I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
Excuse Me, Can I Breastfeed Your Baby?
photo credit: kennymatic
Thursday night Dearest and I dropped the kids off at the grandparents and took off to the store for some beloved us time, and more importantly to get a few things for Evan’s birthday next month. As we were waiting in line to pay the woman in front of me was wrestling with her kids. I’ll admit, I stared hard. As an about-to-be mother of 3 I take every chance I can get to watch mothers with many kids deal with the little every day issues. So as she was trying to get her oldest to put back the chocolate bar and calm the overtired toddler the baby started crying.
Oh, you know the cry. The throaty, deep cry that only quiets for brief seconds as he jams his fists into his mouth and makes loud smacking noises. That baby was hungry.
Even though it’s been months since Trey last nursed and I’m only now getting to the point where my milk is thinking of coming back, the girls hurt. They ached and throbbed and I swear I could feel them swelling with every pitiful sound that baby made. It’s pure instinct, the sound of a hungry baby put my boobs back into action. And you can’t use logic against mammary glands, especially not ones who still remember breastfeeding vividly.
No, I didn’t offer to nurse her baby. I stood there, one arms held firm across my chest, and tried to think about anything other than the fist smacking going on right in front of me.
So when I read this afternoon about Salma Hayek breastfeeding a starving baby, I couldn’t help but smile. I get it, I get the physical pain and emotional pressure to sit there with breasts ready to go and a hungry baby right in front of you. I know some people have sticks up their asses when it comes to breastfeeding, but to me offering to nurse a hungry baby isn’t much different than offering a sandwich to a hungry child. She had it, he needed it, end of story. I like Hoyden About Town’s take on it:
This video could have been done badly, I think, the concept of the privileged person jetting in from far away coming in and nursing the token sick babies, then wandering off again. But for some reason it works in this video, for me. She doesn’t barge in telling people what they need, forcing tinned milk and used ski equipment on them. She asks them what they need – the answer is breastmilk – and she has breastmilk, so she, almost automatically, just sits down and does what needs to be done. It’s rather beautiful, and rather reminds me of the story of the Chinese police officer nursing orphaned babies after the earthquake.
I know there has been a lot of debate about this from every circle, but dammit I’m thrilled that this is getting press. That a celebrity who, whether we like it or not, has a lot of clout is supporting breastfeeding all over the world. The only bad thing is ow I’ll have to fight even more with my boobs. “But Salma Hayek’s breasts get to nurse any hungry baby in reach, why can’t we???” See, you just argue with my mammary glands.
P.S. If you’ve got milk to spare and your boobs are throwing a fit try donating some of it. I did the milk donation thing after I had Evan and was overflowing and it was awesome to know that babies who needed it were getting it. I used the National Milk Bank and loved it.
In some cultures, while not as “advanced” as we are (which isn’t always a good thing), I think it is common for all the women in the group to breastfeed the babies, different babies at different times. They help and support each other.
Kim @ What’s That Smell?\´s last blog post..Military Commissaries SAVE YOU MONEY
I get the same urge when I see hungry babies, or just fussy babies in general. I just wanna scoop ‘em up and stick a nip in their mouth!
There is something about communal breastfeeding that just warms the cockles of my heart. To give something so personal and intimate so freely in such a way that is only caring and loving…well, shoot, it makes my po’ ol’ bleeding liberal heart start a-drippin’.
Jill\´s last blog post..You Know You’re a Redneck Mommy When…
Thanks for linking to my post at Eco Child’s Play. I also wrote about breastmilk donation through MilkShare there.
Most people are iffy about this, of course. But if we, as righteous natural mamas, keep saying “breast is best”, then shouldn’t we offer up a bit of our own if we can?
I’m glad you went to a bank, but also check out MilkShare. Some people can’t afford the “liquid gold” prices at a milk bank (though thankfully, some insurance comapnies help in certain circumstances). Your breastmilk can still help a family who can only afford shipping.
Nice to find a like-minded mama out there! You can also check out my sassy ol’ blogs at http://blog.thenatureschild.com/
Cate\´s last blog post..Sayonara, Phthalates! And the Replacements Are…?
I wish our culture would loosen up a bit. If a baby is hungry why not nurse it? I was watching my niece (who was born a week before my baby) and she was hungry and my baby was full so I nursed her. It’s really no big deal.
Cinnamon\´s last blog post..5 Things I’m looking forward to next week.
Oh yes I absolutely understand! I feel this way the most when I’m around formula fed babies on a schedule.
Thanks for this post!
I cringe every time I see the video…not because I’m anti boob!! (cuz ya know I”m not.) but I cringe at what nastiness is going to be said about it…:(
Summer Reply:
February 18th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Oh gods, the hateful and nasty comments she got over this were just unbelievable.
Thanks for the link! The hate for Salma Hayek amongst the lactation intolerant is just mind-boggling.
Just a heads-up to readers: though the “National Milk Bank” has grabbed a variety of .org websites and set up front collection agencies which are nominally “non-profit”, they’re a front for the venture-capitalist-funded for-profit pharmaceutical company Prolacta. Prolacta don’t donate the milk to sick babies; they sell it at a huge markup. They’re also engaged in aggressive efforts to patent the components of mother’s milk, something that’s very controversial in the bioscience and lactation field.
For Americans who’d like to donate to an actual non-profit milk bank, the HMBANA ones are the way to go.
(NB: I’ve no connection to any of these, and I’m in Australia.)
lauredhel\´s last blog post..Sexy ads on articles about sexual violence