Hi Farmerbetsy, It's been fun sharing the front page with you this week. I wanted to wish you the best of luck with your book. With you passion and drive I know it will turn out to be everything you hoped and dreamed.
This is a WONDERFUL idea!!! I really hope you can make this happen. I would be VERY happy to see a book like this on the shelves and I would def. buy it for myself and others. I am currently bfing a 15 month old :)
For everyone who has commented and advised -- as you can see, the astronomy project has kicked our little pro-breastfeeding butts. If you still think this is a cool idea, please email me directly at betsy*at*hoffmeisters.com with the heading "breastfeeding book." Either I'm going to start a letterwriting campaign to libraries and publishers about the topic, or I'm going to figure out how to afford to publish the book on our own -- demand is there! Thanks to everyone for your support and please contact me with your interest!
Amberrose, I do not think this is an appropriate forum to discuss or debate the benefits of breastfeeding. The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend breastfeeding until at least age two and then beyond as mutually agreeable for mother and child. Your opinion about weaning toddlers is certainly commonly accepted, however, many mothers feel differently and would welcome a book that would reflect the state of their own child's world. Currently, almost no such books exist. Regarding the plain bizarreness of mother animals feeding their baby animals with bottles: in the wild, if a mother animal doesn't feed her baby, it dies. Period. In children's books, where animals are wearing clothes and living in houses, the animals are taking the place of people -- bu…moret they are still mammals. There is no reason for a mammal to give a bottle. If there is going to be some elaborate subterfuge that the mother animal is incapable of breastfeeding because she had a radical mastectomy or has a thyroid condition or is on nuclear drugs, ought the book to explain that to the toddlers? I somehow doubt it would contribute to the story line. The point is -- what children see in literature contributes to their sense of what is right and wrong in the world around them. When all they see in literature is that babies eat from bottles, that is what they perceive as appropriate. It's very subtle. Formula feeding costs the US Health system $1.6 BILLION dollars a year (UN statistics). This is not just an ego-stroking thing, this is a public health issue. Then kids are watching TV with their parents and all they see about breasts is that they are used to entice men and sell products. It contributes to the warped approach we have to female bodies and sexuality. This is really an innocuous idea. And since it is a product -- if you don't like it, you don't have to buy it. Thank you for expressing the opposing point of view, it is always useful to see what the spectrum of people is thinking. As you can see, the astronomy project has kicked everyone's butts, so, I think we are going to have to come up with another approach!
As a pediatriican, I think it is a great idea. All facets of child rearing should be portrayed. Maybe a wonderful way to 'teach' parents how to be successful parents.
good for you
Amberrose, surely you agree that children of all ages learn about their world from the books they read. Children reading books with depictions of babies nursing from a bottle vs. a breast will form opinions about what is normal, and that opinion will have a great influence on them later in life when they become parents making the breast vs. bottle decision. (Of course, removing ALL references and depictions of babies receiving nourishment, by breast OR bottle, would level the playing field and allow parents to "parent on our own," as you suggest, but we all know that's not going to happen!) By the way, last time I checked, the World Health Organization recommended breastfeeding through at least age two -- an age when most children are definitely able to grasp what they're seeing…more in a picture book. As far as books depicting breastfeeding being beneficial to communities, scientific research has proven that breastfed babies have higher IQs than formula fed babies and have lower rates of allergies, asthma, and digestive problems. I think the world is in some pretty deep $#!!% these days and if we can do anything to make our next generations healthier and smarter, we absolutely should!
So you basically don't have an answer for me, FarmerrBetsy. The question was directed at you. Somehow I am not surprised.
And I read all the comments before posting. I'm still not seeing a point beyond stroking the egos of mothers who breastfeed and some of whom breastfeed for far too long.
Not every concept needs a book to teach children. God forbid we actually parent on our own.
I love the idea of more breastfeeding friendly books out there! There are a few...Dr. Sears has two baby on the way books that have illustrations of a mother breastfeeding. There is also a book without words, I think it is called My New Baby (or something like that, I can't get it right now because the kids are sleeping and it is in the bedroom). This book also has illustrations and one or two show the mama breastfeeding. They are great books for new siblings on the way. I think it would be so cool to have a book just about normal daily life with breastfeeding being a part of that.
My children are both very young and love reading books and looking at the pictures....I think it is a fabulous idea.
Amberrose if you are really interested in the answer to the questions you posed, please write to me directly. Look at the positive comments of all the other parents who have written in and perhaps you will get a sense of what is missing.
I really don't understand why we need a book for children explaining breastfeeding. Children who are breast feeding are too young to read and they don't need an explanation of something they do naturally. Toddlers should be weened from breast milk.
