DFDS Seaways Ferry receives a Daphne Seal of Approval

 

   

Poor Daphne had to stay in the Doggy Hotel of the Ferry to Newcastle. Along with 2 other dogs she was left in a room with various sized dog cages, plenty of fresh water and some food. She refused the food – protest perhaps?

We were allowed to visit her but did not go down too often, as I thought that it might be more unsettling for her. When we did visit, she was incredibly happy to see us but did not seem too bothered about going back into her cage afterwards. She is a sleepy mutt anyway, and a bit fed up of the children being home on school holidays so probably saw it as a chance of having a wee rest.

Just outside the room was a massive doggy loo where she could relieve herself when we visited. All in all, not a traumatic experience – except for our daughter, who cried when we left Daphne. I suspect she was trying to work out if she could smuggle Daphne back to the cabin.

On arrival in Newcastle, Daphne’s doggy passport was checked and we were allowed to proceed with no difficulty.

DFDS Seaways for doggy transport between Europe and UK, now with the Daphne Seal of Approval.

Flaschennahrung Vorbereitung - How to make up baby formula safely

This is a strange post, is it not? My children are 8 and 6 years old and it has been quite some time since I made up bottles.


There was a discussion on Mumnset recently about making up baby formula safely. We had discussed the fact that many parents were still making up the formula to outdated instructions and putting their babies at risk from Salmonella poisoning.






I am particularly interested in this topic as my son had Salmonella poisoning when he was just 5 months old, which was particularly unpleasant for him. We were lucky. I always err on the side of caution with any kind of tummy bug - and this one was extreme, I could see that - so we hotfooted it down to the doctor. We were in Scotland and the time, visiting my parents, and our family doctor thought it was likely an infection but sent a stool sample off to make sure it was nothing nastier.


It was indeed nasty. Salmonella infection. How did that happen? He was bottle-fed, not weaned yet and did not eat anything else. We racked our brains to think what could have happened since none of the rest of the family were ill. A woman from Environmental Health came out to the house and asked us some questions to see if we could pinpoint the cause, but it remained a mystery. Our son was put on antibiotics and made a full recovery.


We were indeed lucky, as Salmonella can be extremely nasty when young children catch it.


In 2004, the year our son was born, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN and the World Health Organisation met in Geneva to convene a meeting on the risks of food poisoning from infant milk formula. They found that two things could dramatically decrease the risk of food poisoning:


- boiling the water, then cooling to no less that 70°C before mixing with the formula


- a decrease in holding times and feeding times, ie. using up the milk later, particularly reheating the milk.


The WHO in it's resolution WHA 58.32 requested that the WHO develop guidelines on the safe preparation and storage of infant milk formula to reduce the risk of food poisoning. The group met again in 2006 to address further issues.


A lot of people do not know that infant formula is not sterile. The FAO/WHO group found that the biggest danger is from the pathogens Enterobacter sakazakii and Enterobacter Enterica. (Salmonella). Severe illness and sometimes death can be caused by an infection by these pathogens. Those at most risk are young babies, particularly premature babies, and any children with compromised immune systems.


The manufacture of sterile infant formula is currently not possible so the only way of preventing these illnesses is the safe preparation of infant milk.


The report of the FAO/WHO group included the recommendation that water for preparation of infant formula be boiled then let to cool to no less that 70° and that bottles should not be kept for a later feed. Each feed should be made up individually.


So far, so good. These recommendations, while coming too late to have saved my son from a nasty infection would prevent other children suffering the same or worse.


Only if the parents and carers preparing the bottles know about it. There are still very many parents who do not know this, or who have been falsely informed by their midwives, health visitors or who have asked friends and relatives.


Ok, so if a parent is unsure then he or she can look up the internet or check the back of the packet. This is where the shocking bit comes. When I checked the internet pages of several German formula manufacturers to see what the current recommendation is, I found this:

Nestle (click on Zubereitung) Benötigte Wassermenge abkochen, auf etwa 40°C abkühlen und ca. die Hälfte in die Flasche geben. 

Milupa  

Kochen Sie frisches Leitungswasser ab (benötigte Menge entnehmen Sie der Dosierungstabelle auf der jeweiligen Milupa Milumil Packung) und lassen Sie es auf 40° abkühlen. 

So both of the leading manufacturers of infant formula are still recommending a temperature of 40°C, which will not kill off the bacteria responsible for Salmonella poisoning and other nasty infections. 

Hipp and Humana have both changed their preparation instructions to reflect the FAO/WHO recommendations. 

Nestle's UK website carries no advice on how long to cool the water before using. 

This is a disgrace. It has been 5 years since the FAO/WHO recommendations were published. Why has Nestle not followed their advice and changed the preparation instructions? Why does Nestle think that it is just fine to leave things as they are and put small babies at risk?

Further to this, why are is there no recommendation on any of the German websites  that I looked at (with the exception of Humana and Hipp) about the safe preparation of baby formula. Even baby fora such as  this one have it wrong. Almost all of the websites that I looked at had the wrong information, even a website from the Thüringer Midwives Association.

