No matter how normal it is for the under five set, I wonder how many of the children on the playground will remember that babies are fed by their mother’s breasts. The majority of babies on children’s programming on television drink from bottles. Aside from a 30 year old Sesame Street clip I have yet to see a baby breastfeeding. Baby dolls on the market, with those strange little holes for mouths, come equipped with bottles. It’s no wonder children see a woman nursing and ask, “What are you doing?” I’m sure that Sam, who sees me feed his brother several times a day will have forgotten that babies are fed by their mother’s breasts by the time his social circle changes so that he’s no longer surrounded by babies.

A company out of the UK specializes in breastfeeding baby dolls called Boobie Buddies. From the website:

Known as “Boobie Buddies” my designs are soft and cuddly, and anatomically correct for breastfeeding. Involving the use of secure hidden internal magnets at key points throughout the Mum & Baby dolls bodies thus allowing them to kiss, hold hands, cuddle and breastfeed, showing the “Natural Way” to feed babies and little ones.
This will open up discussion and teaches the next generations about breastfeeding in a fun way, through play.
Let’s move away from dolls with bottles and show the natural and ethical alternatives I have available through my designs.

These dolls would be great for older siblings. The clothes are removable for added role playing fun and the babies even come equipped with a removable cloth diaper.

link via Babygadget

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — An injured and abandoned baby humpback whale was euthanized by wildlife officials Friday after veterinarians determined that it was too weak to survive on its own.
The lost humpback whale calf swims north of Sydney Harbour in Australia on Wednesday.

The lost humpback whale calf swims north of Sydney Harbour in Australia on Wednesday.

The 4.5-yard (4.5-meter)-long animal was guided close to the shore and could be seen thrashing underwater.

Officials reached out to stroke the calf before others hoisted it onto a tarp. The whale was then pulled into a tent on the beach, and gray tarps were hung to cover the operation.

Sally Barnes, deputy director-general of the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change, said the whale would be given a sedative to relax it and then a lethal dose of anesthetic.

“Shame! Shame!” cried Brett Devine, a marine salvage and rescue worker who had hoped to feed the whale via a tube that lay unused on his boat where he watched the event.

Eight maritime police boats patrolled the waters to keep the public and media from approaching.

The plight of the whale calf, which Australians have named Colin, has dominated news coverage since Sunday, when it was first sighted and began trying to suckle from boats it apparently mistook for its mother.

Officials believe that the 1- to 2-month-old calf was abandoned by its mother, possibly because it was ill. Wildlife officials said it appeared that the whale had also been attacked by a shark.

It spent days among the yachts and other boats in the waters off north Sydney, swimming back to the boats each time officials lured it out to sea in the hope it would attach to a passing pod of humpback whales.

“As the calf is still being breast fed, we have no way of feeding or socializing it, so taking this humpback into captivity is not an option,” the National Parks and Wildlife Service said in a statement this week.

On Thursday, veterinarians and marine researchers who examined the whale found that its condition was getting worse and that euthanizing it was the most humane option.

“We have a whale whose condition has deteriorated rapidly over the last 24 hours and who now experts are telling us is suffering, and we’ve had to make the hard decision to euthanize the whale,” Barnes told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Friday morning.

“Everyone is very connected to this animal, and it’s a very emotional decision,” she said, likening the animal to a family pet who had been adopted by many in Sydney over the past week.

She said that officials had sought national and international advice on how to help the lost whale but that its condition had become too poor to treat.

Some Australians have accused wildlife officials of not doing enough to help the calf and not trying to feed it. A few people designed feeding mechanisms, many gave advice, and some journeyed to Pittwater Inlet just to watch the lonely calf.

On Thursday, Aboriginal whale whisperer Bunna Lawrie tried to soothe the listless animal. Adorned with feathers on his head and white paint markings on his face, Lawrie reached into the water to stroke Colin while singing a humming, tongue-rolling tune.
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But after a few minutes, the whale swam away to nuzzle a nearby yacht.

“He’s missing the big fellas,” said Lawrie, whose visit was broadcast on Channel 10 television.

Prefolds

If you’re in it for environmental reasons and don’t mind spending money I’d recommend trying a bunch of different combinations to see what you like and what fits your baby. There are a number of cloth diapering websites that offer combination packages of prefolds ,covers, pockets, and all-in-ones at a slight discount. There are numerous different packages available. Most cater towards newborns but have the option to upgrade to a larger size if you’re making the switch with an older or bigger baby. Some of the more economical packages are available at Green Mountain Diapers, Baby’s Abode, and Earthy Birthy Mama.

