What do you do when your child says that they will "never" wean?
When they say "I think people should drink breast milk forever, it's the most marvelous thing."
It's adorable coming from a toddler. It's cute coming from a pre-schooler...but what about when it comes from an eight year old?
Someone has finally uploaded a clip from the British documentary titled "extraordinary breastfeeding."
My honest reaction? Umm...okay then.
I'd be lying if I didn't say that I thought this was strange...very, very strange. At the same time, I firmly follow the "whatever works for you" style of parenting. The mother and children seem perfectly normal, the dad is ok with it and the family dynamic seems to work. It icks me out, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be doing it.
Though I do have to say that I laughed out loud when the older daughter said that breast milk is "better than mangoes even..."
"same as mum - having AIDS" as the headline "the babies get infected during birth or through breastfeeding" in the text.
Now, this ad has the breastfeeding community up in arms. Absolutely 100% up in arms. How DARE those ads tell women that breastfeeding will cause their babies to get HIV. Don't they know that exclusive breastfeeding lowers the risk of HIV
Well, once again, I'm going to take the unpopular view point...
You see, these ads are tasteless...there's no doubting that. (Especially since you can't deny that mom sometimes gets AIDS from dad, so let's keep the "blame" where it belongs...) I liken them to the American campaign for breastfeeding that had pregnant women competing in log rolling or riding bulls and compared it to not breastfeeding. It's sensationalistic and does far more to offend than it does to convince.
However...I'm a little astonished at the fact that all of the email lists that I'm on that feature breastfeeding professionals are focusing in on one theme...
A study by scientists at the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, South Africa, has shown that exclusive breastfeeding can significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mother to child in infants aged under six months when compared to those also given solid foods or replacement feed (i.e. formula milk).
Now...go back and read that again and notice the word "also" in the last sentence.
I've taken a look at the study and to save you the time, here's the deal.
HIV positive mothers that EXCLUSIVELY breastfeed their babies for a full six months have MUCH lower transmission rates than HIV positive mothers that introduce formula or solids IN ADDITION TO BREASTFEEDING during the first six months. The theory is the introduction of formula or solids causes some damage to the virgin gut. These tiny spots of damage make it easier for the HIV virus to pass through the digestive system and into the blood stream. Makes perfect since when you think about it. Secondary causes are that a mom that does not exclusively breastfeed is more likely to have mastitis, plugged ducts and other breast issues that could pass blood (which more easily transmits HIV) into the mother's milk.
So here's how the results break down.
Exclusively breastfed: 4% risk of transmission Breastfed AND formula fed: 8% risk of transmission Breastfed and fed solids: 40%+ risk of transmission
Now, let me inject a little bit of reality into the situation...
NOT breastfeeding (i.e. going straight to donor milk or formula) carries zero risk of transmission once the baby is born.
So let's break this down further, because there are two issues at play here...
In African nations (and other developing nations) where HIV is running rampant, people are poor and clean water sources are scarce, breastfeeding can mean the difference between life and death. While there are obvious risks to formula in developed nations, those risks are multiplied significantly in third world countries. Without clean water sources to prepare formula and without the income to actually afford formula, the risk of a baby dying from intestinal diseases is extremely high.
In fact, in Indonesia, one in ten children dies each year from diarrhea.
Formula is relatively expensive: for a three-month-old child, it can cost 50 to 60 per cent of the minimum wage in some developing countries, plus the price of the equipment. Because of the high cost there is a tendency to stretch the formula by overdiluting it. This practice leads to nutritional marasmus, a condition resulting from severe protein and calorie deprivation.
Breast feeding is cheaper and always nutritious; the only added cost is for the mother’s extra nutritive needs. Although the components of breast milk will vary depending on the woman’s health, even an undernourished mother is a remarkably efficient producer of nutritious human milk.
Contamination of the formula, the bottle or other equipment leads to infectious diarrhea. Breast milk comes sterile from the breast. And anti-infective properties cannot be put into formula, nor is there any indication that such a process will be possible in the near future. Conversely, at least a dozen anti-infective factors are found in breast milk, including antibodies, lysozyme, lactoferrin and interferon.
In other words, even for mothers that are HIV positive, the risk of disease transmission is much lower than the very real risk of death simply due to not being breastfed. In these situations, breastfeeding is a no brainer.
Now, with all of that said...where exactly is it that I differ from many people on this issue?
Well...I'd just like to note that the ads are running in Germany, not in a third world nation. In Germany, much like in the United States, the risk of HIV transmission from a pregnant mother to a baby can be reduced to about 2% through the use of anti-virals. Once baby is born, formula is easily available, as is a clean water supply. Children in Germany and the United States are at extremely low risk for dying from diarrhea and other intestinal diseases. In fact, even if they contract them, treatment is available that virtually assures they'll come out healthy on the other side.
So knowing that breast milk is the BEST form of nutrition, but that formula is extremely likely to result in a healthy baby as well...
Why in the WORLD would you encourage a mother to risk a 4% transmission rate of a disease that kills every single person that contracts it? When the risk of death from using formula is far, far lower than that?
It's called the risk/reward ratio people.
So could someone please explain to me how the 4% risk of HIV transmission is worth the reward of what breast milk gives? Sure, it's great for that 96% of babies that end up healthier and HIV free...but what about that 4%?
To be completely blunt, let's put it this way...
If your child was born and you were told that if you chose to breastfeed instead of formula feed, that your baby would be lined up with 24 others and one of them would be randomly killed.
Pregnant in America examines the betrayal of humanity's greatest gift--birth--by the greed of U.S. corporations. Hospitals, insurance companies and other members of the healthcare industry have all pushed aside the best care of our infants and mothers to play the power game of raking in huge profits.
His wife pregnant, first-time filmmaker Steve Buonaugurio sets out to create a film that will expose the underside of the U.S. childbirth industry and help end its neglectful exploitation of pregnancy and birth.
Pregnant in America is the controversial story of life's greatest miracle in the hands of a nation's most powerful interests.
Oregon House Bill 2372 passed the house in a vote of 49-7 this week. It now moves on to the senate, where it is expected to pass before the end of the legislative session.
The version of the bill that passed the house requires businesses that employ 25 or more people accommodate nursing mothers. They must do this by:
1.) Providing a clean and private location (not a bathroom) to express milk 2.) Provide unpaid break time for the employee to express milk
The bill does not require them to provide storage for the breast milk and it includes provisions for companies to negotiate an alternative if the accommodation places "undue hardship" on the business.
Things are really trucking along in the last year or so in terms of breastfeeding legislation.
My own state of Ohio is working on a bill to exclude nursing mothers from jury duty and of course I'll be helping Robin and the Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition move forward in the fight to end day care discrimination against breastfed children.
Heidi over at me, Molly & the Moon writes to tell me the pending West Virginia breastfeeding legislation is going to be signed into law on Monday.
Governor Manchin announced this week that he'll be signing SB 148 into law at 10:30am on Monday at the Capitol building.
The bill will exempt breastfeeding from West Virginia's indecent exposure laws. It also provides $20,000 in funding to West Virginia's WIC program for the specific purpose of a week long training program to educate West Virginia medical professionals about breastfeeding.
If we've got any West Virginia moms reading, (apart from you Heidi!) I'd encourage them to consider attending the signing. At the very least, check and see if your representative or senator voted in favor of the bill and drop them an email to say thank you.
Wow. I cannot believe it's been six months already. I've made it to the 12% club.
What's the 12% club? That's the number of Ohio mothers that are still exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months. (31% of Ohio moms are still breastfeeding at least occasionally at six months.)
It's been an amazing journey so far and I count myself as amazingly blessed to have been able to do this. My prayers go up that we'll make it through the next six months. (I'm taking it six months at a time...)
It's funny when I look back on things and see how my opinions have changed over time.
(cue background music and fuzzy outline of reality as we drift into flash back mode...)
When I was pregnant with Elnora, I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine about breastfeeding. She was due two months before me and she commented on how she hoped to breastfeed until her child was three months old. Then she'd switch to formula, because nursing past three months was "strange." I told her that I was aiming for six months, but that after six months, I thought it was a little "strange" myself.
To be brutally honest...there was a part of me that wasn't sad when breastfeeding didn't work out with Elnora. Sure, I lamented the loss of the convenience factor, but the idea of another human being nursing from me sort of icked me out. I knew deep down that it was what was best for her, but it was still something that I planned to do reluctantly. When I ended up exclusively pumping, it seemed like the best of both worlds. I knew she was getting my breast milk, but I didn't have to deal with my own hang-ups about breastfeeding.
The good thing about that year I spent pumping is that I was learning more and more about breast milk and breastfeeding. I was also learning more about the issues facing breastfeeding moms.
For instance, when I had Elnora, I went out and bought a few ponchos so that I could "cover up" while nursing. When I had Emmitt, I bought a few nursing tops because I knew how hard most moms found it to nurse under a cover. (And besides, why should I use a cover?)
When I had Elnora, I thought that nursing past a year was "creepy." I think I even used the line "if they're old enough to ask...." And yet...before Elnora was a year old, I remember hearing a friend use that same line and I found that my opinion had already changed.
"You know, it's not like those moms wake up nursing a two year old. They nurse a baby and that baby gets older one day at a time. Why would you think that all of a sudden they'd wake up one morning and what was ok yesterday isn't ok today? Where do you cut them off?"
Looking back, I think that was the start of the Lactivist coming out in me.
Flashing back to the present, I find that my opinions have continued to change.
A few month before Emmitt was born, I decided to give nursing another try. What's shocking is that while I planned to try again, I was still thinking..."I'll nurse until he's six months, then I'll pump until he's a year." Why? Because despite being the Lactivist, despite being a proponent of child-led weaning, despite not being even remotely icked out by someone else nursing a toddler, it still creeped me out to think of doing it myself.
But here I am...six months later.
Give up the nursing and take up the pump?
Ha! Like that's going to happen.
Earlier today, I was sitting in the bedroom nursing Emmitt before putting him down for his nap. I was thinking about the fact that he's six months old...in another six months, he'll be walking...talking. I hope we'll still be nursing. It's really not much different nursing a six month old than it was nursing a newborn.
He's heavier now...20 pounds instead of nine and a half...
He's longer now...he used to fit in my lap and now he kind of hangs over both sides...
He's got a tooth....it just popped through this week.
But he's still my little guy. He still wants to snuggle up. He still falls asleep at the breast. He still gives me that goofy, milky grin. He still gets happy enough that even though I can't see his mouth, I notice his eyes crinkle and I know he's smiling. He still laughs when he gets squirted in the nose/eye/face with milk. He still holds on to my shirt for dear life and he drinks.
It's nice to see that the Toys "R" Us Folks have learned something from the Times Square incident and are now working as a corporation to support breastfeeding.
Either way, Lactivist reader Heather Dornbusch dropped me an email to point out that Babies "R" Us is advertising a "Breastfeeding and Maternity Fair" on April 14th. The copy of the ad reads...
Join us as we showcase the latest information on breastfeeding and maternity services. Enjoy hands-on demonstrations of the latest innovative breastfeeding products from today's top brands. Babies "R" Us has the biggest and best selection of breastfeeding essentials and we're here to get you started!
I hope it's really pro-breastfeeding and not one of those "the breast is best, but here's what to buy if it doesn't work" type things. I'm going to think positive on this one. From breast pumps to breastfeeding pillows to nursing pads to nursing wear, there are certainly plenty of items for them to push while still being supportive of breastfeeding.
I'll be on my way back from a conference in New York City that weekend, so I won't be able to make it. I do hope that if any Lactivist readers swing in to see what it's all about they'll drop me a line and let me know how they did.
Just in case any Lactivist readers use Infantino Slings and haven't seen the recall notice yet, Jennifer Minson (a Lactivist Reader) has reminded me that I should share the link.
Here's the "must know" information...
Hazard: The plastic slider on the fabric strap can break. This can cause the strap supporting the carrier to release and infants to fall out of the carrier.
Incidents/Injuries: Infantino has received 10 reports of plastic sliders breaking, including eight reports of babies falling out of the carriers. There were four reports of impact injuries where the child was taken to the emergency room. One of these children fractured her skull.
Description: This recall involves the Infantino SlingRider™ carriers with item numbers: 141-210; 151-210; 151-528; and 151-534. The SlingRider™ consists of a fabric carrier with a strap attached that is worn by the user to carry an infant up to 20 pounds. The carriers are sold in black or khaki. “Infantino” is printed on the plastic slider located on the strap. The item number is printed on a label inside the SlingRider.™ Products labeled “Made in Thailand” or “New 2007 Design” are not included in the recall.
Well I've had more than 40 people RSVP so far. In fact, it looks like we may make it to 50! Pretty impressive numbers so far. Still room for more, as I haven't reserved a pavillion yet, so if you've been on the fence about coming, or are the type that has to know they'll be enough people there for you to "blend in" then never fear.
Come and join us. It's going to be fun!
RSVP to me via email by Saturday. I'll be sending an email out early next week with information on where the bash will be held.
Ok, this signing thing is bloody brilliant. If you haven't tried it yet and you've got little ones, get thee to Amazon.com and buy up some books and videos.
Elnora now knows the signs for...
More Sleep Eat Drink Ball Baby Bird Cat
She's learning new ones every day. She's also started two conversations out of the blue. One was while we were at a restaurant. She got our attention and then signed "baby" and pointed. We looked, and sure enough, a couple was sitting a few tables over with a very small baby. So we talked to her about the baby for a bit and reinforced the sign. (yay!)
Then a few days ago, I was doing online seminars. The first day, I locked myself in the guest room while my mom played with the kids. Apparently, mom told Elnora that I was sleeping. The next day, when I went back there again, Elnora went to my mom and said "Ma" then signed "sleep" and pointed to the room.
Even better is that she's also picking up words. In the last week or two she's added several. She's even started echoing "Amen" after we pray at night. LOL. Last night when Greg was reading to her, she repeated "A", "B", "C", "D", and "E." (then she got distracted, lol.) I think there's something to the idea that as they learn that communication gets things faster than "uhhhhh" and "ehhh!" sounds, that they're motivated to learn more.
If you're considering trying it yourself, I liked the books that I bought from Amazon, especially Signing Smart but I've really been impressed with the Signing Time videos. We've got Signing Times Vol. 1 and Signing Times Vol. 3 right now from the library and Elnora watches one of them each day. I think I may break down and buy the series since we'll use it with Emmitt too.
Ha! As I wrote this, she just picked up "shoes" and "socks."
"Could Daycare make your child smarter? At What cost?...Find out how new studies show that children that attend day care may be smarter than those that don't, we'll also tell you about some of the problems that may come from day care."
Wow! You mean that the choices we make in life have both pros AND cons?
The first walk of spring. (It was 80 today.) Elnora's first trip to the "big" playground. Elnora's first time going down the "big" slide. Emmitt's first stroller ride through Sunbury (he passed out and slept). Elnora's first ice cream cone.
And so...a montage of images from our afternoon walk.
Ok, so it's more the forgotten child in this case, but I think it's still a greater point worth thinking about.
MamaBean and I've been emailing a bit today talking about this whole Anna Nicole Smith fiasco. There's been talk now about the number of drugs that were in her system not only when she died of an overdose, but also while she was pregnant with her daughter Dannie. What strikes me is that so much media attention is being paid to how Anna died, who gets her body and who gets her money. Sure, there's going to be a custody battle over little Dannie, but am I the only one that thinks whoever gets Dannie needs to know that ALL of that money is going into a trust fund that can't be touched by anyone but Dannie until she turns 21?
Wonder how many people would still be fighting for her then?
I see the same thing with the Britney Spear / Kevin Federline custody battle. I mean really...did you ever think you'd find yourself saying "yep, those kids are probably WAY better off with Kfed?"
I could cry for those kids. Not just for the kids of celebrities, but for all kids caught in nasty custody battles. For the child in the case I wrote about last month where the mom is nursing, but the dad insists on keeping baby for full weekends. The mom can't pump enough and her supply is failing due to the separation.
