Separation Anxiety

Yesterday Alex went to daycare for an hour and a half. I had been dreading it for several days, as the longest I have been away from him is 45 minutes whilst I went to the Doctor's office for a blood draw. At that time, he stayed with his Daddy, and I think that they ended up napping. But yesterday, he was at a proper daycare with--Strangers. I fretted and worried about how he'd do without me there, if he'd cry inconsolably, reach for me with big tears in his eyes with that "don't go, Mommy!" look in his eyes. As a stay at home mom I was hoping that it would be a very very long time before I had him in daycare, and it was nearly 9 months that we made it, and as previous experience (Z was only 6 WEEKS old when I returned to work and he went into daycare) two days shy of nine months old is purty-derned gud.

I was in the same building, in fact no further than a floor and phone call away. I was sitting in a class with other mothers, and they too, had young babies and children downstairs. The phone would ring and each of us would wait with baited breath to see if our child needed us. One by one 4 mothers were called down to tend to their child's needs. Not I. Nope, Alex didn't need me.

After the class was over, I wents downstairs to pick Alex up, and he had been the "star" baby. He explored, and played, and ate some banana, drank some apple juice, and generally had a great time laughing and playing and doing his own thing. All that fret fret worry fret fret was for naught.

It has been said time and time again that Attachment Parenting philosophies and practices help children become sure-footed and quite independant, and I have to say that anecdotally, with my children, it definately has gone that way. With Z, although I wouldn't spank him, other parenting techniques I did were quite harsh, and I was never really "there" with him. I love him, dearly dearly do I love him, but my ways with him weren't always so loving, and my patience with him was short, and that mixed in with him having ODD and ADHD, well it wasn't a good time for any of us. He was clingy, he had bad bad separation anxiety when I dropped him off at daycares, grandparents' or with his father, and he was quite introverted, and he developed a slight speech impediment. With L, I was "there" with her, more focused on her needs, gentler, more patient. She became very sure of herself, and rarely would we have separation anxiety. She is a happy little girl who makes friends easily and can entertain herself (even when she's not supposed to, or to the detriment of other's eardrums, but hey! she's joyful!) Alex is following happily, noisily, inquisitively in L's footsteps! Anxiety Schmangxiety--bah! I was the only anxious one in this mother and baby team!

Oh and my class? I am going to be a breastfeeding peer supporter! Yay! Lactivism in a truely asked for and positive way!

Today Starts the Nestle-Free Week, Please Boycott All Nestle products

http://lizzardbits.blogspot.com/2008/08/nestle-free-week-is-coming-up-mark-your.html

As you may recall that I wrote and quoted a while ago about the Nestle free week, well it starts today.

http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/2008/10/nestle-free-week.html

http://www.nestlecritics.org/

Thank you for not buying any nasty nestle items this week

Oh yeah, My Take on the Breastfeeding Program

http://lizzardbits.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-am-so-looking-forwards-to-this.html

I little while back I had this blog post^^^ and was excited to see it. There were good aspects to it, such as showing women actually breastfeeding their nurslings, a woman pumping milk to donate to premature babies, and a wet nurse/nanny. All Positive portrayals of breastfeeding, but I was not so pleased with the sensational twist at the end where Kate was serving breastmilk cream with strawberries and breastmilk in shot glasses to a gallery of women in cocktail dresses and men in suit and ties, laughing as people uncomfortably came forth one at a time to try the breastmilk.

On a few UK discussion boards that I lurk at, it has gotten quite a fair few women up in arms about it and sparked major formula feeding versus breastfeeding debates. Unfortunately many women take offence or feel guilty about choosing to feed their babies artificial milk and tend to attack breastfeeding mothers as being "militant" or "hateful" to them. (sigh) If I wanted to attack mothers, nay PARENTS, that fed artificial milk, I'd have to attack myself and my eldest son's father. It isn't parents that breastfeeding advocates (lactavists) are after it is the artificial milk COMPANIES and their unethical advertisements of their various infant and toddler formulas to make their SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN INFERIOR TO BREASTMILK sound just as good as human breastmilk.

Thus the ban on Nestle' products, as they consistently market and sell artificial milk in unethical ways to poor parents, to parents that do not have access to clean safe drinking water, that sells all of the powdered artificial milks as unsterile, yet does NOT tell the consumer that the powdered form is UNSTERILE. As well as refusing to recall artificial milk products when they are found to be contaminated, or even having too much of a particular ingredient that would be life threatening to babies. Through their millions and millions spent advertising, parents have been duped into believing that artificial milk is nutritionally equivalent to the biological standard of human breastmilk, and with made up science, can "protect" babies.

