The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

Speed linking.

Check out some of these great posts on blogs I read:

• Andi at Mama Knows Breast found a merit badge for breastfeeding!  It's shown to the right.  You can also get one for diapering, dealing with kids at the supermarket, and other feats of parenthood.
• Amy at Musings of a Crunchy Domestic Goddess shares a post from a mother who discovered that she had an aggressive form of breast cancer which has no lump.
• Angela at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 writes about the drug Domperidone, a prescription medication which increases milk supply, and offers help for a mother who writes for help with weaning from co-sleeping without crying it out. 
• Melissa at Booby Juice tells a harrowing story of a vacation gone bad: "Breastmilk saved my baby's life."
• Stacie at The Twinkies shares a 24 hour play-by-play of life with year old nursing twins.  Every pregnant mother should read this.

And Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing passed along to me a story from Texas of a woman who was removed from a courthouse for breastfeeding, in spite of Texas law protecting her right to nurse in public.  The conclusion of a spokesperson:  "Most people don't know the law."

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

Set your breastfeeding books free!

Colleen at My Baby and More is hosting a "book release" challenge for the month of August, in honor of World Breastfeeding Week.  The idea is that you leave a breastfeeding book (or book with some breastfeeding content) in a place where a mother in need of such a book might find it. 

The challenge is organized through Book Crossing, the website which organizes the practice of leaving books where others will find them, and then encouraging the recipients to do the same.  You can sign up and buy special "release kit" labels to put on your books, or you can just leave your own note encouraging the next reader to pass it along.  If you use Book Crossing you can actually track where your book ends up.

As it turns out, I just got some updated versions of some great breastfeeding books, and was planning on giving the old editions away.  So after hearing about Colleen's challenge, I joined Book Crossing, ordered some labels for my books, and will be setting the following titles free in the next few weeks:

• Dr. Jack Newman's Ultimate Book of Breastfeeding Answers
• Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning
• Nursing Mother, Working Mother

Do you have any to leave?  Tell us about it by leaving a comment below.

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

A big weekend sale at Motherwear.

Motherwear's got a big sale going on this weekend, with big markdowns on end-of-season items, over 100 items under $20, $5 shipping, and additional discounts of up to 30%.  More information is on the Motherwear homepage.

My pick is to the left - the beaded empire tunic.  Happy shopping!

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

Seven women who changed the world.

Check out this wonderful video clip on origins and founders of La Leche League, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this month.  It's a great illustration of how far we've come, as well as the power of mothers organized around a cause.

Don't miss the segment with the incomparable Grace Kelly addressing a La Leche League conference, with a chorus of babbling babies in the background.

This seems like the perfect occasion for the Margaret Mead quote:  "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing thing that ever has."

Thanks to Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing for the heads up about this video!

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

Take Motherwear's green fabrics survey, get $5 off your next order.

Motherwear has recently been using some green fabrics in their nursing clothing.  I wrote about the environmental benefits and great features of bamboo fabrics a few months ago, and one of those designs is shown to the right.

Now Motherwear wants to hear what you think about eco-friendly fabrics.  Click here to take a survey, and in thanks Motherwear will send you a code for $5 off your next order.

And if you'd like to learn more about how nursing saves the planet, check out this post.

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

Preparing for World Breastfeeding Week

Here's a rundown of events going on for World Breastfeeding Week in my area, and two opportunities for you, wherever you live.

Several of the La Leche League chapters in my area are planning a walk for World Breastfeeding Week on August 4th.  It's going to be a two-mile walk that ends at a park, where there will be door prizes, refreshments, children's entertainment, and an infant massage demonstration.  More information is here.

I recently got connected with some of the members of a local Moms Rising group who are working on breastfeeding issues.  I'm helping to start a letter-writing campaign, beginning with a table at the breastfeeding walk, which urges people to write their representatives in support of legislation protecting nursing in public.  Lest anyone forget, Massachusetts is one of only a few states with no statutes protecting breastfeeding in public places.

The Moms Rising group is also interested (yeah!) in getting local businesses to post stickers with the new international symbol of breastfeeding.  The breastfeeding coalition I belong to has been working on creating such a sticker, which we'd sell to raise money for a freezer for a milk collection station, so this is a perfect match, if we can get the sticker made in time. 