Even apart from custody battles, I see this...this focus on the parents and absolute ignorance about how things might impact the kids. My mom was telling me today about a news story she saw. A couple had intrauterine insemination and the wrong sperm was used. The baby is black. The parents are not. In a statement about the law suit that they've filed (and hey, I TOTALLY back a lawsuit in that case) the parents are quoted as saying "we love our child, but every time we look at her, we're reminded that she's not our daughter."
Can you imagine growing up and looking back on those news stories as a teen or even as an adult and reading a quote like that from your parents? (And let me make the obvious point that it was IUI, not IVF so the child actually IS the biological offspring of the mother.)
I've written about the fact that Lactivism needs to be about fighting for the rights of children rather than the rights of mothers. I strongly believe that and I honestly don't think we'll see real progress until we manage to make that point. That's fine and dandy for us lactivists and our own causes...but I just don't know how far we're going to go in life when society (and parents) places so little value on our kids.
Jennifer, Thanks so much for the post celebrating the formation of the Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition. What a terrific idea! This is just the sort of empowering action that more of us need to take if we truly want to make an impact and help breastfeeding women. Imagine if there was such an organization in every state...and maybe one at the national level?
While Florida has been a leader in creating legislation codifying a woman's right to breastfeeding wherever she wants to, there is still much to be done. I do not profess to know how daycare centers treat breastfed children here (yet) and I am no longer 'in the muck' so to speak because my youngest child is 30. However, I did breastfeed my kids and know all too well what it was like, how easy it was for people to misunderstand, and the lack of knowledge about the importance and benefits of nursing a child. On that score, I know that not much has changed. I read every day about the difficulties today's moms face. My business partner is a breastfeeding mom and she too has had issues with breastfeeding in public.
As you know, our corporate mission is to help promote breastfeeding and support breastfeeding organizations. Well, you have helped us decide upon the vehicle to put that in motion and I propose initiating a Florida Breastfeeding Coalition to lobby for legislation, provide linkages for other breastfeeding organizations to work together, and to partner with businesses who can help make a difference. "Alone, I am only an opinion...together we are action."
If you have any readers in Florida who are interested in helping us get started, please put them in touch with me. They can email caydencreations@yahoo.com.
Thanks for being the catalyst for us to step up and do our part for the breastfeeding community.
For those that aren't aware, this year's LLL sponsored "World Breastfeeding Week Celebration" will run May 1st to September 30th. (Yes, World Breastfeeding Week is actually August 1 - 7, but LLL, like the Lactivist likes to make the party last...)
The theme is "The Power of One" and plays off of the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) slogan "Breastfeeding: The 1st Hour - Save ONE million babies!"
From the WBWC site:
The Power of One...
...drop of colustrum ...pumping ...phone call ...LLL meeting ...conference ...feeding at the breast ...hour, the first hour of bonding ...milky smile ...mother supported, encouraged, listened to, informed, enlightened ...answered email ...mother told "You can do it"
So what's the challenge?
The challenge is what YOU can do to be the power of one. Much like Tanya issued the challenge to make the Motherwear Pledge back in January, I'm going to issue a challenge to my Lactivist readers.
What one thing will you do to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week and to support the cause?
I'll tell you what I did...I coughed up the cash that I earned from t-shirt sales after the great pork fiasco and bought a Gold Level sponsorship of LLL's World Breastfeeding Week Celebrations. I'm proud to see that twelve other businesses have joined the ranks of event sponsors as well. But I challenge my readers that run businesses related to mothering or breastfeeding to do the same. Why aren't YOU sponsoring the World Breastfeeding Week Celebrations? You can become a sponsor for as little as $100. $100...that's not even $15 a month from now until the end of the celebration. Wouldn't it be great to see one hundred businesses sponsoring the event?
Now, on to the rest of you! What are YOU going to do to push "The Power of One?"
Here's what I'm doing... I'm helping Robin launch the Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition. Because the power of one group of determined women can impact the the atmosphere that our daughters and our granddaughters come into as nursing mothers. I'm also throwing the Lactivist Bash so that no mom feels like the only one. Not the only one nursing at the picnic, not the only one nursing a two year old, not the only one pumping, not the only one struggling to do the best they can, not the only one that believes in breastfeeding.
So tell me dear readers...what will YOU do to showcase The Power of One. Tell us in the comments...or better yet, write up a post sharing your thoughts and post a comment linking us to that post.
It's tough...trying to figure out how to fly as a nursing mom, especially if you're flying without your infant. While the TSA has pretty clear-cut rules about this issue, they seem to have a lot of problem making sure their own agents know the exact policies.
Now the official TSA policy is NOT difficult to understand.
If traveling with your child, you may bring breast milk on board with you. If you are not traveling with your child, you can either store it in three 3 oz containers in a one quart zip lock bag OR you can check it. Obviously, if you have any quantity of breast milk, it needs to be checked.
Doesn't sound all that complicated, does it?
Apparently, TSA officials can't get it straight. There have been several instances in the last few months of moms being forced to miss flights or to dump their expressed milk. In some cases, that's because the mom hadn't taken the time to familiarize herself with the new TSA rules and is trying to carry breast milk on without properly packaging it. In other cases, the mom was following the rules to a tee and the TSA officers simply didn't understand them or enforced them improperly.
Well, there's another story about this in the news and I'm getting frustrated.
Heidi Souverville of Sacramento is upset because she was told that she could not bring 27 ounces of expressed milk on board with her. (She WAS given the option to check the luggage.)
I can't find any details on how Souverville had her milk packed. I don't know if she had it in three ounce containers and had few enough of them that she could fit them into a one quart bag, or if she simply read the guidelines stating that you could carry breast milk on board and missed the part about needing to have your baby with you. (Yes, I KNOW that rule is idiotic...)
On the TSA website it said if you were carrying more than three ounces, if it was breast milk or formula, that was OK," Souverville pointed out in an interview at her Curtis Park home.
TSA officers insisted the exemption only applies to mothers traveling with their children, and the rule was stated clearly on one section of the TSA Web site.
CBS13 claims that the TSA updated the site to clarify the policy just last month after the issue happened. Here's what I found on the TSA site today under their general guidelines for what is allowed on board...
Allowed as Carry-On Baby formula and food, breast milk and other baby items - These are allowed in your carry-on baggage or personal items. You can take these through the security checkpoints and aboard your plane. However, you must be traveling with a baby or toddler. [emphasis mine]
The first paragraph on that page has the following line:
If you're not traveling with a baby or toddler, any formula or breast milk you're carrying must meet the requirements for carrying liquids, gels and aerosols (3-1-1).
3-1-1 for carry-ons = 3 ounce bottle or less; 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag; 1 bag per passenger placed in screening bin. One-quart bag per person limits the total liquid volume each traveler can bring. 3 oz. container size is a security measure.
and also...
Declare larger liquids. Prescription medications, baby formula and milk (when traveling with an infant or toddler) are allowed in quantities exceeding three ounces and are not required to be in the zip-top bag. Declare these items for inspection at the checkpoint. [emphasis mine]
Now, I can't go back in time and see exactly what the policy USED to say, but I do know that when I flew to Chicago back in December the TSA site was VERY clear on the fact that you either had to have a baby with you or you had to check your milk. (the option of carrying it on via the 3-1-1 rule did not exist when I took my Chicago trip.) It took me less than five minutes on the site (in December) to find out that if I wasn't traveling with my child, I'd need to check any expressed milk.
However, the articles that I've read state that Souverville was given the option to check her bags. I guess I'm not clear on how the option to dump your milk OR check your bags suddenly becomes "being forced to dump breast milk." (According to Souverville, she didn't want to check her breast pump bag because the bag isn't designed to be checked.)
Let me be clear that I have the utmost sympathy for ANY mom that is forced to throw away hard-earned expressed milk, but this issue has been in the news so much, I guess I just don't see how moms can claim ignorance. I had no problem finding the rules back in December (which were stricter than they are now). In fact, any time that I've checked the TSA guidelines in the last five months (and I've checked at least half a dozen times) it has clearly stated that moms traveling with breast milk but without baby must check the breast milk.
So just to be clear, let's summarize...
Traveling with baby = breast milk allowed Traveling without baby = up to 9 ounces of properly packaged breast milk allowed... check the rest.
For the time being, these are the rules folks. You don't have to like them, but you DO have to follow them. Otherwise, you're going to run into trouble.
Now, what DOES strike me as odd is a line from KCRA 3 that says it wasn't just about the breast milk.
Souverville said she had never had trouble bringing her breast pump on board a plane, until a February flight from Phoenix to Sacramento.
She said TSA agents refused to let her bring on board her pump and 27 ounces of breast milk.
So wait...she couldn't take her PUMP on board? None of the other articles mention the trouble taking the pump on board, so it could be a mistake in this story, but if that's the case, it's something that I can TOTALLY get up in arms about. There's absolutely NOTHING on the TSA site that says there would be any problem with taking a breast pump on board and I'm flabbergasted that a TSA agent would have an issue with it.
More than 20 people testified at a recent hearing in regards to breastfeeding legislation making it's way through the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Health and Health Care Reform. An additional 90 people registered as supporters of the bill. Not a single dissenting voice was present.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinell reported this week that the bill is under review, but is expected to successfully move out of committee. If the bill passes in it's present form, it would be one of the strongest laws on the nation in terms of protecting breastfeeding mothers from harassment.
As it's currently written, the bill would explicitly protect the right of a mother to nurse her child in any public OR private location that the two of them are otherwise authorized to be. The bill also levies a $200 fine against any individual (including security guards and police officers) that attempts to prevent a child from breastfeeding.
Wisconsin's currently breastfeeding legislation merely exempts breastfeeding from being considered "lewd behavior."
The bill is receiving support from breastfeeding mothers and health care professionals.
Jenny Thomas, a Racine pediatrician and lactation consultant, told the committee that despite research showing breast-feeding is the healthiest option for infants and mothers, many women don't try it because of cultural barriers toward feeding when out of the home, Thomas said.
"What we're trying to do is make women feel comfortable in the public arena," Thomas said.
Karissa Andrews, a mother of two from McFarland, said she was nursing her baby in a Madison mall when a store employee told her she had to stop and reported her to security. Security guards approached the bench where she nursed but didn't confront her, she said.
"Breast-feeding harassment is a problem for many Wisconsin families, and it needs to stop," Andrews told the committee.
Some lawmakers asked about provisions in other states' laws regarding breast-feeding that say nursing mothers should be discreet.
More than 35 states have laws to protect nursing in public, and a few say the mothers must be discreet, Thomas said. She argued that such a provision wouldn't help encourage women to breast-feed because determining what is discreet is entirely subjective.
I hope any Wisconsin readers that haven't already contacted their representatives to encourage them to support the bill would do so. Wisconsin is at the forefront of lactivism right now...the wording of this bill (specifically, the inclusion of a fine) really gives this law teeth.
What I wonder though, is how this law gets enforced. It's great that there's a fine, but what qualifies as harassment and is a mother's word enough to get the fine levied? Obviously if someone calls the police, there's a record of the harassment and it would be easy enough to levy the fine, but what happens in more murky cases.
What if a mom is nursing in the mall and someone approaches them to let them know that there's a nursing mother's room. Not because they want them to leave, but because they thought they were being helpful. Can an angry mother have that person charged under this law? Or is there a clear line drawn between "informing" and "demanding?"
Let me be clear, I think it's fantastic that a breastfeeding law with teeth is being considered, but as someone that knows any law can be abused, I'd like to know exactly how this law is going to be enforced and where lines would be drawn.
Jake? You around? Can you share any insight with us?
Yep...that's right. Ohio has joined the ranks of states that actually has an organized group aimed at promoting breastfeeding, pushing for new guidelines, lobbying for legislation and (hopefully) connecting moms with the resources they need to make breastfeeding work.
Robin Neorr (who you'll remember as the mom in the City Kids Day Care incident) has just filed the paperwork for launching the Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition with the Secretary of State. In a few weeks, she'll be applying for tax exempt status as a registered non-profit.
We're hoping that the Lactivist Bash on April 21st will also serve as a "launch party" for the group. Robin will be running the Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition and I'll be serving on the Board of Directors. She's not ready to announce the rest of the board just yet, but they should be in place by the launch next month.
Robin tells me that the first goal of the Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition will be to get the guidelines for licensed day care centers amended so that no center can discriminate against breastfed children.
Even beyond that, we've got a lot to tackle. Ohio has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the nation.
If you're an Ohio mom and you're interested in joining, (you don't have to live in Central Ohio, just in Ohio) you can register for the Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition email list that we've setup through Yahoo Groups. Robin will also be launching a blog shortly so that she can keep everyone up to date on the latest happenings, meeting minutes, etc...
So let's have some cheers for Robin! It's easy to complain about being treated poorly...it's a whole other thing to put the time and effort into launching a new group to make sure that other moms don't have to go through what you went through.
Sometimes I get an email that I really think is worth sharing with my readers. This one comes from Jessica Lietz, a Lactivist reader here in central Ohio.
...I made my first milk donation to the Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio yesterday!
Yesterday was my 28th birthday and I was thrilled to do this. Georgia gave me the tour and I saw your name on the plaque as being one of the first donors. That is awesome! I am so excited to be able to have extra milk to donate. My only sibling, my sister Mary was born at 23 weeks gestation and could have benefited from a milk bank. Mary is 24 years old now but was never expected to survive the ambulance ride from Port Huron (MI) where she was born to Detroit Children's Hospital. She weighed 1# 2oz and was the length of a Barbie doll.
I was 3 when she was born. Our Mom had difficulty while pregnant with me and I was an emergency c-section. My Mom was 19 when she had me and 22 with my sister.
Mary is deaf, blind, has cerebral palsy and has severe mental retardation as a result of her prematurity. BUT, she has a beautiful smile and laugh, she loves to ride horseback, loves rides at the fair and likes to go for walks with my parents. My parents still take care of her at home and in MI she goes to school yet for another year.
I've been involved in OhioSIBS since I moved to Columbus almost 5 years ago, it's for adult siblings of people with special needs. I had a fellowship at OSU's Nisonger Center and was their first epidemiology fellow. So donating to the milk bank to help babies that need the benefit of human milk is an extension of what I've been doing for years. And not only is it me helping, but Natalya helping as well because if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have all this milk!
So, it was an unusual way to celebrate my birthday but it made me very happy.
And Georgia said they were getting low on milk and were looking forward to my donation (about 200 oz) so they really made my birthday a special one. I hope my birthday makes some baby's "birth" day special too :)
If you've never considered donating milk and live anywhere near a HMBANA bank, give it some thought. As I've mentioned before...every drop counts.
Apparently, Amy is able to see beyond my ranting and my occasional "hey, my kid just did the same stuff that every other kid does but it's important because it's MY kid and hey, isn't s/he cute?" posts and gets a little brain juice out of my blog. Either that or she only reads five blogs and I got tagged by default...
So now it's my turn to pass the prize. It's a tough one, because there are so many great bloggers out there, but if I'm forced to narrow it down to five, here are my picks:
Yes, I know that none of those are breastfeeding blogs. Guess what...most of you already know the great breastfeeding blogs. Here's a chance to expand your horizons and read some other great bloggers that do, in fact, make me think.
Earlier this month I put out a call for breast milk donors for the HMBANA milk bank in Denver. I mentioned that their freezers were running low and that I hoped that any moms in the area would consider donating.
I heard back today from Amy at Crunchy Domestic Goddess. She said she contacted the bank and mentioned that she had plenty of milk but didn't have a good electric pump for expressing it. Turns out that the Denver milk bank will lend out pumps to their donors!
If you live in the Denver area and have considered donating but lack a good pump, I hope that you'll give them a call and see if you qualify as a donor.
This is one of those issues that I hesitate to weigh in on, but I'm starting to see it pop up in more places, so I figured I'd best share my thoughts before the email starts pouring in. (Because wow, you guys don't let me miss anything these days...)