I could kind of understand a book about the benefits of breastfeeding over bottle feeding for mothers but this entire concept seems incredibly pointless and unworthy of $10,000 over other causes. It isn't hard to self-publish in this day and age.
Your "illustration of baby bear with bottle" explanation with really strange. I don't see an illustration such as this having any sort of negative impact on a child. If a child asked about it I would say, "some babies drink from bottles." This is also often true of baby animals wh…moreen humans have to care for them because their mother is gone/rejects them/does not produce milk.
What I want to know is how is this book going to really bring positive change in this world?
Some of the other ideas on this site are truly beneficial to communities and children. I'm not seeing that in a book with pictures of babies breastfeeding.
I would love to see more books on nursing, I feel books are a wonderful way for children to become comfortable with new things, whether it be pooping in the potty, becoming a big brother/sister. My son at 6 was a huge cheerleader for me when nursing and pumping as my baby was 3 months early. I found no books explaining nursing to show him. Will you be broaching tandem or extended breast feeding??
Please let us know when you are published and where we can purchase to support you!!
I also love the idea of this book - breastfeeding does need to be depicted as a normal event in life but I think that the "breast" part of breastfeeding needs to be downplayed if we're ever going to take the sexual stigma out of this beautiful and natural thing. What does it matter that the milk comes from our breasts? People need to get over themselves and accept our bodies and their functions as nature intended. I'll be lining up for a copy of the book, for sure!
So excited to see this idea come to fruition. All of my children will love to see a book of a toddler nursing, something that is absolutely normal in our world. If you need pictures, we have hundreds! :) Good luck to you!!
This is a wonderful idea. I love to see our 4 year old little girl lift her shirt to feed her baby dolls. They only get water from a bottle. Hopefully in her generation this will be the norm, not the exception.
Yes, we loved this one! this is one of the few books where breastfeeding is depicted as absolutely normal. In contrast, the clever new book "The Boy With Two Bellybuttons" features an absolutely newborn baby. His mom is wearing high heels, a knee length non-nursing dress, and holding a bottle. I wrote to the author and he said "it had never occured to him" and he would definitely mention it to the author!
It's very interesting to hear about your book today because I was just talking with a pregnant friend about breastfeeding around others in public. I have very little reservations about when I do it when I'm out and about. It's pretty common to see while living in Seattle, a pretty educated and open city. But every once and a while, even in the privacy of friends and family homes, I've had a few raised eyebrows. And often older kids, wow they are really shocked and confused. One relative's five year old daughter whispered to her mom, "that's gross". I hope I teach my daughter how natural it is and that it is a beautiful process of helping a baby grow healthy and feel secure in many ways.
Melanie
I would love to see the day where all breast feeding and nursing information replaces the word "baby" with CHILD and "extended nursing" is called FULL TERM NURSING. Good luck with your book. We'd definitely buy it for all our nursing friends and families!!!
forgot to add: the use of a blanket or "hooter hider" is actually counterproductive. when a nursing mother is holding her baby and wearing a somewhat loose t-shirt hiked up slightly or an actual nursing top with concealed access, all ppl see is a mother holding her apparently sleeping baby. toss a blanket over the baby's head and not only do you have a kicking, squirming, and flailing baby (put your head under a blanket and try to breathe!) but ppl's eyes, instead of skimming blankly over the mother's head, suddenly zoom in and focus on the blanket because "omg, there's a **** BREAST under there!!!!" and they can't help it: they wait to see if the blanket will slip.
jaesin: the idea that breastfeeding is a "private" and "personal" thing subject to "moral standards" only reinforces the concept that the primary purpose of breasts is to serve a sexual function. as long as that attitude persists, breastfeeding will always be seen as "wierd", "creepy", and "unnatural" when the truth is, while it may be "abnormal" in some countries (iow, "not according to the norm" if "normal" is breastfeeding) it is certainly not "unnatural" ("not according to nature").
Great idea. I think I would try to see if there is any interest to pitch it via school systems or other school book publishers. Since they already have a channel, they can provide good ideas. Also, it may be a stretchy but to get some sort of celevraity mom on board like a Jennifer Garner or Jessica Alba or someone that is a strong advocate of breastfeeding that can give you more support and recignition for the project. I think it's a fabolous idea. Good luck!
While I can say the idea is somewhat original, it is covering a very touchy subject in the US. Other countries seem to except seeing this as the "Norm" while we still view it as taboo. As well, I and my wife tend to view breastfeeding as a "personal" experience and bonding with a child, and should not be shared in public (the use of a breast pump and bottle prefered).
