I have a ton if skills, and excellent references from every previous employer, so hopefully that will all help.

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe’s Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today’s post is about the importance of breastfeeding. Please read the other blogs in today’s carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!
 

How You Influence Others: What do you think is the most important thing that you do to influence pregnant and new moms to breastfeed? Do you have a story of a mom who you feel you’ve really helped?

 The most important thing I do for new mothers is to model breastfeeding in public.  The second most important thing I do is to be willing to talk to any new mom who needs it. I had a coworker whose wife was having breastfeeding problems.  I have him my home phone and told her to call me whenever she needed to. I also gave her La Leche League’s number.  On Twitter, I try to answer questions and provide support to new moms, and at least one has said I helped her get through the tough times and make it.  I try not to give bad advice, so if someone has a question I can’t answer, I don’t.  I hate when people give advice just because they don’t want to NOT give advice!  My sister-in-law nursed her toddler while pregnant and after the baby was born against the advice of her friends because I had done it with mine, and she knew it could be done!  She also said she felt comfortable nursing her two year old because I nursed a two year old!  That makes me feel really good.

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe’s Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today’s post is about the importance of breastfeeding. Please read the other blogs in today’s carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!
 

Importance of Breastfeeding: Why is breastfeeding personally important to you? Who helped you to first see why breastfeeding would be such a benefit? You know what they say–there’s nothing like word of mouth.

 Breastfeeding is important to me because it’s not easy to do at first, and I did it.  I had problems with my first and last babies, and I still made it to nurse them the longest.  It means that I’m giving physically of myself to my babies.  My first and last are both comfort nursers, and to see how happy it makes them when they are done warms my heart.  I also am a “lazy parent” and love that I can travel at a moment’s notice without preparing any bottles!

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe’s Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today’s post is about the importance of breastfeeding. Please read the other blogs in today’s carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!
 

Breastfeeding and Multiples: No we’re not just talking about twins, triplets, etc. Any way that you breastfeed with multiple children. Maybe you’ve breastfed while trying to conceive, maybe you’ve breastfed while pregnant, maybe you’ve tandem nursed, maybe you’ve just breastfeed a younger child while chasing the older one. How does breastfeeding help you parent? What are the challenges?

I nursed my first child for 28 months, and she is only 26 months older than her younger sister.  Because she was over a year old when I got pregnant, I noticed no change in her nursing desires or ability. By then, she was nursing one-two times per day.  My second child latched on like a pro, and I always suspected it was because I was still nursing her older sister.  Unfortunately, my second child was only 6 months old when I got pregnant with her sister.  My milk production went way, way down.  Because I had read that milk production goes back up in the second trimester, I tried to keep nursing her and nursing her during the first three months trying to get through to that fourth month, but it didn’t work.  She was always hungry, so after two months, I gave her formula.  I tried to keep nursing her at bed time so she would at least have that, but she didn’t want it.  For her, breastfeeding was primarily about food and secondarily about comfort, and she was fine with just being cuddled to sleep without nursing (we bedshared).

 I wish I could have tandem nursed my second and third child, and I’m still sad about that.

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe’s Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today’s post is about the importance of breastfeeding. Please read the other blogs in today’s carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!
 

First Nursing in Public Experience: This could be anything from the first time you witnessed a mother breastfeeding in public to the first time you did it yourself. How did you feel about it then? How do you feel about it now?

I’ll never forget my first real nursing in public experience.  We were in an airport in Houston waiting for a delayed flight on Christmas Eve 2002, my daughter’s first birthday.  I had no choice but to nurse her in public, and I did!  It was an empty section of a terminal and I tried to cover up with a blanket, but she was not having that.  She kept pulling the blanket off of her head, so I gave up trying.  It was liberating!

I still try to pick quiet corners (less distractions make for quicker nursing sessions), and in restaurants, I tell the server ahead that I might breastfeed and ask for a corner table.  I’ve never once had a negative comment.  Maybe I’m lucky being in California, but I’ve never been treated poorly for breastfeeding in public—and I’ve done it with four babies over nine years!

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe’s Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today’s post is about how the mothers before you influenced your choice to breastfeed. Please read the other blogs in today’s carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!

My online community was an amazing source of help. In 2001, I practically lived on the “Due in December” message boards originally at Epregnancy then moved to Geoparents as the children were born, (which was then was sold to someone else and started sucking).

We were a very close community and it got me through my first full pregnancy with a lot less worry. Any concern I had was a concern from someone else and we all learned what was normal from each other. As an AP mom, I felt a lot of support from other moms out there who also were into Attachment Parenting. I co-slept, and found vindication and support from other bedsharing mamas.

