A week in a full and joyful life

Every so often, I realize that I am very blessed in my life. I love that my family has a balance where I am able to pursue work that is meaningful to me and to be engaged with my children in their learning and play.

This last week, I've been busy with a project I've been working on. The midwife who attended Elizabeth's birth and I worked with as her student during my pregnancy is on the board of directors for the state midwifery association. She is working on a committee to reform the licensing laws in Washington to make it easier for the state to evaluate people's applications to become licensed. I've been working closely with her to develop the new paperwork. On June 5th, she invited me to go to the state capitol to present to the council that reports to the licensing board. Its been a dream of mine to work as an adviser on public policy issues so I've been really excited about and enjoying the opportunity.

I also got the registration forms for kindergarten for Willem. He and I both are leaning towards homeschooling but the elementary school is right down the street. I want to at least do what it takes to give him the opportunity if he wants it. I'm happy to continue his learning at home and we've been having a lot of fun with it. This morning he asked me, "What is the number before infinity called?" I'm impressed by that question!

In spite of considering kindergarten at the nearby public school, I did order the appropriate homeschool curriculum for Willem from Oak Meadow. I've been enjoying reading their books on learning and teaching theory and I am already better parent for it.

I was finally able to get the kindergarten forms because, Peter finally came home with the news that he will be staying for another year to finish his PhD. He had applied to a university for a job opening there but did not get it. We are not surprised but once he's finished with school, he will look so much more attractive to them. Right now, he has his name on 4 publications but by the end of the next school year, his name should be on 10 or 11 and he'll be Peter W. Alderks, Ph.D. He is also applying to another school in California but he expects that the result with be the same as with the first school.

I'm just happy to know where we will be living this next year. I am very tempted to get a dog since the children want one very much and we have a perfect yard for one. We also have the perfect yard for a chicken coop and a rabbit hutch but I'll compromise on a dog. The children are also very much wanting a large trampoline and a playground set for the background. I've heard that they resell in this area quite quickly and for between 1/2 and 3/4 of the original purchase price, so I will admit that I am considering it.

Its been very hard for me wanting to live life to the fullest and create an enjoyable childhood for my children and to also know that nothing we do right now is permanent. I've decided that it is better to live like we are going to be staying here and move when its time to move and say goodbye to all we've built up and created here than it is to constantly feel like everything about our life is temporary. So part of me want to say, yes! Let's get a dog, a trampoline and a playground set, plant our garden, build a coop and raise chickens! The other part of me says that its too expensive, we won't get our money's worth and it will be such a hassle to move or sell or say goodbye to those things.

The baby is doing well though we are still struggling with her latch. Its either tight and uncomfortable for me or its more comfortable and she slips off frequently, swallowing a lot of air which is resulting in a good deal of spitting up and crying. Its not as stressful as the early days with my first child since I understand what is happening and am working with it. Every couple of weeks, we see a craniosacral therapist to help her open her mouth for a deeper latch and to promote proper growth of her jaw and face. We also see our pediatric chiropractor weekly. I'm looking forward to having some resolution with this, and I hope it doesn't involve a labial frenectomy to release her upper lip. We've been doing all the therapy in order to avoid that. I keep telling myself that if she is still spitting up and frequently gassy when she's 3 1/2 months old, I will seriously consider the frenectomy. I'm praying we can avoid it. Other than all that, I've been having a lot of fun with my play sessions with the baby. She's working on social smiles and is overall a pretty easy baby (either that or I'm getting better at this new mom thing).

So there you are, that is what is going on with us. We are well and happy for the most part. Peter and I are truly blessed to have each other. Our children bring us so much joy and appreciation for life and we have a great deal of fun teaching them. I can't say I grew up with a particularly happy childhood so I'm honest when I say that the last year has been the happiest of my life. I'm really looking forward to continue to build on the work of the last year to make the coming year (thinking along the academic calendar) even better.

Living Blog at CIMS "Reframing Birth and Breastfeeding"

The Coalition for Improving Maternity Service is co-hosting a conference with the Breastfeeding Feminism Symposia Series this weekend in Chapel Hill North Carolina. I'm there and I'm live blogging on my facebook page.

The topic is "Reframing Birth and Breastfeeding: Moving Forward" with great speakers like Eugene Declereq, Penny Simkin, Robbie-Davis Floyd and other experts in public health, breastfeeding, advocacy and birth.

Beware the Nurse Shark!

Welcome to the July 2010 Carnival of Nursing in Public


This post was written for inclusion in the Carnival of Nursing in Public hosted by Dionna and Paige at NursingFreedom.org. All week, July 5-9, we will be featuring articles and posts about nursing in public ("NIP"). See the bottom of this post for more information.

