Tag Archives: breastfeed

A Kickboxer, An Air Stewardess, A Speech Therapist and A Wannabe Playboy Bunny!

Before you read this post, please go over to The Mule  and have a look at the huge list of women and their photos.  There are older women, younger women, curvy women, slim women, blondes, brunettes and even blue-haired women, women with one child, women with more, women with degrees, blogs, their own business, stay-at-home-Mums, and volunteers.

With the furore on extended breastfeeding recently caused by the photo on the front of TIME magazine, The Mule has brought together all kinds of women, normal, every day women, some of whom feel the need to harbour a secret from their nearest and dearest.

They ALL have or still do breastfeed their toddlers.

When you scroll through you might recognise me doing my best (not very good) Playboy Bunny impression.

Such an inspiring post especially the stories where breastfeeding has helped Mums coping with bereavement and also special needs children.  It really helped me when I started to doubt if I was doing the right thing in continuing to breastfeed Pooh Bear.  When you are surrounded by a society which believes that you should stop once they get teeth, start eating solids, can walk, talk, and verbally ask for a feed, it is hard not to be influenced whether it’s what you believe is the right thing or not.

The World Health Organisation recommends that you breastfeed for at least two years.  This recommendation is for women living in the western world NOT in Third World countries.

Women are sexualised every day in the media.  Topless modelling is seen as normal and we have forgotten that actually, women’s breasts’ primary function is to nurture their young.  It is not seen as normal to have walking, talking toddler with a mouthful of teeth suckling from their mother but it is perfectly acceptable for children to see topless women in tabloid papers every day of the week.  Until we stop viewing the female of the species as sexual objects before anything else, breastfeeding babies and children of any age will never be the norm.  I’m not sure whether posting me wearing bunny ears helps show that women can be confident, sexy AND breastfeed or if it further fuels the point that society has a skewed view of women???

I met a family today who when I mentioned breastfeeding to them, replied

“He’s a bit too big for that now!” and “we’d have to pull his teeth out first!”

Judging by their son’s wobbly toddle, I’d say he can’t have been much older than a year and perhaps the same age as my 15 month Milk Monster and I laughed along with them.  I wasn’t offended by their comments, they had their own ideas of ‘normal’ and perhaps I should have told them that I still feed my toddler and that it’s completely natural to breastfeed babies with teeth.

As with most choices nowadays, there is always someone quick to judge due to ignorance.  It doesn’t matter how long you breastfeed for or if you do it at all as long as you make an informed decision and are happy that you were able to raise your children the best way for you and them.

KellyMom has a great article about feeding toddlers and the website has a wealth of information on this topic and all other breastfeeding topics.

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This post was part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt which took place during June 2012.  The Grand Prize Draw and the chance to win a pair of Mamma Pads are now closed.

The winner of the Mamma Pads has been drawn and contacted.

I am pleased to have joined up with Theraline and offer one lucky blog reader the chance to win a pair of Mamma Pads.  Mamma Pads are reusable, silicone breast pads which means that if you leak at night, you can ditch the nursing bra as they stop the milk flow.

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No more wet patches!!! :D

To enter this giveaway (and add another entry to the Grand Prize), please comment below telling me if you have enjoyed taking part in the Scavenger Hunt and if there was anything new you learnt about breastfeeding.

For an extra entry, please tweet ”  #Win a pair of Mamma Pads with @Scattymumofboys @TheralineUK and @KeepBritainBF Scavenger Hunt  http://wp.me/p1Mski-ph ”

and leave an extra comment below.

You have until midnight on Wednesday 4th July to enter this competition which is only open to UK residents.  The winner will be drawn using Random.Org and notified on Thursday 5th July.

 

You might like to pop over to these lovely blogger’s and see what they have written as part of the Scavenger Hunt for National Breastfeeding Awareness week…

Life, Love & Lollipops 

Mummy Constant

Radical Ramblings 

Breast 4 Babies 

Where Roots and Wings Entwine (Bumps 2 Babies) 

Mixed Bag of Allsorts

Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths 

Mama Geek 

You can win a Carriwell Nursing Bra in the Grand Prize!


