This review was performed by DDL Contributor Kristen.

I was given the opportunity to review a hat made by lcraftanddesign on Etsy.  I discovered her store on Etsy because a while ago I reviewed a hat by MoBoleez, which was made for helping the breastfeeding mom to nurse discreetly by having the baby wear the hat and the brim is so wide that it covers everything.  It quickly became my favorite method of discreetly nursing in public.  The only problem was that my baby kept growing, and then the hat no longer fit her head.  I was in the market for a summer hat for my baby anyway (we spend our days at the beach, the pool and the park) and I figured if I found one with a really wide brim, it could serve a double purpose.

I found what I was looking for at lcraftanddesign’s Etsy store. The hats she sells through her store have such adorable designs that I had a hard time choosing!  I finally chose the “Crazy Daisy” patterned sun hat.  When I received the hat, I could tell that it was well made, in addition to being adorable!  One of the things I liked about it was that it has ties on it to help keep it on my 6 month olds head.  She isn’t too good about getting hats off yet but I know it’s in the near future and there’s always the wind to contend with when outside so the ties help to keep the hat securely on her head. They also help to make me feel secure that when I use it for nursing, I can reliably know that it won’t fall off her head and randomly expose what is going on underneath there!

Compared to the MoBoleez Nursing hat, this one did have a smaller diameter brim, although it was wider than pretty much any other sun hat I have encountered, so while it works well for nursing, it would be even nicer if it was a tad bit wider to make me feel even more comfortable.  The brim itself was pretty floppy, which has advantages and disadvantages.  I loved it because it shaped well to cover things when I nursed, but when she wore it as a hat, it often flopped into her face.  Easily remedied by having her add the snaps to the hat to hold the brim up.  As I stated I love that it ties, but I almost wish it had a hook and loop closure instead of ties. (snap closure available upon request) The reason for this is that I often nurse while I am wearing my baby in either a ring sling or soft structured carrier, and it’s really hard for me to tie it on her head while wearing her (if she isn’t already wearing it).  It would be easier to plop on her head and fasten a hook and loop closure instead.  However, when I’m not wearing her, it isn’t an issue and the ties actually look really cute and are also nice because no matter what size head your kid has, you can tie it as tight or loose as needed.

All in all, I really love this hat for all the purposes mentioned above.  It’s a fabulous sun hat at a reasonable price and I think it’s great to support people on Etsy.  I get so many compliments on the hat and pattern and she sells many different cute patterns in her store so there are a lot to choose from.  For breastfeeding purposes, I do kind of wish the brim were a tad wider (maybe another inch or two in diameter?), but as it is, it still works great for the purposes of discreet nursing, which is a bonus in my book!

If you’d like you can find lcraftanddesign on Facebook!

For the month of August, DDL readers can save 20% on lcraftanddesign’s hats with code: DDL20.

Kristen received a Wide Brimmed Sunhat free of charge for the purposes of this review.  All opinions expressed are genuine and 100% her own.

This review was performed and written by DDL contributor Kristen.

I was given the opportunity to review the MoBoleez Hat, which is a great alternative to a nursing cover.  It is a stylish hat with an extremely wide brim that can be worn by the baby while breastfeeding and it will discreetly cover all that someone could want to cover while nursing.

When I discovered this product I thought it was an extremely amazing idea.  Why had I never thought of this?  Luckily, someone else did and I was able to try it out with my baby.  As I have mentioned in other reviews, I was extremely determined to exclusively nurse my baby this time around but needed to get over the whole “nursing in public” thing.  I was never comfortable with the idea of using a typical nursing cover because I felt like it was like you were wearing a big sign that told everyone you were breastfeeding.  Alternatives like the MoBoleez Hat has helped me to make it much easier and more comfortable for me to nurse in public with my baby.

The MoBoleez Hat is made of all natural cotton/bamboo fabric, which is nice.  It is a lightweight hat, which is great for the summer months or if you live in a hot climate.  The fabrics in the couture collection are made of cotton and a little bit of spandex material.  It is easy to use obviously…just put it on your baby’s head and you are good to go!  It does come in 2 sizes, 0-6 months and 6-12 months.  They were offering a preemie size as well, but it has been discontinued (they still have some available though).

