Believe it or not, Michigan law used to allow babies to be out of their car seats if they were nursing. At the time I assumed it was a misguided nod to the Big Three and all things automotive. The car is king! Keep it moving! Despite the unsafe nature of the law, I appreciated the apparent belief in the importance of breastfeeding.However, Michigan recently chose to tighten its car seat belts laws. Local News Channel 3 WWMT explains:
The legislation now also prohibits removing a child from a car seat to nurse while the vehicle is in motion. Babies should …read more

Today I feature a gorgeous photo of a four-month-old baby nursing. I think the tags for this breastfeeding photo say it all: baby, infant, newborn, davey, nursing, breastfed, breastfeeding, eat, milk, love

Woman admiring my baby: “She looks so healthy!”
Me: “Thank you!”
Woman: “Are you nursing her?”
Me: “Yes.”
Woman (nodding knowingly and approvingly): “She looks so healthy!”
* * * * *
Interactions like those refuel my tank. Sometimes it gets discouraging to hear stories of women harassed for breastfeeding in public, and to hear criticism of women who promote breastfeeding, and to see such low rates of breastfeeding initiation and continuation. What a pleasant surprise to be complimented and acknowledged for breastfeeding!

My newborn and I had our first “official” outing (other than to the offices of the pediatrician or midwife) on the day she turned three weeks old. We attended the community talent show at the local library, which I was pleased to see had a huge display of breastfeeding information (see above) in honor of World Breastfeeding Week! The talent show was so great. There is nothing cuter than: a 3-year-old belting out How Great Is Our God, a 4-year-old barely whispering the ABCs, another 4-year-old humming the Indiana Jones theme song, and a darling girl tap dancing on industrial …read more

A new Colorado breastfeeding law goes into effect on August 5, 2008. The Workplace Accommodations for Nursing Mothers Act reads in part:

Continuing the Breastfeeding Product Reviews series (see Medela Nipple Shields and Traditional Medicinals Mother’s Milk Tea if you missed those), this week’s product for review is Soothies Gel Pads for Nursing Moms. I have heard mothers recommend Soothies for sore nipples during the early days of breastfeeding. Have you tried them? Did they help with nipple pain? What was your experience — would you recommend them to a friend? Please leave a comment — short, long, good, or bad!

Here I am, mother of three, with nearly six years of breastfeeding experience, a year-and-a-half as a breastfeeding counselor, and nearly two years writing this blog. You would think I would know how to prevent any and all breastfeeding problems. Really though, the problems I have dealt with over the years are the reason I became a breastfeeding counselor in the first place. And this time around, while I could not prevent problems, I knew better how to deal with them.
1. Painful latch. For the first few days, I winced as the baby latched on. I checked for a good …read more

Three and a half years had passed since I last nursed a newborn, and it turns out I had forgotten some things:
1. How those tiny flailing hands get in the way of latching on.
2. How I always manage, accidentally, to drop food crumbs on the baby’s head.
3. How it’s a learning experience for both mom and baby, no matter how many other babies mom has nursed.
4. How much help and support mom and baby need (and not just with breastfeeding — with everything!)
5. How helpful (restful!) it is to master the side-lying position.

As I sobbed at the end of a movie the other day, two things occurred to me: (1) The Other Boleyn Girl is probably not the best choice for postpartum (or pregnant) viewing, and (2) I must be experiencing the change in hormones that accompanies the transitional milk coming in. Sure enough, with the very next nursing session, I felt a sensation of letdown and watched my baby suck and swallow vigorously as she received more milk that she had been getting when it was the liquid gold colostrum alone.
For first-time moms it can take three to four days for …read more

On Monday, April 21, 2008, a Texas judge denied a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have kept mothers from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) with their nursing children who are in state custody. Of the 437 children placed in Child Protective Services (CPS) for being in danger of sexual and emotional abuse, 77 children are under age two. CPS workers had said they planned to place the children in foster care once DNA testing is complete sometime later this week, but it appears that the process of moving the children …read more