4 Comments

Filed under Breastfeeding, GIVEAWAYS, Keep Britain Breastfeeding

Twiddles, fidgets and a kick in the face!!!

As I told you in an earlier post, I had to stop breastfeeding Spud when he was a little over seven months old so it has been very different this time feeding Pooh Bear past one year.

He is now fifteen months and it’s a good job he doesn’t bother feeding much when we’re out and about since his size can sometimes make it awkward positioning him.  His long legs dangle off of chairs and he’s a bit of a lump to keep hold of if there is nowhere comfy to feed.

I took a video of him which beautifully illustrates what it’s like breastfeeding an energetic toddler…

He settles down and has a two minute feed.

Then he’s wriggling off and down and is playing peep-po with me from behind my camera,

Then he’s doing a circuit of the room and mischievously taps the TV as he runs past,

Then he’s back over to me being cheeky and laughing,

Then he’s climbing back up for another go, puffing and panting with the climbing effort,

Then he flashes my nipple for a good five seconds before nuzzling in and he’s on,

Then he’s off and running round the room once again.

The original idea for this post was to just have this video up but I decided to leave the nipple flashing to Madonna for now.  I really wanted to show you how fun, and a little frustrating it can be if you’re busy, to feed a toddler but don’t think I’m ready for the whole world to see quite that much of me.

I spent 3 days looking for an online video editor so I could blur my boob out but to no avail and it’s a shame since it is a lovely video and Pooh Bear is very cute.

I mentioned that feeding a toddler can be frustrating which it can be at times.  When you have a tiny baby whose only nutrition comes from breast milk, you don’t mind the being woken at night and the 8-12 feeds per day since that’s what they need.  When you have a toddler who is having a bad day and demanding to be fed at the most awkward times or through the night or keeps bobbing on and off because there is a world of distractions keeping them from getting down to business it can be a little annoying.  He also has a new little game where he asks for a feed (at the moment this consists of a gentle tug of my top and a little whinge) then when I go to pick him up, he runs away laughing only to come back a few seconds later when I’ve recovered my modesty asking to feed again.

He also likes putting his fingers in my mouth, up my nose and twiddling with the boob he’s not feeding from.  Add to that a bit of hair-pulling and the occasional foot in the face, and you get the general idea.

The annoyance doesn’t last long though.  Once he’s latched on and feeding away, the Oxytocin kicks in and we’re all relaxed and happy again.

I had a bit of a wobble a few weeks ago and wasn’t sure whether we should continue to feed any longer.  As I only got to seven months with Spud, I was determined to make it to at least a year this time to avoid the use of formula but the two years recommended by WHO seems an awful long way off and I wasn’t sure I could imagine feeding him when I compare him to Spud at that age.  When we hit the year mark, breastfeeding didn’t seem as important and I started to get itchy feet when it came to getting a bit of my independence back.  When I’m not with Pooh Bear, he doesn’t miss ‘Booby Milk’ but when I’m there he makes the most of it.  He also sleeps in our bed most of the night and it was getting to the point where we were thinking about getting our own space back.

Just when I was starting to think about weaning from the breast, Pooh Bear decided to let me know how much he appreciates my gift to him.

Unlike a smaller baby, a toddler can show real appreciation after feeds and I am rewarded with a lovely grin and sometimes a little singing when he’s finished feeding.  We don’t get that from Spud when we give him food or drink.  We will get a thank you but no song and dance :D

When I think of the bond I have with Pooh Bear, it is different than that with Spud.  I’m not for one minute suggesting that I love one more than the other but breastfeeding means I am connected to him in a slightly different way.  It has definitely stopped me getting broody.  We were considering a third baby and I’m pretty sure that it I wasn’t still breastfeeding, I would have been sporting a bump by now.  That’s not just because of the contraceptive qualities of breastfeeding (very unreliable once baby starts on solid foods) but because Pooh Bear still feels very much like my baby.   I am sure that when we stop feeding, he won’t feel like the baby anymore.  When that day will be, I’m not quite sure but we don’t have any plans to stop just yet and this is a decision the we are all comfortable with.

Scatty Dad was very much of the opinion that once a child can verbalise their wishes with regards to breastfeeding, that should be the point to stop.  He’s definitely mellowed his thinking and doesn’t show any objection to our continued feeding.

