkesbury) on 18 September 

Milo (Kelly Wright & Tom Mansbridge) on 

20 September 

Peter James Devlin (Majella & Michael 

Devlin) on 8 October 

Edward ‘Ned’ Epps (Kate Horsley & James 

Epps) on 3 October 

Luca John Joseph Tezcan (Malika & Oliver 

Tezcan) on 1 October 

Nyria Carmen Aragon Glover (Lola Aragon 

& Ben Glover) on 25 November 

Ruby Jane Foster (Vicky Smith & Dan 

Foster) on 7 October 

Annabelle Rose Lee (Janine Richmond & 

Chris Lee) on 9 October 

Jemima Louise Gibson (Karen Baxter & CJ 

Gibson) on 9 October 

Ivy Ornellia Nicklin (Helena & Hamish 

Nicklin) on 27 October 

Arya Lisa McDiarmid (Jo Adcock & Jon 

McDiarmid) on 3 November 

Theodore Fowers Clements (Joel 

Clements & Michelle Fowers) on 26 

October 

Dexter Thomas Graddon (Carrie & John 

Graddon) on 15 November 

Saul John Kimerling (Louise & Dan 


Kimerling) on 9 October 

Patrick Oliver David Brown (Penny Brice & 

Hugh Brown) on 17 November 

Joseph John Theophil Edwards (Lucie & 

Iain Edwards) on 10 November 

Ella Jane Bartholomew (Tammy Holmes & 

Mark Bartholomew) on 6 November 

Ben James Coomber (Zoe & Lee 

Coomber) on 16 November 

William Adam Hawkes (Amy Wills & Adam 

Harbord) on 25 November 

Nancy Jean Thirlwall (Kirsty Shields & Tom 

Thirlwall) on 25 November 

Lucas John Charles Hawkes (Alison & 

Wayne Hawkes) on 30 November 

Jasper Alfie Duncan Tabb (Candice & 

Matthew Tabb) on 26 November 

Lilya Coco & Herbie Nicholson Murray 

Jones (Amy & Mark Murray Jones) on 10 

December 

Eli Patrick Kee Son (Joanne Mcloughlin & 

Roy Kee Son) on 4 December 

Wilbur Oliver Wheeler (Tracy & Paul 

Wheeler) on 4 December 

Dexter Finn Faraday Kennedy (Emma 

Faraday & Jules Kennedy) on 9 December 

Charlie Michael Halibi Canhoto (Leah & 

Michael Canhoto) on 23 November 

Eleni Anne Warren (Helen Van Der 

Meer-Warren & Matthew Warren) on 23 

November 

Esther Vera Bensasson Leadley (Eva 

Bensasson & Marcus Leadley) on 28 

November 

Stanley Edwin James Stockwell (Victoria 

Hart & Guy Stockwell) on 2 December 

Jack Noah Voller (Jessica & Richard 

Voller) on 25 November 

Saffron Zara Yayu (princess) Ngwengi 

(Christine Langhoff & Emmanuel Ngwengi) 

on 28 November 

Jasmine Jin Esther (Magdalene & David 

Coley) on 24 November 

Barnaby James Laidlaw Hall (Meg & Giles 

Hall) on 18 December 

Gunner Ray McDonald (Angela 

Mannerson & Peter McDonald) on 24 

December 

Huxley Alexander David Moss (Meredith & 

Peter Moss) on 12 December 

Jacob David Weaire (Erin Sheppard & 

David Weaire) on 29 December 

Alexa Grace Pooley (Diane & Andy 

Pooley) on 29 December 

Esme Charlotte Vincent Woods (Anna 

Vincent & Stuart Woods) on 29 January 

Noah Hernandez Rivero (Bianca Valido 

Leach & Juansi Hernandez Rivero) on 8 

December 

Owen Thane Wilkinson (Hazel & Simon 

Wilkinson) on 14 December 

Thomas George Cole (Tiffany & Dan Cole) 

on 8 December 

Zavier Elliot New (Jenny & Kieran New) on 

8 December 

Sophia Elizabeth Sevenoaks (Andrea & 

Chris Sevenoaks) 2 January 

Gilbert Deane (Bryony Clark & Alex 

Deane) on 18 December 

Abraham Inigo Owen (Liz Selway & Alec 

Owen) on 26 January 

Amelie Boston (Nicola & Michael Boston) 

on 29 January 

Dylan Rowan Benninger (Philippa & Daniel 

Benninger) on 24 January 

Jacob John Cargill (Caroline & Tom Cargill) 

on 13 February 

Felix Edmund Hardy (Michelle & Giles 

Hardy) on 4 January 

Samuel David Duguid Bowen (Anna & 

David Bowen) on 3 January 

Anwen Sheila Collins (Sophie & Jeff 

Collins) on 19 December 

Lottie Alice Jempson Maynard (Amy & 

Charlie Maynard) on 28 January 

Tabitha Rose Eves-Welch (Kate Eves & 

Adrian Welch) on 20 January 

Weston William Andrews (Cheryl & 

Nicholas Andrews) on 16 January 

Thor Joseph Charles Mitchell-Barnes 

(Miranda Mitchell & Joseph Barnes) on 31 

January 

Brodie Alexander Ronald Swanston (Julie 

Swanston) on 6 February

Weaning 

Purees and baby led weaning: a learning curve 

Weaning your baby is an 

exciting but often confusing 

time. What’s best - purees 

or baby led weaning? Ruth 

Baldock tells her story... 

I am eight years older than my sister, 

and eleven years older than my 

brother, and I can vividly remember 

when our Mum weaned them onto 

solids. There were a few incidents 

known in our household as a ‘Jesus, 

Mary and Joseph!’ scenario; which 

involved a child under one, and a 

fromage frais. (So called because 

that’s what we’d shout when 

we came in and saw them and 

everything within a 10 foot circle 

covered in it). Absolute carnage. My 

Mum weaned them, and also me 

years earlier, using purees, and then 

when we were older, finger foods 

such as toast, bits of banana, dairy 

milk (I think my Mum was joking 

with that one...). I always assumed I 

would follow suit. 

When my own son, Seb, was around 

four months old, I received a letter 

from our health visitor inviting me 

to attend a weaning workshop. Off 

I went, and the nutritionist running 

the workshop talked at length about 

the importance of making our own 

food, purees that is, for our babies 

once they hit the six month mark. 

We were given a laminated chart 

to take home as a guideline for the 

consistency and types of food we 

could introduce to our babies, and 

when was best to do this. We were 

to start with smooth purees, made 

from cooked fruit or vegetables. 

Carrots, apples, bananas, were all 

good places to start. A few weeks 

later, we were advised, we could 


‘up’ the consistency of the purees; 

custard, mash, lumpy until we were 

offering our babies the same kind 

of food we, as adults, were eating. 

Fair does. One Sunday, my husband 

and I went to a local farmer’s market 

by Peckham Library, and bought a 

dizzying array of organic vegetables; 

butternut squash, carrots, parsnips. 

They looked delicious. When we got 

home, my husband got to work in 

our kitchen- baking, then pureeing, 

then decanting the contents into 

ice-cube trays. They took up most 

of our freezer space, and were 

used up very quickly. I remember 

a few of my friends were taking a 

different approach when it came to 

weaning their babies’ onto solids; 

a more baby-led approach. I was 

sceptical. I mean, how could you 

be sure anything was going in? And 

if nothing much was going in, how 

could it fill them up enough for them 

to sleep better than they had been 

when only being offered milk? I was 

under the somewhat erroneous 

impression that offering a six month 

old solids would ensure better sleep. 

This certainly wasn’t the case at 

ALL with us, and with a lot of other 

parents I have spoken to, but at the 

time we were desperate. Seriously. 

I feel at this point I should confess 

that I am extremely lazy. This is an 

important fact to remember for later 

on. 

When Seb was about eight months 

old, we met up with our friends with 

their daughter who is about three 

months older than Seb. It was the 

summer, and a beautiful day; we 

all descended on Virginia Water in 

Surrey laden with bags from M&S. 

All lovely picnicky goods. Seb was 

crawling by this point and certainly 

knew his own mind. The moment 

we put all the tubs of hummus, 

strawberries, and cherry tomatoes 

on the picnic rug, Seb went at them 

like a child possessed. “Huh, well... 

he seems to actually be...eating!” 

I thought. The next day, instead of 

defrosting his purees, I gave him 

a portion of my own lunch; pasta 

with onions, peppers, courgette and 

grilled chicken in a tomato sauce. 

He was delighted and whilst a lot 

of it was dropped onto his lap, he 

seemed to really enjoy being able 

to feed himself and, from my own 

lazy and hungry point of view, it was 

much easier for me. I was able to 

eat whilst he did (whilst keeping a 

beady eye on him to make sure that 

he didn’t choke on anything). We 

carried on like this from then on. I 

decided that if I ever had another 

baby, I’d introduce solids using 

Baby Led Weaning (BLW) from the 

offset and skip purees and baby-rice 

altogether. 

About six weeks after the Picnic 

Epiphany, I found out that Baby 

Numero Dos (as she was known 

on Twitter until she was born) was 

winging her way to us. By the time 

she was born, Seb was 18 months 

old and purees and all baby-food 

were a distant memory. We were 

offering him everything that we were 

having. Whether he’d eat it or not 

was another matter- he seems to be 

able to exist on cheese, bread and 

fromage frais. And mashed potatoes. 

And carrots. I simply didn’t have 

the time or energy to make purees 

up from scratch or in pre-prepared 

batches. 

Our daughter, Lex, has always 

joined us at the dinner table in one

way or another - whether on my lap, 

being breastfed whilst Seb threw 

his rice around, or in her highchair 

when she was old enough to sit in it 

for short amounts of time. She has 

always been extremely interested 

in meal times, and it helps that 

she’s a naturally happy and ‘social’ 

kind of baby. When she turned six 

months old, I tentatively offered her 

first solids; toast and avocado slices 

(with the skin still on as it makes it 

easier for tiny hands to hold onto). 

