The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

Inflation

I wrote a while back about how my daughter calls nursing "two!"  This has since turned into "nurse two!"  or "nurse two mi-mi's!"

But I guess the cost-of-living index applies to nursing, too, because recently it's turned into "nurse two three!" or "nurse three!"

And last week we got all the way up to "nurse five mi-mi's!" 

I explained to her that I don't have five mi-mi's, because people usually only have one or two babies at a time and so we only need two.  Cats, on the other hand, have a lot of kittens so they need many mi-mi's.

Her response?  "Mama, nurse NINE mi-mi's!"

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Book review: The World According to Toddlers

My daughter has officially entered toddlerhood. 

How do I know?  She puts underwear on her head, enjoys shaking her water bottle until it floods her high chair, and has perfected the "no!" while pushing away older brother move.  She has starting declaring "self!" when we try to help her do anything.  And she does nursing gymnastics worthy of an Olympic performance.

Fortunately, a book arrived at our house which has allowed us to see the lighter side of toddlerdom, and we love it. 

The World According to Toddlers was co-written by Adrienne Hedger, author of If These Boobs Could Talk, a hilarious look at breastfeeding which I reviewed a few years ago.  She was also kind enough to create some original artwork for the blog on what to do if you're leaking.

Her prior book was really funny, but it's the toddler book which has had my whole family (minus toddler) cracking up recently.  A few favorites:

An imaginary toddler cooking show.  First step:  "Scoop a bunch of flour in the bowl.  Now stir the flour.  Faster!  Faster!"

An illustration of how a toddler can get dirty in 30 seconds without even moving (see image below).

An analysis of toddlers' reactions to different events, contrasted with adults' reactions.  My favorite:  Huge boulder rolls into side of house, crushing entire wall.  Parent's Reaction:  "Call 911!  Someone help!"  Toddler's reaction:  "Ball."

One unexpected benefit of this book:  My son has been having a little trouble with my toddler's transition from snuggly, passive baby to opinionated and willfull toddler.  I read a bit of this book with him, and while a lot of it was over his head, we shared laughs at quite a few sections.  I think that it made it clear to him that my toddlers' behavior is frustrating and funny to everyone, that it's normal, and that it's represents stage in development which will eventually pass.  Now when my daughter is throwing food across the room we look at each other and say with a knowing smile, "toddlers!"

There isn't anything on breastfeeding in this book (I wrote a section on that in my head while reading it), but it's a new classic in my house.  If you have a toddler around, it will probably be one at your house, too!

I was provided with a review copy of this book.

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How I got my toddler to be more gentle with "the mi-mi's".

A few weeks ago my toddler daughter started pushing my breast away when she finshed one side, while saying "all done!" in a fussy, entitled kind of way.

I didn't appreciate this, so I told her that we had to be gentle to the "mi-mi's." (You all understand what 'mi-mi's' are, I assume.)

She took this to heart and started saying "Hi, mi-mi" and patting it when she finished a side.

Here's what it sounds like (if the player below doesn't work, here it is in Quicktime):

Hi_mimi

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A breastfeeding Google Doodle?

You know how sometimes the Google homepage logo morphs into a new design to commemorate a holiday or other event?  Those designs are called Google Doodles.

An campaign has formed to encourage Google to make such a doodle to mark World Breastfeeding Week this year (first week of August).

If you'd like to see such a design, check out the instructions on this post at Hygeia.

(Photo to the right is of my daughter sitting in a chair in the lobby of a Google building at the California headquarters.  I was lucky enough to meet a friend who works there for lunch last year.  Yes, the food is as varied and good as you've heard!)

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Authors of workplace pumping law responds to Staples co-founder

A few weeks ago the Tom Stemberg, co-founder and former CEO of Staples made some remarks in the press about the new workplace pumping law. 

Stemberg had used it as an example of what he found over-reaching about the federal health care reform law, criticizing it for requiring "lactation chambers" for nursing employees.

(And while I make it a rule never to read comments left on blogs which aren't breastfeeding-friendly, some of the comments on the story on wonkette.com absolutely cracked me up.  My favorite:  "My next lactation chamber will certainly not be purchased from Staples, you screwed up there Stemberg!"  Read them if you get a chance.)