There are many benefits to feeding a baby beyond one and there is a brilliant post by KellyMom which is definitely worth a read.

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You have found a Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt Logo!

To be in with a chance of winning the Grand Prize, you must subscribe to the main site and visit the other bloggers sites and follow their instructions.

To get your points for the Grand Prize from this post, please leave a comment below telling me what reasons lead you to stop breastfeeding and if you wished you could have fed for longer, what you would do differently if you had your time over.

For an extra entry, you could tweet “ I’m on the @KeepBritainBF Scavenger Hunt with @Scattymumofboys http://wp.me/p1Mski-sS 

Here are some of my fellow bloggers and other organisations taking part in the hunt so please pop over and have a read of their latest posts too…

Tea with Felicity 

My Thoughts on Things 

My Gorgeous Boys 

Where Roots Flourish 

Little Scribbles 

Attachment Mummy 

School of BabyWearingWe’re a social enterprise promoting babywearing & running accredited babywearing training as well as publishing free resources.  We’re very keen to promote babywearing as a way of supporting breastfeeding – both by keeping baby close & being able to see their feeding cues & by offering additional discretion/hands free support.

Ardo Breastpumps - Our aim is to provide mothers with as many chices as possible in terns of fit, function, comfort, user-friendliness and security.  As an organisation we also pride ourselves on being fully compliant with the WHO (World Health Organisation) code.  We support the practice of breastfeeding with producst of the highest quality and functionality.

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Filed under Breastfeeding, Keep Britain Breastfeeding, Spud & Pooh Bear

The Key to Breastfeeding Success

“We started off breastfeeding but my milk didn’t come in”

“We tried breastfeeding but I just didn’t produce enough milk and baby was never satisfied”

The above are the most common reasons I hear from Mums for not establishing breastfeeding.  Usually when I delve a little deeper, the primary reason for not feeding longer than a few days or a week was that it was too painful.  I speak to so many pregnant ladies who are really worried that when they breastfeed, they won’t produce enough milk to satisfy and nurture their little one.  This is because of the myth which is being banded around by not only Mums but also the media.

It is VERY RARE for women to physically not be able to produce enough milk to satisfy their baby.

The reason milk supply may be short is mostly due to incorrect position and attachment.  There are lots of reasons position and attachment might not be perfect, but the outcome will be the same.

Incorrect latch = Inadequate Milk Transfer = Insufficient Milk Supply

In addition to getting the position and attachment right, free access to the breast is vitally important for newborns.  Feeding on demand is the only way to ensure you produce enough milk for baby in the long term. You CANNOT overfeed a breastfed baby and a newborn who feeds every 2 hours IS being satisfied.  Their stomachs are only the size of a marble and colostrum and breast milk is easy to digest.

Correct Latch = Pain FREE feeding = Happy Mum and Happy Baby

If your baby is not latched on properly, you are more likely to suffer from blocked milk ducts and mastitis and baby will obviously not be getting enough milk and will lose weight.

Like the majority of women and most probably men too, when I gave birth to Spud, I too expected that breastfeeding would be painful and sore at first until you get through that initial week or so.  That cracked nipples, dreading the next feed and feeding with gritted teeth until your nipples harden up is a right of passage.

It isn’t.

In the majority of cases, with the right support, it can literally take a few minutes to have a mum feeding effectively and without pain.

That’s the problem though isn’t it.  Getting the RIGHT support.

If you’d have asked me 3 years ago where the best place was to get breastfeeding support, I would have said go to your midwife.

In most cases this would be a great place to start but not always.  Midwives do not necessarily specialise in breastfeeding.  A better guess would have been a Breastfeeding Support Worker of which we have a brilliant one in our PCT.  You are referred by your midwife when she discharges you from home visits and she can support you by phone, in person at home and at local support groups.  Her sole job is to help women to breastfeed and so has much better knowledge in her field than a Midwife who has a million other skills and abilities.

Your local support group is another great source of advice and support.  Usually run by NHS Health Professionals who have an interest and experience in breastfeeding, Peer Supporters and sometimes Charities like the NCT.