A few sites even have a trial option, where for a fee you can rent diapers for a period of time. At the end of the trial you can either keep or return them and get your deposit back minus a fee that goes toward your next purchase. This is a great way to get your feet wet without having to commit financially. You can “rent” diapers from Monkey Toe Diapers, Jillian’s Drawers, Sunshine Diapers, and Diaper Daisy.

One of the cheapest way to buy cloth diapers to buy them used. It sounds gross at first, but once you get past that initial ick factor and realize that cloth diaper users are fanatical about laundry, you can find used diapers at diaper trading sites like Diaper Swappers or on your local Craigslist at a big discount.

From the La Leche League Website:

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is August 1st - 7th and celebrates the signing of the Innocenti Declaration, produced and adopted in 1990 by participants at the WHO/UNICEF meeting on “Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global Initiative on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding.” The document lists the benefits of breastfeeding, plus global and governmental goals. World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated in 120 countries on various dates.

o give a mother the phone number of an LLL Leader.
o tell a first-time breastfeeding mother she is doing just fine.
o bring the new mother a nutrious snack and a big glass of water.
o as an employer, accommodate a mother’s need to pump with a private comfortable space.
o as the baby’s father, intercede with family and friends so that mother and baby can feel confident
o write to legislators to support the enactment of laws supporting paid maternity leave and mother-friendly workplaces.
o contact an emergency relief organization and request training to help in emergency situations, especially in breastfeeding support.
o take care of your health and nutritional needs during pregnancy and lactation.
o set up or join a network of lactation experts in your community.
o provide transportation to a mother to attend an LLL meeting or visit a lactation consultant.
o advocate for legislation that enacts the provisions of the WHO/UNICEF Code of Marketing.
o ask for support and offer support to others.

Prefolds and covers:
Prefolds are the old-fashioned diapers your mother may have used. They are squares of white bleached or unbleached cotton sewn so that there’s a thicker, more absorbent area in the middle. They can be pinned or snappi’d (a snappi is a pinless diaper fastener) and covered or tri-folded and covered.

The drawback to prefolds is that they feel wet immediately which means changing them a lot more often than you’d change disposables. But this is also a good thing since your baby shouldn’t be sitting around in a wet diaper anyway. Prefolds are the cheapest cloth diapers and the easiest to wash. They don’t come in many sizes, which makes them easy to order. With covers that fit well, you won’t have leaks. Ben, who was 2 weeks old at the time, is wearing a prefold with a PUL cover in the picture.

Covers come in wool, fleece and PUL. PUL is a waterproof, plasticky feeling material. It stays dry to the touch and contains moisture. It won’t feel wet on the outside. If it’s wet, you can just wipe it clean between wearings.

Fleece is more breathable than PUL. It’s soft to the touch and easy to care for. It does get wet on the outside if it’s compressed and a diaper is soaked through. Car seats, baby carriers and strollers are risky if you can’t change a wet diaper right away.

Wool is supposed to be both “bulletproof” and breathable. It holds a ton of moisture. It can’t be washed with your other diapers, but you can let it air dry between wearings. Most wool needs to be lanolized on a fairly regular basis to stay water tight. I’ve been too chicken to try wool covers with our prefolds.

All-in-ones are most like disposable diapers. They are one-piece diapers that fasten with aplix (which is like Velcro) or snaps. If your child is in daycare and you want them to use cloth, AIOs are the most likely to be accepted. A big drawback is that they take forever to dry. They are also the most expensive diapers and you’ll need a lot of them.

Pocket diapers, like all-in-ones, are a lot like disposables. The difference is that pocket diapers have removable absorbent inserts. You can add inserts or doublers for more absorbency for naps and overnight. They dry much more quickly than all-in-ones. The biggest inconvenience is that you have to stuff them before using. Daycares will often accept pocket diapers, since they are easy to use. I’ve heard rumors that different laundry detergents can make them repel liquid, which is the exact opposite of what you want in a diaper. I haven’t had any problems with this.

Fitted diapers are my least favorite. They have snap closures and elastic legs to “fit” your baby. Like prefolds they require a cover. Like prefolds they get very, very wet. Because you have to use a cover they are bulkier than other kinds of cloth diapers.

gDiapers:
If you are uneasy about doing extra laundry you may want to try gDiapers. They are a cloth/disposable hybrid. The outer cover is cloth with an inner plastic liner that holds disposable inserts. The inserts decompose much more quickly than regular disposable diapers and if you have a compost pile you can compost the wet ones.

The cotton covers are supercute and fit well. The plastic liners stain easily. I found that it was difficult to change just the insert and ended up changing the whole thing- cover, liner and insert instead. It’s not a big deal, it just wasn’t what I expected. When wet, the inserts get sort of weird and bunchy up front and stay pretty dry in the back. It could be different for girls, but that was my experience. The inserts are expensive which was a huge drawback for me.