Tropical Tiles Design

I really loved using the MoBoleez Hat with my daughter.  It is easy to use, lightweight and I can toss it into my diaper bag and it doesn’t even get wrinkled!  I think it’s an amazing idea for someone who wants an alternative to a traditional nursing cover and yet it provides just as much coverage, without being so obvious as a nursing accessory.  In fact, I have used it a few times as a sun hat and when nursing, I have had people come up and compliment me on Suriah’s cute hat (I was reviewing the couture “tropical tiles” hat).

Kristen, Suriah (in Beco), Emerson (in stroller), Me, and Fletcher (in Boba)

I do have a few suggestions though.  I would LOVE to see more designs.  The classic collection has illustrations on them and are cutesy, but cutesy isn’t my thing.  I would like either plain colored hats or simple designs that are more adult-like.  The couture collection has a few nice designs but there are so many nice fabrics out there, I would love to see them offer some different designs.  Also, I was reviewing the 0-6 month size hat.  My daughter has a slightly smaller than average head circumference (30^th percentile) and at 5 months, I feel the hat is a little too small for her head.  It fits because it is a nice stretchy material, but I would like to see a chin strap or something so that the hat doesn’t slide its way off her head.  Also, as a modest person, I think the chin strap might be a good idea to assure me that the hat won’t fall off and expose my boob to the public’s eyes!  I LOVE how wide the brim of the hat is and it really makes the difference with coverage, but I would like to see it have a little more structure to it.  It’s pretty floppy, which is nice in that it molds well to the curves of your breast to keep things covered well, but if the wind blows hard in just the right way…it might jeopardize your coverage.  Also, if it had a little more structure to it, I would be able to use it more as a sun hat as well and it would be the best darn sun hat out there, in addition to being a fantastic nursing cover.

All in all though, even with the slight adjustments I would like to see, I think the MoBoleez Hat is a great product and as of right now, it is my favorite nursing cover.  With it being so hot lately, I haven’t wanted to cover up by wearing layers and some of the other nursing cover alternatives I have require more preparation to cover up.  The MoBoleez Hat is easy and it protects my baby from the sun AND it’s cute.  I can’t think of another nursing cover that does all that as well as the MoBoleez Hat!

If you would like to get your own Moboleez you can find them on DDL Affiliate, Amazon.com or Moboleez.com.
Moboleez Nursing Hats- Amazon.com

Kristen was sent a product sample for the purposes of this review.  All opinions are 100% her own.

The news has been dismal lately.  Every single day I see a new attack on breastfeeding. I haven’t addressed any so far because there have been plenty of other bloggers out there doing it for me.  Today was my breaking point.

Attacking breastfeeding suddenly became the thing to do.  Perhaps the attention that Kim Kardashian received for her tweet regarding nursing in public as “gross” made another “celebrity” think this was her chance to grab the spotlight for a moment.

Img: Hollywood Grind

But because this “celebrity” is Adrianne Curry (I use celebrity in quotes for a reason) she has to go further than the word gross.  In fact, if you go through her tweets she compares breastfeeding to “pooping, peeing’ masturbating, and cunnilingus”  She goes on to say “But to each their own”  This qualifier doesn’t make what was said acceptable.  That is like saying “I don’t like *insert ethnicity here*, but to each their own.”

She admitted she would get blasted for it on Twitter.  And she got some comments, though due to her caliber of followers, most cheered her on and added their own graphic metaphors for what breastfeeding in public is like.

Adrianne also admits that she was not breastfed and was told by some doctor she can’t breastfeed because she has implants. Second opinion?  Because most mothers with implants have gone on to successfully nurse their babies, including Kendra Wilkinson.

Obviously society failed Adrianne, who has had zero exposure to breastfeeding in her life.  And her persona is based upon her appearance.  Her life is wrapped up in looking good and having nice tits.  If her audience saw her nursing her baby they might not associate those breasts with sexy so much as they see them for their intended purpose.