The people who run these groups attend every week and see hundreds of women every year meaning that the advice and support they provide invaluable.  You all learn from each others knowledge and experience.  Also, you meet other Mums who have probably had similar experiences to you.  This is exactly what you need when you are beginning to think you are the only Mum in the world who has a baby who won’t stop feeding or who sleeps too much (yes, babies CAN be too sleepy!).

The great thing about the support groups is that you can keep coming back.  Earlier in this post I said it could ‘literally take a few minutes to have a mum feeding effectively and without pain’ and that is entirely achievable but like most things in life, breastfeeding takes a bit of practice from both Mum and Baby so returning to a support group each week or attending one each day of the week (if you are lucky enough to live in Chester like me) is highly recommended.  You can guarantee, that you can get the latch right with the help of someone else looking at you from a different angle but it can be more tricky getting it right yourself at first.

Online Support Groups are cropping up all over the place and a current favourite of mine is Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths on Facebook.  The admins are Peer Supporters and are great at answering your queries at all times of day and night.  The online groups are brilliant for asking questions you might think are too insignificant to bother your GP or Midwife with and you can receive an answer quickly.  You might be really struggling in the middle of a dark, lonely night and a quick post on the page will see fellow Mums offering support when you most need it. The only drawback is that anyone can answer your query and although 99% of the women who reply to the posts are also peer supporters, breastfeeding advocates, fellow breastfeeding Mums, lactation consultants etc there is always the small risk you might get the odd incorrect or slightly iffy answer back.  I have to say though that the Admins on Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths are always on the ball with regulating the answers as are other ‘likers’ so bad advice doesn’t go unnoticed.

There are also some really helpful phonelines you can ring all times of the day and night for advice:

The National Breastfeeding Helpline number is : 0300 100 0212

La Leche League GB

NCT – number at bottom of homepage

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (ABM)

The Breastfeeding Network

Unicef has a wealth of information and factsheets with brilliant photos of babies latching on.

The natural Breastfeeding stories which used to be passed down from mother to daughter, are now being passed on in blog form.  As with the support groups, reading the heart-felt story of a fellow Mum at four in the morning can keep a mum going until she can seek physical support the next day.

Family and friends can offer invaluable support to breastfeeding mums.  I know ladies who didn’t even consider breastfeeding until their partners suggested it and now they can’t understand why it didn’t occur to them in the first place.  Feeding in public can be vital in order for you to get out and about and lead a normal life and family and friends are brilliant when it comes to supporting you in public.  Without support from nearest and dearest, breastfeeding can be difficult.  To be questioned when you know you are doing your best for you and baby is demoralising and it’s the last thing you need. A sympathetic and understanding ear can be lovely when it seems the whole world is against you and sadly, breastfeeding has a habit of provoking negative comments in this day and age.

All of this support is brilliant if you know how to access it but what happens if you think you are seeking the right advice but you are faced with the worst advice and you don’t know any better?

When Spud was 7 months old, I contracted the Norovirus.  It was horrendous and after a morning of vomiting (and the rest) I phoned my midwife as I was worried about whether I should continue to breastfeed him.
The conversation went a little like this…

Me: “Hi, I’ve got some sort of vomiting bug and I wanted to check whether I should keep breastfeeding my 7 month old.”

MW: “Do you think it was something you ate or an illness?”

Me: “I don’t have a clue, it’s only me who is ill at the moment and my partner has eaten the same as me”

MW: “OK, to be on the safe side, DON’T feed him.”

Me: “Oh, OK.  Thanks”

That was it.  No other advice given. You would think that she might have asked if I knew how to sterilise bottles correctly since formula isn’t sterile and as I was ill this would be doubly important.  But no, all I got was not to feed him.

The abrupt nature of the conversation had me feeling a little uneasy so as I wasn’t exactly bed-ridden yet, I washed my hands thoroughly and decided to I give him one last feed and pick up breastfeeding properly again when I was better.

That was sadly not to be.  What I didn’t know was that the ‘advice’ given couldn’t have been more wrong.

That I SHOULD have continued to feed my baby.

That, by stopping feeding him so abruptly had not only put him AT RISK of contracting the Norovirus but had also put me AT RISK of contracting Mastitis on top of the Norovirus I already had.

