Whats really wrong with full term "extended" breastfeeding

In my last post I was expressing my frustration of the reaction I receive in public nursing my four month old. Then the TIME magazine cover happend. I don't care as much about the front cover, or even whats inside the article as much as the opinions that everyone obviously had on the subject. I am reading thread after thread with horrid comments even moms and pro-breastfeeding people had nasty things to say. I had no idea that so much of the public has this mind set.I am even more passionate about advocating the education of breast feeding. This has really set a fire in me.

The real problem with extended breast feeding is actually the people who are against it. They have uneducated, stubborn, and ludicrous opinions on the subject. Google all of the sudden and all the information on the Internet is "not credible" while their years of parenting experience suddenly can discount thousands of years worth of human nature, scientific proof, as well as the support of many doctors. I also saw a few people just spew idiotic breastfeeding horror-folklore tales of addicted children, and sexually perverse mothers who like it. No one can tell you anything is wrong with extended breast feeding except people whose opinions are based on the fact that a child is using a part of a mother that they have sexual connotation towards so it makes them generally uncomfortable. So then comes feelings of disgust because our society is hyper sexual and puts so much emphasis towards breasts in the context of being sexy. And who loses? The babies of the mothers who will never even try to breastfeed because of societies close minded views.

The other thing is that most of these parents have had kids who have had extended binkies useage and then think extended nursing is an unhealthy attachment. WHAT?! It is a fake plastic nipple, that has health consequences NOT benefits, that is addictive, and just plain nasty in excess. Breastfeeding can be for comfort at those ages but still benefits the development of the mouth/teeth, is nutritious, and creates a healthy bond between mother and baby. Most people are allergic to cows milk and don't know it, the hormones in alot of it have shown to make girls go into puberty early. Their are so many health concerns with milk, while nothing but benefits with breast milk.Who cares if the baby can ask for it? When the baby cries because it pooped itself is it ready use the toilet instead?  It's called baby steps for a reason. Babies have teeth anywhere from birth- 12 months old, and some start solids anywhere from 3 months (wouldn't recommend it) to 9 months. Alot of babies can sign or ask for milk in the first 5 to 12 months.A fan of ours said she liked to refer to extended breastfeedig as full term breastfeeding because extended implies that you are drawing it out and lengthening it, which isn't true at all.We should be referring to it more as full term breastfeeding rather than extended.(a fan suggested this and I love it) The World Health Organization(WHO) recommends from 2-3 and beyond as child and mother see fit. The AAP sucks and I wont cite them ever. The world average for natural weaning is 4.5 years old.


 Lastly, the mothers of the extended breastfeeding toddlers, ARE ready for it to be over when it happens. I assure you that. They are ready for their bodies to be theirs again, they will miss it but not for perverted or over bearing reasons, but because of the benefits and happiness it brought the child. Breastfeeding isn't for the mother or for fun, it is for the child and we know that. Attachment parenting is about not forcing our children to or from us. Its about gentle, loving non controlling parenting, giving the child what he instinctively wants, which is his mother to listen to his needs.

P.S.- Michael Jordan was breastfed until 3 years old, so fuck off. I am pretty sure he is fine, obviously.

                                               A couple attachment parenting "experts"





meat eatta

I watched a woman todaywith one hand hold a styrofoam and plastic wrap package of chicken legs and thighs with one hand, and then slam it down on the conveyor at the grocery store. She didn't have any regard for the fact that this food was once life. Though personally we choose not to eat meat, we have said before we know not everyone is going to make that decison. But disregarding the life of and not respecting the animals you are consuming is barbaric.


Meat- It should be known that meat is not good for you. It is not. Meat contains absolutely nothing - no protein, vitamins or minerals - that your body cannot obtain perfectly happily from a vegetarian diet.
If you choose to meat your children please buy organics and avoid red meats. If you are not buying organically you are probably feeding your child hormones, antibiotics and even tranquillizers.

Hormones:
Confidential industry reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration show that beef contains high levels of hormones and that these hormones are especially dangerous to children. The Cancer Prevention Coalition warns, "No dietary levels of hormones are safe, and a dime-sized piece of meat contains billions of millions of [hormone] molecules."

The negative consequences of feeding meat to children were clearly shown in the early 1980s when thousands of children in Puerto Rico experienced premature sexual growth and developed painful ovarian cysts. The culprit was meat from cattle who had been treated with growth-promoting sex hormones. Meat-based diets may also be to blame for the early sexual development of young girls in the U.S.: Nearly half of all African-American girls and about 15 percent of Caucasian girls now enter puberty when they are just 8 years old.


