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Calling it Milk

2K views 38 replies 38 participants last post by  heatherdeg 
#1 ·
I taught Marah Jade to call nursing milk. Now that she is getting older I have had some funny issues with it. The other day I was at a BBQ and Marah Jade kept asking me for milk. I told her "not right now honey" because we were in an inconvienent place to nurse. Well being a toddler she asked several times and as we walked into the house she was shouting "I want miiilllkkk". Well a lady went and got her a glass of milk. I thanked her and said she wasn't asking for that kind of milk and the lady was really confused and then embarrased. I have had a handful of occasions now where people have offered to get me milk for Marah Jade or told her they will get her some. Is there anything I can do about this without embarrasing the person? Is it confusing to her to have people tell her she can have milk while I am telling her she can't? She doesn't drink cow milk or soy milk so I don't know how to explain it to her when they show up with a glass of milk. Am I over analyzing this LOL?
 
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#2 ·
We called it "Milky". Maybe you could add the Y and she'd take to that. I don't know why people are embarrassed, though. I'd just smile and say, "thanks, but she wants her mother's milk." If people are embarrassed it's probably because they're not used to breastfeeding, which is good you're there in an activist sort of way.
 
#3 ·
actually, that is JUST the reason why we encouraged a nickname for it. reading "so that's what they're for" when I was pregnant it suggests avoiding things like "boobies" or whatehaveyou for the days when they're asking in public.

help her pick out her own new special name for it? how old is she now? you could explain why, or just make it a fun game?

or, I suppose, if it doesn't happen that often, just keep things as they are. but, no way are you "over-analyzing." you're living.

:)
Heather
 
#4 ·
I think it is just fine to call your milk just milk. It is ridiculous that it should have to have a nickname or be called breastmilk. We don't call cow milk teat milk, do we?
I want to mention that I think it just fine if you have a codename or nickname, too.
But that it is also 100% alright to just call it what it is, MILK!
 
#6 ·
We always called it milk, also. To this day, my older kids still specify what kind of milk they want- milk (aka mama milk) vs. cow milk vs. soy milk.

I've encountered similar situations, when others offered my nursing toddlers a glass of cow's milk, and I simply answered the same way you did, "that's not the kind of milk he/she's asking for *wink*" It never seemed like a big deal to me.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having a code name for breastfeeding, but *I* never saw the need for one.
 
#7 ·
Makes me giggle to remember my dh handing the babies to me in the presence of others and telling me that they needed a "taco". This morphed into "mamu" when they were toddlers - which never caused anyone to come running with a glass of anything when they started asking for it!. . .
 
#8 ·
Ds called it boob, thanks to dh, until he started screaming for "boob, Boob, BOOB" in the grocery store and I was embarrassed. With the girls, we started calling it "milk", but dd1, as toddlers sometimes do, started calling it "nilkies" and that one has stuck through both her and dd2, so


I agree that it's just a semantics thing, and I wouldn't worry about it.
 
#9 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Leersia
Makes me giggle to remember my dh handing the babies to me in the presence of others and telling me that they needed a "taco". This morphed into "mamu" when they were toddlers - which never caused anyone to come running with a glass of anything when they started asking for it!. . .
Ok that made me bust up. When Marah Jade sees my boobs she says I can see your milk. I can just imagine what would happen if she was using the word taco and said momma I can see your taco. LOL
:
 
#10 ·
She calls it Chi-chis (couldn't say "Leche" ), but since she's knows that chichis come from my "bwest", she been known to pat them and say "bwest make good chichis".


We don't call it milk, since she has a milk allergy and we don't want to get into the habit of her asking for "milk".
 
#11 ·
i taught dd to call it milky as well, or milk, and we just always say "cow milk" for cow milk. If presented with a glass of cow milk, i would just say "thank you so much but she doesn't/can't drink cow milk"
Or, depending on the siutation, how many people, how well you know them, perhaps inform them ahead of time "if "dd" asks for milk, please don't get her any, thank you"
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ashleylesh
I think it is just fine to call your milk just milk. It is ridiculous that it should have to have a nickname or be called breastmilk. We don't call cow milk teat milk, do we?
I want to mention that I think it just fine if you have a codename or nickname, too.
But that it is also 100% alright to just call it what it is, MILK!
: I love when my toddler yells out, "Baby wants MILK, MOM!!! She wants her MILK!!"


Also, I don't care if another person is embarrassed. It is my child and my feelings that are more important when it comes to breastfeeding and NIP.

In the past, my other kids called them Nii-nii's, which is the word for milk in Anishinabe. It sounds like "knee-knees" and people would say, "I can see your knee-knees!" Thinking they were talking about their knees. My dd's would get so upset and yell! "I don't have Nii-nii's!!!"
 
#13 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by RubyV
She calls it Chi-chis (couldn't say "Leche" ), but since she's knows that chichis come from my "bwest", she been known to pat them and say "bwest make good chichis".


