To Breastfeed in Public or Not

Most of you are aware that C Monster nurses, he is now 2 and 1/4 and still loves his breastmilk or lolo as we call it in our home.

I decided just before he turned 2 to call my milk lolo that way when a 2 1/2 year old screams at the top of his lungs "I want lolo" when you are in the middle of the grocery store you do not have to worry about what others might say.  I know I really should not worry about what others say but I do.

When C Monster was about 18 months old a stranger addressed him while he was nursing and told him he was to old to be doing that - I corrected them immediately.  When C Monster was 18 months old it did not phase him one bit I am not even sure he knew what the stranger was talking about; however now that he is older and understands a lot (more then I sometimes realize) I don't want this situation to repeat itself again.

So after that incident we slowly started encouraging other liquids on the go and kept nursing for at home, nursing rooms and at friends or places that I knew would not be judgmental.  Am I doing harm to C Monster with this I don't think so.  If he asks for lolo when we are out I usually try to figure out why he wants it - is he hungry, tired, hurt (beyond a kiss fixing it)  or just needs mama time. Typically it's because he is hungry - if it's for any other reason we find a quite spot and nurse - this is rare.

The reason why I started questioning if I am doing the right thing today is...  C Monster had an appointment to get a vaccine today as I always do I nurse him during and after the vaccination.  The nurse was surprised but ok with the fact I wanted to nurse my 2 1/4 year old during his shot. Christophe barely even flinched during the shot - just another breastmilk miracle.  After the nurse was done she said take as long as you need and started to close the door, I said no no it's ok we will finish nursing in the waiting room.  (I know they don't typically like it when you occupy the nursing station after the nurse is done - I think and hope she was just trying to be polite)

We sat down in the waiting room across from a family with a little new born (maybe 2 months at the tops) and started to nurse.  The father asked me if my son just got a shot and said wow he is so big we don't even think we heard him cry - what a brave boy.  I answered yes and explained that if you nurse your child during a shot they don't feel it as much.  The conversation when from there and the mother and father poured their hearts out to me on how they want to breastfeed but they can't seem to figure it out and so on.  We talked for a bit - I am pretty sure all her issues where due to a horrible latch and well by the time C Monster was done nursing and fast asleep in my arms; the mother decided to try to breastfeed her little one instead of giving her a bottle when she started to fuss and guess what she said it did not hurt, and we could all hear and see the baby girl gulp down her milk.

I gave her all the names of the various resources in the area for breastfeeding support and she said thank you and we parted ways.

Did the fact that I was nursing a toddler in public help this mother and baby maybe - would she have reached out to a total stranger otherwise maybe - we will never know.  However a situation like this make me think twice next time I ask C Monster to wait 5 minutes for us to get to a more convenient spot to nurse.

PS - if you are wondering what are the resources I gave her:
La Leche League Toronto Help Line - (416) 483-3368
Toronto East General Breastfeeding Clinic - (416) 469-6667
http://www.drjacknewman.com/

So I ask you are nursing a toddler? What do you think when you see someone nursing a toddler? Would you nurse a toddler in public?

Earth Day 2010

Earth Day

So today is Earth Day; I will admit we did not do anything different today then other days.  I really don't feel I need to - when Christophe is a little older I plan on maybe marking the day with a fun craft or something but nothing else.  For me Earth Day is everyday; don't get me wrong I think celebrating the planet is good and it also helps bring awareness to living "green".

So what did we do today that was "green"

• Organic food for breakfast, lunch and supper
• "Carpooled" to Sports Ball (since Geoff had to take the car today anyways he dropped us off on his way)
• Brought my own shopping bags for my errands today
• Walked home after Sports Ball
• Kept all the lights in the house off during the day (sunshine is more then enough to light your house)
• Made "green" purchases for the things I needed to get today (food and sandals)
• Breastfed
• Brought a reusable water bottle for both me and C Monster (his had juice) and when it was smoothy time got them to place it in our bottles instead of cups.
• Ate an organic lunch at the Big Carrot (very eco-conscious store)
• Used cloth diapers and G-Diapers
• Used non-toxic cleaners and beauty products

I think I could go on forever but I will stop now...

Did you celebrate Earth Day or did anything special today?

