International Breastfeeding Week.

I had one of those oddly awesome encounters this evening with one of my neighbor ladies. We were out for a little family walk, husband, son, and myself. One of the long-time residents was out enjoying the mosquitoes and early lightning bugs and came over to the sidewalk to say hello to the boy and to us. This is pretty common, really. The ladies love my son, and my son, in turn, loves the ladies. Anyway, she recognized us as the 'folks who live in that big stone house on the corner over there' and launched into the tale of how her husband had wanted to buy this house when it was for sale, but she'd lived long enough in their current house that if she was going to move it would have to be MUCH farther... and hey, how old is that there baby? He reminded her of her first born, a whopper who came home from the hospital at over 10 lbs. The other three were little nine-pounders like our guy, but that first one, boy. Big. (This is the part where my husband the home birth activist chimes in with "Our kid was born in our HOUSE!! It was awesome!") Upon hearing about our homebirth adventures she brightened up and said "Well, you know what? What's gone around is coming back around. That's something. Would you believe that when I brought home my first boy and was breastfeeding it was taboo. Now women out and about just flip 'em out anywhere and pop their kids on. And you guys. At home? Now that's something." I grinned. I don't even know her name yet, she was more excited to talk than to learn names tonight, but I love her spirit. I love that I was talking to another fellow renegade who just said 'no' to formula, despite its popularity and social acceptability and gave a great gift to all four of her kids. She did this before there were lactation consultants and La Leche League. She did it before it was okay to nurse kids wherever and whenever they wanted to be nursed, and against the approval of her mother. That's big.

It's totally different than the climate I enjoy today. When I went home to visit my family in December, two weeks after E came into the world- my whole family embraced that the boy would not be receiving anything but breastmilk until he's ready for something more. My grandma even told me stories about nursing all four of her boys, and said "you don't need to worry about a cover here, just keep talking, he'll keep eating." My own mother nursed me, my paternal grandmother nursed four healthy boys, and I get to pass that gift down to my own child. I don't even have to stay home to do it like my neighbor likely had to do. I have a nifty little battery powered pump to take to work with me so I can still provide for my child. I also have laws to protect my rights out in the world as I feed my boy. I have women like my neighbor to thank for that.

L.