Michigan's Mackinac Bridge (Photo by Cece Chen)

The legislation now also prohibits removing a child from a car seat to nurse while the vehicle is in motion. Babies should only be nursed once the vehicle has been stopped in a safe place. With this change, Michigan is now eligible for additional federal traffic safety funds.

My spies tell me that some Michigan moms questioned why the new law specifically references breastfeeding. If you say that babies always need to be in their car seats when the vehicle is in motion, then arguably you do not need to say there is no exception for breastfeeding. However, the past exemption and recent cases of mothers driving while breastfeeding make the clarification a good idea!

What about you, moms? Have you ever taken your baby out of the car seat to nurse while the vehicle is in motion (you can post anonymously)? Have you ever gotten out of your seat belt to nurse your baby still strapped in the car seat (trust me, it can be done, even if it’s not safe)? Or do you always keep on driving with a screaming baby until it is safe to pull over to nurse?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

I am actually taking my first trip with my 4 month old this weekend to a wedding. It will be a 7 hour car drive – any advice for the car trip? And on a tangent – any advice for breastfeeding in a dress or am I doomed for separates?

Great question! When my first daughter was four months old we drove from Boston to Detroit and the trip went really well. Car trips with a baby take just a little advance planning. Hopefully other readers will chime in with their advice, after I get started with these tips:

1. Build in extra time for the trip. I have learned from experience that car trips with an infant generally take one and a half times longer than usual. Unless you’ve got a champion “car sleeper” whose tendency is to sleep whenever the car is in motion, you must build in time for additional stops. Diaper changes, nursing sessions, and much needed break time add up faster than you first think they will. So that 7-hour car trip might well take 10.5 hours. If it takes less than that you will be pleasantly surprised, but if it takes that long or longer at least you will have anticipated that and do not have to feel pressured or stressed out.

2. Plan your departure time accordingly. Not only do you need to build in extra time for the trip, you also need to determine the optimal time of departure. If your baby sleeps well in the car at night, then perhaps you want to consider starting out shortly before bedtime. If your baby is like mine and despises being in the car in the dark, you naturally want a morning departure. The key is to maximize the amount of time the baby will sleep in the car. So leave when the baby will be happy for a bit as the adventure starts, and then have sleep time in the car.

3. Make sure the car seat is safe and comfortable. Does your baby need a head rest or a rolled up receiving blanket so that car naps don’t cause a stiff neck?

My baby in her car seat

4. Bring the favorite toys and some new ones too! Of course you wouldn’t leave without baby’s favorite blanket, chew toy, or pacifier. It can help to have some new toys to introduce when your baby gets bored with everything else. For older babies who can eat solid foods, food can become excellent entertainment. Cheerios, grape quarters, bits of cheese — anything that can be doled out one by one to draw out the entertainment value!

5. Music can be a lifesaver. A few of my favorites are the folksy The Sun Upon the Lake Is Low and lullabies from All Through the Night by Mae Robertson and the energetic Victor Vito by Laurie Berkner. It’s great to introduce your child to the songs in advance so they’ll be familiar for the trip. Be prepared to sing your old stand-by tunes too — over, and over, and over again! “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and “The Wheels on the Bus” are good choices for repetitive songs to distract and lull your baby into sleep.

6. Never stop the car when the baby is sleeping! Plan gas stops and food breaks for when the baby is awake. Don’t be forced to stop when your baby is sleeping or you waste that precious time!

7. Consider the best seating arrangements. If someone besides you can drive, then consider whether it will be better for you to be next to your baby in the back seat, or if being able to see you just makes your baby want to get out of the car seat.

8. Go with the flow. If you’re traveling with another adult as well, it’s important that you both are on the same page about the time you think the trip will take, where you plan to stop for diaper changes and nursing sessions (i.e., is your partner prepared to stop as soon as the baby is crying, no matter if it’s not at the rest stop you were aiming to reach?), and what you will do if the baby simply needs a break from driving. The more the both of you are willing to go with the flow, the more pleasant the trip will be.