Bacteria:
Much of the meat from the 10 billion cows, pigs, and birds who are slaughtered for food in the U.S. every year is contaminated with fecal bacteria.  Pathogens such as E. coli, listeria, and campylobacter have been resons for meat recalls and have even caused death in children.


Antibiotics:
About 80% of antibiotics produced in the U.S. are given to farm animals. This practice is bad for human heath, the enviorment and bad for livestock. This practice has evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains is a serious public health threat. (Princeton)


Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
Percentage resistant in 1988: 91
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban
Response of US meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support


Pesticides: (In breastfeeding mothers)

Percentage of US mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99
Percentage of US vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8
(Consumercidal)



Diseases associated with meat:

Anaemia, appendicitis, arthritis, breast cancer, cancer of the colon, cancer of the prostate, constipation, diabetes, gall stones, gout, high blood pressure, indigestion, obesity, piles, strokes and varicose veins are just some of the well known disorders which are more likely to affect meat eaters than vegetarians.

Meat and Heart Health: (Men)
How frequently a heart attack kills in the US: every 45 seconds
Average US man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
Risk of average US man who eats no meat: 15 percent
Risk of average US man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent
(Consumercidal)


Brain Health:
Research shows that meat consumption may also adversely affect children's mental abilities in both the short and the long term and indicates that a meat-free diet can give children an academic edge in their grade-school years. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that while American children have an average IQ of 99, the average IQ of vegetarian children is 116.

(PETA)



DON'T FEED YOUR TODDLER HOT DOGS!




"...17 percent was composed of 16 choking deaths from hot dogs and one from a sausage from a total of 41 states over three years. All the children who died were aged three or under. So, to put the risk into perspective, approximately five children died each year in the U.S. from choking on a hotdog."

That is a f***** shame! If I had to see five toddlers choke to death on hotdogs I would be devastated.
(while writing this my sister and I discussed how many times as children we choked on steak. You know, you get a chewy piece and after knawing for a while you try to swallow it...thanks for the memories meat!)


Dairy--if not possible go raw



French fries --try sweet potatoes fries
Corn syrup/high fructose
Crackers
Ketchup
Hydrogenated oils
Gummies and gelatin products
Gum

Breast is best ( when you're in covered up in a bathroom alone and the baby isnt too old)

Kagomae and I

I planned on using a cover, I really did. But then here I was with my hours old sweetie when we were going to have our first visitor (a male) I was nursing her for the second time, i was using a nursing pillow and tried to use a cover. I put it on for a whole five seconds and felt like a freaking circus tent. This isn't a sideshow it is my little girl nursing! I decided right there that this was a beautiful natural thing and other people are going to deal with it. Fast forward 4 months later, dozens of mean looks, ONE nice comment, and one rude DMV employee ( whom will never say anything to a nursing mother again, I went hormonal on her) and pounds and pounds of chunky happy baby later and were still going strong.

I will admit I get sick of the glaring jerk offs, but I sadly admit I used to be them! I have only two distinct memories of women nursing my whole life. One was when I was a kid, and I feel like if my mother had taken a moment to talk about why she was doing that and that it wasn't gross then I would have had a lifetime of different thoughts about it. The second time i was waitressing and i wasn't grossed out, i just remember thinking the kid was too old. Blah, I hate that I was so uninformed my whole life and with my first child. But now I'm an advocate for breastfeeding acceptance.
Breastfeeding grosses people out (Americans mostly) Why though? We are a hyper sexual culture whose media forms our sexuality in a big way. Breasts being sexually attractive is a learned behavior not human instinct. Countries like Bali are good examples. They are not sexual organs!  Some people like feet, yet we don't all wear socks with flip flops and gag when we see a painted toe.

So, how to deal with the sheer ignorance and meanness of peoples reactions to nursing in public( or in your home, god forbid)Everyone says smile and continue nursing but what I want to do is say "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GLARING AT?!" or  "I bet you use that mouth of yours in a sexual context, yet I still see it flapping a -freakin' -way" I think I need to take the middle ground and just be prepared and stop and talk to people about why it makes them uncomfortable. I yelled at that lady at the DMV, but her opinion didn't change, now she just knows the laws and is probably scared to ever try that again. So thats a good thing, but maybe I should have informed her a little so she had a new paradigm of thought about it. I feel for women who feel self conscious and will never breastfeed in fear of societies reaction. I feel for women that feel that they HAVE to use a cover, as it is a choice not a requirement. I want people to know that breast is best even when its in public and whats not best is feeling shunned and ridiculed.