We don't call it milk, since she has a milk allergy and we don't want to get into the habit of her asking for "milk".
Same here. DD doesn't have an "allergy" but a severe dairy intolerance/sensitivity. She developed her own code name for bf'ing back when she was about 15 months. To her, its "creamies" because "it taste just like vanilla ice cream".
 
#14 ·
We call it "milk." I'm glad I saw this thread because I've been wondering if I should keep calling it milk or think of a nonsense term or what... I think we're going to stick with milk. Mama and papa drink raw cow's milk and raw goat's milk and call them both by the full name to distinguish. None of us drink "regular" store bought milk and neither will dd.

Besides... dd just this past week started signing "milk" and I already taught her that's what it means (she made the sign first and I said milk everytime she did it so now she knows!) and I probably shouldn't confuse her (or me
) by changing it now.

love and peace.
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by lyttlewon
Ok that made me bust up. When Marah Jade sees my boobs she says I can see your milk. I can just imagine what would happen if she was using the word taco and said momma I can see your taco. LOL
:
Matthew calls it "muh" (milk) as well. If he sees me get out of the shower, he points at them and says "this one is Matthew's muh, and this one is baby's muh" (I am tandem nursing). Oh, and before bed, if I say, "okay, let's have a little milk before you go to sleep", he will tell me, "I want LOTS of muh!"
Isn't it cool how we can talk to them about it now?
 
#16 ·
Unity asks for "mama muck"...eventually it will be milk I hope. She knows how to say it. We've never had anyone confused about which milk-She usually grabs at my shirt & tries to pull my breasts out ...yep both of them.I just usually turn red.....
 
#17 ·
My older two used the word "murse" (when dd1 couldn't yet pronounce the "n" sound she coined the word, and we adopted it).

Now 15, dd1 insists she hears her 3.5-m.o. sister say "boob." The baby *does* generally want to nurse when this is reported, so it may be true--dh, dd1, and ds all use the word, though I'm not fond of it.

I'm teaching the generic "eat" in ASL at present, figuring it can cover a wide variety of situations in the future but be learned and imitated quicker than the "milk" sign.
 
#18 ·
I try to encourage my dd to call it "mama milk", and I've also taught her a sign for nursing (the "milk" sign). However, my 20 mo independent-thinker doesn't go along with my plan. She insists on calling it "wok!", while making the sign. She did that while at my pediatrician's office the other day and our family doctor said, "What is she saying?" and I said, "Oh that's her word for when she wants to nurse," and my doctor laughed and said that's a new one. Then she added "stir-fried nipples?"
 
#19 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by nonconformnmom
She insists on calling it "wok!", while making the sign. She did that while at my pediatrician's office the other day and our family doctor said, "What is she saying?" and I said, "Oh that's her word for when she wants to nurse," and my doctor laughed and said that's a new one. Then she added "stir-fried nipples?"

That is sooo cute!
 
#22 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ColoradoMama
What about just trying to get her to say, "I want to nurse." There's no confusion on which milk she wants with that one!

that's what i've been modeling for him. he has been using the milk sign for the word "nurse" since about 12 months and hasn't started saying a word for it yet at 19 months. he has just invented the word "guo" which he says when he sees my breasts... i have no idea where that came from... but yesterday i was showing him baby pictures of me, including one topless on a beach when i was 20 months, and he looked at the picture and immediately said "guo!"
 
#23 ·
For both kids, I always asked, "Do you want to nurse?" Talia (2 yo) asks for "Nur-nur milk" and only very rarely for "cow's milk." At night, if she is nursing for a long time before bed, she will inform me that "There's no more nur-nur milk left" (I do run out, especially because she only will nurse from one side) and then might ask for cow's milk. She drinks only an ounce or so at a time.
 
#24 ·
my girls have always called it "eat" or "eats." it started when they were new babies, just saying, "do you want to eat?" they both call breasts "eats," regardless of what we try to tell them, haha. it was convenient to not have a kid screaming, "i want the boobies!" like i've heard some people share, haha, but it wouldn't bother me if there was confusion over what "milk" was. they just say, "i want to eat" or "the baby wants to eat."

we're big on milk being MILK, though. cow's milk is cow's milk, soymilk is soymilk, and breastmilk is plain ol' milk. my oldest LOVES to proclaim in the store, "i don't like cow's milk, it's nat-nee (nasty) and only for daddy!" i don't drink milk often, but my husband drinks organic cow's milk while my girls drink soymilk on rare occasion. the baby is obviously still nursing and has "just milk."
 
#25 ·
Interesting- we've just always used the verb "to nurse" and I don't think ds really even has a word (noun) to describe the actual milk. Ds can say very clearly, "Mommy, I want to nurse."

He does know the word "milk" but to him it just refers to cows milk as in "Mommy, I want to chalky (chocolate) milk."
 
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