El Natura Lista - My new sandals

I have had the same pair of Birkenstock since C Monster has been born and well I walk a lot so they are pretty much dead.  I will probably get about half a summer out of them maybe a bit longer.  I had been on the lookout for new sandals something that is comfortable, fashionable, funky and well eco-friendly if possible.  It's hard to find leather footwear that is also eco-friendly at least in part because many people think leather itself is not "green".  I don't fully disagree with them but when it comes to sandals if they are not leather I can never "break them in" and they never stop giving me blisters.  (I will also admit that one of my not so green likes is leather, I do own things made from leather including and not limited to furniture, clothing and shoes).

After looking for over a month for some sandals I found a pair at a locale shoe store Balisi; they met all the criteria but I was not familiar whit the designer - El Natura Lista. Since I had already given up on finding eco-friendly sandals that i liked I bought them.  However the name gave me hope that these were a eco-conscious company.

Guess what they are a eco-consious company here are some of the things they boost about on their web site.

"We use natural materials  

We avoid using polluting substances and toxic products

We seek to protect the environment

We maximize the use of biodegradable and recyclable/recycled materials

We pay fair compensation to providers and employees

We promoted traditional forms of production

We support the use of appropriate new technologies

We operate with corporate transparency"

Image from El Natura Lista

Dead Animals - stinky

So what do you do when you find a dead animal?  We got to discover this joy earlier this week.  C Monster and Aunt Lisa where playing in the lane behind our house when she pointed out what looked like a raccoon that had been deceased for at least a 6 months or so.  He was hidden by a pile of leafs.  we mad sure C Monster did not notice it and kept him clear from the area.  Lisa suggested I called Toronto Animal Services (416-338-7197) and she was right within an hour they were here to bag and remove the stinky poor little fellow.  I have to say I was impressed with their response time; it's nice to see that the animal owner fees we pay them go to good use.

La Leche League International Turns 50  

Looking Forward To

Eating my tummy is growling :-)

The Weekend - Guelph Style

Saturday

With the Grain

Grandmama treated us to breakfast at With the Grain. I have to say I have mixed opinions about this little cafe both good and bad. On one side of the street is their bakery were you will find some of the best breads and pastries I have ever had that were not home made. The Bee Sting was to die for. The service was fast and friendly nothing to complain about.

Where we had a negative experience was at the cafe; we got there and their was a wait of about 15-20 minutes. This would have been less annoying if their was not some tables for 2 free and some tables for 4 with only 2 people at them - we were waiting for a table for 4. (eventually some of the patrons moved to a table of 2 and we got a table - I just wish the waitress would have asked them to if they were willing to move) While we waited Geoff tried to go order a coffee at the "to go" side of the cafe to drink while he was waiting and they said it was too complicated to keep the orders straight if he ordered his coffee from the "to go" side and then sat down in the cafe.

Once we actually got seated the service was great and so was the food. - just a few annoyances before we got or table.

Nancy & I Monster

When we go to Guelph there are always friends we try to see; it's great to see old friends and also for C Monster to get a chance to play with other toddlers.

One of the moms from my "Mommy Group" has recently moved to Guelph and C Monster had not seen his little friend since before Christmas. As I guessed correctly C Monster did not seem to remember Nancy or I Monster but that did not stop him from having a good time.

Sunday

Sick C Monster & Me

Well it's official we are sick both of us; Geoff is the only one that has eluded this nasty cold. C Monster has a fever and his nose is dripping like a faucet. This means the Visit with Kim and her family that I was oh so looking forward to is canceled. Geoff is still going to sneak out to say hi but we are grounded at grandmama's.

I want to talk about what I take when I am sick. Since I still breastfeeding the C Monster I am super careful as to what I put in my body. Many drugs are "compatible" with breastfeeding however some of the drug still passes threw to your child in your breast milk; this being said it is my belief that due to this you should try to avoid drugs all together unless necessary. Also always talk to you doctor before taking any drugs while breastfeeding - even over the counter drugs.

So what do I do to make myself more comfortable? Here is a list of the products I like and find effective. Remember I am not qualified to give medical advice, I am just a mom and this is what I find works - if you are sick for a prolonged period of time always talk to your doctor.

Thayers Slipery Elm Lozenges
These are great alternative to traditional lozenges; they help sooth an irritated throat from too much coughing.

Wedderspoon Organic Manuka Honey Lozenges with Ginger and Echinacea Active 15+
Double hitter has the healing power of Menuka Honey combined in a lozenges, these are great to suck on when your throat feels dry.