She’s seven months old now, and 

whilst is yet to consume everything 

I offer her, every meal time, she 

manages to eat more and more 

than the previous mealtime. I know 

we’re a long way off from everything 

ending up in her little mouth rather 

than the floor, but it’s an exciting 

process to be part of. Frequently, 

she will reach for whatever Seb is 

eating, causing furious shouting 

from him: “NO! NO NO NO!” She 

generally has the same kinds of 

thing that Seb has, and the process 

is extremely messy. Top tip; to 

minimize cleaning up, get a dog. Or 

borrow one, perhaps. It’ll really help. 

I have never been the sort of person 

to read studies or articles from the 

Lancet or British Medical Journal 

and base any of my parenting or 

other decisions from their contents. 

Often, pdf’s and links are passed 

my way and I barely ever open 

them. Others may think this folly. I 

did, however read Gill Rapley and 

Tracey Murkett’s book on BLW, 

aka The BLW Bible, simply named 

‘Baby-led Weaning: Helping Your 

Baby to Love Good Food’. It was 

an excellent read, and helped me 

with such questions as ‘Can I give 

my baby a donor kebab?’ (Answer; 

Get Involved 

Weaning 

go for it, but not before nine months 

and go easy on the chilli sauce 

and onions as extremely offensive 

nappies may follow. I am, of course, 

joking. It’s not before 12 months...). 

Weaning Lex onto solids has all 

been very trial and error, although 

I do think it’s important to stress 

watching for signs of choking, 

and gagging. Both very different, 

both terrifying when they happen. 

Although I have favoured BLW, I’m 

not anti-purees at all; they gave me, 

as a first time parent, bewildered 

and exhausted, a good platform 

from which to start from and gain my 

confidence when it came to my baby 

and solids. 

Newsletter Spring 13

Weaning 

What can I make for dinner tonight? 

At about 4pm on any given 

day have you ever looked 

at the time and suffered the 

realization “I haven’t a clue 

what to make for dinner 

that is quick, easy and 

healthy!”? Well I have, and so 

I asked around a few mums 

and gathered a few “old 

favourites” - and I now share 

them with you for when you 

have one of those days. 

SALMON OMELETTE (Tarnya) 

Ingredients: one egg, dash milk or 

formula, teaspoon butter, fresh herbs 

to taste, salmon (tinned or fresh 

cooked), potato, cream cheese, 

veggies. 

Method: mix together until lightly fluffy, 

cook in small frying pan. While egg is 

cooking sprinkle two teaspoons tinned 

salmon, cooked potato, cream cheese 

and whatever cooked veggies to hand 

(microwave peas an easy addition) 

then fold egg over for easy omelettes! 

Optional: Serve with finger veggies 

or fruit. Increase ingredient amount 

to make dinner for parents/carers, 

allowing 2 eggs per adult. 

FRIDGE DINNER - (Sophie) 

Ingredients: This is called ‘Fridge 

Dinner’ because it’s made up of 

whatever veggies are in the fridge, 

plus a tin of tomatoes for sauce and 

a tin of chickpeas for protein. I like to 

cut up the veggies into large chunks 

so that my baby can enjoy the sauce 

fed by spoon, while also picking up, 

sucking and chewing on large bits of 

cooked saucy vegetables. NOTE: You 

can squash the individual chickpeas 

into the sauce just before serving so 

they’re not a choking hazard. 


Method: heat some butter, garlic and 

onion in a pan, fry until soft. Chop 

veggies into large chunks (eg broccoli, 

carrot, courgette, potato, spinach) 

and add to the garlic and onions - fry 

a little. Add a tin of tomatoes (or fresh 

tomatoes) and a tin of chickpeas. Also 

some pepper and any herbs to taste 

if you wish (eg coriander, basil). Cook 

with the lid-on for 20 minutes. 

Optional: You can freeze this meal in 

portions and then use it as a base for 

lots of other dinners in the future, eg, 

grate cheese over it, or serve with fish, 

chicken, lentils, potatoes etc. on the 

side. 

MIXED BEAN, MINCE & 

VEGGIE ‘DELIGHT’ (Peta) 

Ingredients: 1 tin each of chopped 

tomatoes, mixed beans and baked 

beans, 400g of mince meat, whatever 

veggies are in the fridge. For veggies, 

I like carrot, mushrooms, baby corn, 

small broccoli florets. I also like to use 

onion and garlic. Amounts and types 

of other ingredients can be adjusted to 

taste. 

Method: Combine all 3 tins in a 

covered saucepan and simmer. Brown 

small portions of minced meat at a 

time in a fry pan, (so as to break it up 

clumps of mince); as each portion is 

browned transfer it to the saucepan, 

leaving behind the fat. Whilst mince 

is browning chop up the veggies 

and add to the saucepan. Using left 

over meat fat (or butter, if you prefer) 

brown the onion, mushroom and garlic 

(ingredients & cooking are to taste) 

and add to the saucepan. Cook with 

the lid-on until veggies reach desired 

consistency. 

Optional: Can be served immediately 

or freeze portions; this can be used 

as a pasta sauce, to make savoury 

pancakes or omelettes etc. I use a tin 

of mixed beans in a spicy sauce for 

flavour. I grate carrot to make it cook 

faster and instead of chopping veggies 

up at the time of cooking sometimes 

I pre-chop & freeze them, or, I buy 

mixed chopped veggies and freeze 

them. 

EASY VEGGIE RICE (Victoria) 

Ingredients: rice, veggies (eg frozen 

peas, sweetcorn, broccoli, carrots). 

Method: chop and boil the veggies, 

cook the rice, combine and serve. 

Optional: freeze small portions of 

cooked rice and reheat when ready to 

serve. 

NOODLES WITH TOFU, 

VEGGIES & PEANUT 

SAUCE (Victoria) 

Ingredients: broccoli, thin sliced 

pepper, baby corn, mange tout, peanut 

butter, tofu, soy sauce. 

Method: mix tablespoon of peanut 

butter with 2 tablespoons hot water 

and dash soy sauce, add veggies, tofu 

and noodles to cook. 

Optional: alternative veggies can be 

used to taste. 

CHICKEN IN 

MEDITERRANEAN SAUCE 

(Peta) 

Ingredients: Chicken breasts, passata, 

kalamata olives, garlic, mixed Italian 

herbs, garlic, rice. 

Method: pre heat oven to 180. Pour 

passata in stoneware (or other) dish 

to cover the bottom, lay chicken 

pieces on top, pour passata over to 

cover about 75% of chicken. Chop/ 

smash garlic and throw into chicken 

dish, add pepper and Italian herbs to 

taste, throw in 4 to 6 kalamata olives 

(chopped or whole). Serve with boiled 

rice. 

Optional: Instead of rice use cous 

cous, potatoes, pasta.

Starting breastfeeding is 

often challenging for new 

mums. But when you add 

to this medical problems, 

jaundice and tongue tie 

it’s no wonder that Sophie 

Broadbent found it the 

hardest thing she’s ever 

done. Here’s her story. 

Breastfeeding 

The hardest thing I’ve ever done 

I am a super-proud mum to 

Evelyn, now aged 11 months. I’m 

absolutely loving breastfeeding 

her at the moment and hope 

to continue indefinitely, but am 

not overestimating when I say it 

has been the hardest thing I’ve 

ever done. Since having such a 

challenging experience myself and 

talking to other new mums about it 

I’ve been shocked by the number 

of women I’ve met who’ve also had 

a difficult time breastfeeding; how 

varied and complex the issues can 

be, and how it is not unusual for 

women to be unable to continue 

breastfeeding after problems arise. 

There are a multitude of complicated 

reasons for this and every woman’s 

story is totally unique, but I’d like to 

share mine here in the hope that it 

may help other readers experiencing 

similar issues in the future – and 

show that it can be possible to 

continue if you are able to keep 

going and find the right help and 

support to carry on. 

I enthusiastically went to my 

antenatal classes with the NCT and 

at St Thomas’ Hospital and listened 

avidly in the short ‘introduction to 

breastfeeding’ sections. I learnt 

about how beneficial my unique 

nutrients would be to my newborn, 

practised holding a doll in different 

positions and imagined myself 

feeding my new baby and being 

snug together. Being quite a ‘natural’ 

kind of person, and hearing that 

babies are often able to ‘latch on’ 

by themselves from birth, I fully 

expected breastfeeding to just 

happen quite smoothly between 

myself and my new baby. However, 

this wasn’t to be the case for us – 

and sadly, although of course it is 

possible, I’ve now found that many 

mothers have a difficult experience 

of some kind. Nothing could have 

prepared me for the feeling of not 

being able to feed my baby through 

her suckling from birth – or that 

because she needed colostrum (and 

later, milk) roughly every 3 hours – 

just how much pressure I would feel 

under to sustain her little body so 

soon after giving birth. 

Evie was born via a beautiful 

water birth with no pain relief in an 

incredible 6.5 hour labour in the 

early hours of a sunny Saturday 

morning. My partner was extremely 

supportive, and the midwives at St 

Thomas’ hospital were fantastic - 

it was a wonderful experience. 

Although I would have liked to have 

had prolonged skin to skin time 

with her straightaway to help her 

initiate breastfeeding by herself, 

I needed to deliver the placenta 

quickly for medical reasons and 

my new daughter cuddled with 

her daddy while I delivered the 

placenta and then had stitches. 

She then proceeded to sleep and 

sleep and sleep – a great chance 

for me to recover – or so I thought. 

But very quickly it became obvious 

that she was perhaps more sleepy 


than would be usual and a midwife 

explained that I should express 

some colostrum into a syringe to 

feed to her. This wasn’t something 

that I had heard of, or was prepared 

for, but with the help of the midwife 

it was fine and we laughed as she 

taught me how to squeeze the 

yellow colostrum out and feed it to 

Evie. Later that day Evie had her 

checks and we discovered that she 

had jaundice, which although more 

common later is rare in the first 48 

hours of life, and explained why 

she was so sleepy and not crying 

to be fed. I was given a chart so I 

could start keeping a record of how 

often she fed and went to the toilet 

to be sure she was getting enough 

food. We moved onto a postnatal 

ward for her to receive phototherapy 

treatment for what turned out to be 

the next 5 days, and a rough pattern 

developed: trying to get her to latch 

on for 30 mins, expressing each 

breast for 30 mins (progressing 

from hand to electric pump on day 4 

after my milk came in), feeding my 

daughter from a syringe (and later, 

a cup) for 15 mins, changing her 

nappy, eating my dinner, washing, 

having a check-up of some kind, 

receiving phone calls and messages 

of congratulations and trying to catch 

30 mins of sleep somewhere before 

the next round started. Phew! It was 

very tiring and a huge shock to my 

system – especially because it was 

a 24 hour job, all so new and I didn’t 

fully understand what was going on. 

