Fresh Breastfeeding Ad Campaign Challenges U.S. to Help Moms Beat the "Booby Traps"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) May 20, 2009, Little Silver, NJ - On May 25th, the Best for Babes Foundation www.bestforbabes.org will launch a clever and provocative new ad campaign designed to change the public perception of breastfeeding and expose the "booby traps"-the myriad cultural and institutional barriers that keep moms from succeeding. The ad debuts with an exclusive in the June/July issue of Fit Pregnancy. The campaign has been endorsed by Dr. Joan Meek, Chair of the United States Breastfeeding Committee and celebrities Gabrielle Reece and Marilu Henner.
We are in the midst of dealing with Ezra's elevated lead levels. I'll be posting more later about this - right now our life is consumed by cleaning the house like crazy. This week Ezra and I are spending the week with local friends. Crazy times. This week we are ripping out any and all carpets in the house, all sorts of things we never ever knew about. I knew we were at risk, but didn't know what that meant, and no one mentioned anything about it - despite living in a 1912 house doing renovations.
More about the story later!
A car seat PSA about when to turn children from rear to front-facing. If you think that being a year old and 20 lbs makes it safe to be front-facing, please watch this video!
In the eleven months of nursing Ezra, I have only used my little hand-powered Medela Harmony. Yesterday, after being in the middle of our third or fourth nursing strike, I resorted to borrowing a hospital-grade rental pump - the Ameda Elite. I bought the tubing set but am only borrowing the Elite for a few days. OH. MY. GAWD. I can't go back.
1. I was damaging my nipples by pumping with the Harmony. I don't know if it's just that the "SoftFit Breastshield" was too small a horn for my nipples, or that I was applying too much pressure/suction, but ouch. The Ameda pumps come with a slightly larger phlange horn (25mm), and is more comfortable. Here is some info on a proper phlange fit. I like that Ameda has really helpful information, easy to read and also very accurate.
No, nothing is wrong. Hang in for the ride... the first 6-8 weeks with a newborn are intense. Their needs are so incredibly high, especially since they are often growing a pound every 1-2 weeks!!
It is normal for 3 week olds to nurse constantly. That's what they are supposed to do. Is baby in your room in a cosleeper or a bassinet or in your bed? I recommend getting baby right there next to you (any of those!) so it's less effort to nurse in the middle of the night. Keep baby close by you all the time so you can get as much rest as possible. Soon it will be much easier to nurse and the feedings won't take nearly as long.
I just read an editorial from the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, Volume 38, Issue 1 (p 1-3):
The "Authorities" Resolve Against Home Birth.
and Back to basics for safer childbirth Too many doctors and hospitals are overusing high-tech procedures.
Two VERY important reads.
This post is a response to a question posed on one of my online discussion forums. The mother is pregnant with her first baby and trying to decide which makes the most sense - breastfeeding and it's "commitment", or bottlefeeding and the "convenience". She felt that she would be tied to baby all the time and unable to leave him or her for any period of time, and how can dad bond with baby if he can't give a bottle? She also didn't feel comfortable nursing in public, so how do you have a life? It was very interesting because after writing the post, the mom wrote that she didn't know any of these benefits of breastfeeding (and thanked me for the novel! Wahoo!) And everyone else who posted in response really gave a huge shout out for breastfeeding, the ease and benefits, how they got used to nursing in public, and how it was so easy to comfort their baby.
My sister gave me some granola at the holidays, and when I finished it I decided to make some of my own... with recipes off the net. Well, they turned out SOOO sweet I got my sister's great recipe for the next batch. I made it yesterday, and it came out great!!
Granola:
Dry Ingredients:
3 lbs (1 gallon) rolled oats
1/2 lbs almonds (raw)
1/2 cup sesame seeds (raw, unhulled)
1/3 cup wheat germ (or ground flax seed)
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup oil (i use canola)
1 cup honey
2 1/2 Tbs vanilla
Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl. In bowl of small mixer combine
What do you do if you are summoned for jury duty? If you've already gotten postponed for 12 months, or 2 years? What if you're STILL nursing or a stay at home mom? Or nursing a new baby who is only 2 or 3 months old? Some mothers have no car, and are the primary caregivers, and/or even homeschooling their older children.
Every state is different, and some are more or less supportive of family needs. It's not just protecting the moms - it's protecting anyone who is a dependent. It's protecting the elderly, the young, the nursing. They may have no alternative care, or perhaps rather unreliable or unsafe care, if their care provider were summoned for a day, or a week. The woman (or man's!) partner will most likely not be permitted to stay home for the time in jury duty, and if they were able to get out of work, could be without pay. Forty or fifty dollars a day will not pay for housing, food, childcare, etc.
