Warm Hearts Happy Family

Welcome to the June Carnival of Breastfeeding–exploring the topic of nursing in public.  Check out other participants linked at the bottom of the post!

Unless you are one of the rare few–the bold moms that I so admire–the question of how to balance breastfeeding with summertime activities is bound to enter your mind.  Over at Mamapedia, I saw a similar concern posted by a reader. 

Concerns like pools and leakage, family bbq’s, trips to the park, and going for that morning jog can have many modest moms camped up in their home for the whole season.  This is not only completely unnecessary but wasteful!  There is no reason to sit this summer out, because the public and breastfeeding are compatible.  I promise.

Let’s start with the family bbq’s.  If you are new to nursing in public this is absolutely perfect.  You are breaking your nursing in public seal surrounded by friends and family.  Once you are a nursing pro you will look back and feel silly at how awkward you felt feeding your baby outdoors. 

If the thought of nursing around people still makes you a little uneasy start smaller.  Go in your backyard in the morning, breath in that fresh air, nurse your little one, and listen to the birds sing.  I am telling you, that is peace and love baby.

Another popular summertime spot is the public pool.  This setting can be downright terrifying, especially for the boob, I mean the noob.  There is just not a lot of modesty options when nursing in a bathing suite so start with the above –backyards and bbq’s if you have to.  One key piece of advice I have–especially at the pool–is people are really not paying attention to you. 

I always felt like when I was about to nurse a huge spotlight beamed directly down on me and everybody held their breath and stared, absolutely appalled at what I was about to do.  But in reality the insecurity was all mine, nobody around me noticed or cared.  So when you are at the pool nurse with pride and if somebody happens to notice all the better.  You are helping change our culture for the better (and don’t worry about the leakage, you won’t be swimming around with a streak of milk in your wake I swear).     

Nursing in the summertime is beautiful, it is convenient, and it is healthy.  You don’t have to carry around formula, bottles,  and sterile water.  Food is always ready, always the perfect temperature, and always perfectly mixed.  And all this with zero clean up required.  So enjoy your summer of breastfeeding, I know I will!

Blisstree.com: Nursing in Public: To Cover or Not to Cover

Lucy and Ethel Have a Baby:  (Boobs) Out and Proud

PhD in Parenting:  Would you, could you nurse in public?

Dirty Diaper Laundry:  Breastfeeding in Public- Talents- I haz it

Kim Through the Looking Glass:  Here?  At the Restaurant?

Grudge Mom:  Nursing in a room full of people you know

Mum Unplugged:  Aww, is he sleeping?

Massachusetts Friends of Midwives:  Nursing in Public: Chinatown, the Subway, the Vatican, and More

Mother Mary’s Soapbox:  June Carnival:  Breastfeeding in Public

Tiny Grass:  Nursing in Public as an Immigrant

A Mother’s Boutique:  Breastfeeding in Public

Chronicles of a Nursing Mom:  Why Worry About NIP?

Blacktating:  Thank You for Nursing in Public

Musings on Mamahood:  NIP, no tuck

Motherwear’s Breastfeeding Blog:  Get kicked off a buss for nursing in public?

babyREADY:  A wee NIP in the park

Long Life:  Planes, trains, and automobiles–we’ve breastfed in them all

Breastfeeding Moms Unite:  Nursing in Public: A Fresh Perspective on Nurse-In’s

Pump Ease:  Breastfeeding Hats? YES! Nursing Covers? Uh… Not So Much

Breastfeeding Mums Blog:   Nursing in Public - What’s a Breastfeeding Mother to Do!!

Hobo Mama:  Easy, discreet way to breastfeed a toddler in public

Stork Stories…Birth and Breastfeeding:  Little Old Men… & Nursing in Public

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That’s right.  I love my babies being babies.  But before I jump into all my reasons I love being a mom to itty bitties, I find it absolutly essential to bullet point some of the things I will NOT miss. 

1.  Pooping with an audience.  Why my children find the bathroom to be the very nucleus of entertainment when I need to use it is way beyond me.  I have learned to power poop.  Three minutes start to finish–including a hand wash–I am in and out before my kids have even missed me. 

2.  Sleep deprivation.  I will love when I can go to bed when I want, sleep till noon if I want, and sleep in what I want (nude as the case may certainly be).  And also to not wake up to a baby nursing away wondering how she got there; and how long she has been at it.  One day my boobs will be mine once again.     

3.  Drugs and alcohol.  And by drugs I mean the likes of Nyquil; the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold medicine kind of drugs.  Having a cold sucks ass with a nursling–you just have to suffer through the old fashion way.  And by alcohol I mean drinking a bottle of wine and giggling till you fall asleep kind of alcohol.  Guess that one was pretty self explanatory.  