A part of me understands how some women like Adrianne, and the author of the hotly debated article “I Formula Fed.  So What?’” have come to the conclusion that breastfeeding is “creepy.”  I myself, as a teen’ swore I would never breastfeed because these knockers were for entertainment purposes only.  Becoming an adult changed my mind.  I realized that is what they are there for.  I grew up.  I didn’t need an ad campaign to show me breastfeeding is normal. But some people do and I am grateful for groups like Best for Babes because they will change things for the better.

I am still at a loss how a mother like Kathryn Blundell can still deny the maternal instinct to breastfeed.  Even those who choose to formula for work/ supply/ etc issues usually try, and will admit breastfeeding is the thing they should do if they could.  Adrianne, on the other hand, has not yet experienced motherhood or the way it can change you.  While there is no excuse for blasting breastfeeding, especially in such a vile and public way, we can only hope she will change her mind one day and that her opinion doesn’t rub off on the impressionable youth.

I’d love to hear your thoughts!  Have you always wanted to breastfeed?  Did you ever think it was “gross?”  What changed your mind?

Photo Credit: Flickr, AFP PHOTO/PHILIPPE DESMAZES

This article was recently brought to my attention, however it appears that it is 4 years old.  Since the first publishing Rabbi Shmuley has since apologized.  I address that at the end of my response.  No matter how old the article is it is still alive and kicking on the internet and doing damage to new and expecting mothers, perpetuating “booby traps.“

Recently I read the article by Rabbi Shmuley titled “Moms, Don’t Forget to feed Your Marriages” which may as well have been titled “Moms, Screw Nature, Use a Bottle and Give your Husband a Blow Job.”

While I agree being a Mom sometimes makes being a Wife a chore, I think most husbands (good ones that is) will concede that taking care of your child is the priority.  This includes breastfeeding them for as long as the mother and child wish.  In the article, 11 months is thought to be too long!  11 months is a great acheivement, but not all mothers wish to stop there.  As much as my husband would have liked having me back 100% and our bed, he knew how much breastfeeding meant to my son and I.  Plus, he didn’t have to wake in the middle of the night to feed him.  PLUS, any time my son was cranky, I had these magic things that instantly shut him up.

Even if you take breastfeeding out of the parenting equation, marriage still isn’t easy.  Raising a child is a 24/7 obligation.  One that leaves little time for romance and sexy time.  Showering is a chore for most moms if they stay at home.  Then there is the constant house cleaning, dish washing, butt wiping, tamtrum handling, and toddler wrestling.  By bed time most days I just want to veg on the couch and eat ice cream, with or without my hubby.  He is also tired from his day job and night time toddlering that he appreciates the quiet time by playing video games.  These things make us happy, but don’t necessarily equal a candle lit dinner.

In truth, we have been trying to prioritize our marriage by going out alone at least once a month.  Somehow this keeps getting put on the back burner.  We have to find a sitter and arrange somewhere to go.

I am not even breastfeeding anymore!  But our lives are less than sexy sometimes.  The Rabbi wants to see happy, in love couples.  And breastfeeding supposedly makes that impossible.  Really?  Because even while nursing my husband and I took time to hug, to kiss, to cuddle, to say “I Love You” in front of our son, or not.  Being in love doesn’t mean having sex like you are teenagers.  Any married couple knows sex in college and sex after kids are not the same.  Being in love means loving each other even without the crazy drunk pre-kids sex.

Saying breastfeeding turns your husband off may or may not be true.  But that shouldn’t even matter.  I personally got to a point where I wanted my breasts to be left alone by everyone.  I assure you though, my husband never lost interest in them.  And my husband saw me give birth as well, and he still loves me!  He didn’t get “all up in that” but he saw things.  More things than I saw.  Yet we still managed to make another human baby, and I was breastfeeding then too!

Regarding nursing in public, the Rabbi has it all wrong there too.  Some men let their wives run around half naked for the world to see.  To each their own.  But when a mother has the top half of her breast exposed (or not even) this is considered indecent or overexposure?  This will extinguish the spark?!?!  Rabbi, do you know men?  Men get turned on by waking up in the morning.  I think they can deal with their wives feeding their own children on a park bench without a blanket over their heads.  You know what this made me think of?  This reminded me of conservative Muslim women who have to wear burkas in public and only their husbands can see their bodies, any of it.