I faded out of the message boards after a while, and didn’t get back into the online community until the birth of my fourth baby and my discover of Twitter. In some ways, better than the message boards for immediate conversation (though I love the fact that you can go back and read specific responses to specific questions on a message board). I’m pretty sure if I had Twitter way-back-when, I would have tried homebirth! The support from other mothers is amazing.

• Shelly @ Lousy Mom-If you could ask everyone in the world
• Ashley @ Adventures with my Monkeys-Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival Day 7: Online Breastfeeding
• Timbra @ Bosoms and Babes-What’s the Online Appeal?
• Sylko @ Chaotic Mama-Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival Day 7
• And of course the guest poster on the Breastfeeding Cafe’s blog today is Claire Lindstrom-Breastfeeding Online

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe’s Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today’s post is about how the mothers before you influenced your choice to breastfeed. Please read the other blogs in today’s carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!

My birth experience didn’t influence my decision to breastfeed, but my final birth did influence how difficult it was to breastfeed.

My fourth child was a C-Section after one induced, epidural birth, and two induced but painkiller free births. With my first three, I was induced two weeks after the due date. With my last, I was induced one week BEFORE my due date. I was dilated to 10 and pushed and pushed, but he didn’t budget. He was comletely stuck at the cervix, so after consulting with another doctor, my Obsetrician recommended a C-Section. She said she was concerned that this was my fourth child, and was concerned that he may have been tangled in the cord or unable to move through the birth canal for other reasons. I consented because I wanted to make sure he was safe.

I lost a lot of blood during the C-Section and was very anemic after the surgery. I was alone in the hospital for nearly an entire week with the baby. My husband had three small children to take care of at home, and tried to visit once a day with them, but they were so wild when he was there, that I got very little help. Getting out of bed alone was very, very difficult with the surgery and stitches. It was difficult to position the baby while sitting up in the hospital bed, and very difficult to adjust my positioning in a narrow hospital bed, while I couldn’t even sit up without pulling on the side rails. My wonderful nursing pillow was almost useless in the bed position, and side-lying was impossible. Add to that, a baby who couldn’t or wouldn’t open his mouth very wide to nurse comfortably, and it was a recipe for disaster. I was convinced that he had a hard time nursing because he was born three weeks too soon. All of my children were two weeks late, and him being induced one week early meant he was three weeks younger than his sisters were.

I nursed and cried and supplemented with formula, but was determined to work it out. I gave him very little formula after nursing. I would allow him to suck for a few seconds, then remove the bottle and wait for his reaction to make sure he didn’t overeat as I wanted him to be hungry in 2 hours like he would be with straight nursing. I got the slowest flow nipples I could, as well. Finally, after a MONTH of work, work, work, he was nursing full time, no supplementing, and he’s 26 months now and still nursing.
 

• Sylko @ Chaotic Mama-Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival Day 6
• Shelly @ Lousy Mom-Prep for birth. Prep for breastfeeding.
• Ashley @ Adventures with my Monkeys-Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival Day 6: Birth Experience
• Timbra @ Bosoms and Babes-Birth of Me: Halfway Around the World
• Claire @ The Adventures of Lactating Girl-Setting Myself Up For Success
• Natasha @ Natural Urban Mama-Birth Experience. Maybe. Cheering Squad. Definitely!
• And of course the guest poster on the Breastfeeding Cafe’s blog today is Marilee Poulson-Prepare for Natural Birth, Prepare to Breastfeed

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe’s Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today’s post is about how the mothers before you influenced your choice to breastfeed. Please read the other blogs in today’s carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!

Nursing in Public: What are your views on breastfeeding in public? How do you feel a mother breastfeeding in public influences others in public? Do you feel breastfeeding in public helps to normalize breastfeeding?

All mothers should breastfeed in public. It definitely influences people. Yes, a lot of people get offended, but a lot of people don’t. I think nursing in public is best for the children, so they grow up seeing it and thinking it’s normal.

I nursed my then-11 month old at a birthday party I attended for a kindergartner. There were a lot of children around. I pulled a chair off to the side in some shade to feed my baby. Some of the kids came around and asked what I was doing. I told them I was feeding the baby. One said that her mom “doesn’t do that. She just uses a bottle.” I said some moms use a bottle, and some do this. She went on her way to play in the bounce house. One of the grandma’s approached me and said that she loved that I was breastfeeding. She was from another country. I find most of my positive reactions have been from people from other countries who are happy to see and American woman breastfeeding.

My daughter’s teacher had a baby just before the end of the school year, and returned to work for the last two weeks. They allowed her to bring the baby with her, and she nursed the baby in class. I thought that was fantastic! Imagine all children seeing breastfeeding. When they are grown, it won’t seem icky or gross. It will be something normal!