Wedderspoon 100% Raw organic Manuka Honey Active 16+
"Manuka honey is from bees who feed on the flowers of the Manuka bush, also known as the "Tea Tree" to produce a honey that has anti-bacterial properties. Tea tree oil is commonly from the related Melaleuca tree native to Australia and is used as a topical antibiotic and antifungal for wounds that fail to close." - Wikipedia

Herbal Teas I drink lots of herbal teas, the warmth is very soothing to the throat. If you are a breastfeeding mama make sure to vary the teas you drink to much of one tea could end up with a concentration of that herb or plant in your system and some herbs in large quantities are contradictory to breastfeeding. Such as: Sage; Peppermint; Ginseng; Rhubarb to name only a few.

Their is a great article about this on Kellymom.com.

Febriplex by Unda
This basically helps your body cope with a fever, we take one immediately upon onset of a fever.

Drosera Plex by Unda
This basically helps your cough be more productive.

Looking Forward

To finishing assembling C Monster Frog & for my cough to go away.

All in a Saturday

Crazy Nice Weather

Today was a "balmy" 8 outside and it's calling for 9 tomorrow and them 6,5,2,3,2 for the rest of the week. Definitely starting to feel like spring - not quite here yet but coming. Last week I ordered all my seeds except for the Edamame seeds - Richters did not have any.

Bike Helmet - or Food Helmet - or Bed Helmet

Today after gym at SH Armstrong we strolled by our neighborhood bike accessory store Velotique. I say bike accessory because that is all you find there - no bikes. I think it's great that means you have a fantastic selection of everything you need to be a well equipped. Our goal was to get a helmet for C Monster. The sales clerk was great she took out the 4 "boy" helmets out and lined them up so C Monster could select one. His choice black with red flames - he takes after his mom :-)

The kids helmet they had were from Giro; we find it easy to get it on him and once on him it holds it place. It has these little lights on the back; the on and off button for one of them is slightly damage but still works - all this only after one day. In the helmets defense C Monster abused it all day. The most important thing is that C Monster is willing to wear it and is very happy with his shiny new helmet.

Tidbit of Info for Breastfeeding Moms

I have been working my way through "The Breastfeeding Answer Book"; I am currently reading the section on drugs and found this interesting tidbit of information that serves as a great reminder for the breastfeeding moms out there:

"In general, the best time to take a drug is right after breastfeeding, so that the drug can begin clearing from the mother's system before she breastfeeds again. If the mother is taking a once-a-day medication, suggest she takes it right before her baby's longest sleep period, if her doctor agrees." - La Leche League International The Breastfeeding Answer Book p593

That being said I want to remind everyone that if you are taking any kind of medicine and are breastfeeding or pregnant you should talk to you doctor first.

this and that

Today

Early Morning - Leonard Cohan (Geoff you should buy me flowers and chocolates for no reason more often)

Morning - walk around the block (it takes 1 hour when you have a toddler with you)

Lunch - with my family (parsnip & sweet potato soup and crackers)

Afternoon - dentist (perfect smile - well as perfect as it can be)

Late afternoon - groceries (Loblaws)

Evening - of so tired (want some tea)

Cute BF Story

After supper C Monster wanted to nurse; however his sippy cup had to come along - here is how it went. One gulp breastmilk; one gulp juice; one gulp breastmilk; one gulp juice; one gulp breastmilk.... you see were this is going.

That is it for Today.
Off to make tea.

Science Center

Earlier this month I purchased a membership to the Science Center; that being said we went today. As you can see from this visual journal Christophe had a great time.

Crazy sensor thing that made a picture of you - this is C Monster's face since he decided to stick his face to the camera.



Last time we were at the Science Center C Monster wanted to spend all his time with the hot air balloon - I am glad his obsession only lasted a few minutes today.


Thanks to one of my friends I have a new appreciation for this building.



Lunch and conversation - C monster says " oh oh spaghetti-o, juice and raisin "


Driving - well not really just turning a wheel. When C Monster first turned this wheel the freight elevator right next to us opened. It took me 20 minutes to convince him the wheel had nothing to do with it.


Found a quite spot to cuddle and relax.


My little scientist at work. The Science Center had a workshop for toddlers here C Monster is discovering what happens to corn starch when you add water.

- Now the day would be perfect if the giggling in his room would stop and the C Monster would so to sleep so his papa can watch the hockey game Canada vs Russia that currently sits at 7-3 Canada leads. -

When did you realize that breastmilk is the optimal food for your baby?

