The Huffington Post puts the spotlight on breastfeeding

If you're a regular ByMomsForMoms reader, you know that I love the Huffington Post. So when they gave me an opportunity to submit what I'd describe as a State of the Union on breastfeeding, I was absolutely thrilled. What an amazing chance to put breastfeeding related issues under the nose of millions of people who otherwise might never be aware of them.

It's a hot topic in our community of women and moms, but for the general public, breastfeeding flies under the radar. My hope is that this article will bring some of these issues to the forefront, right alongside the many other health concerns that are discussed everyday.

Last week, the article I wrote titled, "Breastfeeding: Becoming a Healthier Nation From the Start" ran in the Living section of the online newspaper. It's basically a summary of the most important things that have happened in the last year in the world of breastfeeding. I touch on new research, major controversies that played out in the media, celebrity representation of breastfeeding, new legislation, and what we need to change to get breastfeeding rates where they should be.

I hope you'll click over to read the article, and share it with a friend who might not understand what breastfeeding means not just to moms and babies, but to our entire society.

Mom Blogger of the Week: The Mama Bee

We've devoted a lot of ByMomsForMoms real estate to the discussion of breastfeeding among working moms. Short maternity leave and little support from employers and co-workers make the return to work one of the most serious roadblocks to breastfeeding exclusively for the recommended six months (and for another 6 months with supplemental foods).

So when I met Stephanie, a.k.a. The Mama Bee, I knew she'd be a perfect pick for Mom Blogger of the Week. Stephanie's blog, also called The Mama Bee, is all about the politics of working motherhood. As a mom of two who has been in management positions for over 10 years, she has great perspective on workplace policies that do and don't support women with children.

The Mama Bee uses her blog as a platform to get people thinking about what has to change in the corporate world and our society in general to make motherhood and career go hand in hand.

Here are a few of her posts that I loved. They're definitely worth a read:

Family Policy for a New Age features The Mama Bee's thoughts about what it really means for a workplace to be family-friendly, and how corporations should be thinking differently about the issue.

The Childcare Conundrum examines the impact of legislation that would require parents to pay caregivers overtime if they work more than eight hours a day, and provide them at least one day off per week along with holidays and sickdays.

When Is A Good Time To Have Children? Never. In this post, The Mama Bee explains that while it might be best to wait longer to have children, all women risk facing the "motherhood penalty," which does not discriminate based on age.

When I met The Mama Bee at BlogHer '10, we had the chance to record a quick video of her explaining what she does and why (I think her baby wanted to be interviewed too!). :) Click play below to watch.

Last chance to rename the Healthy Baby Bounty Bag and win $100 gift card!

Earlier this month we asked you to help us with an important project: Renaming the Healthy Baby Bounty Bag. Since then, we've gotten dozens of awesome suggestions and are loving the ideas you've come up with!

Just wanted to remind those of you who have been waiting to post ideas that today is the last day to enter the contest. And it's your last chance to win the $100 gift card! So get cracking.

UPDATE: When I posted this reminder earlier today, I didn't realize that my colleagues were thinking about leaving this contest open for a bit longer! They're so impressed (and so am I) by the names that have been submitted and they're not ready to close the floodgates yet. We don't want anyone to miss out on this opportunity! So keep em' coming. You now have until Sept. 10 to submit a name and be entered for a chance to win the $100 gift card.

If you still need some inspiration, check out the tons of posts we've done about the Healthy Baby Bounty Bag. And click play below to listen to our latest interview with Erik Maurer, founder of Cottonwood Kids, which makes this awesome breastfeeding support bag. It's a quick update on what's happened in the year since the bag was first shipped out to hospitals.

Want to review Lansinoh products or share your feedback?

Lansinoh fans contact us in every way imaginable: e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, you name it. We thought it'd be easier if there was one place to contact us with suggestions and requests. Here's the e-mail address: Reviews@Lansinoh.com.

We welcome your review requests and any and all feedback you have to share. We're always trying to improve our products, and your input is important to that. Also, remember that as always, each request to do a review will be evaluated before we send out products. We have a limit to how much product we can ship out.

Feel free to share this address with friends and family! We look forward to hearing from you.

Mom Blogger of the Week: Amy Mascott of Teach Mama

With the new school year right around the corner, I decided this is a good time to feature Amy Mascott of Teach Mama as our Mom Blogger of the Week! Amy's goal is to empower parents by providing them with simple tools and resources they can use to be the best teachers for their children.

Amy is a reading specialist and high school English teacher, and she shares creative ideas for making learning a part of every day. She has three young children and is always looking for new ways to make learning fun for them.

Here are a few of my favorite posts of Amy's.