There are a number of different kinds of cloth diapers and everyone has their favorites. You can find some of the more well-known brands just about anywhere online, including diapers.com. People spend hours stalking some of the harder to get diapers when they go on sale.

I have about 15 diapers for Sam and about 50 for Ben. I know that 50 sounds like a lot, but 2 dozen of Ben’s diapers are prefolds, which are inexpensive and double as burp cloths, leak guards and changing pads. I wash diapers every 2 to 3 days. The diaper pail doesn’t smell nearly as disgusting as the disposable diaper pail did. Ben hasn’t had a single blow out. We’ve had some leaks, but nothing like the daily, up to the neck blowouts Sam had as an infant.

In terms of money, I spent a lot initially. But I’ve sold a number of the diapers that were outgrown or that I didn’t like and made almost all of the money back. Cloth diapers have a great resale value. I’ll go through some of the different kinds, and the advantages and disadvantages of each tomorrow.

Hope this helps!

I thought this information was fascinating and answered a lot of questions. It’s also good to know that fenugreek doesn’t have to be cost prohibitive. One more note: I haven’t researched any of this information, I am just cutting and pasting with permission of the author. So if you’re having supply issues do your research and talk to a lactation consultant or doctor before taking any supplements.

I’m a resident of Massachusetts, one of only three states that provides no legal protection for nursing in public. There is some hope of that finally changing this year, but we need to act quickly. Here’s a notice put out by the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition:

Massachusetts is one of only three states without any laws to protect a mother’s right to breastfeed in public. Senator Fargo’s proposed bill 2438 is currently stuck in the House Ways and Means Committee and unless we can convince the Speaker of the House to move it out of committee immediately our chance of passing the bill this year. Deadline is the end of July.

Speaker of the House
Salvatore F. Dimasi
State House
Room 356
State House
Boston MA 02133

On the back of the photo write “Another family for Senate Bill 2438! Please send it to the floor for a vote!

That’s it! Any cute baby photo will do, whether it was taken two days ago or twenty years ago, and no, they don’t have to be breastfeeding in the photo. In fact, we’d rather they weren’t. If you do send a photo of your baby breastfeeding please make it discreet. We want to flood these offices with pictures of cute babies, not breasts!

For those of you with the time and energy you get extra credit if you also send a photo/request to:

Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee
Rep. Robert DeLeo
Room 243
State House
Boston, MA 02133

You may also email email Rep. DiMasi, Rep. DeLeo, or your own representative an embedded photo, but not an attachment. Keep the photo size small.

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Halton, a Canadian city, is helping to make that happen.

Halton opens arms to breastfeeding moms

Hamilton has no immediate plans to launch a similar program.

Even if he actually wanted to nurse properly instead of just playing with the clasp on my nursing bra I wouldn’t let my 2 year-old nurse in public simply because he doesn’t need my milk for nourishment; he could just as easily have a drink of water and a sandwich if he was hungry. Letting him nurse in public would be more about proving a point than anything else. If Sam really needed or wanted to nurse I’d find a more private, discreet place to let him rather than whipping it out in the middle of Target like I would with Ben. It’s not because I think there’s something wrong with nursing a toddler, it’s because I know my son and I know he can wait. If he was a toddler who still nursed regularly, for comfort and/or a drink, I’d be more apt to let him nurse in public because it would be something that was normal for him. But for a kid who only nursed as a toddler in the early mornings or at bedtime, nursing in broad daylight in a public place would have been weird for both of us.

I’m getting off topic here. What I’m trying to get at, is that since I’ve become a mother, specifically a nursing mother, I’ve been hyper-aware of public breastfeeding since I make it a point to leave my house on a daily basis. The majority of the mothers I know don’t cover up with blankets and don’t leave public areas to feed their babies. But they also don’t make it a point to draw attention to the fact that they are nursing. Some women are such fierce breastfeeding advocates that they feel it’s their job to loudly educate people about their rights and the benefits of breastfeeding every time someone glances at them while they feed their kids. I don’t see how that helps the cause. It’s already protected- why fight about it?

If someone stares at me while I’m nursing I ignore him or her. If someone says something about me nursing I ignore him or her. Nursing in public is something that I feel I should be able to do without whispers or stares. So I feed my baby and ignore the rest. I’ve never been directly confronted (only whispered about), but if someone were to confront me I’d calmly and quietly tell them that the state of Pennsylvania allows me to feed my child in any public or private place. Getting loud about it and making a scene, getting defensive about it would only make it seem like I’m doing something I should not.