When did you realize that breastmilk is the optimal food for your baby? I was recently asked this question and decided to share my answer with you.

From the time we were pregnant with Christophe there was no doubt that I would nurse him, we never researched formula or even looked at any. But if you would have asked me 10 or 15 years ago if I would nurse a baby when it was my turn to become a mom I think I would have said "I don't know?" I don't remember seeing anyone breastfeed as a child, I was not breastfeed. I know my aunt Monique breastfeed her children but it was always behind closed doors other then that I don't remember anyone else breastfeeding. I grew up in a world of bottles and formula.

It was definitely not from my childhood that I got my passion for breastfeeding.

So I look back at what point did i decide that breast was best. I don't think it was a conscious decision but something must have influenced me because when we got pregnant with Christophe there was really no question about it - I was going to nurse no matter what it took. And then it dawned upon me; who was the first person I saw breastfeeding that made it look like there was no other choice - our friend Kim. She was so determined to nurse her little boy no matter all the odds that were stacked up against her (at least that is the way it seemed at the time) that I finally realized that breastmilk is oh so important for babies that mothers who also realise that will go through hell achieving a nursing relationship with their babies.

If someone is willing to go through what seems like pure torture at the time to establish their milk supply and a proper latch so their baby can breastfeed when their is such an easy way out it must be extremely important to them and their baby.

Thank you Kim, without you who know Christophe might have been a formula fed bed (I hate even how that sounds.)

This all being said I don't want to scare new moms breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt, if you are experience any kind of pain or discomfort seek professional help. Your baby should be gaining weight after about one week of life and be back up to their birth weight after 2 weeks, if your baby is not gaining weight seek professional help. A midwife, lactation consultant, La Leche League leader or your doctor can help you - and remember most breastfeeding challenges are fixable - if you really want to nurse you can do it - all you need is some help.

World Breastfeeding Week August 1 to 7 - 2009

Happy Breastfeeding Week to all my nursing mama and baby friends out there.

In honor of world breastfeeding week here is a compilation of on-line links with breastfeeding information:

• World Breastfeeding Week
• Breastfeeding Committee for Canada
• Australian Breastfeeding Association
• Baby Friendly USA
• Baby Milk Action Coalition
• Human Milk Banking Association of North America
• The international Baby Food Action Network
• International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners
• International Lactation Consultant Association
• INFACT Canada
• La Leche League Canada
• La Leche League GB
• Global Breastfeeding Challenge 2009
• Well Start International
• World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
• World Health Organization
• Motherisk
• La Leche League International
• AnotherLook Breastfeeding and HIV/AIDS
• National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy
• Dr. Jack Newman

Remember the WHO recomandes that all babies if possible are exclusively breastfed until they are 6 months of age; breastfeeding is to continue until the child reaches 2 years of age or outgrows the need.

Ikea Redhook says no to public breastfeeding

Sarah and Sasha were banished to a washroom after atempting to nurse at Ikea in Redhook. Sarah wrote the following story on a message board:

"On Wednesday I was in Ikea Redhook in the middle of breastfeeding, fully covered, when I was told I had to stop doing "that" and go to the nearby family bathroom. The Ikea employee and security guards were extremely rude to us. I was hustled off to the bathroom and then had to wait because someone else was using it. I was humiliated, my daughter was upset from being interrupted in the middle of her feed. When eventually I gave up and headed for the car to finish feeding, the security guards who had seen the entire event insisted on checking my receipts. I'm putting together a formal complaint to IKEA. I was wondering if
this has happened to anyone else?"

Just another reason why I dont like Ikea right now.

My thoughs on weaning

Many of you know that I am in the process of being accredited as a La Leche League Leader. This process makes you look at who you are as a mother by writing down many of your beliefs and experiences. I though I would share a section of my portion called "About Me" - We are asked to answer various questions and one of them is on weaning...

Ideally the breastfeeding relationship will continue until the baby outgrows the need.
What are your thoughts about when and how weaning proceeds?
A child starts weening when solids is introduced; therefore Christophe started weening at 6 months and 10 months later is still in the process. My feelings about weening are in constant flux however my core beliefs don’t change change. When I first became pregnant I though I would nurse for one year then stop; however at the time I did not understand the benefits of nursing a toddler and also hoe its not just cut and dry nurse one day then you don’t. Once I started understanding those points I quickly decided that our baby would wean himself - this decision was probably made when I was about 6 months pregnant.
Weaning to me starts when solids are introduced the first time and then stops when your baby no longer wants or needs to nurse. Sometime weaning can happen if a mothers milk is gone but I think typically it should be when the baby decides - or better said child at this point - decides that they no longer require their mothers milk. I hope this can and will be the case for Christophe.