Also, I am a bit confused in the idea being a childrens book, or a aid for aduts? Granted that young or first time mothers may actually be intimidated or embarrased by breastfeeding at times, and a book like this would be excellent to have available for assurance, or general knowledge. However I dont see the benefit in targeting children for this book, unless your intending on breastfeeding them thru the …morereading ages. In that case this would fall on personal opinon in how long to breast feed a baby, and that would weigh in on social and moral standards, making it difficult to have the book widely accepted and welcomed in the USA.
While greatly enjoy reading books, and prefer it to any other form of media, I think that this type of idea would be excellent to implore through an online web site. Perhaps looking into starting an online support community, as most people are employed to search for a subject like this in there own home for privacy reasons. This could also be in conjunction wth the publishing of a book, and would certainly be usefull in book promotion, as well as create a source of advertising revenue from advertisiers of baby products.
I think that this could be a great idea if implemented correctly, with a ton of room to grow.
This is an exciting venture and one that certainly needed to be addressed. Thank you for your time and energy doing so! Can't wait to see the book! It WILL happen! Peace, Michelle -- Southport, NC LLL
I hope you win! There are so very few choices for children that depict breastfeeding as normal. The more options to see and exposure of the closer we are to having a culture that perceives it as normal rather than always having to defend itself, be shy or ashamed about or hide somewhere to achieve. It gets tiresome seeing Moms having to make the choice to be part of life or go to the back room to feed their child! I too like the idea that bfing occurs within the book but is not the focus of the book. Best wishes.
This is a great Idea! we are mammals after all! It's what we do!
I hope that you can show many different types of nursing that does go on, tandom nursing, adoptive nursing and everything else in between! Best of luck with your project!
This is a great idea!! I think a book about a toddlers day would be ideal and then nursing could simply be incorporated into that. He could go to the library and see friends. they could stop at a restaurant for lunch and he could have a snack too. at the park on the way home etc.etc. A book about nursing would be lovely but wouldn't pack as much punch.
ROCK AND ROLL! i love this idea and i can't wait to read the book!! there isn't enough time to type all the wonderful, healthy, beneficial ways breastfeeding impacts both mother and child. i agree with katlogo- nursing a toddler SHOULD be just as acceptable as nursing an infant!
I think this is a fabulous idea. As breastfeeding becomes a much more common sight in public, I think the next challenge we'll have to overcome will be that of making sure breastfeeding of toddlers becomes just as acceptable. I have too many friends who weaned their children because of social pressure that toddlers were too old to nurse. I had originally planned on nursing my son until he was at least two. To my disappointment, he weaned himself at 16 months. I think nursing a toddler should be just as acceptable as nursing an infant.
As the mom of two children who have been nursed from infancy past toddlerhood, I can say that a book like this would have been lovely! My children would have loved to see pictures of children just like them enjoying the normal joy of nursing with their mamas.
I have a nursing baby at home right now. I'd love you all to create a book soon so that I, or my husband, could read it to our son. I know at least 40 mothers who would like a book like this as much as I would, for the same reasons. There needs to be a book about breastfeeding with lovely, tasteful photos. Children need to share a sense of connection with other children who share nursing with their mamas.
Tinamama you've hit the nail on the head. Or the breast pad on the nipple. I am SO open to a wide range of ideas. My current idea in the back of my head is a sort of eye-spy/where's waldo kinda thing. Normal things are happening in the book. For example, we're at the department store. Can you spot 4 kids having a pillow fight? can you find the kids hiding under the clothes rack? Can you find 2 mommies nursing toddlers? Can you find a puppy in a backpack? There are so many fun ways this could be done that I'll probably put out a sort of call-for-tender to see what ideas we come up with!! The reason I wanted to go with photos is that we could get photos from all over the world and you never know what illustrations are going to be like. I dunno. Anyway, we're close to being in the running…more so please send the word out.
I watched a show the other day and was disturbed for the rest of the day. It showed a young woman giving birth to her first child and electing a c-section because of the old ways being so primitive and unnecessary. Of course she thought breast feeding was primitive as well and couldn't imagine that either.