Although I regularly asked for help, 

the hospital staff were very busy and 

of course they don’t work 24 hour 

shifts so although it was helpful, 

the advice was constantly moving 

on with Evie’s needs in her first few 




Breastfeeding - Sophie’s story 

days and I felt confused at times. 

I knew it was important to relax as 

much as possible so my partner 

helped change and dress Evie, while 

I focussed completely on learning to 

breastfeed with my baby. 

Evie was slowly making up her birth 

weight and so from the moment we 

arrived home I stopped expressing 

and concentrated on waking her 

enough to get her to feed herself for 

a total of about 30 mins on each side 

at each sitting. It ended up taking 

much longer than this and it felt like 

I was feeding her almost constantly. 

I sat on the sofa and relaxed as 

much as possible, but by then the 

relentless new experience of learning 

to latch, feeding and expressing was 

taking it’s toll and my nipples were 

very cracked and sore. After another 

week, although Evie was gaining 

weight the pain wasn’t getting any 

better and I started to look for further 

help. I had a list of breastfeeding 

support groups which I was given 

as part of my ‘discharge pack’ at 

the hospital, and I called up and 

booked a 1 to 1 appointment with a 

midwife specialising in breastfeeding 

at a children’s centre in Stockwell. 

She assessed my latch and gave 

me some things to work on, but a 

few days later my breasts were in 

absolute agony and the pain became 

unbearable. They were supersensitive 

to any fabric being close to 

them, each time my daughter latched 

on the pain was excruciating, and my 

breasts were hot and itchy between 

feeds. I met a friend who said she’d 

experienced ‘pain like her breasts 

were filled with crushed glass at 

the beginning of every feed’ – and 

that was exactly it! She explained 

she’d had thrush and I looked it 

up and could identify with all the 


symptoms – so went back to the 

breastfeeding specialist for another 

assessment. It took me a long time 

and almost daily visits back and forth 

to doctors, midwives and various 

support groups, as well as a private 

home visit from a qualified lactation 

consultant to get to the bottom of all 

of my symptoms and get treatment 

for each problem. Over time it 

became clear that I had a number 

of different issues all intertwined. I 

did have Thrush (a fungal infection) 

deep in my milk ducts, and also a 

bacterial infection which needed 

treatment too. Evie had a tongue 

tie (which runs in my family), and I 

also have previously undiagnosed 

raynauds syndrome which is a 

painful loss of blood supply to the 

nipples due to cold temperatures, 

and crushing from excessive

feeding. Not to mention ongoing 

red patches from blocked ducts, 

blisters and cracked nipples while we 

continued to refine our positioning 

and attachment. On top of all of 

this I was exhausted. We visited a 

cranial osteopath, but one of the best 

pieces of advice I received was to 

go out and get a full body massage! 

It was a fantastic way to relax after 

the stress I’d been under – and I’m 

sure that relaxing my body and mind 

helped relax my feeding technique to 

become more instinctive too. 

Through all of the pain, diagnoses 

and different treatments I was told 

many times by different doctors and 

health professionals that as I was 

in so much pain I should consider 

moving on to formula feeding. But I 

think I’m just too stubborn for that! I 

wanted her to have my milk that was 

tailored specifically for her, and I also 

didn’t want to deal with the hassle of 

preparing formula and cleaning up 

all of the equipment. Through all the 

tears and exhaustion of night-time 

feeding and general disorientation I 

kept saying to myself and my partner 

‘just one more feed – I’m not ready 

to give up, it has to get better soon’, 

and after 3 months it did! It was like 

running a really, really long marathon 

wearing a deep sea diving suit – it 

took forever, but was definitely worth 

it. 

In the beginning I didn’t believe it 

was possible to ever achieve painfree 

feeding, but now my daughter 

and I are totally comfortable with 

each other and it has become a huge 

pleasure in my life, with no pain at 

all. We still have our ups and downs 

as she develops and becomes more 

aware of her surroundings, but in 


general she is happy to latch on no 

matter where we are (the bus is a 

fun place!), and each time she does 

I experience a rush of hormones 

which make me love her even more. 

It’s also extremely convenient. 

Breastfeeding is great for calming 

Evie down if she’s upset, and for 

sending her to sleep – and I don’t 

ever have to prepare or clean up 

bottles and other equipment which is 

a massive help as I have enough to 

keep me busy! 

Even long after the pain subsided I 

continued going to my local Milk Spot 

breastfeeding café every week, and 

as I was busy sharing my story with 

everyone the Midwives suggested I 

might like to train as a Peer Helper 

with the Breastfeeding Network. 

I finished my 8 week course just 

before Christmas and am now proud 

to be volunteering to help other new 

mums at my local Milk Spot once 

a week. I’d like to continue training 

if possible as I’d like to help in the 

antenatal wards at the hospital, and 

answer calls on the helplines too one 

day. 

I know now that it is rare to 

experience such prolonged and 

painful problems as I did, but I 

also know that breastfeeding is 

not immediately straightforward for 

all mums. Most need some help 

from someone who is trained to 

support breastfeeding – such as a 

Midwife, Health Visitor or Volunteer 

Breastfeeding Supporter in the 

early weeks to help fine-tune their 

positioning and attachment and help 

them and their baby learn to latch on 

comfortably, and also to discuss any 

questions that have come up about 

the myriad of other important aspects 

of breastfeeding – like duration and 

regularity of feeds and keeping 

up optimum milk supply. Some 

will also need further input from a 

breastfeeding specialist or qualified 

lactation consultant. 

My advice to mothers planning to 

breastfeed would be to go to a local 

support group while you are still 

pregnant, if you can. It’s important 

that you know how to get there to 

make the journey easier when you 

have your baby with you, and you 

can meet the support workers and 

other new mums and see some 

breastfeeding babies in action so you 

can be prepared – and encouraged 

– before you enter this new world 

for yourself. The groups are open 

to all mothers and partners at any 

stage of your young baby’s life, and 

for everyone using any combination 

of feeding methods – including 

formula feeding. They are a brilliant 

place for you and your baby to meet 

new friends and share the amazing, 

challenging experience of parenting 

together. 

Sophie Broadbent volunteers as a 

Helper for the Breastfeeding Network 

at Clapham Manor Children’s Centre 

Milk Spot. Please note that this 

article outlines the personal views of 

the author and not of the BFN. 

For further information about 

breastfeeding support, see the 

separate ‘Support for Breastfeeding’ 

pages in this magazine. 

Further recommended reading – 

‘The Food of Love’ by Kate Evans. 


Health and wellbeing 

Jaundice: our experiences 

Sitting around in our editorial 

meeting we were shocked 

to discover how many of us 

had jaundice stories to relate. 

Here we share them with 

you. 

Why is my baby yellow? 

Maybe yellow is the colour your baby 

is supposed to be, or maybe they 

are suffering from jaundice. Here we 

take a look at jaundice; what and how 

common it is. We asked members to 

share their experiences in what was a 

distressing time for any new parent – 

having a baby with jaundice. We hope 

that by sharing experiences, if faced 

with the same situation you will know 

a bit about it and also know you are 

not alone. 

What is jaundice? 

As defined by the Oxford Dictionary: 

a medical condition with yellowing of 

the skin or whites of the eyes, arising 

from excess of the pigment bilirubin 

and typically caused by obstruction 

of the bile duct, by liver disease, or 

by excessive breakdown of red blood 

cells. Or put more simply, in the case 

of a newborn, the yellowing of the skin 

and/or the whites of their eyes, caused 

by a build up of ‘bilirubin’. 

What is bilirubin? 

Bilirubin is the yellow substance 

produced when red blood cells 

are broken down. The liver should 

naturally breakdown and filter out 

bilirubin. Jaundice occurs when red 

blood cells are broken down at a 

rate faster than the body is able to 

breakdown and filter out bilirubin. 

How common is jaundice in 

newborns? 

Very common. Around 60% of 

newborns have jaundice during their 


first week, increasing to around 80% 

for pre-term babies. Jaundice is more 

common and may last for longer in 

breastfed babies; around 10% will still 

have jaundice when they are around 

one month old. 

Information from www.nhs.co.uk 

OUR EXPERIENCES 

THE PHOTO IS FRIGHTENING 

(Daniel) 

The photo is frightening. It’s my 

brother holding a one-day-old 

Ruben. The little man is bright yellow. 

Like Bart Simpson. But the really 

frightening thing is that we didn’t 

notice at the time. I guess it was 

something to do with the exhaustion, 

the emotion and the stark hospital 

lights. Or maybe that we were so 

in love with Ruben, we didn’t see 

anything but wonderfulness. 

That was certainly true for his freaky 

cone head. The day before he’d had a 

tough time of it. He got tangled up in 

cord as he tried to get into the world. It 

was action-stations as a young, brash 

doctor strode in and took over from the 

midwife. In a blur Ruben was literally 

sucked out. Venteuse is just a posh 

name for a plunger. But he made it. 

Which is probably why it was such a 

shock when 12 hours later, the doctor 

pointed out that our boy was a bit too 

yellow. Jaundiced in fact. So, we’ve 

all got yellow stuff in our blood and it 

needs breaking down and flushing out. 

Most of us are able to do it through 

a process of taking in water at one 

end and draining it at the other. In 

between sunlight helps break it down, 

while our kidneys act as a bit of a 

filter. But Ruben’s body was struggling 

to handle the yellow stuff. So the 

doctor recommended a few days of 

observation and light therapy. 

That was the worst part. For a couple 

of days, for hours at a stretch we had 

to strip him, cover his eyes, his willy 

and put him in a small see-through 

box which blasted UV rays at him. It 

was heart breaking. It reminded me 

of the thing the scientists do to ET at 

the end of the film. At the same time 

Mandy had to give him regular formula 

milk top ups, no easy thing after the 

all the ‘breast is best’. By day three 

we were on the edge. Mandy wasn’t 

getting any sleep on the ward; just 

broccoli and cauliflower in a cheese 

sauce. Luckily a kindly paediatrician 

saw we were slowly losing it and got 

us a private room. That was the start 

of things getting better. In the end 

were in hospital for five days. Going 

home was great. There’s another 

photo of Ruben, this time with my Dad, 

where he’s got a great tan. 

