Nursing in public stories...

Ok, readers, confession time...

I've never had a bad experience nursing in public.

My daughter is just over 7 months old and I've nursed everywhere one could possibly imagine.  Restaurants, malls, parks, festivals, grocery stores, my car (when a convenient bench and air conditioning was not to be found), various places at Disney and Universal Studios.... and I've never had a negative reaction.  Oh sure, some people might have rolled their eyes but I don't pay attention to people enough to really notice... and no, I don't use a cover.  To be fair, I tried... but I guess I don't have the manual dexterity necessary to cover myself and nurse a baby at the same time.  I think I used one twice before it just made me AND my daughter hot and angry...  plus, I have a feeling that a nursing cover just screams "I AM BREASTFEEDING A BABY, HAVE A LOOK" .  Scroll down to a previous post I made about nursing at Harry Potter at IOA and you'll see that nursing in public can be incredibly discreet... I doubt many people even knew what I was doing.

Anyway, the ONLY reactions I've ever experience have been positive.  Once, at a Boston Coffee House a guy came up to me and started talking about how his wife is 38 weeks pregnant with their first child and how she was planning a birth at one of our local birth centers.  He mentioned how nice it was to see someone nursing in public and raising awareness.  An older woman at a bbq joint let me know how wonderful it was to see younger women nursing in public -- she had a great statement that I won't be able to get quite right... something about how our country is a sad mix of puritans and cowboys.  One of the funniest NIP stories I have happened when I was nursing my daughter at a mall playground while my preschooler played.  A little girl, about 18 months, walked over to me, stood close by and stared at me.  When her mom came over, she laughed and said that she had just weaned her daughter.... we made jokes that she was 'standing in line'... I mean, heck, hers work... I'll just have some at that tap!

So, ladies (and gentlemen, too, if you want to share your wife/girlfriend/friend's story)... do you have some nursing in public stories?  Funny, good, bad, sad, whatever... share!

Proof that you really can nurse anywhere...

Hey all!  I just got from a really fantastic trip to Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure and I had to come on here and tell everyone about it.  Most of you don't know a ton about me, but I'm a huge Harry Potter fan.  Humungo.  I was one of those people who waited in line for hours to be the first one to purchase a new book.  Anyway, I've been waiting to go see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter until the kids were back in school and the weather wasn't 110 degrees outside...  and it was awesome.  Everything I could have imagined and more!

 Why is this important?  Well, I went today and I brought my seven-month-old nursling along with me and my husband took this picture...

That's me nursing Kate (with a couple of glasses of Butterbeer next to me) at Hogsmeade Station, next to the Hogwarts' Express.

And it proved one thing -- yes, Virginia, you really can nurse anywhere ;)

Lake Mary Farmer's Market and the debut of our bags!

We have two exciting thing to fill you all in on... The first is that our first Farmer's Market will be held October 9th at the Lake Mary Farmer's Market.  The time is from 9 to 1:30, but we'll be there by 8:30 setting up so stop by and say hello!

At this market we'll be unveiling a few new fundraising items...  We'll be selling our new onesies, water bottles, tote bags AND wool nursing pads (these things retail for no less than $7 a pair online, plus shipping)... plus we'll have our bumper stickers, magnets, blankets, compresses and other handmade crafts for sale.

Also, and this is very exciting, we'll be debuting our BAGS!  Obviously our bags will probably change in the future (with the addition of new items... potentially onesies... and sponsors), but this will be our bag that we're going to take to various doctor's offices, midwives and hospitals.  Come check out what it's going to include and pick one up for a pregnant friend!

Thanks for all your support!  With your help we can afford the incorporation and IRS fees to get ourselves a certified 501c3!!! 

Sneak peek at one of our new fundraisers!

As many of you know, I've been looking for a way to create beautiful onesies that we can use in two ways -- one is as a perk to go in the bags and the other is to use it as a way to raise funds.  Since we're new and short on cash, spending $7.50 a onesie to get it screen printed is way out of our reach, so I've been searching for ways to do it myself (short of purchasing screen printing machines). 