I had a friend growing up who was sure she wasn't going to breast feed because it seemed so unnatural, and she went on to breastfeed for over two years for both of her children. Yay! :D
Hi Betsy,
I totally understand what you are talking about. I was a LLL leader for 8 years. It's amazing to see how many people get offended by woman breastfeeding in public. More illustrations of bottles everywhere, like that is the "norm". I don't agree that bottle feeding should be show as the "norm".
good luck,
Erin
Hi Vishik, in the 700 characters we're allowed in the project description it is difficult to convey the entire idea. Sorry! Babies and young children are comforted, thrilled, and engaged when they recognize images from their own lives reflected in art and literature. When nursing children find images of breastfeeding in literature it sparks all kinds of lovely conversations. The conversations about baby bottles are more difficult and confusing. My children will look at books and say "Mom, why is the Mommy Bear feeding the Baby Bear a bottle? Why doesn't she just give her baby her own milk?" What am I supposed to say, "Maybe mommy bear had a radical mastectomy? Maybe Baby is adopted?" In these anthropomorphized books, it's just biologically weird. In books depicting hum…morean childen, the message sent is "Bottle feeding is normative." Our idea helps reinforce that breastfeeding is what humans do, (and bottles are appropriate in situations where mother is separated from child or when breastfeeding has proved impossible).
Hi guys, I'm sorry, but am I the only one who does not see what the core intention of this book will be besides contributing to charity? what educational purpose will it serve? Don't we all know that breastfeeding takes place? some do it, some don't. I'm a guy, so excuse me ignorance, sincerely.
love4kids, thank you so much for your comment. in the past few years LLLI's publications have started to depict women of color on their pages, which we dearly needed. Thank you for your comment and if we get the grant, please help us get the word out so we get great, quality photos for our book,including pix of women of color and their families!
I'm a grandmother and think this is a fantastic idea! So many times, I haven't ended up buying a book because it shows bottle feeding, and I don't want to present this as the norm to my grandkids. I felt the same way when my own kids were small. So glad you want to do this!
Natalie, one book available from LLLI press is called "Maggie's weaning." Another book available for moms is called "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" by Hillary Flower, which addresses fully the issue surrounding nursing while pregnant and breasteeding two children.
LLLI is active in 60 countries worldwide, including in developing countries. A woman has to be severely malnourished and dehydrated to fail to produce adequate milk for her bay. There are so many challenges in the developing world ... can you explore that idea more deeply, please? I'm not sure where you are going with that... but it sound intriguing.
There is an absolute need for a book on this topic. There are so many wonderful children's picture books out there that touch on so many topics but there is definitely a gap when it comes to breastfeeding. I think there are 2 out there total and having one with photographs of children breastfeeding is such a wonderful idea. I hope this is the first of many books that fill that niche!
I think this is a wonderful idea. As a 24-year-old mother of two, I nursed my children for 26 months and 23 months. I have heard it all. I think that other than the actual childbirth experience, nursing your child is the most special and natural thing you can do. I know that more women are choosing to nurse, and I think it's a wonderful thing. I can't understand why some people feel as if it is a nasty, or a taboo thing. It's natural, and yes, children should know and understand what's going on around them, and in the life of their baby sibling(s). When my toddler was playing with her friends, and they would feed their baby dolls, she always but the baby up to her chest. She never used the baby bottles. I am in nursing school now, and I hope to become a lactation consultant, and I…more will definately buy the book. I would also recommend the book the book to birthing familes with toddlers.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I do think that as long as there are adolescent boys (and men) on this planet it will be tough to make it a normal occurence. I wonder if the increase in sexual content in pop culture has hurt or hindered breastfeeding. We see **** everywhere now, but breastfeeding in public is still taboo in places. Please post updates on here to let us know how it's coming. I would love to buy this book for my wife (a doula, future midwife and someone who loves breastfeeding).
Thank you, Will! I'm sure some of the photos we choose may include a baby nursing under cover, whether under mom's shirt, in a sling, or under a blanket. The intent of the book, however, is to depict breastfeeding as something that does not have to be hidden. We want to emphasize the normality of breastfeeding.
It is true that the initiation of breastfeeding -- babies going to the breast at least one time after birth -- has increased dramatically. The US still has significantly lower rates of long-term breastfeeding than other developed nations. The World Health Organization recommends "exlusive" breastfeeding for six months and thereafter to at least two years and beyond as mutually desired by mother and child. The US is nowhere near that.
As someone who works with many a br…moreeastfeeding crisis, I know how painfully difficult breastfeeding can be. And that could be a topic for another book. We want to keep this simple and focused.
Thanks for your input! :)
Q1: Some states, businesses, or publishers may have actual or de facto restrictions on depicting breastfeeding.
If South End Press wins the next round, why not ask them to publish your book?
I think this is a GREAT idea! You have my support. I wish you all the luck in the world and I am sure you can make it happen.
Hi Farmerbetsy, It's been fun sharing the front page with you this week. I wanted to wish you the best of luck with your book. With you passion and drive I know it will turn out to be everything you hoped and dreamed.