Looking for a way to particpate in World Breastfeeding Week?  Here are two:  1) Send in a breastfeeding story to Andi at Mama Knows Breast, for a chance to win a signed copy of her new book (shown at right); 2) Contribute a photo to the Celebrity Baby Blog's breastfeeding gallery.   

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

The July Carnival of Breastfeeding: The things they say.

Welcome to the eighth Carnival of Breastfeeding!  This month's theme is "the things they say."  Check out the great posts from the participating bloggers at the end of this post (updated throughout the day).

Ever wonder what your baby thinks about while nursing?  Well, if you nurse long enough you'll find out. 

For us  this started a little early, since our son was a big baby-signer.  A little known benefit of baby sign is that your child can talk with his or her mouth full, which my son did frequently.  He'd often say things like, "The telephone is ringing!"  or "I hear a train!"

Once he started speaking, I sometimes felt as if the "mi-mi's," as he called them, were a separate member of our family. 

So, here are some of my son's spoken comments about nursing:

While nursing:  [pulls off, with a smile] "Shark attack!"

Looking at my husband's chest:  [looking disappointed] "Two mi-mi's, no milk."

While nursing: [pulls off, with big smile] "Happy boy!"

Breastmilk tastes like:  "A treat." "A chocolate chip cookie." "A tortilla."

While nursing an engorged breast:  "Too spicy!  Put it away!"

Me:  "Could you nurse for a minute?  I have a little too much milk." 
Son:  "No. Just pump it."

Post-weaning:  "When I was nursing, how did you get the milk into the mi-mi's?"

Sitting down next to me:  "So, how're your mi-mi's doing?

Now, check out these posts for more great stories:

• Leisa at Down with the Kids writes about how siblings react to a new nursing baby.
• Sinead at Breastfeeding Mums shares some hilarious (really) comments from her children.
• Dave at Rattling the Kettle shares a late night comment that cracked me up.
• Angela at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 shares an interview and her daughter's picture about nursing.
• Amy at Musings of a Crunchy Domestic Goddess shares some strange things adults say, as well as her daughter's thoughts on nursing.
• Renata at Nurturing Notes shares a three-year-old's perspective on settling a crying baby.
• Jennifer at The Lactivist writes about her daughter's maternal instincts.
• Andi at Mama Knows Breast offers some famous and personal breastfeeding quotes.
• Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing tells how her son tries to share his "boo."

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

TSA changes breastmilk-on-board policy.

Just a week ago I was talking with a mother about a trip she's planning for early next year. 

She pumps for her baby, and we were thinking through what she would need to do to get her breastmilk home.  I said something about how by the time she travels the rules may have changed.  Later, I thought to myself, "That's ridiculous, those rules will never change."

But I was wrong!

This week the Transportation Security Administration changed their rules about bringing breastmilk (and lighters?) on board.  Here's what the rules now say:

[Starting on August 4th, 2007] TSA is also modifying the rules associated with carrying breast milk through security checkpoints. Mothers flying with, and now without, their child will be permitted to bring breast milk in quantities greater than three ounces as long as it is declared for inspection at the security checkpoint.

Breast milk is in the same category as liquid medications.  Now, a mother flying without her child will be able to bring breast milk through the checkpoint, provided it is declared prior to screening.

The press release notes that the rule changes were a result of consultation with various security authorities and "the workforce."  Is it possible that this change was influenced by the petition we all signed and the press attention surrounding all those moms who had to dump their breastmilk before boarding?  The new policy does look a lot like the proposal on the petition nearly 6,000 of us signed.

Thanks to Jake Marcus at Birth Without Boundaries.  Want to get email updates from the Motherwear Blog?  Subscribe here.  Want an RSS feed? Click here.

Your tips on nursing in public.

Earlier this year we asked for your nursing tips to print in a Motherwear catalog, and you came up with some great ones on pumping and overcoming challenges.  Here are more of them - this time on nursing in public.

Use a baby sling for "on the go" nursing throughout your day at home or in public.  If you are the mom of more than one child, you will find this very helpful!  When in public, wearing a nursing top and also using a baby sling will provide plenty of covering for you and baby to nurse discreetly.  Most of the time, no one will ever know that's what you are doing! -Stephanie, shown below at right wearing her son Gray.

