POSTS WITH TAG: breastfeeding

Baby

Overcoming the Challenges of Breastfeeding In Front of Other People

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Feb 9, 2012 at 1:10 PM

mom breastfeeding in slingIt's kind of bizarre how we can go to the beach in a bathing suit and think nothing of being basically naked in front of friends, family, and strangers. Yet when women breastfeed their babies, where there is often barely any skin showing, it's sometimes met with gasps and people think it's obscene. Some expect that woman to cover up or take it to a room where no one can see. Oh we live in a strange, strange world.

I breastfed my kids in front of friends and family, and in public. I did sometimes use a cover, but as my kids got older, that became more difficult because they loved to twist it around their little fingers and pull it off.

Still it can be really challenging to breastfeed in front of other people, even with a cover, and sometimes it's even harder to do in front of family.

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Baby Rant

Working Breastfeeding Moms Should Not Be Blamed for Taking Jobs Away

Posted by Sasha Brown-Worsham
on Feb 8, 2012 at 12:57 PM

There isn't much as enraging as a man who has a strong opinion on breastfeeding moms. But when that man is the CEO of a major company that likely employs thousands of women throughout the US, then it's even more discouraging. Tom Stemberg, the co-founder of Staples, has come down against breastfeeding moms, accusing Democrats (and President Obama, in particular) of wanting to force every company to provide “lactation chambers.”

Because apparently providing a safe space for a working breastfeeding mom to pump or nurse her baby is obscenely expensive and costs productivity. Good move, Stemberg. I feel for his female employees.

In case you were worried, you shouldn't be, really. After all, Stemberg’s wife breastfed. Now, isn't that comforting? He said:

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Baby Rant

Traveling 'Milk Truck' Sends Wrong Message About Breastfeeding

Posted by Mary Fischer
on Feb 2, 2012 at 12:20 PM

It's a bird, it's a plane, wait, no -- it's a boob! People who live in or around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania may soon find themselves questioning whether or not they really just saw a pink and blue striped truck with a gigantic boob on top of it pass by them. For the record, the truck actually exists.

The "Milk Truck" is the brain child of a staff member at Carnegie Mellon University named Jill Miller. It's basically a mobile breastfeeding unit, which aims to be a safe and clean place where nursing moms can go to feed their babies without worrying about getting looks of disgust or eye rolls in public from people who don't understand that infants are small human beings who need to eat just as much as they do.

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Baby This Just In

'Million Boob March' Could Change Breastfeeding Forever

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Feb 1, 2012 at 9:30 AM

baby breastfeedingI'm a little disenchanted with nurse-ins. I have to be honest here. I just fear that they aren't serving their purpose -- to gain acceptance of public breastfeeding by the general public. They end up becoming a great gathering of women who bond but the passersby who aren't accepting of it continue to look with disgust. (Silly people, don't they know breasts are for babies?) Still, I feel like the 'Million Boob March,' aka The Great Nurse-In currently being planned for August in Washington, DC, could make a change. A big change. But only if First Lady Michelle Obama and/or the President gets involved. Someone. Anyone in Washington with some power.

If there are 500,000 women breastfeeding their children on the West Lawn at the Capitol, perhaps they will take notice. How could they not? Which is why we all should get involved.

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Baby Say What!?

10 TERRIBLE Pieces of Parenting Advice You Should Totally Ignore

Posted by Jill Smokler
on Jan 30, 2012 at 6:56 PM

Advice. It's the one thing you never need to ask for, but always have too much of.

People are more than happy to share exactly how they managed to raise the most perfect children in the world, telling you everything from how to get them to sleep to the best way to wean them off the pacifier to getting them to study at night. Everyone and their mother are an expert on child-rearing, it seems.

I asked by friends for the worst piece of parenting advice they ever received and got some whoopers -- sound familiar?

