August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month

Breastfeeding is the best and it is beneficial to baby, mom, and society. Read the Benefits of Breastfeeding to find out more. The rest of this post is some personal stories with my girls and a lot of ranting, so read on if you want to hear it. If you are unsure about breastfeeding, at least read the article link above. I thought this site was interesting also - check it out.

Even though August is officially breastfeeding awareness month we should strive to educate those in our society on a daily basis. It amazes me how many times I have heard that breast feeding women should cover up in public as if it is something they or their child should be ashamed of. Or people say that only infants should be breastfed up to 1 year. There is nothing wrong with a nursing toddler! I choose to wear a nursing wrap when out in public, but that is mostly because Madeline would be too distracted by what is going on around if she was not covered. However, when we are outside in the heat I will not put anything over her because really, who would want something on top of them when it is 100 degrees outside.

As most of you know, I have become very passionate about breastfeeding. I wasn't sure of breastfeeding when I had Gabriella. All I knew then was that I wanted to do what was best for my child. Gabby and I had a rough start to breastfeeding. She did not nurse until she was 2 weeks old. She just could not be awake enough to get it. EVERY feeding I attempted to breastfeed, do skin to skin, then I would pump and she would drink my milk from a dropper or a bottle (given by Daddy of course). We met with a lactation consultant almost daily. I didn't give up (probably the stubbornness in me) because I realized after she was born how much I wanted to breastfeed her. One day with the lactation consultant (at 2 weeks exactly) she weighed in at 6 pounds and then she just got it and never looked back. I was not worried about breastfeeding when Madeline was born because if I was successful after Gabby's breastfeeding beginning I could handle pretty much anything with Maddie. Fortunately Maddie was feeding like a champ with in 12 hours of being born. She didn't get it immediately, but that was because of the epidural I had to have with the c-section. Also, In the beginning with Gabriella I was so worried because I didn't know if I was producing enough or how much she was getting. The lactation consultant reassured me that most likely I had enough milk because only a very small number (less than 5%) of women actually don't produce enough milk. Not enough milk production is mainly caused from breast augmentation or a hormonal imbalance usually with the thyroid. For most women though the real problem is delivery, not production. Milk production is based on supply and demand. If you are nursing your baby on demand, not supplementing with formula, pumping every time your baby has a bottle when you are not with your baby, drinking a lot of water and eating a healthy diet than over 95% of women will produce enough milk.

About 2 weeks ago a Kelly mom member was on a United flight and was nursing her infant before the plane took off. The flight attendant put a blanket on top of them and said she had to cover up or stop breast feeding. The mother refused (to cover up and to stop) stating that legally in the state (South Carolina) he could not ask her to stop. Thank goodness she looked up the law for the state she was traveling to before the trip. I will be sure to do that the next time I travel out of state so I am prepared. The mom said she was wearing a nursing top so not much of her could have been exposed and she and her infant were the only ones in the row!

I found this blog about the above incident http://phdinparenting.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/when-breastfeeding-is-a-safety-hazard/