Suzy Q Homemaker

For this week’s Weekly Geeks, Dewey asked us to write about the magazines we read. I only subscribe to one magazine, so this was pretty easy for me!

1. Name of magazine.

New Beginnings.

2. Do you subscribe or just buy it now and then?

I receive my subscription as a part of my membership to La Leche League.

3. What’s your favorite regular feature in the magazine?

I enjoy reading the personal stories submitted by readers. To hear about all of the struggles that some women have had to overcome just to be able to breastfeed amazes and inspires me.

4. What do you think your interest in this magazine says about you?

My interest in this magazine further emphasizes the fact that I’m a die-hard lactivist.

5. How long have you been reading this magazine?

I’ve been reading them ever since I started attending LLL meetings in 2006, though I’ve only started receiving my own since November or December of 2007.

6. Is there any unique or quirky aspect to the magazine that keeps you reading?

The whole magazine is unique. I think that it’s probably the only magazine in the world dedicated to breastfeeding. Although my “baby” is two and potty-trained, he still nurses. Reading stories in New Beginnings about nursing toddlers provides me with a sense of support that I wouldn’t otherwise get.

So before word gets out and I have to defend myself, I want to take a moment and write a disclaimer:

I am a Creative Memories consultant. You all know that already and know that I feel very strongly about what I do as a consultant. I love album-making for the time I get to spend with my older sister and the good times we have together when we scrapbook with our friends.

I am also a lactivist. You all know that if you’ve been reading my blog.

It’s my fault for not catching up with my Home Office news until this morning and when I finally did, I discovered that Creative Memories is a paid sponsor for the Nestle Very Best Baby program. You can imagine my horror when I found this out. The campaign began last month and will last through August 2008.

I guess I’m writing this because I want all of my customers to know that although I am a consultant, I do not like the fact that my company is participating in this campaign. It’s beyond my control.

However, I am planning on (somehow) organizing a fundraiser to support my local LLL group. Where or when, I don’t know because I just thought of it this morning.

Friday, Jamie’s cousin had her baby so I’ve been worried to the point of exhaustion. Can’t go into any details, but she’s been trying and that is one small victory.

Saturday, we had three events: my sister’s older set of twins turned 4, then there was a baby shower, then Jamie’s family reunion. I was happy that all three were in relatively close proximity, with the last even down the street from our house. It helps that most of the road is family.

At the reunion, I was distressed for a baby who clearly wanted to nurse, but his mama told him, “Sorry, baby, there’s nothing there anymore!” I’d say the baby was no more than 10 months old.

We were all instructed to take home leftovers and my SIL joked saying, “If you have any baby formula, I’ll take that, cause that stuffs expensive!” I’m fairly sure I smirked and looked away.

I had a good conversation yesterday with Jamie’s cousin when I went to visit her at the hospital again. She’s never really known my parenting beliefs and why I’m usually quiet around family. It was just us in the room so we were able to talk without other people offering their opinions about baby stuff. It’s amazing how many people become baby experts the minute a newborn starts crying. We also talked about homeschooling and why I chose to stay at home after Simon was born. She was surprised she didn’t know we were going to homeschool, but I told her that I don’t talk about it because Jamie’s mom and I have had our differences on the subject. I’d rather just avoid talking about it if I’m going to have to defend it.

I made sure to tell her how proud I was of her for wanting to breastfeed. Cause I really am.

So many babies are being born these days, that it’s SO HARD not to want to jump on the baby train! I’ll wait though. We don’t need another May baby. Like that’s a good reason not to get pregnant right now. Ha.

Simon has been a mess the past week. His canines were coming in and then with all the running around we’ve been doing, it’s been cling city. I couldn’t even walk up to the pizza buffet at lunch the other day without him crying. Plus he’s been nursing at least three or four times at night. It’s exhausting. This morning, though, I vowed to try and give him some cereal in the mornings. The way I see it, if I give him breakfast everyday, I’m more likely to eat breakfast too.

I have no idea what I want to accomplish today.

I was going to start the week off with an entry about our mini-vacation with my dad, but I’m a little distracted by the article in the local newspaper. You’d think that I get tired of writing about these sorts of things, but now that I’ve received two emails about the article, I need to make a stink for a minute.

The article is about behavior that people find offensive such as talking loudly on a cell phone and noisy children in restaurants. At the end of the list is “breastfeeding in public.” What I can’t understand is how that even compares to any of the “boorish behaviors” listed in the rest of the article. They all involve disruption of some sort, either with noise or in the case of “changing a diaper in public,” smells. On that note, the only time I’ve had to change a diaper in public was at the beach or in a place that simply didn’t have a baby changing station.

I digress.

I don’t make a display of nursing my child in public. It’s not as though I scream “YOU WANT NURSIES?” when I can tell Simon’s hungry. And I certainly don’t take my shirt off or make a PSA whenever I’m undoing my nursing bra to give him a little snack. A lot of people will say that they don’t have a problem with NIP (nursing in public) so long as the mother is being “discreet.” By most definitions, “discreet” means “covered with a blanket.” Not a single one of my babies tolerated being covered up for too long. They like to look at me while nursing and I can imagine it gets pretty stuffy under there.

If I’m not wearing a nursing shirt, the baby does a pretty good job of covering up whatever is showing. The only time someone may get flashed is if he pulls of suddenly and my nipple pops free. That’s only distracting for someone who is watching intently and happens to catch the boobie shot before I cover up again. I’d invest in more nursing shirts, but they are ridiculously expensive. So there. People will just have to deal with my NIP without blankets and cover-ups.

Who can honestly say they would rather hear a screaming infant than see a mother cradling her baby and doing the most natural thing? Personally, I get peeved whenever I see someone poking a bottle of juice into a crying 4-month-old. The ignorance alone distracts me; I get caught up in my own thoughts and wondering why people don’t educate themselves about infant nutrition.

Not everyone chooses to breastfeed their children. I get it. What I don’t get is why people write stuff like in this article. I don’t get why mothers need to defend themselves when it comes to feeding their babies the way nature intended. I don’t get how people think breastfeeding is gross or abnormal.

So to people who think breastfeeding in public is boorish:

If you have a problem with my nursing in public, don’t look at me. Focus instead on the parents beating their children in the middle of Wal-mart.