Maid A Milkin': February 2012

Words from Mama Brittany:

So it's Valentine's day! I thought I'd do a little blog about something I love! Can you guess what that is? Oh come on you can guess! Your right it's about breastfeeding! I wanted to write a little bit about the behind the scenes of my love for breastfeeding and how I became so passionate about it. It's not just because the stuff is freaking amazing, breastfeeding is about so much more than the milk!

A long time ago there was a little girl who absolutely loved babies. I was four years old when my two baby cousins were born. I remember helping take care of them, and how much fun it was! My Mum would pick me up from pre-school and little Ashley would be sitting there waiting for me, I loved helping my mom take care of her and watching her grow! I had many other little cousins and babies come into my life and I enjoyed caring for them all. I practically moved into my neighbors home to help her with her three boys. When I was thirteen I worked at my first daycare, and then began some part time nannying and babysitting jobs. I knew ever since I was a little girl that I wanted to work with children. I used to tell my Mom that I was going to adopt all the children around the world that didn't have Mommies to love them, and that I would be their Mommy.

So it's quite easy to see babies are kind of my thing, but how did working with babies lead to my breastfeeding obsession? Some of the children that I cared for were breastfed, but most were actually formula fed. It wasn't until I worked at The Goddard School as the newborn teacher that I really got introduced to breastmilk. I remember asking one mom "When do you plan on giving her real food?" She looked at me puzzled and asked what I meant. I asked her when she would give her daughter formula because I thought breastmilk was only good for the first few months! Thank God this Mama laughed and said " OH Mrs. Brittany, she will never get formula!" Oh how far I've come!

After Jacob and I married I needed a new job and I went back into the Nanny field. By the way can I just say being a nanny was the best job ever! I was really lucky that I got some amazing families to care for! Anyways I nannied for four wonderful children, the youngest were twin babies who were exclusively breastfed. It was an amazing thing to watch those babies grow on just their Mama's milk! So between it all I started becoming very interested in breastmilk. I knew I would breastfeed one day.

When I got pregnant with Oliver I was prepared to breastfeed, as you know Oliver was born via emergency c-section and I was asleep for his birth. I didn't meet Oliver until he was over 48 hours old. He was less than three pounds. I knew I would give him my milk, the nicu was glad they didn't have to convince me! I couldn't hold Oliver too much in those early days, but I could pump my milk and give him the best of me. Pumping my milk for him was something I could do, it made me feel like I was truly a mother.

After we brought Oliver home I had to continue to pump and allow him time to practice and learn at the breast, it took a lot of work and a lot of practice! During this time I was so sick from Lupus but didn't really know it. I was also battling hypoglycemia very badly. My health was not in a good place and on top of it all I got mastitis. I thought about giving up so many times. My body felt so sick and it took a long time for healing. I set out on a journey to find my health again, that led me to be the super crunchy: non vax, co-sleeping, baby wearing, anti circ, organic food eating, gentle parenting Mama that I am today!

As my physical healing was taking place so was my emotional healing. Breastfeeding did that for me. I remember after Oliver's birth I felt so broken, I felt like I had failed my baby for not being able to give him the growth that he needed. He was starving on the inside, so I was determined to nourish him on the outside. For me breastfeeding helped me work through my sadness and guilt. I was in such a dark place for so long but bonding with Oliver and connecting to him by giving him life sustaining milk helped bring me out to a place of healing and freedom. God was smart when He made us to feed our babies in this way, He knew how it would make us feel, and that His babies that He sent us would know all the love in the world.

I can't describe what it's like to breastfeed your child, if you have been one of the lucky Mama's who have experienced it then I need not explain. It's the most magical wonderful thing in the whole world. I am so happy that Oliver is still breastfeeding at two years old. I cannot wait until him and this baby breastfeed together and share in that special bond of love. For a mother to share her milk with her baby, or another baby is an act of love in itself <3

Breastfeeding=Love, and love my friends makes the world go round <3

Breastfeeding is about so much more than the milk. I am 20 weeks pregnant here and my milk supply is pretty much gone, but look how happy my baby is?!? It's all about the love!

Words from Mama Brittany:

In case you have been living under rock and have not yet heard about the deal with facebook and breastfeeding mothers, check out here for some more information.

First, I want to mention the breastfeeding incident at Target. A mother was nursing her baby and was asked to go into a fitting room where she could breastfeed in private. It happens all the time in Western cultures, but why? Why is it a big deal to see a woman breastfeeding her child? Why do we have to shame mothers into feeling dirty and bad for giving her baby the absolute best nutrition that's available on the face of the planet. One does realize that nothing compares to breast milk and nothing ever will. EVER. Now, we have moved on to Facebook, mothers are having their pictures being taken down, and accounts closed because the pictures are "inappropriate." On February 6th, 2012 Mothers will gather around the globe to protest Facebook's breastfeeding photos policy. If you can't make the protest, simply change your picture to one of you and your babe breastfeeding, or this photo here:

I know I am extremely passionate about breastfeeding and I do not apologize for it. I will stand up for what I believe in, even if I stand alone. And for the record I don't stand alone, I stand with gazillions of other wonderful radical milky mamas around the globe and together we will change the world! Nothing has made me feel more alive than being a mother and nothing makes me feel more like a mother than breastfeeding. I couldn't have one without the other.

