Any parent knows that you cannot possibly understand the joys and challenges of parenting until you hold that baby in your arms for the first time. But reading helped – all that carefully thought out content gave me some inkling of what to expect and helped me feel more confident and prepared. I attribute Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn (Penny Simkin) to a successful natural childbirth experience with Ben and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way (Susan McCutchheon) to another empowering labor with Alex. These two books had some information on breastfeeding, but perhaps more importantly created an environment where an unencumbered mom could apply what she had learned and a drug-free baby could hone in on his instincts to get breastfeeding off to the best possible start. Labor is one component of breastfeeding and by association parenting that I think far too many people overlook.

But on to the real book review – I have three favorites:

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (La Leche League International)
This book has it all: breastfeeding information and guidance from a reliable source, to carry you through all ages and stages of the breastfeeding relationship. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is filled with valuable content and practical tips that will help establish and nurture the breastfeeding relationship. As a dietitian, research-based is of the utmost importance to me, and I feel totally comfortable recommending this book to mothers and health professionals alike. It’s my new favorite baby shower gift! If you’re expecting or know someone who is, read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding: Keep It Simple (Amy Spangler)
If The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is the breastfeeding St James version of the bible, Breastfeeding: Keep It Simple is the condensed version. This book power-packs breastfeeding basics into less than 100 pages. If you’re short on time or in need of a quick review, check out Breastfeeding: Keep It Simple.

We Like to Nurse
Parents and siblings alike benefit from “reading up” on breastfeeding. Children books that normalize breastfeeding are a great way to prepare for the frequent nursing that a newborn requires. We Like to Nurse normalizes breastfeeding by sharing beautiful illustrations of animals nursing their young. Ben liked it and that’s the only seal of approval I need to recommend a kid’s book.

These are just a few of the countless breastfeeding books out there. I also highly recommend The Ultimate Book of Breastfeeding Answers (Newman). If you’re in need of something on a more specific topic, the updated Breastfeeding Resource guide will be posted to the Utah Breastfeeding Coalition’s webpage soon.

Today’s guest post is from Cara Munson. Cara is a mother, dietitian and hopefully soon to be IBCLC! She loves anything that involves being outside with her husband and two boys.
 

• Renee @ Just the 5 of us!-I Love Books
• Timbra @ Bosoms and Babes-Who Wrote the Book of Love?
• Laura @ Day by Day in Our World-Favorite Books to Help on the Breastfeeding Journey
• Amy @ Anktangle-Book Review and Giveaway: The Nursing Mother’s Companion; Five Winners! {8/30, Worldwide}
• And of course the guest poster on the Breastfeeding Cafe’s blog today is Cara Munson-Favorite Breastfeeding Books

I would LOVE to continue updating the facebook page through the end of the year. There will also be some updates for those interested in learning what it takes to be the Chairwoman or on the committee for the Cafe, as I will hold a meeting in October to begin brainstorming for next year’s committee members. So please, stay a “fan” of us on Facebook and pay attention to details that continue to be posted.

This has been a FABULOUS year of celebrations for World Breastfeeding Week and a wonderful year for the Breastfeeding Cafe. Thank you for all who made it possible! And for allowing me to be this year’s chairwoman.

Let’s end with a few favorite quotes. I don’t even know who to give credit to for this one
~Breastfeeding may not be the right choice for every mother, but it is the right choice for every baby.
~Breastfeeding is normal, and ANYONE can be normal (Renee Yeoman. . . I want to be sure to site her here, because I used this quote for the interview with the Examiner and wasn’t able to give her credit. . . did she take it from someone else?)

Signing off for the last time from the 2011 Breastfeeding Cafe in Salt Lake City, UT
~Timbra Wiist

I’ve really enjoyed this second week of the Cafe. With so many events, fundraising and just the opening of the Cafe in week one (and World Breastfeeding Week) I wasn’t able to attend any classes. But this week I heard great things from those who attended and lead the classes. And I was personally able to attend the “Cafe After Hours” on Wednesday evening and the “Oral Health and Breastfeeding” discussion from Synergy Dental/Dr. Sean Ulm yesterday. Sometimes it’s difficult to find health professionals who understand and fully support breastfeeding COMPLETELY, but the businesses which have been represented this week have been just that. So, just another reminder, hire these people, frequent their businesses, or at least like them on facebook and consider them resources when you have a question about your health or your child’s health, even if you do not choose their businesses, I can say that they will treat you like PEOPLE. This includes all of our presenters this week and those on our Baby Friendly Community Page.

