This Moment- Playing On the Farm

{this moment} - A Friday ritual from Soule Mama, one of my favorite bloggers. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

To My Nursling On Your First Birthday

Smunchie, 5 weeks old,
photograph by Jack Potts

Dear Smunchie,

My darling, sweet girl, I love you.  My chest tightens when I think of you as though I'm going to burst apart so great is the love I have for you.  It is overwhelming and surprising for I have that same sensation when I think of each of your four big sisters and yet there was more than enough room for you in my heart and our home.  You have filled that space well.  In our house you are a rock star, we flock to you in hopes of a smile bestowed upon us, striving to extract one of your ever-ready giggles like a tiny nugget of gold to be cherished as a prized possession.
 

Smunchie, 12.28.09

Today we celebrate you and quietly I will also be celebrating me, us.  Your birth was beautiful, hard but beautiful.  A challenging labor on both of us with a difficult presentation (your poor face!) we had to work hard to birth you and you were bruised from the effort.  It has been a year since I sang through contractions, a year since I pushed you out of my body on my bed, a year since I first saw your face, touched your cheek, kissed your head, breathed your scent, gave you my breast.  So much has happened in this first year and yet I feel as though I merely blinked and here we are.  Together and with your daddy and sisters we have encountered moments of ecstatic joy, wonder, discovery, fear, uncertainty, frustration, tenderness, energy, curiosity, and love.  It has been a good year and I feel honored to not only have shared it with you but to be the one you turned to for comfort, nourishment, and sustenance along the way.  And to be the one to make you laugh the most.

On her way out, Smunchie's head, my hands, 12.28.09
photograph by Linda Dybala

Not only do we celebrate the first year of your life outside the womb and all the many milestones that entails but I celebrate us making it to the first year of breastfeeding.  We were not without our hurdles.  Jaundice, heart troubles, lost weight, no weight gain, terrible latch, bloody nipples, sleepy baby, doctor visits, chest x-rays, EKGs, monitors, and pumping, I wondered if we would make it.  I didn't expect these challenges, I considered myself an old pro at breastfeeding but as it turned out I hired a Lactation Consultant for the first time for me personally with you, my 5th baby.  With the help of your daddy, our midwives, our pediatrician and some friends we made it though and finally my nipples healed, your latch improved and you got back to your birth weight and kept growing, you heart and body getting stronger every day.  We did that, you and I, we made it.  Not every mother gets this, it doesn't always work out, I'm one of the lucky ones.

You amazed me the first time you really went in search of the breast, before we knew something was amiss you already knew what you needed.  Surprisingly strong and determined you went after my breast with gusto and a perfect latch.  Though difficulties developed shortly after that I saw a glimpse into your personality during that feeding and admired you greatly even then.  It is this personality along with the prayers and help of others that got you through when the going got rough.

Smunchie's first breastfeeding photo

In spite of a rocky start we settled in to a special breastfeeding relationship after about the 12 week mark.  A relationship I treasured just a bit more because of it's tenuous start.  There were times, bare chest to bare chest when I would feel your tiny heart beat against me while you suckled and I would breath just a little bit easier for that moment knowing we were doing the very best we could for you and it was working.  Days turned into weeks and you began smiling back at me as you stared up into my eyes while you were feeding.  Then came your little hand reaching for my face and if it wasn't already established, I was hooked.

I'm still hooked and will be forever.  These breastfeeding days are short in the grand scheme of your life but they are precious to me.  This time where I am your world, your favorite person, your comfort and your favorite nutrition will move along quickly.  I do my best to hold on to them but I know that all I can really do is enjoy them while they last.  Because just as you will grow up developing more of that amazing personality you have so these breastfeeding days will grow into bigger and better things for you someday.

But not any time soon, we've got a while yet.

Your name is fitting to you already, Cosette Marguerite Constance.  You are the constant flower of the victorious people; strong yet delicate, beautiful yet steadfast, victorious yet blooming.  To me you're also Smunchie, my cuddly small one ready to munch, my smunchkin.  I love you with a love bigger than I can begin to understand.  Happy Birthday my little nursling.


Much love,

Mommy (AKA Boobies)

Smunchie 12.21.10.