What would make me happy? Some have suggested making artificial milk only available through prescription, I actually disagree with that. I'd like to see a HUGE crack down on artificial milk advertising and cans and bottles of artificial milk with black and white labels only. The labels saying simply "X-Manufacturing Company's Artificial Milk, Based on Cows' milk, Powdered, Non-Sterile, makes X fluid ounces/milliliters of artificial milk when reconstituted correctly." or same with soy or meat based artificial milk, along with health warnings like cigarette packs have on them, "Warning: switching to artificial milk may lead to childhood obesity, diabetes, gastrointestinal distress and/or damage, lower IQ, and in some cases death. If you are having difficulties breastfeeding, please contact La Leche League 1-877-4-LALECHE". No hospital bags with fee samples, no magazines sponsorship, no tv ads, no toys,bib,towels,blankets,onsies,hats,babygear, no pastel stylized bears, bunnies, babies or breastfeeding mothers (!) Just plain black and white labels.

Nestle-Free Week is Coming Up-Mark Your Calendars-Starting Oct 4th!

http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/

We are approaching International Nestlé-Free Week, which this year marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of the current boycott, on 4 October. In the UK children will be returning to school next month (September). Investigating Nestlé and thinking about Nestlé-Free Week and how to make change in the world, may be an interesting activity in the remaining days of the holiday and coming weeks.

The week is an opportunity to change our own behaviour and influence those around us, with the aim of changing Nestlé. Nestlé is the worst of the companies when it comes to pushing baby milk. It uses tactics that break standards agreed collectively by Health Ministries at the World Health Assembly and which undermine breastfeeding, so increasing the risk of sickness in babies, which, in poor settings, mean those babies are more likely to die.

According to the World Health Organisation, 1.5 million babies die around the world every year because they are not breastfed. Nestlé is the worst of the baby food companies and drives down standards for other companies. For example, when Nestlé ran a campaign advertising its formula in South African supermarkets at the end of 2007, the other baby food companies complained and the Department of Health said it was against such strategies. Yet Nestlé says it will continue to advertise its formula with claims that it 'protects' babies, even though it knows babies fed on it are more likely to become ill than babies who are breastfed. See:
http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/2008/07/nestle-driving-standards-down.html

Nestlé is a very big and powerful company. It cares more about making money for its shareholders than it cares about the lives of babies and their families. So what can we do?

In the UK don't buy any of these products:
Coffee - Nescafé including:
Alta Rica
Black Gold
Blend 37
Cap Colombie
Cappuccino
Caro
Decaff
Expresso
Fine Blend
Gold Blend
Kenjara
Nescafé Ice
Organic
Partners Blend

Dairy products
Carnation
Coffee-Mate
Extreme Viennois
Fussells
Ideal
LC1
Munch Bunch yoghurts
Rowntree yoghurts and ice creams
Simply Double
Ski yogurts
Sveltesse yogurts
Tip-Top

Confectionery & snacks
Aero
After Eights
Animal Bar
Baci Chocolate
Black Magic
Blue Riband
Breakaway
Caramac
Chocolate Cuisine
*Colgate Dental Gum
Dairy Box
Dairy Crunch
Double Cream
Drifter
Fab
Fruit Pastilles
Heaven
Henri Nestlé Collection
Jellytots
Kit Kat
Kit Kat Chunky
Lion Bar
*Lyons Maid Ice Cream
Matchmakers
Maxibon
Milky Bar
Munchies
*Nestlé Ice Cream
Polo
Quality Street
Rolo
Rowntrees Fruit Gums
Smarties
Toffee Crisp
Toffo
Tooty Frooties
Walnut Whip
Willy Wonka
Yorkie

Contact lens care
Alcon

Mineral/bottled water
Aqua Panna
Aquarel
Buxton
Contrex
Perrier
Pow-wow
San Pellegrino
Santa Maria
Valvert
Vittel

Other drinks
Build-up
Milo
Nesquik
Nestea

Processed meals
Buitoni pasta & canned foods
Herta
Maggi
*Osem/Tivall
*Rowntrees Jellies

*Cereals
Cheerios & Honey Nut Cheerios
Cinnamon and Golden Grahams
Clusters
Cookie Crisp
Shreddies
Fibre 1
Fitnesse
Force Flakes
Fruitful
Golden Nuggets
Nesquik cereal
Shredded Wheat including: Bitesize, Fruitful, Honey Nut
Shreddies: Coco and frosted


*Cosmetics
Biotherm
Body Shop
Cosmence
Garnier
Helena Rubenstein
Innéov
La Roche-Posay
Lancome
L'Oreal
Matrix
Maybelline
Metamorphosis
Plénitude
Redken

Pet Foods
Arthur's
Bakers
BETA
Bonio
Felix
Friskies
Go-Cat
Go-dog
Gourmet
One
Pro Plan
Purina
Spiller's
Vital Balance
Winalot

I Am So Looking Forwards To This Breastfeeding Program (Progamme)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1048622/Kate-Garraway-faces-outcry-provocative-photoshoot-shows-breastfeeding-calf.html

Kate Garraway faces outcry over provocative photoshoot which 'shows' her breastfeeding calf Crouched next to a calf which she pretends to breast-feed, Kate Garraway presents an unsettling image.

