Tell me a little bit more about the impact of breastfeeding on you, you said it makes you sleepy and relaxed, what else does it do for you?

Really close to my baby, I really like the experience, it is a really bonding experience, and it is really, to think that you're their sole, provider is, it's fulfilling I suppose in a way, especially when they're only on breastfeeds, only ever been breastfed and they're not on any solids and you know that they're totally reliant on you for everything, at first it can be overwhelming when you're just getting used to it all, and it can be, you want to escape it, when you're, the other side of it when you're, they're weaning and their starting to go mixed foods and you look at it slightly differently. I think it is a positive experience, yeah sometimes you think, 'Oh I wish I could just get my body back and not have to wear the breastfeeding bras and, pads and, have a big chest' [laughs] all these kind of things but, the pros outweigh all of that, it's nice, that my favourite time of the night is the end of the day giving him his last feed and, him being all full up and satisfied and sound asleep that's nice, and I don't like it if he doesn't take a full feed because I feel that something's amiss and I find that really a positive yeah.

What about your figure? Has breastfeeding had any impact on your figure?

I think to begin with, once with both children there's, I think it helps, it does help everything, go back, like if your stomach muscles sooner than if you didn't breastfeed, but I think for me I will, didn't lose the weight with my daughter until I stopped breastfeeding, until I don't know if it was because it gave me a bigger appetite, or because I didn't go into a really strict diet, because I don't want to diet while I'm breastfeeding, I don't want to.

Why?

You're always told not to diet, not to cut your intake of food, not to do any faddy diets because it can affect the quality of your milk, and some of the diets are just, I've done in the past have been drinks, you know, food replacements and I wouldn't want to do that while I'm, I wouldn't want to take anything that I'm not a hundred percent sure it wouldn't be healthy for my son, so I don't know, I think I've just put him first and just made sure I've been eating healthily. So I think that's probably, has delayed me getting my figure back, I know for other people they get their figure back quicker because they're breastfeeding, but I definitely didn't with my daughter, and I don't expect to with my son either, I seem to retain the weight round my middle and my chest until I've finished breastfeeding. I do find that hard and that's the only reason why I would be tempted to give up sooner, so that I could give up and then get on a really strict diet, but it's too selfish I wouldn't do that, because that, have to carry on and I dare say I could be stricter with what I eat, but I find I have an appetite when I'm feeding as well so it's, it is difficult.

So you eat more?

I think I could starve, for me to lose weight I have to really starve myself and really exercise hard, I don't lose weight by just eating three meals a day I don't, I have to have no bread for breakfast and lunch, you know really be hungry is the only way I lose weight and exercise hard. I just, I can't do that when I'm feeding I just feels it's, that's more important just now it's such a short time, but I have to keep telling myself that, I don't always think that, every now and then I, like with going back to work I panic about that because I'm not going to get into any of my work clothes but.

We'll talk about that in a minute [laughs].

[Laughs].

So what about, you said your appetite, you're eating well while you're breastfeeding, what sorts of things, are there any particular foods you do or don't eat while you're breastfeeding?

No, it's not any different it, just when I'm, when I'm dieting and before I was pregnant I wouldn't let myself eat anything sweet, at all, I don't eat any biscuits or anything like that, crisps maybe only, only once a week, alcohol only once a week, nothing bad for you apart from at the weekend really limit that, but just now because I've been off I suppose I've been eating the nice things, I've been out meeting people for a coffee and having a nice cake [laughs] or not, just not being so strict at all just eating healthily, and maybe eating a bit more bread than I would normally, just eating like normal I suppose, just not dieting is all I'd say is the only difference.

Okay so we were talking about the impact of breastfeeding on you and we covered your weight and your diet, what about drinking, did you cut out alcohol or anything like that?

I didn't cut it out completely, I know there's no hard and fast rules for what alcohol you can and can't have when you're breastfeeding, I know that ultimately it would be better if you didn't have any at all, but I had to weigh it up with my quality of life, we've got to go on living and we do drink alcohol to relax of a weekend or during the week sometimes too, a nice glass of wine with a meal, and to be honest I didn't, I do still have alcohol but not as much, I would never drink an excessive amount, not just because of breastfeeding but also because I'm in charge of my children anyway, but no I didn't, I don't, haven't really changed the amount. I mean I still have a glass of wine and feed, it doesn't really seem to have affect him, I don't know what, whether it does in other ways, with any studies have been done.

Did you find it helped you relax if you were a bit tense or…

Yeah.

…you know?

Yeah like a nice glass of wine at the end of the night yeah. Yeah definitely, and I actually, I've, I don't know but I think it did affect the milk production, maybe or maybe it's a, I don't know if it's the wine that affected the milk production, or whether it was the wine made me more relaxed so it increased the let-down, I didn't really have a problem with producing enough milk but I did sometimes notice the difference when I'd had a relaxed night [laughs] the night before and what, and had a couple of glasses of wine, I seemed to have a plentiful supply I don't know whether it was.

You had a plentiful supply the next day…

Yeah.

…after you'd had a relaxing evening?

Yeah.

Interesting.

Yeah I don't know what the connection is, it's hard to know whether it was the actual alcohol, whether it was having water after I had the alcohol or whether it was just being relaxed, but, yeah, I still had alcohol.