Sunday Surf: Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

 

Happy World Breastfeeding Week! To help celebrate, this week I am going to be writing about breastfeeding. It's been quite a journey. Join me by checking out some of the interesting articles I came across this week:

 

Just Cover Up?

This is a wonderful article from Lactation Narration explaining why it’s not ok to ask a nursing mother to cover up or to be more “modest.” Breasts were made to breastfeed, not to be sexualized. It’s not our fault as moms that society has a dirty mind. I feel uncomfortable seeing babies stuck in bucket seats, holding onto their own bottles and not being held, rocked, or talked to while they are getting fed, but I keep my mouth shut.

Things to Do With Your Extra Breast Milk

This is an old article, but I came across it when researching an article for a freelance client. It’s a great resource. I’ve used breast milk to treat an eye infection, diaper rash, and cuts and scrapes, but I did not know that a breast milk ice cube can soothe an insect sting, that breast milk can be used as a mask to treat acne, or that it can be made into soap. But it makes sense… goat’s milk soap is a popular trend these days; why not make it one step healthier?

Nighttime Breastfeeding and Maternal Mental Health

This is also an older article, but I came across it on Science and Sensibility and thought it was important. It basically explains how breastfeeding mothers get more sleep. As a mom who rarely coslept with Baby T and often cosleep with Little M, I can vouch for that. If Little M only wakes up twice a night but I have to get up and nurse him sitting up in the rocker, I am so much more tired the next day than if I slept with him and he nursed ten times during the night. Being able to stay lying down in bed makes all the difference. 

To Wean or Not to Wean?

I feel Hannah at Wild Parenting's pain. Although breastfeeding was essentially a nonissue for me—I didn’t experience mastitis, plugged ducts, severe problems with latch, or any problems with supply—and I always expected to breastfeed my toddler until he was at least 2, extended breastfeeding was a struggle for me. This was mainly because of my pregnancy with Little M, but it’s interesting to read about another mother’s journey with extended breastfeeding.