Some women breastfeed for the health benefits for their babies and themselves. Some women breastfeed for the cost savings. Some women do it as part of a parenting style. And some women do it for a combination of those reasons. Me? I do it for the applause.esterday my 14-month-old nursed on one breast, popped herself off, sat up and clapped! Then she leaned in and hugged me before she switched to the other side. When she was done on that side, she popped herself off again, sat up, clapped, and hugged me again! When she saw my delight at this …read more

My family just moved from a rental home to a new home we purchased one town away. Out of all my family members, I would say my 13-month-old has handled the move the best. Not only has she survived, she has thrived. She is excited about all the new places to explore and she thinks we’re on a grand adventure.
I believe that breastfeeding allows her the ability to thrive in this new environment because breastfeeding (and the closeness with me) is a constant. She knows that she is free to explore but she can always come back to the security …read more

For this latest installment in the Mom-to-Mom question and answer series, I hope you will leave a comment to help a mom struggling with something familiar to many us — getting a good night’s sleep! Even if you don’t have some suggestions, I imagine you have some experience and empathy! Read on for my summary of top tips and past articles on the subject.

Nearly 200 voters expressed their opinions on the age, if any, that breastfeeding in public becomes in appropriate. I was glad to see that 35% of voters felt that nursing in public is always appropriate. I was surprised to see 6% of voters say it’s never appropriate. The overall breakdown:

Vote in the new poll in the side bar!

My two-year-old is feeling much better today. Yesterday she couldn’t keep down any food in spite of her interest in solids. I told her that she could have food again once she stopped spitting up and in the meantime she could nurse. She was alright with that but told me that she’d be all better the next day, “I promise!” (She learned that phrase when I made her promise not to stick any more pieces of cantaloupe up her nose!)
So I could monitor her throughout the night I co-slept with her until my own violent coughing threatened to wake her …read more

My two-year-old has some sort of virus. I’ll spare you the graphic details and simply say that this is one of those times when I’m so glad to be breastfeeding. When solid food doesn’t appeal to her, breast milk still does. Breast milk actually helps her feel better and settles her tummy when she cannot keep anything else down. She doesn’t get dehydrated, and I feel like I’m giving her “medicine” with the antibodies in my breast milk.
Breastfeeding is the ultimate soother and it helped her drift off to sleep about 15 minutes ago. She hasn’t napped this early in …read more

Last week my family and I drove through six states to attend the funeral of my husband’s 89-year-old grandmother Alice. Breastfeeding saw us through 11 hours on the road over the course of two days. At every pit stop my toddler would nurse — “re-fueling” herself as we re-fueled the car. At each new hotel, nursing helped settle my toddler to sleep in a strange bed. She slept as well or better than she normally does at home.
Once we arrived at our destination, breastfeeding helped my toddler cope with the new surroundings and unfamiliar faces. Everything was wonderfully stimulating …read more

My 4.5-year-old advised me how to put my toddler down on the bed for a nap after she fell asleep nursing:
The trick to do it is to pop her off gently. That way she’ll just think it’s in her dream.
It worked.