Articles like this do a disservice to potential mothers.  Women who love their husband and want nothing more than to have a relationship with them even after the baby comes.  Will they choose to formula feed for fear of losing an intimate relationship with their husbands?  Maybe.  Is that necessary?  No.  Plenty of women breastfeed their children for 1, 2, even 3 or more years and still have a loving relationship with their husbands.  And plenty of women formula feed and don’t.  And Vice Versa.  I can’t say there aren’t men who fit this article.  But those men suck.  If your husband can’t be adult enough to get over breastfeeding, you don’t need him.

*** After I wrote this, but before publishing it, someone posted a follow-up by Rabbi Shmuley since he received quite the backlash from his writing.  The article orginally appeared 4 years ago and looks to have been recently republished on Beliefnet.com.  His response can be read on his website. Still, even after apologizing and back pedaling, the damage was done.  Not only to his reputation, but to potential influential readers of his old article.  His first article comes off as misogynistic which he acknowledges.  I understand the point he is trying to make, which is valid, but he did it all wrong. Still, I find the apology a small step compared to the weight and tone of the first article.

When I think back to the many, many times I have nursed in public I notice there is probably a reason no one ever uttered a word to me about it:  I looked like I was doing what I should be.

Most new mothers fear nursing in public more than anything else.  I did also.  I feared showing too much skin, I feared having people confront me, and I feared making others uncomfortable.  I covered myself with a nursing cover and was constantly checking on the baby to see that he was breathing and eating.  It was the least natural experience.  I tried to schedule all of my outings to be right after he nursed, or I would top him off before we left.  No outing was more than 2 hours since I had to be home to feed him again.  It was miserable.  My husband was also paranoid about nursing in public.  He was watch as I did it and if the cover slipped, he would position it back, even if it was my should that was visible.

Eventually I learned that using a cover wasn’t for us.  My baby hated it, and it was a pain.  I started dressing in layers or wearing nursing tops. I would sometimes use a blanket to cover while I latched my baby because that was the one chance someone had to get a nipple shot.

At the time by son was 5 or 6 months we were nursing in public pros.  By the time he was a year I had nursed all over.  Caves, planes, restaurants, parks, amusement parks, public functions, a duck boat, a paddle boat, etc…

Not once did a person tell me to cover up.  Never did someone roll their eyes at me and “tisk tisk” at the obscene act I was committing.  I was always, always prepared with my witty comebacks if someone asked me to put a blanket over my head or feed my baby in the bathroom.  At times I would have an entire dialogue running, playing out the way I was going to make those people wish they had never confronted me.  I almost wished someone would say something, just once, so I got a chance to use all of my comebacks I had been storing up for months!  Fortunately, no one did.

I nursed in public for about 15 months until we weaned down enough to only nurse at home at night or for naps.  But why didn’t anyone ever say anything to me?  You read all of the time about women asked to leave restaurants and public buildings because they were nursing.  And it isn’t geography.  I have nursed in my own town plenty, but in other places.  Rural and urban.  Salisbury NC and Las Vegas NV. I have nursed in front of all classes, the uppers and the lowers and in between.  Certainly someone should have said something.  Maybe they wanted to…

I am a firm believer that confidence was the key to my success at nursing in public.  I was stealthy, I learned how to get my baby latched and in position to keep the key parts away from public view.  I never looked around nervously to see if anyone was watching, or skulked to a corner to feed my baby.  In the company of friends I may have turned around to latch my son and returned, but not always.  I looked like I was doing what I was supposed to be.  There was never a doubt.  I was feeding my son the way it was intended.  He needed to eat.  I had the food.  How else was I supposed to feed him?

When I hear of nursing mothers who are so afraid to nurse in public they pack formula for trips or pump milk in advance, I get sad.  I want to tell them all that they can do it!  They too can nurse in the public eye without fear.  And you know, if someone comes and says something to them, they can rip that person a new one.  Not only is it the LAW that women can nurse their children in public, but it is the baby’s right to eat.  In some states, there are even laws protecting mothers against persecution from obscenity laws or public nudity laws (NY State does) so if something is seen, it is still under the umbrella of breastfeeding, therefore it is not “nudity” or “obscene.”

