Via Stouthaus Coffee/Facebook
Want some milk with your cuppa joe? Recently at Stouthaus Coffee in Austin, TX, it wasn’t very clear whether mama’s milk was welcome on the premises.
Getting the Cold-Shoulder Because of a Hot Topic: Genital Integrity
I know many family lifestyle writers and baby businesses avoid taking a position on genital integrity for fear of alienating followers or losing customers.
I’ve already been cold-shouldered by otherwise open-minded mama friends who still refuse to acknowledge the truth of neonatal circumcision’s damage.
“Mother Nature’s Masterpiece” Uses Art to Help Educate About Breastfeeding
Texas Breastfeeding Coalition hosted an art exhibit to expand awareness among state legislators and the general public about special issues that breastfeeding mothers and babies face, as well as the importance of breastfeeding in keeping our youngest generations healthy. Read more about “Mother Nature’s Masterpiece” here.
The event is a highlight in the Coalition’s promotion of its recent and upcoming action days that aim to secure better protections for breastfeeding mothers both in public and in the workplace. Read up on the agenda for the Legislative Action Days here.
Stop Dropping Your Shirts Here, says a “nurturing” play place for families
Via MassLive
Breastfeeding harassment is not always “in your face.” Often, it takes place behind the anonymity of a computer screen shield in online forums and posts. Sometimes it comes in the form of a “well-meaning” but still uncomfortable comment from a relative or friend. It’s also apparent by complaints made by strangers behind a mother’s back.
Here’s an example of the extremely ANTI-BABY culture that some regions in our nation call normal. Last week, Play Date Place in South Hadley, Massachusetts, which bills itself as a nurturing place (rather, “nuturing,” because PDP’s representative isn’t so gifted wit da grammurr), posted this on its Facebook page:
How to Nurse in Public — With Modesty!
There’s got to be a way to talk about nursing, modesty, and covers without painting the uncovered breastfeeders as selfish exhibitionists or the covered ones as selfish prudes, right? In duly respecting nursinghood as a time for openness of many things — including our minds, hearts, and shirts — we help re-normalize a society that inaccurately views breasts as sex organs.
I hate to hear this: “Here’s XYZ method that will allow you to breastfeed in public without anyone even knowing you’re breastfeeding!”
Why Do Some Breastfeeders Wear a Cover in Public?
Looking annoyed. >:-I Via etsy.com
Why do some mothers nurse under the curtain if the law says we don’t have to? Well, it’s not really anyone’s business why a woman may want to wear a cover, so if you feel a curiosity overtaking you, please know it’s best not to ask. I’ll give you a few hints though, based on my own experience and what I’ve heard.
I’ve heard that nursing bibs/aprons/tents are an “American” thing and that foreigners are baffled by their mere existence. Thus, we could hypothesize the reason for covered breastfeeding is simply the influence of Yankee Doodle, but let’s not jump to conclusions just yet.
Reminder: You Don’t HAVE to Cover
It is your legal right to breastfeed anywhere you are lawfully allowed to be, covered or uncovered, with any amount of exposed breast skin as might naturally show in the process of feeding. No one can make you leave and carry on in, say, a public bathroom or the backseat of your car.
About That Similac Commercial Everyone’s Sharing…
Have you seen the new Similac commercial cleverly called “The Mother ‘Hood”? It shows what life is supposedly like for new parents, a humorous take on those big, bad “Mommy Wars” firing off on “support” forums, in the media, even at the local playground. (Scroll down for the full video).
We’ve all been judged. We’ve all been judge-y. Thus all of us will probably laugh (then cry) watching this commercial. It starts out kind of hilarious and things suddenly plummet to the worst-case scenario at the climax. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but trust me, if you have a child you will cry. It’s a terrifically effective ad in that way, BUT…
Gearapalooza 2015 with “The Baby Guy,” Jamie Grayson!
Co-sleeping saved many a mother and her sanity since the dawn of mamakind. Safe co-sleeping has saved many a baby, too — after all, the best place for a baby to sleep is next to the ultimate protectors … mom and dad!
I went to Gearapalooza 2015 Thursday night at Baby’s & Kid’s 1st store to check out Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper. It was included as a raffle prize after the product demos by The Baby Guy, Jamie Grayson. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see much of the Co-Sleeper and it wasn’t removed from its original packaging during the demo (though all the other baby gear had been set up), and he only talked about it for 30 seconds. Boo!
Coming Out From Under the Covers
I was waiting on my dinner at a restaurant, newly pregnant with my first child. Though I sat at the table preparing to nourish myself and, by default, my unborn baby, I wasn’t too familiar with the feeding of an infant outside the womb. After all, I’d only ever fed myself, my dogs, and my goldfish (and a few plants, but that never ended well).
I was ignorant to the issues moms face when feeding babies outside of their wombs. I knew nothing of a “formula versus breast milk” controversy. I knew nothing of the media-fueled “Mommy Wars.” I knew nothing of how women are harassed for feeding their babies however they choose to do so. I had a lot of assumptions, but you see, assumptions are like opinions, and you know what they say about those.
13 Puzzling Breastfeeding Ads
I posted a list of The 7 Grossest Breastfeeding Ads a while back. Those were puzzling indeed, but all could be reasoned down to ignorance, idiocy, or ill intentions. The following ads are just plain puzzling. Check them out and tell me what you think!
A Good Mom Cleans Her House… Or, Does No Such Thing
Is a messy house a sure sign that it’s owners are headed for an appearance on “Hoarders” or is there actually some truth to the above quote, especially for stay-at-home parents like myself? Let me tell you a quick story.
Our dishwasher broke just before the holidays. Both sinks, most counter space, and some floor space now accommodate a thick jungle of dirty plates, pots and pans. The cupboards sit hollow and bare, vacant as they were the day we first moved in, as every dish we own has migrated into one of the many indefinitely soiled, Tetris-style stacks.
The Designated Dad and I determined to hand-scrub a certain number of dishes each day until the mess of ceramic and glass fully cleared. This approach worked for, oh, about a few hours — we managed to clean just enough to be able to cook and eat dinner, then those meticulously-scrubbed dishes went right back into the dirty pile as if by boomerang.
Our food was salted by tears that evening, I’m certain.
Nursing to Namaste
Just breaaathe… and breastfeed! Here are some of my favorite photos of lovely Yogis meditating while lactating.
Amy from the blog Daughter of the Sun
“Get Away From Me! I Love You.” (Alas, nursing aversion has found us)
Nursing has become repulsive. Not all the time — just during episodes of aversion, otherwise known as breastfeeding agitation, which come sporadically. And it’s intense enough at those times to make me want (need) to force weaning.
Seriously? Me, The Nursaholic? Wanting to wean? Well, this aversion stuff SUCKS. And it’s curiously confusing because, as everyone already knows, I LOVE breastfeeding so much that sometimes I suspect my heart is powered by breast milk.
Brighten Up Your Day: “All About That Breast” Parody
Ready to smile? Here’s a video to help with that (below).
Only two things I’d change about this sweet parody of “All About That Bass”: First, I’d reword the “no bottle” lyric to “and the nipple” or something. (Though breast is better than bottle for babies, some mamas can only feed their babies with bottles, and some choose to give occasional bottles for whatever reason. After all, neither situation is at all “wrong” just because direct breastfeeding may be “right”). Second, I’d get a baby in there breastfeeding under the guitar!
Otherwise, this is a pitch-perfect parody!
Mama's Milk, No Chaser 