As a breastfeeding mother, I have been, some would say, assertive about breastfeeding my children wherever I am. I love seeing other mothers comfortably nursing their children in public. I even had the honor of working at a preschool where mothers would breastfeed their toddlers as I was giving circle time.

But this picture, I think, takes the cake for breastfeeding in public:


This is a picture I took of a woman breastfeeding her infant dressed in a shark bunting costume while trick-or-treating at a shopping center in Seattle.

Get it?

Nurse Shark?

I couldn't help but think it was awesome. The woman (I wish she was my friend) gave me permission to take her picture and probably was thinking, "Who is this crazy woman who thinks this is so cool?"

That would be me and probably a few thousand mamas who are passionate about a mother's and baby's right to continue their breastfeeding relationship in public. Its for this reason that I'm participating in Code Name: Mama's and Baby Dust Diaries Nursing in Public Blog Carnival.




Welcome to the Carnival of Nursing in Public


Please join us all week, July 5-9, as we celebrate and support breastfeeding mothers. And visit NursingFreedom.org any time to connect with other breastfeeding supporters, learn more about your legal right to nurse in public, and read (and contribute!) articles about breastfeeding and N.I.P.


Do you support breastfeeding in public? Grab this badge for your blog or website to show your support and encourage others to educate themselves about the benefits of breastfeeding and the rights of breastfeeding mothers and children.





This post is just one of many being featured as part of the Carnival of Nursing in Public. Please visit our other writers each day of the Carnival. Click on the links below to see each day’s posts - new articles will be posted on the following days:

July 5 - Making Breastfeeding the Norm: Creating a Culture of Breastfeeding in a Hyper-Sexualized World

July 6 – Supporting Breastfeeding Mothers: the New, the Experienced, and the Mothers of More Than One Nursing Child

July 7 – Creating a Supportive Network: Your Stories and Celebrations of N.I.P.

July 8 – Breastfeeding: International and Religious Perspectives

July 9 – Your Legal Right to Nurse in Public, and How to Respond to Anyone Who Questions It

How Suckling at the Breast Works

Have you ever wondered how once a baby puts its mother's nipple in his/her mouth, how the baby gets the milk out?

This video shows how it works:


The vacuum concept makes more sense to me based on what I know it feels like. I had originally been taught that it was baby's tongue massaging the areola to bring milk out but from the sensation, that's not what it felt like.

Vitriol Over Breastfeeding Research

The recent study from the Journal Pediatrics is getting a lot of coverage. In response there have also been a lot of public comment on it. Feminist Breeder summarizes the vitriol that is being expressed in response to it.

Most breastfeeding advocates, and moms who don't advocate but breastfeed happily or even ever comment on the good side of breastfeeding has heard the defensiveness that is sparked immediately from a mother who has used formula with her baby for whatever reason. (Can you tell that I have?)

A friend recently described what this is like to be on the receiving end of the defensiveness, and since she captured it so well, I'll link to her it (hope you don't mind Aimee!). Though she was talking about fertility, its very similar to discussions regarding breastfeeding and formula usage.

When speaking about breastfeeding or giving encouragement or advice to help someone continue breastfeeding, it is not condemning those who do not, yet it it stating what is factual: breastfeeding is better. Its the norm. It is right in the vast majority of circumstances. Stating fact is not a reflection on a person. Defensiveness is not necessary. There is compassion for those who struggle or regret or do not regret and feel comfort in knowing it was the right decision for their family, or who have "the serenity to accept the things [they] cannot change."

For whatever reason that is faced that leads a mother to supplement or to turn entirely to formula, the fact does not change that breastfeeding would be better. Its not said to make anyone feel guilty. Like a quote shared by a friend, "Ideals are stars to be guided by not sticks to beat ourselves with."

When breastfeeders are saying these facts, we are not disrespecting you. We are not dismissing your experiences. To quote Aimee from above:

I just ask for the same respect. I invite you to share with me your struggles and feelings about trials you have to endure. We can build understanding even through our differing challenges and being dismissive of each other's circumstances will only erect barriers between us.

But beyond all that, there is more to the issue. For many women it is not about choices, but its about making the best out of the circumstances they are faced with. On the Feminist Breeder's post, I responded in support of Shannon Drury, a member of the Mothers & Caregivers Rights’ Committee of National NOW, who said this:

They pretended to care about why more women don’t breastfeed, but they never mentioned the totally [expletive removed] obvious: THIS COUNTRY LACKS THE POLITICAL WILL TO ENACT FEDERALLY MANDATED MATERNITY LEAVE. Forget pumping stations. Forget “some women just can’t,” which as you pointed out is crap. GET ON THE STREETS AND DEMAND MATERNITY LEAVE FOR EVERYONE. Everyone. Everyone. Everyone.