This Moment- The final Nutcracker 2010

{this moment} - A Friday ritual from Soule Mama, one of my favorite bloggers. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

This Moment- Finding Our Christmas Tree

{this moment} - A Friday ritual from Soule Mama, one of my favorite bloggers. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

Breastfeeding- Good for Dads Too

Occasionally I'll hear that someone's husband or boyfriend didn't want them to breastfeed.  The reasons vary but one thing I know for sure is how hard it is to breastfeed without support.  That's not all though, I know there are some pretty darn good reasons a guy would want his girl to give lactating a try.  So guys, I don't want to leave you out and neither does anyone else.

The real question is why wouldn't you want your partner to breastfeed your children?

I'm not a man.  For me to write about this perspective is complete conjecture.  Except somehow I manage to talk about breastfeeding with everyone, even my single male friends find themselves inexplicably discussing breastfeeding, the benefits of breastfeeding, the over-sexualization and objectification of breasts and women and what is normal and weird.  It truly is amazing how often it comes up not to mention all the conversations I've had with The Piano Man on the subject.  I've heard a lot from single men, dating men, married men, married and expecting, married with kids, and married with grown kids.  After the post 8 Unexpected Benefits of Breastfeeding one of my single guy friends was completely fascinated about points 4 and 7 in particular.  I don't know everything but I know a thing or two about several "selfish" reasons a guy would want the mother of their children to breastfeed.


Breastfeeding- Good For Dads Too- Why Guys DO Want The Mother of Their Children To Breastfeed

You are an important part of the equation
True, she may be the one with the goods but I promise you do matter.  Getting the baby ready to eat, setting her up in a comfortable spot with a glass of water, putting on her favorite music or starting a movie, rubbing her feet or shoulders while she's nursing, helping with some house hold chore, making her a snack or even better a meal and in general keeping her company or gazing adoringly at her and your child will have her falling deeper in love with you by the second.  You'll be a hero.  And this is good, you'll like the outcome when she is deeper in love with you, trust me.

More money for your toys!
Formula is expensive, I mean really, REALLY expensive.  Obviously, breastfeeding is cheaper than buying formula unless you qualify for free formula through WIC but the cost of formula aside, statistically speaking studies show that breastfed babies tend to go to the doctor less.  On top of all those money saving advantageous there's even the amazing healing properties of breastmilk itself.  Cuts, scrapes, rashes, eye infections and other ailments respond well to the application of breastmilk.  This means less money spent on co-pays and prescriptions or time missing work and more for that big screen TV and a pair of diamond earrings for her.

No weight lifting- lighter diaper bag!
Formula lightens your wallet and weighs down the diaper bag.  You won't feel like you're weight lifting every time you pick up the diaper bag if she's breastfeeding.  If the diaper bag is heavy see if she's sneaking bricks in there or something because all you usually need in the diaper bag of a breastfed baby is a couple of diapers, wipes, small blanket, change of clothes and maybe a toy.  No bottles to mix, no formula to lug around.

Late night store runs are limited to chocolate, beer and diapers
It's incredibly rare for a woman to run out of breastmilk, like seriously, almost never.  If it does happen it means something is wrong.  The entire system is demand and supply: baby demands, boobs supply.  This means no panicky runs to the store late at night because someone forgot to pick up a new can of formula and starving your baby is not an option.  Nope, if you're running to the store late at night it's for something else.  Like chocolate.  Or beer.  Or diapers... unless you're cloth diapering but I'll save that for later.

It's like a comedy routine
There are some pretty funny moments that come with breastfeeding.  Unexpected letdown, shirts with holes for nipples, strange bras, pumping experiences, spraying across the room and so much more.  You're bound to find yourself laughing at some bizarre experience.  Just be sure you're laughing with her, not at her or you might not get to enjoy some of those other benefits, you'll soon see what I mean.

Confidence is SEXY
Your girl is hot and sexy, right?  You tell her this and she glows but argues with you saying she's not and that is so not sexy.  Unfortunately media, the fashion industry, and a variety of other culprits have chipped away at women's confidence regarding their bodies.  Even though we know the standards of beauty and sexy are based on fake women, we our own worst critics finding every flaw, real and imagined and are continually disappointed in our bodies.  Oddly enough, many women find that childbirth and breastfeeding actually boost their confidence.  To see what their bodies can do changes their perspective and gradually their imperfections become just a part of the package that grew and now nourishes their baby.  Your baby.  Giving them more confidence than ever before.  Confidence is sexy, even sexier than she would be in any item from Victoria Secret.  And if she doesn't become more confident in her body through motherhood, let her know that you are confident in her body anyway.