• Dionna @ Code Name Mama-Twiddle Me That
• Judy @ Mommy News & Views Blog-Breastfeeding in Public
• Natasha @ Natural Urban Mama-NIP by NUM
• Timbra @ Bosoms and Babes-In Public Eye
• Claire @ The Adventures of Lactating Girl-How It Should Be
• Xela @ Happy Hippie Homemaker-Why I feel the need to nurse in public
• Shelly @ Lousy Mom-Breastfeeding Welcome Here
• Renee @ Just the 5 of us!-Take it All Off
• Sylko @ Chaotic Mama-Breastfeeding Carnival Day 5
• Ana @ Motherhood: Deconstructed-Breastfeeding in Public is Good for Society
• Sara @ the Momzelle blog-Shy Girl Nursing in Public
• And of course the guest poster on the Breastfeeding Cafe’s blog today is Melissa LaVange-Breastfeeding is Not Taboo

<em>This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe’s Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to <a href=”http://www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com” target=”_blank”>www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com</a>. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today’s post is about language and breastfeeding. Please read the other blogs in today’s carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!</em>
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Language and Breastfeeding: Most people don’t realize how their language can influence our ideas of breastfeeding. Do you feel this is an issue in our society? If so, how can we change our language to rid our community of the bias against breastfeeding? How do you feel breastfeeding is portrayed by the language in our media?

Breastfeeding in the media is a complicated issue. Until VERY Recently, most articles downplayed breastfeeding and included disclaimer language that formula can be just as good. Most articles today (2011) are very positive for breastfeeding, though “woman sprays deputies with breastmilk” is the number one hit for breastfeeding as a search term, at least no one in the articles were calling breastmilk a biohazard, as has been said in the past. However, the old habits still creep in.

In reports on formula, the benefits of breastfeeding are often glossed over or buried at the end of the article (See: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43611940 , http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43512372), which often goes unread by those with short attention spans.

Go to FOXNEWS.COM and do a search for breastfeeding. What’s the first article that pops up? “Breast feeding mom smothers baby after getting drunk.” One of the top results as of July 5, 2011 on Google News is an artist depicting herself breastfeeding an adult male—which seems to be the image on everyone’s mind whenever they see someone breastfeeding a toddler.

But while the mainstream media has jumped on board, the non-mainstream media has not. Do you remember Michelle Bachman calling Michelle Obama’s campaign to encourage breastfeeding “social engineering” while Sarah Palin joked that under Obama, the price of milk is so high, women better breastfeed?

And then we all know how Facebook bans any picture of a breastfeeding mom as “obscene” while allowing drunk college girls to post all-but-the-nipple pictures.

I’m confident however, that with mainstream media coming around, the fringes will become even more, um, fringy and will look like the fear mongers they are.

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<strong>Here are more post by the Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival participants! Check back because more will be added throughout the day.</strong>
<ul>
<li>Claire @ The Adventures of Lactating Girl-<a href=”http://wp.me/pDcm9-Ct“>Breast is Not Best, It’s Normal</a></li>
<li>Sylko @ Chaotic Mama-<a href=”http://chaoticmama.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/breastfeeding-carnival-day-4/“>Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival: Day 4</a></li>
<li>Renee @ Just the 5 of us!-<a href=”http://yeoman5.blogspot.com/2011/07/breast-is-not-best-its-par.html“>Breast is Not Best, It’s Par</a></li>
<li>Ashley @ Adventures with my Monkeys-<a href=”http://monkeybunnsmama.blogspot.com/2011/07/breastfeeding-carnival-day-4-language.html“>Breastfeeding Carnival Day 4: Language and Breastfeeding</a></li>
<li>Ana @ Motherhood: Deconstructed-<a href=”http://motherhooddeconstructed.com/2011/07/21/how-language-and-feminism-creates-an-aversion-to-breastfeeding/“>How Language (and Feminism) Creates an Aversion to Breastfeeding</a></li>
<li>Timbra @ Bosoms and Babes-<a href=”http://bosoms-and-babes.blogspot.com/2011/07/maybe-means.html“>Maybe Means</a></li>
<li>Laura @ Day by Day in Our World-<a href=”http://www.daybydayinourworld.com/2011/07/is-our-language-affecting-image-of.html“>Is Our Language Affecting the Image of Breastfeeding?</a></li>
<li>And of course the guest poster on the Breastfeeding Cafe’s blog today is Sarah Woodall Stoddard-<a href=”http://wp.me/pwUtv-ql“>Talking About Breastfeeding</a></li></ul>