The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

Which breastfeeding items would you bring to a baby shower?

Do you remember that Sex and the City episode in which Miranda reluctantly agrees to have a baby shower?  It sticks in my mind because one gift she gets from one of her co-workers is a breastpump.  The colleague says something like "I don't want you running into my office to use mine!" 

What would you bring to a baby shower for a mom who plans to breastfeed?  You can tell us what you think a new mom needs below in the poll below.  If you think I've left something out, tell us what you'd bring to a shower by leaving a comment.  To the left are the cakes my friend Abby brought to a friend's shower.  She even drizzled white frosting over them!

If you're pregnant and trying to figure out what you need for breastfeeding, click "view results" to see what your breastfeeding friends think makes a good gift.  You might also find a prior post about nursing products helpful.

Note:  If you don't see a poll below, refresh this page.  This poll works with Explorer, but not Firefox.

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A few more days to enter the February contest.

There are few more days left to enter Motherwear's February contest.  Have you entered?  If not, click here for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to Motherwear.

And congratulations to Amy, Meghan, Carol, and Stacy, who won copies of Near Mama's Heart.

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Not a great week for breastfeeding.

Here's a round-up of some disheartening breastfeeding news from this week:

Myspace.com has removed the picture at right from a Tacoma, Washington woman's page because it "violates MySpace policies against nudity and sexually suggestive images."  Myspace also threatened to delete her page if she continues to post the picture.  You can sign an e-petition asking Myspace to reverse this action, and see see some comments about the issue at this Seattle Post-Intelligencer blog.

A Pennsylvania mother was asked to cover up while nursing at a mall, and then threatened with being "banned" from the mall when she declined.  The full story is here.  A nurse-in was held at the mall on Saturday (2/24) and hundreds attended (video).  Here's bit of her story:

At this point the first security guard came back to get involved. He asked why I couldn't move the breastfeeding into a more private location like the bathroom.  My husband asked him if he liked to eat on a toilet seat in a public bathroom.  The security guard replied that I didn't have to sit on a toilet. My husband asked where should she sit, on the floor?  The security guard replied that I could stand in the bathroom. My husband laughed and said "obviously you've never breastfed."

A mother in Michigan wrote in to Angela at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 with her story of being prohibited from nursing her son at his day care in front of other children and required to use a separate space.

And, as I wrote about below, a mother in Ohio told her story of being charged more by her day care because her baby was being fed breastmilk.   

Here's hoping that next week brings some better news!

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Day care chain charges more to serve babies breastmilk.

Update:  The Columbus Dispatch has reported about this incident.

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote a post asking to hear from readers about any day care centers charging more to feed breastfed babies pumped milk?

Well, Jennifer at The Lactivist has tracked down the source of the story, and here it is:

There's a mother named Robin Neorr here in the Columbus area [her baby Ceili is pictured at left].  After her daughter was born late last year and she went back to work, she enrolled her daughter in one of the City Kids Daycare [centers] in downtown Columbus.

Robin was told that she would need to pay an extra $50 per WEEK because her 3 month old daughter is breastfed.  You read that right, an extra $50 a week to feed that little girl the best food available for her.

Why?

Well, Robin was given several reasons. 

She was told that her milk was a hazardous body fluid that had to be kept separate from all other food.  As such, the day care center kept the prepared bottles of breast milk in a separate refrigerator in the director's office.  (They even labeled it with a "bio-hazard" sticker, apparently confusing breast milk with, I don't know...uranium?)  They also claimed that they would have to purchase a separate warming pot for heating up the breastmilk.

The center even suggested to another family that they were considering not accepting breastmilk at all, and that "all day care centers are going to have this policy soon."

Jen did some great research about the state regulations for handling both formula and breastmilk, which demonstrates that there is no additional work required to serve breastmilk.  In fact, the regulations are considerably more onerous for serving formula!

As I wrote back in that earlier post, breastfeeding is not a hazardous bodily fluid, according to the Centers for Disease Control, so these extra precautions are completely unnecessary.  And, as I wrote about earlier, breastfed babies do not require extra work, and actually save the centers money. 

So, what can you do?  You can email the owner of the day care chain at citykidsdaycar@aol.com (I just did) or call (614) 464-1411 or (614) 777-4320 to complain. 

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Your tips on pumping.

Here are more of your tips for nursing mothers from our contest last month.  This time the theme is pumping.

