Serving doubles at the breastfeeding bar, straight up with a twist of peaceful parenting.
Jewelry is a Mother’s Day go-to gift… Have you considered jewelry made with your own breast milk?
It’s just so awesome and healing and validating and … sigh… warming even the chilliest zones of my heart to know I have a material keepsake of the very first labor of love for my child. A labor of love just from me. Just between us. And one day he may very well forget all about our nursing days, but I’ll always remember — especially with a tangible preservation hanging over my heart. Read More
If you’ve been following my blog and Facebook posts, you know I’m usually quite vocal (visual?) about the dangers and harms of circumcision. But after an interesting conversation with a fellow vendor at the Association of Texas Midwives Conference last week, I want to retract (no pun) any time I’ve used the words “anti-circumcision” to describe myself or my stance. Truth be told, I’ve changed my mind.
The first day of the event, the neighboring vendor struggled to understand what our booth was all about. At first glance he somehow thought we were offering information on piercings for babies. Then he noticed these eye-catching, high-sheen cards…
I never really liked the idea of a public breastfeeding room. The idea of some forced facade of comfort, inconvenience of location, the feeling of imposed separation rather than intimacy or community…
However, in practice and in reality, such a room can be a lifesaver for many families.
A private, quiet place to express breast milk is vital for many mothers. This kind of room is also useful in busy, loud areas like airports where an overstimulated baby can benefit from a break in the cacophony. It’s also generally a less-populated space than a public restroom, making diaper changes easier and quicker instead of stressful.
The fact that businesses and public venues in our country are stepping up to treat mothers and children to comfy, competitively lavish, Yelp-worthy spots to rest and renew is wonderful. It’s the thought that counts at least, and I can tell that many public establishments are really trying, if not fully succeeding just yet. (No worries, us mothers of tiny tikes know how to shed a grudge).
Interestingly, it may be especially helpful if the space is NOT called a public breastfeeding room (more on that in a bit). And even more so if the space is designed with educated intention.
Here are a few things I’ve noticed about what makes or breaks the overall quality and acceptability of a child care room.
Before a few weeks ago, the last time I went to Disneyworld was on Spring Break during my freshman year in college. I rode the rollercoasters, didn’t give a rat’s tail about sun protection in favor of a baked “glow,” and visited a movie theater where I’m sure I complained about someone’s baby crying “too loudly.” My most recent trip couldn’t have been any more different. I spent the extended weekend riding around in the rental car past twilight to get my two-and-a-half year old to sleep each night, carried an umbrella everywhere to battle the sun, and the sound of strangers’ babies crying made my head spin faster than Linda Blair’s to locate the source of the child’s upset. Read More
This is the fourth and final part of a short series about child-led weaning (click for part one, two, and three).
We know the process of weaning — whether led by the child, the mother, a doctor, or society’s expectations — is an emotional, personal, and rather fascinating one.
Let’s finish the discussion with what formula companies, world health authorities and respected figures, parents, researchers, authors, and children have to say about breastfeeding beyond infancy.
This is the third part of a short series about child-led weaning (click for part one and part two).
We know the process of weaning — whether led by the child, the mother, a doctor, or society’s expectations — is an emotional, personal, and rather fascinating one.
Let’s continue with a discussion about the benefits, myths, tips, & stories about nursing older infant and toddlers.
This is the second part of a short series about child-led weaning (part one here). We know the process of weaning — whether led by the child, the mother, a doctor, or society’s expectations — is an emotional, personal, and rather fascinating one.
Let’s continue with a discussion about these concerns:
This post begins a short series about child-led weaning. What is it? Who does it? What are the common concerns and myths? The process of weaning — whether led by the child, the mother, a doctor, or society’s expectations — is an emotional, personal, and rather fascinating one.
Let’s start off with a discussion about these questions:
Does your baby choke on his milk? Does he sputter, gag, and at times (or often) seem utterly distressed by nursing, which everyone had you convinced would be as relaxing as an evening in the jacuzzi tub? The problem here is your breasts have come to mistakenly understand that you are supplying nourishment for an entire Little League team…of rabid, starving monkeys…who happen to genetically favor the vice of gluttony.
This super-powered supply is supposed to be a great thing though, right? This flowing, gushing nourishment that spilleth forth like a giant melted breast milk glacier, melteth into the oceans and hydrateth the world!
Meatal stenosis. Go ahead, say it out loud. Doesn’t really sound like something you want to invite over for dinner, much less be prescribed for surgery, right?
Recently, television host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel revealed to a panel at SXSW Festival that he once underwent two surgeries to correct his case of this condition. Kimmel may be a funny man, but there’s nothing funny about this penile complication, which affects the meatus by causing a narrowing and, in his case, closure of the urinary opening.
Thankfully, the dangerous condition is largely preventable in your own sons by simply saying “No” to routine circumcision. Read More
Via IANTB
Happy birthday, Fred Rogers!
Did you know that Mister Rogers aired an episode about how moms feed their babies on his show, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”? And yep, he talks about breastfeeding (of course)!
It’s pretty annoying when your baby sprouts a tooth and suddenly everyone’s clamoring to know if he’s bitten you, right? (Oh, the drama!). Most likely, those comments are more dangerous than any potential bite itself. Fear of getting bitten by your child is no reason to avoid breastfeeding. Trust me, this is not a problem exclusive to the lactating set — as a formula-fed baby myself, I had a rather serious biting problem in my toddlerhood and the rampage was released upon everything and anything… except nipples (but was no less painful to tolerate, I recall).
Natural Mother Magazine just released its special issue with 116 pages all about breastfeeding. (You can read the whole thing online here for free). So, that’s the good news.
The bad news: When NMM attempted to promote its Facebook post announcing the issue’s launch with the cover image, Facebook responded with this message:
Via Natural Mother Magazine, Facebook
No cleavage allowed? Okay, fine. But then why do Sports Illustrated bikini images pass the censors with no problem? Consistency with rules is key, Facebook. Also worthy of note: NMM’s appeal was not accepted.
To help NMM out, you can share the post found here with #facebookstopcensoringbreastfeeding.
In support of NMM’s appeal that breastfeeding is NOT “explicit or suggestive,” and in honor of NMM’s generosity to gift its readers with a humongous edition all about breastfeeding, here’s an ode to eight other magazines that featured breastfeeding front and center.
Now these are the kind of “nursing covers” I can get behind!
I just came across this parody made last fall by a group of students at Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S. It’s cute, educational, inspiring and funny — so why am I crying? I don’t know, maybe I’m just hormonal. Or maybe I’m just so happy that today’s generation of parents-to-be seem to really get it.
The video (scroll down to view) is a parody of Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song “Call Me Maybe,” showing breastfeeding (okay, pseudo-breastfeeding of dolls, which I’m a pro at myself) in various real-life scenarios to expose ingrained hypocrisies and common yet ludicrous reactions.
Mama's Milk, No Chaser 