Suzy Q Homemaker

I can’t claim full credit for this pattern as it was sent to me by a reader who adapted this cloth from my original Breastfeeding Advocacy Dishcloth pattern.  Thanks so much Jeanette!

Download the pdf:

Breastfeeding Advocacy Dischloth Pattern -- Tandem Nursing Version (124)

With US #6 or 7 needles, cast on 37 Stitches.

Rows 1-3: (K1, P1) to end of row

Row 4: K1, P1, K1, P to last three stitches, K1, P1, K1

Row 5: K1, P1, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 6: Same as Row 4

Row 7: K1, P1, K7, P10, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 8 (and all even rows to follow): K1, P1, K1, P to last three stitches, K1, P1, K1

Row 9: K1, P1, K6, P12, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 11: K1, P1, K5, P8, K6, P6, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 13: K1, P1, K4, P7, K8, P1, K2, P5, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 15: K1, P1, K3, P7, K8, P1, K4, P5, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 17: K1, P1, K3, P6, K6, P3, K6, P5, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 19: K1, P1, K3, P5, K8, P2, K7, P5, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 21: K1, P1, K3, P5, K5, P2, K2, P1, K2, P1, K5, P4, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 23: K1, P1, K3, P4, K7, P3, K2, P1, K7, P3, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 25: K1, P1, K3, P4, K7, P6, K7, P3, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 27: K1, P1, K4, P4, K5, P8, K5, P4, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 29: K1, P1, K5, P24, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 31: K1, P1, K7, P20, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 33: K1, P1, K8, P17, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 35: K1, P1, K10, P13, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 37: K1, P1, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 39: K1, P1, K13, P7, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 41: K1, P1, K12, P9, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 43: K1, P1, K11, P11, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Rows 45, 47, 49: Same as Row 43

Row 51: Same as Row 41

Row 53: Same as Row 39

Row 55: K1, P1, K to last two stitches, P1, K1

Row 56: K1, P1, K1, P to last three stitches, K1, P1, K1

Row 57: Same as Row 55

Rows 58-60: (K1, P1) to end of row

BO & weave in ends

This pattern is free to use and distribute to knitting groups, but donations are always welcome.

This is a photograve from 1890 Paris.  A group of mothers are getting their children vaccinated against smallpox.  Do you think they were concerned about that woman breastfeeding her baby in the corner without a “hooter hider” or whatever the hell you call it?

Cause seriously.  There are more important things.

So, in all of my fun creating that little slide show last week, I came across the best/worst breastfeeding advocacy poster I have EVER SEEN.  I would like to share it with you all and get your thoughts, mainly on these things:

• The lack of actual breastfeeding photographs
• The overall “design” of this poster
• The headband
• Why that woman is going to jump on her baby

(image courtesy of the IHM)

It’s World Breastfeeding Week!

This year’s theme focuses on breastfeeding during emergencies and disasters:

OBJECTIVES OF WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2009

• To draw attention to the vital role that breastfeeding plays in emergencies worldwide.
• To stress the need for active protection and support of breastfeeding before and during emergencies.
• To inform mothers, breastfeeding advocates, communities, health professionals, governments, aid agencies, donors, and the media on how they can actively support breastfeeding before and during an emergency.
• To mobilise action and nurture networking and collaboration between those with breastfeeding skills and those involved in emergency response.

RATIONALE

• Children are the most vulnerable in emergencies – child mortality can soar from 2 to 70 times higher than average due to diarrhoea, respiratory illness and malnutrition.
• Breastfeeding is a life saving intervention and protection is greatest for the youngest infants. Even in non-emergency settings, non-breastfed babies under 2 months of age are six times more likely to die.
• Emergencies can happen anywhere in the world. Emergencies destroy what is ‘normal,’ leaving caregivers struggling to cope and infants vulnerable to disease and death.
• During emergencies, mothers need active support to continue or re-establish breastfeeding.
• Emergency preparedness is vital. Supporting breastfeeding in non-emergency settings will strengthen mothers’ capacity to cope in an emergency.

Here are some fun things to do to celebrate!

Knit up one of my Breastfeeding Advocacy Dishcloths.

Add a “twibbon” to your twitter avatar.

Add a banner to your site.

Check out the WBW Blog Carnival over at Breastfeeding 123!

See if there are any WBW events in your state here.

Really?  Should it still be an issue after all these years?  REALLY?

It may just be my postpartum radar, but every time I give birth, another huge breastfeeding debate lurches out of the hell holes of controversy.  Whether it’s nursing moms vs. bottle-feeding moms, nursing in public, or whether or not breast is “best”, I am constantly amazed by the number of stories that get picked up by the media.

For the record, I am a lactivist.  I’ve breastfed all of my children and I’m currently nursing my 3-month-old.  I have no problem nursing in public, and yes, I do believe that breast is best.  But as much as I am passionate about all of the above, I think I’ve grown desensitized to all the hype surrounding the whole NIP issue.  I don’t go around flapping my nipples for all the world to see, and I’ve never participated in a nurse-in.   It does anger me when I hear another story about a nursing mother asked to leave a restaurant or store, or a mother who is asked to go to the bathroom to nurse.  You’d just think we’d be past this by now.

What’s really got my goat lately is the woman who was arrested while “drunk breastfeeding.”   The AP picked up the story and there are currently 143 articles on google news about this woman who was allegedy intoxicated when the police arrived on a domestic disturbance call.  She began nursing her infant and then the police arrested her after calling a hospital to see whether or not she should be breastfeeding.  According to the reports, they never actually did a blood-alcohol test.

And then there’s the jackass who decided to go public with his statement that breastfeeding research is “exaggerated” and “flawed”.  Cause you know.  Scientists always go around doing that sort of thing.  Not that he hasn’t done research…for Nestle.  I’ll be interested in actually looking through some of his publications to see if little ole me can figure out where exactly he might be coming from.  The evil conspirator inside of me really thinks that this is the work of a man who got slipped a pretty penny to go public with this statement in order to get some formula companies generating their own economic stimulus package (psst…breastfeeding is FREE, and I’ll bet there have been some cuts to WIC programs out there somewhere).

Around the blogosphere, moms are reacting to the debates.  It ain’t just me:

• Mama Feels Good — The Breastfeeding Debate Continues
• Joanne Jacobs — Drinking While Breastfeeding
• Home/Work — Yeah, I drink while breastfeeding. So arrest me.
• Conscious Breastfeeding Connections: Breastfeeding: To Drink or Not is the Question
• Ambush Predator: More Government Advice Found To Be…
• At Home with the Holmes: The Case Against Breastfeeding

I’d be interested in reading your thoughts on one or more of these issues.  Have you written a post about it lately?  Feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll add your link to my post.