I added to her comments by saying, what I discovered when studying family policy in my master's program. I'm sharing here what I posted there highlighting the policies I feel are necessary to provide the level of social support needed to acheive a 90% exclusive to 6 months breastfeeding rate:

"Beyond choice, and physical difficulties is the need for public policies that are designed to respect a woman’s ability to breastfeed and care for her baby exclusively. Paid, extended maternity leave is necessary to establish the breastfeeding relationship. At home subsidies for stay a home mothers would also be appropriate here (Sweden is essentially doing this for up to 1 year). After that requiring employers to allow mothers to pump milk at work and NOT making them clock out to do so, providing on site childcare, and flextime/telecommuting options are important steps in maintaining the breastfeeding relationship beyond 6 months. Insurance paid for lactation consultants, public health campaigns on the ease of increasing milk supply via oatmeal and herbal tea, expanding the WIC give-aways of breastpumps are all ways to assist mothers in having success breastfeeding.

I’m sick of the partisan politics that maintain that parents are expected to “pull themselves up by their boot straps” and “do the best they can with what they’ve been given” and “suck it up.” That does not a healthy nation make. Charity, benevolence, compassion and kindness need a more central part in our public discourse."

If I could do it all over again Part 2: Life With a Baby

In Part 1, I went over all the books I wish I had read when I was preparing for childbirth, yet childbirth is not the only area of mothering that I wish I had known some of the things that I know now. During my pregnancy, I had gotten a sense of the parenting philosophy I was going to subscribe to. Unmedicated childbirth, breastfeeding, babywearing and cosleeping came naturally to me. My background in early childhood education and knowledge of brain development in infants and young children supported those practices. I was able to see through some of the dominant cultural practices of caring for babies while others I was not aware.

Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood by Sandra Steingraber

As I've developed a mother, my children's environment has become an important consideration for me. Steingraber gave me my education in bioaccumulating toxic chemicals and the importance of keeping our food supply, drinking water, and household items free from toxins. In large part, this is the book that convinced me on organic foods, gardening, environmental activism and limiting the amount of plastics in my home. This books also makes a strong case for breastfeeding. If only I had know about this information before I ever got pregnant, or if only my parents and grandparents had known about it...

Baby Matters: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Caring for Your Baby by Linda Palmer

This book emphasizes the primary importance of attachment parenting (specifically babywearing, breastfeeding and co-sleeping) and bolsters a parents' confidence in these parenting practices. Palmer addresses the opposition to these practices with convincing evidence to their benefits. She also provides compelling information on the common cultural practices to avoid like crying it out, formula, antibiotics, etc. Since I already had naturally gravitated to attachment parenting, this book gave me some evidence to cite in support of my intuitive beliefs. Its making this list because I wish I had known how to articulate the findings of this book at a time when I could only express an affinity towards the mindset.

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child by Janet Zand, Robert Rountree, and Rachel Walton

I found this early in Willem's life so it doesn't exactly fall into the category of what I wish I had known, although I wish I had a greater working knowledge of homeopathy and herbalism in my younger years so it wasn't new to me when I became a mother. It has been a very valuable resource in helping to care for him when he's ill. It offers explanations of childhood illnesses and provides sections on conventional medicine, homeopathic medicine, herbal medicine, accupressure and comfort measures/ prevention tips for each illness. I refer it to first when either children are ill and I've really enjoyed learning about alternative medicine and what I can do at home to help my children feel better when they are sick. Evidently Willem has learned from me because he has told me that he really believes in the body's ability to heal itself because he often refuses medicine and instead like to take the wait and see approach.

Then comes the area of motherhood that doesn't involve knowledge, but requires stuff, or better known these days as baby gear. I have a list of "If I could do it all over again" with the baby stuff too.

Cloth diapers

Economical in the long run, worth the upfront cost, especially with the One Size options and bulk packages discounts available, better for babies skin, respiratory systems and the environment. In home washer and dryer recommended, however. I started out knowing I wanted to cloth diaper and bought a cloth diapering system. If only Fuzzi Bunz had been making the adjustable One Size diapers when I first became a mother. I could have saved possibly $800.

T-shirts instead of onesies (long and short sleeved)

I found I really don't like onesies for diaper changes, even though they are good for covering the low back when picking up babies. Especially with Elimination Communication, I find that a shirt that isn't held together at the crotch is quicker and easier for potty times (and diaper changes for that matter.) My babies just do not lie still long enough to snap a onesie bottom. Not only do I wish that non-onesie t-shirts were more commonly made for young babies, I wish I had known to stock up on them when I found them from the beginning.