For anyone who showed up for the morning Art Class on Friday, I did get a message ahead of time, but my phone was dead. Apologies for the cancelled class, please email me lllofmurray@gmail.com, if you showed up for the class, and would like to be offered some sort of “make-up session” from the instructor who had a last minute emergency.

This morning we had an expectant moms’ circle, I hope you attended if you’re expecting a baby and just wanted to find some like-minded mamas nearby. At noon, Cara Munson held a discussion format “Ask a Registered Dietician.” Again, I hope if you had any nutrition questions regarding pregnancy, breastfeeding, or child health and nutrition, you went ahead and dropped in for some Q&A.

I want to take another opportunity to highlight a couple of Cafe efforts this year. If you have been b

y the Cafe and have seen all of the 4×6 photos on display, but don’t see your own, PLEASE feel free to go here (http://breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/call-for-breastfeeding-photos/) download the form, read the instructions, send in a photo, and we’ll print them up to be ready for next year’s Cafe.

At 10am Lilly Johnson of Daylilly arts is scheduled to hold another great mommy & me art class. This will be held in the Childrens’ Section, in the craft room, downstairs. We had a great time painting art folders to keep our children’s cherished art pieces in, on Monday, and got some great tips from Lilly about doing art in the home. Daylilly Arts Inc is a non-profit organization, she holds fundraisers at MANY events around the Salt Lake Valley, and she holds art camps in Murray each week. When school begins again, she’ll have a whole new set of classes for all ages and abilities.

And at 3pm, a second presentation from Dana Robinson of Synergy Dental. Dana will be sharing information about breastfeeding and oral health for children. She really does her research. Synergy dental is dedicated to the patient and treating oral health holistically. Dana is also a mother of two breastfed children. If you missed last Friday’s discussion, come today!

The Cafe is really winding down. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. I am also amazed out how smoothly the Cafe seems to have run this year. Facebook has been a great resource for getting out information and up to date events throughout the Cafe, as well as a great way to share photos and reminders. World Breastfeeding Week held several celebrations and this second week of the Cafe has been just as amazing, filled with classes and opportunities.

We had a huge complement on Wednesday evening from a couple who was just looking for a quiet place to meet their new little girl’s needs. They walked up to the SHARE space, said they’d walked by a few times and wanted to check it out finally. The father wanted to be a supportive partner, but expressed to one of our volunteers that he didn’t really know how to do that. But they stopped in, sat in the rockers, eventually baby girl nursed, and they were able to share with us how amazing this space was. The father also expressed how incredible he thought the Breastfeeding Cafe was as a resource for his family, but also how impacting it was for our community. That’s what it’s all about folks. . . families feeling the support of a community!

Have a wonderful final few days of the Cafe. Volunteers, be sure to write down those stories when you hear positive feedback from someone just “passing by.” We’d love to be able to share them at our Volunteer reception this year!

I’d like to take opportunity today to say thank you to all of my Committee Members & Event Coordinators for the 2011 “Cafe Season”:

There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes action that goes on before the Cafe begins and while it runs in the SHARE space. So many fabulous ladies have volunteered their time, especially many Friday afternoons, to create this year’s theme and organize everything that brings the Cafe together.

I’ve wanted to give credit along the way as events come and go, but there’s been so much great stuff to share, it’s been hard to find a day to do it. Please thank these ladies for another wonderful year of the Breastfeeding Cafe, if you get a chance (volunteer reception on August 19 is a fine place to do it).

If you’re volunteering this year it’s only because Renee Yeoman is our fabulous volunteer coordinator. And she’s not the only one putting in hard work. Volunteers, are you LOVING your free parking? Thank Jeana Jones who coordinated EVERYTHING with the library, in fact, if it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have the SHARE space at all! Speaking of the SHARE space, Renee and myself were on “design” this year, Claire also got the word out on getting individuals to send in their favorite nursing photos.

A couple of lovely ladies created all of our posters and fliers. If you heard about our Cafe through media sources in our community or saw a poster somewhere, that’s because Julia Moench sent out a billion press release notices and created our wonderful orange posters. And if you saw a flier on a bulletin board around town, in your favorite grocery store, local library or somewhere else in your neighborhood, or you were given an invitation to one of our events going on during the Cafe, thank Natasha Boss who created TONS of fliers and invitations for our various events.