This is a WONDERFUL idea!!! I really hope you can make this happen. I would be VERY happy to see a book like this on the shelves and I would def. buy it for myself and others. I am currently bfing a 15 month old :)
For everyone who has commented and advised -- as you can see, the astronomy project has kicked our little pro-breastfeeding butts. If you still think this is a cool idea, please email me directly at betsy*at*hoffmeisters.com with the heading "breastfeeding book." Either I'm going to start a letterwriting campaign to libraries and publishers about the topic, or I'm going to figure out how to afford to publish the book on our own -- demand is there! Thanks to everyone for your support and please contact me with your interest!
Mattybee- we didn't broach the topic with publishers. this is a grassroots idea.
Amberrose, I do not think this is an appropriate forum to discuss or debate the benefits of breastfeeding. The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend breastfeeding until at least age two and then beyond as mutually agreeable for mother and child. Your opinion about weaning toddlers is certainly commonly accepted, however, many mothers feel differently and would welcome a book that would reflect the state of their own child's world. Currently, almost no such books exist. Regarding the plain bizarreness of mother animals feeding their baby animals with bottles: in the wild, if a mother animal doesn't feed her baby, it dies. Period. In children's books, where animals are wearing clothes and living in houses, the animals are taking the place of people -- bu…moret they are still mammals. There is no reason for a mammal to give a bottle. If there is going to be some elaborate subterfuge that the mother animal is incapable of breastfeeding because she had a radical mastectomy or has a thyroid condition or is on nuclear drugs, ought the book to explain that to the toddlers? I somehow doubt it would contribute to the story line. The point is -- what children see in literature contributes to their sense of what is right and wrong in the world around them. When all they see in literature is that babies eat from bottles, that is what they perceive as appropriate. It's very subtle. Formula feeding costs the US Health system $1.6 BILLION dollars a year (UN statistics). This is not just an ego-stroking thing, this is a public health issue. Then kids are watching TV with their parents and all they see about breasts is that they are used to entice men and sell products. It contributes to the warped approach we have to female bodies and sexuality. This is really an innocuous idea. And since it is a product -- if you don't like it, you don't have to buy it. Thank you for expressing the opposing point of view, it is always useful to see what the spectrum of people is thinking. As you can see, the astronomy project has kicked everyone's butts, so, I think we are going to have to come up with another approach!
As a pediatriican, I think it is a great idea. All facets of child rearing should be portrayed. Maybe a wonderful way to 'teach' parents how to be successful parents. good for you
Amberrose, surely you agree that children of all ages learn about their world from the books they read. Children reading books with depictions of babies nursing from a bottle vs. a breast will form opinions about what is normal, and that opinion will have a great influence on them later in life when they become parents making the breast vs. bottle decision. (Of course, removing ALL references and depictions of babies receiving nourishment, by breast OR bottle, would level the playing field and allow parents to "parent on our own," as you suggest, but we all know that's not going to happen!) By the way, last time I checked, the World Health Organization recommended breastfeeding through at least age two -- an age when most children are definitely able to grasp what they're seeing…more in a picture book. As far as books depicting breastfeeding being beneficial to communities, scientific research has proven that breastfed babies have higher IQs than formula fed babies and have lower rates of allergies, asthma, and digestive problems. I think the world is in some pretty deep $#!!% these days and if we can do anything to make our next generations healthier and smarter, we absolutely should!
So you basically don't have an answer for me, FarmerrBetsy. The question was directed at you. Somehow I am not surprised. And I read all the comments before posting. I'm still not seeing a point beyond stroking the egos of mothers who breastfeed and some of whom breastfeed for far too long. Not every concept needs a book to teach children. God forbid we actually parent on our own.
I love the idea of more breastfeeding friendly books out there! There are a few...Dr. Sears has two baby on the way books that have illustrations of a mother breastfeeding. There is also a book without words, I think it is called My New Baby (or something like that, I can't get it right now because the kids are sleeping and it is in the bedroom). This book also has illustrations and one or two show the mama breastfeeding. They are great books for new siblings on the way. I think it would be so cool to have a book just about normal daily life with breastfeeding being a part of that. My children are both very young and love reading books and looking at the pictures....I think it is a fabulous idea.
Amberrose if you are really interested in the answer to the questions you posed, please write to me directly. Look at the positive comments of all the other parents who have written in and perhaps you will get a sense of what is missing.
Awesome idea! I think this is a great way to help our culture accept breastfeeding!