Pants with feet

I wish I had another 4 or 5 pairs of pants with feet. I only have one pair, it was a gift and I've never seen another pair. They are great, because they keep the bottom half of the baby warm and I don't have to wrestle socks on baby's feet, or keep pulling socks up as they slip off, or keep having to replace socks after they've fallen off and gotten lost.

A hooded bunting

For newborn babies and until crawling, a hooded bunting is a cuddly, cute and easy way to keep a baby warm in cold weather. The hood is easier for me to deal with than a hat because if it falls off, its not going anywhere. I don't even know how many hats we've lost.

Moby Wrap for small babies until toddler

I found that the Moby is most supportive and versatile babywearing device for newborns. The baby can be worn cradled or upright. While many people really like ring slings, I find that the weight on one shoulder is not as comfortable over hours of babywearing as having the baby's weight equally distributed across my back, shoulders and hips. Its also very good for older babies, provides a fun way for them to face out for short periods and can be used through toddlerhood. I did discover this early on but for the sake of having a complete list of baby items, I'm adding this too.

Ergo for babies beyond newborn and for backcarrying

I mainly use this for backcarrying or when my older infant/quasi-toddler is sleeping. Its still great to wear my three year old on my back. Paired with the Moby on the front, double babywearing is possible and very comfortable.

A manual breast pump for engorgement and occasional times when separated from baby

If mom is going to be staying home to care for baby, its still useful to have a manual breast pump to express milk. Having a stockpile of milk in the freezer is comforting, and can be shared or donated to babies who are not exclusively breastfed. If mom is going to be in school, or working part-time/full-time, an electric pump is recommended. I had use of an electric pump when Willem was a baby because I was in school 40 hours a week when classes were going on with my graduate program, yet with Belle, I've only used a manual pump a handful of times. I was given a manual pump as a baby shower gift and it was a good one.

A side car crib

A side car crib is more worthwhile, in my experience, than a co-sleeper, bassinet, cradle, etc. Not only does it ensure a "cage-free baby," it can be set up when the baby is small and used until the child moves out of the family bedroom. I could have saved some money if we had put the side-car crib up instead of buying the co-sleeper.

A boppy (when learning to breastfeed)

Boppies aren't just for helping hold the baby when figuring out a proper latch for breastfeeding, they are great backrests in pregnancy, sitting supports for babies learning to sit up, nap nests for little babies, especially when they are congested. And just a fun toy for older children too. This is something I did have from the beginning and it was really worth it, especially since I got it off craigslist for cheap.

Swaddling blankets

I've learned that receiving blankets do not equal swaddling blankets and that not all babies, at all stages in their infancy like being swaddled. For both of my children, between 6-10 months, swaddling became a very important and useful of helping them get to sleep. I'm glad I figured swaddling out, but I wish I had had some good-sized and light-weight swaddling blankets from the beginning.

Car Seat

For the sake of a complete list of what is needed for a baby, a car seat needs to be on the list; however, this is one area that I haven't explored to a great extent so if I could do it all over again, I'd know more about it already and not be showing off my ignorance here. There's a chance with the next baby, I'll look into a rear-facing convertible car seat from the beginning, just for the convenience and money saving. Most importantly is knowing how to properly install the seat and position the car seat straps. Thanks to my friend Jennifer who taught me the trick of sitting on your knees in the seat to adjust the tightness against the backseat of the car.

YAY BYU!

I found this article quote on Hathor the Cow Goddess's page:

First I want to say, Yay BYU for funding, sponsoring and conducting research on the importance of breastfeeding. You don't have a medical school, and the women in the church associated with you frequently wean their children early, but you are taking the issue on. Good on my alma mater!

Next, the issue of breastfeeding can also be framed as a social issue relating to public health. The book Baby Matters presents a ponderance of research showing that not breastfeeding or weaning early contributes to many of the childhood illnesses that can sometime be perpetuated into adulthood, including mental health issues.

Three out of four new moms try breast-feeding over the bottle, but most of them have quit by the time the baby reaches six months, a new study shows.

Breast or bottle? (Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times)
A report from Brigham Young University shows only 36 percent of babies are breast-fed through six months. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding through the first year.

The data are based on a weighted sample of more than 60,000 children, collected from national immunization surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although the data are focused on childhood immunization rates, questions also were asked about breast-feeding, giving the researchers a representative sample of nursing patterns in the United States.

The researchers found that children who were most likely to be breast-fed for more than six months typically had mothers with higher levels of education and income. Married women and those who lived in Western states were also more likely to breast-feed. Hispanic women and women born in other countries were also more likely to breast-feed.