Hell-O Boobies!
While I'm sure you love your partner's breast just the way they are, most women experience a bit of a size increase with pregnancy and when their milk comes in.  It can be like Miracle Grow for Boobs.  Larger boobs, who can complain about that?  They also get a little more firm in their lactating state.  Plus, you'll get to see them pretty much all the time since she's going to be breastfeeding every 2-3 hours, specially in the early days.  And if she is in the mood, they can be a lot of fun to play with, like a whole new experience kind of fun.  It's true that they may be a little different after breastfeeding, though you can't blame any sagging on breastfeeding, that's from pregnancy and genetics; but they are still boobs and hey, it keeps things interesting.

Here, let me help you with that
With all that growth and the new activity she's going to need some lotion and maybe lanolin, surely you wouldn't mind helping her rub some lotion all over those magic breasts, right?  And some women end up with serious engorgement and sometimes babies have trouble relieving it, rumor has it the milk tastes pretty good, like the milk left over after a bowl of cereal.  I'm willing to bet you could quickly figure out a good latch to help her find some relief and who knows, you might even enjoy "having" to help her out.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I shared before in the 8 Unexpected Benefits of Breastfeeding that some women have their milk let down, leaking and spraying all over the place when they orgasm.  While I'm not always a fan of it myself, usually it's not a problem at all.  Actually it's like a standing ovation, a very wet standing ovation.  Just in case you weren't sure before, consider your milk shower a neon flashing sign and an announcement that you were awesome.  You can towel off knowing you rocked her world.  Don't let it rain on your parade, that's for sure, just turn it into part of the fun.

Something new to try
If you've tried licking chocolate or whipped cream of your partner, why not expand to breastmilk?  And I've heard breastmilk makes a fantastic lubricant which is good because it's not unusual for a woman to need a little help in that area after having a baby and during breastfeeding.

Hold the PMS please
Breastfeeding, specifically exclusive breastfeeding (nothing but breastmilk) helps keep a woman's fertility from returning.  Some women do have it return sooner but many women experience a delay in their cycle for at least 6 months, more often closer to a year and sometimes more.  This is Mother Nature's way of providing a spacing between pregnancy that is easier on a woman's body.  Of course, there are other benefits here you can enjoy, no PMS, no "off" times of the month, and saving money on feminine hygiene products to name a few.  You could get an extended break from finding tampons on the shopping list saving you from the awkward aisle at the grocery store.

Won't Need A Gas Mask for Diaper Changes!
It may seem hard to believe but there really are levels of poop and I love breastmilk poop.  Having done both breasfeeding and formula feeding myself plus changed countless diapers as a babysitter and of friends' babies I can say with confidence that while poop is poop breastmilk poop isn't nearly as shitty as formula poop.  It's all about the proteins, there is more in breastmilk a baby's body can use so less waste in their excrement.  Same thing with gas too, breastfed babies usually (there is always the exception to the rule) have less gas than formula fed babies and what they have usually isn't quite as rank.

Sweet Baby Breath
Like poop it turns out there actually is a difference in types of spit up.  Pretty much all babies are going to spit up at some point, some a lot, some a little.  The good news is that breastmilk is easier to digest than formula which is great even for those babies with reflux issues.  Just like breastmilk smells more pleasant than formula, so does breastmilk spit up.  As an added bonus, the proteins in breastmilk spit up break down easier making for fewer stains.  Not that you're going to like it or anything, I'm just saying it could be worse.  And breastfed babies have super sweet breath, you'll be sniffing your baby's mouth it smells so good.


Healthy baby
Statistically breastfed babies get sick less often thanks to the customized specific immune boosters breastmilk produces.  There is always someone that will point out their formula fed baby was never sick but their friend's breastfed baby was always sick but generally speaking, the statistics point to a lower risk of illness in breastfed babies compared to formula fed babies.  And healthy babies are happy babies!  Sick babies cry... a lot.

More Zzzzzzz's for you
Yep, you'll probably get more sleep if she's breastfeeding than if you choose formula.  Even if you help get her set up to feed when the baby wakes, you get to go back to sleep.  And if you choose to co-sleep you may not even notice when she feeds the baby, dreaming blissfully and sleeping like… well, like a man whose partner is breastfeeding.  By the way, I wouldn't point this one out to your partner or you may find yourself keeping her company when she's having trouble sleeping and staying up feeding the baby.


