Affiliates

You might have noticed that Hestermania! now has affiliate links. I wanted to highlight some cool companies that make products I either use myself or would love to use - and that I think most of you readers might like, too. Please take a moment to take a look at them...feel free to leave me your thoughts about the affiliates I've chosen, or to recommend others.

Here's who we have so far:

Udder Covers



Promo code for a FREE Udder Covers nursing cover! Use promo code "onefree" and it brings the price from $32 to $0! (plus shipping)

I recently purchased a nursing cover for myself from Udder Covers (still waiting for it to arrive!) and got it FREE - just paid shipping. Plus, after I completed my order, I received a code for a free sling from their sister company, SevenSlings.com - just paid shipping. My sling has arrived and I really like it a lot - and more importantly, so does Sam. I can't use it for too long without having to take her out (she's not the lightest baby), but it's been good in a pinch when I'm in the middle of something and she's demanding to be held. Can't gaurantee you'll get the free sling code, but even without it, it's a good deal.

Tummy Tankz



I don't have this specific belly cover, but I do have a different one a friend gave me when I was pregnant, and it was WONDERFUL for keeping my big belly completely covered under those not-quite-long-enough maternity shirts. And anyone pregnant in the winter knows how important it is to DODGE THE DRAFT. Now that I'm nursing, I find this useful for keeping my belly covered while I'm nursing in public -my nursing cover doesn't always stay put over my belly while Sam is swinging her arms around and kicking happily. And not only is my belly covered while nursing, it's also DODGING THE DRAFT.

Miscellaneous

Jacob's favorite thing to do while nursing is look up at me, smack his lips together a few noisy times, and give me a big grin...then he quickly gets back to nursing.

Lily likes to count everything. "Two, two, two, TWO!" Repeat for, "Free, free, FREE!" (or eight or shish).

Jacob - all in one or two weeks - has learned to wave, clap, do "so big!", bop his head up and down to the music, flirt with his head to the side, and wiggle his head back and forth.

Lily can sit at the table for up to an hour, coloring or taking stickers on and off things. Double the time if she has her pacifier.

Jacob had his 9-month pediatrician visit last week. He is in the 5th percentile for weight. Oy. The doctor tried not to act concerned, but I could tell he wasn't super happy. And he also encouraged me to push Jacob to stand and not be so floppy. Little mushy baby.

Lily is such a good big sister. She loves to feed Jacob whatever she's eating, and always makes sure we include him in everything. I guess this goes along with her learning to take turns and share. Hoppy-yop provides good practice.

Jacob's forehead sweats while nursing if he's ready to go to sleep. It's like his "tell" in poker.

Lily's suddenly decided that sleeping through the night is for babies. She wakes up multiple times a night, for no apparent reason, and says anything she can think of to get out of her crib. "Mama? Daddy? Awake? Kirsten? Oma? Seeeee Oma? Milk? Water? Light? LIGHT!"

Jacob is still the happiest little thing I've ever seen in my life. Even his pediatrician commented on how social he is, when most babies are beginning to experience social anxiety.

Lily is at the same time sweet and so stubborn. We are through two and a half months of the cliched "terrible twos," but as maddening as this age can be, at the same time, it's very exciting. Every day is full of new adventures. Her speech is progressing so quickly, and her ability to grasp complex concepts just astounds me.

Nursing

The coolest bumper sticker I ever saw:

"Normalize Breastfeeding -
Nurse in Public!"

Several cars later, I saw another pro-breastfeeding bumper sticker, and then another. Hey, wait a second... The parking lot was full of 'em! Only after I got into the hotel lobby did I realize La Leche League was holding a convention - and Dr. Sears was the key-note speaker!

I should have figured. Boy how I wished I could have been a fly on the wall. What great insights I could have acquired! I still think about joining a local La Leche League, especially since Jacob is such a huge fan of breastfeeding (so contrary to my first experience with Lily), but in general, I get pretty turned off when I have to pay to be a part of something. I'm more than happy to pay for materials themselves. But when I have to pay dues...? Eh, I think I'll pass and just figure it out myself.

Jacob could just nurse and nurse and nurse all day. Anytime he needs to go to sleep and I need a sure-fire way to make it happen (whether for a nap or in the middle of the night), I just pop him on and out he goes. Anytime he's crabby or I'm on a business call and need to keep him quiet? "Ooh, yes, Mama. Gladly!" And if I'm exhausted and need a nap myself, I just cuddle him up next to me, start him off, and off to dreamland we both go. It's wonderful.



As my bumper sticker enthusiasm suggests, I'm a big fan of feeding Jacob whenever and wherever he gets hungry. As a rule, I have never and hope to never feed my babies in a public restroom (except when there's a separate couched area set up for us nursing mamas - we appreciate it!). I would not want to eat my lunch sitting on a toilet - why should he?

And while I'm a big fan of nursing in public, I am also a fan of being DISCREET.

For instance, I am feeding Jacob RIGHT NOW, but I'm being so discreet, you'd never even know it...except SHOOT, I just told you! D'oh.

I met my friend Angela on Freecycle when she was offering a faux Hooter Hider nursing cover (how fun is that name?). I had never heard of such a thing, but now, I could not live without my own homemade hooter hider for feeding my baby out in public. It straps around your neck so baby's flailing arms or squirmy body can not pull it off him/herself or expose you.

It's funny how usually only nursing mamas notice other nursing mamas. (Except for ones who throw discretion to the wind...they're pretty obvious.) Other people aren't as aware of it because it's not on their minds all the time and they aren't curious to see how it looks from someone else's point of view.

I'm trying to think of some of the places I've fed Jacob or Lily in public. Let's see...

• Under a tree in Williamsburg (shady and private until a school bus full of little kids came running over!)
• At a birthday party last weekend (hosted by a pro-breastfeeding mama from the '70s and '8os when breastfeeding was "out of style")
  
• In the mall, the park, or restaurants

And my all-time favorite...

• At the zoo with my three other nursing mama friends this summer:
  

Marisol and Lori both made their nursing covers, then provided me with my own, as well. I don't go anywhere with Jacob without one of these. (Too bad I didn't have one at the zoo!) Pam is wearing a super groovy nursing tank that unhooks at the top like a nursing bra. I love the idea that there's no chilly belly-baring, especially in the middle of a cold winter's night.

Hmm...maybe I could use one of those for Christmas, Ryan (hint, hint).

(Pam's mom - the hostess mentioned above - is so proud of this photo that she has it hanging up in her studio for all her clients to see!)

Not sure whether or not you have the guts to do it? Just remember that in most states, the law reinforces your right to nurse in public! You're completely within your rights to nurse wherever your baby is allowed to go, and no one can tell you otherwise. Lately, there have been lots of headlines about nursing moms getting harassed or kicked out of places when by law they should not have been. It's funny how Victoria's Secret was at the center of just such a controversy, when the mannequins in their windows leave much less to the imagination than most nursing moms! Gotta love the gusto of nursing moms uniting and hosting a "nurse-in" at Victoria's Secret!

Nursing covers and experience are two things that have really helped me feel less self-conscious about this issue. I would love to hear other people's thoughts - and I would love to hear about all the unexpected places other people have fed their babies!

(It's funny how I totally did intend to write a pro-nursing post when I started writing, but that's how it ended up! I guess it's been on my mind a lot more lately than I realized.)