Despite several searches, I could not find any official (ie. from the Bundesministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz, or any other German Government agency) advice on how to prepare baby formula, such as the this website from the UK Department of Health.

What can be done? I will be writing to Nestle and to the German Minister, Frau Aigle, to  askifor an explanation. I will also be contacting WHO and the Midwives Associations of Germany. I hope that others will join me in protesting.

 

La Plage Publique des Eaux-Vives

Driving around Geneva recently, I kept seeing these wonderful posters, reminiscent of the Côte d'Azur in the 1950s.  I was unaware that there was a beach at Eaux-Vives, knowing only the little beach at Baby Plage that I blogged about not long after we arrived in Geneva.

When I got home, I looked up the website  from the posters and found that it is an advertising campaign to inform Genevans about the new development between Baby Plage and the Port -Noir.

Geneva council recently voted to approve the development which shall encompass a public beach with cafes and a new port with moorings for over 600 boats. The council meeting must have been fun as apparently le magistrat Vert wore a hawaiian lei, sunglasses and brandished a pair of flip-flops. Not very Swiss!

The photos certainly look impressive. This development will, in conjunction with the proposed development at Geneve Plage and the boat harbour, transform Geneva's waterfront. The total cost is said to be over CHF 60million.The Plage des Eaux-Vives part of the development is due to be finished in Summer of 2013.

Holiday Home in Vaucluse, Provence

 We recently stayed a week in this holiday home in Provence, in a small village called Sablet. The village is pretty, not far from Orange and Avignon, and has the basic amenities: baker, butcher, small supermarket and a chemist. Sablet is perched on a hill and the views from the top of the village, near the church are spectacular.

I found the holiday home on Owner's Direct, and the pictures and description sounded promising. On arrival in Sablet, we met the charming owner, received the keys and had our first look at the house. To be honest, when we saw the house we were a bit taken aback, there did not seem to be many windows and I did wonder if it would be very dark.  

When we entered the hallway through the attached garage it did seem a little bit gloomy but we were so charmed by the pretty stairs with the painted tiles that we hardly noticed.

On the ground floor was a decent sized bedroom with two single bed and an ensuite bathroom that the children claimed for their own. We could see that the house had been recently renovated, in 2006 I believe, and that the owners had put a lot of thought and money into it. The bathroom was small but lovely, the beds were old but comfortable. The bedroom also boasted an airconditioning unit, as did the other rooms of the house which we rarely needed to use as the house did not really get very hot. We put the AC on for an hour or so just before we went to bed to cool the bedrooms down.

Upstairs, on the first floor we found a wonderful, light and airy room with a large dining table, wooden dresser and a two-seater couch with a television. There was also a desk that held brochures and information about the surrounding area.

The dresser held plenty of dishes, cutlery and a good selection of kitchen and serving utensils. I was impressed to find not only a quiche dish but also a cake tin, although I am afraid that I did not use it. More to the boulangerie in another post.

Also on the first floor was the well-equiped kitchen with a dishwasher (hurrah!) a gas/induction hob, a oven and a microwave. And of course for the Brits, the all important kettle. The owner had supplied the basics - tea and coffee, salt and sugar, and had not removed the items that previous renters had left behind so that there were many other basics already there. Even a basil plant. The only thing that we missed was a tea pot but that is just us being British. Or me anyway. I used one of the jugs but there is something just not right about doing that.

In the fridge we found a bottle of water, and a bottle of the local white wine which we found a lovely touch. There were also candles and matches for those romantic Provencal evenings on the terrace.

Outside the dining / kitchen area was a large private terrace. It was enclosed on three sides so was very sheltered, both from the wind that whistled around the corners in Sablet and from the hot Provencal sun.  We ate here every day and enjoyed relaxing with a coffee and an Aperol Spritz after our meal, when the children were downstairs getting ready for bed. The opening to the street meant that we could watch the sun setting - and have a good nosy at the people passing by.

The large picture windows were open to the terrace so that the house was very light without one having the feeling of being observed by the neighbours.

Going upstairs again, we reached the second floor and the Master Bedroom. The bathroom is not strictly ensuite, but it is just across the stairwell. Again the bathroom was beautifully finished, with double sink unit and a large shower.

The bedroom was pretty and again filled with light, due to the large windows that led out onto another terrace, which offered a view of the terrace below and up into the sky. It was here that I would sit in the evenings once the children were in bed to read, drink  wine and gaze dreamily at the moon and stars.

We had a couple of slight problems - the WC next to the children's room would not flush and the tap of the kitchen sink flew across the room if it were not held tight but when we informed the owners, they came around and fixed it immediately.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the holiday home in Sablet. The standard of the accomodation was high, the little touches of decoration and the attention to detail turned the small house into a proper gem.

Our little dog was welcome, as were the children although it has to be said that the house would not be suitable for younger children due to the many stairs and the fact that the bedrooms are so far apart. There was another bedroom in the attic of the house, suitable again for older children as the stairs were a bit steep.

Ok, so this is a smug and boastful post. So shoot me.