The "Lady Bucks" is made up of the wives, family members and employees of the NBA Milwaukee Bucks players. Their latest fundraiser is "Formula FastBreak." To let the Lady Bucks press release explain it:
The event will take place in Lobbies A, B, C and D at the Bradley Center. Donation barrels and cash collection tables will be located in each of the four lobbies. Fans are encouraged to donate any infant/baby formula product (powder or liquid), or cash that will be used to purchase formula. Donations will be accepted from the time the doors open at 1:30 p.m. through the conclusion of Sunday’s game, which begins at 2:30 p.m.
“We all know how expensive and valuable infant formula is,” said Sherrie Tussler, Hunger Task Force executive director. “Thanks to the dedication of the Milwaukee Bucks, Piggly Wiggly, and concerned Bucks fans throughout Milwaukee, mothers will be able to sleep soundly knowing their newborn children will receive the formula they need to be healthy.”
Now I don't know about you, but when I read this announcement, my first thought was "hey, helping single mothers is nice." My second thought was to read "formula they need to be healthy" and to think "I bet that's going to bug some people."
The thought that never crossed my mind was to be absolutely, 100% outraged by the very idea that a group of women would have the GALL to do a fundraiser that DARES mention formula because as we know, ALL women MUST breastfeed and ANY mention of formula that isn't preceded by "the mother had a double mastectomy due to breast cancer, and can't afford donor milk so she uses..." is cause for FREAKING OUT.
Apparently, that IS the thought that crossed many people's minds.
This perplexes me.
Breast milk is the absolute best food for babies and young children. There's no doubt about that. We need to increase breastfeeding support for new moms and make sure that there's protection in place for moms that need to return to work. We need to help educate people about the fact that breast milk doesn't lose it's value once a baby reaches six months.
What we don't need to do is to live in a fantasy world that refuses to acknowledge that some people can, and do use formula either by choice or by necessity.
Because really now...how does that help our cause?
I've read a wide range of criticisms about this program. Some are understandable and lament the fact that the group isn't raising money to help supplement lactation consultant fees or promoting milk banks ALONG WITH running the formula drive. Some simply claim that the group should raise funds or food products or school supplies for these families. Those don't really bother me.
What bothers me is the posts I'm running across that claim the only thing that is being accomplished by this drive is that the big bad formula companies (and yes, I do think they are big and bad) are getting free advertising and that the Lady Bucks are contributing to the down-fall of society by helping mothers get free or low-cost formula. They claim that instead of providing formula, the group should provide education and lactation consultants so that these moms can breast feed.
Ok, that's great...but what about the fact that there ARE women out there that are already giving their children formula (for whatever reason) and struggle to afford it? Shall we simply let their children starve and say "well, that will teach you...maybe you'll breastfeed your next child."
Think I'm nuts and totally coming at this from the wrong angle?
Ok, let me paint an analogy for you.
You know those "save the children" commercials that you see now and then? All those poor children living in the middle of nowhere with no food, no education, no job prospects, no medical care?
Let's stop sending them money. After all, by sending them money, we're helping them to eek out enough of a living that they can grow up and make MORE children that they won't be able to afford to feed. Maybe if we let them die out, they'd stop having babies that they can't afford to feed the people that were left would have enough food to go around.
Sound like a good idea?
Because honestly, I see the two lines of thinking as being pretty much the same.
Come on people. This is NOT how we're going to move the lactivist cause ahead. The greatest majority of moms in this country will formula feed at some point in time. In fact, that number stands at more than 85%. We are not going to win support by telling 85% of the moms in the world that they've damaged their children by giving them formula. We're going to win support by educating people with compassion and understanding. Yes we need to stand up for our rights, but standing up for our rights doesn't mean stomping all over other people's feeding choices.
As with the Super Nanny incident, I just don't see how pitching fits and writing letters about this one advances our cause. Let's save the righteous indignation for the times when a mom is tossed from a mall for daring to feed her child or when a day care center says "we won't accept your child" because that child is breastfed.
Let's leave the well-intentioned folks that are simply trying to help people out alone.
I have 24 cans of it in the trunk of my car as I type this.
Coke...REAL coke...with SUGAR instead of High fructose corn syrup.
How did I manage that, you ask?
Apparently the Coca-cola company puts out "Kosher Coke" each year before the Passover season. (I never knew corn wasn't kosher, but apparently it's not.) They release Coke made with sucrose instead of HFCS in areas of high Jewish population in 2 liter bottles and six-packs of cans.
I spent all morning calling around to the grocery stores in the two suburbs that have high Jewish populations and while most of them were already sold out, I found a Kosher market that had just received a shipment.
So into the car went Elnora, Emmitt and I and off to Bexley we drove.
Cost me $3.29 per six-pack, but I came home with four of them. I'll just have to spread them out so they last me a few months.
Mmmm....Coke that doesn't break my HFCS ban.
Incidentally, I've also learned that many Mexican groceries carry Mexican coke, which is also made with sugar instead of HFCS...even comes in glass bottles.
(Be warned, gonna be a serial posting day, lots to catch up on...)
Well I gained a new appreciation this week for what parents go through when they potty train. We started Elnora on her potty about two months ago, but haven't "pushed it." Pretty much showed her that it's there, ask her if she wants to go whenever we go and give her high fives when she "pees in the potty."
I figure if we don't make it stressful, but we do share that it's a happy thing, we can potty train over time without a ton of stress. After all, it's not really THAT big a deal to change diapers, but since she's interested in the potty and loves flushing it, I thought it was worth trying.
Well in the last week, she's really started progressing. She's been going in the potty about twice a day (and having about two wet diapers a day) and sometimes even tells us when she needs to go.
Last night, she actually woke up at about 1am and started yelling for us. Greg went up to check on her and she said she had to go to the potty. (which means she went "yuck! yuck! duka duka duka!") He brought her down, plopped her on the potty and sure enough, the kid pretty much filled it up.
Cool.
But today...we were out and about she started freaking out in the car (once again with the refrain of "yuck! yuck! duka duka duka!") and telling me she had to go to the potty.
Which is great...
Except it was pouring the rain.
Ever try and get a 6 month old and a 2 year old out of the car and through a busy parking lot in the pouring rain while praying that the Wendy's toilet wasn't going to be to nasty?
Thankfully...we were in the ritzy part of town and the bathroom was spotless. So I set Emmitt's carrier down (see! they ARE handy!) and held Elnora over the toilet. Sure enough, the kid had enough pee to float a canoe. Her diaper was totally dry.
Disclaimer: No actual bashing of this lactivist or any other lactivist will take place.
Well, I've received close to twenty emails from women that are interested in attending "Lactivist Bash 2007" here in Columbus, Ohio, so I've gone ahead and worked out some details.
When: Saturday, April 21st from 11am to 3pm (we'll eat at noon)
Where: One of the Columbus Metropark pavilions (I'll announce which after RSVPs) I'll be renting one of the large covered pavilions that has attached parking, a play ground and modern restrooms. That way we're covered even if it rains.
What to bring: Yourself, your family, some food to share and any games that you or your kids want to play. (There should be a lot of green space, so Frisbees, toys, whatever...
I'll provide paper products, drinks (Lemonade, Ice Tea and Water) a fresh fruit tray and a vat of my famous chili dogs. (I know, they aren't super healthy, but I'll get turkey dogs and use ground turkey for the chili...besides, you gotta live a little at picnics...)
So, please RSVP by email (please don't just post in the comments, send me an email too so that I can email out directions) by March 31st so that I have time to get a pavilion. Let me know how many are coming and what you think you might bring. That way I can make sure we don't end up with 27 veggie trays and one bag of chips. ;)
Also, if anyone else has a 5 gallon drink cooler, let me know. I've got one that I'll use for ice tea, but it would be nice to have another one for ice water and one for the lemonade.
Gotta say, I'm looking forward to this. I turn 30 on April 20th, so this will be a nice way for me to enter the next decade of my life...surrounded by people as crazy as I am. :)
Oh, and feel free to pass this on to other Ohio moms, anyone that supports breastfeeding is welcome to come. Just make sure they RSVP to me by March 31st.
I'm generally not a fan of the Limited. After all, this is the company that thought it was a good idea to sell thong underwear emblazoned with slogans like "wink, wink" and "eye candy" in little girl sizes.
That said, my cousin's boyfriend has started working at the corporate offices of their "tween" division and he reports back that they have lactation rooms with corporate pumps, storage space, comfy chairs and locked doors. ;) (Don't ask me how he knows this, I'd imagine it was mentioned on his tour and he paid attention since he knows I'm such a lactivist.)
So, to the folks at "The Limited"...you suck for trying to sex up our kids, but at least you get a little credit for knowing that they need breast milk in the years before you turn them into tramps.
There's potentially good news for working moms that breastfeeding in Oklahoma. After suffering from problems last session that resulted in a severely watered down version of the bill, House Bill 2372 is headed to the floor for a full House vote. If it passes, it will move on to the Senate.
The bill calls for businesses with more than 25 employees to make "reasonable effort" to provide a location for breastfeeding mothers to express their milk and also requires them to offer 30 minute (unpaid) breaks for either expressing milk or breastfeeding.
The Portsmouth Today News is reporting that a mother was tossed out of "The Spring Cafe" on High Street in Portsmouth for nursing her six month old. The crazy thing is that the woman even had her son covered with a blanket!
Mrs Dore said: 'I argued a bit at first. He said all the other customers would be offended, and I couldn't understand that because I sat in the corner and covered myself.
'Then he started taking our drinks and saying "get out".'
Mr Ozdemir said the cafe welcomed up to 20 buggies every day, and that he was thinking of his other customers when he asked Mrs Dore to leave.
He said: 'I get hundreds of people come in here with babies and I've got no problems with them. But I can't have someone breastfeeding while another table next to them is eating.
'At least she should turn away and do it in a proper way. She just argued with me while I politely asked her to leave.'
Wonder exactly what he means by "do it the proper way"... I suppose he means in a way that no one but mom and baby can see? Heaven forbid those other mothers see a child eat.
And when, when WHEN are people going to understand that a breastfeeding baby IS EATING. So you can eat at your table, but my child can't eat at mine?
Now as I understand it, Scotland has legislation that protects the right of a mom to nurse in public, but it doesn't look like England does? I did some hunting, but didn't find much apart from some articles that are a year or two old talking about a push for legislation.
Any of my UK readers care to update us on the issue?
Emmitt slept pretty well over the weekend. I like to think it's because he knew Elnora was gone and that it was my one chance to get some rest (babies are intuitive) but I think it's more likely that he actually got good naps on Saturday and Sunday and thus, he slept well.
(I never understood why kids sleep better/longer at night if they get a lot of naps, but who am I to tell that gift horse to open up his chompers so I can take a look?)
I did a lot of running around on Saturday and Sunday so he got some great naps in the car. Saturday night he slept from 11pm to 10:45 am, waking only at 5am and 8am. Not bad.
Last night, he went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 1am and then slept until a little after 8am this morning.
I woke up and thought "why do I feel so awake? what's going on?" before I looked at the clock and did the "holy smokes, is he still breathing!" baby check.
So today, my goal has been to ensure that this kid gets good naps. That's fairly tough since Elnora is...well...a LOUD 2 year old and Emmitt doesn't like to take naps in his pack n play. I got him to take two naps on my bed (nursed him to sleep then snuck away) and now he's sleeping soundly in his bouncy chair while I bounce it with my foot. Hopefully I can get one more nap in early this evening. (He never sleeps for more than an hour at a time during the day.)
Then we'll test my theory.
I couldn't possibly get 7 hours of straight sleep two nights in a row, could I?
My ASL for babies sign language books showed up early last week, so I thought I'd give you all a quick update. I only just started signing with Elnora on Wednesday and she was gone from Friday evening until this afternoon, so she's really only had about 48 hours of signing so far.
So far she's picked up "baby" and "more" and has signed "drink" and "jump" once or twice. Turns out she was already making the signs for "wait" and "brush your teeth." I think she finds "more" to be quite handy. ;)
I've started incorporating the following phrases into our every day interactions...
what more done (finished) wait no eat drink milk baby jump (she LOVES to jump) book bird cat
I occasionally throw in a few others, like mom or dad, but mostly, we'll wait until she starts to pick up some more and then we'll add them. I don't want to overwhelm her. ;)
I've also been devouring the books I bought (including Signing Smart) and I'm just fascinated by this whole babies and sign language thing. Totally pumped about it.
Also found a fantastic site that has a dictionary of more than 7000 ASL signs. It's searchable by letter and when you select a word, it actually plays a video of someone making the sign. Very, VERY handy.
If you home school your kid, they will be extremely intelligent, but socially inept.
If your kids go to public school, they'll barely be able to read and will do drugs at age 8.
If you breastfeed, you'll NEVER be able to be separated from your child.
If you formula feed, your child will have non-stop ear aches and colds until they are four.
If you home birth, you must dance naked in the yard under a full moon and then eat the placenta.
If you use an OB you'll be sliced stem to stern.
If you co-sleep, your child will stay in your bed until they go to college and you'll NEVER have sex AGAIN!
*sigh*
When will we move past the point of taking one potentially bad outcome of a situation and applying it to anyone and everyone that chooses that route in life?
The Columbus Dispatch ran an article this past week about co-sleeping. It was one of the most ridiculous pieces of so-called journalism that I've ever read. (Of course, I have to remind myself that journalism classes no longer include that part about telling both sides of a story...)
On the second floor, Harrison, 5, is splayed, sideways and snoring, across his parents' king-size bed — having muscled his mother out and pushed his father, 35-year-old photographer Paul, to the edge.
Any of you co-sleepers out there actually let your children push you out of bed? Cause last time I checked, co-sleeping doesn't mean giving up your authority as a parent. Oh wait...sorry, we're talking about sensationalist press here...CLEARLY if you let your children sleep with you, you must give up ALL control.
Let's continue...
The couple aren't alone in not being alone in their bed.
They also aren't happy about the "family bed," which has inched its way into the mainstream among indulgent parents who fail to set limits for their children.
"It is everybody's Achilles' heel, I think — this rotating and not sleeping," she said. "Yet it is so gross to think you've ended up with a family bed."
Um....yeah. If you aren't happy about the "family bed" why don't you stop having a family bed? Once again...any of you co-sleepers out there that would allow your children to continue to sleep with you if it was no longer working for your family and you weren't getting any sleep?
Because yeah...sounds to me like these aren't "co-sleepers," they are indulgent parents who fail to set limits that just happen to co-sleep. So rather than lumping all co-sleepers into the "indulgent parents who fail to set limits" club, let's call a spade and spade instead of dubbing every single garden tool a spade.
More than a decade after infant-sleep expert Dr. Richard Ferber warned parents against co-sleeping and advocating a "cry-it-out" approach...
Oops...sorry. Just had to throw that line in there so that you could all laugh at Ferber STILL being referred to as an "infant-sleep expert."
Back to the train wreck...
"Everyone I know has been to some sort of sleep center," said Liz Lange, the maternity-wear designer, who "went the sleep consultant route" for help with the peripatetic nighttime ways of her son, Gus.
Umm...ok. Now see, I understand that there are kids that have sleep problems. I GET that there are children that just will NOT stay in bed at night. And yes, these kids (and their parents) probably need some help getting things figured out. That may mean a family bed (if the FAMILY is happy with that solution) or it may mean getting help in coming up with a plan to get the child to sleep in their own bed...
but...
Does anyone else see a pattern here? Very rich, very famous parents that, as Lange puts it, "work long, hard days and come home exhausted" and then have trouble having the energy to actually enforce ANY discipline on their kids?
(...and don't ya love how the author threw "peripatetic" in there to look smart? It means "walking about".)
Listen to what Lange says...
"By the time I get into bed at night," she said, "I've really had it. I can't spend from 1 to 3 in the morning running back and forth, moving them back to their beds. I will tell you that my daughter does kick and spin. My husband will swear she pulls the chest hairs out of his chest. But if I don't make an issue out of this, I do — we do — get a decent amount of sleep, at least six hours. The only thing that gives me a little bit of hope and comfort is the thought that I'm sure I won't have teenagers sleeping in my bed."