JAUNDICE? OR NOT JAUNDICE?? 

(Victoria) 

I was told that both of my boys had 

mild jaundice. The midwife prescribed 

treatment for their jaundice, which 

was to feed them and lay them in the 

sunlight (both of which are known to 

help the body breakdown and filter 

out bilirubin). But I wasn’t convinced 

my boys actually had jaundice… I 

repeatedly explained to the midwife 

that the boys are one quarter Chinese 

and I am olive skinned, so perhaps 

this is just the colour of my sons’ 

skin? Regardless of this, the midwife 

insisted that my second baby be taken 

to the local accident and emergency 

department where a blood test would 

be administered to determine the 

amount of bilirubin present. The test 

results came back. He was fine! 

“RADIOACTIVE” BABY (Peta) 

My husband remembers the midwife 

telling us our daughter had jaundice 

the afternoon of her birth, I remember

eing told by her the following day 

when she came back to check on us. 

I remember because my daughter 

wanted to sleep. She did not want 

to feed. When I could convince her 

to wake and feed it lasted seconds 

before she went back to sleep. The 

midwife explained that in order to help 

get rid of the jaundice I had to feed the 

baby as often as possible, and even 

lay her in the sunshine (in January??). 

I remember feeling a little panicked 

because the one thing that we could 

do to help her get rid of jaundice was 

the one thing I was struggling with 

– feeding! I remember trying every 

‘wake up’ trick the midwife taught us; 

tickling her feet, nudging her cheek, 

undressing her, dripping cool water on 

her etc. And I remember trying every 

feeding trick we learned in antenatal 

class; breast, bottle, cup, syringe – all 

with breast milk. I even set an alarm 

that went off every three hours to 

remind me to try and feed her – just 

in case I forgot and she didn’t cry for 

food. 

Nothing seemed to work, and when 


family commented that our baby 

seemed radioactive in the photos we 

had sent them we went to hospital 

to have her checked out – just to be 

sure. After all, how were we to know 

exactly how common this jaundice 

thing is? And how were we to know 

how yellow is too yellow? We had a 

home birth and so it was not as though 

they could quickly pop the baby under 

the lamps to help with the bilirubin 

breakdown (I vaguely remembered 

something about the lamps from the 

antenatal class…). 

Perhaps if we had had a hospital birth 

this might have happened. But we 

didn’t. And it didn’t. We had a home 

birth and exclusively breastfed (save 

for one panicked 3am feed) in the 

middle of a cold, dark winter. With the 

benefit of hindsight and experience, 

it was probably to be expected that 

she would be a little radioactive. And 

it was also probably to be expected 

that the jaundice would last a while 

(it lasted just over a month). But the 

way we remember it, every feed was a 

battle in those first two or three weeks. 

We battled to keep her awake and 

feeding. She battled with us to sleep. 

A HEALTHY TAN? (Anita) 

I was pleased that my new baby boy 

had a good healthy tan when he was 

born, but it turns out he was slowing 

turning yellow. Throughout the day 

and following a few more tests, the 

final opinion was that he urgently 

needed to be put under lights or he 

was in imminent danger of needing a 

complete blood transfusion. 

There followed the slowest urgent 

response ever seen. The half lights 

(light box with a reflective blanket) 

were not considered to be making 

enough difference so he was moved to 

the top and bottom set. The downright 

negligent midwife team contrasted 

with the seriousness suggested by the 

medics. They set up the equipment 

with the light too high and the baby 

blindfold twisted sideways. 

End result: baby screaming. Me with 

a blood transfusion drip in my arm 

trying desperately to soothe him and 

cup feed every few hours (unaided) as 

required by the medics. Finally, it was 

arranged for him to be moved into the 

SCBU for proper care. Knowing this 

was best for him was the only relief to 

the guilt of watching him go. 

Please note, the aim of this article is 

to provide you with basic, statistical 

information about jaundice, and to 

share the jaundice experiences of 

some local parents. This article is 

not intended to, nor should be used 

as a qualified medical reference or 

source. Please consult an appropriate 

medical professional (eg your midwife, 

health visitor, GP or other medical 

professional) should you have any 

questions or concerns with regards 

the health of your child(ren). 


Out and about 

Five top places for kids (and parents) 

Some days we just need 

to get out and about for 

everybody’s sanity, especially 

once you have an active 

baby. I am always on the 

lookout for new places to go 

where I can enjoy myself as 

well as give my son a good 

run around (then hopefully a 

nice long nap!). 

So I asked around some local branch 

members and we came up with lots 

of suggestions! Here we short list 

our five favourite local top spots and 

share why we like them so much. Let 

us know if you would like to see more 

favourite local spots, and we may run 

this as a regular feature. Also, if you 

don’t mind others finding your secret 

spot, please do let us know yours! 

newsletter.editorial@southlondonnct.org 

1. Tate Modern 

Gallery of international modern and 

contemporary art. Bankside 

London SE1 9TG, 020 7887 8888, 

visiting.modern@tate.org.uk, Entry 

is free except for major exhibitions, 

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/. We 

love the space in the turbine hall for 

crawlers and runners, the kids’ zone 

on level five and the family friendly 

areas for pushchairs. Views are 

great from the balconies too and the 

riverside location means you are not 

far from other interesting places to 

stroll. One warning though, the lifts 

can take ages especially at busy 

times! 

2. Park Life Cafe in Burgess 

Park 

A great little child/breastfeedingfriendly 

cafe in a lovely (soon to 

be even lovelier) park, within the 


Chumleigh gardens, near the Albany 

Road entrance in SE5. http://www. 

southwark.gov.uk/info/461/a_to_z_of_ 

parks/1293/burgess_park/1 

We love the friendly staff, the 

highchairs and kids menu, and the 

small playground and lovely ‘world 

gardens’ nearby. 

3. Brockwell Park. 

An amazing and large park with 

lots to see and do, located between 

Brixton, Dulwich and Herne 

Hill, Norwood Road, SE24 9BJ. 

www.lambeth.gov.uk/services/ 

environment/parksgreenspaces/parks/ 

brockwellpark.htm.See also friends 

of Brockwell park website www. 

brockwellpark.com 

We love the great paddle pool, sandpit 

and children’s playground, the outdoor 

lido and cafe, miniature train rides, a 

nice cafe as reward for walking up that 

hill, the One O’Clock Club and lots 

of space to run around. And possibly 

the best bit, it is now complete with 

diggers doing major works to fascinate 

your little ones! 

4. The Florence pub 

A family-friendly pub with good food 

and space. 131-133 Dulwich Road, 

Herne Hill SE24ONG. http://www. 

capitalpubcompany.com/the-florence/ 

We love its location near Brockwell 

park, outdoor eating space and the 

massive kids playroom at the back. 

5. Ruskin Park 

Another great park with lots of space 

and facilities, located in Denmark Hill, 

London SE5 8EL 

www.lambeth.gov.uk/services/ 

environment/parksgreenspaces/parks/ 

ruskinpark.htm 

We love the tennis and games courts, 

play area and paddling pool, the 

ponds, lots of squirrels and the great 

bandstand. Also particularly lovely in 

summer is the flower labyrinth.

Nursery wellbeing 

Creating a haven for you and your baby 

When preparing a nursery for 

your baby, you are physically 

and emotionally making 

space for the new person 

in your life. A beautiful, well 

organised, healthy space 

can help to create a feeling 

of protection, intimacy and 

emotional connection with 

your baby. 

Keep the follow five things in mind, 

and you will be on your way to a 

creating a cosy room that supports 

you and your baby’s wellbeing. 

Start early 

Many women find that the nesting 

stage sets in around the fifth month 

of pregnancy. Taking care of the 

big decisions at this stage gives 

you plenty of time to budget and 

plan, which makes the process of 

decorating your nursery less stressful. 

Keep it simple 

In the first year it is you, more than 

the baby, who will take pleasure from 

the room’s decor, so make sure it’s a 

place you love to be in. There will be 

plenty of opportunity to personalise 

the room as your child gets older, and 

keeping it simple will make it easier to 

adapt. A simple, quiet room will make 

for a restful nursery to help your baby 

sleep, which allows you to get more 

rest also. 

Make it practical 

Above all, your baby’s room needs 

to be easy to use and safe. Surfaces 

need to be practical, storage ample 

and easily accessible, danger zones 

must be made safe. Newborns are 

very sensitive to light and temperature, 

so things to think about are how many 

sockets you will need, how you are 

going to modulate light levels in the 

room and control the temperature. 

When planning the room’s lay-out, 

start with the position of the cot, and 

plan changing, seating and storage 

around this. 

Choose your colours 

A scheme based on a single colour 

feels tranquil and forms a peaceful 

background for your baby’s colourful 

first possessions. There is a lot to 

be said for white walls. Not only are 

they gender neutral, they are also 

easy to combine with accessories of 

any colour. By carefully editing what 

you add, you can create a bright and 

colourful space without descending 

into a riot of colours. Some warm 

colours, such as yellow, orange and 

red, are very active and energising 

and should be used in small doses. 

To avoid sleeping problems it’s best 

not to use them near your baby’s bed. 

Colder colours such as blue are great 

for inducing sleep. Turquoise, green 

and violet are also calming choices. 

Make it healthy 

When undertaking any works, try 

and use materials that don’t release 

harmful toxins into the air to create 

a healthy nursery. Use paints that 

emit very low or no volatile organic 

compounds (VOCs), and finish works 

at least a month before your baby 

arrives, so any harmful fumes have 

time to dissipate. 

Add the finishing touches 

Once your essentials are in place, 

accessorise your baby’s room with 

meaningful objects and things you 

love. Decorating your baby’s nursery 

is all about the spirit and love you 

bring to the process so try not to 

stress and have fun with it. Happy 

decorating! 

