Ellie May Maternity

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Ellie May Maternity

Maternity Nurse services to support you in the early days, weeks and months of having a newborn �

03/02/2026

Formula has been in the headlines recently so let's do a quick recap on how to make powdered formula to your baby safely - sometimes, little changes to how you feed your baby are the answer to unsettled behaviour 🍼

📢 (Note: if it is recalled or visibly contaminated then this formula should be discarded and it is completely safe to use other first stage brands - they all have to meet the same evidence-based standards!) 📢

In its powdered form, formula isn't sterile and has been through a lot to become this product which exposes it to contamination! ⚠️

Every box has instructions of how to safely feed your baby so please follow these 👇

Focusing on standard UK infant formula and following the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance:

🍼 Ensure hands and surfaces are clean!
🍼 Boil 1 litre of freshly boiled water - (you can boil less, it will just cool in less time so keep an eye on this)
🍼 Leave to cool for UP TO 30 minutes so that the water is no less than/at least 70°C (it is ok to use water hotter than 70°)
🍼 Pour the amount dictated on the box (depending on how much milk you're making) into a steralised bottle
🍼 Use the scoop provided in the box to add the necessary number of LEVEL scoops (there's a handy leveller on the opening of the box you can use!)
🍼 Swirl the bottle to incorporate the powder fully into the 70°C water
🍼 Cool the bottle under cold running water and test it on the inside of your wrist - or place in a bowl of cold water and top up/replace if needed until bottle is cool (i find this takes 5-10mins)

⚠️ NOTE: simply adding a "shot" of hot water is not in-line with reccomendations for sufficiently destroying pathogens that might be present. Machines that make formula up for you this way have been tested independently and found to produce not enough water at the right temperature (above 70°C) to sufficiently steralise the powder...⚠️

It may feel like extra work to use the instructed kettle method...but it's the safest for your baby! 🌟

While making up the formula itself should follow the box guidelines, offer smaller, more frequent feeds than the box implies - 120-150ml/feed can be enough from 1-6 months pacing feeds 🤗

29/01/2026

Your Guide to Being, and Parenting, a Carry Mammal: Step 6 🤱🦘

Familiarise yourself on biologically, and developmentally, normal infant sleep and how to safely bedshare BEFORE baby arrives 💤🛏

It is easy to forget, in our busy modern world that pushes early independence, that sleep is a very vulnerable state and our human babies, like all other carry mammals, are hard-wired to sleep lightly and wake frequently for feeds and just to check they're still safe 👶

Because of this, many babies struggle, or simply refuse, to fall asleep, or stay asleep for more than a single sleep cycle, in their bassinet or cot 🤷‍♀️

So, as easy as it feels to tell yourself you'll never bedshare, the likelihood is that, on some occasions at the least, and for some babies from day 1 onwards, sleeping safely on or next to you in bed is the only way they, and you, will sleep 👀

So, knowing how to ensure you and baby are being as safe as you can through learning about safe bedsharing early, is a great way to prepare 🤰

I'd recommend following accounts like , and

But here are some starters, noting it is always safest to be breastfeeding if bed sharing 🤱
💤 Never fall asleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair
💤 Never share a sleep space with baby if you smoke, have drunk alcohol or taken drugs
💤 Avoid bedsharing with your premature baby (born before 37 weeks or under 5.5lbs)
💤 Keep Pets away from the sleep space
💤 Keep pillows and bedding away from baby
💤 Keep bed away from walls so baby cannot become wedged, trapped or fall out of bed
💤 Follow safe sleep ABC's
💤 Never leave baby on the bed unsupervised
💤 Use the cuddle curl position or safe chest-sleeping

As a Holistic and gentle sleep coach, I love talking to families about their baby's sleep so reach out if you want some support 💬

27/01/2026

Your Guide to Being, and Parenting, a Carry Mammal, Step 5...possibly 4 (I think i muddled my numbers somewhere) 🦘

Your human baby is born at a very early stage of development and our big ol' human brains have a lot of growing to do 🧠

One area very much not developed at birth, and not fully developed until we are at least in our mid-20's, is the part responsible for regulating emotion 🤬😭😫

Babies are physiologically, biologically, developmentally incapable of going from a state of heightened arousal to calm and rely heavily on the people around them, or the Kangaroo or Ape carrying them, to help calm their nervous system 😌

It is through repeated episodes over those vital early years and beyond, of babies being held and calmed, feelikg the calm heartbeat of the caregiver holding them and their breathing slowing in response, that they learn to take those deep breaths, seek out that hug when they need it, and hopefully (although many adults, including me, struggle still) calm (or regulate) themselves when they need to ❤️‍🩹

An unsettled baby will often find calm in the arms of a calm adult whether that's you, your partner, or a friend or family member offering to give you a break when all the emotions feel a bit much 🤯

23/01/2026

So, if Carry Mammals are designed to be carried and kept close, what does this mean when it comes to feeding? 🧐👇

Well, breast milk is designed for frequent feeds, day and night 🤱☀️🌛
With much lower levels of fat, protein and carbohydrate than other mammals who are more independent from the get-go 🐴🐇

A large amount of breast milk is, infact, water ensuring hydration💧

Breastmilk adapts to meet the needs of your rapidly growing baby and is more than food, even changing between day and night to support your little one's circadian rhythm 🌟

Babies are designed to feed for hunger, thirst, comfort, emotional regulation and to help them sleep, with some feeds being just a quick 5 minutes and others being longer and a chance to catch up on your latest episode of something 🥳

Breast milk is also based on supply and demand, taking lots of energy for the body to produce so, milk left for too long in a full breast...more than 2-3 hours in the early months, sends a message to headquarters to cut back on production so frequent stimulation of the breast, through feeding or pumping, helps to maintain supply during the first 6 months of human babies relying exclusively on breastmilk for their nutritional needs 🤗

Their tummies are naturally small to reflect this little and often pattern, with 120ml-150ml being thought to be the average amount a baby is likely to take, if bottle-feeding, per feed, from 1 month to 6 months when feeds are paced and responsive to your baby 🧑‍🍼👩‍🍼

So, if you're concerned your baby isn't stretching between feeds as certain routines, books or sleep training programmes suggest, know it is likely your carry mammal being just that 🤗👶

Note: if you're worried about how frequently your baby is feeding or how unsettled they are between feeds, other reasons can be explored! 💬

21/01/2026

I've decided to do a series on what it means to be a carry mammal and to parent as a carry mammal (in a world that increasingly tries to tell you you aren't one 🙈) 🤱🧑‍🍼

So firstly, what IS a carry mammal? 🤷‍♀️

Well, Humans, Apes and animals with a pouch, like Kangaroos, are! 🙋‍♀️🐒🦘

As a Carry Mammal, we birth our young at a much lesser stage of development than other mammals, like horses or rabbits for example....our young are entirely dependent on us for food, warmth and safety while they grow 👶

Historically, and in traditional societies across the world, parenting acknowledges this, with babies kept close to their mother continuously, breastfeeding, sleeping together and babywearing throughout the day 🥳

Somewhere along the way, other cultures (cough, cough UK and the USA I'm looking at you...🧐) have lost touch with what nature intended for us and our young and expect our babies to slot neatly, and as independently as possible, into our lives ❤️‍🩹

So, what do our baby carry mammals need (i'll do a post on different elements too!)? 👇
👶 Lots of holding close
👶 Feeding frequently
👶 Time for our big brains to grow so we can eventually do things for ourselves

Apart from the basics of what it means to be, and parent, a Carry Mammal, let me know what else would you like me to explore and share about on this topic? Let me know! 💬

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