Last week the authors of the provision wrote in response, stating in part:

These federal requirements are modeled after a state law in Oregon that requires employers, including Staples, to make similar accommodations for their employees.  The Oregon law provides a hardship exemption for businesses that cannot find a way to establish a specific place for mothers to express milk.

It is interesting to note, however, that not a single Oregon business, including Staples, has chosen to take that exemption. All have found a way to make this work for their nursing mother employees.

You can read the full text here.

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Breastfeeding quiz, Oscar edition

As I've mentioned before, I've seen nearly every independent movie released in the last year or so because my local movie theater has a Baby Friendly show twice a week (see my ticket stub collection).

So since it's Oscar season I thought I'd quiz you on a few breastfeeding references in movies in the last year.

Want to see some past quizzes?  They're here and here.  And you can listen to a podcast on breastfeeding in the movies.

Now, then:  In which movie...

1) Is there a band named Nipple Confusion, and is a main character introduced as he's putting pumped breastmilk into freezer storage bags?

2) Does a mother say that she nursed a chimpanzee in the 1970's?  This was a documentary (and a very disturbing one, too).

3) Does a nursing mother get shot in the opening scene? (I know, nice.)

4) Does a mentally ill mother accuse her husband of making her wean because she needed to take medications incompatible with breastfeeding (or it could have been that she didn't take her medications because she was breastfeeding - I'm afraid I can't remember)?  This is a hard one.  I'll give you a hint if no one can get it.

5) Does the narration over a scene in which a tiger mother is nursing her cubs say something like: "She has eaten, and in a few hours she'll make milk"?  (And how ridiculous is that?)  This was a documentary.

I'm sure I missed plenty more.  I didn't see a lot of the big budget movies, so help me out if I missed something!

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My favorite nursing stories from Motherwear's latest contest

Here are my favorite entries to Motherwear's last nursing story/tip contest.  You can see more here, including the winner Genet, pictured to the left.

Ever think that breastfeeding might help you at a dicey border crossing?  Read on and enjoy.

While nursing my newborn, my 4yr old sat down next to me. She said “Mommy, babies like mommy boobies and not daddy boobies...right?” I said “Right.” She said “Babies like drinking milk from mommy boobies and not hair from daddy boobies.” Then just for more clarification she said, “Babies only drink from boobies and not bottoms...right?” Right. Glad we were able to clear all that up.  - Erin

It was 2:00am and I had been cramped in a car with four other people for well over 12 hours, therefore I was in no mood to deal with the argumentative border guards of Romania. My 13month old son (at the time) and I had been in Romania for well over 6months caring for my ill husband, but due to the fact that I had no Romanian I.D., my stay there was considered illegal. I attempted to explain the situation to the young man who despite his rough speech was quite pleasant compared to others I had dealt with. He took the legal documents I had (marriage license, birth certificate, death certificate - all Romanian) and walked off with them making us wait for a significant amount of time. My cousin who had been driving and was more familiar with their ways said ¨I think they’re waiting for a bribe of some sort... They can wait all they want! They’re not getting anything!¨, was my curt reply. The guard returned and asked my cousin to step out of the car in order to talk to him...They spoke (or rather argued) and we continued to wait. My son, who had been sleeping until then, woke up to all this commotion and started whimpering. That was my cue. Although breastfeeding is quite common in this country (more so than in the US), you will not see most decent women in public doing so. It is considered rather inappropriate and makes most decent men uncomfortable. As I saw the young awkward guard approaching the car again I took my son from his car seat and latched him on. He came to my door and asked me to exit the vehicle. At least he attempted to do so, but stopped mid-sentence when he saw what was happening. He retracted his words and said I could remain in the car. I was already grinning inwardly. I then proceeded to open the window and engage in the discussion I knew was coming. To my delight, it did not last long. He seemed very concerned that the window not remain open for too long lest the child catch a cold and he was having a hard time making eye contact. His tone of voice was more polite than I expected and after briefly explaining a few legal things he said I must quickly close the window and let the ¨Prince¨ rest easy. =) I thanked him politely, closed the window, waited for my cousin to climb back into the car and then I burst into laughter. *Note* I was indeed wearing a Motherwear top and so I wasn’t ¨showing¨ anything. I’m a decent woman :)  - Ella

