• Last updated 3/19/13 by mamazee

  Baby Leone, who is 11 months old today, with James Last Friday’s post about Jen Starks, the 29-year-old breastfeeding mom who was ushered off an airplane by armed Memphis police officers, has generated a lot of discussion. Thank you to everyone who has weighed in. Baby Leone is eleven months old today. So instead of bare breasts and child safety, we’re talking milestones and cognitive development. Even though I have three older children, all of whom learned to crawl, walk, and talk on a unique timetable, I still worry about this baby’s... read more

• Last updated 3/19/13 by mamazee

This is not exhaustive, because I’m exhausted. But. Some highlights of the ABC Expo (a trade show for babies and kids’ stuff–basically, where childrens’ retailers go to find a lot of their stock) were: Belly Armor is a line of blankets, shirts and belly bands that blocks your tummy against the radiation that comes from laptops and cell phones. The rep wrapped my cell phone in the silver fabric and I saw the signal disappear, which showed its power to block the waves. I want one now and I’m not even pregnant–but I do spend a heck of a lot of time on my... read more

• Last updated 3/18/13 by Melanie Mayo

Getting Started with Cloth Diapers By Theresa Rodriguez Farrisi Want to use cloth diapers but have questions? Check out this simple Q & A. Then discover more on using cloth in the Mothering Forums.  It costs about the same to use cloth and disposables, right? No way! If you launder cloth diapers at home, you can save as much as $1,500 over the entire diapering period. This includes all your diapers, covers, and wash products. In fact, each time you use a disposable, it costs you nearly a quarter. By contrast, home washing can cost as little as five cents per... read more

• Last updated 3/18/13 by Melanie Mayo

As a breastfeeding mama, having searing pains radiating throughout your breast is every mama’s worst nightmare. Unfortunately it is quite common. This type of pain is often caused by a breast inflammation from a plugged duct or milk bleb. Luckily with proper diagnosis, there are some easy and natural home remedies you can try to quickly treat the issue and relieve the pain.   When my daughter was five months old, I was working full time and exclusively breastfeeding and pumping. I began to have searing pains in my left breast and thought I had a plugged duct. I... read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

This is good: If you are a stay-at-home dad, then most likely your wife or partner will be back to work after the first three months of your new baby’s life. If she has been breastfeeding your baby, then she will either have to pump her milk so that you can freeze it or give it to your baby in bottles. She might need to come home or meet you somewhere else to nurse your child. In our case, we were lucky that my wife’s schedule as a researcher was flexible. Nonetheless, on numerous occasions my daughter suffered because my wife could not get home in time, or... read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

It's no wonder breastfeeding had to literally make a comeback among American mothers in the 1960s and 70s. If this picture is indicative of the baby prep classes taught throughout the country in the 1940s, it is truly remarkable that breastfeeding ever made a resurgence in this country. Here is a photograph from October 1943 of a Washington, DC home economics class at Woodrow Wilson High School. Notice the baby bottles! Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, [reproduction number,LC-USW3-039779-D DLC ] Photographer: Ester Bubley read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

I think this photograph is quite interesting. This was nurse training in 1942 -- preparing bottles of formula. The caption reads: Nurse training. In a hospital's formula kitchen, student nurses prepare dozens of bottles for dozens of babies. Each set of bottles contains different amounts and is made up of various ingredients. Formula is made up once a day, and bottles are labeled and kept in the refrigerator until needed. November 1942. I guess there wasn't much breastfeeding going on in this hospital! Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division,... read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

There once was a time when drinking contaminated milk meant severe illness and even death. Many babies died as a result of spoiled milk until production and storage regulations were set in place to ensure the public safety of Americans. I found an interesting article from the Citizen newspaper (Berea, KY) dated July 28, 1910 about infant feeding. The article was entitled: Death Rate Among Children Our Shame and in it, the writer discusses ways to keep babies from dying from contaminated milk. To my surprise the first recommendation was to breastfeed: In... read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

Before I even read the caption for this photograph below, I knew it had to have been taken in the 1940s. How is a mother supposed to bond with her baby by breastfeeding when it's in another room? Nurse Aiko Hamaguchi, mother Frances Yokoyama, baby Fukomoto, Manzanar Relocation Center, California, 1943 / Ansel Adams read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

Migrant mother and child in tent home. Harlingen, Texas 1939 Feb. read more