5 Things I've used Breastmilk For

Everyone knows your breastmilk is tailor made for your baby, and provides all the nutrients they need. It's amazing how it changes to suit your babies individual needs. But there are SO many other uses that you might not think of.

So here are my top 5 tings I've used my breastmilk for, that haven't involved feeding the baby.

1. Conjunctivitis;
When Daithí was born, like most babies, he developed an annoying case of sticky eyes. For about two weeks I was cleaning his eyes with cooled, boiled water on cotton wool. It wasn't clearing up, if anything it was getting worse. So one night, after a conversation with my health visitor, I sprayed a bit of milk in his eye during a feed. Low and behold, it was practically gone the next morning. One more squirt, and we have't seen icky eye gunk since.

2. Cradle Cap:
Again, like most babies, Daithí developed a bit of cradle cap at about 8 weeks old. I wasn't going to do anything about it, because it wasn't bothering him, but at 15 weeks it was starting to flake and get a bit red. I washed his head with breastmilk, combed out the flakes, and applied some more milk. His head has been perfect since.

3. Molluscum Contagiosum:
Don't let the name scare you, it's quite a common rash many toddlers develop around 18 months. It can last up to 2 years (!!!) They normally develop an immunity to it by themselves, but if it becomes a problem, a GP can prescribe a steroid cream to get rid of it. Well Fionn got a bad case when I was pregnant, months and months of creams yielded no results. As soon as Daithí was born and my milk came in, I decided to give it a try. After two days of applying milk to the rash it started to clear up, and after a week it was gone altogether.

4. Nappy Rash:
This goes for both of them, but Fionn mostly. He got a nasty rash on the drive back from Dublin (12 hours traveling, none of us fared too well after that one). Me being the paranoid Mother thought it was something worse, as the spots looked like measles, and didn't fade under a glass. The GP prescribed a steroid cream, but I don't really like using them, so I tried breastmilk. You guessed it, the rash was gone within 24 hours.

5. Donated It:
Ok, so this isn't really me using it, but my excess milk is definitely going to good use in children's hospitals, feeding very sick and pre-term babies. Read a bit more about that here.