The right to be saddled.

I've grown used to political "astroturfing", with groups donning names like Freedomworks pretending not to be the creations of corporations. They claim to be groups of just regular folk working for their rights, but are merely beards for corporate interests. Fighting for a corporation's right to decide what rights you have isn't limited to issues like the environment or health care- it's extended to the formula vs. milk debate.

To me, the debate seems settled: human milk is the best food for human babies, and instead of trying to make a pale imitation of such universally available, public health and welfare efforts ought to be focused on getting the Real McCoy to as many babies as possible. Formula's great for the moms who need it, but that's a much smaller group than the number of moms who buy and use formula- the rest are of moms who are pressed into formula feeding by work policies and/or cultural superstitions that make breastfeeding or pumping difficult.

Formula companies have decided to jump on the astroturfing bandwagon and make sure that those policies and superstitions that make breastfeeding and pumping difficult never go away. Websites like "Moms Feeding Freedom" have sprung up looking for moms that want to "fight" for their "right" to be targeted by aggressive marketing campaigns.  The site also features bugaboo stories about breastfeeding and tutorials on preparing formula, all while claiming to promote freedom of choice for mothers of infants. Yeah. The freedom to choose the brand of formula that will boost their market shares, most likely.

They've also targeted general parenting sites like Babble, with the same sort of rubbish. I can respect the desire to make lots of money- it's the American way, after all. But instead of being content with filling the need that is out there, they created a need where none existed, and sought to eliminate any competition, not by having a better product, but by making any other choice either impossible or unthinkable. Instead of healthy competition, you have a group of people who profit off of the sickness and death of children. And because they are wealthy, it's OK.

I may have the right to be saddled and ridden by corporate interests, but I'd rather not be taken for that sort of ride. And neither should any of you.

Just a thought.

Why is cow's milk the cultural norm for milk? Why does every sort of milk get a specifying prefix- goat's milk, breastmilk, etc.? Humanity is the cultural default for food- we don't say "people food" for the food that adult humans consume. It's also the cultural norm for clothing, hair, grooming products, etc. So why isn't human milk just milk, and the milk of other species must be specified?

Opening my shirt for a better world.

My son is exclusively breastfed, and it's surprising how controversial that act is. Mammals, by definition, produce milk designed for their offspring. It would be considered utter folly to take a young deer from his mother to be fed modified walrus milk, but that's exactly what human mothers the world over are expected to do with their young. The AAP, WHO, and the Qur'an, among others, recommend human milk as the best food for infants and young toddlers. Human milk costs nothing to produce, does not require sterile containers and can be stored for longer periods than artificial baby milk. Its constituents cannot be duplicated commercially, as no living substance can be. It is not a miracle food, but it comes close.

It's the best food for human babies, and is quite practical for almost anyone who can produce it naturally- that is, most mothers. Why, then, is it portrayed as somehow less desirable for mothers, especially those who work outside the home?

I'm not going to indulge in conspiracy theories, but I will say this: it's considered more profitable for a company to have a market full of people who can least afford expensive consumable goods. It's considered a luxury, not a necessity, for mothers to take the time needed to feed their babies. It's considered perfectly OK to shell out large amounts of money for inferior food for the sake of "convenience". It's part of the reason why the poorest people have the poorest health outcomes- besides the expense of health care, good nutrition is viewed as too expensive, inconvenient, and only for tree-hugging hippies. But when one factors in the cost of days missed from work due to illness, the link between poor nutrition and behavioral problems in school-age children, and the higher cost on a cumulative basis of "convenience" food, you see that convenience food isn't all that convenient for a tight budget.

Formula can't even be considered convenience food, except for the most expensive "ready to feed" bottles. What convenience food requires special equipment to prepare the serving vessel, requires that water be boiled then cooled, before the food itself can be prepared? My usual answer to the "why not formula" question is that I'm not sterilizing anything at three in the morning. Formula is a godsend for mothers who cannot produce sufficient milk (not common, but it happens), mothers who must take medication incompatible with nursing, and for babies who lose their mothers early. But for many other mothers, it's an expensive, inconvenient option that they are pressed into by family-unfriendly work policies, aggressive marketing strategies, and a culture that is deeply uncomfortable with the true function of the human female breast.

Nursing initiation and continuance rates are especially poor among African-American women. Formula is marketed quite aggressively to black folk, and black women are more likely to have the insecure, low-paying jobs that aren't conducive to pumping and storing milk. We can often ill afford time off from work when we are employed, and we often wind up in the sorts of birth facilities that have outdated policies about feeding newborns and caring for new mothers. There's also a more troubling factor: poorer folk often have less time and access to the latest health info, which means that they may get the bulk of their parenting guidance from elders and commercial literature. Advice from elders can be great- but it can also be deadly. I've been instructed to feed Zak cow's milk and cereal at the age of two weeks, to not buy a car seat, and to put him on his stomach to sleep- all things known to be dangerous, even fatal, to infants today. I've ignored that advice, but if that was the only information I'd gotten, what else could I be expected to do? I was warned that breastfeeding was too hard and painful, and that I'd shortly give it up. If I hadn't done my homework, I'd probably miss out on one of the most satisfying experiences in my life.