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Baby Eye Roll

'Funny or Die' Babies Can't Handle Breastfeeding Humor (VIDEO)

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Jan 24, 2012 at 11:13 PM

ahna tessler breastfeedingA new mom, who just so happens to be a comedienne, posted a video of herself breastfeeding on Funny Or Die. Ahna Tessler is seen breastfeeding her twins in a skit called Leah Got a Job. "Leah" seems like exactly the kind of person who would think breastfeeding is obscene. She's first pictured from the neck up and talks about hating kids even though she is an art teacher. She flips her hair, talks tough, and when the camera starts panning down, there are two babies at her breasts.

Funny Or Die isn't exactly the place I would expect to see a comedic breastfeeding video (with a lot of f-bombs, you've been warned), but that is precisely why I think it's fantastic that Tessler decided to write it into a script, film it, and post it. My husband and I both think it's funny. But Funny Or Die didn't think it was so they killed it, removed all Tessler's videos, and suspended her account. Watch it below.

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Baby

How to Survive Breastfeeding Twins

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Jan 23, 2012 at 12:46 PM

twin babiesWhen I tell strangers I have twins, sometimes their eyes get real wide and they give a look like oh my gosh how are you even still standing after going through that? How do you live? Twin mamas will back me up there. And if those people find out you are breastfeeding, then you become Mother Milk Goddess or totally insane. I'm a good balance of both, and accept praise and support whenever I can get it because it helps supply. Positive reinforcement = more ounces produced. At least that's what I believe. The less stress, the better.

Breastfeeding twins isn't always easy. But I know of no other way to breastfeed as I only have twins. So how do you survive breastfeeding twins? Like this ....

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Baby

Mom Who Crashes Car While Breastfeeding Reminds Us All to Slow Down

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Jan 20, 2012 at 9:30 AM

fail signWe've all had mommy fail moments. Come on, even you. It's because that despite our best efforts, we aren't perfect. Though our husbands don't have to know that. There are some of these moments that we all come out of unscathed, but some are downright dangerous and make you say, "My gosh what in the heck was I thinking?!" I'm sure this 30-year-old Swedish mom who thought that breastfeeding her 3-week-old baby while driving is realizing her mistake. This mommy fail moment caused her to get into a car accident, rear-ending a truck that was braking in front of her.

Her two older children were in car seats in the back, but her newborn was on her lap nursing as she crashed.

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Baby

Many Moms Who Formula Feed Are Doing What's Best

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Jan 18, 2012 at 11:51 AM

baby with bottleWhenever there is an article about breastfeeding, there are comments from moms about formula. Very negative comments. And vice versa. We have to all remember that words can be like daggers, especially to a new mom doing all she can to be the best mom she can be. I've said the phrase "breast is best," and while I do believe that to be true, it's not true all of the time. Maybe it's 100 percent true for you all the time, but not everyone is the same, not everyone has the same life, and we should all be mindful of those who do things differently than us. We should also realize that while some of the comments make it seem like formula feeding moms are lazy women who don't care about what goes into their baby's body (and that's just wrong), others are just commenting to encourage women to try breastfeeding.

The point is that It's not always what we say, it's how we say it. There are so many moms who have to formula feed their baby. And they are amazing mothers doing what is best.

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Baby

Your Friends Hate Your Breastfeeding Photos

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Jan 13, 2012 at 10:52 AM

breastfeeding Another mom is talking about how Facebook has removed her breastfeeding photos, calling them "obscene" and "sexually explicit." Mom Emma Kwasnica of Vancouver says the photos were of her nursing her daughters. I believe breastfeeding should be seen as a child eating and a beautiful thing, but not everyone feels that way, leading them to click that little "Report This Photo" button on the image, essentially calling the Facebook cops and whining how the photo scarred their eyes and they will never be able to look at breasts in the same way again.

Or whatever.

Women who post breastfeeding pics that get taken down by Facebook should actually direct their anger to their friends. Because if the profile is private and the settings are so only friends can see photos, it's one of their own that reported the photo. We need to remember that it's not always strangers that are uncomfortable with us breastfeeding -- it could be the people closest to us.

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