In other words...it's hard work being a parent. I think I'll just let my kids run amok and hope that some day I get more sleep.
Uh huh...
Anyone else read this article and think "this has nothing to do with co-sleeping, this has to do with lazy parenting?"
Quite honestly, I've yet to meet a co-sleeping family that has these types of issues.
It's kinda like the mom on SuperNanny that everyone wanted to dub as being "AP" simply because she was breastfeeding a 14 month old and carried her around a lot. (We'll ignore the fact that she hit, slapped and spanked her kids non-stop.)
Co-sleeping isn't the problem here folks, lack of parenting is.
Some women obsess about purses or shoes...I obsess about diaper bags. Maybe it's because I've never been a purse person, (or a shoe person for that matter...the only "cool" shoes I own come from my best friend who has great fashion sense, is young, single and gets bored with her shoes while they are still trendy...) but for some reason I've been obsessed with cool diaper bags ever since I had Elnora.
Which is ironic really since my diaper bag for the first year or so of Elnora's life was that black Similac (or was it Enfamil?) bag that every new mother leaves the hospital with. It was insulated, small, had some pockets and served it's purpose. Besides, I'd ripped the brand name tag off it so they weren't getting any advertising out of the deal and I've never used formula, so I sort of felt like it was a "ha!" on them. (You know, sort of a "nya-nya I'm using your diaper bag and you didn't make any money off me!")
But when I found out I was expecting my second and I realized that I'd need to cart around enough stuff for two kids, I became obsessed with finding the perfect diaper bag. I scoured the web drooling over bags that were trendy, yet practical. Of course that meant that they had trendy price tags to go with them.
The Lactivist Says: I LOVE this diaper bag. Love it, love it, LOVE it! (Have I mentioned that I love it?)
Pros: Huge variety of colors (plus the cover is reversible) Super roomy Integrated wipe dispenser Built in clips to attach it to your stroller Messenger style bag is long enough to cross over your chest
Cons: Expensive Body of the bag attract dog hair like mad
Quite honestly, I think this is my absolute favorite product of all the things I've reviewed so far. I'm a total scrooge when it comes to spending money, but I would totally pay the $66 that this bag retails for. When I first received this bag to review I looked it over and decided that I'd load it up and set it aside to use for "all-day" trips. After all, I already had a purse sized bag that held most of what I needed for quick jaunts with two kids and who wants to carry around a larger bag if they don't have to.
Apparently, I do. I took this bag on two day trips and then came home and packed away my other diaper bag. I like this bag enough that it's now my "go-to" diaper bag. (Ok, so I've really just always wanted to say "go-to" in regards to something...humor me folks.) I've been using it on a daily basis for about five or six weeks now and I adore it. In fact, I've had at least a dozen compliments on it since I've started carrying it.
So let's break down the features to see exactly why I'm such a huge fan of this bag.
Roomy!
This is the absolute key to any diaper bag that I'm going to use. It's simply GOT to have space. I don't carry a purse anymore so the diaper bag needs to be able to hold anything that would go in my purse plus the supplies I need for two kids. This one has that issue down pat. in fact, here's a listing of what I've taken with me on an "all day" errand run...
Change of clothes for Elnora Change of clothes for Emmitt 4 diapers + wipes Sippy cup for Elnora Bottle of water for me Snack cup for Elnora 2 bibs for Emmitt plus one bib for Elnora Set of Elnora's silverware Comb A toy for Emmitt My cell phone, wallet, digital camera and keys Two cloth grocery bags from Whole Foods
And there was still room left in the diaper bag! The nice thing is that there are two sectioned pouches inside the bag. I use one for diapers and one for clothes. It also has four or five other zippered sections scattered around the inside and outside, two "pockets" on the front of the bag under the flap and a pocket on each side of the bag that's the perfect size for a cell phone. The large zippered section on the back of the sports bag includes a changing pad. The rest of the stuff just gets tossed in the bag.
Stroller Friendly
One of the challenges I've had is finding a stroller friendly diaper bag. See, my double stroller is wonderful because it's really compact, but it's biggest downside is that it really doesn't have much in the way of a storage basket underneath. That means that I either have to carry the diaper bag or attach it to the handles. Daisy Gear does this up right...with two little built in loops that allow you to fasten it to your stroller.
Since the diaper bag is messenger style, it lays pretty flat against the back of a stroller. That means it's not knocking you in the knees every time you take a step. Since each side attaches to the stroller it also means that it's not bouncing around like it would if you simply hung it from one of the handles. The shot here shows it hooked onto our stroller with the back seat fully reclined. Even still, it doesn't get in my way when I'm pushing the stroller. If I had the seat sitting up, it would be even more out of the way.
Colors and Design
The nice thing about the Daisy Bag is that it comes in more than a dozen colors. In fact, they have a "billboard series" of bags that is partially made from recycled billboard advertisements. These bags are one of a kind and are pretty darn cool looking. The flaps on them are also reversible so that if you want a pink one, and your husband isn't secure in his masculinity (tee hee) he can quickly unzip the Velcro on the flap and reverse it so that the black side is facing out. It takes about 30 seconds to make the switch. (Or, you can go buy the same bag in "manly" colors at Dad Gear.)
Now I will note that one of the few negatives I found with this diaper bag was that the material the bag is made from is the type that gathers dust, hair and dirt like mad. Yes, you can mostly wipe it off, but as we all know, dog hair has amazing magnetic properties and adheres to anything it comes into contact with until you pull it off with a pair of tweezers. Since our dog has tan hair and the bag is black...well...yeah. It's ok though...going out with a little dog hair on the diaper bag is really the least of my problems.
Integrated Wipes Container
Now to the pièce de résistance of the Daisy Gear diaper bag. The "integrated wipes dispenser." Why no one else has thought of this before is beyond me because it's fan-frickin-tastic! Basically, there is a wipes container that snaps into the front of the bag so that you don't have to go digging for your wipes. Apart from the obvious convenience of not having to dig for wipes, let's consider the handiness of that feature in public restrooms.
With the Daisy Gear bag, I never have to take a hand off of Emmitt while changing him. I can open the bag with one hand while still wearing it, pull out a diaper, get it slid under his other diaper, open the dirty diaper, grab a wipe from the wipes dispenser, (again, with one hand because I don't have to dig for it in the bag and then hold it in one hand while getting a wipe with the other) wipe him off, pull the dirty diaper out from under him, fasten the clean one, toss the dirty one in the trash, put his clothes back together, pick him up and bam, we're done.
It's awesome.
I've run across several products here at The Lactivist that I feel comfortable recommending to my readers, but this is honestly the first one I've reviewed that I can suggest without the slightest hesitation, as long as you can handle the price tag. Oh, and if you aren't a fan of the sports bag, Daisy Gear offers a larger messenger diaper bag and a backpack diaper bag as well.
Every now and then I run across an article on breastfeeding in public that makes me wonder. Now I've already made it VERY clear here that I do not support breastfeeding laws that include language like "discreet" or "covered" or anything else that leaves things open to judgement...because really, who gets to define discreet?
At the same time, I don't like the idea of a woman nursing her child in public with an entire breast exposed. Sure, it's her right, but I think it sets back the movement by creating backlash against nursing moms. Now I would never tell a mom that she should stop, nor would I shoot her a dirty look because who knows, she could be a new mom that's still learning how to nurse. She could also be someone trying to make a point and as much as I think these people are rare, I don't doubt that there are a few women in the world that WOULD expose themselves purposely just to make a point. I disagree with their methods, but hey, still their right to do it.
That said, it's been my experience that moms work to show absolutely as little as possible while they nurse. Yes, I hear stories online all the time about women 'whipping it out' (I hate that phrase) to nurse, but I've NEVER seen this. At most, you might see a quarter inch of breast if the mom's shirt isn't quite pulled down to baby's nose. Heck, my own son will occasionally grab hold of my shirt and try to lift it up a bit more. It's fun for him. ;) Not so much for me, but you do what you gotta do.
So what's with that rant? Well, a reader sent me a story today out of Cullman, Alabama. Apparently, Elizabeth McDowell was nursing her child in Johnny's Barbecue last week when she alleges that one of the employees put a dirty dish towel over her six month old son's head as he ate. (Ohh...you want to talk about something that would earn you a whippin...I would have been absolutely furious.) The owner's side of the story is that the woman was exposing her entire breast and that many of his patrons were complaining.
It gets a little more confusing, at least based on the news story that I could find online...
Becky Smalley, a Johnny's Barbecue Employee, said she was at work when McDowell was feeding her child. She said the woman exposed most of her breast. Smalley and her daughter-in-law, Katrina James, argued with McDowell outside the restaurant.
"Why would you do it?" Smalley asked.
McDowell replied "you can't breast feed yourself."
McDowell said she wants to encourage people who are offended by public breast-feeding to first approach mothers verbally, and to never act aggressively toward the mother or child.
"It is a mother's protected right to breast-feed her child in any public or private place where she is allowed to be," she said in a prepared statement. "For the upset person to take matters into their own hands is frightening and unacceptable."
I can't for the life of me figure out what McDowell meant by her "You can't breast feed yourself" comment. I don't know if it's just bad reporting or if she said it and it just didn't make sense. Does she mean that Smalley isn't able to breastfeed or that a woman can't nurse from her own breast? I would assume she probably meant the former, but even if she did, what point would that make?
I also can't really get behind the idea of "encouraging" people to approach mothers verbally if they are offended by public breastfeeding. I'd personally encourage people to look the other way and mind their own business if they don't like public breastfeeding. It's what I do if I don't like something that someone else is doing. Never seemed all that difficult to me.
That said, this part of the article really stood out to me and seems to really represent the views held by a lot of people.
I call this "lip service."
James said she is the mother of an infant, and that she doesn't have a problem with public breast-feeding as long as women are discrete.
"I just don't think you should do it in the middle of a restaurant where people are eating," she said.
How can you say you don't have a problem with public breastfeeding and then follow it up by saying that you shouldn't do it in public? Or is it ok to do it in public but not if anyone else is eating? Because apparently a child enjoying their meal suddenly makes you unable to enjoy your own?
Disappointing to see that only three mothers showed up to support this woman.
To note, Alabama is a state that has laws that specifically make it legal for a mother to breastfeed in public. However, as I've explained in the past, these laws do NOT override the ability of a business owner to refuse service to someone, they simply keep a mother from being prosecuted for nursing. Thus, if a business owner wants to, they can call the police and claim that the mother and child are trespassing and refusing to leave their property. In other words, sure, it's legal to breastfeeding in public, but it's just as legal to ask someone to leave, cover up, etc.
I LOVE bouncy chairs. They were my salvation when I exclusively pumped because I could set Nora in it with a toy and bounce her if she got fussy while I pumped. With Emmitt, who ONLY takes cat naps, it's the best way to get him quickly from breast to sleep so that I could enjoy twenty minutes of work.
It was also great because I'd sit him in there while I cooked dinner and he'd watch me quite happily as I wandered around the kitchen getting things done.
But alas, I think our bouncy chair days are over...
That's across the street from my house. On the right side of the image, the creek (which sounds funny since it's 20 or 30 foot across) drops over an 8 foot dam. It was warm enough to open the windows in the living room yesterday and I could hear the water rushing over the dam.
When it gets warmer, we'll be able to leave the windows open at night and we can fall asleep the the sound of rushing water.
Ahh...sweet sleep and peacefulness, I shall be with you soon.
Which is ironic since I'll still have Mr. Nurse-all-Night with me...
Anyway, Elnora is heading to the farm this weekend for the first time in about seven months. You see, back before Emmitt was born, my in-laws (who live an hour away on a farm) would keep Elnora one weekend a month. It was a great way for them to spend quality time with each other and it gave Greg and I a free weekend each month to go out in the evenings, sleep-in in the morning and get work done during the day. Since I adore my in-laws and trust them implicitly with Nora, it worked out well for all of us.
Well, timing wise it just hasn't worked out to send her since Emmitt's been born. They were here last weekend though and made mention of the fact that they missed having her. (I *think* they got that whole sentence out before I blurted out "when can you keep her!?" but I'm not sure...)
So all was arranged and it was decided that Elnora would spend the weekend with them this week.
Wait...it gets better.
Yesterday I spoke with my sister-in-law and found out that she and my brother-in-law are headed down there as well. Did I want them to take Elnora down with them to save myself a trip? (I *think* she got that whole sentence out before I blurted out "woo hoo!" but I'm not sure...)
So it's arranged. I have to drive about 20 minutes to drop Elnora off with my SIL this afternoon and they'll take her south. She LOVES Greg's brothers and their wives, so this will work out great. Plus, Greg's parents are bringing her home on Sunday, so I don't have to drive either time.
Life is good.
Yes, I'll still have Emmitt, but hey...he'll take naps and I can nap with him. Plus, I can do all the running around I want with him because he'll sleep wherever. (And with my new Ergo (review coming soon) I can also get stuff done around the house or go for walks.
Now...just another year or so and I can ship them BOTH off for the weekend.
Would you guys be interested in a Lactivist podcast? No promises... (though I am launching a podcast aimed at work at home parents next month via Search Engine Guide) but I've been giving it some thought.
I'm thinking some weeks it would be thoughts, rambling, fun type stuff. Other weeks it would be interviewing folks about things like breastfeeding legislation, milk banking, tandem nursing, maybe interviewing some doulas or midwives... Same stuff you get here, just...well, in podcast form. ;)
It's been a busy week in the world of breastfeeding bills and legislation. You can check out an update on the Pennsylvania breastfeeding legislation that I posted earlier and you can get a quick summary of what's going on in New Mexico, Arkansas and West Virginia in this post.
New Mexico
HB 613 was signed into law yesterday in New Mexico. The bill was designed to help support working mothers by making sure employers provide a clean and private location that is NOT a bathroom (woo hoo!) to express milk and the flexible break time to get the job done. The bill does not require companies to provide a location to store the mother's milk nor does it require her to be paid for the time she takes to pump. The law goes into effect in 90 days.
Arkansas
House Bill 2411 which was introduced by Rep. Pam Adcock is designed to exempt breastfeeding from the state's indecent exposure laws. The bill has not yet passed but is moving through legislation. Arkansas currently has no breastfeeding related laws on the books. Unfortunately this is a very toned down version of the original bill which would have given a woman asked to stop breastfeeding in public cause to take action against the individual or business that asked her to stop. That part of the bill was removed when it went through committee.
West Virginia
Despite claims that he has "no problem" with a bill that would exempt breastfeeding from West Virginia's indecent exposure laws, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin vetoed the bill claiming that it conflicted with another bill addressing indecent exposure. That marks the third time in three years that the bill has failed to pass. The bill also provided for an exemption from jury duty for breastfeeding mothers.
Well now there's something you don't expect to see...
This month's (April 2007) issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine has a nice two-page article on human milk banking. I had Greg pick me up a copy last night, but I wouldn't be beyond simply suggesting you read it while you're standing in the checkout line. ;)
It shares the story of a newborn and a 6 year old child that are currently receiving donor milk and does a great job of taking about how the process works and what the benefits are. Also has an interview or two with a few donors, including one mom that said it really helped her heal emotionally from the baby she lost in a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
Anyway, it's really, REALLY nice to see milk banking (specifically the HMBANA banks) getting some positive press in a mainstream magazine. Here's hoping that this helps the word spread.
The funny thing? I saw someone on a lactation forum complain that the story includes an image of a bottle.
Umm...what do they think donor milk comes in? Cute little disposable boobies? Perspective people...perspective.
Cairo Mama sparked an idea in the comments section of 5 Things, but I thought it'd be easier to do it here.
She's going to be in Ohio in April...I've been wanting to meet some Lactivist readers anyway...who's within driving distance and up for a Saturday or Sunday BBQ in April? Maybe the 21-22 or 28-29? (I get back from NYC on the 13th Cairo Mama, so I think the 14th is out...)