If it’s part of your experience, describe your baby’s weaning.
Weaning these days i san emotional subject because I can see my little baby growing up and sometimes now choosing water over breastmilk. Christophe started solids at 6 months and with his first spoon in his mouth I am sure I shed a tear. I remember telling my husband that this is the first step to no breastmilk and crying; I think this was so emotional for me because we had a though time for the first month of nursing. After 3 months or so of solids Geoff reminded me of what I told him about Christophe and starting solids and we laughed because my son does not want to eat anything and did not want to anything other then breastmilk and a select few foods until he was about 13 months old.
Today at 16 months Christophe eats a small variety of foods; therefore I think it crucial that he continues to nurse however we no longer offer him breastmilk unless he asks - however he asks about 12 times a day so I am not worried. We try to encourage him to eat and drink a large variety of items so that his diet can go beyond 10 foods for the day he decides that he is ready to wean.
Some days I think he might wean sooner then latter because he will drink at the breast for 5 minutes then want his sippy cup with water; but other days he can stay at the breast for hours on end. I feel these changes are not necessarily because he is weaning but because he is changing the reasons to nurse. He is nursing more for emotional needs and less for food - I guess this is also a step a child led weaned baby goes through.
I hope that Christophe will nurse long enough to remember nursing.

Movie Mondays

One of my friends forwarded this to me:

Busy busy busy

So lots have happened more then I can possibly blog about.

First life with a toddler is hectic so I am going to keep my blogging to Sunday nights; however on good weeks I will set up a few post to deploy threw out the week... I wanted to say a big thank you to my readers and I hope with fewer post the content will only get better.

I have recently decided to start the process of getting accredited as a La Lech League Leader; which is also eating up my time. For those of you who are not familiar with La Lech; it's an organization run mostly by volunteer nursing mothers that support other nursing mothers with there trials and tribulation and success and joys of breastfeeding. We have been attending the Greenwood group regularly now for almost a year; through them I have met many wonderful mothers that I now consider great friends.

CHRISTOPHE REPORT:
Christophe is keeping me busy and has learned so many new things, his abilities are always changing and growing - here is a list of things Christophe has recently been doing:

• walking - fully mastered
• starting to run - sometimes trips
• can climb our step ladder
• can climb his high chair (gets in and out himself)
• goes up and down the stairs on his own (with me spotting him)
• draws
• can complete his shape puzzle with a little help
• can complete his staking toy
• climbs on everything
• rolls a ball
• claps
  
• getting much better drinking from a cup - however still has not mastered the sippy cup
• loves to make music
• loves to "help" with baking
• starting to help me arround the house
• imitates his parents
• shakes his head no when he does not want to do something
• actually takes his vitamins when he is told to
• retrives and items for me when I ask and points to it
• "points" to things when he wants them

I think I could go on forever.

Facebook should lead by example....

The above is a post I found on the Facebook group "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!"

I felt it was worth sharing. As of today there is 169, 766 people that have joined the group.

Explanation by Facebook

Today I received this following email from Facebook explaining why my account had been canceled:

Hi Pierrette,

A photo that you uploaded was removed for violating Facebook's Terms of Use. Photos containing drug use, nudity, or other graphic or sexually suggestive content are not allowed, nor are photos that depict violence or that attack an individual or group. Unfortunately, for technical reasons, we are unable to provide further information about the removed photo.

In order to prevent this from happening in the future, please refrain from posting photos of this kind and remove any that still exist on the site. For more information on conduct prohibited by Facebook, please read our Terms of Use, which can be accessed by clicking on the "terms" link at the bottom of any Facebook page.

Thanks for your understanding,

Roy
User Operations
Facebook

So it does seem that the photo I me nursing my son was the reason why my account got canceled.

Since Facebook has given me my account back I have added a few additional nursing images lets see what happens.

Facebook 1 - me 1 (not really)

Today at 2:09pm Facebook reactivated my account; no reason was given, no sorry was said. I emailed back Roy from User Operations at Facebook and wrote the following:

Hello Roy,

Thank you for reactivating my account.

Could you please inform me as to why it was cancelled in the first place with no notice?

Thank you.