Ursula Wesselingh 

www.room-to-bloom.com 


Diary dates 

What’s on in your area 

There are many other 

activities and community/ 

children’s centres in our 

branches; unfortunately we 

do not have space to include 

them all here. For further 

information about what is 

happening in your area 

please refer to the branch 

websites: Riverside http:// 

www.nct.org.uk/branches/ 

riverside or BDS http://www. 

nct.org.uk/branches/brixtondulwich-streat 

If you have details of an activity 

or playgroup you would like to 

share, please email parent.support. 

coordinator@southlondonnct.org 

(BDS branch) or nct.riverside_ 

chair@yahoo.co.uk (Riverside 

branch) 

MONDAY 

NCT SE1 Tea Group, 11.30, Royal 

Festival Hall (Level 2), Southbank. 

Suzie nct.riverside_tgse1@yahoo. 

co.uk 

Riverside parents soft play 

session (under 5s), 3pm to 5pm, 

Salmon Youth Centre, 43 Old 

Jamaica Road, SE16 4TE. http:// 

www.riversideparents.co.uk/joomla/ 

index.php 

Hullabaloo (ages 4 and under), 

10am to 11.30 (term time only), 

Oasis Centre, Oasis Church 

Waterloo, 1a Kennington Road 

(opposite Lambeth North tube 

station) SE1 7HS. £1 per family. 

http://www.oasischurchwaterloo.org/ 

NCT Bumps & Babes for babies 


and toddlers, 10am to noon, 

Goose Green Community Centre, 

62A East Dulwich Road, SE22 9AT. 

£1/£1.50. bumpsnbabesSE22@ 

southlondonnct.org 

Baby and Toddler group, under 5s, 

10.30 to 12.30. Kingswood House, 

Seeley Drive, Kingswood Estate, 

SE21 8QN. Free 

Mint Street Playgroup, 10am to 

noon (all year), 9.30 to 11.30 (school 

holidays), Mint Street, SE1 1QP. 50p 

per family. http://www.mintstreet.org. 

uk 

Parent and toddler group under 

5s, 10am to noon, St Faith’s Church, 

Red Post Hill SE24 9JQ. £1 

Stay and play, up to 18 months, 

1.30 to 3pm, Albrighton Community 

Centre, Albrighton Road, East 

Dulwich Estate, SE22 8A. Penny 

020 30497500 

Baby club, up to 18 months, 10am 

to 11.30, Grove Children and Family 

Centre, Tower Mill Road, SE15 6BP. 

Lorraine 020 77016629 

TUESDAY 

Bookstart, 10am to 11.30, 

Kingswood House, Seeley Drive, 

Kingswood Estate, SE21 8QN. Free 

Story time, under 6s (term time 

only), 10.30 to noon, 1pm to 2.30, 

Newington Library, 155 Walworth 

Road, SE17, 1RS. 020 7749 3382 


session (under 5s), 10am to 

12noon, Salmon Youth Centre, 43 

Old Jamaica Road, SE16 4TE. http:// 


index.php 

Mint Street Playgroup, under 5s, 

10am to noon (all year), 9.30 to 

11.30 (school holidays), Mint Street 

(Southwark Bridge Road), SE1 1QP. 

50p per family. http://www.mintstreet. 

org.uk 

Little Gems playgroup, under 

5s, 10am to noon, Salvation Army, 

Crystal Palace, 58 Westow Street, 

SE19 3AF. £2 

Little Treasures, up to 18 months, 

9.30 to 11am. Bessemer Grange 

Children’s Centre, Dylways SE5 8HP 

Stay and play, under 5s, 9.30 to 

11.30, Crawford Children’s Centre, 

Crawford Road, Camberwell, SE5 

9NF 

Twins club, under 5s, 10am to 

noon, 1st and 3rd Tues of the month, 

Herne Hill United Church, Red Post 

Hill, SE24 9PW. £1 member, £2 nonmember 

Messy afternoons, (painting, 

play with water, cornflour and 

soapflakes), under 5s, 1.30 to 2.30, 

Dog Kennel Hill Primary School, 

SE22 8AB. Pam 07985 354718 

WEDNESDAY 

NCT SE11 Tea Group, 11.30, Tea 

House Theatre, 139 Vauxhall Walk, 

SE11 5HL (short walk from Vauxhall 

station). Anita/Leslie nct.riverside_ 

tgse11@yahoo.co.uk 

Tea Group, 10.30 to 12.30, The 

Refinery, 110 Southwark Street, SE1 

0TF 

Stay & Play session, 2 to 5yrs, 

10am to 11.30, Rosendale Children’s 

Centre, Rosendale Road, SE21 8LR. 

Free. 020 8761 7411 

Toddler group, 9.30 to 11.30, 

Dulwich Wood Nursery & Children’s 

Centre, Lyall Avenue, SE21 8QS. 

Free. 020 75251192 

Bookstart, under 5s, 10am to 

11.30, Lordship Lane Tenants and 

Residents Association, 2a Bew 

Court, SE22 8NZ. Contact Susan 

020 74013382 

Little Gems, under 5s, 10am to

noon, Salvation Army, Crystal 

Palace, 58 Westow Street, SE19 

3AF. £2 

Toddle time, under 5s, 10am to 

11.30, Grove Children and Family 

Centre, Tower Mill Road, SE15 6BP 

Brockwell Park Stay and Play, 

(indoor/outdoor), 12.30 to 3.30 

Stay and play, under 5s, 10am to 

noon. Salvation Army, 105 Lomond 

Grove, SE5 7HG 

Boogie mite, under 1s: 1pm to 2pm, 

under 6s: 2pm to 3pm, Crawford 

Children’s Centre, Crawford Road, 

SE5 9NF. Tina 020 72748543 

THURSDAY 


session (under 5s), 10am to noon, 

Salmon Youth Centre, 43 Old 

Jamaica Road, SE16 4TE. http:// 


index.php 

Hullabaloo (ages 4 and under), 


Oasis Centre, Oasis Church 

Waterloo, 1a Kennington Road 

(opposite Lambeth North tube 

station) SE1 7HS. £1 per family. 

http://www.oasischurchwaterloo.org/ 

NCT Bumps & Babes, babies and 

toddlers, 9.30 to 11.30, Immanuel 

& St Andrew Church Hall, 452 

Streatham High Road (next to 

Streatham Common Sainsbury’s, 

free parking). £1 a session. 

bumpsnbabes@southlondonnct.org 

Bumps and Babies, 10am to noon, 

Dulwich Wood Nursery & Children’s 

Centre, Lyall Avenue, SE21 8QS. 

Free. 020 75251192 

Bookstart, under 5s, 10am to 11.30, 

Albrighton Community Centre, 

Albrighton Rd, East Dulwich Estate, 

SE22 8AH 

Wriggle and Rhyme, 2pm to 3.30, 

Rosendale Children’s Centre, 

Rosendale Road, SE21 8LR. Free. 

020 8761 7411 

Wriggle & Rhyme, (play, stories, 

songs & craft) Baby, toddler, young 

children, 10.30 to noon and 1.30 to 

3pm. Dulwich Library, 368 Lordship 

Lane, SE22 8NB. Free. 

Cheeky C’s, (playgroup with lots of 

different activities and snacks and 

drinks), under 5s, 9.30 to noon, The 

Green Dale Centre, Green Dale 

Road, SE22 8TX (Next to JAGS) 

Messy play, 18 months to 5yrs, 

1pm to 3pm, Bessemer Grange 

Children’s Centre, Dylways, SE5 

8HP 

FRIDAY 

NCT SE17 Tea Group, 1pm to 

3pm. InSpire Café - the Crypt at 

St Peter’s, Liverpool Grove, SE17 

2HH. Natalee nct.riverside_tgse17@ 

yahoo.co.uk 

St Stephen’s NCT Playgroup 

(babies and toddlers), 9.30 to 11.30, 

St Stephen’s Church, St Stephen’s 

Terrace, Stockwell, SW8 1DH. 

£1.50. nct.riverside_ststephens@ 

yahoo.co.uk 

Free Family Drop in (ages 4 and 

under), 10am to noon, Hankey Hall, 

Hankey Place (off Long Lane), SE1 

4BB. http://www.tabardgardens.org/ 

NCT Bumps & Babes, babies 

and toddlers, 10am to noon, St 

Faith’s Church, Red Post Hill, SE24 

9JQ. £1/£1.50. bumpsnbabes@ 


Bookstart, under 5s, 10am to 

11.30. Camberwell Library, 17-21 

Camberwell Church St, SE5 8TR 

Bliss baby club, (support group and 

play & stay for premature babies), 

12.30 to 2pm, Bessemer Grange 

Children’s Centre, Dylways, SE5 

Diary dates 


8HP 

Story and Music time, under 5s, 

10.30 to 11am, Carnegie Library, 

188 Herne Hill Road, SE24 0AG. 

Free 

Sparkle Music, Music classes for 

young babies, toddlers and young 

children in East Dulwich. www. 

sparkle-music.co.uk 

SATURDAY 

*Whippersnappers music, toddlers 

and babies, 11am – noon (term time 

and half term), 14 April – 21 July, 

Pilgrims Way School, Manor Grove, 

Tustin Estate, SE15 1EF. Free 

(funded by Pilgrims Way Children’s 

Centre). http://whippersnappers.org/ 

child-youth-services/under-fivesworkshops/ 

*Whippersnappers (booked 

music class), toddlers and babies, 


23 April – 21 July, College Lodge, 

College Rd, Dulwich Park, SE21. 

£8.50, (concession £5.50), siblings 

£12 (concession £8.50). Also 

offered throughout the week http:// 

whippersnappers.org/child-youthservices/under-fives-workshops/ 

*Whippersnapper classes are 

free for children with disabilities 

living in Lambeth and Southwark. 

Please call 0207 738 66 33 or email 

cburghard@whippersnappers.org to 

book a place. 



Do you need help breastfeeding? 

Please note that pregnant women, 

partners, parents and carers with breast, 

formula, or combination feeding babies 

are welcome at all meetings. 