Right now, nursing is magic. Zak's tired? Nurse him down. Zak's teething? Comfort nursing. Zak's hot? Forget Gatorade- foremilk hits the spot. It comforts us both- him with the closeness, the sucking and the milk. Me with knowing Zak couldn't get better food than what is made just for him, and that I'm able to comfort him. God willing, he'll grow up happy, healthy, and strong, and I will have given him the best possible start. Doesn't every baby deserve the same?

Conspiracy- maybe.

If you've been reading my blog, you may have noted that there once were ads on the right hand sidebar. Now they're gone. I don't normally indulge in conspiracy theories, but this one is just begging me to don my tinfoil hijab for a minute.

What I've figured out is that since I blog about being a mother of an infant, they put up ads for formula and disposable diapers on the site, thinking that other parents will read my blog and go with the cultural norms of formula feeding and disposable diapering. Makes sense. But considering that I blog about the joys of breastfeeding and cloth diapering at times, no one's going to read a post about how much nursing rocks if they're just going to buy formula anyway. I don't read posts about formula brands, either. But instead of plugging in ads for pumps and cloth diapers, the ads get pulled entirely. Why?

Tinfoil hijab on

Formula companies are rolling in dough, and they'd like to stay that way. Companies will sponsor content that highlights their product, but will also try to have attention pulled away from competing products and critical reviews. I'm thinking that a formula company decided that if the blog even offered an alternative to formula feeding, that said blog would not only find itself without formula ads, but pressured Google to pull all ads.

So, that leaves me without ads, and I'm resorting to an Amazon store instead. It will contain (mostly) things that I've used and loved, so while this is no guarantee that you will like them too, if it's in the store, at least one real person has used it and found it worthy of recommendation. While it's harder than the ads for me, it's more personal, and I'm one who likes to offer something of herself.

Sponsored by Medela- not.

Frugality, thy name is Divorced Mother.

My ex cut my child support by about $100 last month, so I'm trying to clothe and diaper an almost 4 month old on a rather tight budget. I use cloth diapers part time, so it's only the disposables, that get used at night and for outings, that were affected by this, until yesterday.
Zak has now officially doubled his birth weight, outgrowing the fitted cloth diapers that I'd bought for him. I'd also bought one-sized diapers, so I'm not having to potty-train him today, but that's less diapers, and more laundry. While I am thrilled to see he's growing, it's only going to get more challenging as time goes by.

Note that at the top of this post, I don't mention having to feed Zak. No, the boy isn't starving- I am proud to be a nursing mother. Not only does that mean that Zak's food does not have to be purchased, but it also means that he's getting the best food on earth for him. I can't provide much in the way of fancy clothes or toys, but the fact that I can provide at least one thing that is the very best for him is a consolation. I also freely admit that nursing itself rocks.

The following is not a crack on formula-feeding parents.

Nursing, if you're a SAHM/WAHM, is low-maintenance, very cheap, and might I add, uses between 300-500 calories a day. Even WOHMs may find it easier to pump than deal with sterilizing bottles and midnight formula runs. (Not all do, though, and I sympathize entirely.) The benefits of breastmilk are too numerous to list here, and cannot be duplicated or even approximated by formula. I knew when I became pregnant, there were far too many reasons to breastfeed to consider formula feeding by choice. As this post is about frugality, I'll focus on the financial ones.

My ex-husband is not financially responsible. I don't mean that he'll come home with various doodads when we'd set aside money for Zak's college; I mean he'd run off to Europe for a month to "find himself" when he had a divorce in the works, a baby on the way, and was already about twenty grand in the hole. Also, for those of you considering divorce: do find out what your lawyer charges per hour before hiring one, and make sure you can afford that. His lawyer charges more per hour than he gives me per month- much more than my nearly bankrupt ex can handle.

While I'm no financial genius, I knew at the outset that throwing away money like old newspapers would not get us the American Dream. So, I sought to run the house in a way that would make things pleasant and save money. But the homecooked dinners were ignored (dinners he now swear he misses), the efforts to bring in a little extra were sabotaged. It got to the point where I had to buy groceries online at some expense, because he refused to take me grocery shopping. (I do not drive- yet.)

So, I'm doing what I can with what I've got, which means lots of laundry, hunting for sales, and prayer. It also means bringing in whatever I can in terms of money. I hope sell body products online soon.