If you're interested, drop me an email and we'll handle this off the blog. Don't want addresses and such floating around on here. :)
So it's been about two months now since I started making a real effort to get us on a more healthy diet. I've written in the past about how happy I was to find quality, affordable organics at Meijer and at Giant Eagle. I also make a trek to Whole Foods every now and then to stalk up on some staples since their store brand is pretty cheap and they've got a wide variety of products that may not be organic, but at least have nothing artificial in them. (and NO transfats.)
I've succeeded in getting about half of our produce switched over to organic in the last two months and I've managed to do it without significantly increasing our grocery bill. How? Well, I still buy convention on the things that are drastically more expensive as organics. For instance, strawberries...they're INSANE to buy organic. (Though once May hits, I can buy them at my local farmers market for much more reasonable prices...also debating planting a strawberry patch here at the new house.) But carrots, celery, potatoes, lettuce, bananas, apples and oranges are all pretty reasonable. In fact, I've found that if I forgo convenience, I can buy a lot of organics.
For example, I buy a two pound bag of whole organic carrots (remember when you had to peel carrots?) instead of a two pound bag of peeled baby carrots. The organic carrots are actually less when I do this. (.99 cents a pound for the organics.) I buy full heads of organic lettuce (romaine, iceberg and bunches of unwashed spinach) instead of the washed and cut conventional. I end up with way more salad for less price and it stays good longer.
I'm not on organic meat yet and quite honestly, unless we find a good local source, I don't think it will happen. I just flat out cannot afford to buy organic meat from the grocery store. Whole Foods is the only place that has it anyway and I'd end up spending in meat what my entire weekly budget for ALL fresh foods is. (and that's with having cut back our meat consumption dramatically.) That said, Giant Eagle has a nice selection of "natural" meats. They aren't organic, but they are hormone free, antibiotic free, grain fed (no animal by products). The price on these is about halfway between conventional and organic, so I aim to buy them whenever possible.
Dairy...well, Greg and I have joined Elnora in drinking organic milk. This was a HUGE increase in cost for us since even store brand organic milk is $6 a gallon around here. We have cut down from two gallons to one gallon a week, but I can't see dropping any more than that. I now have milk only on my cereal and maybe one glass a week. (I used to drink a glass or more per day.) We're also on organic eggs now. Haven't switched cheese yet as the cost there would be HUGE. Same for butter. Organic yogurt's too expensive, but Dannon has a new "Natural" line that uses sugar instead of HFCS and has no artificial ingredients. Tastes darn good too. I even bought some kefir this week to try in my fruit smoothies. Not bad, but expensive.
Boxed and Canned goods...this is where it gets tough. Giant Eagle and Meijer both have pretty reasonable prices on their store brands of things like organic pasta, organic canned or frozen veggies, organic rice, organic flour, etc... When organic is too expensive, there are at least "natural" alternatives that help me cut out some HFCS, PHOs and artificial ingredients. That said, I've found that Whole Foods and Trader Joe's also has good prices on their house brands. I'm still building my strategy on this because Whole Foods and Trader Joe's are about 30 minutes away so I've got to make special treks to stock up. (For instance, I bought 4 boxes of Kashi GoLean Crunch and 6 boxes of Whole Kids Honey Nut Oats the last time I went there...but we'll go through that in a little more than a month.)
So, now that we're succeeding in our goals to eat more organics, I've decided to take the pledge at Mission Organic. (Hat tip to Jessie Hawkins over at Vintage Remedies.) Basically, you commit to making sure that 1 out of 10 items in your grocery cart or organic and/or that one out of ten meals will be organic.
Oh yeah...and that bread thing? I've tried the organic brands from three stores. They taste like cardboard. Thus, my choice so far seems to be accept HFCS bread or make my own. So, I'm trying to make it once or twice a week. I think I've had four slices of HFCS bread in the last 6 weeks.
Oh, and I've lost 8 or 9 pounds since I cut HFCS. ;)
Another benefit of shopping more naturally? I've bought some of the reusable grocery bags from Whole Foods and Giant Eagle (Love them! they hold so much and are easy to carry) and I stuff them in my diaper bag when I go grocery shopping. This past week I discovered that Meijer gives you a 50 cent store credit for every one of your own reusable bags that you bring. Since the bags only cost me $1 anyway, it obviously doesn't take long to start profiting. :)
How bout you? Any one else working on cutting things like HFCS or PHO's...or working to go toward organics or even just "natural" foods? What are your tips for saving money and eating organic affordably?
Sinead from Breastfeeding Mums tells me that it's time to reveal a little bit about myself (which is ironic really...for a person that tells the whole world about her breasts on a daily basis...) so here I go with five things you might not have known about me.
1.) I was a competitive shooter through high school and college. I shot .22 caliber rifle and air rifle for about 10 years. I was actually pretty good too. I was one of the top two female shooters in my state and competed in the Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs my Junior year of high school. I shot for Ohio State as an NCAA athelete and I even qualified for the Olympic Trial three times. I'm also a certified coach and still head off every summer to help out at the National Junior Rifle Camp.
2.) I had a pet chicken growing up. That's right, a pet chicken. We lived in the city, but had a fenced in yard. One year dad bought us 9 baby chicks for easter. They grew up and it turns out seven were roosters. Those went off to live in the "stew pot" farm and we kept the hens. One died about two years later, but one of then lived for 10 years. (did you know chickens lived TEN years?) Her name was Fluffy and she always came when I called her. Not many pets give you yummy brown eggs every day.
3.) I type nearly 100 words a minute. In fact, I've been clocked at 120 words per minute. That should serve as some explanation for those of you who wonder how the heck I write so much each day. (Between my two blogs I average about 5000-6000 words of writing per day.)
4.) I'm an evangelical conservative Christian. Yep, that's right...and you thought I was a big old hippie liberal, didn't ya? ;) I'm a registered Republican though I have libertarian leanings. That said, I part ways with my political party on a variety of issues. Any one up for launching The Lactivist party? Ohh...wait...how bout just HAVING a Lactivist Party. We could all sit around and see how much chocolate we have to eat before our nurslings start getting chocolate milk.
5.) I am NOT Supermom, I mearly play one on TV. Seriously, this point can never be driven home enough to my readers. I may appear to have it together...but my house is a wreck (I should start posting a pic of my living room now and then), the laundry is piled up as high as the washer in the basment and I still havent' cleaned up the jar of hot pepers that tipped over in the fridge three days ago. Ok, so maybe I'm a "super" mom and just a lousy housekeeper. ;)
So, let's see...who to tap, who to tap. I've got all these new readers and I know so little about them...so I tap...Labor Nurse, Evil Cake Lady (mmm...tell us about cake Evil Cake lady...), Janis Fan, Jessie Hawkins (cause cool! she's a Master Herbalist!) and Cairo Mama even though she isn't "new."
I was thinking this week about my post on the lack of good information for moms that end up exclusively pumping. My biggest frustration with that wasn't just that there was a lack of information but that there seemed to be a lack of information because no one CARED about helping those moms. I could never help but shake the feeling that many people were secretly thinking "well it's nice that you're giving your kid breast milk, but you should have tried harder to make nursing work."
Now I'm well aware that that's MY issue...I'm sure it was the minority that thought that way, but I'm interested in how I see that type of attitude carry over to childbirth issues as well.
I host the Childbirth Choices Debate board over at BabyCenter and I do a lot of reading on natural childbirth, home birth and so on. While I don't know that it's intention, I see a lot of "all or nothing" attitude in that realm as well and it disappoints me.
Here's what I mean by that...
When I see a post by a mom talking about their first birth experience and how disappointing it was or I read a post from a mother that's pregnant and is running into problems with her caregiver, I'm often astounded at the response. Generally, the response boils down to "you should have a home birth, that will solve all of your problems" or "you need a midwife, that will solve all of your problems" or "plan for an unmedicated birth, that will solve all of your problems."
If a mom jumps on any of those three ideas, advice and support literally rains down on them as people share detailed information about how to get the birth they want, what studies support low-intervention birth, where to find a low-cost or even free doula and so on.
This is fantastic! I'm one of the first to ask people if they've ever considered using a midwife or having a baby at home. After all, that's how I "solved" the issues of my first birth when I wanted to make sure that they didn't happen a second time.
However, I also realize that home birth and even unmedicated birth isn't for everyone. Believe it or not, there are moms (and good ones too) that educate themselves on the risks and decide that they would like to have pain relief or that they would like their baby to be born in a hospital. No, they aren't crazy or deluded, they're just exercising their own choices. Homebirthers (myself included) spend a lot of time explaining that mom will progress much more easily in an environment where she feels comfortable. Well, guess what? Some women feel more comfortable having a baby in the hospital than they do at home. Yes, even when they know that home is just as safe.
The issue here is that once we find out a mom is planning a hospital birth and (gasp!) is using an OB instead of a midwife and (bigger gasp) might want to have the option of medical pain relief, we tend to just say "good luck" and leave it at that.
There's very little info from the educated childbirth community about how to have the BEST medicated birth possible. In other words, many childbirth advocates sort of act like if you plan to have a medicated birth, you kind of deserve whatever you get.
This bothers me. The same way that the subtle attitude against exclusively pumping from some breastfeeding moms bothered me.
So, I'd like that address that in this thread. I'd like to share some tips and suggestions for "medical mamas" on how to have the best birth possible and I hope that my readers would kick in their own suggestions. Let's go against the flow and realize that moms that choose to have pain relief during their labors also deserve to know how to avoid the problems that can come with that cascade of interventions.
My tips to medical mamas...
1.) Make sure that your health care provider is on the same page as you. Just because you plan on having an epidural doesn't mean that you want the whole intervention combo platter. Educate yourself about the various interventions and talk honestly with your doctor to find out when they use them and why they use them. Don't be afraid to switch providers to find someone that shares your philosophies of birth.
2.) Check out your hospital before the birth. Find out what their intervention rates are, what their c-section rates are, what their pre-birth and post-partum policies are. Is there an IBCLC on staff? How quickly can you have access to her? Basically, know what you're getting into and if you have a choice between hospitals, pick the one that best shares your philosophies of birth.
3.) If you plan on having medical pain relief, opt for the epidural instead of IV narcotics. While IV narcotics have the benefit of allowing you to be more mobile in labor, they carry greater risks for both you and your baby. If you do choose to have IV narcotics, find out which ones your doctor prefers to use and do your research on the possible side effects to you and the baby.
4.) Consider signing up for a natural childbirth class so that you can learn coping techniques. Even if you plan on having an epidural, the longer you can delay it, the less chance that you'll have the cascade of interventions and the less chance of harm coming to you or your baby. You may even find that the coping techniques work well enough that you don't want pain relief. Also, realize that 25% of epidurals do not give full pain relief...having some backup techniques can make that situation much more bearable.
5.) Refuse an IV until shortly before you get your epidural. Some women will labor for hours before they feel the need to have pain relief. While you do need to have your IV long enough to get some fluids before getting your epidural, you do NOT need to have it in for your entire early labor. In fact, having the IV in place can inhibit your mobility plus the longer it's in, the more fluids that will flood into your system. An overload of IV fluids can cause blood sugar issues for both you and your baby and can also cause edema which can significantly impact your breastfeeding abilities in the early days.
6.) Avoid induction unless there is a medical reason for it. Inductions carry increased risks to both mother and baby and mothers need to be aware of when the risk of baby staying in is greater than of being induced. Suspected big baby, being between 40 and 42 weeks and your doctor going on vacation are NOT medical reasons for induction. ;) If you do get induced, ask for a "long" induction using cervical ripening agents and then the absolute lowest doses of pitocin. Avoid Cytotec inductions like the plague.
7.) Try to push in an upright or side-lying position. Even if you have an epidural, most women can be assisted into upright positions that take the pressure off of their tail bone and that keep them from pushing against gravity. Pushing on your back with your knees shoved into your chest not only closes the pelvic outlet by 30%, it also greatly increases your risk of having a bad tear.
8.) Avoid an episiotomy unless baby is in distress. Episiotomies are not only unnecessary in 99.9% of moms, they also greatly increase your risk of having a third or fourth degree tear. Read up on episiotimies and make sure that your health care provider is on the same page as you and rarely does them.
9.) Get a doula. There's a common misconception that doulas are only for moms that plan to have a natural birth. While it's true that most doulas really enjoy helping a mom achieve the goal of NCB, most doula have the primary concern of helping mom have a good birth. Be honest with your doula upfront about your desire to have medical pain relief and find one that you can work with that has experience supporting medicated mothers. (As a mom that had an epidural with my first after a failed NCB attempt, I can attest that a doula would have been VERY handy.)
There are more, but that's all I've got off the top of my head. I'd also love to hear any advice from c-section moms on how to have the best c-section experience possible. Not everyone can or wants to have a natural birth at home, that doesn't mean that they don't deserve to have the best shot at a good birth.
It's been a week or so, so I thought I'd drop you an email to let you know a little bit about what's still going on behind the scenes here in Central Ohio as we work to deal with the City Kids Day Care center and their discrimination against breastfed children.
After contacting all of the State Senators that sponsored the breastfeeding in public bill (and subsequently having every email bounce *sigh*) I've finally heard back from an aide in Representative Jon Peterson's office. Rep. Peterson has taken an interest in the case and has asked his aide to look into the matter further. I've shared with them that our primary goal is to revise the guidelines for licenced day care centers in Ohio so that they would not be allowed to discriminate against a child based on that child's diet.
The goal here would be to make sure that breastfed children are protected, but also to make sure that other children with specialized diets (kosher, vegan, severe peanut allergies, etc...) would be protected as well.
If we're not able to go that route, then we will look to work with our State Reps and State Senators to draft a revision to the Ohio Breastfeeding in Public bill so that it would include the rights of breastfed children to be cared for at a licensed center without being discriminated against.
Robin has also been contacted by someone at the Centers for Disease Control after they spotted this blog. Apparently they have a department that works on child care issues and they plan on discussing this issue. Hopefully I'll have some word back from them and will be able to share it with you here.
Finally, one of my readers happens to specialize in infectious disease issues. I've asked her to put together some information to address the breast milk and disease issue so that I might share it with my readers.
It's slow going folks, but you have my word that I will continue to work with Robin (and others) on issues like this and that while it may take time, we WILL see this issue resolved somewhere down the road.
Hopefully someone will upload video of all the breastfeeding related clips so that anyone who missed it can watch, but I will share my own reaction with you.
My quick summary: It was closer to what I wrote it might be than what many of the up-in-arms breastfeeding warriors thought it was going to be.
My extended summary:
Quite honestly, I really didn't think it was that bad. I know I have readers that will disagree with me on that, but I really did not think it ended up being the super huge deal that people thought it was going to be.
Here's the situation as I saw it...
Mom has a 12 year old a 6 year old and a 14 month old. She has no control of any of her children and has no idea how to discipline them. The only tool she has is "whoppins" which she explains means that she spanks them. The six year old refuses to sleep in her own bed though mom and dad want her to. None of the children have bedtimes and mom and dad are so beat at the end of the night that they put up half-hearted efforts to get the six year old into her own bed. They lose.
The primary issues are that mom needs to learn some ways to discipline, mom wants the six year old out of her bed, mom says that she has wanted to wean the 14 month old for a few months but A) will miss the bonding/emotional benefits and B) has no idea how to do it. Instead, she still nurses the 14 month old almost constantly and when she's not nursing, she's carrying the child around. This leaves her unable to get anything else done.
Here's what Supernanny did:
First, she used her "get your kid to sleep in their own room" technique. I have zero issue with this. Basically, you put your kid in bed and tell them good night. The first time they get up, you say "It's bedtime darling" and you put them back in bed. The second time you simply say "bedtime" and put them back in bed. Any time after that, you simply pick them up, carry them back to bed and put them in it. Eventually, they stay. ;) It took 17 times and 45 minutes to get the six year old to sleep in her bed. There was no screaming, no tantrums, just mom putting her back in bed.