I want to challenge you today to open up your mind and step outside of your comfortable box that you've put around yourself. I want you to imagine for a moment that there is indeed a great big world out there and not everyone does things or thinks things the way that you do. Let go of the judgments and allow people to have freedom even if you don't agree with it. You can only take care of you, so for the sake of the world stop judging us, breastfeeding mothers. Stop assuming our motives are to turn on your husbands and get people to oogle over our boobies. Stop telling us to keep it in private because no one wants to see it, or because its gross. It's not your body, its not your baby. The point is we need to stop telling other mama's that if you're a nursing mom who likes to cover up, then cover up--do your thing. It doesn't mean we all have to feed our babies under blankets, we have freedom to choose and I thank God for our freedom. Men and woman are giving their lives for our freedom.

Let's look at two scenarios. If you have seen the movie "Babies," you'll remember a
scene of the African Mum walking to the village. There, she is heading to the
"market" with toddler in tow. Not so very different than us Western Mama's who are...oh
say heading off to Target. Her little boy starts throwing a temper tantrum and
what does she does do? She immediately offers him some milk--from her breast.
Nobody around seems to notice or care, the village goes on, the men don't get
google eyed and nobody gives it second thought that this mother is offering her
baby some milk and comfort.

Now picture this scenario. Mom and babe in Target, mom trying her best to hurry
before a meltdown occurs, finally gets in line (of course there is only one lane
open) and the toddler begins to melt down, people around mother begin to stare, they
want her to shut up her kid. Mother breaks out a sippy cup/bottle/etc. Let's
just say the kid takes it, great everyone in line smiles and all is well. Wait,
wait hold on...nope this kids name is Oliver. He has had a rough start in life- he
came into the world early and had a very traumatic birth, he didn't meet his
mama for a few days and their bonding, their attachment is crucial to his
development. This mama fought hard and long to give her baby the best- formula
wouldn't do, bottle feeding wouldn't simply do. So there they are in Target's
checkout and Oliver is overwhelmed and stressed out, crying for boobie, for
comfort, for a meal and a drink. Mama wants to comfort her baby, to feed her
baby. But can she? Will she?

Why is it so different for the Mom in Africa? Why was it different when I
whipped out a formula bottle or a sippy cup? Why then when I wanted to give my
son what's physically and emotionally the best I hesitated.

Oliver didn't need to be premature to need my milk, but I wanted to stress the
fact that I know my baby best and what his needs are. Full term babies deserve
the same thing just like the little African child. When will we live in a world
when pulling out a boob to feed a child is smiled upon and not frowned upon? We
know breast is best, we know formula feeding is 4th best, yet we don't practice
at all what we preach. We are unsupported and judgmental, yet if a mother fails
at breastfeeding than we're not allowed to judge because that makes her feel
"guilty"

Anyone else seeing this backwards pattern here? Why?

Now let's talk about this picture:

OK for a Native American mother to feed her toddler, but its not okay for an All-American mama to feed her toddler? Is it because I'm standing in a kitchen where I could have just given him a drink or some food? Is it because I don't have paint all over my face? Is it because I am 20 weeks pregnant? I have to say I may not look as rad as the Native American Mama, but feeding my toddler and being pregnant makes me pretty darn cool in my book.

I'm going to stand for what I believe in, even if I stand alone. I'm going to post pictures of myself breastfeeding, and I'm going to share them with the world. Would you like to know why? Because I am dam proud of breastfeeding- that's why! It's not easy- it took a lot of dedication and work, sleepless night after sleepless night, dealing with Lupus and hypoglycemia, being a working full time mom and working mom, committing myself to my baby to give him the very best even when it wasn't easy. And you know what I'm proud of myself! I am a rock star mom! I'm going to pat myself on the back because I know what I have done for Oliver is give him the very best of me. I won't apologize for that and if you don't want to see me in my celebration of life and love, then you don't have to look. Too long has breastfeeding been deemed something dirty or naughty, it's not so cut the crap. We need to see breastfeeding for it to become normalized, the more we see it the more normal it becomes and one day this won't be an issue. One day I'll look at my grandchildren and watch them nurse wherever, whenever for however long they want. And nobody will think twice, and then I'll remember the days I fought for their freedom to be able to be given the best. And I'll smile knowing I helped in some small way <,3

I want to leave you with some other photos of me feeding my baby <3

One of the first times I breastfed Oliver, about 3 pounds and with a feeding tube in his nose/down his throat as well as wires hooked up in various places to monitor his heart and breathing.