Be your own breastfeeding advocate & My Brest Friend Giveaway! CLOSED

I breastfed Carina for 18 Months before we stopped in July when my milk dried up. I loved nursing and to be truthful? I miss it. Every now and then when we are snuggled up real close Carina will say "milk!" and attempt to pull down my shirt. I'm thinking she misses it, too. Needless to say, I am excited to breastfeed again. I'm hoping to make it to at least 18 Months with the new baby as well. 

Taking a sleepy nursing break at only a couple days old

Being your own advocate when it comes to breastfeeding can be tough. It seems that in our society we are encouraged to breastfeed, even sometimes judged if we don't, yet we aren't necessarily given the support we need in order to be successful. Here are a few things I've learned recently about laws that are in place to help us breastfeeding Mommas out! I've tried to sift through all of the legal mumbo jumbo and bring you a quick run down of what I think we should all know...

Coverage for breastfeeding supplies & support

Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, which had a number of provisions that are extremely beneficial for breastfeeding Moms. Most health insurance plans are now required to cover breastfeeding support and supplies without co-payment! Health plans will need to implement this coverage with the first plan/policy year that begins on or after August 1, 2012. What does this mean for you and me? Your breast pump and lactation consultant visits might be covered already! And if not, they will be soon. Call your insurance company and ask when the new benefits will take effect for you. This applies per pregnancy, as well. If I needed to get a new pump after Aurelia is born, it would be covered. If you think you might need to see a lactation consultant but aren't sure how to go about finding one (or if you like to be prepared!) this handy little map will help you find a lactation consultant near you.

Pumping in the workplace

Another provision included in the Affordable Care Act that is super helpful to working Moms is the requirement for employers to provide employees with adequate time and space to pump during the workday, until their babies are one year old. And? That space can't be a bathroom: employers must provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.” If your employer insists you need to pump where you would normally take a dump, insist that you be provided with an alternate location. Pumping can be hard enough as it is, you shouldn't have to be uncomfortable while you do it (and now you don't!) Note: there are a few exceptions discussed in the article above.

Nursing in public

In most US states and countries of the world, it is perfectly legal to breastfeed your baby - covered or not - anywhere you are otherwise allowed to be. If you aren't sure what the law says in your area, check them out: Breastfeeding State Laws - US. In some states, people can even be fined if they try to stop you from breastfeeding or ask you to leave. Know your rights and exercise them as you see fit. If a store or restaurant owner gives you a hard time, inform them that your right to feed your baby is protected by law. Some Moms I know even carry around a printed copy of their state's laws, just in case they meet with resistance.


In addition to being your own advocate when it comes to your legal rights, in my opinion it's important to be proactive and seek out the help, support, and even equipment you'll need in order to be successful! Healthy Babies, Happy Moms Inc. is a licensed home nursing care provider specializing in breastfeeding support. Passionate about the health of babies and the mental health of mothers, they are committed to helping mothers achieve success in their breastfeeding goals, whatever they may be. Founded in 2000 by Kathy Moren, a Registered Nurse with experience in neonatal intensive care, home healthcare, and the corporate consulting field, Healthy Babies, Happy Moms Inc. has served over 2500 families!

Healthy Babies, Happy Moms Inc. supplies a number of must-haves for breastfeeding including pumps (sales & rentals), nursing pillows, nursing bras and other breastfeeding accessories. And if you're local to Southeastern Massachusetts or Rhode Island, they offer breastfeeding support groups, classes, and a variety of other helpful services for Moms, including Lactation and sleep consults.

Win
Healthy Babies, Happy Moms Inc. is generously offering one of my readers a My Brest Friend pillow in blue gingham! You might remember that I used My Brest Friend religiously while nursing Carina; it is one of my top baby items! I have it packed and ready to go with me to the hospital this time around, as well :)

How to Enter:

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. All currents count! The giveaway is open to US Residents only and ends at 11:59 PM EST on Tuesday, September 25th.

The first entry is mandatory - Visit Healthy Babies, Happy Moms Inc. and tell me your favorite product that they sell or service that they provide! Once you complete this entry, the widget will give you the option of completing the rest. Complete more steps for more chances to win!

I'm calling it...

...BROWN eyes.  Like her Daddy.  She was born with slate blue eyes like all babies, but they progressively got darker and darker.  I wish I could pinpoint the day that they appeared more brown than blue, but sadly I can't.

A year and some odd months ago I wrote about our baby's chances of inheriting brown eyes. This fun Eye Color Calculator lets you input your eye color (along with your partner and family's) and it will tell you the probability of having children with brown, blue, and green eyes.

It told me we had a 66.6% chance of having children with brown eyes:



What does it say for you?  Is it accurate for your children?

