Welcome to the October Carnival of Breastfeeding! Today’s topic is “I wish I had known….” It’s perfect timing for my sister, who just made me an aunt over the weekend with the birth of her beautiful baby boy!
Today I share a guest submission from a woman who does not have a blog but who felt strongly about sharing her breastfeeding wisdom in hindsight. At the end of her comment you can find the links to all the other carnival participants. First, Crystal offers the following insight:
What I wish I had known…to trust myself and my body to do …read more

Finally the poll feature is functioning again here at Breastfeeding 1-2-3! This time let’s talk about your thoughts on tandem nursingHave you ever nursed more than one nursling at a time? Answer the poll and leave a comment to share your experience or your opinion! If you tandem nursed, how did you feel about it? Did you nurse your children at the same time (one at each breast) or nurse one and then the other? I will share that just after I had my second baby, I nursed my toddler and newborn at the same time so there was little …read more

Welcome to the May Carnival of Breastfeeding! This month participants share stories related to breastfeeding (see entries at the end of this post). My story represents the end of the story — how it turns out when a mother practices extended breastfeeding.
When I had my first daughter, I fumbled my way around until I found my parenting style. It happened naturally. I couldn’t stand to hear my baby cry; what mother can? So I breastfed her on cue, wore her in a sling, and co-slept with her in my bed. Those things worked for me, my husband, and my baby. …read more

Rebecca Romijn uses the double football hold to breastfeed her twins, while Angelina Jolie preferred to nurse her twins separately. There are different ways to breastfeed twins and when I came across this photo I thought it worth sharing.
I love that the mother is feeding those tiny newborns at the same time; I love that this picture is from the 1980s! It is hard enough to find support for breastfeeding, much less breastfeeding multiples, and this mother clearly made it work for her and her babies!

The November cover of W magazine shows a picture taken by Brad Pitt of Angelina Jolie breastfeeding one of their twins. Take a moment to vote in the poll that asks whether the breastfeeding picture is “Gorgeous” “OK” or “Gross.” I’m sure you can guess where I land on the matter. To me she’s never looked more beautiful or natural!
La Leche League spokeswoman Jane Crouse applauded Angelina:
Breast-feeding in public reveals a whole lot less than what has been revealed on the red carpet. … I think we do need more role models like Angelina Jolie willing to be photographed and …read more

A Chinese policewoman who recently gave birth is helping the earthquake disaster relief in China by breastfeeding eight infant quake victims in addition to her own baby. The Citizen reports:
A newspaper in Chengdu, the capital of quake-hit Sichuan province, devoted a special page to the 29-year-old woman, calling her a “hero.”
The woman from the quake-ravaged town of Jiangyou has just had a child herself, the Western Urban Daily said.
She is nursing the children of three women who were left homeless by the quake and are too traumatised to give milk, as well as five orphans, the report said.
The babies who …read more

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

The Department of Health in the United Kingdom pledged the funding necessary to establish a new breastfeeding helpline in conjunction with The Breastfeeding Network and the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers. The new helpline number will be: 0844 20 909 20. The Government News Network notes:
3. The National Breastfeeding Helpline will be available in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
4. The National Breastfeeding Helpline is staffed by trained volunteer mothers from the Breastfeeding Network and the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers who have all breastfed themselves, and who take calls in their own homes. Calls will be charged at 5p per …read more

Karen Kerkhoff Gromada recently released a third revised edition of her book Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding and Caring for Twins or More! Ms. Gromada is a long-time La Leche League leader, registered nurse and lactation consultant. In addition to writing Mothering Multiples she co-authored Keys to Parenting Twins, Keys to Parenting Multiples, and Care of the Multiple-Birth Family: Postpartum through Infancy.
B123: What are some of the significant changes and additions you made to this revised edition?
KKG: Hmm, there have been revisions to just about everything – every chapter includes some changes and updates. Amazing how the science of lactation and “standard” …read more

Registered nurse, lactation consultant and long-time La Leche League Leader Karen Kerkhoff Gromada just revised her book Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding and Caring for Twins or More! The book highlights breastfeeding and attachment-style parenting but covers all aspects of caring for multiple babies from pregnancy to mothering toddler multiples.