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."
Want to get email updates from the Motherwear Blog? Subscribe here. Want an RSS feed? Click here.