I always urge women to educate themselves on their rights to be prepared.  But if you look like you are feeding your baby in the most natural way possible, I have a feeling those naysayers might not want to pick a fight.

Let me first say that I love breastfeeding.  And I love that I have been able to nurse my son for 17 months now.  I never thought we would make it this far.  I was happy to see six months, then a year.  Then a few months after he turned one I found out I was expecting.  It wasn’t a shock; we weren’t trying but we weren’t preventing either.  I didn’t even have my first post partum period until 5 days after my son’s first birthday.  With extra long cycles I had only had two before I took that test.  I feel very fortunate that we were able to get pregnant while I was breastfeeding at all!  I do not take my fertility for granted one bit because I know others who struggle.

After the idea of being pregnant settled into my brain it hit me: my son is still nursing like a fiend.  I knew weaning wasn’t an immediate option, though not out of the realm of possibility.  I had already hit my earliest set goal of one year.  I understood making it to two years is what is recommended and I fully expected to reach it.  When I found out I was pregnant my son was nursing on demand 3-8 times a day and sometimes at night.  He had reached a stage where he was mobile and would walk over to me and lift my shirt.  If I were bra-less (usually this was normal early in the morning before I had a shower) he had free access to “milkies.”

Frankly, this wasn’t my style.  I was happy to nurse him but being treated like a buffet, and not as gently as one would like, was wearing on me.  Also, the fact that he would paw at my shirt in public wasn’t my style.  I did (and do if needed) nurse in public and will never shy away from that.  However, I didn’t want this behavior to continue.

I finally decided I had to take it back a notch.  No longer was my son going to saunter over and latch on forcefully with his 8 little teeth, then hear a tune and rip away to dance, then hook back on when finished.  I decided to restrict his nursing to certain times: Mornings (my favorite!), naps, and night time.  Also, if ever there was a need for comforting, I would nurse then as well.  This turned out to be a challenge.  He has gotten very used to walking up to me and reaching for them, or signing for “milk.”  It was very hard to see him sign for me, and I caved many times.  My tactic was to distract him when he was bored and just wanted milkies.  I would either offer him a sippy cup of milk, or play with him, or cuddle him.  In 1-2 weeks he had gotten used to the new routine and all was well.  Since most of our nursing coincides with going to sleep (I nurse him to sleep for naps and nights still ,mostly) he now signs for milk when he is tired too!

That has been going on for a few months now.  I had originally intended on paring him down slowly until he is weaned.  My son has other plans.  He would actually wake up once a night every day that I had only nursed him twice.  He demanded his third feed come hell or high water.  Eventually that changed, mostly because he started sleeping in our bed again!  Oy!

So what am I to do? I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I am likely going to be tandem nursing.  Ask me 2 years ago if I thought I would be nursing a toddler and a newborn and I would have asked if that was even possible, then maybe laughed at you.  Now I know that many mothers have done it.  I will be buying and reading “Adventures in Tandem Nursing” soon.  Is this how I want to go?  Frankly, no.  I would also like my son to fall asleep without nursing.  This is the big stumbling block.  He sleeps a few hours in his big boy bed, then walks to our room where he either nurses and falls back asleep, or just cuddles and falls asleep.

What would you do in my shoes?  Push the weaning?   Or accept that he loves to nurse and prepare for double duty?

***Update.  Since I wrote this a few days ago we have dropped the morning and afternoon feeding, but he still nurses 1-3 times at night!  I might not have to tandem afterall, but nights are going to be hard to get rid of.  Any ideas?

This post was written by Kristen, DDL contributor.

I love milk.  I also happen to love ice cream…and cheese.  A LOT.  I typically would drink 2 gallons of milk a week, just myself.

Why am I telling you this?  Because 3 months ago, I was told by my daughter’s pediatrician that in order to keep breastfeeding my 5 day old baby, Suriah, I would need to cut all dairy, eggs, soy, nuts and seafood out of my diet.