"Nursing is the best way to stay connected to your baby when you return to work and worth every minute pumping.  Help speed the time for each pumping session by purchasing multiple flanges, collection bottles, and accessories for your breastpump.  You can store them in a ziploc bag before use and place them back in the ziploc bag after use.  Use a separate set for your next pumping session.  At the end of the day simply put all parts in the dishwasher.  By not cleaning the parts before/after each session this saves you precious time."  - Rhonda, whose daughter Riley Jo is pictured at right

"After I started nursing, I noticed I was having more and more trouble as time went on getting my milk to let down.  I was using a manual pump, so I could only do one breast at a time.  Then my husband's cousin got me a double electric pump, and once I was able to work both breasts at at time, the letdown came much quicker, and I got a lot more milk as well.  The simultaneous stimulation of both breasts really helps!"  - Stacy, pictured at left with her baby Annika

"If you will be exclusively pumping from the start, make sure that you rent a hospital-grade breastpump for at least the first two months.  The "everyday" pumps sold at retail stores are not designed to bring in a supply, though they will help you maintain it.  Making the investment to rent a hospital-grade pump for a few months can mean the difference between establishing a good milk supply and struggling to produce enough milk for the length of your pumping days." - Jennifer (see her blog)

"If you have to travel without your baby and hope to bring home expressed breastmilk, you need to be aware of the new TSA regulations.  Unfortunately, if you are traveling without your baby, you cannot take the breastmilk on board the plane (unless it fits into three-ounce containers in a single quart-size ziploc bag).  I ask for a refrigerator in my hotel room, and then freeze the breastmilk I pump.  I pack the breastmilk in a cooler along with multiple ice packs, and place the cooler in my checked luggage.  The breastmilk stays frozen, or at least very cold, until I return home.  While you can't guarantee you'll be able to use your breastmilk if your flight is delayed or your luggage is lost, it's at least better than having to dump it all out and waste it.  Hopefully the TSA will change it's policies soon (click here for an e-petition on this topic).

Also, if you carry your breastpump on the plane with you, the motors in electric breastpumps can look similar to items used in explosive devices under x-ray.  Don't be alarmed if they ask to inspect the bag, but be sure to request that they put on a fresh pair of gloves before beginning the inspection.  Some TSA personnel know what breastpumps look like under x-ray and won't request the extra inspection." - Lori, pictured above at right with her son, Pete

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Want to join the next Breastfeeding Carnival?

What kind advice did you get about breastfeeding?  Good, bad, or ugly?  Want to share some of your own advice?

Our next carnival of breastfeeding will be on March 12th, and this is your invitation to join in.  March's theme will be "Good advice/Bad advice." 

If you have a blog and are interested in participating, send your submission to me by February 26th.  We'll be looking for:

• Posts that are well written and grammatically correct
• Writing that is thoughtful and on topic (advice)
• Blogs that are on topics that are of interest to readers of breastfeeding blogs (parenting, breastfeeding, etc.)

You can see examples of past carnival posts under the category "Carnivals of Breastfeeding."

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New short video: "Nurse-Ins across America"

Janice Reynolds, one of the key organizers of the Delta/Freedom Airlines nurse-ins last fall, has created a photo montage video of several nurse-ins.  You can see it by clicking here.

The video includes great images from the nurse-in at The View, prompted by Barbara Walters' comments (see funny Jimmy Kimmel clip on this), the Times Square Babies 'R Us, and the national Delta/Freedom Airlines nurse-ins.

Janice says that nurse-ins represent a "show of solidarity and community with each other, at this time in our culture when this simple act of nurturing our children can bring dirty looks, nasty comments or even cause the mother and child to be removed from businesses or airplanes."

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Want to know how to make me teary-eyed?

Here's a clue:  Send me an email with almost 200 statements from readers pledging to nurse their babies, support other nursing moms, nurse in public, and do many other wonderful things to support breastfeeding.

Somehow in the craziness of this last month, I forgot that we had put a 'fill in the blank' item on the Motherwear Pledge.  You may remember that this pledge asked you to commit to doing three things to support breastfeeding in 2007.  Nearly 500 of you took the pledge, and already we've tracked over 400 things you've done in our pledge poll.  The final question on the pledge form asked you to tell us anything else you'd pledge to do to support breastfeeding this year.

Well, Alison at Motherwear just emailed me all of the responses, and it was totally overwhelming to read all of them, especially all at once.

Here's a taste of what you said.  If you'd like to see all 190 responses (which is very fun), you can download this file (word document).  There are many more I'd love to have included here.

Here's my personal favorite:  "I pledge to be an example and breastfeed my now 16 month old whenever and wherever he asks (today: near a fountain at the convention center where I'm presenting at an astrophysics conference, surrounded by stuffy academic men)."