The GMTV presenter posed for the provocative picture to promote a documentary on women who breast-feed other people's babies.

'I'm on a journey to find people who believe milk has to be from the breast, people who buy it, sell it, people who give it away and people who even feed each other's babies,' said the 41-year-old.

'To many this might seem weird, but they challenge us that it's actually much weirder to give our babies cows' milk than it is to drink milk from another woman.'

For the programme, Miss Garraway met sisters who cross-feed their babies and surrogate mothers who produce two gallons a week for donation.

-AND-

“Because of the sexualisation of breasts, we don’t see them as the clever, brilliant things they are. . . . I want to go as far as possible to be provocative and shake people up, without actually being so offensive that I upset GMTV viewers.”

--Kate Garraway

-AND-

If she had another baby and couldn't breastfeed, she still couldn't see herself letting anyone else - but she would buy human milk from a milk bank.

"Before, I wouldn't have, because I'd have found it a bit icky. But I think now that's crackers, because why are we happy about giving it something from a cow's breast, which is another species? The women kept asking me, 'Why are you happy to give your baby milk from another species' - which is what formula is - 'but you're not prepared to give it from another woman?' And I said, 'I don't know. You're absolutely right. I've never thought about it. I'm bonkers.' "

--Kate Garraway

I can't wait to watch this program, which I believe airs Sept 9th. When my daughter was little, I took an Amish woman and her daughter, born a few days after my daughter, to an appointment at the dentist, at which time I had an appointment there as well just 20 minutes before her appointment. I wanted so badly to nurse her baby when she started to root around for some food, but I was worried that the mother'd be upset that I fed her at my breast. Come to find out later, She had thought about feeding my daughter when she fussed for food.

I'd love to be a wet nurse, I'd also love to donate milk, however like my blood now, and that I have lived overseas in a land that has had out breaks of bovine spongiform encephalophy, I cannot donate.

I'll have to report back on what I thought.

Officially crawling

Yes my 6 month old is crawling. I should be over the moon happy that he's reached such a momentous milestone in his development, but I am sad that he's growing so fast. I really enjoyed it that his sister at this age would happily sit for ages and play with her little farm activity toy, and I was really hoping that this little guy would follow suit. Nope, it is just another thing to nail home that each child is an individual. He is very inquisitive and keeps both M and I on our toes.

Last week, we went to a breastfeeding support picnic and we were in the paper! I'll have to get the in-laws to scan their copy and I'll put it on here (if i remember). Alex was very cute in it.

what comes around, goes around

Today, i received, via snail mail, a thank you card and a wonderful hand made little green wooden box with a great vintage-type Spumanti Martini picture on the top. This was from a woman in Illinois to whom I had sent an Avent Isis breastpump. It is an awesome thank you!

My Breastfeeding advocacy pays off in fun and unique ways now!

'Tis pleased pleased pleased that I am!

Yuck

Evil Formula (rant)

Breastfeeding and breastfeeding advocacy is a passion of mine, as well as being pro-intact or anti-circumcision. those are my main "causes" if you will.

I don't get the formula feeding mentality, other than the brainwashing that formula companies do to parents. I belong to a "mainstream" parenting forum and my more comfortable "crunchy" forum. I try my hardest to advocate and support breastfeeding. The formula feeding parents have defended formula there! Defended formula! Like the companies are providing the optimal nutrition and they are run by Mother Teresa or something. These companies are FOR PROFIT. they do not care about specific children, just that they can dupe more parents to abandon breastfeeding and buying more of their product$.

Really, what are the benefits to formula, than to mothers that genuinely suffer from real low supply issues, REAL medical issues, or babies that are allergic to ALL milk, human included. None. Nada. There are more complications to formula feeding, and that are kept hidden from the public in order to make those who FF not feel guilty. I say make them feel guilty if they are perfectly capable of breastfeeding and are selfish enough to deny breastfeeding their baby. read this site The deadly influence of formula in America

If there are GENUINE reasons for formula, there are brands out there that aren't like the huge conglomerates that belch out lies and rake in the $$$. just google organic baby formula, and there are brands there that genuinely support breastfeeding.

i am will probably rant about this throughout this blog...it is my nature to be passionate about things that i really believe in.