I had no idea what was left to eat!!!

It really wasn’t a laughing matter though.  At only 4 days old, I was changing Suriah’s poopy diaper, only to discover that it wasn’t poopy…it was blood. I calmly called the on call doctor, who told me to save the diaper and bring her in the next day.  (How I managed to not rush her to the ER is beyond me!).  Before I was able to bring her in the next day, she had about 5 more blood-filled-diapers.  At the doctor’s office it was confirmed that it was in fact blood (I had been hoping I was wrong of course) and that because Suriah appeared otherwise healthy, it was most likely due to a severe allergy.  Whatever she was allergic to was actually causing her intestines to bleed.

After consulting with a pediatric gastroenterologist, it was decided that if I wanted to continue to breastfeed, I would need to seriously change my diet.  And if I chose to not breastfeed, then Suriah would need to be placed on a very expensive, prescription-only formula that is just amino acids.  Her pediatrician told me that it was healthiest for Suriah to get breastmilk and advised that changing my diet was the best thing for her if I could really stick to it.  Breastfeeding my first child didn’t work out as I had hoped because she needed to be supplemented with formula and other problems led to me drying up at 5 months, so before Suriah was born, I was determined to exclusively breastfeed her.  I had been planning and preparing and mentally working on the idea of breastfeeding in public…and then I was told that I needed to change my diet so drastically that I honestly didn’t even know what I would be able to eat anymore.  Oh…and did I mention that I already had a weird diet?  Yeah, I haven’t eaten red meat in about 20 years and I don’t eat any meat off the bone.  I’m really not a big meat eater.

Image from Babble

Lets sum that all up…

*pretty much no meat

*no soy

*no dairy

*no eggs

*no nuts

*no seafood

What the heck is left?!?!

When I got home, I realized that even my bread had milk in it! Giving up dairy was going to be the hardest sacrifice, especially when I realized that dairy was hidden in a lot of other things as well.  But I was dedicated.  It definitely tested my dedication to breastfeeding.  In fact, I had a few friends tell me that they would just switch over to the formula…that it wasn’t worth it to sacrifice so much just to breastfeed.  Even my own family was not supportive of me breastfeeding at this point.  But I did have some friends who supported me and also helped me figure out some things I could eat.  And the fact that the special formula cost $50 for a 14oz can was also a huge motivator to continue to breastfeed as well.  Plus, I had some serious issues with her latch and went through a tough time getting adjusted to breastfeeding…there was some serious cracking and bleeding nipples going on!  I called La Leche League and visited a lactation consultant…and continued to try to figure out what I could eat.

At 8 weeks, Suriah’s pediatrician allowed me to try to work something back into my diet.  She didn’t want me to choose dairy, so we started with soy, as that gave me many more options of what I could add into my diet.  Over the course of the next few weeks, I had to take soy out of my diet again, but then was able to work it back in.  Now that Suriah is 3.5 months old, I am happily also able to eat nuts and seafood as well.  It seems that her severe reaction was most likely caused by a protein allergy to dairy and eggs.  Right now I am not sure how long I will have to go without dairy or eggs, but it’s possible that she may have the allergy forever because her reaction was so severe.

Having to sacrifice so much in my diet, especially some of the things I love most (I consider myself an ice cream and cheese connoisseur), has definitely made breastfeeding much harder…but it’s also made it more rewarding, and as an added bonus, I feel really proud of myself for being able to exclusively breastfeed my daughter for over 3 months and to watch her thrive and grow because of my milk.  Breastfeeding isn’t easy.  It’s hard in so many ways, especially when it doesn’t go as smoothly as you plan, but it’s worth it.  It’s worth not having a big glass of milk with my oreos, or milk in my cereal, some smoked gouda cheese or some of the Guinness ice cream at the new ice cream shop in town (who wouldn’t want to try that!?!?!)…because I know that I am giving my daughter the best nourishment I can, regardless of the sacrifice I have to make everyday.  I love exclusively breastfeeding more than I ever thought I would…but I also can’t wait to try some of that Guinness ice cream some day!