As for nursing in a dress, you’ve got four options: (1) buy a nursing dress, (2) wear a wrap dress or one with a loose neckline or arms holes that can be pulled to the side for nursing, (3) wear separates, or (4) wear a regular dress but be prepared to go someplace private to hike it up or unzip it to nurse. I’ve done all those things at different times and find I prefer the options that allow me not to have to leave the action, especially for a wedding!

Mom-to-Mom Advice

I’d love to hear what others have done to help make car trips go smoothly. Did you find the trip took longer than expected? What advice do you have? Leave a comment!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

My 10-month-old playing in a box of books

Some of the benefits of traveling with a baby:

~ The extra stimulation from new places and new faces when we travel has led to new words or first steps for my children at all different ages. This time my daughter went from taking a few wobbly steps here and there to becoming an official “walker”!
~ When you see new places, things and people, you naturally speak different words than you would during your regular day. Exposing your child to that expanded vocabulary contributes to language development.
~ It’s great to travel with a baby because the alternative — separation of baby and mother — can be very stressful for both! Certainly many mothers travel for work and express their milk while they are away, but others make arrangements to bring along a partner, other family member, or a babysitter who can care for the baby during the day.
~ It’s helpful for a baby who eats solid food to practice eating at a restaurant. If you want your child to behave at restaurants as a toddler, preschooler and older child, make an effort to expose him or her to restaurant dining early on! Practice your skills nursing in public and you might just find your baby does very well in the restaurant environment.
~ Nursing mothers especially have the luxury of bringing a food and comfort source with them that helps a baby cope with the excitement of new experiences. In particular it is wonderful that the breastfed baby will nurse to sleep in a new bed, and potentially sleep as well in a hotel or other strange room as at home (especially if you are a co-sleeping family!)
~ Traveling with a baby may not be a “vacation” in the usual reading-a-book-on-the-beach sense, but as my friend reminded me, “A change is as good as a rest.”

Do you have to travel far for a baby to benefit? Absolutely not! “Travel” does not have to mean an expensive trip away. It can be a day trip to the beach, a zoo, or a new park. Get out and about with your baby and you both will benefit!

Have you traveled with your baby? Where is the most exotic or far-flung place you’ve gone?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

View from my balcony at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa

While I attended lectures in the conference rooms for the La Leche League of Southern California/Nevada area conference, my husband watched the older two girls. They never even made it to the beach they were having so much fun swimming in one of the hotel’s three pools, playing in the hotel sand play area, or doing crafts organized by the hotel staff. None of us wanted to go home!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Photo courtesy of Acme

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

What the Human Rights Commission does with it and how they decide to fashion a remedy once we get past the next stage of the process– which is a six-month period of trying to negotiate a settlement — could in fact be precedent setting.

For more on the story, see this WCAX.com report.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

I feel really grateful, still, for the way the state’s set up. And I feel like it’s really important for us to show up as a sign of gratitude for everything the state has done to uphold its laws, and to show up for the commission, who have put so much time and effort into investigating this case. I have so much trust and confidence in the state’s ability do the right thing and follow through with their processes.

Gillette brought her 4-month-old nursling Donovan, and she made a point not to fly Delta or Freedom Airlines!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Liz at Alzheimer’s Notes sets out important considerations when traveling with someone with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Travel is one of Kristina’s favorite metaphors to describe her family’s life with Charlie in what she has sometimes called “Autismland,” a word meant to capture the sense of how raising an autistic child is an experience perhaps quite different from what one might have imagined. Read about Kristina’s Travels with Charlie at Autism Vox.

Here are some tips for finding vegetarian food while traveling, from Julie at Veggie Chic.

Gloria at Cancer Commentary talks about problems a cancer patient might encounter if traveling.

Alicia considers the issue of whether mental illness makes travel difficult in her post at Mental Health Notes.

Traveling with diabetes can be frustrating. Here are a few suggestions from Kendra at Diabetes Notes to make your air travel smoother.

Mark at a Dozen Steps sets out what a recovering person might consider before taking off on a trip.

Looking for a healthy snack bar for when you’re on the go? Ruth at Eating Fabulous shares her healthy snack bar pick.

At A Hearty Life, Kendra outlines special considerations for flying with pacemakers.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3