Eco Child’s Play

Breastfeeding in public is legal.

Not only that, it should not be compared to other natural functions of the body, like urination, defecation, or even–recently heard by yours truly–decomposition. Because poop isn’t food, despite what your dog might think. Breastmilk is.

Unfortunately, many people are still ignorant of this fact and continue to whine about mamas feeding their children in public. So I thought I’d share a few counterpoints, just for the anti-breastfeeding-in-public crowd.

Starting with this:

See, it’s not so much about a woman’s right to breastfeed in public or her supposed “need” to expose herself. It should also be viewed as the child’s right to eat.

Here are a couple of common points I like to make about breastfeeding in public:

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One of the gifts my son received for his 2nd birthday was a subscription to Wild Animal Baby published by the National Wildlife Federation. The magazine is printed on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper. Wild Animal Baby is a children’s magazine for the age range 12 months to 4 yrs.

Wild Animal Baby is a wonderful way to get your toddler involved in reading at an early age. The magazine encourages children to get outdoors and appreciate nature. My son loves to get the mail and often asks to check the mailbox for his monthly copy of Wild Animal Baby.

Wild Animal Baby is just the right size for toddler hands. The pictures are bright and engaging and it is filled with several interactive activities for your child. Including I spy, letter/color/shape recognition, songs with illustration motions, captivating stories, child participation and much more.

My son loves to look for Sammy Skunk! I enjoy reading Wild Animal Baby to him because it is  educational and entertaining. We burn up some good time going through the pages and doing the activities.

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Thank you Green for All!

The poor guy just wanted to watch a baseball game. And then this selfish, nasty woman had the gall to–gasp!–breastfeed in the seat in front of him. Oh, the horror!

So he did what any sane representative for a radio program would do: He Tweeted his disgust. He made sure to toss a few choice words in there, like:

‘crazy‘, ‘no shame‘, ‘rude‘. And don’t forget that ever-popular suggestion, ‘Can’t she go in back?‘

But this so-called radio personality, Tim Mihalsky, had standards, folks. It’s indecent to breastfeed in front of him. That is, unless…

if she was hot, it woulda been a different tweet

But people were watching. It’s the magic of Twitter. Use a term, and anyone following that thread can watch your foot-in-mouth disease as it gets progressively worse. That’s where he came up against Feminist Breeder, a former rocker mom who is from, as DJ articulate said,

Chicago or, some ghetto place like that.

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The formula is simple, and the story has been written and rewritten a million times over. Take Scott Harrison from Charity: Water, who was so moved by his visit to West Africa that he was inspired to start an organization dedicated to providing clean water to people in Africa, and now, the world. Or the story of Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, who was raised on a farm in Pennsylvania and went on to lay the foundation for the environmental movement of the 60’s and 70’s.

These stories share one common thread–empathy. Those inspired to make change connect with their cause empathically, by having immersed themselves in the environment they ultimately choose to support. Their drive and their accomplishments are sustainable because they are empaths.

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Stacey Avarinia, best know for being the woman behind the “drunk breastfeeding” case, was sentenced today in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The judge gave her 18 months in jail but suspended all but 6 months of the sentence.

Judge Sonja Clapp said she could reduce her sentence by getting substance abuse treatment. I wonder, is her allegedly woman-beating boyfriend going to get anger management treatment? Or are we only going to punish the mother, who has apparently been separated from her daughter all this time.

Said Avarinia at her sentencing:

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Kimberly-Clark, makers of Kleenex, Cottonelle, and Scott products has ”set a goal of obtaining 100 percent of the wood fiber for its products — including its flagship brand, Kleenex— from environmentally responsible sources. By the end of 2011, the company will no longer use any pulp from the Boreal Forest unless it is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified. The policy also prevents the company from cutting endangered forests, and increases the company’s use of FSC-certified pulp and recycled fiber globally.”

Finally.

Greenpeace and countless other activists have been after Kimberly- Clark since 2004 trying to get them to stop clear cutting ancient forests, especially the North American Boreal. Read the rest of this entry »

When I think of Angelina Jolie naked, I think, “Breastfeeding.” You too? No?

Just minutes away from Brad Pitt’s birthplace, Phantom-Financial has posted a life-sized park bench statue. It’s apparently inspired by last year’s cover of W magazine, and the statue is just in time for World Breastfeeding Week.

I, too, was inspired by Jolie’s nursing pic. As a lactivist, I think it’s fantastic when women like this show that natural human processes are even done by hot starlet MILFs.

And though the statue is “not endorsed by any celebrity”, WTF is up with the naked breastfeeder? And–gasp!–in public?!

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As you know, today starts World Breastfeeding Week. While we all know “breast is best“, we have varying comfort levels regarding public breastfeeding.

How ’bout plastered on walls around the world, every day of the year?

That’s what the 2010 Rugby Breastfeeding Calendar is shooting for. It’s a calender produced by the UK’s Rugby Breastfeeding Cafe, where women play a full-contact sport while nursing. Oh wait–no. (It’s located in Rugby!)

From the Telegraph:

One photograph shows a half-naked couple embracing with their newborn baby at the breast.

Another features a pregnant woman breastfeeding her four-year-old daughter after a bath.

And one shows a pretty brunette in a revealing bra putting on make-up while breastfeeding her son.

These tasteful, beautiful shots are used to show it’s absolutely hip and “sexy” to breastfeed, while raising money for the Cafe. And it all started with a tiny little £100 donation.

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Am I alone in dreading all the packaged toys my children receive from their (well meaning) friends?  I try to suggest art supplies or other items which will actually get used instead of being discarded after a week of play, but we still end up with a lot of stuff.

Personally, I really like the idea of hosting charitable birthday parties.

After much brainstorming, we’ve come up with a few charitable parties to host with friends (and then have a family party with a few gifts).  This way, our child still feels special and they learn the importance of giving. Read the rest of this entry »