June Carnival of Breastfeeding - Breastfeeding Hats? YES! Nursing Covers? Uh... Not So Much

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Welcome to the June Carnival of Breastfeeding!  The theme for this month is Nursing in Public.  Be sure to check out the other bloggers' posts below.

I never really had a problem breastfeeding in public, but the oogles and stares indicated to me that a lot of other people did, which in turn, made me a teensy bit uncomfortable, but never enough to deter me.  I usually draped my shoulder with a receiving blanket to appease the gawkers (did I say that?) however since the baby's head would jerk and pull it off, I was forever adjusting.  I thought it was a pain in the ... well, you know.

I was never too jazzed about those big, bulky nursing covers either.  When I see a mom using one even to this day, I immediately think, "what big, bad thing is she hiding under that thing?"  'In my humble opinion', it sends a message that breastfeeding is something to be covered up and ashamed of.  "It is illicit, top secret, too awful to be seen with the human eye."  How ridiculous!  I also think that in warm weather, the baby would be sweltering under there.  Although they seem to function well for moms, they are definitely NOT for me and I imagine a lot of other moms feel the same way.

I have met so many Mom-Entrepreneurs since having my children.  It makes me so happy when I hear about yet another fantastic product that was created by a Mom that couldn't find "something" in the market, and thus created it herself!

One of these Moms is Diane Sam, the creator of MoBoleez®.  She has come up with an ingenious invention - the world's first breastfeeding hat!  Being that I had already weaned both my daughters, it almost made me want to have another baby... almost. ;-)  Your baby wears the hat on their sweet little head, therefore his or her movements don't cause any "indiscretions".  The great big brim of the MoBoleez® gives moms a bit of privacy without covering-up the breastfeeding like it is some "big bad secret".  And here's a bonus - once baby is done nursing, she can continue to wear it as a sun hat!

MoBoleez hats draw attention to breastfeeding in a fun, positive and fashionable way which is one of the things that breastfeeding needs to be once again accepted into the mainstream culture as it once was at the beginning of the last century. 

Isn't it time?

Do you/did you breastfeed in public?  If so, were you comfortable or not so much?  What, if anything, did you use for a cover?  I'd love to hear from you!

Check out these other bloggers' posts on Nursing in Public (updated throughout the day):

• Lucy and Ethel Have a Baby: Nursing in Public - Boobs Out and Proud
• PhD in Parenting:  Would You, Could You, Nurse in Public?
• Dirty Diaper Laundry:  Breastfeeding in Public - Talents - I Haz It
• Kim Through the Looking Glass: Here, at the Restaurant?
• Grudgemom: Nursing in a Room Full of People You Know
• Mum Unplugged: Awww, is He Sleeping?
• Massachusetts Friends of Midwives: Nursing in Public - Chinatown, the Subway, the Vatican, and More
• Mother Mary's Soapbox: Breastfeeding Oriana
• Tiny Grass: Nursing in Public as an Immigrant
• Mommy News and Views: Breastfeeding in Public
• The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog: Get Kicked Off a Bus for Nursing in Public? Here's How to Respond
• Breastfeeding 1-2-3: To Cover or Not To Cover
• Stork Stories: Little Old Men... & Nursing in Public
• Chronicles of a Nursing Mom: Why Worry About NIP?
• Blacktating: Thank You for Nursing in Public
• Musings on Mamahood: NIP, No Tuck
• Mama Knows Breast: Products That Can Help You Breastfeed in Public
• babyREADY: A Wee NIP in the Park!
• Tales of Life With a Girl on the Go: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - We've Breastfed in them All
• Breastfeeding Moms Unite!: Nursing in Public:  A Fresh Perspective on Nurse-Ins
• Hobo Mama: Easy, Discreet Ways to Breastfeed a Toddler in Public
• Breastfeeding Mums: Nursing in Public - What's a Breastfeeding Mother to Do?

Filed under: Carnival of Breastfeeding by Wendy Armbruster Bell
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I was 'Pumped' to Launch...

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

How Breastpumping Inspired Me to Quit my Job and Launch my own Business!

Welcome Carnival of Breastfeeding Readers! 

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child at 38, a good friend of mine asked me if I was going to pump.  I looked at her quizzically and asked, “Why would I need to?”  She went on to tell me that she and her husband had chosen to pump primarily so that he could feed the baby and therefore bond with her as she was.

That night, I talked to my husband about it.  My husband, Mike, is one of the most endearingly sensitive men I have ever met.  He cried when he said his vows at our wedding, he cried when our daughters were born and he cried when he kissed my belly for our pregnancy photos.  He said the pumping sounded like a good idea.  (All this and he rides a Harley too!)

After our daughter was born and we waited the recommended 4-6 weeks before introducing a bottle, I sat down at the kitchen table and stuck these plastic funnel doo-hickeys on my breasts and lo and behold, the milk started flowing into the bottles!  Who knew?  And needless to say, Mike cried the first time he fed each of our daughters.

When I started to pump on a daily basis, I experimented with various positions and locations around the house.  I leaned-up against the kitchen table to try to pin the horns between my body and the table so that I could at least turn the pages in a magazine, however it didn’t work too well - I couldn’t turn the pages (even with my elbows) and it was pretty uncomfortable.  I tried to simply hold the horns with my hands, however, my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome caused them to go numb and ache within a few minutes.

So I plunked myself down in front of my computer and Googled “pump hands-free”.  I found a handful of products, all of which were expensive, fiddly and “less than attractive” (insert eye roll here).  Why is it, that when we become a mom, it is assumed that we no longer have any style?

I let the idea stew in the back of my mind for a week or so, and then I decided to try to construct something on my sewing machine that would hold the horns for me.

Three years of research and development later, my website selling PumpEase™ hands-free pumping supports went live!  I now have the freedom to stay at home with my two girls (3-1/2 years and 17 months) and be a WAHM and entrepreneur.  Equally as important to me is knowing that I am helping pumping moms everywhere to pump with style and comfort, to pump pain-free, to extend their nursing relationships with their babies and to make much-needed donations to breast milk banks.

Be sure to check out these great posts from our blogging friends:

• Raising Baby Bee writes about pumping at work (and shares a great ‘do not disturb’ sign).
• Breastfeeding Mums says “electrify me!”
• Breastfeeding 1-2-3 writes about exclusively pumping for a baby with a cleft palate.
• Hobo Mama writes about donating milk for an adopted baby.
• Adventures of a Breastfeeding Mother shares her pumping tips.
• The Attached Mother writes about pumping and becoming a milk donor.
• Mama Knows Breast invites you to enter to win a free Medela Freestyle pump.
• Motherwear - our gracious host - writes about breastfed babies and bottles.

Filed under: Carnival of Breastfeeding, Pumping by Wendy
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