Are you leading or attending a class this year? You’ll want to thank Amanda Nederostek, who coordinated all of our education for the Cafe. Did you take part in the blog carnival? Then, be sure to thank Claire Lindstrom who was, for the second year running, Carnival Mistress. And if you’re reading this. . . Thank Tricia Lewandowski who is keeping up the website for our Silent Auction and daily posts!

I’m sure to forget someone. Kathy Grossman donated her gorgeous painting again this year, to raise money for the Cafe, go ahead. . .BID ON IT! Thank you to the Department of Health for all of the printing, and specifically Cara Munson who was something of our “printing liaison” this year through the DoH. This saved our budget TONS in printing costs and allowed us to spend on other things. Kathy Pope was also our “resource” lady, helping us get all of the resources from the Department of Health to the SHARE space.

Donation of chairs: Renee Yeoman and Melissa Knighton. Melissa also helped make sure that our resources were in order in the Cafe, specifically our La leche League tear-off sheets.
Latch On America: Judy Harris, Karin Hardman, Cara Munson, Timbra Wiist
Big Latch On: Jeana Jones
Flash Mob: Claire Lindstrom, Timbra Wiist
After Hours: Heidi Lewis
Translator and coordinator for WIC peer counselors: Gina Toledo
Utah Breastfeeding Coalition President: Karin Hardman
And a huge thank you to Volunteers, Event speakers and Presenters, and anyone else who has been part of the World Breastfeeding Week and Breastfeeding Cafe events, activities and celebrations.

Without the help of EVERYONE (yes, that includes 45 volunteers and 13 or more presenters), the Cafe’s presence in the community could not happen. Thank you for the different ways you support breastfeeding mothers, ALL mothers and the efforts of the Cafe.

I’ve been so excited about our extra efforts to pass the word about classes. Today we had 11 people for the photography class in the SHARE space, which is at least twice as many as have attended in the past two years. I hope to see more numbers like that during the rest of the week.

Speaking of classes: Be sure to check out today’s line-up. Cloth Diaper Utah will be holding their monthly meeting in the SHARE space at 10am. If you’re a regular of this meeting, then by all means, drop by. If you’re interested in cloth diapering, have questions, or didn’t even realize that there’s a monthly meeting going on, then by all means drop by too!!!

In the afternoon Alisha Stamper, of Alisha Stamper Photography, will be leading a class from another passion of hers, “Loving Through Lullabies.” What a neat way to learn some new lullabies for your babies and find another means of communicating with your little people. Stop in at 4pm to learn a new language!

This is our second “Cafe After Hours” class as well. Tonight is a “TWO-FER” class. We’ll start off with Natasha Boss giving a Kefir Making How-To. You’ll get a great handout on Kefir making and resources, as well as have opportunity to put yourself on a list to get Kefir grains from local mamas as they become available. Directly following we’ll have Rebecca Overson of Salt Lake Prenatal Massage giving us “Dr. Mom: Essential Oils for Pregnancy and Parenthood.” You’ll want to stick around for this one, she’ll be giving away some essential oils after her presentation.

Wednesday. . . what a great day at the Cafe!

The days are flying by, we’re almost halfway through the second week of our Cafe. Yesterdays’s art class was moved downstairs to the Chidlren’s section, which meant it was then opened even MORE to the public. . . we had THIRTY individuals (I think 9 adults and 21 kids of varied ages) there. This is amazing, since most classes barely reach 5 attendees. Next year we may just have to request the downstairs classrooms for EVERY class if we keep up this great use of our online communication resources.

You’re going to love today’s “Photography Tips” class by Katrina Anderson of Red Bean Photography. She’s a fabulous photographer and last year embarked on the project, “At Mother’s Breast,” photographing nursing mothers around the valley. 4 of her photographs are found in poster sized prints, in the SHARE space, along with photos by Alisha Stamper of Stamper Photography, and photos by Timbra Wiist of Landslide Photography. Stop by at 10am to learn some great tips for photographing your own children, from someone who is often chasing around FIVE of her own!

FACEBOOK
If you have a chance, RSVP to the events on the facebook page, when you plan to attend, then go ahead and “share it” on your own page, or even go in and invite friends individually. We could REALLY increase our class sizes and therefore our ability to reach more mothers, if everyone excited about the Cafe, were willing to take a few minutes to invite their friends to classes each day. This year’s theme is “Mothers See! Mothers Do!” Let’s be about supporting the other MOTHERS in our lives, by sharing breastfeeding information and resource opportunities with friends and family.