Gaby Jeffs is our NCT Breastfeeding 

Counsellor Brixton, Dulwich, Streatham 

– email is the best way to get hold of 

her at gabyd.jeffs@virgin.net or phone 

07905 662 870 

Phone support 

• National Breastfeeding Helpline – 0300 

100 0212 (9.30am – 9.30pm 

• Association of Breastfeeding Mothers – 

0844 412 2949 Email – www.abm.me.uk 

• Breastfeeding Network – 0300 100 

0210 (9.30am – 9.30pm) –www. 

breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk 

• Breastfeeding Network Bengali line – 

07944 879 759 (9.30am – 9.30pm) 

• Breastfeeding Network drug line – 

0844 412 4665 (answer phone 

• La Leche League - 0845 120 2918 – 

www.laleche.org.uk 

• National Childbirth Trust (NCT) – 0300 

330 0771 (8.00am – 10.00pm) www.nct. 

org.uk 

• From bump to Breastfeeding film – 

www.bestbeginnings.org.uk 

Breastfeeding cafés / 

groups / drop-ins 

Please contact to double check if open. 

*For Milk Spots call Midwives 

Beverly/Sally on 07950719643/ 

07985126663 or Anna/Linda on 

07791404502/ 07976919420 

Monday (except public holidays) 

• Monday Milk Spots * 


• Clapham Manor Children’s Centre, 

Belmont Row, SW4 6AT, 2-4pm. 

Beverly/Sally, attended by a BfN 

Supporter. 

• Jessop’s Children’s Centre, Lowden 

Road, Herne Hill London SE24 0BJ 

10-12 Anna/Linda, attended by a BfN 

Supporter. 

• Pilgrims Way Children’s Centre, 

Pilgrims Way School, Manor Grove 

SE15 1EF, 12-2pm, Midwife Anna 

Walther 07939564296 

• Dulwich Breastfeeding Café – Townley 

Rd Clinic, 121 Townley Rd, SE22 8SW 

10-12pm contact Judith or Grace on 

0203 049 8858 

• Balham Breastfeeding café – 

Salvation Army Coffee Lounge,38 

Balham High Rd,SW12, 10-12, 

balhambreastfeedingcafe@gmail.com, 

NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor and La 

Leche League leader. 

• Stockwell Children’s Centre - Burgoyne 

Rd, off Combermere Rd SW9 (behind 

Stockwell Primary School) 1- 4pm, 

1 hour 1 to 1 sessions, book via 

community office, 0207 188 6863. 

Tuesday 

• Tuesday Milk Spots * 

• Ethelred Children’s Centre, 10 Lollard 

St,SE11,10-12pm Beverly/Sally 

• Weir Link, Weir Rd, SW12 0NU 2-4 pm 

Beverly/Sally 

• Cherry Tree Children’s Centre 8 

Barston Rd, Norwood ,SE 27 9HE 

1-3pm, Anna/Linda 

• Kingswood Children’s Centre, 

Woodland School, SE19 1PA , 10-12pm, 

Anna/Linda 

• Grove Children and Family Centre 

- Tower Mill Road, SE15. 1pm-3pm. 

Contact Vanessa Tel 07875 809 220 

• Deptford Breastfeeding Group - (Term 

time only), Deptford Breastfeeding 

Group, Shaftsbury Christian Centre, 

Frankham Street, Deptford London SE8 

4RN, 10-12pm. Breastfeeding Network 

supporter and National Childbirth Trust 

BF counsellor. 020 3602 7710 

• La Leche League meetings in SW17, 

SW16, SW12 and SW4, 2 per month 

See www.LLLclapham.blogspot.com 

for details. La Leche League: 0845 120 

2918 - http://www.laleche.org.uk/, (local 

meeting every 3rd Tuesday run by Helen 

Gray LL Leader 

Wednesday 

• Wednesday Milk Spots * 

• Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre - 

Stamford St, SE1, 10-12pm, Beverly/ 

Sally Woodmansterne Children’s Centre, 

Stockport Rd, SW16 5XE, 2-4pm, 

Beverly/Sally 

• Rosendale Children’s Centre 

(Rosendale School), Rosendale Road 

SE21 9LR 10-12pm, Anna/Linda 

• Tree house Children’s Centre 

Holmewood Nursery, Upper Tulse Hill, 

SW2, 1-3pm, Anna/Linda 

• Bermondsey & Rotherhithe 

Breastfeeding Café - Rotherhithe 

Primary School, Rotherhithe New Road, 

SE16, 10am-12pm Contact Sharon Tel 

07950 424 782 or Chris 0203 049 7103. 



Stockwell Primary School) 1- 4pm, 1 

hr, 1 to 1 sessions, book via community 

office, Tel 020 7188 6863. 

• Loughborough Children’s Centre-. 

Minet Rd, Brixton, SW9 7UA. 10-12pm. 

Health Visitor Ann Tel 0207 274 8374 

Thursday 

• Thursday Milk Spots * 

• Crown Lane Children’s Centre (Crown 

Lane School) Streatham SW16 3HX , 

10-12pm, Anna/Linda 

• Peckham & Camberwell Breastfeeding 

Café - Peckham Library (5th floor), 122 

Peckham Hill Street, SE15 5JR 10.00am 

–11.30am, Caroline/ 07875 809223 or 

Christie Tel 020 3049 8315

• Early weeks postnatal group, Vauxhall 

Children’s centre, Wickham Street, 

SE11, 02078209512, 2.00pm-4.00pm. 

• Pilgrim’s Way Children’s Centre, 

Pilgrims Way School, Manor Grove 

SE15 1EF ,one to one appointments 

14.00-16.00,Midwife Anna Walther 

07939 564296 

• Breastfeeding Café - Waldron Health 

Centre, Stanley St, Deptford, SE8 4BG. 

10am-12pm. 0203 049 3475 Health 

visiting team, 4th Thursday of the month 

Friday 

• Friday Milk Spots * 

• Hitherfield Children’s Centre, 

Hitherfield Rd, SW16 2JQ,12-14.00 

Beverly/Sally 



Stockwell Primary School) 1- 4pm, 1 

hr, 1 to 1 sessions, book via community 

office on 020 7188 6863. 

• Kintore Way Children’s Centre, 

97-102 Grange Road, London SE1 

3BU, 10-12 Tel Anita 0203 049 7098 

Breast Pump Hire 

• Amber Medical Ltd – tl 01823 336 362, 

£55 for first 30 days, £35 per 30 days 

thereafter. 

• Medela UK - tel 0161 776 0400, 

£65 for first 14 days, £40 per 30 days 

thereafter. 

• NCT - central tel: 0300 330 0770, or try 

your local branch magazine/website. 

Human Milk Bank, Neonatal 

Units - Donors Urgently 

Required 

• St Thomas’ Hospital: Email Malgorzata. 

radomska@gstt.nhs.uk or ring neonatal 

unit on 020 7188 8846 

• Kings College Hospital, Paula 

Blanchette on 020 3299 3038 or Joanne 

Joseph on 020 3299 3833. 


Information provided by St Thomas’ and 

Kings College Hospitals and Southwark 

Breastfeeding cafés. 

St George’s Hospital 

If you’re a patient you can book an 

appointment with breastfeeding 

counsellor Elizabeth Thompson at the 

following clinics: 

• Tuesday afternoons at Brockelbank 

Health Centre, 249 Garratt Lane. Call 

020 8700 0100 

• Thursdays 8.30am – 4pm at Thurleigh 

Road Practice, 88A Thurleigh Road, 

SE12. Call 020 8772 8829. 

St Thomas’ Hospital 

Breastfeeding workshops are run for St 

Thomas’ patients who are around 36 

weeks pregnant. Call 020 7922 5592. 

King’s College Hospital 

Antenatal breastfeeding workshops run 

at Dulwich Hospital – mainly for King’s 

patients who are around 36 weeks. 

Make an appointment well in advance of 

your due date. Call 020 3299 3833. 

Internet Breastfeeding 

Resources for Parents 

Information you might want to look at 

now. 

• Research-based info on the health 

benefits of breastfeeding: 

http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/en/fe/ 

page.asp?n1=2 

• UNICEF produce lots of excellent 

leaflets for parents on breastfeeding. 

They also have leaflets on safety 

guidelines on sharing a bed with your 

baby, sterilising feeding equipment, and 

how to mix up a formula-feed. 

http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/pdfs/ 

otbs_leaflet.pdf 


bfyb_english1.pdf 


sharingbedleaflet.pdf 

• Lots of good general info on 

breastfeeding, written by Northern 

Ireland’s Health Promotion Agency 

http://www.breastfedbabies.org/ 

• Breastfeeding leaflets and books 

available from NCT Maternity Sales 

http://www.nctshop.co.uk/Breastfeeding/ 

products/56/ 

NCT breastfeeding bras http://www. 

nctshop.co.uk/Bras/departments/1/ 

Information that might come in useful 

in certain situations when your baby is 

born 

Detailed info on ‘positioning’, if you’d like 

a few reminders……. 

http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/ 

whenlatchingpdf.pdf 

Self-help measures if you get a blocked 

duct or mastitis 

http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/ 

pdfs/BFN_Mastitis.pdf 

If you think you or your baby may have 

thrush 

http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/ 

pdfs/BfN_Thrush_leaflet_Feb_2009.pdf 

If you have a premature baby, info on 

breastfeeding, expressing and kangaroo 

care… 

http://www.kangaroomothercare.com 

http://www.preemie-l.org/bfaq.html 

For information on pumps and 

expressing 

http://www.expressyourselfmums.co.uk/ 


Culture 

What Mothers Do - book review 

Sophie Broadbent reviews 

What Mothers Do by Naomi 

Stadlen 

‘The best book on parenting – 

brilliantly insightful’ – Guardian 

‘Naomi Stadlen writes with 

understanding, deep insight and 

humour’ – Sheila Kitzinger, Childbirth 

Educator, Mother. 

Website for background, events and 

opportunities to meet the author: 

www.naomistadlen.com 

This book totally changed the way 

I think about being a mother. It 

made me feel proud of the everyday 

work I’m doing ‘just’ being a mum, 

and it helped me understand how 

important the little things I naturally 

do are to my baby. As a new mum 

I’m constantly searching for ‘the 

answer’ to so many things, and this 

incredibly reassuring and thoughtprovoking 

book holds all I really 

need to know – that the small things 

that I do are worthwhile, that it’s ok 

to be overwhelmed by becoming 

a new mum, that other women 

experience similar things to me, 

and listening to my individual baby 

will give me the key to a fulfilled 

and happy relationship with her. 