You won't be a Schmuck
That's right, I said it.  If none of these things ever happen for you and your partner in the breastfeeding journey she's still going to need your support.  Supporting your partner in breastfeeding means you won't be "that guy."  The guy that put his wants, desires and supposed needs above those of his baby.  The guy that acts like he owns the mother of his children and her body.  The guy that can't handle being a grown-up, is afraid of making personal sacrifices to be sure his offspring are well cared for.  No, guys that support their wives or girlfriends breastfeeding are instantly hot, seen as more sensitive and she is glad to have him.  Guys that support their partner breastfeeding are the kind of men that are mature enough to understand the complex nature of family life and they and their families will likely thrive together as a result.

With all this you may find yourself turning into a lactivist.  It's ok, breastfeeding women think guy lactivists are sexy.  Not sure what a lactivist is?  Check out our list and see how you compare.  And I hope you have just as much fun discovering many more reasons why you would want your wife or girlfriend to breastfeed.  To read what my guy has to say on the topic, check out his post "Mammaries... I Mean Memories..."

By any other name

My family today.

You may notice that I use nicknames for my family or perhaps that we don't actually call our eldest "Earth Baby" and my husband's name isn't "The Piano Man" comes as a shock to you. In your head I'm actually chasing after Squiggle Bug all day calling "Squiggle Bug!" Though I hate to disappoint you, the truth is we all have recognizable legitimate names that would actually flow a little better in real life. It's not that we're trying to keep our identity a secret, obviously, you can fairly easily find our real names and our photos are all over the blog. I just wanted to keep some amount of distance between this online world and the world we, particularly our children, interact in on a regular basis.

My family before there was a Smunchie.

So how did I come up with these names, these terms of endearment for my family in the blogsphere? Allow me to share how I named my family.


The Piano Man. Sexy, right? He is, totally. But that's not why I picked it for him. I've called him "The Piano Man" for a long time though previously only in jest. The night we met he was tearing up Rachmaninoff in the practice room on one of the grands reserved for piano majors on the 4th floor of the Donne Music Building. He was casually pounding out such a bombastic rendition of the genuis' composition that my poor little Bach piece didn't stand a chance. I could barely hear what I was practicing due to the sound bleeding through the thin walls of the old building. So I got up to see who was making the ruckus. The rest, as they say, is history. One that includes me changing my major to vocal performance and him being my accompanist. I used to sing the song to him... play us a song, you're the piano man... Then I married him and he was my piano man. Today he teaches piano and plays for several groups and churches and occasionally he'll play for me to sing. I still like that Billy Joel song.

Can you say: awkward wedding picture? Yikes. Big yikes.
But he's always been my piano man.

Earth Baby. Our eldest daughter is 11 years old and bears a very serious and mature sounding name filled with romance. It fits her well. But so does Earth Baby. She loves the earth, far more aware of nature and being in harmony with the earth's rhythms and creatures far more than I did at her age and sometimes even more than now. Insects, gardening and caring for the environment have interested her since she was very small. I will never forget how when she was 4 she was playing during a rain shower in the courtyard of the house we lived in at the time and had collected worms and snails and had them all over her, climbing her arms and holding them like pets and proudly came in to show me. *shudder* She is my Earth Baby.

Earth Baby and Smunchie.

The Storyteller. I'm not very creative with these names. Every night as they are in bed, The Storyteller weaves an elaborate and ongoing tale for Lolie and she tells it with mystery and confidence. Anyone that has heard one of her tales is drawn in. I truly believe she has a talent for storytelling. Interestingly enough, she also makes every little thing she feels she needs to tell you into a story but those are rarely as captivating. She is also a fantastic liar though I would never admit that to her and by now I'm onto her and can spot her lying from a mile away. The Storyteller always has a story tell, whether you want to hear it or not. She will talk your ear off.

The Storyteller. She looks like she's about to get into mischief.

She probably was already into mischief here.