On a final note, I am far more disgusted at the large amounts of dead flesh and milk from other animals in your cart than my  little one getting the nutrition she needs. And you don't see me barking and glaring(or judging) at your family!
Remember that your forming peoples opinions and reactions by exposing them to a little bit of nature and that the more people that see it, the more babies that might get 'the good stuff' :)

Beeing Vegan, where's the love?

My family eats a very healthy diet. We choose to not eat meat, dairy, wheat, sugar, soy, corn, canola and other animal products. Nothing processed. We shop at the farmer's markets, buy local and organic and have compiled healthy recipes we cook from scratch. We considered ourselves vegan, or veg-ish. We already knew that we were self-loathing vegans, but now we know that we indeed will never bee vegan enough, and we wouldn't want to bee.

                           
                               We eat honey. Its healthy, raw, and local yummy. 

                                   



We joined an unschooling vegan group on Facebook, Free Range Families. I introduced myself and said I eat a vegan diet except for  honey. The admin of the group was venomous (which isn't vegan) called vegetarians cunts, among a plethora of other profanities.They also created a facebook "War" which was a thread of vegan vs vegetarian unschoolers, where they insulted and kicked people from the group based on their not strictly vegan diets.  They kicked my sister and I out... for eating honey.
                                     
                                                  They were Vegan Nazis. 


 I think veganism is a wonderful thing, but it doesn’t give people the right to stop treating human beings decently. Vegetarianism and Veganism already have a bad enough reputation, people think we are pompous and unhealthy, and that we don’t live life to the fullest  (because we don’t eat cheeseburgers or whatever.)  So now vegans and vegetarians aren’t friends? Over an egg or honey?  Seriously?? That is not progressive and  just stupid.

 

Well first off, Veganism is kind of bullcrap, there are just a few loopholes. Let's explore!



-1/3 of the Produce in America ISN'T vegan
There are not enough bees to pollinate all the plants due to declining bee populations,                  so farmers will rent bees from beekeepers by the truckload, for the farming season. 



-Anesthesia and many other meds.



-Engine oil, gasoline, and tires (even on your bicycle) are not vegan.



-Tattoos aren't vegan. 



-Most Beers and Wines (fish-bladder?)



-Pet food (your pets aren't vegan)




                         So in this very non vegan world, what are vegans to do?
                                      Why do we even choose this lifestyle?                                                            
                                                Simple: health and ethics.

The fight isn't about what YOU are eating that offends ME. Nope. We should be fighting for food and health. Stop calling people names who don't eat what you eat. Everyone is in a different place in their life journey, nobody is going to mirror you exactly and do what your doing at the same exact time your doing it.              


There is a big problem with Genetically Modified Crops, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. I believe Genetically Modified Crops are FAR worse for your health and the planet than meat.  I don’t see the point of quitting meat and switching to horrid GMO soy products that ruin your health.  Humans are opportunist eaters,  which means that we are built for fruits, veggies and small amounts of seeds and nuts, and our systems can handle meat also if the situation arises that vegetation isn’t present. There is NO room for genetically modified crops in this food pyramid. So though I don’t agree, I live in reality which knows that everyone wont be vegan (though i feel its best for my family and the earth), not in this century, so why not spend my time promoting good whole organic diets, and fighting back against these large conglomerate mega companies who control our food supply, and deliver our families pesticide ridden, crap processed packaged “food” at the supermarket. I believe that this fight is a honorable, non-judgmental one for the earth and humanity.   



Next time we see someone eating a hotdog, we should skip the red paint can and discuss nitrates.
 

           
             By the way, the whole reason I joined the vegan family groups was to find support and ideas. As if the world isn't unwelcoming enough to people who eat this way, my children won't find support from vegans either. Bummer.

                                      
                                         NEWSFLASH: SOY ISN'T HEALTHY (but honey is!)



             

Top five things to stop doing to babies at the supermarket

I already hate grocery shopping with three children under two enough. Let alone the glares when my sister and I are wearing Ergos. But some people take it to a whole new level of testing my kindness and understanding. There needs to be some etiquette in place to make these awkward grocery store meetings more bearable. Yes the one year old will wave,smile and tell you how sweet he is, so maybe you should do the same.


Stop touching my kids!

I know, the month old sweetie cuddled on mamas chest makes you reminisce of when your babies were babies, but your wrinkly little finger coming towards her makes me think of you wiping your ass this morning and if you have got a Tb test recently. I mean especially when you don't ask permission and dive in. I usually freeze up in shock and my sister pushes unknown hands away. My nephews still goes through this but its horrible because he hates strangers especially ones who take prescription medication,no joke. This applies to pregnant belly touching too,even though i didn't get much of that since most people thought i was teen mom or something and didn't mess with it. Its not that you can't enjoy the baby, but when the baby could catch a cold or disease, its best for everyone to keep their distance


Stop telling me my children are too big or small!
 1 in 3 kids is overweight or obese just in case anyone forgot. Besides that, all babies grow differently and according to what is healthy for them. Trying to make moms worried that their baby isn't growing right isn't your duty. If i was worried then we would go to a doctor or nutritionist or someone with credentials. This also applies to pregnant women, stop telling moms they are too big or small its just so rude and totally not your business. As a vegan/vegetarian both of these have been issues and it really made my pregnancy hard to deal with in public because of everyone's your too small bullcrap.