I really don't understand why we need a book for children explaining breastfeeding. Children who are breast feeding are too young to read and they don't need an explanation of something they do naturally. Toddlers should be weened from breast milk. I could kind of understand a book about the benefits of breastfeeding over bottle feeding for mothers but this entire concept seems incredibly pointless and unworthy of $10,000 over other causes. It isn't hard to self-publish in this day and age. Your "illustration of baby bear with bottle" explanation with really strange. I don't see an illustration such as this having any sort of negative impact on a child. If a child asked about it I would say, "some babies drink from bottles." This is also often true of baby animals wh…moreen humans have to care for them because their mother is gone/rejects them/does not produce milk. What I want to know is how is this book going to really bring positive change in this world? Some of the other ideas on this site are truly beneficial to communities and children. I'm not seeing that in a book with pictures of babies breastfeeding.
I would love to see more books on nursing, I feel books are a wonderful way for children to become comfortable with new things, whether it be pooping in the potty, becoming a big brother/sister. My son at 6 was a huge cheerleader for me when nursing and pumping as my baby was 3 months early. I found no books explaining nursing to show him. Will you be broaching tandem or extended breast feeding?? Please let us know when you are published and where we can purchase to support you!!
I also love the idea of this book - breastfeeding does need to be depicted as a normal event in life but I think that the "breast" part of breastfeeding needs to be downplayed if we're ever going to take the sexual stigma out of this beautiful and natural thing. What does it matter that the milk comes from our breasts? People need to get over themselves and accept our bodies and their functions as nature intended. I'll be lining up for a copy of the book, for sure!
So excited to see this idea come to fruition. All of my children will love to see a book of a toddler nursing, something that is absolutely normal in our world. If you need pictures, we have hundreds! :) Good luck to you!!
This is a wonderful idea. I love to see our 4 year old little girl lift her shirt to feed her baby dolls. They only get water from a bottle. Hopefully in her generation this will be the norm, not the exception.
If people knew how IMPORTANT is breastfeeding for the whole life inmune system of that baby today everybody could be doing it
Yes, we loved this one! this is one of the few books where breastfeeding is depicted as absolutely normal. In contrast, the clever new book "The Boy With Two Bellybuttons" features an absolutely newborn baby. His mom is wearing high heels, a knee length non-nursing dress, and holding a bottle. I wrote to the author and he said "it had never occured to him" and he would definitely mention it to the author!
It's very interesting to hear about your book today because I was just talking with a pregnant friend about breastfeeding around others in public. I have very little reservations about when I do it when I'm out and about. It's pretty common to see while living in Seattle, a pretty educated and open city. But every once and a while, even in the privacy of friends and family homes, I've had a few raised eyebrows. And often older kids, wow they are really shocked and confused. One relative's five year old daughter whispered to her mom, "that's gross". I hope I teach my daughter how natural it is and that it is a beautiful process of helping a baby grow healthy and feel secure in many ways. Melanie
I would love to see the day where all breast feeding and nursing information replaces the word "baby" with CHILD and "extended nursing" is called FULL TERM NURSING. Good luck with your book. We'd definitely buy it for all our nursing friends and families!!!
!??? wierd: "breast" makes it past the censors but the appropriate term for "unclothed" does not?
forgot to add: the use of a blanket or "hooter hider" is actually counterproductive. when a nursing mother is holding her baby and wearing a somewhat loose t-shirt hiked up slightly or an actual nursing top with concealed access, all ppl see is a mother holding her apparently sleeping baby. toss a blanket over the baby's head and not only do you have a kicking, squirming, and flailing baby (put your head under a blanket and try to breathe!) but ppl's eyes, instead of skimming blankly over the mother's head, suddenly zoom in and focus on the blanket because "omg, there's a **** BREAST under there!!!!" and they can't help it: they wait to see if the blanket will slip.
jaesin: the idea that breastfeeding is a "private" and "personal" thing subject to "moral standards" only reinforces the concept that the primary purpose of breasts is to serve a sexual function. as long as that attitude persists, breastfeeding will always be seen as "wierd", "creepy", and "unnatural" when the truth is, while it may be "abnormal" in some countries (iow, "not according to the norm" if "normal" is breastfeeding) it is certainly not "unnatural" ("not according to nature").
Great idea. I think I would try to see if there is any interest to pitch it via school systems or other school book publishers. Since they already have a channel, they can provide good ideas. Also, it may be a stretchy but to get some sort of celevraity mom on board like a Jennifer Garner or Jessica Alba or someone that is a strong advocate of breastfeeding that can give you more support and recignition for the project. I think it's a fabolous idea. Good luck!