A few weeks ago I was particularly bored and trapped in the recliner as my 16.5 month old son napped on top of me.  With the clicker in hand I was determined to find something good on TV.  Shockingly, my DVR had nothing to offer.

I hit pay dirt when I saw Roseanne on Oxygen.  I tuned in and was immediately smiling at the reruns I had already seen but still loved.

I happened to be tuning in to season six, the one where Jackie gets knocked up by Fred and has a baby.

So imagine my surprise when I see this:

Hello leaky boobies!

Even better, her boobs activated (or, lactivated, get it *snort*) when her baby began crying.  When have you ever seen leaking breasts on TV?  What a frank and honest look at breastfeeding.  I know some of you out there have had some funny and embarrassing (aren’t those two things usually combined) moments where your breasts leaked at the worst time.  It happens, we all have a chuckle, and we change.  I happen to be one of the lucky ones who only leaked in the very beginning when I was engorged.  But every time my son popped off a little too early and milk went squirting, I couldn’t help but laugh!

I thought it was even better that her milk let down because her baby was crying.  The writers on this show much have been breastfeeders, or married to one.

Towards the end of the episode Jackie is in her wedding gown, about to walk down the aisle.  Downstairs, her son Andy begins crying.  Uh oh.

But you know what the best part of the episode was?

She nursed her son while saying her vows.  Oh yes she did.

But wait….

She had to switch sides right before she said “I do.”

I have always, always loved Roseanne.  This episode made me love it even more.  I was actually crying a little bit when she was nursing her baby in her wedding dress. Not so much because she was wearing a wedding dress, but because she was nursing her baby on a TV show.  She was doing it because it is what you do.  When you have a baby, you breastfeed.  When your baby is hungry, you nurse them.

Want to know something else?  Jackie coslept with her baby too!  Who knew there was such an AP mom on a 90′s sitcom!  Now if only there were breastfeeding mothers on today’s shows.  And ones who are having a positive experience and stick with it.  If you do see a mother nursing, she is cringing and complaining, then grabs a bottle and gives in.

Even on the reality shows like “Bringing Baby Home” the mothers mostly start out nursing their newborn.  They struggle, just like most mothers do.  Then they are shown six weeks later giving their baby a bottle almost every time.  Granted, there are exceptions.  I have seen one episode of a mother who was happily nursing her son months later and who spoke frankly of her trials and tribulations before she had it down pat.  Totally normal.  But those are the women we need to see; the ones who made it past the first 2 weeks, the first 2 months, and even *gasp* 6 months.  I am at 16.5 months and still going strong (while pregnant.)

I am thankful that organizations like Best For Babes are working to expel “Booby Traps” and put the word out that breastfeeding your baby saves lives.  Having positive female role models breastfeeding on TV and in Movies will help! I want to see another Jackie on a modern show, booby leaks and all!

This review was written and performed by DDL contributor, Kristen, and is part of March’s New Baby Event.

I think the Baby Bond Nursing Sash is very possibly one of the most useful baby items I have.  I am exclusively breastfeeding my second daughter, which was my goal, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to go through with it.  I am a very active person who can’t stand sitting around the house.  I am also a very modest/conservative dresser and was very apprehensive about nursing in public places.  It is one of the reasons why I was not able to exclusively breastfeed my first daughter.  I wasn’t comfortable breastfeeding without a cover but I wasn’t comfortable using a cover because I felt like it was glaringly obvious what I was doing.  So, this time around I was determined to find some way to overcome being uncomfortable nursing in public so that I could exclusively breastfeed.

The Baby Bond nursing sash has made that possible for me because it is a sash that goes around you with two fabric pieces in the front, one to each side of your breast and your baby can latch on in between while the fabric hides all of your breast.  It’s great because you can see what you are doing, which is important for me because both times my girls have had trouble latching and with my first, it was so hard to get the latch right while trying to hide under a cover.

BabyBond™ nursing accessories cover mom, not her baby. Mom is able to maintain her modesty. Baby remains uncovered benefiting from the infinite opportunity to make eye contact, interact, and communicate. After all, dining is social.