What my heart will ache for when these days are gone:

• My kisses being packed with mystical magical healing powers.  Right now mama’s kisses fix all scraps and bumps and it melts my heart every time
• My kids loving to fall asleep in my arms.  I don’t know what I am going to do when they don’t want to cuddle in bed and drift into a peaceful sleep with me anymore.  This is one of my favorite parts of my day and memories that I will cherish forever
• The sound of their high pitched innocent belly laughs
• Breastfeeding.  While at times I can not wait to be done I will forever miss these moments when they are in my distant past.
• The pure joy I see in my son’s eyes when he has learned something new
• A little voice asking in every circumstance–”Can I help, I help mommy?”
• Being awakened by bright jubilant children smiling and bouncing with excitement for the new day
• Being able to use the word “maybe” instead of yes or no–and it working like a charm
• The witness of pure acceptance of people and diversity
• Knowing that mommy’s arms are the safest, warmest, most sought after place in their little world.

Motherhood rocks–kicks serious ass–this is a reminder to enjoy your babies.  Breath them in and eat them up because these moments in life are unreasonably short.  Remember to stop and smell the roses–or better yet the tops of your kids heads.  They will be ungrateful teenagers before you know it!  Yikes!

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When you wake up in the middle of the night to your nursling–half asleep–is trying to latch onto your side roll instead of your breast.

*Sigh*

Thanks daughter, the new me…or should I say old me is coming back soon I swear.  Keep reminding me to get back to my super fly self.

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Becoming a mother has made me whole in a way that I never expected; has filled me up with so much more love and joy than I ever expected. In fact motherhood has been jam-packed with surprises and has been a huge part of my personal growth. 

For example, I never knew I would be a mother nursing a toddler and absolutely loving it.  Not that I thought I wouldn’t necessarily, I just never even thought about nursing an older child.  And then when breastfeeding did enter my reality I assumed I would nurse for 6 months (if I could make it a whole 6 months!). 

I have learned so much over the past year about breast milk, nursing, and the unique bond that forms through breastfeeding.  Nursing a toddler is an entirely different ballgame all together.  They can verbalize how much they need mama’s closeness and tell you how much they love their <insert your name for nursing here>.   We call our nursing session num num’s.  Lacks in originality, I know.

Some statistics from kellymom:

 In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:¦lt;br />  29% of energy requirements
 43% of protein requirements
 36% of calcium requirements
 75% of vitamin A requirements
 76% of folate requirements
 94% of vitamin B12 requirements
 60% of vitamin C requirements

My daughter does have a healthy appetite and eats a variety of different nutritious foods.  What better vitamin supplement than mom’s milk, produced and designed just for her!  The fat and energy content significantly increases in breast milk produced beyond the first year of life and continues to provide key nutrients to the growing toddler.

There are the benefits we have long heard about such as fewer illnesses and allergies and some immune factors increase in the second year of lactation (Goldman 1983, Goldman & Goldblum 1983, Institute of Medicine 1991).  And this from the World Health Organization:  A modest increase in breastfeeding rates could prevent up to 10% of all deaths of children under five: Breastfeeding plays an essential and sometimes underestimated role in the treatment and prevention of childhood illness.” 

Just as important however is the gentle transition from baby to independence that nursing your toddler can provide.  According to Elizabeth N. Baldwin, Esq. in “Extended Breastfeeding and the Law”:  “Meeting a child’s dependency needs is the key to helping that child achieve independence. And children outgrow these needs according to their own unique timetable.”  In short, meet your individual baby’s dependency needs and so will follow healthy independence.

So let’s ban together, rethink our own definition of the mother and child nursing relationship, and change our culture for the better!

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So I almost always wear a nursing tank under my clothes, even at home.  I just feel so uncomfortable pulling up my shirt and having that lovely post baby belly out for the world to see.  Even if the world is just my little family.  But today I didn’t wear one.  I wore my new lacy black bra and didn’t want to ruin the feel by throwing a nursing tank over top of it–would have totally defeated the purpose right?  That’s what I thought too. 

Anyway, I get home from work and diva-licious wanted to nurse right away.  So I sit down, pull up my shirt, and she stops mid lunge.

“Uh-Oh.  Ooooooh.  Nooooo.  Uh-oh mama”

Yep, the look on her face was horror mixed with confusion.  All while pointing her chubby finger at my stomach.

Nice.

If my 15 month old has that reaction, I can’t help but wonder what my husband thinks.

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