Quit telling me my children are too cold!

Dear citizens of California, 55 degrees hasn't ever killed anyone. Neither has a grocery store cooler. We like to refer to this as "California cold" California cold is a condition that happens when you haven't left California in too long. But i assure you the little girl soundly sleeping in a sling on my chest isn't cold. By not mentioning the temperature of my children you can avoid me yelling "HIS NOSE IS ALWAYS THAT COLOR!!"

Don't  ask me if the father is around!
Would you like me to tell you about our romantic night in a Arabic hotel in Nebraska or maybe about perennial massage? What if he died or is married with another family, what if i was raped, how about artificial insemination or the baby was adopted. Or maybe he's in prison or they don't know who it is.Do any of these answers make a comfortable conversation with a stranger in the produce isle? And I'm sure the kids without dads love having to hear mommy tell a billion strangers how dad left or any of these scenarios. I'm sure that's great for their psychological development. Anyways it's rude no matter what the answer your going to get is.


Stop telling me, "Your just a baby yourself!"

Not my family.

I'm married with two children and am not teen mom. It's like going up to an older mom and asking aren't you a little beyond your child rearing years? And lets stop sexualizing lite girls then act all surprised when they turn 15 and get pregnant. Duh, you taught them to booty dance in moms high heels to "single ladies" where do you think this was going. Either way don't mention to moms that are teens how they are young, they get it already and its hard enough as it is.  

http://formulafree.com/pages/FacebookDebate.htm

Did PETA forget about the ethical treatment of WOMEN?

We are vegan women and are embarrassed to be represented this way by PETA.

This is the worst ad we have ever seen. It's worse than the Paris Hilton with the cheeseburger washing the Bentley. We hate that ad!

We were recently discussing writing a blog about the sexualization of food, specifically meats and how disgusting and hilarious it was that people are feeling frisky about eating a dead animal. We were happy to not be  included from the sexualized food media tactic. Phew! Until we saw the PETA ad... which is just as bad but exceptionally more awkward sexualization.

This ad has nothing to do with veganism. This is a misrepresentation of veganism. Celery being thrown at me isn't appetizing or demonstrate the diversity of a vegan diet.

This is a bad representation of people, food, heath, relationships and sexuality.
This ad depicts a woman injured in a neck brace, waddling looking mangled. Then shows a hole being patched in the wall, her in a doggie style sex position as the ad tells you about the libido spike and chalks it up to veganism.
The woman doesn't appear happy or healthy for most advertisement. She is wandering the streets injured and unclothed with sad music. If your sex life lands you in the state of this woman, it is unhealthy. The man had no compassion about her wellbeing and the whole ad was about meeting the needs of his vegan sex drive.
The ailment she had was called, "Boyfriend went vegan and knocked the bottom out of me"
I find this completely offensive. As confused as this nation is about sex this is not a goal we should have in our intimate relationships. Sex isn't measured by what is vigorous or painful. This 'bottom knocking out' business isn't a healthy depiction of sex. Our culture has instilled this damaging idea, with rap songs like  "Beat the p**** up" and "Toot it and Boot it" among others. This is harmful for our youth's perception of sexuality. Would you want your daughters goal to be injured during sex as a measure of quality? Or think that good sex is supposed to hurt her? C'mon.This is not compassionate and it is almost backtracking in social ideas about sex in that it doesn't have concern for a woman's needs, but anything goes to satisfy a man even if it means injury.

PETA treated this woman like a "piece of meat". We do not like that expression because it implies that we do not respect meat. We forget that it was living, feeling animal. If PETA wants people to treat animals ethically they must not contribute to the idea that a living things feelings don't matter when it comes to satisfying the appetite of man. This is completely counterproductive. Stupids.

Being vegan, for us, is about healthy lifestyle. It is about feeding our bodies so that they can allow us more happiness with our children. Being healthy can boost your sex life and I hope it would be in a healthy manner of love and compassion instead of this PETA babble bullshit.

And by the way, we called PETA in Dec to report a donkey show at a gentleman's club, and they have never called us back. Don't worry, the Sheriff took interest.