Ask Me About Breastfeeding and PeaceLoveBreastfeeding

Finally, I've done it and WHAT a success!  I found a really easy method that I can do at home with really awesome results.  If you look at the pictures, you'll notice that the images seem almost distressed or vintage in nature and that's because they are.  Unlike many t-shirt transfers that sit on top of the fibers (and thus can crack and peel over time or when stretched and feel stiff), the ink is actually set into the fibers...  This results in a piece of clothing that you can iron (even over the image itself) and stretch and that feels almost as soft as the t-shirt underneath.  It's not as bright and bold as the other options but, personally, I like this a bit better (especially considering how nice these transfers feel).  These have even been washed and dried after the printing process to ensure they won't bleed in your laundry. 

Healthy, Happy Breast Fed Baby and our Logo

So, what do you all think?  I've used our logo (designed by the wonderful graphic designer Tabatha -- thanks momma!) in various designs...  Would you want one for your babe?  I'm going to be offering them for $10 as an introductory price -- I'll have a few of each design made.  Let me know if there's one in specific you want, along with the size you would like.  I'm using Gerber onesies currently but I can use Hanes t-shirts if you'd like something larger.

Wow, what a success!

I wanted to thank everyone who came out on Saturday, 9/11, to help support us during our first fundraiser.  What an absolute success!  We raised well more than our goal, spread the message to the many people who visited us and got our raffles under way.  So, what are we doing now, you ask?

#1:  We're still running our raffles.  Right now we have the following ones ongoing:

• Free doula service and childbirth education classes (from TLC) -- a $700 value
• A free two-tier, custom, fondant-covered cake -- a $125 value
• A Moby Wrap in Pacific Blue -- $40 value
• An ERGO baby carrier with Heart2Heart infant insert -- $125 value
• $50 gift certificate to Wee Willie Winks, a local and online baby store, plus a EarthMamaAngelBaby Pregnancy pack -- worth $90 total
• A gift basket to EcoDiaperService -- $73 value
• Milk Nursing Top in Coffee, size M -- a $36 value

Please let me know if you're interested in raffle tickets and I will let you know the prices!

#2:  We're looking into Farmer's Markets starting in October, so keep your eyes opened for our tent around the Orlando area!

#3:  We're going to be getting in a couple more fundraisers soon... including some really awesome 27 oz stainless steel water bottles.  Right now we're offering an introductory price of only $10!!!  Compare that to Kleen Kanteen ($16) or Sigg ($24), and that's a definite BARGAIN!  We'll also have some reusable tote bags -- great for shopping!

We're also still selling our nursing necklaces, bumper stickers, onesies and blankets to raise funds.  We've managed to purchase many items necessary to create our bags and our next big drive will be to raise $1,000 for the incorporation and 501c3 fees.

So, please, help us out in our goal to raise the $1,000 in incorporation and IRS fees!  Purchase stuff to give as gifts -- water bottles, tote bags, custom onesies, blankets, necklaces, etc...  purchase raffle tickets or just throw $5 into our donations bucket.  Every little bit helps.

More stuff to offer!

I just wanted to pop in and show everyone our newest items that we'll be offering on Etsy and at the Garage Sale (along with local Farmer's Markets)...  Our nursing necklaces!

You know how babies get when they reach a certain age -- they're constantly distracted... checking out people or pulling your top down.  If you're holding them, they just want to chew on something!  Finally, instead of sacrificing your necklaces (which probably aren't very baby friendly anyway), there is another way.  Our nursing necklaces come in several styles.  All styles are done on a satin cord with sealed ends (to prevent fraying) and all can be tied closed (use a square knot to keep the necklace tight), allowing you to adjust the length to suit your needs. 

Right now, our styles are:
*Wooden Teething Ring ($7) -- On a black cord, this smooth, birch ring is 2 1/2" in diameter.  It's tied with a little wooden ball for further interest.  The wood is all natural -- no chemicals, paints or finishes.
*Wooden Teething Ring with semi-precious stone ($16) -- The same style of necklace as our first with the addition of a beautiful donut-shaped stone in the center of the ring. 
*Semi-precious stone ($12) -- Beautiful stones strung on the black cord. 

We currently have the following stones available:  brown snowflake jasper, wood jasper (teardrop shape), green Ching Hai jade, blue denim lapis, red jasper and cherry quartz.  If you'd like a particular color or stone (like Tiger's Eye, etc), please let us know and I'm sure we can special order them (depending on the stone cost, the cost of custom necklaces will vary.