Oahu Moms - World Breastfeeding Week

[MarineWife]

I just learned this is next week. Are any of you planning anything? Maybe we should try to plan a get together specifically for this. What do you think?

[mom2noah]

Sounds like fun!

[kama'aina mama]

I say pick a day and we hit Ala Mauna. It's fab, it's fun, it's VERY public. We sling the wee ones, sprint the bigger ones... look at koy, breakfast (or brunch) at Tiffanies! and generally make one of the highest dollar slices of real estate in the state our nursery.

But I am, of course, open to discussion and suggestion.

[MarineWife]

That sounds good to me, Kama'aina. I was thinking Ala Moana, too. Depending on the time, Wednesday may not be good for me. We have an appointment at Tripler at 3:00. However, if we do it earlier and you all don't mind me leaving around 2:00, Wednesday would work well.

Ryan says I'm nuts for wanting to do this. LOL

[kama'aina mama]

Ya want me to talk to Ryan? I'll talk to Ryan. You should figure out a way to make this an unschooling project for him. Media relations, public awareness, how public health ideas are formed, etc...

[MarineWife]

Oh, gosh, I hadn't thought of all that. I was wondering if I should try to get some flyers together but thought it was too short notice. I was also thinking of calling Melanie to see if she'd want to call the other moms from LLL about this, or give me their #s so I could call. What do you think?

[kama'aina mama]

You could call Mel, or if you like I can. I think whoever does call her should be prepared to hear "no, I can't share contact info" which could be an official LLL stance and also we need to offer to go get the sign in sheet and make a copy for our use. She can't drive right now and adding anything to her 'things to do' would just be uncool.

[MarineWife]

Oh, yeah, I totally understand that she may not be able to give out the info. I also understand that it's not fair to ask her to try to contact everyone. I wish I had known about this before the meeting. Can you think of any other way to get the word out to the mamas who bf?

I was thinking Tuesday at 11 am at Ala Moana would be good. That way if some can't make it on such short notice or because of the place or whatever we might have time to plan another later in the week, too. I don't know the mall that well so you can pick the meeting spot and I'll find it.

I've got another woman here who might want to come. She bfs and was telling me how sad she gets when she's sees baby crying while mom or dad tries to make a bottle of formula when they could have free, readily available food so easily. She's a bit turned off about LLL, though. When I mentioned that she should come to a meeting, she said, "It's not full of hippies?" LOL Then she said, "Well, I guess not since you go." I had to laugh because my dh would call me a hippy. It's all relative, baby.

[kama'aina mama]

I don't have anything on my calendar for Tues, but Bonnie is in preschool til 1. I don't know if I want to take her out or not. But I can come without her for a while if I don't. I doubt she would nurse anyway... we are basically there for company and support.

[MarineWife]

If another day or time is better, that's fine with me. I just picked a day/time to get things rolling. So far, it looks like it may only be you and me anyway. Is Bonnie in preschool every day?

[mom2noah]

Sounds good Alysia. Mondays or Tuesdays are best for me. Those are my DH's days off. We only have one car so I usually need to plan around his work schedule. Otherwise he works 1:30-9:30 so i can only do stuff in the morning or afternoon, kwim?

[MarineWife]

Good Angie. I'm glad you'll be joining us.

Kama'aina, you choose, Monday or Tuesday?

[Mothra]

Any day but tomorrow is fine for me. My husband has a million errands to run and we only have one car at the moment. Tuesday is fine.

[MarineWife]

Ok, let's go back to Tuesday. Is 11 am good? Someone pick a spot to meet at Ala Moana. I don't know it well enough to pick a place. I'll wear my "Human milk for human babies" t-shirt and maybe put Ethan in the onsie (although I hate to cover up the cds).

We can try to plan another day, too, if other people want to.

[Hey Mama!]

I wish I could come, but Bethany has weaned herself. Have fun girls, make people aware!

[MarineWife]

Brandi, You can still come and lend us moral support or just hang out and chat for a bit.

[kama'aina mama]

I'm really sorry but something has come up I can't get out of, so I will need to put B in preschool and take care of it.

[MarineWife]

Oh, I'm sorry Kama'aina. I hope everything will be alright.

[Mothra]

I totally forgot about swimming lessons, which are from 11:00 to 11:50. I won't be able to make it, either. We still have about a bazillion things to do around the house and we are having all-day guests Thursday so I really should stay here and get this under control.

I'm so sorry. I was really looking forward to it!

[MarineWife]

Well, Angie, do you still want to do this? I just looked at the mall map and thought a good place to meet would be at the center stage or information center on the street level in the middle of the mall. I'll check back in the morning.

[mom2noah]

Alysia, I'm pm'ing you right now.

[MarineWife]

Since everyone seemed to have something come up and this was such short notice, let's try a different day. How about Thursday? Would that work better? We can make it later in the day, too.

[MarineWife]

I was just reading more about how a nurse out is supposed to work. Here's basically what's supposed to happen. We pick a place and a time span and have as many nursing mothers in the area nursing throughout that time. We should not all sit together in one spot at one time to nurse. We should spread out and just nurse like we usually would. The idea is to have a nursing mother at every corner or every bench or whatever so that people will see us everywhere, not just clustered together.

So, if I pick a date and timeframe and you can't be there the entire time, that's fine. You can show up for an hour and sit or eat or shop and just stop and nurse when you need to. Afterward, we could plan a place and time to meet to chat for a bit. You can spread the word to other moms that you know that don't get on here. If you can't make it that day, you can always try to organize another day, too. The more days, times and moms the better.

So, I'm going to set a date and time and you can come when you can.

Thursday, 8/5 at Ala Moana mall from 11:00 to 3:00. We can meet at the food court at 1:00 to grab something to eat or just to say we came. Hope to see you all there.

[kama'aina mama]

I hope the weather clears up. This is just ridiculous!

[MarineWife]

Looks like maybe it is clearing up. I sure hope so because I have to drive out to Tripler this afternoon.

[mom2noah]

Ok, where in the Food Court are we talking? That place is huge!

[MarineWife]

I don't know. That's why I had originally asked someone else to pick a place. I've only been to Ala Moana once and that was by accident. I didn't even know where I was until I had left. LOL I tried to look on the web map but I could only find a list of the restaurants. I couldn't find a map that showed where everything was, even the food court. I'm going to have to search for that. I don't even know which level it's on.

I'll be wearing my "Human milk for human babies" t-shirt. It has a picture of a cow with a bubble over it's head on it.