The Littlest Foodie of All

I have been neglectful of this space, but I thought I would just check in with this:

One memory that I will always treasure from my days of breastfeeding is that of a little hairy noggin totally scoping my breasts with his/her nose while snorting and snuffing until he/she gets latched on and that relief of my milk letting down. Then, oh then.....the little noises of contentment and soft noises of swallowing and sucking. Those sweet, lovely, precious noises. That is what I will treasure most from these breastfeeding days. Always.

I love that this early on, my babies can totally enjoy their food source and that it can also be a source of comfort without worrying for potential need for therapy or Weight Watchers in the future. My son was a total Foodie when it came to Mama's Milk and nursed to 15 months....but now? He is a perfectly independent toddler who loves his food on a plate and thinks a fork is fucking COOL, yo.

Do not ever let anyone act like your child can become too "attached" to your breast. Instead, cherish it for what is is.

Nature at its very brightest.

Not Forgotten

I have not forgotten this place. In short, Arun is cutting 2 year molars and I am working on a project for my husband's new business he is building. I was very disappointed that I could not submit something for the Breastfeeding Carnival on Sleep. I had a draft I was working on, but ironically, two straight nights of Twin Terrors fighting the entire subject of sleep left me with no time to finish it. Again, the irony is killing me softly. Sigh.

Regarding "not posting", the other quandary I have is this: I am not sure what the crossover is in the readership here in relation with the power bloggers. I am assuming that if you read this site, you are reading other breastfeeding bloggers as well. I try my best to not post the same material and it is frustrating sometimes. Last Friday, as I went to bed, I had grandiose plans to post about Bill Maher and his breastfeeding diatribe that I had just watched live, but The Lactivist had already posted about it by Saturday. No, it is not a competition, but rather my desire to not send duplicate topics to everyone's feed readers.

Anyway, in other news...........
Sophie Currier lost her case - the Brookline MA medical student had sued to be allowed extra time to pump breast milk while taking the medical board exam. She must take and pass the exam before she can graduate and begin a residency program.

In a three-page opinion, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Patrick Brady said Currier could still find a way to expel her milk during the test or on regularly scheduled breaks.

"The plaintiff may take the test and pass, notwithstanding what she considers to be unfavorable conditions," Brady wrote. "The plaintiff may delay the test, which is offered numerous times during the year, until she has finished her breast-feeding and the need to express milk."

Currier�s lawyer, Christine Smith Collins, said she will appeal the decision to a state court of appeals judge, who could still issue a ruling before Currier takes the exam next Monday.

I am a licensed CPA and have taken the CPA exam -- therefore, I feel for Currier. To face a grueling test and to have to worry about pumping and not disrupting my milk supply? I cannot imagine. I find it difficult to believe that the exam board could not find a way to accommodate her in a way that would have served as a disadvantage to others taking the exam.

AAP Approved Medicines for Nursing Mothers

I have had an upset stomach all day and for the first time in years, Pepto-Bismol appeared to be in order.

Or not.

According to Kelly Mom via the Selected List of Medications approved by the AAP for use in breastfeeding mothers, Pepto-Bismol is NOT approved for breastfeeding mothers. Crap. Of course, I bothered to look this up AFTER I had already taken 2 doses. Timed with the nursing sessions and the doses (which were spaced far apart), Anjali will be fine. However, this is an excellent reminder for all breastfeeding mothers to reconsider consuming even the most innocuous of medicines.

In other words, be not an idiot such as me. Cripes.

It is not only your girls that need support.

Week 9
You may need support, too! All too often, new mothers spend scads of time hunting for the perfect nursing bra or post-partum clothing, but neglect to find support for the task of new motherhood, including breastfeeding.

So, I went to my hospital's breastfeeding support group yesterday. This is the same group that I attended for the first 13 months after Arun was born - in fact, I made a really, really good friend through the group. In attending that group, I realized how important it was for experienced moms to keep going even after they had breastfeeding down pat in order to support the new moms coming down the pike. I have only been once before with Anjali thus far - it is a little stressful to take Arun. He is so in love with his own "da bay-BEE" that to see even more "da bay-BEEs" is just too much temptation for his grubby fingers. Anyway, attending the group yesterday was awesome. There were a few other mothers there like me from the "Two Under Two" crowd. It was such a relief to hear I am not the only one whose patience is not her virtue. Also, there was another mother there whose baby is a Grazer like Anjali. It has been frustrating because Arun was such a quick eater, I am still not used to the lackadaisical effort Anjali puts into her meals. It takes longer to feed her and I have really fouled up scheduling more than once by not allowing enough time to take care of her nursing needs. Anyway, I am definitely going to be attending the group regularly and it will be easier once Arun begins his nursery school. I specifically put him in Wednesday mornings so I could attend the breastfeeding support group.

Overall, things are going well. Anjali weighs a whopping 12 lbs, 10 oz. It is absolutely awe-inspiring to think that my body magically produced the nutrition for her like that. All I had to do was eat healthily and make the commitment to feed her regularly. I am very grateful for my body in that respect when I see so many other mothers struggle with their milk supply. I try not to take it for granted.

Mood wise, I am doing okay. The past week, I have seen glimpses of my Old Self. The same gal who before this most recent pregnancy was very excited to take on Life. I am still planning on not taking the Zoloft because I feel this is a very mild/moderate depression anyway. I wish I could go into details, but the short version is that some of the side effects coupled with my personal and family history had me concerned. I would rather deal with the demon I can see, rather than one who may or may not show his face.

I want to be clear, very clear, that I am not against Zoloft or any other anti-depressant. If I were to give advice on the topic of post-partum depression, I would only urge you to take it seriously, push back any shame you may feel and to discuss it carefully with your doctor, your partner and yourself. What are your risk factors? How severe is your depression? Do you feel you are at risk for harming yourself or others? And finally, what are you comfortable with facing? I was simply more comfortable facing what I could already see. That's all.

Dandelion Whine.

Formula companies strike again.

This Washington Post article details how the Human and Health Services department toned down a series of ads that promoted breastfeeding after the powerful formula company lobby pressured them to do so.

In an attempt to raise the nation's historically low rate of breast-feeding, federal health officials commissioned an attention-grabbing advertising campaign a few years ago to convince mothers that their babies faced real health risks if they did not breast-feed. It featured striking photos of insulin syringes and asthma inhalers topped with rubber nipples.

Plans to run these blunt ads infuriated the politically powerful infant formula industry, which hired a former chairman of the Republican National Committee and a former top regulatory official to lobby the Health and Human Services Department. Not long afterward, department political appointees toned down the campaign.

The ads ran instead with more friendly images of dandelions and cherry-topped ice cream scoops, to dramatize how breast-feeding could help avert respiratory problems and obesity. In a February 2004 letter (pdf), the lobbyists told then-HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson they were "grateful" for his staff's intervention to stop health officials from "scaring expectant mothers into breast-feeding," and asked for help in scaling back more of the ads.

Again, I don't judge mothers that use formula, but I DO judge formula companies and their nefarious corporate practices.

I also came across this OpEd piece that had some fun snarky commentary on our society talking about breastfeeding titled Talking About (Blush) Breastfeeding:

Meanwhile the nation’s mothers spend nearly $3 billion on breast milk substitutes. Not needing breasts any longer to protect kids’ health, they merrily spend another $1 billion on enhancing them, so they look great.

All with the encouragement of your friendly Bush administration and their consumer-friendly motto:

“Better Things for Better Living Through Dissembling.”