While I can say the idea is somewhat original, it is covering a very touchy subject in the US. Other countries seem to except seeing this as the "Norm" while we still view it as taboo. As well, I and my wife tend to view breastfeeding as a "personal" experience and bonding with a child, and should not be shared in public (the use of a breast pump and bottle prefered). Also, I am a bit confused in the idea being a childrens book, or a aid for aduts? Granted that young or first time mothers may actually be intimidated or embarrased by breastfeeding at times, and a book like this would be excellent to have available for assurance, or general knowledge. However I dont see the benefit in targeting children for this book, unless your intending on breastfeeding them thru the …morereading ages. In that case this would fall on personal opinon in how long to breast feed a baby, and that would weigh in on social and moral standards, making it difficult to have the book widely accepted and welcomed in the USA. While greatly enjoy reading books, and prefer it to any other form of media, I think that this type of idea would be excellent to implore through an online web site. Perhaps looking into starting an online support community, as most people are employed to search for a subject like this in there own home for privacy reasons. This could also be in conjunction wth the publishing of a book, and would certainly be usefull in book promotion, as well as create a source of advertising revenue from advertisiers of baby products. I think that this could be a great idea if implemented correctly, with a ton of room to grow.
This is an exciting venture and one that certainly needed to be addressed. Thank you for your time and energy doing so! Can't wait to see the book! It WILL happen! Peace, Michelle -- Southport, NC LLL
I hope you win! There are so very few choices for children that depict breastfeeding as normal. The more options to see and exposure of the closer we are to having a culture that perceives it as normal rather than always having to defend itself, be shy or ashamed about or hide somewhere to achieve. It gets tiresome seeing Moms having to make the choice to be part of life or go to the back room to feed their child! I too like the idea that bfing occurs within the book but is not the focus of the book. Best wishes.
This is a great Idea! we are mammals after all! It's what we do! I hope that you can show many different types of nursing that does go on, tandom nursing, adoptive nursing and everything else in between! Best of luck with your project!
This is a great idea!! I think a book about a toddlers day would be ideal and then nursing could simply be incorporated into that. He could go to the library and see friends. they could stop at a restaurant for lunch and he could have a snack too. at the park on the way home etc.etc. A book about nursing would be lovely but wouldn't pack as much punch.
ROCK AND ROLL! i love this idea and i can't wait to read the book!! there isn't enough time to type all the wonderful, healthy, beneficial ways breastfeeding impacts both mother and child. i agree with katlogo- nursing a toddler SHOULD be just as acceptable as nursing an infant!
I think this is a fabulous idea. As breastfeeding becomes a much more common sight in public, I think the next challenge we'll have to overcome will be that of making sure breastfeeding of toddlers becomes just as acceptable. I have too many friends who weaned their children because of social pressure that toddlers were too old to nurse. I had originally planned on nursing my son until he was at least two. To my disappointment, he weaned himself at 16 months. I think nursing a toddler should be just as acceptable as nursing an infant.
As the mom of two children who have been nursed from infancy past toddlerhood, I can say that a book like this would have been lovely! My children would have loved to see pictures of children just like them enjoying the normal joy of nursing with their mamas. I have a nursing baby at home right now. I'd love you all to create a book soon so that I, or my husband, could read it to our son. I know at least 40 mothers who would like a book like this as much as I would, for the same reasons. There needs to be a book about breastfeeding with lovely, tasteful photos. Children need to share a sense of connection with other children who share nursing with their mamas.
Tinamama you've hit the nail on the head. Or the breast pad on the nipple. I am SO open to a wide range of ideas. My current idea in the back of my head is a sort of eye-spy/where's waldo kinda thing. Normal things are happening in the book. For example, we're at the department store. Can you spot 4 kids having a pillow fight? can you find the kids hiding under the clothes rack? Can you find 2 mommies nursing toddlers? Can you find a puppy in a backpack? There are so many fun ways this could be done that I'll probably put out a sort of call-for-tender to see what ideas we come up with!! The reason I wanted to go with photos is that we could get photos from all over the world and you never know what illustrations are going to be like. I dunno. Anyway, we're close to being in the running…more so please send the word out.