"I pledge to support all of the active duty moms on my base.  They are doing their best to breastfeed and serve our country."

"I pledge to continue nursing my twins, including in public, at least (minimum!) until they turn a year old, not only for their own good, but also as a way to advocate nursing to others."

"I pledge to start a support group in my area because there is so little information and resources available in my city.  I pledge to educate myself about common breastfeeding problems so that I can truly help those struggling with physical or mental setbacks.  I pledge to enjoy breastfeeding my newest son, and let others know how much it means to me!"

"We have been asked to adopt a newborn in April... if the birth mom follows through with this I will do what I can to be a breastfeeding mom to this adopted baby to help her bond and be as healthy as can be!"

"I pledge to be an example to my patients that breastfeeding and working outside the home can be successful!!!"

"I started pumping a little extra milk and donating it to a nearby milkbank to help preemies.  I got off track due to colds and the flu running through my house, but plan to get back on track with pumping and donating."

"I will breastfeed my baby in public when necessary rather than hiding in my home!"

"As a dietitian, I plan to join my state's breastfeeding coalition to expand my knowledge and lend more support to breastfeeding moms!  P.S.  My son is 20 months and still nursing!"

"Loaning some of my nursing clothing to friends with newborns as my twins are now toddlers and only nurse a few times a day."

"I will become a peer counselor for other breastfeeding mothers via WIC."

"I pledge to carry on being a young breastfeeding mum to my now 4 month old daughter, ignoring others about when the RIGHT time to give up is!"

'I plan to start a tradition among my sisters and sisters-in-law to make breastfeeding the norm in our families."

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NYC mayor announces big push for breastfeeding.

New York City Mayor Bloomberg announced a new campaign this week to encourage NYC moms to breastfeed.  The New York Post reports:

Now that he has weaned New Yorkers off smoking and trans fats, Mayor Bloomberg is launching a multimillion-dollar good-parenting campaign that includes a push to put more newborns to the breast.

The city Health Department is spending more than $2 million in city-run hospitals to encourage moms to breast-feed.

"We don't yet have any hospitals in New York City that meet national 'baby-friendly' standards," Bloomberg's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden, said at a parenting conference last week.

"That means getting formula out of the nursery. It means putting the baby on the breast immediately after birth. It means that every person who interacts with that mother and child is supportive and encouraging of breast-feeding."

The article also states that city-run hospitals will also be "formula diaper bag free," a topic which I've written about previously.  The city also plans to strengthen a program which provides nurses to do home visits to new moms.

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Think breastfeeding can't be glamorous? Meet these models.

Motherwear's spring line is now online, and I recently had the pleasure of corresponding with the three models featured in the new catalog.  Here is a glimpse into the lives of these working, nursing, modeling mothers.

First, to the left, is Natasha, who is mother to 6 1/2 month old Nikita. She says, "I LOVE breastfeeding! It came very naturally and I am going to continue with it for as long as possible.  It made me connect with Nikita on some other level and this bond is precious.  It is just amazing how your body can produce  a complete, fully nutritious meal that is all your baby might possibly need.  The two of us can take off anywhere we want to and there is no hassle of having to deal with bottles and warmers and sterilizers.  It is GREAT!

How does she balance working and breastfeeding?  "I have the luxury of making my own schedule as I work for myself. I also get to travel a lot, but so does he.  We are inseparable at this point.  He is attached to my body - literally, as I am a big fan of slings, which, by the way, make breastfeeding in public a whole lot easier.  Then there is always a pump, which I am not personally too fond of, but it works."

To the right is Stacy, who is mother to 4 1/2 month old Cosette and 3 year old Christian.  In addition to modeling she is a self-described "domestic engineer," and says that since she's home with her children, "breastfeeding fits right in."  She says, "My favorite thing about breastfeeding is the closeness I get to experience with my daughter.  I love when she comes off the breast for a minute and just looks up at me and smiles and then goes back to eating."

Her advice to other mothers?  "Decide in your heart and commit to breastfeeding.  It is not easy for some women in the beginning and when you go through the rough period the commitment enables you to persevere until it gets easier...and it DOES get easier, I promise!"

And to the left is Sagine, who is mother to 5 month old Jordan.  She says of breastfeeding, "It's such a special gift that only you can give to your little one.  It gives you tender one-on-one time with your baby."  She loves the health benefits fo Jordan, the convenience, and the closeness:  "It's just mommy and Jordan time."

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