It is National Breastfeeding Week!!!!

I am a day late and dollar short as usual but it is National Breastfeeding Week. I feel we need to pay homage to the boob! It does more then just supply endless enjoyment to the world of men. As a society we have over sexualized a part of the body that is suppose to be used for sustenance and comfort not just to look and snicker at like Beavis and Butthead.  I have been fortunate enough to be able to exclusively breastfeed my daughter who is now a little over two month.  My son and I were not so lucky but I was able to pump the liquid gold and supply it to him though a bottle.  I need to say that I in no way criticize a woman's choice to formula feed.  There are many reason a woman may choose to formula feed.  Maybe she can't supply breast milk, maybe her child wasn't thriving well, maybe she just didn't want to or her work schedule wouldn't allow her to pump.  What ever the reason, I know that every decision that a woman makes for her child has not gone without rigorous thought and in the end she is loving her child either way and providing food to help him or her grow and that is all that matters in the end.  

Let's talk about public breast feeding...I am a major advocate of breastfeeding if you can't tell and yes I feed in public.  By that I mean I will feed anywhere, in the theater or at the table in a restaurant ect.  Where ever and when ever.  I refuse to hide away in a nasty public restroom and sit on a toilet or go to my car. I pray that in the future there will be a nursing lounge in every public area.  Although, I think there have been major leaps forward in this department.  There are three nursing lounges in our local mall! Here are some public breastfeeding tips.

1) Practice at home. You probably won't have your  My Brest Friend Breastfeeding Pillow  or Boppy to help you out. Practice walking around or holding your baby in different positions and find out what works best for you.
2) Relax. With everyone and their Grandmother choosing a side on the "breastfeeding issue" these days you may get some stares or even soft whispers but who cares! You are feeding your baby the best stuff on earth and you know what they say about opinions....yeah. Besides, you may get a thumbs up or a pat on the back (both of these have happened to me and startled the hell out of me and made me feel really good at the same time)

With all that said, I do believe in modest breastfeeding but nursing clothes are expensive and ugly. Who has the money or desire to replace their whole wardrobe in the first place? So lets talk about products that will make your life easier on the journey of breastfeeding. The most traditional way to nurse in public is to use a nursing cover. My favorite cover is the Balboa nursing cover. They are stylish and very thin fabric that is not see though which is very important when feeding in warmer weather.  They also have pockest to hold anything you need. I placed a couple of quarters in the pockets to weigh it down when I feed walking around to keep the cover from flying around. This cover is very inexpensive at around 36$ also which is awesome if you have ever been taken in by cute baby related items that were never worth your hard earned money.  My second favorite public breast feeding item is the UnderCover Mama.  This is a strapless tank top that attaches to your nursing bra to keep you from exposing the lower half of your body. This is great for those who don't want to use a nursing cover or if it is just to damn hot to use one. It will turn any of your clothes in to nursing clothing.  This product sells for 24$ to 27$ and is beyond worth it

Balboa Nursing Cover

Undercover Mama

Breastfeeding basics/pros and cons will be later this week....