Returning to work, being a smoker or living in the Northeast decreased the likelihood of long-term breast-feeding. Notably, low-income women who participated in the subsidized Women, Infants and Children program, which provides food, milk and formula to mothers and young children, were also more likely to stop breast-feeding sooner.

“Breast-feeding promotion programs encourage women to start but don’t provide the support to continue,” said Renata Forste, co-author of the report, published in the August issue of the Journal of Human Lactation.

Daddies are Free from Poopy Diaper Changes

Of all the things that are blog-worthy from the book "Baby Matters: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Caring for Your Baby," I'm choosing this topic first.

Linda Palmer writes on page 124:

"We also know that when mothers stay close to baby and are exposed to baby's saliva via kisses and stools during diaper changes, this helps mother provide appropriate immune factors to baby through her milk. The "enteromammary pathway" is the name given to the process by which mother supplies specific immune factors in her milk according to what she has been exposed to....High levels of sanitation between the nursing mother and her infant can prevent this valuable transaction from occuring."

That, to me, is an interesting fact. I didn't realize that there was a biological purpose to diaper changes and handling poop. Of course, when I shared that finding with my husband his first response was, "You mean I don't have to change diapers anymore?"

Aside from the egalitarian virtue of sharing responsibility with the mother of one's child, why not?

World Breastfeeding Week

I almost missed it! I didn't even know it was happening. But this week has been designated World Breastfeeding Week by the World Health Organization.

Here is the main website:
http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/

Some brief information about World Breastfeeding Week (from the WHO website):

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. Breastfeeding is the best way to provide newborns with the nutrients they need, according to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, the event coordinator. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is six months old.

The week commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF policymakers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

They have also put together a concise, and accurate fact slideshow (10 Facts on Breastfeeding).

Wish I had know about it sooner and found out how I could be involved.

Ban the Bags (cont)

In the newest issue of Mothering magazine, an article added more information on the history of "Ban the Bags" a movement that would restrict hospitals, and infant formula makers from distributing free samples of formula to new mothers. The reason for this ban is because research has shown that women who are given free samples of formula are less likely to continue breastfeeding as long as recommended (2 years by the World Health Organization, and at least one year and longer by the American Academy of Pediatrics). Women use formula feed their babies spend on average $2,000 on formula in the first year, whereas breastfeeding is free. Obviously the formula companies have a financial incentive to get as many mothers as possible to breastfeed, and through hospital giving out free samples, "mothers will assume that the brand [of formula] is sanctioned by the health care provider and safe to use."

The sour note to the article was learning about the history of the Ban the Bags bill from the Massachusetts state legislature. It appears that former presidential candidate Mitt Romney gave into the temptation of letting special interests and money get in the way of promoting what is healthy for infants and mothers.

He then defended his actions by saying that not giving women formula when they left the hospital with their new babies interferes with a woman's "choice" to feed their baby in whatever way they view as appropriate. What an awful argument! A woman has the choice to go to the store and buy formula if she chooses to formula feed her baby. Nothing is stopping her! She's going to have to feed her baby, so if she's not using the milk produced by her breasts, then she needs to go to the store. Simple enough solution to protecting a woman's choice.

If Romney wants to argue that hospitals are not offering equal time to the various methods of infant feeding, then we can say that hospitals need to become objective when it comes to issues relating to infant feeding. If this were to happen, hospitals would not be allowed to advocate or assist mothers in establishing the breastfeeding relationship. Hospitals would either need to remain mum on the topic or provide information (but information, only!) on the benefits, disadvantages and risks of both breastfeeding and infant formula. In this way, mothers would be given knowledge and then the opportunity to make the choice for themselves.

Unfortunately (rather, fortunately), the public health arena realizes the risks to the overall health of our society that comes from not advocating breastfeeding. Research has shown that breastfeeding is the optimal way to feed infants, so much so that hospitals across the country are employing specially trained professionals known as Lactation Consultants who counsel women and often provide around the clock assistance to women who have questions and concerns with breastfeeding. Women, of course, have the freedom to choose to employ the LC's assistance or to go to formula. Not providing bags of formula doesn't interfere with choice: just with the finanical incentives of hospitals, formula manufactures and now we see, politician who are courting the big business constituency.

Alcohol to Increase Milk Production?

Since I started breastfeeding, I've become an avid reader of breastfeeding discussion boards, sites like kellymom.com, journal articles, news publications and books like "The Nursing Mother's Companion."

One of the bits of wisdom I've heard imparted to nursing moms from Lactation consultants and these sources are to drink a glass of alcohol (typically beer) to produce and maintain an adequate milk production.

However, a study from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (April 2005 publication) found that alcohol consumption did NOT increase milk production.