As the father of a breastfed baby, I support my wife when she breastfeeds in public.  Showing everyone that I am comfortable with it gives my wife more confidence and encourages others to feel at ease.  - Minh

Breastfeeding moms need all of the encouragement and support they can get.  When I see a mother nursing her child in public, I make sure she knows that I think it's great.  Whether by making eye contact and smiling or saying hello, I feel that any positive attention is better than the stares and uncomfortable avoidance we all experience sometimes!  - Beth, pictured at left with son Rory and daughter Kerrigan.

If you are having trouble keeping your baby on his or her side while nursing in the cradle hold, find a soft baby blanket and tuck it behind the baby's back to help put him at an angle and to support him in that position.  This often works well for nursing in public as well.  Simply sit down, cross one leg over the other, place the baby so his or her head is on the higher leg and tuck the blanket under and around (but not over!) them to give them a nicely supported position.  This can work very well for the moms that get used to nursing with a nursing pillow and that have trouble finding a comfortable position when they're out and about. - Jennifer

A crying baby makes everyone's head turn.  When out in public, try to anticipate your baby's need to nurse and slip her under your sweater, blouse, shawl, etc before she cries from hunger.  Did she nurse about two hours ago?  Probably time for another snack.  The trick is to nurse her well in advance of that tell tale wail has every head turning.  Faith, shown at left.

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

Maine and Ohio moms win nursing in public cases, and the California Attorney General wants your story.

I looked back over the last few weeks' posts, and there sure is a lot on nursing in public.  This does seem to be a banner year in legislation and news stories on the topic.

In many states nursing in public statutes haven't been put to the test, so it's pretty encouraging to read the following cases in which the law was enforced and mothers' rights were upheld. 

First, in New York, a Maine mother won a $3,600 judgment against watchmaker Fossil for prohibiting her from nursing in a showroom.

In August 2006, while meeting with a salesperson in a Manhattan showroom, Ms King was told she was making others feel uncomfortable by breast-feeding her eight-month-old son, Cody. 

Ms King was taken to another floor to finish feeding Cody but was then not allowed back into the showroom.

In January, as she made plans to again visit a Fossil showroom, she was told by a Fossil representative that breast-feeding was forbidden.

"I wanted to be apologized to. I wanted not to be humiliated or for anybody else to be humiliated either," she said of her decision to contact the civil liberties organization.

Next, the Ohio Human Rights Commission has ruled in favor of a woman who was nursing at Lifestyle Family Fitness and was told to move to the locker room.  The company maintains that the nursing mother violated the rule that patrons "wear shirts at all times."  The mother, needless to say, was fully clothed and not at all exposed.  If the case can't be resolved at the Commission, it'll get referred to the State Attorney General for prosecution.  From the statements below it looks like that's where it may go.

Susan DiMickele, an attorney for Lifestyle Family Fitness, said Swank's complaint is moot because she went to the fitness center about two days later and was able to nurse.

But Swank, who has since canceled her membership, wants assurances that other mothers won't face the same problem.

"Just because you resolve it with one person doesn't mean you have come to a resolution," said Swank, who wants the company to adopt a breast-feeding policy that complies with state law.

DiMickele said the company has a breast-feeding policy, but it is not a written one. "We just ask people to use good judgment," she said. "We reasonably accommodate anyone who wants to breast-feed." [My note:  That's really nice, but there is this little thing called the law.]

Finally, I've seen a request circulating from the California Attorney General's Office for stories from California nursing moms who have been discriminated against in business establishments and other public places.  The office is looking for specific information (date, location, the act, whether the mother was asked to cover up or leave).  This information is to be used only for the purposes of research and not for any public use.  Mothers with stories are encouraged to contact:  Sunny Sarkis, Civil Rights Enforcement Division, State of California, Department of Justice, Sacramento, CA 95814, 916-324-4085, or email Sunny Sarkis.

Thank you to Parent:Wise Austin for the use of the graphic at the top of this post!  Want to get email updates from the Motherwear Blog?  Subscribe here.  Want an RSS feed? Click here.