The second issue was the baby. Supernanny talked to the mom and, in my opinion, made it pretty clear that she would support the mom if she wanted to wean and she'd support her if she wanted to continue to nurse. The issue that she had was that the 14 month old was nursing ALL the time. She said that was fine for a very young baby, but for someone that was more than a year, nursing could (and perhaps should) have some limits to it. I also don't disagree with this. The mom said that she had wanted to wean for a while, but just didn't know how, so Supernanny said she'd help.
The only thing I saw wrong with this conversation was that it focused only on the emotional benefits to the mom and child. There was no mention of the fact that breast milk still has health benefits at this point (and beyond.) Ultimately though, we have to remember that this is a mainstream show and simply the fact that she said it was up to the mom whether or not to wean is a big step forward.
Now as to how they went toward weaning...well, we got a very clipped version, but it looked like her solution was to simply block access to the breast and to offer a bottle. The first time they did this, it took the baby about 10 minutes to settle down and accept the bottle. Then she went to sleep. That's all we saw of weaning, we were just told that "it worked" and never heard anything else about it.
So yeah, I'm not real keen on the way they weaned her. I would have much rather seen Supernanny explain the idea of distraction and delay as I think it's a much gentler way to wean. There's no reason that a child has to be weaned in a day and gentle weaning can be quite effective. They also weaned her to a bottle which makes ZERO sense to me. A fourteen month old should be weaned to a sippy cup, not a bottle. Is this alone reason to bombard the station with nasty letters? I don't really think so, but again, I'm sure some folks will feel differently.
They also worked to move the 14 month old out of the parents bed, but again, the mom said that SHE wanted to move the baby out. Supernanny encouraged it, but I didn't really see a lot of pressuring to do it. They set up a crib in the parents room and moved the baby to there. They did use a little bit of CIO when they first put the baby down for a nap, but the baby was asleep in less than five minutes. Again, I don't really have a huge problem with that. 5 minutes of being fussy does not count as emotional child abuse in my mind. (Now if it had been 30 minutes, an hour or whatever, yeah I'd have serious issues with it.)
Having just let Emmitt cry/fuss for 3 whole minutes while I waited for him to put himself to sleep, I'd be a hypocrite if I complained about CIO for five minutes. ;)
Could the episode have gone better? Sure! But we have to remember that this is a mainstream parenting show starring Supernanny, not a Mothering.com video staring Hawthor. I don't agree with all of Supernanny's techniques but they aren't the anti-breastfeeding horror show that some people were making it out to be before the show aired.
Write a letter if you want to, but quite honestly, I think there are better battles for us to fight.
I want to say thanks to Lactivist reader Maria who just sent me a link to a video she uploaded of the Supernanny season finale preview.
As I watched the video, I was thinking to myself...hmm...I *could* be right. It looks like this may be more about the fact that mom is spending such an exhorbitent amount of time carrying or nursing her 14 month old that she's actually being neglectful of the other children.
Then I heard the last voice-over from the announcer where he says "someone get this kid a bottle" and I started to have doubts again.
I guess we'll wait and see.
I'll be back tomorrow night with my commentary and I'll hope that Maria might also be able to record the specific clips that relate to breastfeeding so that anyone that misses the show has a chance to watch them.
This month's breastfeeding carnival revolves around the idea of good and bad breastfeeding advice and boy, do we have a LOT of great posts for you to check out. I'll be talking about the good and bad advice that I ran across in regards to pumping exclusively and will include the links to all of our other entries at the end of the post.
Before my first daughter was born, I'd only ever heard of exclusively pumping once. Shortly after I got married I was visiting with a friend that I only see once a year. She had her six week old daughter with her and headed off once to pump. I said something to the effect of "Oh, I don't mind if you nurse" and she explained that she pumped her milk and fed her daughter with a bottle.
I never gave it a second thought until three years later.
I was sitting in my hospital room facing down the on-call pediatrician telling me that she would not release my three day old daughter unless I agreed to supplement. Nursing had been a nightmare since the second night when the nurses took her to the nursery and I ended up having to fight to get her back. There had been 26 babies born while I was in labor and despite my repeated requests we had still not seen an LC an hour before we were due to be released.
Elnora had lost 10% of her weight and was fighting fairly bad jaundice. I was putting her to the breast once an hour or more, but all we ever managed was a big scream-a-thon. Now I had this pediatrician telling me that if I wouldn't agree to give Nora a bottle, she wouldn't release her.
"Get me a pump!"
It just kind of got blurted out. A vision of my friend passed through my head and I remembered her pumping and bottle feeding.
"What?" said the Pediatrician.
"Get me a breast pump and the LC right now. I am not leaving without my baby. I'll pump and supplement with my own milk."
"Whatever," and she left.
It took about four hours, but an LC finally walked into the room carrying a Lactina Select. We talked and then she worked with me on nursing positions and offered encouragement while Nora continued to scream. She showed Greg how he could help me get her latched and gave us her number so that we could call if we needed more help. Then she showed me how to use the pump.
She then went to talk to the LC and got us cleared for release by agreeing that I would pump and then add enough formula to supplement half an ounce after each feeding. The pediatrician came to see us to let us know we were discharged. She offered her "support" by sending us home with a literal garbage bag full of RTF Enfamil.
Gee. Thanks.
Elnora got a 1/4 ounce of formula that night mixed with the breast milk I'd pumped. It was the last formula she ever had. I won't go into the nightmare that was the next day or two of trying to nurse, but let's just say that by the end of our third night home, I had abandoned nursing and had decided to exclusively pump.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
I think that was a good thing.
I spent the next few weeks double pumping for twenty minutes at a time every two hours. My milk came in like Niagara falls and by week two I had literally filled my freezer with the excess milk. In fact, I was pouring a good 8-10 ounces a day down the drain. (I know! Can you even imagine??)
I went to the web to start looking for information about how I might back off all the extra pumping and what I needed to do to make this work long-term. I was amazed at the lack of information available. All of the pumping information that I could find was aimed at working mothers who pumped while they were at work and that breastfed while they were home.
Finally, at a Baby Center discussion board, I learned that what I was doing was called exclusively pumping. I immediately began searching Google trying to find information about it. I was amazed at the vast void that stared back at me. There was a little bit of information at KellyMom and there was a site called Exclusively Pumping that had a few links to some articles. (Both of these sites now have far more information on the topic.)
In other words, I was mostly on my own. Unfortunately, I was the first person to breastfeed (because exclusively pumping is STILL breastfeeding, it just isn't nursing) in several generations on both sides of my family and I didn't know ANYONE except that long-distance friend that had ever exclusively pumped.
The LC that I'd worked with was absolutely useless beyond showing me how the pump worked. In fact, when I called in to talk to her about switching to exclusive pumping, she called me back and pretty much said "oh. good luck with that." The local LLL chapters didn't seem to know much about pumping since most of the moms there were full time at home moms that rarely even used bottles. When they talked about expressing milk, they did it by hand or with a hand pump.
Thus, my learning was mostly trial and error with a lot of luck (or as I like to call it, blessings) thrown in. I discovered the milk bank and started sending 100+ ounces a week their way while kicking myself for all the milk I'd poured down the drain. They were full of advice about pumping and I finally started to connect with some other exclusive pumpers online.
The sad thing is that 90% of my interactions with people about exclusively pumping were negative. Not because they didn't think it was a great thing for me to do, but because they were convinced that I'd never keep my supply and that I'd never make it to a year. I heard warning after warning about how many times I'd get mastitis (I got it twice in fourteen months), about how hard it would be to keep up my schedule (it was) and about how much extra work it was to pump and bottle feed (it was.) I also had moms tell me that I was shortchanging my daughter by denying her the comfort of nursing at the breast.
This is why you'll never hear me speak poorly of moms who end up formula feeding. Believe me, I GET why people give up breastfeeding.
And so, when it came time to wean from the pump I decided that I needed to give back. I'd made it two months past my goal of a year and I'd done it despite the complete and utter lack of good advice and support. When I launched the Lactivist, I wanted it to be a place where I could share some pumping advice so that other moms that found themselves in the same situation as me could get some good information. I'd learned a lot, finally found some resources and had had contact with quality LCs that really knew their stuff when it came to pumping. That information needs to be shared.
You can read some of the posts that I've put together on this subject in the Lactivist archives. Some of my favorites...
My hope would be that over time, more LCs, more LLL leaders and more people in general would learn about the hows and whys of exclusively pumping. I'd hope that people in a position to help breastfeeding mothers would take the time to learn about an alternative that may well save a child's ability to receive breast milk when nursing attempts fail. I'd hope that moms that are successful breastfeeding would support pumping moms with words of encouragement without making the task out to be so difficult that the mom will end up discouraged.
And of course I'd encourage EVERYONE that works with pumping moms to learn about milk banking and to share that option with moms that have excess supply.
You can read the rest of this month's carnival entries for even more posts about breastfeeding advice and how it can make, or break, the nursing relationship.
Breastfeeding 1-2-3's Angela shares some tips on how to get good medical advice about breastfeeding (and especially weaning) based on her own experience with a handful of doctors that tried to get her to stop nursing.
Thomas Beach seems to have managed to include every last one in a piece titled "Nursing mothers don't appeal to everyone" that's been published at Delaware Online.
A few gems...
What used to be acceptable only in Papua, New Guinea or Botswana has now been adopted as the norm by a certain segment of our community.
Yep, cause as you know, breastfeeding is only for those "dirty natives" that you see in National Geographic.
I have heard of a number of cases where women who were nursing insisted on using breast pumps at work and storing the milk in refrigerators provided for employees to keep their lunches.
People don't want their food stored next to your body fluids. In my mind this is no different than storing urine or fecal samples to be taken to a medical lab.
My personal favorite started with the following...
Once had a stranger seated next to me on an airplane ask me to help her breast-feed her child.
Wait...what now? HELP breastfeed her child? How does a stranger on a plane help someone breastfeed and what type of mother asks for such a thing? Unless of course Mr . Beach, in his infinite wisdom thought that "excuse me, would you mind if I use the arm rest?" really meant "could you please take hold of my nipple and place it into my baby's mouth?"
The rest of that incident revolves around Mr. Beach recoiling in horror, pitching some fits, threatening legal action and settling down only when the mother headed off to the airplane BATHROOM to nurse.
All is not lost though, at the end of the editorial, Mr. Coach finally comes to his senses...
It's long past time for the silent majority who object to such things to stop being silent. We should insist that everyone observe minimal behavioral norms in public environments.
Ahh...finally...he recognizes and agrees that EVERYONE should observe minimal behavioral norms...you know, like "minding your own business?"
You can share your thoughts in the comment sections at the paper's web site, there are already some nice ones there.
On the heels of one of the largest nurse-ins the country has ever seen, there's an increasing push for Pennsylvania to create and pass comprehensive breastfeeding related legislation that would protect the rights of babies to eat when and where they are hungry and to protect their mothers when they fulfill those needs.
PA House Representative Babette Josephs has already introduced legislation
State Senator Connie Williams has introduced legislation in the senate. That bill (SB 34) would give mothers the legal right to breastfeeding their child in public, would keep local governments from enacting ordinances prohibiting breastfeeding in public and would exempt breastfeeding from public nuisance, indecent exposure and obscenity laws.
Unfortunately, it looks like Senator Williams' bill could get hung up in the Judiciary Committee again (she introduced it last year and the committee members held it up, claiming that there was no need for such legislation.) There's a great post over at Mothering that features the names and contact info of all the members of that committee. It looks like it should get scheduled for a vote, but it's not a "for certain" yet, so PA moms need to get their emails sent.
First I've got to comment that it seems weird to me to call it "extended breastfeeding" when the point I'm going to make is about a 14 month old, (I wouldn't consider it "extended" until you're past 2 years...) but I guess that's what she considers it.
What am I talking about? Well, it looks like the season finale of Supernanny is going to feature a family where the mom (SHOCK AND HORROR ALERT!!!) is nursing her 14 MONTH OLD. (OH MY WORD!!! CAN YOU IMAGINE??!!! I mean geeze...the mom must be familiar with the WHO health guidelines or something...)
Anyway, that's not what the fuss is about. Apparently in the previews for the show, there's a scene where Jo is lecturing the mom and makes a comment like "That baby is FOURTEEN MONTHS old!" Another comment, seemingly in regards to baby wearing has Joe stating that the baby is attached to the mom "like a koala."
Based on those two snippets, I'm seeing message boards and blogs starting to feature an absolute tirade of "we must contact the network!" and "We must protest this show!" and even "How do we do a nurse-in against a TV show?!"
People...chill.
First, let's get one thing straight. The show hasn't aired yet, all we're seeing are clips that are specifically designed to get people to talk about the show and watch the show. It's called marketing and the producers of reality TV shows are very good at it.
It would seem that coming from the standpoint of saving our energy for the battles that need fighting and of appearing intelligent and informed rather than reactionary and hormonal, it might be a good idea to let the show actually air and to see what really happens before we get our collective panties in a wad.
While it's more than possible, based on the Supernanny's track record, that the show will go exactly as theorized (more on this in a minute) there's also the possibility that the clips have been put together for the sake of gathering attention.
Any family that shows up on Supernanny is already having problems. Usually BIG problems. Whose to say that the clips aren't more like this..
1.) Mom is nursing her 14 month old looking embarrassed and hiding under a blanket because her husband or her in laws constantly belittle her for it. This is part of why mom is under such stress and has a hard time parenting well.
2.) Mom is a baby wearer (yay) but has gone overboard and wears her 14 month old 8 hours a day. This is giving mom actual back problems and is delaying the ability of the 14 month old to walk, to have time to sit, to play, etc...
3.) Supernanny's quotes are that mom needs to let up on the baby wearing and let the child explore and play and develop.
See how the same two scenes could come from a single set of clips? Now I'm not saying that this is what happened (in fact it probably isn't) but the point remains that we need to chill out and remain watchful so that we can react when there is actually something to react to.
Now, that said, if you want to get all lactivisty (ha! ya like that word, don't cha?) on Jo, then go ahead and go after her for her book. It's chalk full of outdated breastfeeding advice just like many Peds and mother in laws like to give.
Check out these gems...
Page 21 “if you give a breastfed baby a bottle at 11 PM, she can hold out until 4 AM before she needs another.”
Umm...ok. I thought we'd moved past the point of thinking that all babies were exactly the same and that they MUST sleep for five hours straight or they are dysfunctional. (Note, this advice comes in the section for dealing with children younger than six months.)
Page 127 "Four to five months is the right sort of time to start your baby on solid food."
Ok, so this advice isn't AWFUL, but it does demonstrate that she's not up on the current accepted guidelines that say breastfed babies should not be introduced to solids until six months.
Page 130 "After six to eight months, your baby needs more nutrients than bottle milk can give her. By carrying on feeding around the clock, you may be filling her up so much she doesn't have an appetite for the solid food you're introducing."
Multiple medical associations and sources state that breast milk (or formula) should make up the MAJORITY of nutrition until 12 months. Solids should simply be a complimentary food source and are mostly for practice.
Page 130 "More often, a breastfed baby will continue to want a 'feeding' even when your supply is next to nothing... what she wants is the continued comfort of the breast, not the milk itself… She’s using the nipple as pacifier."
Now let me state that I'm actually a fan of Supernanny in terms of dealing with older children. She clearly knows jack about breastfeeding and I've seen her push moms to let children under a year old "cry it out" but when it comes to toddlers and older, I generally think that she's got some pretty sound advice. I like that she's anti-spanking and we have a "naughty spot" in our house...and I applaud the fact that she won't hesitate to call parents on the fact that their kids problems are often due to the parents not giving them the attention that they need.
So anyway, I'll plan on watching the show on Monday (as will many of you, I imagine) and will get a blog post up about it after it runs. Sure would be nice (hint, hint) if someone with a DVR (hint) would tape the show (hint, hint) and upload relevant snippets (hint) to YouTube so that folks could see them.
It's been a busy few weeks here at the Laycock household. While Elnora has been perfecting her drawing, Emmitt is learning to crawl and sit.