Preparing for kindergarten -- the last week. Going to kindergarten can be scary -- for the new student and for moms. Amy has a bunch of great ideas for making the transition smoother, like Hello Teacher notes, lunch box practice, and playdates with soon-to-be classmates.

Asking the heart questions. In this post, Amy describes how she turned her daughter's question about a photograph in a kid-friendly newspaper into a reading comprehension exercise. To figure out what was going on in the picture, she directed her curious kids to the text of the article. Together, they read a sentence at a time and thought about what they'd learned from each new piece of information.

Adding practice with street sign math. Numbers are everywhere. And Amy's kids took notice during a car trip when they came up with their very own math game. After her daughter explained that the four and zero on a speed limit sign added up to four, all three kids started finding numbers and adding them up. Amy explains how she encouraged their game, kept it from getting competitive, and even figured out how to get the littlest one (just 3 years old) involved.

I actually got the chance to meet Amy at BlogHer, and we shot a quick video where we talked about her blog, the conference, and, you guessed it, breastfeeding. You can watch the video on YouTube or click play below.

Cow's milk: Does it belong in your baby's diet?

"Is it OK for my baby to drink cow's milk?"

It's a question I get all the time from moms. My answer usually goes something like this: The only thing a newborn baby needs for the first six months is breastmilk only, and at six months you can start introducing solid foods and other liquids if baby is ready.

So in most cases there's no reason to give cow's milk, which is specifically formulated for baby cows, not baby humans, and is harder for younger children to break down and digest. The components of human breastmilk change depending on the stage of development of the baby. But if breastfeeding isn't an option, then cow's milk and its derivatives (like formula) are a viable alternative.

Then I read John Robbins's article in the Huffington Post, "Female Infants Growing Breasts: Another Disaster From Hormones in Milk Production." This quote from the piece says it all:

"According to the official Chinese Daily newspaper, medical tests performed on the babies found levels of estrogens circulating in their bloodstreams that are as high as those found in most adult women. These babies are between four and 15 months old. And the evidence is overwhelming that the milk formula they have been fed is responsible."

While the article focuses only on cases in China, Robbins also says that as of now, there is no way for consumers to find out whether formula being sold in the U.S. is made with milk products coming from China.

It's scary news. While it still stands that there must be alternatives for women who are unable to breastfeed, the number one most important thing we need to focus on is doing everything we can to support women in the early days of breastfeeding so they keep it up, and avoid synthetic substitutes, whenever possible.

So often moms give up because of pain they could avoid with the right advice, co-workers and family members who don't understand what they're doing and why, and an underlying ignorance about the risks of not breastfeeding. It's our job to educate moms, families, and, why not, everyone else we see about why breastmilk is so important for babies. Don't be afraid to get out there and spread the word!

The Healthy Baby Bounty Bag needs a new name! Think up the winning name and get $100 gift card

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Healthy Baby Bounty Bag ...

Kind of a mouthful, isn't it?

The Healthy Baby Bounty Bag is one year old this month! You might remember last August when the mommy blog world went wild for these awesome breastfeeding support bags, which Cottonwood Kids began offering to hospitals as an alternative to formula discharge bags.

But back to the name of this bag being a bit of a tongue twister. We think that we (meaning, actually, you) could come up with something better. So in celebration of Bounty's first birthday, we're holding a contest on behalf of Cottonwood Kids to find a new name for the first ever breastfeeding-friendly hospital discharge bag. Here's the deal:

• Beginning today, Aug. 19, we're asking you, your friends, your family, your co-workers, and whoever else to submit ideas for a new name for the bag.

• Submit a name by leaving it in the comments of this blog post. Include your e-mail address. Your submission(s) will enter you for a chance to win a $100 gift card to diapers.com. There is no limit to the number of names you suggest, but if there's no e-mail address included, it won't be considered.

• Remember that we're looking for a name that is memorable and meaningful. We want something cool and catchy, but also something that has some sort of connection to breastfeeding. If you need inspiration, flip through the many posts we've written about the bag and its significance in the breastfeeding world.

• UPDATE:You have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Aug. 31 Sept. 10 to submit a name and have a chance to win.

UPDATE: Now here's the fun part. The top five names will be chosen by Cottonwood Kids founder Erik Maurer and the ByMomsForMoms bloggers. We'll announce them here on Sept. 10 13. Then we turn it back to you guys! You'll be asked to fill out a ballot to vote for your favorite name (one vote per IP address). Voting will be open until Sept. 10 17.

The winner will be announced on Sept. 13 20 and they'll get their prize!

OK, I think that's everything. Ready, set, go! Spread the word! Be creative! We need a name that will make this little breastfeeding bag irresistible to hospitals across the country. :)