A summary of the study states:

Oxytocin levels for each woman fell a striking 78 percent during the session where she had the alcohol. The women also reported feeling more tired and less happy on those days. Prolactin levels, on the other hand, surged by 336 percent during the alcohol session. The two hormones that normally move together in the nursing dance, went spinning in opposite directions after a drink. The result? Women produced less milk (volume and calories). But high prolactin levels lead to an increased sensation of breast fullness, so mothers feel like they are making more milk even though they are making less. Babies suck more vigorously at the beginning of nursing after their mother has had a drink, leading many mothers to think that babies are drinking more. Probably they are sucking harder because they are getting less. Breastfed babies drink an average of 20 percent less milk after their mother has had alcohol.

A glass of alcohol does make mom sleepier and make her breasts feel fuller. This could be the explanation for the generations of folk wisdom. Because moms couldn't measure how much milk their babies were drinking, there was nothing to contradict this advice.

The word is still out on non-alcoholic beer and brewer's yeast as many mothers have reported increased milk production after using these products.

I find it interesting that the study showed alcohol's effects to be contradictory: the breasts felt fuller leading mothers to think that more milk was being produced, while in truth the opposite was true.

It is You I Have Loved

You'd think that a love song would be sung to the love of one's life, but in the case of the song below (Dana Glover's It is You I Have Loved from the Shrek Soundtrack), when I sing it, its dedicated to my first child.

I can't say that the lyrics apply to my relationship with my husband, because even after we were married, I knew there was something missing in my life. I felt like I was on earth still searching for my home; the place I belonged and was supposed to be. When Peter and I were married, he didn't complete me. I had made an effort to be a "whole" person when I married so my spouse wasn't missing something from me. I believe that the individuals in a married need to be whole people that are then bound to each other to become a greater whole, rather than the romantic notion that each are incomplete or only half a person until they are married to become one.

There is something that I see
In the way you look at me
There's a smile, there's a truth in your eyes

But an unexpected way
On this unexpected day
Could it mean this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along

There were times I ran to hide
Afraid to show the other side
Alone in the night without you

But now I know just who you are
And I know you hold my heart
Finally this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along

Over and over
I'm filled with emotion
Your love, it rushes through my veins

And I am filled
With the sweetest devotion
As I, I look into your perfect face

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved
It is you I have loved
It is you I have loved all along

So I was suprised when I discovered that becoming a mother meant that I finally found "this is where I belong" and that it was my child that "I have loved all along." As Willem's mother, I am home and I am complete for this stage of my life. I am "filled with the sweetest devotion" when I look into his eyes, hold, cuddle, and nurse him. Even after marriage, my heart was still searching for meaning and the sense that I belonged somewhere doing something important. And Willem, and any other children I bear, is what has given my life new meaning and purpose.

The Breast Crawl

I have been wanting to see video of the breast crawl (the newborn's ability to latch on to mother's nipple without assistance). There are places on the web that sells DVD of this natural phenomenon for $40 a copy and I haven't felt compelled to put that much money down, for something that I could be patient and experience myself with the birth of my next baby.

Tonight I came across this video produced by a province in India in collaboration with UNICEF and WHO. I am pleased to view this video and then share it with others.



The website breastcrawl.org also shares the science and studies that have observed and described this phenomenon. Its truly amazing! I wish more people knew about this so they could experience the reverence and respect for new life and a baby's inate abilities.

Letter to the AAP to Align Breastfeeding Reccomendations with WHO

Dear American Academy of Pediatrics,
I am writing to urge you to update your breastfeeding recommendations.

In 1997, the AAP made an effort to clarify the policy statement, to help the public understand your position that breastfeeding ought to continue for at least the first year, and as long as mutually desired after that, not to stop at 6 months or 12 months as many people were misinterpreting the recommendation. Two of your members (Lawrence and Gartner) speaking on this topic stated that they wished in retrospect that they had made the recommendation for a minimum of two years. In 2005, an update to the policy statement was made, including new research on the "benefits" of breastfeeding. However, the breastfeeding rates in the U.S. are dismal. The AAP should take all possible action within its power order to encourage breastfeeding and discourage substandard feeding practices.

Many other countries follow the World Health Organization’s (WHO) lead in recommending a minimum of two years of breastfeeding. The "Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding", by the World Health Organization in collaboration with UNICEF, states:

"As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. There after, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond."

Furthermore, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) states:

"Breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is currently not the cultural norm and requires ongoing support and encouragement. Breastfeeding during a subsequent pregnancy is not unusual. If the pregnancy is normal and the mother is healthy, breastfeeding during pregnancy is the woman's personal decision. If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned. Breastfeeding the nursing child after delivery of the next child (tandem nursing) may help to provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child."

