Suzy Q Homemaker

It only took eight months, but Simon finally took an interest in Timothy.  But it’s not in the way you would think.  He could honestly care less what Timothy is doing; he needs to know where he is and what I am doing with him.  The reason is simple:

Simon has a baby.

Two days ago, he adopted an old Elmo doll whom he has named “Baby”.   He takes really good care of his baby, too, when he isn’t carrying it around in a clear vinyl backpack or seeing how many flips in the air it can do.  I gave Simon one of Timothy’s long-outgrown newborn diapers, which is ridiculously too big for his baby, and today he spent three hours with his baby in the high chair, feeding him cans of black beans and evaporated milk with a medicine cup.   If I’m walking around with Timothy, Simon is usually right there behind me with his baby, rocking and patting him on the back.  When I was busy with the fire this morning, Simon sang lullabies to his baby and told me that I needed to stop tending the fire in order to sing to Timothy, too.

Ever since the adoption was final, though, Timothy has lost part of his identity.  He is no longer “Timothy” but my baby.  Simon asks,

“Where’s yer baby?”

and

“Are you nursing yer baby?”

(I wish you could hear the way Simon speaks; we’re convinced he was supposed to be a Swede since all his yours are yers and he has that herdy-gerdy lilt that reminds me of  Cousin Sven on Ren & Stimpy.)

Anyway, Simon nurses his baby.  It’s true.  He lifts up his shirt and sticks that Elmo doll to his chest, but not without comments about my…you know.  Yesterday, he was try to figure out what they were called and he was saying,

“I have little ones.  What are doze things on yer belly?”

I hesitated and then answered him:

Boobs.

“Oh,” and here he pauses to think.  “You have big boobs!”

I have had a nursing pillow for years.  We got one when Corey was born and I used it for a short time.  It was a big, awkward pillow that I never could get to sit right in my lap when I was in the rocking chair, and it definitely wasn’t portable.

Check this out:

It’s a Belly Fish nursing pillow and I love the concept: nursing pillow, nursing cover, and it is portable!  Those little flaps snap to the loop that you hang around your neck.  When you’re done, fold the pillow in half and wrap it like a burrito.  You can hang it from your shoulder or stuff it into the stroller.

Genius, right?

I tried a Belly Fish and am still trying to get the hang of it.  The pillow is a lot smaller than the average nursing pillow, and it doesn’t fit around my waist like my old one does.  There is a learning curve to it–knowing how much to adjust the straps, where to snap the cover, etc.  But if you are an on-the-go mom who wants to be discreet and comfortable while nursing, I definitely like this better than one of those drapey things.

Of course, it isn’t just discretion that the nursing cover is for.  Timothy, being almost seven months old,  is very distracted while nursing, so if we are in public, having a nursing cover helps a little to keep him focused on his meal.  Not that he enjoys being covered up, but this pillow is easier to manage than a big blanket.

The Belly Fish pillow makes an excellent gift for a nursing mom.  It isn’t available in stores, so you can order from the Belly Fish website.

Belly Fish pillow provided for review.

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, I’ll share my journey through breastfeeding.

Corey (now age 9):

When Corey was born, I had read the available books and magazines I had access to.  I prepared myself as best I could and there was really no question as to whether or not I was going to breastfeed.  Though I was still enrolled in college, my plan was to take a year off in order to stay home with him.  This would not only make nursing easier, it would make it easier not having to pay for daycare.

(Corey -- 11 months)

There really was no struggle with Corey’s nursing.  I followed the doctor’s orders to nurse every couple hours for a designated amount of time, and we really did everything “by the book.”  I had a large stack of newborn and infant magazines that were dog-eared by the end of his first year.  Since this was almost ten years ago, we couldn’t afford internet of our own to turn to for information.

He weaned at about 13 months.

Aiden (now age 6):

Aiden’s story is rather different.  We were going through a difficult time in our marriage, my pregnancy with him was complicated by bouts of severe depression and I had to be heavily medicated.  Several environmental factors contributed to his growth and development, but my breastfeeding never came into question until he was about 9 months old.  At his check-up, the pediatrician suggested we start supplementing formula and that he start seeing developmental specialists.  We weaned at 11 months.  The details of that time period are difficult and painful for me to recall.  I am just glad I was able to nurse as long as I did.

(Aiden -- 6 months)

Simon (now age 3):

The only difficulties I met with Simon were a little oversupply and over-active letdown.  It caused him pain and the occasional nursing strike.  Once we tried block feeding, the issues were under control and I nursed Simon until he was 2-and-a-half.   Nursing a toddler and while pregnant was a new experience for me, not met with its own problems.  I’m sure I made several family members uncomfortable.  It was a bonding experience like no other, though.  He could ask me for “Eesies” when he felt sleepy or sad.  And it wasn’t like he nursed every two hourse like a newborn.  No, he would climb into bed first thing in the morning and latch on.  Sometimes he nursed before naptime, and he always nursed a little before he went to bed.

(Can you tell Simon's nursing in this picture? Shh...don't tell facebook.)

Timothy (now 3 months):

I had some over-active letdown problems when Timothy was about five weeks old, but block feeding helped.  Our breastfeeding journey has just begun.  I hope it goes as smoothly as possible.

And because I love this pic so much, I’m posting it again:

Other World Breastfeeding Week stories around the blogosphere:

• Cat @ 3 Kids and Us
• Cheryl @ Lipz Unzipped
• Tara @ Through Hazel Eyes
• Trisha @ Sweet ‘n Sassy Girls
• Kasey @ All Things Mama
• Sarah @ The Ohana Mama
• Trisha @ Momdot

Do you have a breastfeeding story to share?  Leave me a link and I’ll add it to my post!

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.