Spicy!

So, today I took Haven to the park. It was hot out and the slides were a little warm on her legs. She slid down, gave me a funny look and said, "Spicy!"

Breast Milk Ensures Children's Survival

Mother nurses two children, including four year old, over nine days:

Written for ABC by Dan Childs:

Dec. 5, 2006 — Trapped miles from civilization in a snowbound car in subfreezing temperatures, Kati Kim had to ensure that her children survived until search parties rescued them.

Nine days later, the helicopters came.

Remarkably, Kim's daughters, 4-year-old Penelope and 7-month-old Sabine, were reported to be in good condition after the ordeal.

The key to this fortunate ending may have been the fact that Kim breast-fed both of them to keep them alive amid the harsh conditions once no other food was available.

Experts say the episode suggests how mother's milk, in a disastrous pinch, can make the difference in whether a child survives.

"The fact that Kati Kim was able to breast-feed both of her children for the amount of time that they were stranded most likely was lifesaving for them," says Dr. Sheela Geraghty, assistant professor of pediatrics and medical director at the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.

"Breast milk not only provides the calories needed to sustain life, it also helps prevents dehydration," Geraghty says.

"I'm really, really grateful that the mother had breast milk available for the baby, as well as for her other child," says Judy Hopkinson, assistant professor at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"This is a remarkable fluid in many ways. There is nothing better you can give a child in a disaster than breast milk."

"Lucky for these children that mom was breast-feeding," says Kathy McCoy, a lactation consultant at Clarian Health Partners Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. "No one ever expects disaster to happen, but when it does, breast milk is truly a lifesaver."

Not Just Nutrition

Breast milk is often reputed for its nutritional benefits for children, but Hopkinson says human milk confers more than just sustenance.

"These kids weren't getting, I'm sure, all the calories they needed," she says. "So the breast milk was also giving them protection against serious illness, in addition to nutrition."

The idea that babies get an immune boost from breast milk is not a new one.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breast-fed babies suffer fewer illnesses such as diarrhea, earache and respiratory infections.

"Breast milk is really primarily an immune booster," Hopkinson says. "We think of it as nutrition, but it is really integral to the immune system."

Breast-feeding, in this case, may have also given Kim and her children another way to survive in the harsh conditions — body heat.

"Breast-feeding her 7-month-old and 4-year-old child was undoubtedly what kept Kati Kim's children alive during their horrific snowbound ordeal," says Michelle Collins at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.

"The very act of holding her children against her body to nurse them would have preserved their body heat, allowing them to maintain their core body temperatures despite the freezing temperatures outside their vehicle."

The Kims' situation was nothing if not traumatic.

After the car ran out of fuel, and Kim and her husband, James, burned tires for warmth, James left her and their two young children and set off into the wilderness to seek help.

He still has not been found. [His body was found on December 8. He died from exposure.]

That Kim was able to continue to breast-feed her children while fearing for the survival of her family is a notable feat, Hopkinson says.

"People always talk about how stress can undermine breast-milk production. In this situation, it's very important to see that it's not about external stress, but it's about internal management of stress."

"You hear stories of mothers breast-feeding during disastrous situations, such as in the blitz on London in World War II. This was obviously a very stressful situation, but she wasn't internalizing it to the point that she could not do anything."

"A huge advantage to breast-feeding is that it is available in any emergency situation," says one expert from the Breastfeeding Center of Boston Medical Center in Boston. "In the Superdome in New Orleans, there was no formula, and women who were not breast-feeding had nothing to feed their infants."

"In times of natural disasters, when water and food sources become contaminated or scarce, breast-feeding is a lifesaving measure for our smallest survivors," says Ann Peery, a registered nurse and lactation consultant at the Women's Center at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville.

It is also possible that the very act of breast-feeding could have kept Kim's fear — and that of her children — in check.

"Breast milk contains naturally occurring substances to calm the nursing child and help them to sleep, which would have been imperative to help keep, especially the older child, from panic," Collins says. "It would have benefited Mrs. Kim as well, because when a woman nurses, a hormone is released that we know as the 'mothering hormone' — prolactin — which would have helped Mrs. Kim stay calmer."

Experts say it is also remarkable that Kim was able to continue to breast-feed her children with little or no food for herself.

"Although the mother herself probably had a very limited food intake during this time, a lactating woman is able to produce an adequate milk supply based on the demand for the milk for a considerable amount of time even under the most extreme circumstances," Geraghty says.

"Think about running a marathon — it takes a lot out of you, but you can do it," Hopkinson says.

"Mothers can, and often do, operate of a calorie deficit. There is no evidence that a 24-hour fast reduces milk production."

Kim's body was apparently also able to adjust to providing enough milk for both of her children to remain healthy.

"In the vast majority of cases, the baby determines how much milk it needs from the mother," Hopkinson says. "It's really quite amazing how some mothers breast-feed triplets without any help."

"Who knows what the human body is capable of."

Woman kicked off plane for breastfeeding!

MSNBC writes:

BURLINGTON, Vt. - A woman who claims she was kicked off an airplane because she was breast-feeding her baby has filed a complaint against two airlines, her attorney said.

Emily Gillette, 27, of Santa Fe, N.M., filed the complaint with the Vermont Human Rights Commission late last week against Delta Air Lines and Freedom Airlines, said her attorney, Elizabeth Boepple. Freedom was operating the Delta flight between Burlington and New York City.

Gillette said she was discreetly breast-feeding her 22-month-old daughter on Oct. 13 as their flight prepared to leave Burlington International Airport. She said she was seated by the window in the next-to-last row, her husband was seated between her and the aisle and no part of her breast was showing.

