Some fun information for World Breastfeeding Week, Aug 1-7.

Updated Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

This is like the Breastfeeding Bible.  A new and improved version is available now!

If you don’t need a copy, buy one for your favorite pregnant friend.  She will thank you.
Want to learn more about breastfeeding, enjoy podcasts? Well La Leche League has podcasts you can listen to or share with those you know.  Here is the link to lead you to the episodes available.

Hello LLL Moms and breastfeeding supporters,

Help us celebrate World Breastfeeding Week at our Annual Family Picnic on Saturday, August 7.  We’ve attached our Event Flier with all the info – please pass it along to all your friends, neighbors, family, moms groups, church groups and anyone you know that loves fun for the whole family.

Same time – same place: Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach from 11am to 2pm.  (PCH to Laguna Ave, which turns into Park and you take Park to the top of the world and turn Left on Alta Laguna, the park is on the right).

Be one of the first 100 families to get your free goodie bag filled with products from Lansinoh, Natracare, Plum Organics, Peter Rabbit Organics, Happy Baby, Whole Foods, Hylands, Motherlove, Tanners Tasty Paste, Mothering Magazine, Traditional Medicinals and more.

As always, we have some amazing donations for our opportunity drawings and silent auctions.  Check out the attached Donor Flier to see all of our great sponsors, such as Aliso Laguna Body Talk, Balboa Baby, Beco Baby Carrier, Law Office of Baron J. Bettenhausen, Bumbleride, Lansinoh, Natracare, Steph Fowler Photography, The Water Brewery and many, many more.  Silent auction items will be online on our website starting August 1.

There will be something for everyone, including vendor booths, food sales, bake sale, kids games and crafts and wonderful entertainment.

Event Schedule:
11:00am – Music Together concert
11:30am – Mom & Baby yoga demo by A Woman’s Place
12:00pm – Smile &  Sing music concert
1:00pm – Q & A session and book signing with Dr. Bob Sears
1:30pm – Opportunity Drawings
1:30pm – Food sales close

Be sure to check the WBW Family Picnic section of our website (http://sites.google.com/site/lllofsoc/home/world-breastfeeding-week-family-picnic) for the latest information.

I am a big lactivist and if a mom wants to nurse in public, she should feel comfortable doing so.

I have nursed in many public places.  I was ready to whip it out, if needed.

Here are just a few:

Nursing on the beach

(BTW, pretty discrete don’t you think?  I never used a blanket, but I don’t think this could offend anyone.)

• Disneyland, while waiting for Dumbo (and numerous other rides).
• At a holiday business party at my husbands work.  Sitting right there at the table with everyone, with GASP, no blanket!
• Walking around shopping for Halloween costumes at JC Penny.
• Walking around shopping at Costco.
• At Church, sitting with the congregation.
• At the Park.

Really whenever and wherever my babies were hungry, I fed them.

No one ever said anything.  But I was ready if they did.

I had printed off my state’s law and had it in my diaper bag, ready to whip IT out too, if needed!

Posted in honor of the Nursing in Public Carnival.  I found out about it too late to officially join, but I am all about Nursing in Public.  I may have to have another baby, just to join in the fun. 

So moms, if you are nursing, stand proud and nurse your baby whenever he gets hungry.  I will be smiling at you and giving you a thumbs up!

(I have to add, it took me a good 4-6 weeks to get comfortable nursing in public with each of my boys.  It takes awhile for them to learn to latch themselves on easily.  But after 4-6 weeks, they had it figured out and it was easy.)

Hello Everyone,

I have been working with an attorney from the Center for Science in the Public Interest regarding infant formula marketing. They are conducting a survey to secure information on formula marketing and purchasing decisions. Would all of you consider passing the message below on to the mothers you work with via your website, blogs, etc. This would really help get a good response back to CSPI.

Thanks

Marsha

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is interested in learning about your experience with infant formula marketing.  Please take this survey if you have had a baby or adopted an infant in the last four years. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/infantformulamarketing

Well, maybe it isn’t surprising to us that if 90% of U.S. women breastfed their babies for the first 6 months of their lives that over 900 babies lives would be saved, not to mention Billions of dollars.

What is startling is that we haven’t been using this information earlier to help increase the number of moms who breastfeed.

I think one of the best ways to do this is require every nurse who works with new moms be trained Lactation Educators!   Some nurses are great at helping moms breastfeed and some are NOT!

I was amazed at how much I learned in my 3 day CAPPA Lactation Educator training.   Yes, it costs money to train nurses, but think of the lives and money that will be saved overall!

Read more about this here.

I love what the judge said,

“I’ve been a judge for about 35 years, and I’ve seen most everything, but this one was novel, and different.”

Judge Nettesheim thought about offering her a few minutes to give her child the meal before giving her guilty plea.

“I had considered whether I should suspend the case momentarily, to allow the woman to complete the breast-feeding, but it was a busy calendar inasmuch as the event did not interfere with my ability to conduct with the proceeding, and did not appear to interfere with the defendant’s ability to understand the ability, and raised no concern on the part of our lawyer. I simply felt that it was appropriate to go forward.”

You can read all about it here.

Not toys for your nursing baby to play with while nursing.  Not your child nursing their toys, though some of my favorite memories are of that.

“I love my truck, so I am breastfeeding it.”  What mom wouldn’t melt if her little boy said this to her while holding his truck to his chest.

No, this is about YOU nursing toys.

My friend Molly wrote about herself nursing Johnny Depp. It is a must read!

In January a woman died shortly after childbirth.  It was a tragic loss.  From that came a wonderful outpouring of support AND milk.

Friends and community members volunteered to breastfeed baby Moses. One mom still comes every morning at 9 AM with her baby in tow and nurses Moses.  Some moms have more confusing schedules and one wonderful friend coordinates it all.

The line that made me cry was the dad who said,  “He’s a healthy, happy, well-adjusted boy,” he said, “who has always known a mother’s love.”

It made me think of each of these mother’s who take time to mother this little boy for minutes at a time.  I am sure Moses’ mother is looking down from heaven and is so grateful for their time and efforts.

What a beautiful gift they are giving and what a beautiful story to warm my heart.

I just found out they called police on a Breastfeeding Mom.

Ohhhh, that makes me mad!  A mom has every right to feed her baby, WHEREVER she is!

I have nursed in many public places.  Here is just a few:

• Disneyland, while waiting for Dumbo (and numerous other rides).
• At a holiday business party at my husbands work.  Sitting right there at the table with everyone.
• Walking around shopping at JC Penny.
• Walking around shopping at Costco.
• At Church.
• At the Park.

Really whenever and wherever my babies were hungry, I fed them.

No one ever said anything.  But I was ready if they did.  I had printed off my states law and had it in my diaper bag!

So SHAME on you Target.  I think a Breast-In should be organized.  If only I still had a nursing baby!

I am working on my first Breastfeeding Class that I will be teaching in a few weeks. It made me want to find my favorite Breastfeeding Pictures of Bryson and I. (Carson and Devon’s aren’t digital and would require too much work to share! Maybe one day.)