I checked to see if the image of my son nursing was still up and it has indeed been removed.

All I have to say is Facebook sucks.

Photo Page 6

TERA has this beautiful page full of nursing mothers called Photo Page 6; the only sad part is the write ups that accompany these images. They are all about images being removed from Facebook or even worst accounts being closed.

If you have been victim to having a breastfeeding image pulled from Facebook, contact them as I did, your voice can be heard.

Something so natural should not be censored.

Facebook 1 - me 0

Today my account with Facebook was canceled because of an obscene image of my son nursing.

Do you think this is obscene yes or no?

Facebook vs Breastfeeding

Many moms out-there already are aware of the fact that Facebook has taken a stand that breast-feeding pictures should not be aloud on there website. If you upload such a picture you risk the chance of having it deleted and even worst your account closed due to obscene content.

As the breastfeeding "activist" I am I have joined the group Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!(Official petition to Facebook) and uploaded a picture of Christophe nursing that Geoff took. As it stands my image is still up on facebook.

Yesterday I was contacted by the El Mercurio, as they wanted to us the image for an article they were writing on the subject. I actually remembered enough Spanish from school to read and understand the article.

As it stands today Facebook still considers breastfeeding pictures obscene and the petition group has over 125 000 members.

Nurse-in Nov. 7 in Newmarket

Below is an email I received from INFACT:

Breastfeeding Rights Rally in Newmarket, ON
Mother was asked to breastfeed in the change room
Violation of Human Rights

Friday Nov 7th, The Aquacentre Pool at 2:30-3:30pm
1215 Stellar Dr., Newmarket, Ontario L3Y 7B8
Phone: 905 895 2782, Fax: 905 853 4229,
email: info@aquacentrenewmarket.com and ellie@trinityrehab.com

I was breastfeeding my daughter on the steps of the swimming pool when Ms. Ellie Karkouti, the owner of the facility, came to speak with me. Ms. Karkouti said they had one complain and that I could not breastfeed my daughter in the swimming pool. She said if I wanted to breastfeed I would have use the changeroom. I tried to say that based on the law I had the right to breastfeed in public places but Ms. Karkouti said that she was the owner and I could only breastfeed in the changeroom. After that I stopped breastfeeding. Ms. Ellie Karkouti left. I stayed in the swimming pool.

It was the first time I have suffered discrimination in my life! I wanted to cry so bad. I tried to pretend this has never happened. My daughter kept asking to nurse and I denied her while we were in the pool. My heart was broken. I did not know what to do. I was completely sad, lost and numb.

Only after a few hours, I believe I started to think clearly again.

I informed the group of families registered for this swim time at The Aquacentre about the terrible episode. The leader of this activity, Carol-Anne Brockington, sent an email to The Aquacentre asking for an apology. Their feedback was "At no point did we discriminate against the act of breastfeeding." They did not offer any apology.

After several emails of support from mothers ready to fight for the right to breastfeed, we have decided to organize a Breastfeeding Rights Rally, a peaceful nurse-in for Friday, November 7^th in The Aquacentre at 2:30pm.

Please inform as many people as you can about this discrimination episode and the nurse-in. Feel free to use this email. Also, everybody is welcome to the peaceful nurse-in, you do not have to breastfeed to participate! All support is welcome! If you are unable to attend the nurse-in personally please feel free to email, phone or fax the facility to voice your concerns over this incident and show your support of breastfeeding rights – anywhere, anytime!

Unfortunately, the Aquacentre in Newmarket is a private facility that charges to use the pool. For this reason, to be able to participate in the Breastfeeding Rights Rally it is required that you pay the fee of $5.25 per swimmer. I wish it was not necessary to pay but the law requests it. We also welcome supporters that would like to be outside with signs. Please bring your own sign! Supporters that will be outside do not need to pay any fee.

If you are interested then please email Carol-Anne Brockington off list ASAP at thebirthden@yahoo.ca. If you do not get a reply within 24 hours then please send another. Please do not contact the facility.

Thank you!

Cinira Longuinho

Breast-feeding Chalange

Are you a nursing mom? Do you want to participate in a nurse-in to help bring awareness to breast-feeding? The Quintessence Foundation is chalenging you to attend the Breast-feeding challenge on October 11, 2008. Christophe and I would be participating but we will be away on our first family vacation that weekend celebrating Geoff and I's second year wedding anniversary. If anyone out there attends a chalange I would love to hear what you tough about it.