A Mormon (Feminist!) Image: Got Milk?
I like how Mom is resting her head on her daughter as she nurses her.
- Sisterhood that crosses generations.
I can see here a piece of the history of Motherhood Feminism.
When I first gave birth, nursing was strongly discouraged. Midwives, home births,
were considered un-modern and unacceptable. Husbands supporting childbirth labors was
unheardof. A favorite teacher was forced to give up her job as
soon as she started to show her pregnancy. Women were arrested for trying to
nurse their babies in public places (irrespective of how modestly they sought to do that).
Sometimes it’s back to the future (as with nursing acceptance), at the same time as we try to
move forward in creating a parenthood friendly society. No wonder it takes so long…. Good
thing for these occasional moments of perfect contentment when the sky is blue and you’ve got milk.
Submitted By Betty Jo
This photograph is part of our ongoing series highlighting images from our readers lives. Comments to the post are encouraged. In addition we invite you to submit your own images to the Mormon Image series. Rules and instructions, including submissions guidelines, can be found here.
Love it. Love it. Love it!
Comment by Stephanie — November 7, 2009 @ 10:58 pm
Great photograph. I love how it looks like an impressionist painting.
Comment by jks — November 8, 2009 @ 12:35 am
Reminds me of how I used to fall asleep in the middle of the night, while nursing the babes.
Comment by Kimberly — November 8, 2009 @ 8:51 am
I really like this topic..more more!!!
Comment by debrauk — November 8, 2009 @ 12:41 pm
Ah Betty Jo,I’m working on trying to focus on these moments.Your posts and comments have been a great support and inspiration in this project.Thanks for the perspective.
Comment by wayfarer — November 8, 2009 @ 5:48 pm
I miss nursing my babies, even though I was only able to do it by pumping. Returning the pump after 13 months was a thing of mixed emotions. I really wanted to keep providing milk for them, but they needed ME on the floor playing with them more than they needed me pumping and dealing with the clean-up and storage, bottles, etc., at that point. Much as the pump was painful and a hassle, it was also a bit of an old friend at that point, and returning marked the end of an era. I wish to goodness I had tried putting them to the breast again as they got a little bigger, but before it was too late for them to transition.
Oh well, they got what they needed from it — a good year+ of mom’s milk and antibodies to keep them healthy and happy. They went from 33-week preemies to healthy, normal, happy 1-year-olds, and that’s what counts.
Comment by Lorian — November 8, 2009 @ 6:21 pm
Lorian, it still amazes me..pumping for 13 months. That is some serious committment. I can’t imagine the time and energy that entailed.
I’ve only ever pumped sporadically-once for a week during surgery, but really it’s very relentless.
Comment by britt — November 8, 2009 @ 6:52 pm
Obsessive-Compulsive is my middle name, britt!
I wish, seriously, that I could have made it work differently, but pumping was what saved my sanity when my babes were tiny and wouldn’t latch, literally, to save their lives. It all worked out, and I have some terrific funny stories about pumping while driving the van, pumping at the movie theater while the girls were in NICU, and falling asleep pumping when they were a bit older and I was still getting up in the middle of the night to keep my milk supply up to their daytime demands (waking up 1.5 hours later, with the pump still attached, feeling like my nipples were stretched long enough to reach my knees… 
).
Comment by Lorian — November 8, 2009 @ 7:27 pm
I used the hand-held, manual pump and it was sloooooow going for me. The babies themselves would bring down so much milk, they’d choke a little bit at first. I had absolutely no luck at all with the mechanical pump- the only thing it did was make my nipples raw. I give you all the credit in the world, Lorian, I only pumped for some extra for reserve bottles and for the rice cereal. That was more than enough, thank you very much…
Comment by Kimberly — November 8, 2009 @ 11:29 pm
Loved pumping while driving. True story: I pumped while going through the drive-thru at In-N-Out burger. That’s when you know you’re a twin mom.
Comment by sister blah 2 — November 9, 2009 @ 1:57 am
Please tell me Lorian that you had a hospital grade pump? Forsome reason you’re O/C comment made me laugh…I added O and C to your first initial and had this rapper image immediately jump to my brain.
Sister blah 2 - I must not be a twin mom ; )
Comment by britt — November 9, 2009 @ 6:32 am
Pumping while driving? Yikes! Now that’s talent.