Mostly, it’s given me confidence and 

made me feel like a good mum. It’s 

released me from the pressure of 

worrying about what I ‘should’ be 

doing, and allowed me to feel proud 

of what I’m actually doing as the 

unique parent to a unique child. 

My copy was calmly lent to me with 

a knowing look and a glowing review 

by a neighbour and mum of a 14 

month old boy when my daughter 

was newborn, but although I was 


ploughing through huge epics like 

‘Gone With the Wind’ while feeding 

her in her early months, I’ve always 

preferred story-led books to factual 

ones and didn’t pick this up to read 

until she was 9 months old. I wish 

I’d done so sooner! It’s not a factual 

book – it’s more like listening in on 

a conversation. Any time is good to 

read this amazing, inspiring insight 

into the realities of moving from the 

world of full-time work to becoming 

a new parent for the first time – and 

all of the new experiences and 

questions that brings. 

Naomi is a mother of three and 

a grandmother of two. She is a 

psychotherapist and breastfeeding 

counsellor and published this book 

in 2004. It is made up of quotations 

from dialogues with new mums 

she has met during her years as a 

counsellor, grouped into chapters 

with titles like ‘Nothing prepares 

you’ and ‘So tired I could die’ – both 

of which are feelings I recognise! 

Naomi explains her thoughts on 

the emerging themes drawing 

similarities between mothers’ 

comments, and offering thoughts 

and explanations of the cultural 

background of issues and why new 

mothers may feel the way they do. 

Most of the mums Naomi’s worked 

with live in London and came 

straight from a full-time career into 

parenting for the first time. Because 

they’ve been working, they’ve had 

very little intensive contact with 

babies until they had their own 

and although most of my family 

and friends have children, I fall 

into this category too. Naomi made 

me realise why - even though I did 

what I could to prepare by going to 

antenatal classes and speaking to 

friends - I experienced such a sense 

of shock at the birth of my first child. 

She’s shown me how I can feel 

proud of the time I’m spending with 

her now – and how valuable my dayto-day 

mothering is to my child ‘even 

when it looks like nothing’. 

It’s impossible to impart all of this 

book’s wisdom in this short review, 

but I’m certain that everyone who 

reads it will take something different 

and empowering away with them. 

Now when I’m in the supermarket 

I stand proud and say to myself 

“I’m not just shopping here today, 

I’m teaching my child about the 

world around her – no matter how 

mundane it may feel to me or appear 

to others”. And when people at work 

ask me what I’ve been doing for the 

last few months I won’t say “I’ve just 

been at home with my baby” – I’ll 

say “I’ve been mothering my child 

and working hard for every second 

of the day and night bringing up a 

new person in our world”. Thank you 

Naomi.

RIVERSIDE BRANCH 

Fundraising coordinator 

The branch is seeking a Fundraising 

Coordinator who is happy to take 

the reigns of this important aspect 

of branch life, an area in which our 

branch is starting afresh! We need 

someone with ideas and vision, 

and the motivation to make them a 

fundraising reality. No doubt there will 

come a time when we’ll need a team 

of fundraising gurus, so whether you 

want to work as part of a fundraising 

team or run that team, we would really 

love to hear from you. Contact nct. 

riverside_chair@yahoo.co.uk 

Tea Hosts 

Tea hosts are needed for all postcodes 

SE1, SE11, SE16, SE17, SW8, SW9. 

Are you a sociable parent/carer? 

Would you like to make local ‘parent/ 

carer’ friends? If you are interested in 

joining this team in a fun and friendly 

role, whether you prefer to commit to 

a regular tea group or perhaps share 

the load with a friend or two (who 

can be provided…), or perhaps you 

just want to know more about our tea 

groups, please contact our tea group 

coordinator nct.riverside_TGC@ 

yahoo.co.uk 

NNS volunteers & stallholders 

Sunday 22 April 2012 is our next 

Nearly New Sale and we are looking 

for volunteers!!! Perhaps you make 

a mean coffee or tea? Or maybe you 

can bake up a storm and donate a 

cake/cupcakes or some other tasty 

treat to sell on the day? Otherwise, 

maybe sales is your thing and/or you 

have a table worth of second hand 

baby/children’s things you want to 

spring clean out of your cupboards? 

Maybe you are just happy to help 

out in general…? Whatever your 

skills, we will be very glad of your 

time and effort in helping us make 

Your NCT needs you 

Can you fill these vacancies? 

our NNS even more successful than 

the last one! Even if you have just 

an hour to spare – that’s plenty! 

And remember – volunteers and 

stallholders get first pick of all the 

items in our pre-NNS sale! Contact 

riversidenctnearlynewsales@gmail. 

com 

Marketing/Advertising 

coordinator(s) 

Riverside branch has reached a point 

where we need someone skilled in the 

arts of marketing and/or advertising 

to help us develop and manage 

advertising opportunities across 

various mediums (such as website, 

facebook, newsletters…), and to help 

us market our branch more effectively. 

If you have a keen mind for this sort 

of thing, or even if you just have some 

great ideas to share, please contact 

nct.riverside_chair@yahoo.co.uk 

BRIXTON, DULWICH AND 

STREATHAM BRANCH 

Branch co-chair 

The branch is seeking a co-chair; this 

role entails leading the branch team 

and is the principle link between the 

Branch and the other parts of the 

NCT and the local community. Being 

the Branch chair can be hard work 

and challenging at times, but always 

interesting and worthwhile, and 

definitely an excellent addition to your 

CV not to mention that warm feeling 

you get of knowing you have done 

something good. If you are interested, 

please get in touch with Victoria 

Eldridge, the existing chair at chair@ 


Membership secretary 

If you would be interested in this 

really important and very rewarding 

role please contact us for further 

details. The role could work well as 


a job share, so could definitely be 

shared with a friend if you prefer. 

The membership secretary plays a 

vital role locally, and is one of the 

mandatory roles that need to be filled 

under the Branch charter, as he or 

she is often the first point of contact 

with the NCT that many parents 

have. Contact Zana membership@ 


First Aid class coordinator 

We are into our second year 

of providing first aid classes in 

conjunction with First Aid for Life. 

These have proved very popular and 

we want to continue providing them to 

you, so we need a volunteer to take 

over. Time needed is not much at all, 

tasks include: 

• liaising with service provider 

for dates 

• sourcing suitable venues (we 

have some volunteered) 

• communicating with interested 

parents re details, payment, 

confirmation etc 

Please email firstaid@southlondonnct. 

org if you are interested. 

Newsletter editor 

We are looking for a newsletter editor 

to represent the BDS branch and 

join the current editorial team. The 

newsletter is a joint publication, so 

there is a lot of help and support to be 

had. It’s a perfect project to get your 

creative juices flowing and build on 

your communication skills. Contact: 

newsletter.editorial@southlondonnct. 

org 

Writers and designers 

The editorial team is always grateful 

for extra help. If you are a designer, a 

writer, or a budding journalist who has 

a few hours to donate to putting this 

newsletter together, we’d love to hear 

from you. Please contact newsletter. 


Your NCT needs you 


Can you fill these vacancies? (...cont) 

design@southlondonnct.org 

Nearly New Sale treasurer 

The sales in BDS are one of the most 

successful in the country, so why not 

join a winning combination. The NNS 

team is seeking a treasurer to join the 

ranks who will be responsible for all 

monetary aspects of running the three 

annual sales. Please contact NNS. 

treasurer@southlondonnct.org 

Nearly New Sale General Enquiries 

We need someone to answer general 

queries about the sale and support the 

rest of the NNS team with organising 

the three sales a year NNS.geninfo@ 


Christmas Craft Fair 

We’re looking for a small team of 

people (3-4) to organise this popular 

annual fundraiser. The team will 

need to book the stalls, publicise the 

Nearly New Sales - 2012 

The cost of kitting out your 

child for the first five years 

can run into thousands 

of pounds. NCT Nearly 

New Sales are the perfect 

solution – top-quality baby 

and children’s clothes and 

equipment at bargain prices 

straight from their owners. 

You’ll see a variety of goods on offer at 

an NCT Nearly New Sale, from clothes 

to carry cots, toys to trainers, books 

to booties and blankets. You’ll even 

find maternity clothes and nursery 

accessories (change mats, baby baths 

etc). Or perhaps you kitted out your 

child(ren) years ago and now have 

wardrobes, cupboards and loft space 

full of baby things? 

Whichever part of the journey you 

are at, buying or selling (or both!), 

there is sure to be something for you 

at an NCT Nearly New Sale. Bargain 

hunters should arrive early to make 

their purchases, after which you can 

relax and enjoy some tea/coffee and 

cakes, (all kindly donated for sale to 

help NCT fundraising). Sellers should 

book a table early to avoid missing 

out. (Riverside riversidenctnearly 

newsales@gmail.com; Brixton 

Dulwich Streatham 

(BDS) NNS.bookings@ 

southlondonnct.org) 

Sales are run by 

volunteers. Please 

contact your branch if 

you have time or skills 

to offer. (Riverside 

riversidenctnearly 

newsales@gmail.com; 

BDS NNS.volunteers@ 

southlondonnct.org) 

For more details of our 

NNSs please refer to 

branch websites: 

Riverside www.nct.org.uk/ 

branches/riverside 

BDS www.nct.org.uk/ 

branches/brixton-dulwichstreat 

Dates 

Spring 

Riverside – Sun 22 April 

Summer 

BDS – Sat 16 June 

Riverside – Sun 17 June 

event and organise refreshments 

and children’s entertainment. If you 

are interested please contact chair@ 


Tea Hosts 

Tea hosts are needed for all postcodes 

SE5, SE15, SE19, SE21, SE22, SE24, 

SE27, SW2 and SW16. If you’d like to 

know more please contact teahost@ 


Autumn 

Riverside – Sun 7 October 

BDS – Sat 13 October

Meet the teams 

A who’s who of all the volunteers… 

Riverside Branch 

Riverside branch is growing and little 

by little, new volunteers are coming 

forward to help provide you with 

activities, support and resources 

to make your journey as parents/ 

carers as enjoyable as possible. We 

welcome our new volunteers, thank 

our existing volunteers and continue 

to beg for more…! 

Where can you find & follow NCT 

Riverside? 