After all it is not every day that one's husband cycles to the top of Mt Ventoux.

Architects are never on holiday

Seen on a beach on the South of France

Not sure if that is his wife looking resigned and bored in the background,

 but the castle was a work of art

Gisele's Law - Enforced Breastfeeding for the first six months

Just what we have all been waiting for. A breastfeeding model to encourage more women that breastfeeding is wonderful, to put pressure on governments to fund breastfeeding clinics and train counsellors. To denounce greedy corporations who promote formula feeding in the developing world (Nestle, I am looking at you here). What a fantastic role model that would be. A young famous mum, stunningly attractive with a great figure and a sweet and happy baby.

Sadly we did not get that, we got Gisele Bundchen, who is advocating a law to ban formula feeding for the first 6 months of babies lives. Ok, she may have been misquoted, she may be in the first glow of enthusiasm of the mother of a Precious First Born, she may look back on her comments in a couple of years and cringe. We might give her the benefit of the doubt.

 Still, the whole quote is pretty gobsmacking. 

"I think breastfeeding really helped (me keep me figure). Some people here (in the US) think they don't have to breastfeed, and I think 'Are you going to give chemical food to your child when they are so little?' I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months." 


Particularly when combined with her boast of making pancakes the day after the birth of her son (Big deal, Gisele. Some of us are doing the school run, keeping the house and looking after several older children, without the help of a nanny or cleaner).

Meditating helped her prepare for labour, she adds smugly


"It's called 'labour' not 'holiday' for a reason, and I knew that. You want to go into the most intense physical experience of your life unprepared? That doesn't make any sense to me. Then I was ready and I thought OK, let's get to work'. I wasn't expecting someone else to get the baby out of me."

 Perhaps she should have asked her yoga teacher or spiritual adviser for help in locating her empathy button, as it seems to have been misplaced. Her comments that she found labour so easy because she was well-prepared insinuate that those who have difficult labours were too lazy to plan for the birth. That is right, we were all sitting around eating carbs and watching Jeremy Kyle.

Here is a newsflash, Ms Bundchen. Not everyone is as lucky as you. Not everyone has easy labours. Not through bad planning but through a mixture of bad luck, physiology and/or substandard medical care.

My first labour was long, hard but lovely and my daughter was an easy child who slept well. She did not take well to breastfeeding and after 6 weeks of struggling with little support and after suffering several bouts of mastitus, I gave up. It was not an easy decision but it was the best one for me at the time. If I had the knowledge then, and the online support and advice that I would have now then I may have made it, who knows?

When my waters broke with my second child, it was a completely different matter.

Perhaps Gisele would like to put herself in my shoes and relive the day that my son was born. Would she have meditated through the difficult first stage, the lack of progress, the induction. Perhaps her preparation would have helped her cope with the worry when the baby seemed to be in distress and  the decision was made to do an emergency caesarian section. Would she have remained serene and in control as the doctors ran with her on the gurney to the operating theatre, leaving her shell shocked husband alone in the labour suite. Surely she would have meditated through the fear, the bright lights of the theatre (not so different from the catwalk after all) and not have been fazed by the speed that the General Anaesthetic was administered.

Would Gisele understand and empathise with a woman who awoke from the GA, woozy and unsure what had just happened, unable to hold her newborn son, not even sure if he were alive. Far from making pancakes the day after the birth, I was unable to get out of the bed without assistance, unable to feed my son without assistance, traumatised from the birth and far from the happy and peaceful new mummy of my previous labour and birth.

I would hope that Gisele would find empathy for the difficult and traumatic birth that I went through, and understanding for the fact that I decided not to breastfeed. My birth experience is not that rare, and certainly not as bad as some other mums have gone through. Again, with support and help a woman in this position may be able to come through it and establish breastfeeding, but without some kind of assistance it is very difficult.

Calling formula milk "chemicals" and advocating prosecution for those unable to breastfeed makes Gisele sound completely lacking in any knowledge or empathy for any mother who struggles with breastfeeding. If she does not want to use her celebrity status to draw attention to the miserable support for breastfeeding mothers, she should keep her opinions to herself and just be thankful for the simple and easy birth and the wonderful start to her son's life.

Top Ten Provence Souvenirs - how many of these items did you buy?

After two weeks in Provence we realised that there are some things that almost every tourist buys. Just as visitors to Germany try the Bier and the Wurst, visitors to Scotland are obliged to have a wee dram and visitors to Switzerland just have to purchase lashings of yummy chocolate. These are our Top Ten Provence Souvenirs.

1. Nougat with candied fruit

2. Wine from Chateauneuf du Pape

3. or Côtes de Provence

4. Soap, mainly the big blocks of Marseilles Soap, but these flowers also caught our eye

5. Homegrown Garlic

6. Lavender

7. Sea Salt

8. A Stripy Straw Bag

9. A tablecloth or item of clothing in Provencal style

10. ceramic cigale - cicadas - which I forgot to photograph but here is the real thing

Who has visited Provence, and how many of the 10 items did you buy?