In love & BF help?

I know, I'm biased. But - isn't she great?

The only troubles I've been having are some issues with breastfeeding. I thought going in that it's natural and how hard can it be? I had the firm belief that it would be easy. HA! Everyone told me it was hard and they were right.

She is two weeks old tomorrow (wow!) and I am exclusively breastfeeding. She's gaining very well, no trouble with supply - but my nipples are so freaking sore. She's on 5-6 hours a day. They're cracked and just super, super sensitive. I've got an inversion on one side and engorgement on the other (which I have also had surgery on to remove a lump; it's not clear whether the milk ducts were affected by that). Maybe this is way TMI for a blog post?

I've had a public health nurse come by and spoken with two others on the phone... they're recommending baby-led latching, cold - NOT warm - compresses, cabbage leaves, air-drying. My midwife recommends NO cabbage leaves, warm and cold compresses, latching by popping the nip in when baby opens wide.

Of course, baby rarely seems to open wide enough and constantly has her hands up at her mouth when I'm trying to get her to latch (once she's on, we're good). When she is latched, she's grabbing and scratching at my breasts and her own face. Wearing mitts keeps the scratches down but her hands are still in the way. Argh!

Advice welcome, I've had so much contradicting advice so far a little more won't do any harm!

Daddy Scrubs - Review and Giveaway!

This giveaway is closed
Winner: Crafty

It seems sometimes like pregnant mums and babies get all the attention and dads can get left out in the cold. It is so nice to include dads in the preparations for new babies - they're important, too!

I was so thrilled for my husband to try out a great product for expectant dads - Daddy Scrubs! These are practical scrubs that allow the new dad to not only be comfortable in the long hours spent at the hospital (or home for home-birth families!) but also define his role as the Daddy. To differentiate dad from the hospital staff, and to show his pride, they are printed with "I'm the Daddy". A dad came up with this great idea when he found himself expecting his fifth child - an idea born of experience!

My husband and I spent many hours in the birthing room during my prolonged labour. Being as comfortable as he could be enabled him to sustain me during the most difficult parts. And he has some funny stories about his Daddy Scrubs as well!

At lunchtime on the Saturday, he dashed out to the hospital cafeteria to grab a sandwich. To get to the caf, he headed through the main lobby where some labouring mums who were not yet in active labour were waiting with their husbands. As he walked through in his Daddy Scrubs, he overheard one excited dad-to-be whisper to his wife, "I didn't know they gave us scrubs!" The poor guy must have been so disappointed when he realized that not every dad gets these special scrubs to wear!

The real test came during the delivery. Two and a half hours of pushing and my husband was my coach and support. He even caught our baby when she finally arrived! We had a midwife, and a midwife-in-training as well. The trainee clamped the cord, then added the second clamp so that my husband could cut it. But, she forgot an important step - to milk the blood out of the section to be cut! So the cord between the clamps was full of pressurized blood and when my husband cut it, it squirted far and wide, hitting my husband, the trainee midwife, even the ceiling of the birthing room! It was so dramatic, and super funny - a moment of comedy after an exhausting labour. The point of telling this story is that the Daddy Scrubs saved his regular clothes from this - and (this is the amazing part) the blood ALL came out of them in the wash. I'm not sure if that is due to the nature of scrubs or the laundry detergent I used, but... wow.

Overall I loved seeing him in his Daddy Scrubs and I think he felt pretty cool and comfy in them as well. They looked great on him, were perfect for the delivery, and are comfortable enough to wear as lounge wear or pyjamas now - after all, he is still 100% the Daddy! He got to try the scrubs in khaki; they also come in green and navy, with different font options as well.

If scrubs are not the expectant dad in your life's thing, they also have "I'm the Daddy" t-shirts and hoodies, ball caps, and mugs. What an awesome gift any of these would make for an expecting father.

And guess what? DaddyScrubs has offered a set of scrubs to one of my readers!!!

The giveaway:
One winner will receive their own Daddy Scrubs!

How to enter:
This is the mandatory entry - do this first to qualify for bonus entries!

Visit the Daddy Scrubs website and tell me your favourite product there or something interesting that you learned.

Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Bonus entries: (please leave an extra comment for each. If you already do any of these things, leave the comment - you do get the entry for it!):

• "Like" the DaddyScrubs Facebook page (leave your first name and initial in your comment)
  
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name)
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link to your tweet for ONE entry (this is not a daily entry)! You can use this tweet if you like:
  

  #Win a set of Daddy Scrubs for expectant dads at Emily's Latest! Comfort & style for dad! http://bit.ly/eeGc0H @emilyisland US/CAN (3/7)
  

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)
• Tell me who you would love to win these for!
  

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends March 7th at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn within the next day or two, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!