He's about 5.5 months this week and while he just rolled over for the first time about two weeks ago, he's already buggered right along into the "I'm not crawling, but I can still end up 8 feet away in a matter of minutes" stage. He doesn't quite have the coordination to get his belly off the ground yet...(though at 20+ pounds, maybe he just doesn't have the STRENGTH to get his belly off the ground) but he can creep backwards pretty well.
He also managed to sit on his own for the first time today. Yay! Sometimes Greg and I will sit him up at our feet with our legs on either side of him so that he can play while sitting up. Today, I moved away to see how long he could stay like that. Turns out, he made it a good 8 or 9 seconds.
He fell over when I went to get the camera. (Much like Paris Hilton...)
When I came back, he not only stayed upright long enough for me to snap some photos, but he also held out long enough for me to get a little video. Since I'm now a big "Hey, let's embed a YouTube video" fan, here's Emmitt's first foray into the world of sitting up. (You'll note that Elnora makes a brief cameo appearance. And no, that's not a pacifier, that's one of the toothy smiles from her Mr Potato head, she thinks it's hysterical to put them in her own mouth.)
To be completely and totally honest, this is a topic that I'd hoped to avoid here. While you guys know that I'm pretty good at laying it out as far as how I see it (and I don't generally mind if my readers disagree with me), I do try to avoid the super politically charged discussions because I honestly think they do little to further the cause of breastfeeding.
But when readers started emailing me with links to the story, I figured I better suck it up and wade right in.
So, be forewarned...my views on this issue may not be popular with my readers, but no matter what you ultimately decide about this story, the fact remains that it's a story that needs to be told and people on both sides of the issue need to find a way to come to a better solution.
(Wow...that all sounds REALLY foreboding, doesn't it? Don't worry, I'll lighten things up in the next post...)
Anyway, the story comes out of Boston and revolves around a recent raid on a New Bedford, MA factory that resulted in 361 illegal alien workers being detained. Most of the detainees are young Latino women and all of them were flown from Massachusetts to Texas to await extradition hearings.
Now, I'm not going to get too deep into the whole illegal immigrant argument, but here's a brief idea of where I'm coming from. I can see both sides of this issue and while I support tightening our borders to keep people from crossing over illegally, I'm also in favor of radical legislation that makes it easier for people to come here legally. I have no problem with someone coming here from another country, I just want us to make sure that we can get them into the system so that they can pay taxes, have access to benefits, etc. After all, I firmly believe that generous immigration policies are what made our country the great place that it is. That said, I think we have to get a handle on our current problem before we go granting amnesty and opening the borders.
At this point you're going "yeah yeah, this is nice, what the heck does it have to do with breastfeeding?"
Well, the issue that makes this story relevant to The Lactivist is that these women were rounded up and carted off without anyone bothering to check and see if they had children. In fact, two of the children of these workers have landed in the hospital to be treated for dehydration because they were still nursing. (And yes, I know some of you are saying "just give them formula who cares?" but I'd remind you that some breastfed children simply will NOT take a bottle. Mine is one of them...and while eventually I'm sure they'll be able to get some food in them, the fact remains that this is a potentially serious health issue for these children.)
Still other children were simply left with no day-time care-giver (the factory was raided at night...most of these women were working while their children slept and could be left with sleeping friends or family.)
At a press conference about the issue, Governor Deval Patrick shared his frustration with the way things have been handled.
"What we have never understood about this process is why it turned into a race to the airport," Patrick said. "We understand about the importance of processing; we get that. But there are families affected. There are children affected."
Obviously someone dropped the ball here.
Now let me be clear that I have ZERO issue with illegal immigrants being detained and even deported. I feel for them, I really do and I want to see things in this country change so that they can come here legally without waiting years and spending tons of money...but right now, I understand the need to work through the process.
HOWEVER.
There is absolutely NO excuse for separating a child from their mother like that. If the mother is being taken to be deported, then the children need to be sent along as well, especially if we're talking about an infant.
That said, the story is mixed from each side. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the women WERE asked whether or not they had dependant children that required care.
Immigration agents "worked closely with DSS both before the operation commenced and at every stage of the operation, to be sure that no child would be without a sole caregiver," Julie L. Myers , the assistant secretary of homeland security, wrote in a letter to Patrick.
Myers, as well as a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that each of the 361 detainees was asked about child-care needs several times. They pointed out that 60 women who were found to be the sole caregivers to their children have since been released, though they will still face a court hearing.
With that in mind, we also have to consider whether or not a mom in this situation is going to be honest about her situation, or whether translators were provided for those that could not speak English. It's not hard for me to believe that a mom in this situation would worry that if she admitted to having children (and told where they were) that those children might be taken and placed into foster care rather than left with their baby sitters who would (hopefully) continue to care for them.
Even still, some mothers were spared before being flown to Texas. The story continues with...
State social workers who arrived late Wednesday at the interim detention site at the former Fort Devens army base in Ayer found 20 detainees, whom federal agents had not identified, and who they determined should be returned to New Bedford: four pregnant or nursing mothers, nine single mothers, and seven detainees who were minors under age 17. But by the time they were given access to the detainees, the 90 others who were sent to Texas had already left on a plane.
Obviously the other HUGE issue here is that many of these children were born here in the United States, making them citizens. While they clearly have a right to remain here, the law doesn't necessarily grant them the right of having their biological parent as their primary caregiver and it certainly doesn't grant them the right to have breast milk over formula. (I'm not saying that's ok or not ok, I'm just stating how it is.)
Want to hear the absolute greatest irony of all this? The company that these illegal immigrants were working at...was under an $83 million government contract to make backpacks for the U.S. Defense Department.
So please, let's not get TOO far into a debate on immigration or Republicans or Democrats. If it goes that direction, it's all you guys, I'm out of it, because quite frankly, I do this blog for fun and I don't feel like getting into a huge political debate with a bunch of mudslinging.
But, what are your thoughts on this? We have laws in this country that need to be followed, but we also have to balance the needs and rights of children. At what point does a mother lose the right to be able to breastfeed, or does her child's implicit right to health supercede the ANY punishment of the mother?
I'm torn. I'm a tried and true lactivist, but I also realize that while breast is best, there does come a point in time where a mother cannot use her child as a scapegoat to get out of punishment. I'm not sure where that line is because I strongly support children's rights, but I know that line has to be drawn somewhere...
The freezers are running low at the HMBANA milk bank in Denver. Despite donations of more than 10,000 ounces each month, demand for the live-saving donor milk has risen enough that the staff at The Mother's Milk Bank at St. Luke's Medical Center is worried that they may have to turn away some recipients that have a true medical need for donor milk.
That is unless we can spread the word and attract some new donors.
So, I'd share the following story with my Colorado readers (and those from neighboring states) and ask you to help spread the word.
Julia Lam is a beautiful, happy baby, but the six-month-old is also very sick. She's undergoing aggressive chemotherapy to combat an unusual form of lymphoma.
"This is without a question a life threatening disease process for her," said Dr. Lorrie Odom, a Pediatric Oncologist.
Lam has to wait to eat until medical tests are finished, and when she gets hungry for milk, it will be breast milk, for its nutrition and antibodies.
"To give her the best chance to tolerate the chemotherapy and its side effects," said Dr. Odom.
Lam's mother's milk supply dwindled when she got sick, so now her human breast milk is donated.
If you are a lactating mother anywhere near Denver, are free of any communicable diseases and have the ability to express extra milk, please give consideration to becoming a donor. You can contact The Mother's Milk Bank at St. Luke's Medical Center for more information:
I've written before about how amazed I am at the different ways that children develop. They can seem radically advanced in some ways and woefully behind in others. It's what makes us all individuals I suppose. It's a challenge for a mother though...especially for one that's incredibly goal-oriented like I am. It's hard not to compare your kid to others (for good or for bad) and to remember that they will do things when they'll do them.
What am I rambling on about? Well, Elnora has always been a bit of a mystery in terms of hitting developmental milestones. She didn't roll over until she was almost six months old. By comparison, Emmitt was rolling every which way at 3 months, yet she sat up just a week or two after she learned to roll. She didn't crawl until 8.5 months (whereas Emmitt, who just hit 5 months is now crawling backwards) but she walked at ten months.
Now we're seeing this happen again...areas where she's way behind and areas where she appears to be way ahead.
Elnora doesn't talk. Now let's not mistake that for her being a quiet child. The little thing NEVER stops making sounds. In fact, I put her down for a nap an hour ago and I STILL hear her up there carrying on conversations with her stuffed animals.
No! Oh-ya! Whoa...whoa! Eya! Eya! no.... hmph!
It's non-stop, I tell you.
But she doesn't say WORDS. She doesn't communicate with speech. Well, that's not entirely true...she does say the following.
Ma (not mom or mama, just ma) Da (again, not dad or dada) Ee-yah (that's what she calls Emmitt) Ba (that's what she calls the grandpas) Moo (my cousin's boyfriend, Mike, one of her favorite people) Meat (which is ironic, because she doesn't eat meat, so this is usually paired with no, as in "No meat!") Yuck (she HATES to be dirty) Hot (pronounced "haugh" with a sharp ending but not so much the "t" sound...) Dee (the things she loves...her doll Bindi, her stuffed Giraffe, and for some reason...juice.) Shoe (a real word! she just added this last month) Ree (our dog...she used to call her Roo, which is her name, but about a year ago the dog's name became Ree) No (like all two year olds, she has this one down pat)
That's about it. She does a variety of animal sounds (Meow, Ba, Cak (that's a duck), Neigh, Mmmmm (for moo), and the monkey sound) but again, that's about it.
She's not quite two and a half, so we're still a few months away from having her evaluated for potential speech problems, but the funny thing is that she still communicates VERY well.
If I could go back and do it all over, I would have taught her sign language. Studies show that it doesn't slow down children's progression of speech...if anything, they believe it helps. I'm certainly going to work on teaching Emmitt sign language...learned my lesson on that one.
Even still, she's become a master at charades. She has made up her own signs for camera, lip balm, washing her hands, brushing her teeth, combing her hair, eating, drinking, playing with stickers, coloring, the computer, and at least half a dozen other things. Now we still work with her every day on saying tons of words. We don't just give her what she wants as soon as we know what she means, so it's more like "Juice? Jah, jah, jah, juuuuuice?" or "Brush? Ba, ba, ba buuurr-ush?" but it's just not taking.
On the other hand, there are some areas where she seems to be fairly advanced. She learned how to put her own pants on before she was two. She would make incredibly complicated building block towers when she was 18 months (even figuring out how to steady the tower with one hand while building it taller with the other), she can point to almost any item you ask about in a book, she knows most of her shapes and colors (points to them when you ask) and is even learning to identify her numbers. In the last week, she's taken to drawing shapes and faces instead of just scribbling on her AquaDoodle. Now I don't know exactly what age kids learn to draw faces, but some friends tell me that 2 is pretty young for it. (and if it's not, indulge me, I need to think my kid is brilliant in at least one area.)
You'll note that there are two eyes, a nose and a mouth. The other marks are two ears a chin and the neck. (I know this because she points to her own features before adding them...she knows eyes, nose, mouth, ears, cheeks, chin, throat, neck, hair and forehead.)
So now her Aquadoodle is decorated daily with characters that look like they belong on Wow Wow Wubzy.
Maybe she'll turn into a mute artist... it's the tragic ones that make the most money right? What's more tragic than an adorable little mute girl that draws really well?
Now I fully admit, there was a point in time where I thought it was really neat to use my nursing bracelet to keep track of how many times Emmitt ate a day. Mostly because I remained fascinated at the fact that he would sometimes nosh away 15 times in 24 hours. It sort of served as confirmation that I wasn't nuts when I thought that all I was doing was nursing him.
But to take the time to enter all feeding and pumping sessions into a trackable spreadsheet?
Umm...yeah...like that's gonna happen.
Apparently for some moms it must though...Otherwise there would be no market for Baby Manager by BabbleSoft. Apparently, the company feels that there's an untapped market in parents with extreme breastfeeding OCD issues, so they've made available some snazzy (I use the word loosely) new software that will allow these Ezzo-wannabes the absolute, total scheduling control that they long for.
Basically, the software allows you to enter all the minute details of your breastfeeding or pumping life. (Or bottle-feeding if you go that route.) An online database allows you to enter the date, time, length, side and position used for each breastfeeding encounter. Baby Manager then compiles all of the data to provide you with an overall glimpse of your day (just how many hours DID you spend breastfeeding yesterday?), your milk output, and so on.
Since Baby Manager also tracks doses of medicine, the software claims to be able to help you figure out your baby's patterns so that you can better meet their needs. Because really, as we all know, no human being should be trusted to parent on instinct. We need computers and algorithms to tell us how to care for our children.
"Baby Manager is a software application, with Web and mobile options, designed to help parents figure out their baby's patterns and cues to ensure his health and happiness. No more wondering: "When did baby last eat?" "When did mom last pump or breastfeed?" or "When did baby have his last dose of medicine?" Caregivers can quickly look up the last time baby ate, took medicine, or had her diaper changed to determine whether she might be hungry, tired, need another dose of medicine, or just wants to be held."
Can't you just see Will Farrell holding up an infant by the arm pits with a quizzical look on his face? Suddenly a light bulb goes off over his head and Will gives a big grin to the camera as he pulls out his Blackberry and checks to see that baby was last fed...1.75 hours ago. With a big nod, Will realizes that no child could possibly be hungry just 1.75 after nursing, so he MUST need a diaper change.
Cue announcer: But WAIT! There's MORE!
"What's more, for busy breastfeeding moms, keeping track of pumping and medicine intake helps with the management of stored breast milk. Also, when asked, "What did you do all day?" breastfeeding moms can proudly and confidently show a report online, on a mobile device, or on paper the time they spent feeding their baby which can range from 3 to 6 hours per day (i.e., 20 to 40 hours per week!) depending on the baby and the mom. The application summarizes the data in easy-to-read graphs and reports that can be printed out to show friends, family members, or health care professionals."
I don't know about you, but the last time a family member had the gall to ask me "what did you do all day" they got a talking to that made it clear they were never, ever EVER to ask that question again. At least not until our children were old enough to have children of their own.
Besides, when was the last time your friends and family members sat down with you so that you could "proudly and confidently" show them just how much time you spent feeding your baby in the last few days?
Am I the only one that wonders if this is a gag?
Now as you know, I take my job here at the Lactivist very seriously. That means that I must be on the cutting edge of all baby related technology. (Who knew there was baby-related technology?) So with my loyal readers in mind, I made a beeline for the Baby Manager site and got myself signed up with a test account so that I could "proudly and confidently" show Greg just how much time I spent feeding our child today. (While hoping that he doesn't ask just how much time I wasted while playing with this software...)
Guess what? I spent more time filling in my entries for the day than I do in an average nursing session. Nonetheless, because you, dear readers, are my online "friends and family" I would like to "proudly and confidently" share with you my breastfeeding performance from yesterday.
So enlighten me...am I being a cynic or is this really over-the-top?
I've been trying to dig up some information for a friend on getting breast milk through customs and thought I'd open it up to my Lactivist reader to see if any of you have any experience in the matter.
The mom is planning a trip to Mexico with her husband, but without her children. (You know, the GOOD kind of Mexico trip...) She plans on pumping while she's there and would like to bring the milk home with her. However, neither one of us have been able to find any information on the Mexico requirements for flying with breast milk or on potential customs issues. (Because when she flies home, she'll have to pack according to Mexican air guidelines, not according to the TSA and of course she may also have to deal with customs agents if they search her luggage.)
I spoke with the TSA this morning about the situation and she said to stick with the TSA guidelines of checking any expressed milk (you can't carry milk on the plane if you are not traveling with a child) and suggested that the mother carefully label both the package containing the milk and any individual containers of milk. They also gave me the phone number for the Mexican consulate and for Border Patrol, which I've forwarded on to the mom so that she can call to see if they have any additional input.
So, any Lactivist readers travel INTO the United States from another country with expressed breast milk? Did you have to deal with customs? Did you have any problems? How did you figure out what the packing requirements were in the country you were traveling from?