That by not protecting my milk supply and expressing when Spud wasn’t feeding, my milk supply dwindled so much so that when I tried to resume feeding five days later, he was frustrated at the lack of milk and it actually upset him to feed.

I also didn’t realise that, I probably could have build my supply back up by expressing and encouraging Spud to feed as much as possible in addition to supplementing him with formula which I could hopefully have weaned him off shortly.

My point is, we can seek advice from others but if we ourselves aren’t in possession of the facts, then how can we know that the advice we are given is correct?

We need to make breastfeeding the norm.  To see breastfeeding daily on TV and in public.

To educate our youngsters, both boys and girls, with the basics of breastfeeding then encourage them to educate themselves further when the time comes.  The breastfeeding rates in theUKare pitifully low as most think nothing of picking up a bottle without even looking in to the benefits of breastfeeding and this needs to change.

I would love more women to think about breastfeeding as an option and educate themselves on what to expect and where to get the right advice and support.

I would love every Mum who gives it a go to be given the support they deserve and hopefully get off to a better start.

This would mean less guilt trips for Mums who really did expect they would breastfeed but didn’t.

There wouldn’t be this politically correctness hanging over breastfeeding advocacy.  In an ideal world, you would be able to preach about the brilliance of breastfeeding and breast milk without offending anyone since everyone who wanted to breastfeed would be.

I feel guilty that I was ignorant first time round.  I actually thought Mastitis was something pigs got!!!! Think I’d seen it on tv at some point :D

If I could have my time over,

I would want to know that I shouldn’t have waited five weeks until I ventured to my local support group – That instead of waiting for my nipples to heal, I should have gone at the first sign of discomfort and saved myself the agony and ensured Spud was feeding effectively from the start.

I would want to know that I should have fed him through illness and could still be feeding him now.

I would be happy that we stopped feeding because Spud was ready and not because of inadequate support and my own ignorance.

I wouldn’t still be angry that our journey was cut short.

I would love if my boys were tandem feeding now but when I see women tandem feeding with their little ones holding hands, I feel only happiness for them.  I don’t feel angry with them for sharing it with the world because I couldn’t.

Women need to stop feeling guilty and start being pro-active.  That could be making damn sure that next time you have a baby, you do a little bit of reading, go to support groups when you are expecting and get all the relevant info before baby arrives.  It could also be spreading the word that education and support are key and help other mums-to-be in that way. There will always be a very small number of Mums who will have a more unusual problem meaning that getting the right support will seem impossible but in an ideal world, with the right support, 99% of Mums are physically able to breastfeed.

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You have found a Keep Britain Breastfeeding Logo!!!

To collect further points towards the Grand Prize, leave a comment below telling me whether you were ready to stop breastfeeding when you did and if you are pregnant, what support are you already aware of in your area?

Hop over to the following blogs who are also taking part in the Scavenger Hunt…

Mummy Is A Gadget Geek – Blogging about baby gadgets, mummy gadgets, breastfeeding and bringing up two kids from a baby wearing, baby le weaning, co-sleeping, trainee breastfeeding counsellor mum-of-two.

Life, Love & Lollipops – My name is Roz.  I am a Midlands based wife, mum of two gorgeous boys (3 & a newborn), friend, sister, serial Facebooker and Tweeter!  Oh, and I kicked cancer.  Twice.  Before I was 30.  This is my story moving on from cancer and getting back to living again.

Mummy Constant -  The little adventure of Noah and the Bump.

Radical Ramblings – a document of my family’s journey through attachment parenting, radical unschooling and living an ‘alternative’ lifestyle.  I blog about breastfeeding, positive discipline, politics, feminism, education and anything else I care to ramble on about.

Breast 4 Babies – I do not have a magic wand that I can wave and every mum can breastfeed with ease, but I have been there, through the milk coming in, the cluster feeding, mastitis, thrush – you name it I have probably been there and bought the t-shirt, so I do understand what you are going through.

Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths – Mums not Myths ~ DBM is a personal blog and an online breastfeeding peer support group which helps mums to find their way through a maze of misinformation and discrimination. 