Lolie. When I started thinking about nicknames for my family as I wrote about them in my blogs I got stuck on this one. The others were either obvious or already in use. Everything I came up with was either too close to her real name and was used around home or it just sounded like I was trying too hard. I wanted something whimsical and sweet, fun and dreamy with a bit of spunk. A name that suited her. Nothing worked and I asked for input. She wasn't sure but started throwing out insect names probably because I already had Squiggle Bug. Our nickname for her before she was born didn't seem to fit any more so we pondered one day while outside. She found her favorite critter and called Squiggle Bug to come see the Roly Poly. An excited Squiggle Bug squealed with delight as Lolie let it crawl over her hand and arm (what is with my kids and letting things crawl on them!) and then jabbered "I love lolie-lolie!" We decided that Lolie would be the nickname for her. It fits perfectly, she loves it and even calls herself by that name sometimes.

Awwww! Isn't she sweet? My darling 7 year old dreamer.

And we even have a shot of the inspiration for her nickname.

Squiggle Bug. That was her name before she was born though only in private, I rarely let other people know I have an endearing nickname for my growing babe and we don't share their real name with anyone, ever until they are born. I continued calling her that even after she was born though it started to vanish around a year or so. Though I wasn't using it much the affectionate name still described her well, she moves a lot. As in all the time. We do some partial bed-sharing and sleeping with her can be a sweet cuddly treat but it is always a wild one. She loves to dance and I'm not exactly sure but I suspect that her moves are exactly what a Squiggle Bug looks like when it moves. The nickname returned when Smunchie was born and I used it with the new baby once. Everyone remembered who it had belonged to first and it experienced a revival that continues today.

Squiggle Bug at 2.5 years old.
The only way we could get her to not run screaming from the camera was to give her my mirror compact.

Smunchie. I think I started calling her that to myself during the pregnancy. I had an anterior placenta and it made it difficult for me to palpate her position sometimes further complicated by her stubbornly occiput posterior positioning. As I would trace her outline from her head at my pubic bone up around my belly I would ask her how she was doing, if she was srunched, if she had room to maneuver into a better position. Somehow "smunched" came out one day. I continued to use it, calling her Smunchie. When she was born she was the shortest of all our girls and when she had difficulties growing she really did look, well, smunched. Her difficulty growing led to some interesting breastfeeding experiences and I would ask my sleepy little girl if she was a munchie smunchie. I'm pretty sure I called her Smunchie more often in the first few weeks than I did her actual name. With the exception of The Piano Man and Squiggle Bug, I think everyone else in the family regularly calls her Smunchie too. Though she's grown a lot and isn't that tiny baby any more, the name still seems right for her.

Smunchie at 6 months.

And me? Well, I'm just Jessica. But you can call me The Leaky B@@b.

Me and an 11 month old Squiggle Bug.

Have you laughed today?

A wise friend once told me when I first became a parent to make it a goal to laugh, really laugh like deep belly laughs and unstoppable giggles at least once a day with my children to help me to enjoy them and not get lost in the work of being a parent. This advice has stuck with me for 11 years. Occasionally in the chaotic pace of our lives it gets lost or rather, I lose it. I forget to pay attention and seek out those moments. It never fails though, when I'm trying to get through my checklists and to conquer the dishes and laundry for at least 10 minutes one day I am reminded of this value I hold. Sometimes it is whispered gently into my heart, others it is like a 2x4 up side my head and still others it explodes shredding my lists and destroying my piles.


Have you laughed today?


Today I had planned to get another breastfeeding demonstration video up but didn't have any footage that would work for what I wanted so I grabbed the camera and decided to film me breastfeeding Smunchie in the Mei Tai as I walked with The Storyteller, Lolie, Squiggle Bug and Smunchie home from the ballet studio. The Storyteller was to be my videographer when we stopped at the park and let Lolie push Squiggle Bug in the swing for a while as we filmed. They were all enthusiastic and The Storyteller assured me she was ready to become a film maker.


SteadyCam she is not.


However, she is a cute little ballerina. By the way the video shakes and wiggles, jumping around all over the place one would think she was still in dance class while holding the camera.

Isn't she cute! She and Earth Baby were getting ready to ride their bikes to the ballet studio when I snapped this in a sloppy "Aw! My babies riding off to ballet for the first time this season" moment.

Because I don't want to subject anyone to video induced motion sickness, I have no video to share with you.

Well, that's not exactly true.