My favorite nursing story goes all the way back to my first child. She was born in Italy while my husband and I were stationed there with the US Air Force. Upon my return to the US while my husband deployed to Iraq in 2003, I had to go through customs. I had my 5 month old daughter strapped to me in the infant front (Bjorn) carrier, a backpack, and diaper bag on me, while waiting for the luggage at the carousel. A customs officer and his dog came sniffing around me and the dog seemed to be quite interested in me, more than I was comfortable with. The officer asked if I had any organic material with me, like fruits or vegetables. I said, "No." He did not believe me because of the dog's keen interest. It was at this point that I figured it out. I turned to him with as straight a face as I could muster and said, "Well, I do have some breast milk in this backpack, would you care to see it?" He turned many shades of red, couldn't find any words to come out of his mouth, gave me a sheepish, "No, and sorry to bother you ma'am.", while trying to get away as quickly as possible! I was laughing so hard to myself at his uncomfortableness that I nearly missed my luggage coming around on the carousel!  - Robbyn

I am the first one to breastfeed in my family and so my family was a little hesitant at the thought of me nursing my son in the same room as them. I came across your site and quickly ordered several tops. The story that sticks out in my mind was when my husband's cousin came over to visit us. I was feeding my son when he came in, gave a kiss hello to all of us and then sat right next to me on the couch. Time and conversation had passed and I went to burp my son and the discussion of feeding came in to topic... he put two and two together and immediately said "WAIT, you were just feeding him this whole time!!!???" He had NO clue I was feeding the baby because your tops are awesome! No one ever notices or stares because they can't tell. It simply looks as if I am holding a sleeping baby. :) From then on it doesn't matter who is around me when I nurse my 2nd child now, because they all know that I wear a Motherwear top and feel completely comfortable... and most importantly... SO DO I!!! THANK YOU MOTHERWEAR!!! - Marisa

"[Stuff] people say to breastfeeding mothers"

In case you haven't heard (and if I've heard about it then you must have a long time ago) there is a wildly popular "[Stuff] people white girls say to black girls" YouTube video.  It has been endlessly parodied. 

Thanks to Free to Breastfeed, here is the "[Things] people say to breastfeeding mothers" version.  The one that made me crack up:  "Isn't it hot?"  I'm not sure why.  Have you heard any of these?

"Big Momma breastfeeds me, too"

What do you think of this PSA?

I think it should get points for originality and for acknowledging the influential role of grandmothers and dads, especially in the African American community.  I also like that the family is laughing at times.  The image of the grandmother feeding the baby by bottle at the end was momentarily confusing for me, but all in all I like it.

Tandem nursing too obscene for Funny or Die?

Funny or Die, a site known for sophomoric humor (including full frontal male nudity) apparently got a little light-headed from seeing a video of a mom tandem nursing her twins.

Funny or Die found the video by a comedienne and mother of twins Ahna Tessler, which (you are hereby warned), is laced with profanity, too risque and suspended the account of its creator.

The New York Times reported:

On the afternoon of Jan. 14 Ms. Tessler reached out to Funny or Die in a public area of the site, noting that the video had not been posted and that another video she had previously published was missing. That evening a site administrator replied, “Sorry, but your latest video got flagged as obscene, and we removed your account in response.”

When Ms. Tessler wrote back to say she “had no idea you couldn’t swear” on the site, the response was, “It was the breast-feeding video, not swearing.”

Funny or Die later reinstated the account and stated, “Funny or Die supports breast-feeding in all forms, especially among consenting adults.”  Which is kinda funny, I have to admit. 

Ahna Tessler told the New York Times that nursing twins is "the hardest thing I’ve ever done...I have to find the humor in this because it’s so insane right now, the amount of work and how exhausting it is.”

It's a strange world in which Funny or Die can't handle breastfeeding but the Catholic Church wants to see more of it.

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