A Presidential greeting

One of my Mommy friends told me that the White House will send you a greeting for the birth of your baby.  This is definitely one for the baby book! 

Ours came at the end of May:

Sorry it's a little blurry. We haven't had the chance to get our fancy camera yet :)

The return address says "The White House"!



Get your own!  Here's how:
1. You must be a US Citizen.

2. Baby must have been born within the past 12 months.

3. Provide the following information: Name of baby, address of baby, date (month, day, year) of birth, and requestor's name and daytime phone number. I just sent one of Carina's birth announcements along with the other needed information.

4. Mail the requests to:
The White House
Attn: Greetings Office
Washington, D.C. 20502-0039

It took about 6 weeks to get ours.  Has anyone else sent away for one?  If so, did you get yours yet?

Parenting back in the day - 1928

One of the January Mommas mentioned that she came across a very interesting book on parenting that is almost a century old.  Reading bits and pieces of James Watson's Psychological Care of Infant & Child (1928) made me wonder if the baby boomer/hippie generation was a backlash against this sort of emotionally detached parenting.

Here are a few snippets for your reading pleasure:

• There is a sensible way of treating children...never hug and kiss them, never let them sit in your lap.  If you must, kiss them once on the forehead when they say good night.  Shake hands with them in the morning.
• Children should be awakened at 6:30 A.M. for orange juice and a pee.  Play 'till 7:30.  Breakfast should be at 7:30 sharp; at 8:00 they should be placed on the toilet for twenty minutes or less 'til bowel movement is complete.  Then follow up with a verbal report.  The child would then play indoors 'till 10 A.M., after 10:00 outside, a short nap after lunch, then "social play" with others.  In the evening a bath, quiet play until bedtime at 8:00 sharp.
• Won't you then remember, when you are tempted to pet your child, that mother love is a dangerous instrument?  An instrument which may inflict a never-healing wound, a wound which may make infancy unhappy, adolescence a nightmare, an instrument which may wreck your adult son or daughter's vocational future and their chances for marital happiness.

I did some research on this guy and it turns out that he argued that institutions like the Boy Scouts and the YMCA could lead to homosexuality.  Girls, in his opinion, were even in more danger because they held hands, kissed, and slept in the same bed at pajama parties.  Yikes.  This guy sounds like a barrel of fun.
 
Even worse...he concluded that mothers that smothered their babies with love did so for sexual reasons.  His reasoning was, why else would mothers kiss their children on the lips?  He insisted that excessive affection would make children forever dependent and emotionally unstable. ::rolls eyes:: 
 
Sadly, Watson's harsh parenting style resulted in depressed and unstable children of his own.  Two of the four attempted suicide multiple times during adulthood (one succeeded).
 
I think I will strive to do the opposite of everything that this sad excuse for a human being recommended.  No waking up Carina at 6:30 AM for orange juice and a pee.  I think she will be grateful.  ;)
 

Decoding baby cries?

Someone on the Babies board mentioned the Dunstan Baby Language DVDs the other day.  These videos supposedly explain how to decode your baby's cries.  I didn't want to spend money to buy it, but I was able to find some info on You Tube. I watched the video a few days ago and I've been trying to decode Carina's cries since.  I'm sort of amazed at how well it works for some of the "words".

There are 5 baby "words" described in the video:

"neh" which means "I'm hungry".

"owh" which means "I'm tired".

"eh" which means "Burp me".

"eairh" which means "I have gas".

"heh" which means "I'm uncomfortable".

I can easily identify the "neh" and "heh" words when Carina says them, but the rest elude me.  DH is completely skeptical and is currently making fun of me as I type this :)

Has anyone else heard of this?  Have you tried it with your baby?

A lovely lunch and 2/3 chance of brown eyes

Today I met up with some lovely Bump ladies right outside of Chicago. We had lunch at Maggiano's and chatted for a while. This will likely be the last get together that I coordinate, but I hope that one of them will continue because they are so much fun and so therapeutic! Mari2003, wi-mommy-hopeful, magnolia_femme, kthappy76, ermaderma, and ishka338 were there. Unfortunately we forgot to take a photo again.

Marissa (wi-mommy-hopeful) was so kind to give me this adorable baby blanket as a little congratulations present. I have it across my lap right now as I type, I love it! Thank you, hun!



I found this fun website yesterday (Eye color calculator) which lets you input the color of your eyes, and your parents', to calculate the probably of each eye color in your babies.



We have a 67% chance of having a baby with brown eyes, 23% chance of green eyes, and 10% change of blue. I encourage you to try this out, it was a lot of fun! I actually had to call my mom to ask what my dad's eye color is LOL. I was a bit embarrassed.