Website http://www.nct.org.uk/ 

branches/riverside 

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ 

nctriverside 

Google group http://groups.google. 

com/group/nctriverside 

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/ 

nctriverside 

Who are we? 

Branch Committee 

Chair Peta Alvares nct.riverside_ 

chair@yahoo.co.uk 

Secretary Anita Shannon nct. 

riverside@yahoo.co.uk 

Membership Secretary Tarnya 

Wilkins nct.riverside_membership@ 

yahoo.co.uk 

Treasurer Natalee Jeremic nct. 

riverside_treasurer@yahoo.co.uk 

Antenatal support 

PSA link Caroline Flint caroline. 

midwife@gmail.com 

Information & course bookings 

Alison Johnson bookings4h@nct. 

org.uk or 0844 243 6921 

Antenatal teachers 

Caroline Flint caroline.midwife@ 

gmail.com 

Sarah Savaskan sarah@savaskan. 

co.uk 07802324802 or 020 7737 

5777 


Postnatal support 

Tea Groups 

Tea Group Coordinator Leslie 

Fabello nct.riverside_tgc@yahoo. 

co.uk 

Tea Group contacts 

SE1 Suzie nct.riverside_tgSE1@ 

yahoo.co.uk 

SE11 Leslie/Anita nct.riverside_ 

tgSE11@yahoo.co.uk 

SE16 *vacant nct.riverside_ 


SE17 Natalee nct.riverside_ 


SW8 *Leslie nct.riverside_tgSW8@ 

yahoo.co.uk 

SW9 *Leslie nct.riverside_tgSW9@ 

yahoo.co.uk 

Postnatal Teacher 

Pippa Brook pip@biblelog.net 

07913171831 

Other 

Nearly New Sales Julia 

Sattler & Caroline Flint 

riversidenctnearlynewsales@gmail. 

com 

Newsletter Editor Tarnya Wilkins nct. 

riverside_editorial@yahoo.co.uk 

First Aid Course Coordinator Jessica 

Belsey nct.riverside_fac@yahoo. 

co.uk 

Website Editor/Twitter Gwenda 

Wong nct.riverside_website@yahoo. 

co.uk 

Facebook Editor Leslie Fabello 

nctriverside.facebook@gmail.com 

St Stephen’s Playgroup * vacant nct. 

riverside_ststephens@yahoo.c.uk 

Fundraising coordinator *vacant 

*volunteers are still required for St 

Stephen’s Playgroup, Fundraising 

Coordinator, advertising & marketing, 

tea groups, event coordinators 

and area representatives – please 

contact any committee member if 

you think you may be able to help! 

Brixton, Dulwich & Streatham 

Branch 

Main branch contact chair@ 

southlondonnct.org or 08442436274 

Branch Committee 

Chair Victoria Eldridge chair@ 


Secretary Tracy Germain 

secretary@southlondonnct.org 

Treasurer Nicky Stoney treasurer@ 


Membership secretary VACANT 

Parent Support Coordinator 

Laura Irving parent.support@ 


Branch social coordinator 

Kim McGowan tea.groups@ 


Information, media and 

advertising 

Newsletter editor VACANT 

Newsletter designer Mandy Mazliah 

Newsletter.design@southlondonnct. 

org 

Advertising coordinator and 

treasurer Vicky Bowers advertising@ 


e-Group moderator Tracy Germain 

and Victoria Eldridge 

Website editor Helen Peavitt web. 

editor@southlondonnct.org 

Antenatal support 

Information & course bookings 

Alison Johnson bookings4h@nct. 

org.uk 0844 243 6921 

PSA link Tracey Germain 

secretary@southlondonnct.org 

Antenatal teachers 

Joanna Brien Joanna@mckelvie11. 

fsnet.co.uk 020 8677 9352

Maria Pinter maria@pinterandmartin. 

com 020 7207 0753 

Xenia McGrane xenialevy@aol.com 

020 8670 0832 

Tessa Dailey tessaleila@hotmail. 

com 

Sophie Dekker sophie_dekker@ 

hotmail.com 020 8769 9509 

Becky Byrne bexby1@googlemail. 

com 020 7732 8999 

Jesusa Ricoy jesusaricoy@ 

googlemail.com 

Alice Yeates yeatesa@btinternet. 

com 

Annie Wasdell annie@wasdell.com 

020 7639 4108 

Elodie Nelson enelsonantenatal@ 

gmail.com 

Home Birth support group Home. 

Birth.Support@southlondonnct.org 

Joanna Brien Joanna@mckelvie11. 

fsnet.co.uk 020 8677 9352 

Annie Wasdell annie@wasdell.com 

020 7639 4108 

Becky Byrne bexby1@googlemail. 

com 020 7732 8999 

Maria Pinter maria@pinterandmartin. 

com 020 7207 0753 

Xenia McGrane xenialevy@aol.com 

020 8670 0832 

Tessa Dailey tessaleila@hotmail. 

com 

Postnatal support 

NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor Gaby 

Jeffs Gabyd.jeffs@virgin.net 07905 

662870 

NCT Trainee Breastfeeding 

Counsellors Amy Tiltman, Farhana 

Nasir 

Miscarriage Support Sue Eastham 

020 7095 9954, Lydia Syson 020 

7737 5259 

Special Experience Register NCT 

Head Office 0300 3300 770 

Meet the teams 

Postnatal Coordinator Trainee Beth 

Folini 

Postnatal Teacher Pippa Brook pip@ 

biblelog.net 07913171831 

First Aid class coordinator VACANT 

NCT Nearly New Sales 

General enquiries: VACANT 

Seller bookings Nicky Stoney NNS. 

bookings@southlondonnct.org 

Volunteers Anne Borkwood NNS. 

volunteers@southlondonnct.org 

Treasurer VACANT 

Local hospital representatives 

St George’s MSAG: Sophie Dekker 

Kings’ MSLC: Joanna Brien (Chair), 

Gaby Jeffs, Annie Wasdell 

St Thomas’ MSCL: Kathleen 

Beegan, Annie Wasdell 

Tea groups 

teahostSE5@southlondonnct.org 







teahostSW2@southlondonnct.org 

teahostSW16@southlondonnct.org 

Tea host coordinator Kim McGowan 

tea.groups@southlondonnct.org 

Second time tea groups coordinator 

Jackie Furley second.baby.tea. 

groups@southlondonnct.org 

Bumps & Babes 

SE21 Alice Yeates bumpsnbabes@ 


SE22 Beth Taggart 

bumpsnbabesse22@ 


Equipment sales & hire 

Valley Cushions valley.cushions@ 


Agent SE15 Alison Tunley 020 7639 

6366 

Agent SE16 Nancy Sibson 020 8696 

0868 

Breast Pump Hire Breast.pumps@ 

southlondonnct.org Isabelle Clement 

0844 243 6274 

NCT Maternity Bra Agent Marissa 

Charles 07946 197791 

NCT Sales 08458 100 100 

NCT Branch vacancies 

Please see page 27 for details about 

the exciting and varied opportunities 

currently available in our branches. 

We will be happy to talk with you 

if you are interested in joining the 

teams, so please contact the email 

associate with each vacancy, or, 

contact the chair for the relevant 

branch if there is some other way 

you would like to volunteer your time 

and services. 

NCT national contacts 

Website www.nct.org.uk 

Membership Hotline 0844 243 7000 

Shop www.nctshop.co.uk 

General Helpline 0300 330 0700 

Pregnancy and birth 0300 330 0772 

(9am-8pm M-F) 

Breastfeeding 0300 330 0771 (8am- 

10pm) 

Postnatal 0300 330 0773 (9am-1pm 

M-F) 

Photos in this issue 

All photos in this issue are 

reproduced with the kind permission 

of the various photographers and 

children’s parents. 



Natural approaches to baby eczema 

Hilery Dorrian, professional 

homeopath, and co-founder 

of 100% pure skin care brand 

Barefoot Botanicals, talks 

about how she helps babies 

with eczema. 

Babies may develop eczema in the 

first three months of their life and 

this can be enormously distressing 

for both you and your baby alike 

(recent statistics show that up to 

1 in 5 children in the UK suffer 

from some form of eczema). Here 

are some tips that can help you 

to control your baby’s eczema 

naturally. 

Diet 

Breast is always beast so breast 

feed your baby as long as possible. 

If this is not possible, try a non cow 

dairy formula. Nanny milk formula 

is available and this is better for 

babies with sensitive skin. Keep 

wheat low in the diet. Avocados 

are ideal because they contain 

essential fatty acids which can 

really help the skin. Hemp seed 

oil is also an excellent source of 

EFA’s. Blend a teaspoon into your 

baby’s meals. 

Bathing 

Bathe your baby daily but do not 

use harsh soaps and bubble baths. 

Oatmeal is soothing to sensitive 

skin and contains saponins which 

are naturally cleansing. Just buy 

some finely milled oatmeal from 

the supermarket and add a cupfull 

to a pop sock and tie a knot in 

it. Hold it under the running water 

and give it a couple of squeezes to 


turn the bath water slightly milky. 

Apply a good natural emollient 

such as Barefoot SOS Face & 

Body Rescue Cream to the skin 

immediately after bathing. 

Clothes 

Pure soft cotton is best against a 

baby’s delicate skin. Babygrows 

are available with little mits 

attached to help prevent your baby 

from scratching. Avoid synthetic 

materials and wool as they can 

cause overheating. 

Cradle cap 

Although not really eczema it 

normally worries parents more than 

it does babies. You could just leave 

it alone until it disappears naturally. 

However if it is very unsightly you 

could use a mild natural shampoo 

such as SOS Dry Scalp Treatment 

Shampoo and follow it with a scalp 

massage of olive oil. You can then 

pick off the loose scabs. 

Natural Medicine 

Seek out a good homeopath 

(see www.homeopathy-soh.org) 

or herbalist (http://www.nimh. 

org.uk) who will be able to give 

individualised treatment to your 

baby. 

Find out more about dry problem 

skin conditions (including eczema) 

including how the Barefoot SOS 

range can help. NCT members/ 

readers can receive 15% off their 

first order online. Go to: www. 

barefoot-botanicals.com and quote 

promotion code: NCT15.

Breastfeeding - Mandy Mazliah

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