When my first baby was handed to me I wasn't sure what to do. Of course I was thrilled, overwhelmed, ecstatic and emotional but I had told everyone I was going to breastfeed. Now she was here and I was expected to get on with it, put her to my breast and nourish her... Well to be quite honest I was a little bit afraid. I was lying in a room full of medical equipment and strangers and my husband had just witnessed me in a state of distress and undress such as never before. All I really wanted to do was get washed, dressed and go for a sleep. But, there was a little tiny girl in my arms looking a bit hungry and everyone was watching and waiting.
Tentatively I showed her my breast and waited. She waited. I poked at her mouth, then at her nose with my nipple. She opened her tiny mouth wide and dived forward. Amazed at this tiny wonder of nature I gazed at her as she began to suckle. I marvelled as she guzzled and swallowed... I was breastfeeding!
As the days went by it wasn't all that I expected. It was painful and burned every time she latched on. But I persevered and we made it. Sixteen months later she decided she had had enough of mummy's milk and with tears in my eyes I concluded that breastfeeding had been a wonderful experience and one which I hoped to repeat.
So how do you breastfeed? Here are some tips...
Try to have skin-to-skin contact immediately after the birth, preferably before the baby has been cleaned up.
Get comfortable and hold the baby in a way that suits you both.
Gently place your nipple under baby's nose, and above her top lip. The baby should instinctively begin to root about for it. Wait until baby opens her mouth really wide. Then put her on the breast ensuring she has as much of the areola(the area around your nipple)as possible in her mouth. In other words she should have a good mouthful of breast.
Baby will begin to suckle very quickly at first. As colostrum (pre-milk rich with antibodies) begins to flow the sucking will become much slower and you may even notice baby gulping as she swallows this pre-milk.
When baby has had enough she will let go of the breast and may even fall asleep.
Within about three days the colostrum will be replaced by mature milk.
The first feeds may last a long time or they may occur very frequently for short periods of time. Just as mum is learning how to breastfeed so too is baby. Within a few weeks a routine of sorts will have become established!
Breastfeeding is by no means easy but it does get easier after the first four weeks or so. At times it is painful but always satisfying. It's always convenient and requires no advance preparation or sterilising of bottles! Most problems occur as a result of incorrect positioning of baby at the breast. Don't let the baby suck at your nipple - she must have lots of the areola as well, otherwise you will get sore and this is when many new mums give up.
By breastfeeding your baby she will benefit tremendously and there are numerous health benefits for mum too. Persevere - it's worth every minute of it.
In your own organisation, do you ever think "Why are we doing this?" or "Why aren't things moving as planned or desired? Do you notice people becoming more difficult to deal with? Do you sense a rising level of frustration? Has your workplace lost its shine? Perhaps it's becoming or already is bureaucratic.
Often unnoticed in an organisation's growth is a tendency towards bureaucracy. It's rarely intentional, yet very common.
Here are some other symptoms of bureaucracy:
? Ineffective meetings - too long, too frequent, too little value. ? Less direct and personal communication - too many emails or "memos". ? Ever growing procedures and operations "manuals" ? Defensive, protective and internally competitive decisions and behaviour. Shows as fear-based thinking - "we better do this in case?" or "we better not do this in case?" ? Growing sense of mediocrity in human performance. ? Gradual loss of original purpose.
Bureaucracy is cancer of the organisation - unnecessary growth that becomes self-serving.
Because the bureaucracy grows within the culture of the organisation, it is seldom noticed by those within and rarely effectively dealt with by those within - after all, they are the unintentional cause!
Treating bureaucracy requires awareness, courage, determination and correct action with the full commitment of leadership.
Like most cancer treatment, the common approach is to cut burn and poison. The results too often are "It grew back again" or "We cured the bureaucracy but the organisation died".
Bureaucracy is best prevented and treated by leaders ensuring the culture has these characteristics:
? All systems are simple, connected and serve the prime purpose of the organisation. ? A high level of functional direct personal interaction and communication throughout the organisation. ? Continuous though careful pruning of the unnecessary. ? Always challenging procedure with the "Why" question. If the answer is defensive, protective or fear-based - seek to prune it. ? Avoidance of complacency and blind acceptance of any routine. If anything requires "rationalisation" or "justification" it means something is already not working. ? Well managed yet adventurous risk taking for innovation, simplicity and above all, to best serve the prime purpose of the organisation. ? Allow appropriate time and training for new processes to be properly learned. ? Ensure crystal clear unambiguous communication of correct and useful processes. ? Continuous challenge of continuous growth - it's not natural! More often it's actually cancerous growth currently disguised as more profit, more opportunity, diversification etc. ? Stepping outside the organisation frequently to review it holistically.
Experience has shown that executive team meetings designed to eliminate the negative aspects of bureaucratic process are best facilitated by an independent external facilitator, capable of respectfully challenging the discussions.
Experience has also shown that most organisations have no processes designed to minimise bureaucracy, and in fact have processes that unintentionally create it.
Can you imagine the return on investment for designing and implementing a bureaucracy busting process?
Both Sinead Hoben & David Deane Spread are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Sinead Hoben has sinced written about articles on various topics from Kids and Teens, Babies and Pregnancy Problems. Sinead Hoben is the proud mum of three beautiful children aged 6 years, 3 years and 9 months old, all of whom were breastfed. She is currently still breastfeeding her youngest child. A qualified teacher, she now runs her own website,. Sinead Hoben's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
David Deane Spread has sinced written about articles on various topics from Parenting, Babies. David Deane-Spread is a director and CEO behaviour specialist. He developed the training method for Attitudinal Competence and authored the system "Master the Power of Your Attitudes". An ex-Army officer, covert operations specialist and director and CEO. David Deane Spread's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.