In the video I had hoped to demonstrate how I adjusted my carrier to breastfeed and then could multi-task while babywearing and breastfeeding. Once I had Smunchie latched, I walked over to Squiggle Bug and started pushing her on the swing to let Lolie run off to tackle the bigger playground equipment. The problem was Smunchie much preferred watching Squiggle Bug swing and totally ditched the b@@b. So I gave up and enjoyed the moment and we got this instead. The carrier is too loose and not being worn well at all because it was adjusted for BFing and I relaxed it even further for her to see better.

Turns out, I like the video footage we ended up getting better anyway.



We laughed and laughed and laughed some more. We shot several videos until the camera died. Then we watched her more without the camera. On the way home we laughed some more remembering. After dinner we watched it again with Earth Baby who had missed it and we snorted and hollered through it again. And when I edited it down with Smunchie on my lap, she and I laughed yet again. Oh yeah, we've laughed today. Have you?

"Is Nursing Bad?"

I have 5 children. Five girls. Yes, five. Yes, they are all girls. Yes we have certainly figured out what causes “that” and I have to say we’re pretty dang good at it. Obviously.

I want many things for my 5 girls when they grow up. In fact, I hope they have leaky boobs themselves one day. I know they may not, for whatever reason but it will not be because they think it is weird or gross or anything else other than normal. As their mother I’m doing everything in my power to hold breast-feeding up as normal and so far, it is working. Last summer I learned that my children didn’t even know what formula was.

"Mommy, why is she giving her baby a bottle? Are her boobies broken?" 6 years old Lolie asked loudly, much to my embarrassment.

I didn't know the woman in question, she was a stranger feeding her baby at the park.

"Maybe it isn't her baby and she doesn't have milk in her boobs yet." Earth Baby, at 10 years old, was trying to explain before I could jump in to quiet the conversation.

Breast-feeding is important enough that I didn't want the conversation to halt but I could tell the woman and others at the playground could hear us and I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable. Talking softly I encouraged them to lower their voices but immediately regretted it when Lolie asked if talking about nursing was bad. After a short pause I returned my voice to a normal speaking volume, telling the girls there was nothing wrong with talking about breast-feeding. I did explain that I didn't want to say anything that would make the woman feeding the baby a bottle to feel bad. The conversation that followed continued at a respectful volume level, thankfully.


We discussed the possible reasons why a woman would be giving a baby a bottle instead of her breast. They were immediately sympathetic that perhaps her breasts were, in fact, broken and not able to produce enough milk. It was reasonable to them that maybe this woman was a babysitter, perhaps an aunt or friend and the mom was at work and had left a bottle of pumped milk. Or that the baby was adopted and could be drinking formula because there was nobody to give him breast-milk. This idea was very sad and after I explained what formula was they wondered for a bit as to what could have happened to the biological mother and why there was nobody to donate breast-milk. That conversation gave them a great idea, since I was no longer donating my breast-milk to one of the 3 babies I had been helping to supply they insisted I go up to the woman and offer to nurse the baby or at least give her some pumped milk. Pointing out that I was actually ok not donating any more and that I didn't know this family or that they would be interested I begged my way out of that potentially awkward situation. But it was my suggestion that maybe that mom never wanted to nurse and was choosing to give formula that got the strongest reaction. I reminded them a few times to lower their voices but by then a distraught Storyteller couldn't help herself and loudly argued that "every baby should get to have their mommy's warm sweet milk if they can!" At 8 years old she was already a breast-feeding advocate. I admitted she had a point.

The conversation ended shortly after that outburst and the girls moved on to playing. I noticed a short while later that The Storyteller was assisting Squiggle Bug off the slide and walking her towards me saying, a bit too loudly, “You want to nurse? You want sweet mommy milk? Ok, I’ll take you to mommy so you can have your special boobies. You’re a lucky baby to get to nurse instead of having yucky formula.” No, not passive aggressive at all.


I started out to write a piece about sharing breast-feeding with older children and ended up with this. Breast-feeding, in any amount, is worth encouraging and showing children as normal. In the recent Old Country Buffet incident a breast-feeding mother was told “this is a family friendly restaurant” as though breast-feeding isn’t family friendly. I beg to differ and so would my children. It is about as family friendly as one can get and the more families see it happening the healthier we, our children and our future grandchildren will be.

A year later, I realized just this morning how normal feeding a baby from my breast is for my daughters. I was pumping and Earth Baby asked: “Are you going to nurse her a bottle?” Anything other than nursing just seems strange. I love that.