A flight attendant tried to hand her a blanket and told her to cover up, Gillette said. She declined, telling the flight attendant she had a legal right to breast-feed her baby.

Moments later, a Delta ticket agent approached and said the flight attendant had asked that the family be removed from the flight, Gillette said. She said she didn’t want to make a scene and complied.

“It embarrassed me. That was my first reaction, which is a weird reaction for doing something so good for a child,” Gillette said Monday.

A Freedom spokesman said Gillette was asked to leave the flight after she declined the blanket.

“A breast-feeding mother is perfectly acceptable on an aircraft, providing she is feeding the child in a discreet way,” that doesn’t bother others, said Paul Skellon, spokesman for Phoenix-based Freedom. “She was asked to use a blanket just to provide a little more discretion, she was given a blanket, and she refused to use it, and that’s all I know.”

A complaint against two airlines was filed with the Vermont Human Rights Commission, although Executive Director Robert Appel said he was barred by state law from confirming the complaint. He said state law allows a mother to breast-feed in public.

The Vermont Human Rights Commission investigates complaints and determines whether discrimination may have occurred. The parties to a complaint are given six months to reach a settlement. If none is reached, the commission then decides whether to go to court. A complainant can file a separate suit in state court at any time.

*SIGN THE PETITION TO SUPPORT BREASTFEEDING: http://www.momsrising.org/breastfeeding-petition

Join me in telling Delta Airlines to get a clue and be supportive of breastfeeding mothers; and also in telling Congress it's time to pass the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding mothers. Clearly this law is needed now!

And, I hope you'll also join me and tens of thousands of others in one of the most exciting grassroots movement on the Internet: MomsRising.org.

SIGN ON WITH MOMSRISING AT: http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/signUp.jsp?key=1682&t=longsignup.dwt

MomsRising.org (http://www.momsrising.org) is working to build a massive grassroots movement big enough to impact the outcome of the 2008 elections and beyond. The time has come to break the logjam that's been holding back family-friendly legislation for decades. It's going to take all of us--and then some--working together to get there.

No really. Fix her bow...

Well, despite the random order of things, Kyle and I are officially engaged! Kyle took us downtown to dinner and we watched the Parade of Lights from the window. Then he gave me a card from Haven that says "I love you mommy. Merry Christmas...Fix my bow" and I did.

Then we watched the parade some more and Kyle said, "No really. Fix her bow." Then I realized the ring was in her hair! Oblivious. We finished up and took a carriage ride down to Civic Center Park which was freezing but nice. It's so crazy looking at the ring. I keep thinking that this will be on my hand for (hopefully) the rest of my life.

It's just beautiful. It's an antique art deco ring from the 20s with a platinum illusion setting and quarter carat green diamond. I guess Kyle actually paid it off in May but was looking for the perfect time. He was actually going to do it in a hot air balloon but then the breaks on his went out completely and he had to drop $850 on them. So the balloon ride because a bit to expensive. I don't mind though because I've always wanted to be proposed to in a sleigh/carriage.

It was just the perfect evening. I love that Haven helped to pop the question. If it hadn't been for her, who knows where we would be. Though I'd love to be a hopeless romantic and say that we would still find one another...

You know your a mama when...

So, I was at Target today, just looking at the women's section at some cute tops. Finally I realized that I was looking at the tags for height and weight requirements (3-6 months, up to 22 inches, up to 27 pounds). Wouldn't THAT be a scary way to catagorize things...

That's what babies do, they get in your brain and make you go just a little bit batty. That's why whenever an adult is around a baby they end up acting like complete fools. I was modeling at the League with Haven last week and this big, beefy construction worker and this middle-aged athletic looking guy were falling all over themselves making her laugh.

The thing about baby laughter is that it's so absolutely compulsive. As if they can't do anything BUT laugh. So often as adults we just give a polite laugh at the end of a mediocre joke instead of giving a big belly laugh like Haven does. It's infectious.

People Who Know Everything...

Sometimes it feels like the world is full of People Who Know Everything. These people vigorously impose their beliefs on others and will not listen to anyone. I don't believe that anyone can possibly know something beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Perspectives are always framed by experience. Who am I to tell a Muslim that they are wrong because their web of experience tells them that what they believe is truth.

I wish that people had the maturity to recognize that they cannot possibly have all the answers for all people. The world would be a much more civil place if we acknowledge this fact.

As a side note, I am really stricken to see this picture of these smiling children brandishing signs of such hatred. What are we teaching our children? How can such a dichotomy exist?

Drawing a blank...

I feel I should be witty and post an enlightening post, but honestly the only thing in my head is a cold. I think everyone in this house has just been trading germs back and forth for a few weeks now. Soon we'll have a houseguest and will try our darndest not to get her sick (sorry Jess).

It's funny how a babe draws a crowd. Earlier this month we had Kyle's parents in, now both his sisters at varying intervals, and even his cousin Jeff whom he hasn't seen in quite some time (although I think that's due to a conference...).

It's also funny how having a baby throws you back into the swing of holidays more than you have before. Believe me, I had a great romp even in college dressing up and going trick-or-treating, but this year we have three parties, one concert, trick-or-treating, two festivals, and one costumed playgroup.

I remember when I was a kid we were only allowed to go to five houses tops and never allowed to be something scary. I like Stephen King's idea that sometimes we need to explore the scary dark parts of ourselves (through literature or some other harmless method) so that they don't get the best of us.

In case you were wondering...

Buddha Belly Baby

Prana (Devanagari: प्राण, prāNa) is a Sanskrit word meaning 'breath' and refers to a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy in natural processes of the universe.

So you can see why my daughter is my prana. So many things were decided when she came into existence. Kyle and I became a family forever. We're tied together forever and I love that. I never knew you could love people that much...