Not too many better ways to ring in the "12 days of Christmas" than with the Best for Babes Foundation's 12 Breastfeeding Days of Christmas (composed in 2009 and slightly updated this holiday season). Please take a moment to visit the Best for Babes site for a detailed explanation of each of these twelve life-changing gifts and take a look into how they can help "rebuild our shattered breastfeeding infrastructure."
12 Breastfeeding Days of Christmas
By the Best for Babes Foundation
On the first day of Christmas
There stood before me,
A mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the second day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the third day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the fourth day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the fifth day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the sixth day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the seventh day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the eighth day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the ninth day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Nine celebs a-nursing,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the tenth day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Ten nursing nooks,
Nine celebs a-nursing,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the eleventh day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Eleven strangers cheering,
Ten nursing nooks,
Nine celebs a-nursing,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four FABM MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Twelve supportive employers,
Eleven strangers cheering,
Ten nursing nooks,
Nine celebs a-nursing,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
Mary nurses Baby Jesus in this 16th century oil painting by Andrea Solario
for similar images see: Breastfeeding Baby Jesus
for similar images see: Breastfeeding Baby Jesus
Nursing mothers are welcome to join the Breastfeeding Group. Note that this group is pro-baby, pro-natural weaning, pro-nursing-in-public, and WHO compliant in guidelines (i.e. no advertising of artificial baby feeds).
~~~~
Thank you for posting this! I am a mother of a two year old, we are still enjoying our times of nursing. You can't imagine all of the comments I get that it is time to stop. I have been hearing this since she was four months old. It has been the most wonderful, loving, beautiful experience for us both.
ReplyDeleteIt is really disheartening to see how corporations have gotten a hold of our health care system, and our bodies. When I was pregnant I got canisters and canisters of formula from varying companies. In the hospital when I was moved away from the birthing center, the new nurse asked me as soon as I arrived, when I wanted the "epidural". My doula, midwife, and husband had all made it clear I was having a natural birth. She stared at me like I was crazy. After giving birth, she tried to give me a shot of Pitocin to stop the bleeding. Had I not be totally coherent, I wouldn't have caught her and said I didn't want a shot. My midwife spent the majority of the birth, I found out later, trying to talk to the nurse in the hallway about natural birth. After I gave birth, the nurse told me that our experience was the first natural birth she had ever seen!