The calendar is now available!

The 2011 breastfeeding calendar many of you know about, and have contributed to, is now on sale from Sure Start!

It's being sold at a very affordable £3, all of which will go to local breastfeeding support, as Sure Start have kindly paid for the printing.

I haven't got all the details on availability yet, but if you would like to buy a copy the best thing to do would be to talk to your local peer support co-ordinator, or failing that Mandy Surtees (my peer support co-ordinator) who will be able to advise. You can reach Mandy at Sure Start Bridgewater on 0191 274 7308.

A big thanks to everyone who has supported the project!

I'll update when I have more information.

The votes are in!

I've tallied the votes and chosen the months. A big thank you to all of you who turned out to choose your favourite images for the 2011 calendar. The results are below:

• January is Janet breastfeeding at the play park, while Arthur plays in the snow
• February is Julie with new baby Amelia Rose (born 13/09/10!)
• March is Catherine nursing Grace, while being serenaded by Paul
• April is Lisa nursing Jenna by a stream
• May is Harriet multitasking outside a supermarket
• June is the Big Breastfeed collage (assuming Breastfeeding Week is June again next year)
• July is Maria nursing Sophie, while reading Max a story
• August is the La Leche League picnic photo, with Claire Hoyle nursing baby Jamie
• September is Emma nursing Sky at the park
• October is baby Raymond checking out the camera
• November is Catherine nursing Flora in the North-Eastern climate
• December is Cath nursing Amelia while twin Matthew enjoys the snow

May and June might be reversed, depending on when National Breastfeeding Week is scheduled. The collage will be for NB Week, and Harriet's image the other month. Now all I need is the Department of Health to answer my email...

I'm compiling the print files and will give them to Sure Start this week - once the calendars are printed they will be available from selected Sure Start locations, and online through this website. Watch this space!

Home again: Baby Cafe Canning Street will start again on September 27th

After a summer spent at Bridgewater School, the Monday Baby Cafe will return to a new improved children's centre facility at Canning Street Primary School, starting on September 27th.

Baby Cafe Canning Street Primary School
Wellfield Road, Benwell, NE4 8UE
Mondays 1-3pm
(not bank holidays)

Come along and have a cuppa, while chatting with other breastfeeding mums and our resident midwife.

We've got two voting days for the calendar images!

Come and see the gallery of images sent this year, and choose your favourites to go in the 2011 calendar - head on over to the breastfeeding support session at

Fenham Children's Centre (Convent Road, Fenham NE4 9XZ) on Wednesday September 15th from 11am-1pm.
Sure Start West Riverside (Bridgewater School, Delaval Road, Benwell, NE15) on Monday September 20th from 1-3pm.

Bring your babies and your opinions!

Help us with our 2011 breastfeeding calendar!

Newcastle Breastfeeding Resource and Sure Start have teamed up to produce local breastfeeding calendars for the last three years. Help us make the 2011 calendar our best one yet! All proceeds from the calendar will go to BAPS local breastfeeding support.

If you would like to be in this year’s calendar, send your images of breastfeeding in interesting or unusual places or ways to:

newcastleBF@gmail.com

Dredge your hard-drives, trawl your cell phones – old images are just as welcome as new ones. Images representing different times of year are especially welcome, as breastfeeding is not a seasonal activity.

Landscape-orientation photos work better than portrait ones, and please make sure you send only images you have permissions over, so that we don’t upset anybody with copyright problems.

The deadline for submissions is the end of August. We’ll vote on the submitted photos at the beginning of September at one of the Baby Cafés (to be confirmed which one).

More calendar information is available from newcastleBF@gmail.com.

More information on Sure Start breastfeeding support is available from Sure Start peer support co-ordinators on 0778 639 1369, or from Newcastle Families Information Service on 0191 277 4133.

This information is available to download here.

Baby Cafe Canning Street is now at Bridgewater

Due to refurbishment of the Canning Street Primary School Children's Centre, the Baby Cafe has moved to Bridgewater School. It will still run Mondays 1-3pm (not bank holidays). The plan is for the session to return to a new, improved Canning Street Primary School in September.

Sure Start West Riverside Children's Centre
Bridgewater School
Delaval Road
Scotswood
Newcastle NE15 7NL

For queries on this session phone 0191 274 7308.

National Breastfeeding Week events - the Big Breastfeed and the photo exhibition!

National Breastfeeding Week is nearly upon us and the women of Newcastle have been busy!

Friday June 25th brings the 2010 Big Breastfeed and the breastfeeding photo exhibition.

• The Big Breastfeed will be at Grey's Monument at 11am. Bring your baby and nurse for Britain! Download information here.
• The official opening of the breastfeeding photo exhibition at the City Library is at noon, on level 2 (near the cafe). Download information here.

These events are a fun chance to catch up with other breastfeeding mums, and to take part in something meaningful - made possible by you!

If you have an event planned for National Breastfeeding Week and you would like me to list it here, email me on newcastleBF@gmail.com.

Breastfeeding photo exhibition at the City Library!

We’re celebrating National Breastfeeding Week with a photo exhibition, June 24th-30th at Newcastle City Library.

Mums from Newcastle have donated images to Newcastle Breastfeeding Resource over the last three years, for use in our annual breastfeeding calendar. We’ve teamed up with Sure Start to share the photos with you all and celebrate all the mums and babies who have contributed.

We all know breastfeeding is the healthiest start for babies—but this exhibition shows that it’s also about getting on with life, building a bond, and how breastmilk is the ultimate portable babyfood. At the park, reading a book, on holiday or even at the swimming pool, we’ve shown that life does not stop just because we’re breastfeeding.

Newcastle mums have chosen their twelve favourite images from those sent in each year in order to make each calendar—now see the full gallery of photos at the City Library.

The photo exhibition will be on display June 24th-30th, including textiles and other media produced by local families for Breastfeeding Week. Come and check out our breastfeeding chillout area and pick up some information on breastfeeding support available in Newcastle.

For more information email me at newcastleBF@gmail.com or contact Sure Start on 0191 273 9549. Download this information as a leaflet here.

Start4Life - what we already knew, but with claymation characters

The Department of Health has launched a new campaign to communicate infant health info in plain language - and you guessed it, breastfeeding ranks highly in their focus.

More information is at http://www.nhs.uk/start4life but here is their run-down

Babies who are breastfed have a smaller chance of:

• Developing eczema
• Getting ear, chest and tummy bugs and have to go to hospital as a result
• Being fussy about new foods
• Being constipated
• Being obese and developing diabetes when they are older

There are advantages for mums who breastfeed too:

• Breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancer
• Breastfeeding naturally uses up about 500 extra calories a day so mums who breastfeed often find it easier to lose their pregnancy weight
• It saves money - formula feeding can cost as much as £45 a month
• It's a lot less hassle - there is no need to clean and sterilise bottles, boil kettles and wait for the milk to cool every few hours during the day and night

I'm worried about the baby in this image - I think maybe he needs some breastfeeding support for latch problems?

Start4Life: the most up-to-date advice on breastfeeding, introducing solid food and active play, and tips on how to use them to give your baby a better start in life.