The AAFP also emphasizes:

"Because breastfeeding is the physiologic norm, we will refer to the risks of not breastfeeding for infants, children, and mothers."

http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/policy/policies/b/breastfeedingpositionpaper.html

Perhaps if more mothers could receive information about the risks they take by not breastfeeding or by weaning too soon, the societal barriers and lack of support for breastfeeding would vanish. The AAP should reword its literature in terms of the risks of not breastfeeding, rather than leaving it in terms of the "benefits" of mother's milk.

The U.S. has high rates of infant mortality and incredibly low breastfeeding duration and exclusivity rates. Childhood diseases, including obesity, which is becoming an epidemic, have the potential for much better management or prevention if simple improvements in recommendations about breastfeeding are made.

In my opinion, the fact that the AAP recommends the minimum duration of breastfeeding to be only one year means that many women will:

1) shoot for one year and fall short, or 2) breastfeed for one year and then wean for no other reason than that they have met the minimum AAP recommendation for duration of breastfeeding.

Perhaps if a two year minimum or ideal recommendation were set, more women would seek help in proper breastfeeding management in order to meet the new recommendation. If women were making efforts to protect their supply early on in order to make it to two years, more women would reach the current one year recommendation even if they could not make it to two years of breastfeeding ultimately.

Furthermore, bringing your recommendations in line with the rest of the world may help curb some of the inappropriate discrimination against nursing mothers who nurse 1, 2, and 3-year-olds or even older children. Tennessee recently passed a breastfeeding in public protection that only applies if the baby is 12 months of age or younger. I feel that this is because of the misunderstanding of the AAP recommendations, or an assumption that the AAP recommendation implies that there is little to no benefit to the child of breastfeeding past 12 months of age.

The Healthy People 2010 goals are in serious danger of not being met. The AAP is a respected organization with the tremendous responsibility of establishing policies that protect children's health. This role isn't a popularity contest- it's a serious matter than can even mean life or death for some. Unfortunately it has been about ten years since anything truly groundbreaking has been addressed on this subject, despite a tremendous amount of new research. It is time to update, publicize, and promote new recommendations that will ultimately encourage physicians and parents to nurture a healthier nation.

To send a letter to the AAP asking them to revise their breastfeeding recommendations, go to: Action Letter to AAP on Babywhys.com. It only takes a minute and you can change the letter to reflect your personal views and experiences. The website also gives address to the current AAP president and executive director.

MomsRising to Enact Paid Family Leave

I just took a minute to contact the leading candidates for President using the link below and I hope you will too. Breastfeeding takes eight to ten hours per day, and mothers need paid family leave in order to give their babies a healthy start. Join me in telling the candidates for President to support and prioritize paid family leave.

To send a quick and easy email to the candidates, just go to: Email the candidates

Thank you!

For more information read this message from Nannette of MomsRising below:

Dear MomsRising member,

Did you know it takes eight to ten hours per day to breastfeed a newborn?[1]

As a mother of four, I can attest that I spent many long hours breastfeeding, especially in my children's first weeks of life. So, the question of paid family leave is personal for me. How can a mother be successful in those early make-or-break days if she's working long hours, feeling pressured to get back to work quickly, or wondering how to make ends meet if she doesn't return fast because she has no paid time off?

The Presidential candidates talk about bringing new ideas and leadership to this country. Some of them even have plans in place to enact paid family leave, but none of those promises will become policy unless the candidates know that moms are paying attention -- and what we want is action.

Tell the leading Presidential candidates that moms in America need paid family leave.

Email the Candidates

According to a new study just released by the U.S. Census Bureau [2], 49% of American mothers cobble together some sort of paid leave following childbirth by using a combination of sick days, vacation days, disability leave, and employer-provided maternity leave. A full 51% of new mothers lack any paid leave-so some take unpaid leave, some quit, some even lose their jobs.

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 8, is International Women's Day. A joint Harvard and McGill University study of over 170 countries found that the U.S. is one of only four countries that doesn't have any paid leave for new mothers.[3] This is a national disgrace.

The next president has a chance to right this wrong. But we need to get on their radar now, while they are courting the "mom" vote. Send an email to the leading Presidential candidates asking them, upon taking office, to make it a priority to pass national paid family leave.

Please pass along this email to other moms, dads, and grandparents who want to see a more family-friendly America. We appreciate it and so do our babies!

[1] The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, by the La Leche League, contains a treasure trove of advice for new moms.

[2] U.S. Census Bureau, Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns: 1961-2003 Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns

[3] For example, mothers in France get 10 weeks and mothers in Germany get 14 weeks of fully paid leave. See: Paid Leave in 5 countries. See also: "The Work, Family, and Equity Index: How Does the U.S. Measure Up," by Jody Heyman, Allison Earle, and Jeffrey Hayes. How the US Measures Up; and "More Moms Take Paid Leave," by Cheryl Wetzstein, The Washington Times, February 26, 2008. Moms Take Paid Leave

Mama Milk is good for Little babies

Here's my newest Silly Song to the tune of "Octopus" by Charlotte Diamond.