I (and my friend) would really appreciate any input from moms that have made similar trips.
Since City Kid Day Care's recent public statement to the Columbus Dispatch make it pretty clear that they do not plan on backing down when it comes to their ridiculous policy on the handling of breast milk, it's now time to start a push for new state guidelines or new legislation that would prevent day care centers from discriminating against a child because of the food they eat.
With that in mind, I've drafted my own letter to state representatives and state senators and will be sending it to all of the legislators that supported our 2005 breastfeeding in public bill. I'll also be sending a slightly revised version to all of my local representatives. I would strongly encourage all of my Lactivist readers to do the same. (If you don't live in Ohio, forward this link to someone who does. Better yet...consider revising this letter and making a push in your OWN state. After all, unless you live in Louisiana, there's nothing to prevent day care centers near you from doing the same thing City Kids Day Care is doing.)
Here's the letter that I'm sending...
Dear Representative,
I am writing to alert you of an issue currently taking place in Columbus, Ohio (and many other cities in our great state and nation) that puts at risk both a mother's ability to find quality care for her child should she need or choose to return to the work force and that same child's long-term health. Because I know that you are a proponent of families, I am asking you to consider sponsoring new legislation that would protect the rights of working mothers and their breastfed children.
I am currently working with a mother named Robin Neorr here in central Ohio. Robin, like many moms, had to return to work while her daughter was still an infant. Where Robin differs from many moms is in her dedication to providing expressed breast milk for her daughter while her daughter was in day care. This is not an easy task for most working mothers, but Robin strongly felt that her child both needed and deserved to have the best nutrition possible.
The problem is that Robin had a difficult time finding a day care center that had space for her infant daughter. When she did, she was told that the center would not handle her breast milk. Robin was told that she would need to arrange to have a prepared bottle dropped off every time that her daughter needed to eat because the center would not store breast milk on the premises. Robin was eventually able to convince the center to handle her milk, but the center charged her a fee of an extra $50 a week to handle it.
I am covering the story extensively on my blog at: http://thelactivist.blogspot.com/ I am also assisting Robin in her quest to gain media attention over this unfair, unfounded and discriminatory practice. The story has recently appeared on Channel 6 news in Columbus and made the front page of The Columbus Dispatch.
Since beginning to work with Robin I have spoken with many mothers that have had similar issues, including one mom that eventually lost her job because she had to take so much time off to deliver bottles of breast milk to a day care center that refused to handle it. Many moms have told me that they could not locate a day care center that would handle breast milk at all.
Working mothers should not be forced to choose between their job and their ability to breastfeed their child. Day care centers should not have the right to dictate the diet of the children that attend their centers.
I have also learned that Louisiana is the only state in the union that specifically prohibits discrimination against breastfed children by day care centers. (LRS 46. 1409 B 5)
This presents Ohio with an enormous opportunity to take progressive steps toward promoting the rights of children in our great state. Ohio's breastfeeding rates are among the lowest in the nation. In fact, Ohio falls in the bottom ten in terms of breastfeeding initiation rates. The health benefits of breast milk are undisputed. It can only help our state in terms of health care costs and productivity to do whatever possible to encourage breastfeeding.
I greatly appreciate your involvement in helping to pass the 2005 changes to the Ohio Revised Code that helped give breastfeeding mothers increased protection while feeding their children in public. I would now ask that you consider working with Robin and I to introduce new legislation that would keep state certified day care centers from discriminating against children based on the fact that they are breastfed.
Sincerely, Jennifer Laycock Sunbury, Ohio
You can get in on the act too. Feel free to modify my letter or to craft one of your own. You can find the email address of your Ohio State Representative and State Senator online.
Once again ladies, let's spread the word far and wide. It's not just Ohio that needs this put in place. There are 49 states out there that we need to get to work in. We can not let this issue die until it has been resolved.
I'll also remind Lactivist readers that if you haven't already emailed me, but are interested in attending any nurse-in or nurse-out that is organized to support the need for legislation, please drop me an email and I'll add you to my notification list. I've already got mother's all over the state ready to drive in and even a few from out of state. Let's prepare for one of the largest nurse-ins the midwest has ever seen.
Earlier this year there was quite a bit of celebration among lactivists as Wyoming Representative Kathy Davison proposed House Bill 105, one of the most comprehensive breastfeeding bills to ever be introduced in a U.S. State.
It not only excluded breastfeeding from public from public indecency laws, but also included sections that:
Allowed breastfeeding mothers to be excluded from jury duty Made it a misdemeanor to interfere with a mother breastfeeding in public Allowed incarcerated breastfeeding mothers to keep their baby with them per a medical officer's declaration Required the inclusion of breastfeeding education in high school health courses Required companies to be supportive of breastfeeding moms through breaks, areas to pump and areas to store milk.
Unfortunately, the bill was a little...optimistic. I'm a pretty staunch lactivist, but even I didn't figure the bill had a chance of passing as it was presented.
For example, companies were required to give a 15 minute break for every two hours of work so that moms could nurse or express breast milk. In an eight hour work day that would equal an hour off for breastfeeding. Unless there's something allowing for companies to ask moms to work an extra hour at the end of the day...well...it's a little excessive. (It's fantastic for a company to do that on their own, but realistically, many businesses can't afford to pay someone for an hour that they haven't worked.)
The section of the bill that made it a misdemeanor for someone to interfere with a mom that was nursing in public actually went so far as to state that the crime was punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine of $750 or both. Now again, I'm a lactivist and I think we need to protect moms that simply want to feed their children but up to six months in jail? For asking a mom to move or cover up? Come on...that's just completely unrealistic. In fact, the locals that have managed to pass laws that include penalties for interfering with breastfeeding usually leave it at something more along the lines of a speeding ticket. You pay a fine of roughly $100 and there's no risk of jail time. Much more realistic.
As such, the bill got caught up in committee and was in danger of not even making it to the floor for a vote.
When it finally did escape, it was so stripped down that it will become one of the weakest breastfeeding laws in U.S. states.
The ONLY thing that the bill does now is exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws. It's a start...but I can't help but think that the supporters of this bill just pushed for too much too soon and that the backlash was to get hardly anything.
On the other hand, they've certainly broken new ground in terms of introducing really progressive breastfeeding legislation which will make it not NEAR the shock the next time someone pushes for such far-reaching legislation.
As you know, I often write product reviews here on The Lactivist. Sometimes of products that I've purchased and sometimes of products that have been mailed to me. I've got some great ones coming up (including Daisy Gear, the Bumbo chair, the Ergo Baby Carrier and several books) but for now, if you're itching for more product reviews you might check out the amazing post that Angela put together over at Breastfeeding 1-2-3.
Angela dug up the breastfeeding related product reviews that have been done by breastfeeding bloggers over the past year or so and built a pretty extensive list of links to those reviews. If you know a new mom that's planning on breastfeeding this is a great list to look over for ideas.
Sorry for such short notice on this one, but wanted to throw this out there to all the new readers that have joined me in the last month.
The next breastfeeding carnival is coming up in just a few short weeks and my fellow bloggers from the "booby brigade" and I are inviting guest submissions. I'll need your submission to arrive via email by Monday, so you'll have to put your thinking caps on this weekend.
This month's topic is "breastfeeding advice." We want the good, the bad and the ugly. What was the best advice you've heard? The worst? How did advice impact you (positively or negatively) in your attempts at breastfeeding. What words would you offer to a new mom? What do you wish someone had said to you? Anything is up for grabs, as long as it has to do with breastfeeding advice.
Keep in mind that things like grammar count. I'll pick the best entry (or maybe two) and will "sponsor" them in this months' carnival. It's a great way to get some new traffic to your blog.
I've been reading the comments on this and other blogs along with on message boards and the Columbus Dispatch site and I thought it might be a good idea to make a post summarizing some of the issues at play with this whole City Kids Day Care fiasco.
Several people that are backing City Kids have cited that breast milk IS a body fluid and therefore is hazardous. They've cited the hazard to workers in handling it and the hazard to other children if they would accidentally ingest the wrong bottle. Setting aside the issue that no day care center should care for infants if they can't make sure that every child received the right bottle, let's dig into these issues a little bit.
What can happen if someone else's breast milk is given to another child? HIV and other serious infectious diseases can be transmitted through breast milk. However, the risk of infection from a single bottle of breast milk, even if the mother is HIV positive, is extremely small. For women who do not have HIV or other serious infectious diseases, there is little risk to the child who receives her breast milk.
Are special precautions needed for handling breast milk? No special precautions exist for handling expressed human milk, nor does the milk require special labeling. It is not considered a biohazard. The Universal Precautions to prevent the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis B virus, and other bloodborne pathogens do not apply to human milk.
One of my readers dug this up from the OSHA site and forwarded it to me. If the center doesn't want to go with what the CDC has to say, then the Occupational Safety and Health Administration statement should do...
Breast milk is not included in the standard's definition of "other potentially infectious materials". Therefore contact with breast milk does not constitute occupational exposure, as defined by the standard. This determination was based on the Centers for Disease Control's findings that human breast milk has not been implicated in the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or the hepatitis B virus (HBV) to workers
From La Leche League International:
Labeling human milk as a bio hazardous material requiring separate refrigeration attaches an unjustified stigma of a potentially harmful substance in the minds of mothers and day care personnel. Such labeling and storage requirements may also place a financial hardship on day care centers in having to provide a separate, dedicated refrigerator. One positive aspect of separate refrigeration for human milk is that it is less likely to be contaminated from questionable substances in the common refrigerator.
Now, keeping in mind that it's been shown time and time again that...
A.) A center that can't make sure a child gets the right bottle probably shouldn't be operating and B.) Even if a child would get a bottle of someone else's breast milk, the risk of ANY disease transmission is microscopic
Let's consider a few other things...
Whether breast fed or formula fed, ALL children poop many of them drool and few of them have learned how to sneeze without getting germs on the surface of toys, tables, etc.. (Let's also note that one of the code violations that City Kids was cited for late last year was for a worker that was observed changing a diaper and then handing a child a toy without having first washed their hands.)
With that in mind, let's take a look at what CAN be spread through things OTHER than breast milk. (The following is taken from the CDC handbook "What to Do to Stop Disease in Child Day Care Centers" which is now out of print.) NOTE: These lists don't even include the things that are commonly vaccinated for like chicken pox, bacterial meningitis and pertussis.
Spread through direct contact with infected person's skin or body fluid
I won't even touch the ones that can be transmitted by blood because I would hope that any day care center worth it's salt would find it VERY rare for two children's blood to get intermixed. I've included the three categories above because we know that even the BEST day care centers may occasionally deal with fecal issues and all of them deal with the touch and respiratory issues.
Now, I'm wondering...since the day care center claims to be charging this fee and taking all these extreme precautions to "protect" children from that dangerous, bio hazardous breast milk... Are they also charging fees to the parents of children who poop while there? Maybe a "poopy diaper" surcharge at the end of each day? How about the ones that haven't learned to cover their mouth with a tissue when they sneeze? Or who might drool on a toy. Are they charged per sneeze?
Robin Neorr's incident with a downtown Columbus day care center has made the front page of the Columbus Dispatch this morning. The article includes the first public statement that I've seen or heard anywhere from City Kids about the matter.
"Breast milk is very different than other foods. It is a bodily fluid which cannot and must not be interchanged between infants. This takes rigorous individual attention. Parents pay for this specialized service."
Hmm...call me crazy, but I never really thought of giving kids the proper bottle to be "specialized service." In fact, I kind of count that as an absolute baseline ability for someone that I would entrust my children to. In fact, Chris Smith, a lactation consultant interviewed for the story points out that this is also an issue for formula fed children, citing the fact that some children are on specialized formulas due to allergies.
The full article is quite interesting, lots of quotes from Robin, the center, a lactation consultant, LLL, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, etc...
The center, City Kids Daycare, told her it doesn't store breast milk on site, she said. And she would have to bring a bottle in every time her daughter, Ceili, got hungry.
"I didn’t really think it was fair, but at that point I was so pregnant and miserable," said Neorr, of Clintonville, noting that she learned about the policy a couple of weeks before her daughter was born on Nov. 5.
Later, the center agreed to accept her bottled breast milk if she paid an extra $10 a day. She paid the fee for eight weeks until she found an opening at a center that doesn’t charge.
At City Kids, her breast milk was kept in a different refrigerator from the bottles of infant formula. A sign on the refrigerator read "biohazard," and once she saw an employee’s cream cheese in the same refrigerator, she said.
"What I didn't think to ask was, 'Do they accept breast milk or not?' because I didn't think it was something you have to ask," Neorr said this week. "It seems pretty obvious."
Unfortunately, City Kids statement looks to me like rather than realizing that they may have made a mistake, they're instead planning on digging in their heels in the hopes of outlasting the publicity.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't plan on dropping this story until it's resolved in a way that includes no longer discriminating against breastfed children and in training their staff well enough that they don't have to worry about children getting the wrong bottles.
Flashing back to the present, I find that my opinions have continued to change. 
but I've really been impressed with the Signing Time videos. We've got 
Which is ironic really since my diaper bag for the first year or so of Elnora's life was that black Similac (or was it Enfamil?) bag that every new mother leaves the hospital with. It was insulated, small, had some pockets and served it's purpose. Besides, I'd ripped the brand name tag off it so they weren't getting any advertising out of the deal and I've never used formula, so I sort of felt like it was a "ha!" on them. (You know, sort of a "nya-nya I'm using your diaper bag and you didn't make any money off me!")
Pros:
This is the absolute key to any diaper bag that I'm going to use. It's simply GOT to have space. I don't carry a purse anymore so the diaper bag needs to be able to hold anything that would go in my purse plus the supplies I need for two kids. This one has that issue down pat. in fact, here's a listing of what I've taken with me on an "all day" errand run...
One of the challenges I've had is finding a stroller friendly diaper bag. See, my double stroller is wonderful because it's really compact, but it's biggest downside is that it really doesn't have much in the way of a storage basket underneath. That means that I either have to carry the diaper bag or attach it to the handles. Daisy Gear does this up right...with two little built in loops that allow you to fasten it to your stroller. 
Since the diaper bag is messenger style, it lays pretty flat against the back of a stroller. That means it's not knocking you in the knees every time you take a step. Since each side attaches to the stroller it also means that it's not bouncing around like it would if you simply hung it from one of the handles. The shot here shows it hooked onto our stroller with the back seat fully reclined. Even still, it doesn't get in my way when I'm pushing the stroller. If I had the seat sitting up, it would be even more out of the way.
Now I will note that one of the few negatives I found with this diaper bag was that the material the bag is made from is the type that gathers dust, hair and dirt like mad. Yes, you can mostly wipe it off, but as we all know, dog hair has amazing magnetic properties and adheres to anything it comes into contact with until you pull it off with a pair of tweezers. Since our dog has tan hair and the bag is black...well...yeah. It's ok though...going out with a little dog hair on the diaper bag is really the least of my problems. 
Now to the pièce de résistance of the Daisy Gear diaper bag. The "integrated wipes dispenser." Why no one else has thought of this before is beyond me because it's fan-frickin-tastic! Basically, there is a wipes container that snaps into the front of the bag so that you don't have to go digging for your wipes. Apart from the obvious convenience of not having to dig for wipes, let's consider the handiness of that feature in public restrooms. 
He's about 5.5 months this week and while he just rolled over for the first time about two weeks ago, he's already buggered right along into the "I'm not crawling, but I can still end up 8 feet away in a matter of minutes" stage. He doesn't quite have the coordination to get his belly off the ground yet...(though at 20+ pounds, maybe he just doesn't have the STRENGTH to get his belly off the ground) but he can creep backwards pretty well. 
He also managed to sit on his own for the first time today. Yay! Sometimes Greg and I will sit him up at our feet with our legs on either side of him so that he can play while sitting up. Today, I moved away to see how long he could stay like that. Turns out, he made it a good 8 or 9 seconds. 