Blooming Lovely Jewellery Are donating a Bola necklace to the Grand Prize - The Mexican Bola is a fabulous chiming pendant traditionally worn by pregnant women to bond with their unborn babies

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Filed under Breastfeeding, Keep Britain Breastfeeding

Breast Mates Guest Post

Since I started this blog I have ‘met’ so many lovely fellow bloggers and also some brilliantly supporting breastfeeding advocates.  Aly over at Plus 2.4 is one such lady and I am very happy to tell you that I have written a guest post for her Breast Mates series.

She has compiled a library of posts written by Mums for Mums which look at all different aspects of breastfeeding from low supply to feeding a preemie.  They are a brilliant read and are well worth a visit.  I chose to write mine about breastfeeding in public since there isn’t a similar post up already and with my involvement in Breastfeeding Friendly Chester, it seemed relevant to me.  I hope it is different from any other post I have written on the subject and would love to know what you think.

Here is the link to my post in particular – Breastfeeding in Public with Confidence

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Filed under Blogging, Breastfeeding

STOP!!! (Breastfeeding) POLICE!

FOREWARD:

I drafted this post a few days ago when I was feeling particularly enraged.  Thankfully, I decided not to publish immediately and was unsure whether to publish at all to save myself getting worked up with the sheer hopelessness of it all.  Only after speaking to a few Twitter friends and some lovely supportive ladies today have I decided that I need to get it off my chest and I am glad I took the time to re-draft and write a more rounded article containing less capital letters and exclamation marks :D

Anyway, here goes…

I love Twitter and the whole Social Networking scene in general.  It has opened a new world to me and I have had contact with some genuinely lovely, interesting people through their tweets and blogs. There is a real little community living in my phone!   Before starting my blog, I signed up to Twitter but didn’t actually get round to tweeting.  It was completely alien to me and I didn’t have a purpose. I could have followed all the celebrities but I really didn’t know where to start or how it all worked.  I was also living in my own little breastfeeding bubble.

I breastfed Spud until 7 months and he had the occasional bottle of formula before I was given shocking ‘advice’ from a so-called Health Professional and I had to give up. 

I have attended my local breastfeeding support group for over 2 years and I still go with Pooh Bear.

Incidentally, Pooh Bear has never had a drop of formula and he is now 9 months old.

As far as I am concerned, what I feed my babies is absolutely nobody’s business but my own.  A little older and a little wiser since having Spud, I have chosen, with the support of Scatty Dad, never to give formula to Pooh Bear. 

This is a personal choice I have made based on personal experiences and beliefs.  This does not mean, that I judge anyone who decides to do things their own way.  I do in fact applaud this.

If you have visited my blog before, you will know that I am a Breastfeeding Advocate and volunteer my time for a number of projects which support breastfeeding Mums.  I very strongly believe that every woman who wants to breastfeed should receive total support from all quarters.  The media and other camps don’t always make it easy for us, the minority, to breastfeed with confidence.  This is why I am writing this post.

In the UK, most women DON’T breastfeed so why is there a small number of self-appointed ‘Breastfeeding Police’ who continue to judge and push guilt on the Mums who do. 

There is still a part of me which is regretful that I couldn’t feed Spud for longer especially since I am now armed with the information which would have seen me continue.  I also wish he hadn’t had the odd bottle of formula and wonder how much is my own guilt and how much is due to general comments made within breastfeeding circles.

We are having a hard enough time encouraging more Mums to give breastfeeding a go without them feeling like they have to penetrate an ‘elite’ group.  A group which has it’s own secret rules of which I am pretty sure I am only aware of half of.  I am not going to list the usual bones of contention since I would be here all day but the fact that they exist only confuses Mums further and unless they seek proper support, they give up or struggle on when they could find a better, perhaps, ‘frowned upon’ solution.

Can we just get back to the simple fact that we are just feeding our babies.  We are doing this in a way which we feel comfortable.  I am not suggesting that we stop educating for fear of making women feel bad about how they might have done it previously but that it is done in a sensitive, supportive, non-judgemental way to ensure they feel confident and content with their choices. 

Am I the only one who feels this way?

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Filed under Breastfeeding