• Last updated 11/17/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Amy Agnello Issue 107, July/August 2001 Breastfeeding is the cornerstone of the early mothering experience, building an inextricable bond between parent and baby. By nursing, we create a sense of peace and safety for our babies, providing refuge and establishing a foundation upon which healthy and happy futures are built. This is just one of many reasons why a group of American Indian women in one Minnesota community are making a concerted effort to return to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a part of traditional Indian parenting; but a number... read more

• Last updated 11/14/10 by Mothering Editorial

Whether you work because you like to or because your economic situation requires it--or even if you don't work outside the home at all--the issue of family-friendly workplaces affects us all. If we can help forge new workplace policies that support the way we live and parent today, we'll all benefit: employers, workers, their families--and our children, when they ultimately enter the workforce. read more

• Last updated 11/13/10 by JessicaWilliams

“It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it” was the lesson for Tuesday morning at the Department of Motor Vehicles. I had paid for my annual car registration but had not received my tags to prove my registration. My car was ticketed three times in one week. I tried the phone lines to explain my situation: I had paid my fee and I passed my annual California smog check but had yet to receive my tags and had now accumulated three “display of tags” tickets; but, I could not reach a live operator. I tried to navigate the governmental website to clear my name but no avail. A... read more

• Last updated 11/13/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Suzanne Siteman Phillips Issue 106 May/June 2001 The language of mother and child begins in the body. With the first twinge of morning sickness, the first graze of a washcloth over a tender breast, we begin to speak. When my daughter and I shared my body's interior, when she grew plump and complete inside of me, I felt the quickened drum of my pulse and the labored draw of my breath. I was suddenly attuned to the rise and fall of my temperature and my mood. I felt sure that I could hear the surf of my blood build as the baby demanded more of me. How remarkable to... read more

• Last updated 11/2/10 by JessicaWilliams

In my post on night weaning I stated: Grab some kind of bottle, sippie-cup, or thermos filled with your liquid of choice; water, almond milk, etc, and place this near the bed. You can offer this just in case they are waking for thirst. Having just been to the pediatric dentist, I would now recommend ONLY WATER in the bottle or sippie-cup as you night-wean. I gave my second child a diluted juice bottle at night and we have just found decay. I gave my first child only a water bottle and she is fine. Of course there are a multitude of factors at work, but I would now say... read more

• Last updated 10/30/10 by JessicaWilliams

3 kiddies in our bed If your husband comes to bed at 5am (because he is working so hard on his own company,) and you move your recently weaned sleeping baby so you can lay next to your husband (to preserve the sanctity of the marital bed amidst year seven of co-sleeping with various children,) your baby will wake up at 5am and then you will be nursing her (for another hour while trying to go back to sleep) and it will feel like the middle of the night (because it’s still dark out.) Eventually, you and baby will fall back asleep (husband has been snoring since 5am; none... read more

• Last updated 10/29/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Neville Hodgkinson Issue 108, September/October 2001 Recently I spent an evening with my new grandson. Otto had been born the day before, after a long and difficult labor, and was bawling in protest at having just been bathed when I arrived to see him. Minutes later he was placed in my arms, where he stayed contentedly for the next three hours. Although he was asleep for most of that time, I felt as if something like a current was passing through me that would help soothe and nourish him. Admiring the beauty of his jawline, the fineness of his limbs, the... read more

• Last updated 10/29/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Susan Gerhard Issue 108, September/October 2001 If Dana had conceived her child just one month earlier, she might have had the birth experience she had always imagined. Instead, she found herself in a cramped hospital office being informed by the Chief of Pediatric Immunology that if she decided to breastfeed her two-day-old daughter, Nia, or did not follow any other of her doctor's recommendations--he wanted to immediately give Nia a potent chemotherapy, AZT--Dana would be reported for neglect, and her daughter could be taken away. **[AZT stands for... read more

• Last updated 10/29/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Christine Gross-LohIssue 122, January/February 2004 How should breastfeeding advocates respond to media coverage that undermines breastfeeding? In our bottle-feeding culture, any negative news about breastmilk leads many women away from breastfeeding, comments Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC. "Each time something happens that hits the newspaper, we start getting these mothers calling in with these questions, and they're concerned about feeding their babies breastmilk. It is very difficult for them to sort through this information. We have to work through it until I know... read more

• Last updated 10/29/10 by Mothering Editorial

Katherine Barber and Mishawn Purnell-O'NealIssue 117, March/April 2003 As early as the spring of 2003, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) may recommend that all breastfed babies receive a daily supplement of vitamin D, based on the belief that breastmilk is deficient in vitamin D and can lead to rickets in babies who are exclusively breastfed. Such a recommendation is paradoxical: While breastmilk is supposedly the best form of infant nutrition (as mothers, physicians, and even infant-formula companies agree), it is somehow lacking in sufficient amounts of... read more