Comment by Kimberly — November 9, 2009 @ 9:05 am
That’s big booby respect Lorian.
Comment by wayfarer — November 9, 2009 @ 9:36 am
#11—britt, I’m sorry I didn’t mean that to sound exclusive. My bad.
#12—Sorry if this is going too off-topic in this thread, but I cannot emphasize enough my recommendation of purchasing or making a hands-free setup for pumping if you will be doing it more than very infrequently. Easy Expression hands-free bustier changed/saved my life. You can also make one by chaining rubber bands together and anchoring them to your bra strap. Once you have that set up, then driving becomes a great opportunity to pump because it puts the baby(ies) to sleep and so they don’t need you and you can have a moment to pump. Just my 2c.
Comment by sister blah 2 — November 9, 2009 @ 11:36 am
sister blah 2 #11 - :high-five: Me, too!!! Only it was Taco Bell. :giggle:
Yes, britt (11), hospital grade pump. I had borrowed a “Pump-in-style” from a friend, but I ended up really need the “power” of the hospital pump to keep adequate milk for both babies, so I eventually returned the PIS to the friend after hardly using it.
I had “pumping station set up in the back seat of our van, too, for when I wasn’t driving. I road all the way to Oregon and back in that back seat when the girls were 6 months old, pumping much of the way and entertaining the babies facing me from the middle seats.
Good times.
Wayfarer (13) - Thanks!
Yes, sister blah 2 (14) I understand they have much better pumping bras available now. I just had the one with the rubber-band kit. It was awkward and not extremely reliable. I had to hold the siphons quite a bit to make sure they stayed centered. Worked pretty well, though, and at least I could let go for a few moments at a time to do something for a baby. I spent hours sitting on my bed, pumps attached, with the babies facing me in bouncy seats, linked together so I could rock them with my feet while I held the pumps.
Driving was trickier, but I made it work somehow. We lived at the top of a mountain pass, so I had a long drive down either side to get to anywhere. It was a good time to get the pumping done, since I had to pump for 30-45 minutes at a stretch, 8-9 times per day, to maintain enough milk supply for two babies.
Sorry for the pumping derail!
Comment by Lorian — November 9, 2009 @ 12:46 pm
sister blah…please note the smilie..and don’t worry one bit.
hurrah for hands free ingenuity
yay for hospital grade pumps
With nursing twins I used every trick I had learned from the5 previous. Becca preferred to wait until Susan got my milk in -then nurse…all the rest and four liters of water a day to keep my supply up.
Comment by britt — November 9, 2009 @ 6:49 pm
YES on the water, britt! I used to carry around a gallon jug. I’d fill it every morning and have it gone by bedtime.
Comment by Lorian — November 9, 2009 @ 7:02 pm
I love this picture. I am not a mother (yet, but hopefully someday) but whenever I see mother cows with their calves and the calf is butting it’s head against it’s mother’s udder and then nurses, I always wonder if human babies do something similar. Betty Jo- correct me if I’m wrong but don’t the calves do that to help stimulate the milk letting down process? That is a true statement of motherhood and love to stand their while your not so small baby butts it’s head against what I can only imagine is a tender area if it’s anything like women’s breasts.
Comment by Darcy — November 9, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
Darcy, yeah, kind of. If the milk isn’t coming fast enough, they get frustrated. But the cutest thing is when they hold your breast in their little hands while they drink. It melts my heart.
Comment by Stephanie — November 9, 2009 @ 11:26 pm
fwiw I was able to pump for eleven months and maintain my supply without a hospital grade pump–I used the Ameda Pump in Style. (What kind of style they had in mind eludes me. I know I always felt so “stylish” while hooked up to that thing!) But I only needed enough milk for one baby, not two! Pumping exclusively was so much work that when baby #2 came, and he actually nursed, I didn’t even care that he had colick/reflux and screamed for nine months. Hey, as long as I didn’t have to pump six or seven times a day, crying seemed manageable!
Comment by smalltowngirl — November 10, 2009 @ 12:59 am
I’ve been working so hard and still at home I do some household choirs. I’ve got a 3 month old daughter and need the nourishment of a mom’s milk so to speak.
I purchase from SimpleWishes a hands free pumping bra for me and my daughter. It really helps me a lot. I haven’t even tried using a pumping bra while driving unless needed to do so. hahahaha…
Comment by fhaye — December 1, 2009 @ 12:26 am