1. To the 9 people searching for “Halloween snacks”: My little 15-month-old loved her Halloween snack of breastmilk, thank you for asking. Chocolate is not for my toddler, but it’s okay for nursing moms in moderation. (By the way, I’m not sure about the irony here, but when I gave my toddler her choice of Halloween hand-me-down costumes — a fairy princess, a cow, or a tiger — she chose a cow. ‘Nuff said.)

The Google Chrome logo looks suspiciously like a nipple and areola.... Image by Randy Zhang

2. To the 9 people searching for “leukemia in toddlers“, I’m sorry. You put my week in perspective.

3. To the 8 searchers for “breastfeeding123 blog angela”: thank you.

4. To the people looking for “woman 3 breasts video”: Extra nipples are not all that uncommon. I’ve read that up to three percent of the population will have a third nipple away from the normal location on the chest.

5. To the person who asked “what should I name my baby girl”: I think Angela is a lovely name.

6. To the person searching for “newscaster nipples”: now that’s a really specific fetish. Sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for.

7. To the 5 people looking for “123″: I say “456.” Let’s see how popular that sequence is!

8. To the people looking for “freezer paper”: I’m in favor of it.

9. For those looking for a “minimalist baby registry“: I applaud you. All you really need are you, your breasts, and your baby!

10. To the righteous looking for “nestle unethical action“: I think you just gave me an idea for a new post tag.

11. To those looking for a “breastfeeding contest”: it’s totally not a contest. But I win.

12. Regarding “Stanford hand expression”: I’ve never found them to be an overly demonstrative people. Oh wait, you mean this.

Thanks for playing and have a good weekend!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

My happy toddler

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Name tag photo by Sanja Gjenero

Thanks to all the Lactnetters for sharing these substitutes for “Lactation Consultant”:

Location consultant (This is probably the most common. One woman was even listed under the real estate section in her local chamber of commerce directory!)
Lactitian
Lactitionist (as in “nutritionist”?)
Lactritionist
“The lactose intolerant – I mean the lactose tolerant – oh you know, what you are!”
Breast Lady
Milk Lady
Itty Bitty Titty Committee (now that had to have been said with love!)
Breastmilk Nurse
The Boob Lady
Lactessa
Lactating Specialist (I suppose that’s appropriate if the LC is, in fact, lactating at the time!)
Breastfed Lady (again, could be true, but might not be!)
Milk Maid (reminds me of this picture)
Breast-est Wonder Woman
Lactating Gal
Milking Lady
Boobyspecialist
Top Dog in Nursing (a compliment if I ever heard one!)
Boob Nurse
The Lactitioner
Lactating Consulting
Nipple Lady (?!)
Breast Coordinator (breastfeeding does take some coordination in the beginning!)
Dairy Queen
One husband even teased his wife about her new “boob job”!

Do you have any to add?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Photo by Martin Burns

Here’s the best part of this photo of a woman nursing her baby in a sling while they both rode the train in South Africa — the comments by the wife (the woman shown) and husband (the photographer).

Wife: “Home made sling, home made baby, home made food.”

Husband: “Technically, *hotel* made baby ”

Thanks for the laugh guys, and thanks for showing how comfortably breastfeeding can be done while babywearing.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

1. whale milk
2. paladai
3. baby green stool
4. milk in eyes (15 searches for this! Do you think they actually intended to find a post about breast milk in eyes?)
5. worst cities in america
6. the other boleyn girl book quotes
7. bitty booties
8. human rights complaints against delta airlines
9. how to pronounce medela (I knew I couldn’t be the only one who wondered that!)
10. do breast have alveoli

For a good laugh with truly crazy search terms, see:

~ Top 10 Wackiest Search Engine Search Terms
~ Ten More Wacky Search Engine Terms
~ Even More Wacky Search Terms

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Back to the question at hand. What is the best way to educate mothers about breastfeeding? What is the best way to educate the general community about breastfeeding (so we don’t get comments like this one asking why a small business should have to provide a place for women to pump)? What is the best way to educate medical professionals?

Those questions (and the answers) are difficult ones, but they remind me of a couple of proverbs. “A stitch in time saves nine.” “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” If we don’t educate our young people about the benefits of breastfeeding, and don’t provide adequate information and support to pregnant women and new mothers, then some of them are going to turn to formula-feeding. My point is that we need to put the work in on the front end.

There should be breastfeeding education in the K-12 curriculum. More women should be preparing for breastfeeding during pregnancy. Medical professionals should be given training on breastfeeding so they can provide good medical advice about breastfeeding.

Hospitals and communities should support breastfeeding clinics, like the one run by Dr. Jack Newman, author of The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers: The Most Comprehensive Problem-Solving Guide to Breastfeeding from the Foremost Expert in North America, Revised & Updated Edition. I heard Dr. Newman speak at a La Leche League conference once. Not only was he a funny, dynamic, and inspirational speaker, it was obvious what a passionate advocate of breastfeeding he is. So I was saddened to read this City News article that says the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic and Institute faces closure due to lack of funding. One of the quotes by clinic co-founder Edith Kernerman stood out to me:

“Breastfeeding, like walking, is natural, but it’s a learned behaviour. And so when your child goes and falls the first few times you’re not going to say, okay, that’s it, it’s off to crutches for the rest of your life. No, you’re going to pick that child up and you’re going to learn how to walk with that child and that child will learn to walk with you….

And it’s the same with breastfeeding. We need to learn, we need to learn by watching women around us breastfeed and we don’t see women breastfeed because women are afraid to do it out in public.”

I totally agree. One of the best ways to educate women about breastfeeding is from one mother to another, or a mother to her daughter, or sister to sister, etc. Women need to see other women succeed at breastfeeding, and to receive support, encouragement, and advice from other mothers. It saddens me that La Leche League, which was founded on the principle of mother-to-mother support, sometimes gets a bad and erroneous reputation for being extremist. I have found leaders to be supportive of breastfeeding in general, whether a mother chooses to breastfeed for a day, a year, two years or beyond. If a new mother even goes to a La Leche League meeting, she might initially be taken aback to find other mothers who are breastfeeding toddlers. I wish those new mothers would realize that La Leche League members do not have some agenda to get everyone into extended breastfeeding. They want to support women to have a successful breastfeeding relationship in the early months (which then, not surprisingly, often leads to extended breastfeeding!) If you haven’t already, please take a moment to vote in the poll about La Leche League in the sidebar or at this post.

To sum up, my hope is that more emphasis will be placed on breastfeeding education and awareness — starting at a young age and continuing through to adulthood — so that more mothers and babies can enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding!

Enjoy these carnival contributions from the following bloggers:

~ BreastfeedingMums: The Perfect Breastfeeding Teacher
~ Hobo Mama: Breastfeeding Education
~ Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog: Podcast: So You Want to Work in Breastfeeding Support
~ Beautiful Letdown: How I Learned to Breastfeed
~ Momopoly: Q&A with a Lactation Consultant
~ Babyfingers: Let’s Take Our Perverted Society to School
~ Stop, Drop, and Blog: Breastfeeding: With a Little Help from My Friends, Books, and Professionals
~ Nurturing Notes: Breastfeeding and the Registered Dietitian
~ Poked and Prodded: You Have to Prepare for Breastfeeding

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3