Nursing past three (Ashland Daily Tidings)

When we sat down to lunch this afternoon, my girlfriend Humaiya, also the mother of three children, marveled at my son Etani, who was putting rice on his fork with his hands and then wobbling it up to his mouth. "Look at him eat!" she cried. "He's not still nursing, is he?!"

"I'm planning to rent a house near where he goes to college," I joked to another friend who asked me in an exasperated voice when I was going to wean my son. "That way he can keep nursing."

Etani turned three in October and he nurses before his mid-day nap and at bedtime. I sometimes nurse him at other times too, when he feels sad or is really overtired or overwhelmed. He settles right down, his whole body relaxes, and he sighs with deep contentment. He doesn't have the vocabulary to tell me in words but if he did I think he'd say that nursing makes him feel safe and protected and loved.



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My Tits and My Toddler Fly the UNfriendly Skies (The Huffington Post)

For the second time in less than a week I will board a now infamous Delta partner flight and lift up my shirt. Some passengers will turn away in disgust. Some passengers will nod in approval. Some passengers will do a double take in the hopes of seeing some action. And while I breastfeed, some passengers will dare to tell my daughter to eat her meal in the toilet.


In the end, it's not the passengers I worry about- I can handle those of you sitting alongside me in coach. I'm wondering if the power hungry flight attendants will see my breasts as a threat to national security or a disruption to the carrier. Will I, or won't I, be allowed to feed my 19-month old on a plane? Just what exactly is Delta's position on public breastfeeding?



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Woman alleges she was kicked off Burlington flight for breast-feeding (Burlington Free Press)

A New Mexico woman who was kicked off an airplane departing from Burlington International Airport after she breast-fed her 22-month-old daughter has filed a complaint against two airlines with the Vermont Human Rights Commission.

Emily Gillette, 27, filed a charge with the commission last week -- a step citizens can take before suing in court -- after a Freedom Airlines flight attendant allegedly told Gillette that she offended her, ordering her to cover up.

Robert Appel, executive director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, said statute prevented him from saying whether the charge had been filed with his office. He did say that breast-feeding is protected under the Public Accommodations Act, meaning that a mother is allowed to breast-feed in public. Gillette's attorney, Elizabeth Boepple, provided documentation to the Free Press of the charge filed with the Human Rights Commission.


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Nibbling Nursers - What to do when baby bites (The Times News)

Most mothers picture nursing as a serene experience, and it usually is. But when Baby gets a few teeth, biting often becomes a concern. Then what? Here are some tips!

A playful nip?
Breastfeeding Melanie Walenciak, mother of two in Tulsa, Oklahoma recalls the first time her baby bit while nursing.

"He had that glint in his eye but he was only playing," she says. "I screamed so loud I scared us both. He would occasionally glint at me after that day but I would say no, no, no and he would giggle. It became almost a ritual. I am glad to say that my son and I had a great nursing experience. He weaned himself at almost three when I was five months pregnant with baby number two."



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Readers speak out about breastfeeding (The News Tribune)

The News Tribune of Washington state invited comment from readers about breastfeeding. Having just heard about The View's latest attack on breastfeeding mothers, I found these letters the perfect antidote.

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Breastfeeding toddler elicits meddling from others

Never have I encountered so much meddling as when people discover I'm still nursing a child who's got eight teeth, a head full of hair and the ability to string sentences.

By their appalled reactions, one might assume I was putting a teenager to breast, not a 20-month-old toddler.

A couple of months ago, I was in a department store restroom, discreetly nursing so that shopping could continue in relative peace. A woman walked in and stared with disdain.

"How old is that child?" she snapped as she placed her parcels on the counter.

"She's in middle school," I lied, kissing the top of my tot's head. The woman made some muffled comment just as the water came rushing from the faucet.

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Breast is Best for Matilda

Alison Barrett's gone public recently on the kind of intimate detail which women tend to keep to themselves.

She's still breastfeeding her youngest child Matilda, who is nearly five years old. It's no big deal, she says.

"Matilda is getting one feed a day, just a little bit of reassurance. It's the longest I've fed any of my children."

Barrett is almost as surprised as anyone about the length of time. She certainly didn't plan to set any kind of record.

Laziness on her part might have something to do with it, she thinks, plus she and Matilda both enjoy it. And there is also the huge volume of international research that supports both the medical and psychological value of extended breastfeeding.



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