This latest question relates to the discussion we had recently about promoting breastfeeding to pregnant women.
Dear Angela,
I have a friend who is on bed rest and will probably have premature multiples. I gently asked whether she plans to breastfeed and she responded with comments about how she isn’t sure but she’s sick of strong pressure from very pro-breastfeeding women. She says she’ll commit to at least 4 weeks of “trying,” but I could already hear excuses in her explanation, such as “I’m really tiny and I don’t think my body will produce enough”, and “I’ve heard they actually …read more

Welcome to the January Carnival of Breastfeeding! Today the contributors have written about “Beginnings and Endings” related to breastfeeding. Now that I am 14 weeks pregnant with my third child, I am facing a beginning and an ending, specifically the ending of my nursing relationship with my 3-year-old, and the beginning of my nursing relationship with my next child.
When I was pregnant with my second child, my first daughter nursed right through the pregnancy and happily tandem nursed with her new little sister. My experience this time around has been different. My 3-year-old simply is not as attached to …read more

Today’s Mom-to-Mom breastfeeding question comes from a mother battling recurrent mastitis. She writes:
Q: “Hi, I’m hoping that you, or someone you know can help. I’m a tandem nursing mom to my 2 1/2 year old and my 12 week old. I never had any nursing issues or problems with my first. I am currently suffering from mastitis for the second time in 4 weeks! On top of that, my 2 year old was just diagnosed with Herpangina (a form of Hand, Foot, and Mouth) virus. I guess it’s very contagious by saliva and I’m praying that …read more

“Desperate Housewives” actress Marcia Cross conceived her twin girls through in vitro fertilization (IVF). The twins are nearly two months old now and Marcia told People magazine how happy she is with new motherhood and what her days are like:
I’ll tell you my routine – it’s really exciting! I feed, I burp, I change diapers, I pump. And then I have a tiny window of time to myself. I can breastfeed them both at the same time, which for me is a huge accomplishment!
Marcia should feel doubly proud (pun intended) for breastfeeding her twins. A University of Melbourne study released last month found that …read more

Carolyn came across the Mom-to-Mom post on toddler nursing and left a very nice comment (thanks so much Carolyn and thanks to all 12 people who left comments on that post!) Because her comment tells such a wonderful story with her perspective on nursing each of her seven children, I thought I would share it here:
“What a fun website! I was surfing for info for my daughter on caring for a toddler while nursing a baby, and ran across your site. Ah, memories of nursing back in the dark ages of the ’60s came back. My first …read more

Looking for a last-minute calendar for 2007 or just want to see some beautiful and thought-provoking breastfeeding photos? Try these offerings from around the world (note: I don’t have any affiliation with these groups). Entries that start with asterisks **** include copies of each month’s photo on-line:
**** Australians might enjoy the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) 2007 calendar (gorgeous photos if you just want to take a peek!) for AUD $15.00 including GST.
**** Lucky residents of Sonoma County, California might find paper versions of the 2007 Breastfeeding Calendar at area hospitals and health clinics (everyone else can click on the link …read more

Part I and Part II of my breastfeeding story continue:
After my newborn’s arrival, our mother-toddler-newborn nursing triumvirate went through a three-month adjustment period. My toddler was thrilled with the return of plentiful milk, and I think she was grateful to her baby sister for that! My newborn also nursed like a pro, just like her big sister had as an infant.
When I came close to engorgement again in the early days, I simply asked my toddler to nurse and she happily obliged. Fortunately, I did not have an overabundant supply this time around. I had far fewer instances of …read more