I watched a show the other day and was disturbed for the rest of the day. It showed a young woman giving birth to her first child and electing a c-section because of the old ways being so primitive and unnecessary. Of course she thought breast feeding was primitive as well and couldn't imagine that either. I had a friend growing up who was sure she wasn't going to breast feed because it seemed so unnatural, and she went on to breastfeed for over two years for both of her children. Yay! :D
Hi Betsy, I totally understand what you are talking about. I was a LLL leader for 8 years. It's amazing to see how many people get offended by woman breastfeeding in public. More illustrations of bottles everywhere, like that is the "norm". I don't agree that bottle feeding should be show as the "norm". good luck, Erin
Hi Vishik, in the 700 characters we're allowed in the project description it is difficult to convey the entire idea. Sorry! Babies and young children are comforted, thrilled, and engaged when they recognize images from their own lives reflected in art and literature. When nursing children find images of breastfeeding in literature it sparks all kinds of lovely conversations. The conversations about baby bottles are more difficult and confusing. My children will look at books and say "Mom, why is the Mommy Bear feeding the Baby Bear a bottle? Why doesn't she just give her baby her own milk?" What am I supposed to say, "Maybe mommy bear had a radical mastectomy? Maybe Baby is adopted?" In these anthropomorphized books, it's just biologically weird. In books depicting hum…morean childen, the message sent is "Bottle feeding is normative." Our idea helps reinforce that breastfeeding is what humans do, (and bottles are appropriate in situations where mother is separated from child or when breastfeeding has proved impossible).
Hi guys, I'm sorry, but am I the only one who does not see what the core intention of this book will be besides contributing to charity? what educational purpose will it serve? Don't we all know that breastfeeding takes place? some do it, some don't. I'm a guy, so excuse me ignorance, sincerely.
love4kids, thank you so much for your comment. in the past few years LLLI's publications have started to depict women of color on their pages, which we dearly needed. Thank you for your comment and if we get the grant, please help us get the word out so we get great, quality photos for our book,including pix of women of color and their families!
I'm a grandmother and think this is a fantastic idea! So many times, I haven't ended up buying a book because it shows bottle feeding, and I don't want to present this as the norm to my grandkids. I felt the same way when my own kids were small. So glad you want to do this!
Natalie, one book available from LLLI press is called "Maggie's weaning." Another book available for moms is called "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" by Hillary Flower, which addresses fully the issue surrounding nursing while pregnant and breasteeding two children. LLLI is active in 60 countries worldwide, including in developing countries. A woman has to be severely malnourished and dehydrated to fail to produce adequate milk for her bay. There are so many challenges in the developing world ... can you explore that idea more deeply, please? I'm not sure where you are going with that... but it sound intriguing.
There is an absolute need for a book on this topic. There are so many wonderful children's picture books out there that touch on so many topics but there is definitely a gap when it comes to breastfeeding. I think there are 2 out there total and having one with photographs of children breastfeeding is such a wonderful idea. I hope this is the first of many books that fill that niche!
I think this is a wonderful idea. As a 24-year-old mother of two, I nursed my children for 26 months and 23 months. I have heard it all. I think that other than the actual childbirth experience, nursing your child is the most special and natural thing you can do. I know that more women are choosing to nurse, and I think it's a wonderful thing. I can't understand why some people feel as if it is a nasty, or a taboo thing. It's natural, and yes, children should know and understand what's going on around them, and in the life of their baby sibling(s). When my toddler was playing with her friends, and they would feed their baby dolls, she always but the baby up to her chest. She never used the baby bottles. I am in nursing school now, and I hope to become a lactation consultant, and I…more will definately buy the book. I would also recommend the book the book to birthing familes with toddlers.
this is a GREAT IDEA!!! i'm ALL FOR IT and would def buy the book! i'm still nursing my 14 month old! :)
What a great idea. I love this one. I hope you do it - I will certainly buy the book (I'm currently nursing a 15 month old).
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I do think that as long as there are adolescent boys (and men) on this planet it will be tough to make it a normal occurence. I wonder if the increase in sexual content in pop culture has hurt or hindered breastfeeding. We see **** everywhere now, but breastfeeding in public is still taboo in places. Please post updates on here to let us know how it's coming. I would love to buy this book for my wife (a doula, future midwife and someone who loves breastfeeding).
Thank you, Will! I'm sure some of the photos we choose may include a baby nursing under cover, whether under mom's shirt, in a sling, or under a blanket. The intent of the book, however, is to depict breastfeeding as something that does not have to be hidden. We want to emphasize the normality of breastfeeding. It is true that the initiation of breastfeeding -- babies going to the breast at least one time after birth -- has increased dramatically. The US still has significantly lower rates of long-term breastfeeding than other developed nations. The World Health Organization recommends "exlusive" breastfeeding for six months and thereafter to at least two years and beyond as mutually desired by mother and child. The US is nowhere near that. As someone who works with many a br…moreeastfeeding crisis, I know how painfully difficult breastfeeding can be. And that could be a topic for another book. We want to keep this simple and focused. Thanks for your input! :)