Mama milk, mama milk squirting in your mouth.
Mama milk, mama milk,
Squirt, Squirt Squirt!

Mama milk, mama milk, flowing down your throat.
Mama milk, mama milk,
Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!

Mama milk, mama milk digesting in your tummy.
Mama milk, mama milk,
Yum, Yum, Yum!

Mama milk, mama milk is full of lots of vitamins.
Mama milk, mama milk,
A, C, D and K!

Mama milk, mama milk make babies grow strong.
Mama milk, mama milk,
With iron and protein!

Mama milk, mama milk is good for little babies.
Mama milk, mama milk.
Breast is best!

Mama milk, mama milk that's all for little babies.
Mama milk, mama milk
For at least six months.

Mama milk, mama milk is good for years to come.
Mama milk, mama milk
At least 2 years!*

Mama milk, mama milk is the perfect food.
Mama milk, mama milk.
The Perfect food!

*WHO (World Health Organization) recommends breastfeedinf for two years and beyond.

Stem Cell Research

The area of study cell research has been highly controversial due to where stem cells are harvested: aborted fetuses, human embryos, umbilical cord blood, etc. Scientists are very excited about the potential uses of stem cells to develop many other types of tissue, making it possible to grow organs and other body parts. Its an exciting proposition and breakthough in biomedical research.

But.

And its a big but. There are moral issues of fertilizing human eggs for the purpose of using those potential human beings by harvesting cells for research that prevents that life from beginning.

What if stem cells can be found elsewhere?

Like in breastmilk?

A researcher out of Australia was astonished to find that human breastmilk contains stem cells. Further research will determine if these stem cells can be used to grow other tissues. At this point all that is known is, "these cells have all the physical characteristics of stem cells. What we will do next is to see if they behave like stem cells,” says the researcher.

See full article here

Hospital Practices Interfere with Breastfeeding

This kind of piggy backs on my earlier post about hospitals giving free formula samples to new mothers leaving the hospital postpartum.

Birth NETWORK has posted an article orginally published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). It mentions the appropriate interventions that hospitals should employ to encourage breastfeeding for newborns born in hospitals. It also mentions obstetrical interventions during birth that interfere with breastfeeding. Those include the use of labor analgesics (pain medications like demoral, morphine, etc) epidural anesthesia, and cesarean birth.

The article also addresses the benefits of breastfeeding and why it should be encouraged, both for babies and mothers. It advocates extending breastfeeding through the first year as the benefits possibly include lower obesity rates in childhood and adolescence, and lower rates of childhood illness and infection.

These findings ought to make obsetricians and hospital staff to question the use of routine pain relief given to women in labor and prevent hospitals from lining their pocketbooks from formula companies intent to sell their product to women who ought to focussing their efforts on establishing a healthy and normal breastfeeding relationship. Trust me, women who need to formula feed their babies, know where to find it. It doesn't need to be sent home with them.

NPR Discusses Breastfeeding

Yesterday, the NPR news reported on hospitals giving formual to new mothers as they leave the hospital. They stated that women who received freee formula samples were less likely to breastfeed than those mothers who did not receive the samples. They discussed the conflict of interest for OBs and hospitals who get money from formula companies to give out these samples and what has been empirically proven to be better for babies and mothers. In my area, 4 local hospitals have stopped giving formula samples to mothers leaving the hospital postpartum. I believe that the hospital where I gave birth is one of those because they were very encouraging of establishing a breastfeeding relationship and I did not receive any samples.

It seems an appropriate place to mention the "Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding". Although, giving out free formula samples in not expressly mentioned, I believe that doing so is against the spirit of the initiative.

Myspace is at it again

Breastfeeding in public is legal in all 50 states, and therefore exempt from public indecency and nudity laws.

Why then does Myspace think that images of breastfeeding is pornographic? And why are they censoring photos of mothers nursing their infants and toddlers?

What about images of birthing? Especially in light of the multitude of content on Myspace depicting nudity and videos depicting the act of sex?

My baby was born early 2007 and the first roundof Breastfeeding censorship by Myspace was big news at that time. I'm surprised that they are back at it again. An online petition was circulated. Currently there are over 10,000 signatures. And according to Birth Without Boundaries, the ACLU is now on board.

So here I am, recirculating the petition and getting it going around again. Myspace needs to listen to mothers that giving babies the best nurtrition available in the world and the educational videos and images of birth are not indecent.