It is also fantastic because it isn’t really obvious what it is or what you are doing.  Most people will just think you are holding your baby, which makes me more comfortable with nursing in public.

The Baby Bond comes in 3 styles: original, flex and couture.  The original and flex appear to be a similar style, with a closed fabric sash that can be used for nursing from the top of your shirt.  They both also come with a built in terry velour burp cloth.  The couture was the one I reviewed and it can either be worn as a cover for when you nurse from the top, or you can wear it as a belly band if you lift your shirt up to nurse and want to cover your belly.  The original and flex come with a matching storage pouch, and the couture rolls up into a self storing pouch for neat and compact storage, which is nice.  It comes in a variety of basic colors to choose from, but it would be nice to see a larger variety in the original and flex styles.

I love my Baby Bond nursing sash and make sure to always have it in my diaper bag and ready to use.  I think it will be one of the best products for someone who wants to keep their modesty and be able to nurse discreetly without having to cover their baby under a nursing cover.

Baby Bond would like to give one lucky DDL reader their own nursing sash!

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Babybond.com and tell me either your favorite Sash style and why, or something about the designer.

For extra entries do any or all of the following.  Leave a comment for each you do.

Follow @KimRosas on twitter and tweet this giveaway. Please tweet, “@KimRosas and @babybond want you to win a fab Baby Bond Nursing Sash. http://ikmm3.th8.us  #bfing Ends March 22”  Leave a comment with a link to your status.

You can tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Leave a comment with your status for each tweet.

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Giveaway ends on March 22. Winner will be chosen using random.org. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be drawn.

***Open to US and Canada***

The reviewer was not compensated for this post however the product sent for review was kept.

I was very late to the party.  I only learned about Discovery Health’s show Radical Parenting a few days before it aired, after catching a tweet about it.  I immediately set my DVR to record but ended up watching it live: a rarity in my home.

Before the show aired I learned about the controversy over the term “radical parenting.”  The show itself featured three families: an “unschooling” family, a family who practiced “attachment parenting,” and a family who raises their children in a “gender neutral” environment.

I will admit to not being into homeschooling, and definitely not unschooling.  I still watched the segment with an open mind, hoping to have it prove to me that unschooling is a viable method to educate children.  Frankly, that didn’t happen.  While I support families making choices for their families that work for them, I know unschooling is not for me.  I was happy to see that both parents were very well educated, so they have the tools to teach their children.  And, in a way, knowing they had both been to college and made the decision to unschool did carry some weight with me that maybe it wasn’t completely crazy!

The second segment followed an AP family.  If there was a rule book for AP living, I believe this family would be following it completely.  The highlight of this portion of the show was seeing a child ECing!  They were so good at EC that they didn’t use diapers, and never had.  Part of their success had to be contributed to the fact that their son was worn in a sling the majority of his life.  His cues partly involved squirming out of his sling when he needed to go to the potty.  Extended breastfeeding was also discussed, and the mother was even shown actually nursing!  Pretty cool!  This family also coslept with their younger children, something I was also happy to see on TV.  They did have to bust out the “crazy” a little.  A placenta was involved, but not to be eaten, just to plant.  A-ok with me.

The final segment had The Feminist Breeder‘s family talking about their lives as a “gender neutral” family.  They happened to come off as the most “normal” of the three, and had a very likeable family.  Their purpose was to raise boys who were feminist minded.  They allowed their boys to play with boy and girl toys, and liked to show both parents playing male and female roles interchangeably.  I agreed with everything they did, but I think calling it a name was not needed.  It seems to me it is something most parents do.  I personally allow my son to play with whatever he wants, be it a boy or girl toy.  Because he has an affinity for necklaces and hugging boys I do joke about his preferences, and I would love him no matter what!

Overall, I was happy to see these families profiled to let tv viewers see the way the other half lives.  I especially love seeing breastfeeding on tv!  I heard The Feminist Breeder’s husband was washing cloth diapers but I was tweeting during the show and must have missed it.

PS.  If you missed the show it airs again on Discovery Health on March 6 at 1:00 pm.  That is today people!

Did you see the show?  What did you think?