Why is it that everyone but the Air Force is at LEAST 6 months deferment – The above article and all the profiles I have seen state that the deferment for deployment is 4 months – but we aren’t even eligible to PT for 6 months… umm… am I missing something? I have one daughter and am pregnant with my second…I did not breast feed with my daughter because of the simple fact of deployments… My now ARMY doctor is pressuring me to breast feed with my second one… but I argue the fact WHY? So I can up and deploy in 4 months and leave my baby stranded and alone wondering where his/her real food is? It would be heartbreaking to watch my baby be torn from my breast a short 4 months later… The Military is NOT family oriented… if they wont allow us women to adequately take care of our children, then I do not believe they should have allowed us to sign the contract in the first place. Not to mention a large percentage of the Miltary are Men – who like you other bloggers have stated… do not understand OR want to comprehend the aspects of breastfeeding. I would love to raise awarness on this issue – but where would you even start? The policy needs to be changed… period. Thanks for listening.

Hi Jami,

Here are a few thoughts for you and hopefully others will chime in as well. I can hear your frustration and I totally agree that the policy needs to be changed.

I do want to commend that army doctor for encouraging you to breastfeed. Every little bit of breast milk — a day, a month, or four months — is good for your baby and supplies lasting health benefits. It would be awful to have to leave a breastfed baby (any baby!) at four months, no doubt about it. There are ways it can be done to minimize the impact on your baby. Let’s think through some of the options.

- You might not be deployed.
- You will already be bottle-feeding for work, and you could build up a freezer stash that could last a considerable amount of time should you be deployed. Any necessary transition to formula could be done little by little.
- Bonding at the breast is wonderful. You could nurse for a couple of months and then switch to exclusive pumping if you are worried about making a sudden transition should you be deployed. It’s not ideal (as in, not easy to pump exclusively, or to switch to bottle-feeding alone) but it gives you that time and that option to continue.
- Your doctor sounds quite favorable to breastfeeding. Perhaps when the time comes she or he would be willing to write a note that says you need additional deferment.

I encourage you to talk to a local La Leche League leader for free to think through your feelings and your options. It’s not a good position to be put in, and the decisions are difficult ones. Congratulations on expecting your second baby!

Do any other readers have thoughts for what to do when faced with a potential separation?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

BIP is unsanitary! You don’t know what’s in that bottle! It could be formula, it could be breast milk, and it could be unsanitary! Who knows whether that bottle was properly prepared. Fight disease, fight BIP!

BIP leads to spitting up! Bottlefeeding a baby in public can lead to copious amounts of spit up. What if a baby spits up and ruins the carpeting or furniture upholstery in a business? You don’t think those Bottlefeeding Parents are going to offer to pay, do you?

BIP leads to, um, other things! Bottlefeeding may be natural, but so is urinating and defecating and you wouldn’t urinate or defecate in public, would you? And what’s worse is bottlefeeding leads to urinating and defecating!

BIP is done to get attention! Be aware, be prepared! Bottlefeeding Parents might try to argue that BIP is done for the baby who needs to eat, but that baby doesn’t need to eat! Bottlefeeding Parents are just doing it for the attention! They whip out that bottle, and sometimes they hold the bottle in full view, including the nipple!

BIP can be done in the bathroom! If a baby really needs to eat, that baby can be fed in the bathroom, preferably in a stall while the Bottlefeeding Parent sits on the toilet. And the Bottlefeeding Parent can eat there too.

BIP should be done under a blanket! Carry a blanket with you at all times so you can offer it to the Bottlefeeding Parent to cover up. If you’re really feeling bold, throw that blanket over the baby without asking! It doesn’t matter if it’s hot under there. It doesn’t matter if the baby can’t see. It doesn’t matter if the baby doesn’t like the blanket. Bottlefeeding should be covered for the comfort of others nearby.

BIP must be discrete. I mean discreet. Discrete? Anyway. I’ll get back to you on this one when I figure out the difference between the usage of discreet and discrete. All I know is Bottlefeeding Parents should have the common courtesy of using discretion.

BIP uses bottles for the wrong purpose. Lots of people are under the mistaken impression that bottles are for feeding babies. We know that bottles are other people’s play toys. Keep bottlefeeding at home so people don’t get the wrong idea!

Ready to join the campaign? Then put on your Parenting Police badge and get out there!

Sponsored post: This post brought to you by “If You Think This Isn’t a Joke Then You’re Off Your Rocker” and the ABCDEF Campaign.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

My husband was supposed to feed the baby with my breastmilk while I was away but I came home too early and now, the baby would not bottlefeed. He probably sensed me. Unfortunately, the breastmilk got wasted. So how do I prevent something like this from happening again? Likewise, how do we get the baby to bottlefeed even when I’m around?

I know lots of women have struggled with this issue, whether it’s just the occasional bottle of breast milk while mom’s away or the need for baby to take a bottle during the day when mom goes back to work full-time.

How did you get your baby to take a bottle (even when you’re around)? If you found something that worked better than bottle feeding, what are some alternatives?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

—Marni Jackson, The Mother Zone. p. 78.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3