In July, I was invited to attend the Colief Playdate. I had no idea what to expect but went along with an open mind. Most of their products are aimed at younger children but due to my previous work as a Maternity Nanny, I have a real interest in babies and baby care and thought that some of you might be interested in what they had to say.

I was nervous at first but when I got there, everyone was really friendly and open. It was such a fun morning and was I gutted that my little man was poorly and that I hadn’t taken him with me as there were entertainers to keep all the bloggers children happy. They were fabulous!

 James and his lovely Mummy Paris, of A working Mum’s Blog. All partied out x

At first, we had an informal chat and introduced ourselves. Then, Colief revealed a talented foursome of ladies who are the fabulous new Colief Expert Panel.

The panel comprises of:

GP Dr Jumoke Koso-Thomas

Child psychologist Maggie Redshaw

Paediatric dietician Judy More &

Health visitor Dawn Kelly.

The expert panel has been created to help Mum’s. Through their facebook page , they will be holding fortnightly clinics to help answer questions and parental concerns. Each clinic has a theme.

Questions can be submitted through facebook and there is an opportunity for a few questions to be answered live.

The first clinic was held by GP Dr Jumoke Koso-Thomas (above with Colief team member Chris) and she was on hand to answer questions about sleep. It was very successful and topics included bedtime routines, how much sleep to babies need, when do they start sleeping through the night, naps and how to get children to fall asleep on their own. If you missed it, I thoroughly recommend reading through the conversation.

The second clinic was taken by Paediatrician Judy More and was about baby and toddler nutrition.

There were lots of wide and varied questions asked from whether to use full fat or skimmed dairy products, fussy eaters and what foods to start weaning with.

The third clinic is scheduled to take place on 13th August 2015 and as with all of the clinics, the expert panel member will be online between 1pm and 2pm. Make sure to like their page in advance so that you find out the expert and topic and can submit a question.

Whilst we were at the playdate, we were taken off in small groups, to meet the experts. 

First I had the opportunity to talk Colief and health with GP Dr Jumoke Koso-Thomas.

Colief has been around for 15yrs and is a trusted product, recommended by healthcare professionals and is the Number 1 prescribed colic remedy and the only one supported by clinical studies.

Colief is a really good product. I’m not just saying that because I went to meet the company. I have to admit that I’ve never used it before and I was really surprised to hear the science behind the product.

I had initially thought that it was a product aimed at helping babies bring up wind and air from feeding and having used similar products, thought it may not have been backed up. However, I was wrong. Colief infant drops are:

formulated to provide reassuring relief for the symptoms of colic caused by temporary lactose intolerance. Colief® contains lactase, an enzyme naturally occurring in our bodies that helps break down complex sugar lactose found in milk, dairy products, breast milk and infant formulas.

The immature digestive system of babies can have trouble breaking down lactose into more simple sugars causing discomfort commonly known as colic and characterised by lengthy periods of distressed crying in an infant aged under four months. The technical name for this is Temporary Lactase Deficiency. Colief® Infant Drops can help the body break down the lactose into simpler sugars, glucose and galactose, making it easier for your baby to digest their feeds.

I had no idea! I don’t know about you but I am finding more and more of my friends children and babies being diagnosed with lactose intolerance or are completely dairy free. The journey to diagnosis has usually been long and painful. Colief can be used to in the early days to help work out or at least help eliminate problems.

Dr Jumoke told us about the rule of 3 to diagnose Colic.

Crying for  3hrs or more a day, 3 or more days a week for 3 weeks. You may wish to go to your Dr before its been 3 weeks and don’t ever think that you shouldn’t go if you are ever worried.

One thing that you can try at home before you go or have prescribed is Colief. It breaks down 70% of the lactose found in milk and can help you go to the drs either armed with information if it has or has not helped or help you and s/he tick things off the list. It can literally work over night and if temporary lactose intolerance is the cause of your baby’s discomfort, you’ll know about it. It can be added to a bottle or given on a spoon or by syringe, mixed with breastmilk. If it does help your baby, he or she should have grown out of a temporary intolerance by 4 months old and there is a detailed pattern of how to reduce the usage over a period of days.

If Colief does not work, you and your gp can look at other causes of discomfort such as silent reflux.

 

We also spoke about their Scalp oil which is used to help deal with cradle cap /dry flakey scalp. I know some people like to just use olive oil and whilst cheap, it is quite heavy and a bit smelly.

We all tried the oil on our hands and loved it. It smelt really nice although not overpowering like a fragrance It is formulated with:

 

Rosehip Oil – A light moisturiser containing essential fatty acids Omega 3 and Omega 6, which is thought to help hydrate to the skin

Chamomile – Renowned for its calming and healing properties, chamomile has been used as a natural anti-inflammatory since ancient times

Vitamin E – A natural antioxidant, thought to help repair and protect the skin.

Next, we went to speak to Paediatric dietician Judy More. We had a brilliant discussion about vitamin d which is incidentally, another product that colief have made widely available to us all.

Apparently, It has been long been known of the importance of vitamin d to pregnant women, breastfeeding woman and young children. Also, the over 65’s. It has actually been UK policy for many years, that the above groups of population took the vitamin but it was not sold and there were no drops to be handed out (or very few) hence why you may not have ever been told of its importance by your midwife or health visitor. I myself was not told and coupled with my reduced mobility keeping me mostly housebound for a year, I developed a vitamin d deficiency.

In children it can lead to Rickets and other health complications. Its main source is from the sun, hence why we in the UK can have low amounts but is needed for the growth and continued health of strong bones. Some foods are fortified (such as cereals and some breads/orange juice) but you would need to consume a lot of these products to get your full need of the vitamin if you are within the at risk groups of society.

I had a great chat with Child psychologist Maggie Redshaw but didn’t get the opportunity to meet Health visitor Dawn Kelly but I imagine her to be as knowledgeable and approachable as the other experts on the panel.

All in all I had a really fun and informative morning and hope you have found something useful too.

Don’t forget the next Online clinic on August 13th between 1pm and 2pm and check out their facebook page to find out the subject to be covered and to submit questions.

For more information, take a look at their website which has a plethora of useful information, videos and where you can also by their products.

Thank you for having me Colief.

Love