I’d like to say again, be sure to get on facebook and “like” these businesses that are giving their time to make our Cafe classes and our Cafe space awesome this year! A list can be found in Monday’s post.

There have been a few questions about resources and information for classes that haven’t happened yet. Be sure to check back after the Cafe, we’ll continue to do some updating online with resources, business names, contact information for instructors, etc.

If you were at Latch On America in July, then you may have met today’s instructor, Lilly. She’ll be offering an art class for little people today at 3pm. I can speak from experience, that she is amazing, sweet and guides children in creating amazing things. You’ll definitely want to come on down and take part in this class.

“Liking” our Baby Friendly Businesses:
Please remember, a lot of our instructors are professionals with private practices and businesses. Consider hopping around on facebook and liking some of our presenters, sponsors and donors: Synergy Dental, Red Bean Photography, Salt Lake Prenatal Massage, Landslide Photography, Cloth Diaper Utah, Alisha Stamper Photography, NAP Inc, Daylilly Arts Inc., La Leche League of Sandy, of SLC and of Murray .

Baby Friendly Community:
Beyond just “liking” these businesses, consider frequenting some of them! We also have a HUGE list of baby friendly businesses on our online wall (just click the tab above). You can add to this list by delivering an international breastfeeding symbol sticker to one of your favorite businesses and then adding their name in the comments section to be added to the wall at a later date. There are stickers and a small explanation of “Baby Friendly Business” in the SHARE space, so pick some up and hand them out. I think we’d all like to support businesses that support us as mothers!

Finally. . . as of Saturday, the SHARE space now boasts over 100 visual pieces of art depicting breastfeeding mothers, including paintings and photographs. Drop by to check it out. Don’t see your photo there? You can download a release form, sign it, scan or photograph it and email it in with your SINGLE favorite nursing photo (one for each child). We’ll print it out and add it to the collage.

A big thanks to Sleepy Wrap/Boba for sponsoring our flash mob and giving free carriers to each participant. We were literally gifted with THOUSANDS of dollars worth of carriers!

I’d like to give a HUGE thank youto Claire Lindstrom who co-coordinated the Flash Mob with me, and did a ton of organizational work behind the scenes, including pulling her husband, Curtis, in on much of it. And to Lexie Corbett, our fearless choreographer and leader! She took time out to choose music, choreograph the dance AND teach MANY wayward dancing souls for four Friday nights starting back in May. And why not?!!! Thanks to all those crazy kids who got out there and shook what their mamas gave ‘em yesterday!!!! PS, Thank you to Black Eyed Peas for some PHAT jams!

And just like that, a week of the Cafe has come and gone and World Breastfeeding Week celebrations around the Salt Lake Area have come to a close (while some are stillgoing on). The Big Latch on was a HUGE success, with over 130 people in attendance and 45 record breaking mamas! Another special thanks must be inserted here, for Jeana Jones. She has tirelessly been our library liaison for TWO years and has done a fabulous job this year, her second year. She was also all of the hard work behind making sure that the Big Latch On happened here in Salt Lake City this year! Thank you Jeana!

Welcome to week 2 of the Cafe!

Nicole Bernshaw, IBCLC, is ready to answer your questions or chat with you today. So drop by the SHARE space during the library’s open hours of 1-5 and pay her a visit!

If you don’t have a baby ready to latch, because that baby is still waiting to HATCH. . . then you should be at the “Expectant Moms’ Circle” at 10am instead. Local La Leche League leader, Bradley Instructor and Doula, Amy Ihrig will be facilitating today’s circle, and I’m just SURE some of you have at least ONE question you’d like answered! Like, “What’s the Bradly Method?” Or “Why would someone need a Doula?” Or “How do I ensure a good start to breastfeeding? And what’s my birth got to do with it anyway?” Or maybe you’d just like to meet a few moms who you’ll someday form a playgroup with when you all have little people of the same age. . . lasting friendships begin in circles of like-minded mamas, so come on down and meet your new best friend today!

What does your afternoon look like? I’d suggest grabbing lunch and considering sticking near the SHARE space today after about 3:30 (but you won’t need to bring dinner along). . . JUST a suggestion. . .you never know WHAT you might see, or when! I know a few people who have been working pretty hard to show off their mad talent!