Hey - I won something!!!!

http://www.breastfeeding123.com/if-these-boobs-could-talk-giveaway-winner/

Check it out! I won something! I can't remember the last time I won something, and since I've been having a less-than-stellar last couple of weeks, YEAH!!!!!!!

It's a great breastfeeding blog, so you should go check it out!

W Magazine cover - I LOVE it!

Yes, yes, I've been a very bad blogger lately. I just haven't had anything interesting to say, and/or the time or energy to say it. I'm still here, still reading everyone else's blogs.

If you haven't seen it yet, you must click here: http://http://perezhilton.com/2008-10-09-the-photo-everyone-will-be-talking-about to check out the new cover of W Magazine with Angelina Jolie on the cover, breastfeeding.

The picture is beautiful. (Have you ever seen a picture of her that is NOT beautiful? Yes, I have a girl crush on Angelina, and have for years.) But even more than that, if anyone can normalize breastfeeding, normalize breastfeeding in public (on a cover of a magazine for the whole world to see counts as public for me), then it must be her. As a long-term breastfeeder - I've been nursing without a break since March 2004, and both of my sons have nursed for 2 1/2 years, at least - and someone who hopes to help normalize breastfeeding, and make breastfeeding in public more normal and acceptable, seeing someone so public putting it right there for the whole world to see - I'm thrilled. Thank you, Angelina Jolie, thank you Brad Pitt, thank you W Magazine.

Made me laugh

Turner is 27 months old. Still nursing - a lot. More than I'd like for him to be, but I'm not really ready to forcefully wean, and I'm lazy, so we're still going. He's still two months younger than Guthrie was when I weaned him. And I'd like to try child-led weaning, although I'm not sure what my limit is. I guess we'll see.

He just climbed up on my lap to nurse, and who knows why, but he pulled off, looked at the nursies, and said, "Icky. Sick." I told him the nursies were yummy and good and wouldn't make him sick, and then he looked at me, pointed to the nursie, and said, "Compost."

I totally cracked up, and now he keeps saying it.

Apparently, I need to compost the icky nursies. *sigh*

For all those people who think babies *MUST* be weaned by one year, or whatever other abritrary age, and are definitely too old to nurse when they are old enough to ask for it, they just don't know the fun they are missing with a baby who is able to tel you how much he loves his nursies, or, even, that they should go in the compost.

NIP

This is an awesome post about the whole "nursing in public" ignorance that takes place so often. Go check it out. It illustrates how so many people get all riled up seeing a few centimeters of skin exposed for a mother to feed her baby (honestly now - how many times have you seen a woman nursing in public exposing her nipple for any serious length of time, or at all? I don't think I EVER have) while they will tolerate all kinds of skin exposure in magazines, on billboards, in advertisements to sell beer, jeans, CDs, or whatever.

I am convinced it is not about the real exposure that comes from nursing in public (NIP) that bothers people. Most of the time, if a woman is nursing in public, there isn't much exposure at all, and certainly no more than you will see in other places in hot weather when girls are running around in skimpy clothes. It is, I'm certain, the ACT of NIP - the act of breastfeeding in general - that upsets and offends people.

I don't have the time or energy to go into much depth with this, but I think a lot of it comes from our need, as a culture, to overcome nature, to deny that which is natural and biologically normal. This extends to our obsession with hygiene and showering constantly, shaving every part of our body we can, prefering to take drugs to treat our ailments rather than concentrating on the root causes and fixing our diets or lifestyles. Breastfeeding is the perfect example of what our bodies, our most basic human NATURE, can do if left alone and allowed to do what they need, and it it offensive to many. The baby bottle, baby formula, the sterility and unnaturalness of it all, seems so much more safe, and so much less offensive, to the majority.

Remember Demi Moore's magazine cover, where she posed nude while very pregnant? Remember the uproar? It was beautiful. Remember any of the covers linked to in the post above? Christina Aguilera on Rolling Stone, or Janet Jackson on another issue? Where was the uproar there? There wasn't, because they were presenting breasts in their culturally acceptable context - as sex object - not in their natural context - as objects for feeding and comforting a baby.

41 months

I missed World Breastfeeding Week. I've been busy, with Samantha and Stacia (my niece, who will be 16 on Saturday) here, going to the beach, to Mexico, to the zoo, and generally having fun to take any time to sit here and write a blog.

I realized last night that I have now been breastfeeding, continuously, for 41 months.

Add in pregnancy, and I've been giving part of my body over to another (or two other) human being(s) for over 4 years now.

It's become so normal, so routine, that I don't know what I'll do when (if) Turner ever weans. Maybe sleep, and have a really, really, really big margarita.

Birthday Boy

Turner is one whole entire year old today. And cute as can be, if I do say so myself!

Eric had work he had to finish (actually it was a little late) today, so the birthday festivities (cake, ice cream, requisite icing smashed into hair and face) will take place tomorrow.

So we celebrated the day at a Baby and Child Health Expo, at the brand spanking new McAllen Convention Center. It is really really nice, and the Expo was interesting. I've been to these kinds of things before - Auto Shows, Home Shows, and a more general, miscellanous Expo sponsored by a local radio station where I used to live - but never one geared at babies, young children, and pregnant and postpartum women. I went as much because I was curious about what kind of free samples and information would be handed out. The draw of Heidi Murkoff - one of the authors of the "What To Expect" series (also known as "If You Eat Too Many Cookies Your Baby Will Have Three Heads and Your Uterus Will Fall Out of Your Body" with the subtitle "Breastfeeding is for Crazy Women who Wish to give up their Self Identity") just didn't do it for me.

Here is a picture of our take in free samples. And we didn't take half of what was available:

One of the funny things that happened: Turner was asleep when we got there, so I put him in the sling, thinking he might go back to sleep. No chance, but I kept him in the sling, anyway, and Guthrie rode in the stroller. As we walked past the WIC booth, the rep stopped me and said, "Here is our breastfeeding information. You're a breastfeeding mother?" I took the info, and as we were walking away, laughed and asked Eric if it was really that obvious. Apparently so, because every booth affiliated with breastfeeding stopped me to give me information or samples, until I took Turner out of the sling and he was riding in the stroller.

There was formula information everywhere, but I think there were as many breastfeeding booths, too - Avent, Lansinoh, WIC was pushing breastfeeding, and at least 2 other breastfeeding-related groups (whose names I don't remember). Someone did stop us and give a sample of nursery water, which I took, because hey, it's water. Malt-O-Meal gave us a bunch of cereal and cereal-snacks, which were really sugar-rush yummy. (Blueberry yummy) I think we now have more samples of Huggies soap, shampoo, wipes, and other products than we'll ever use, too. It was crazy.

We also got these tote bags, that might be useful, but that advertise for a hospital and say, "Born in Texas." Not one member of this family was born in Texas (fortunately), so I think I'll feel kind of silly carrying the bag, but whatever.

They had one of those inflatable slides there, and Guthrie was really excited to try it, but once it came time (and I'd signed the waiver @@), he got scared. So this really adorable 2-year-old girl took his hand and helped him up, and went down with him. Precious, I tell you, precious. Except now he's figuring out how to get the girls - act all scared and nervous and let the sweet little girl show you how brave she is and help you overcome your fear. *sigh* He's learning these things too early. And then he wouldn't let go of her hand.

So, more pictures of an icing-and-cake covered toddler to follow tomorrow. Guthrie thinks Turner needs a "red" cake and Guthrie needs a "blue" cake. I suppose colored icing will work for that trick.