Friday, October 2, 2009

breastfeeding and fulfilling my civic duty


i had jury duty in district court yesterday. as a nursing mama, i certainly wondered how court staff were going to handle my pumping needs.

upon arrival, i was ushered into the security line and dutifully put my backpack on the security belt. the US marshall (they don't mess around in district court) had two things to question me about after my bag went through security. 1) the fork in my backpack. (me: sorry, sir, that's from lunch yesterday. US marshall: yes, well, m'am, you can't take a fork into the courthouse.) and 2) the "bag of electronics" at the bottom of my bag. (me, totally emboldened: that's my BREAST milk pump. do you want to see? US marshall, completely embarrassed: no, m'am, go right ahead, you're fine. i just need that fork, that's all.)

US Marshalls: 0 Nursing Mamas of the World: 1

whoever's taking notes: add federal courthouse to the list of unusual places susanna has pumped.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

an important video about a vital labor struggle in philly

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Friday, July 31, 2009

a very important video about abortion providers under siege in PA

Monday, July 20, 2009

zora the explorer.

zora is a trooper. she's almost five months old and she's already been to three baseball games, dipped her little feet in the ocean, been hiking and camping, gotten stuck in thunderstorms with downpours, hail and intense winds (twice in one week!), braved the crowds at the boardwalk at the jersey shore and been the center of attention at various fundraisers and events. and through it all she continues to be the most inquisitive, happy, peaceful kid we could have hoped for.

how she's going to handle this new teething thing she's got going on remains to be seen...





Thursday, July 9, 2009

adventures in motherhood.

so i'm sitting on the 34 trolley yesterday with my backpack on my lap (to make as much room as possible for my fellow riders), minding my own business, when i feel the top of my pants getting wet. i pick up my backpack and notice the bottom is completely wet. my first thought is, "shit! i put my leftover indian food from lunch in my backpack - it must have spilled." so i quickly open my backpack to figure out who's the culprit and start pawing through all my work papers, lunch leftovers, and ... my cooler bag full of breastmilk.

yup, a full 5 ounce bag of breastmilk which i had dutifully pumped that day at work had punctured and leaked all over everything. my calendar, which i use to keep track of both my work and home life, was soaked. a high powered fan managed to dry most of the pages out but it still smells like milk today.

i'm taking it as a sign - trying to separate my professional identity and my mama identity may not be so simple. i'm a mom, and a trainer, and a lot of other things, and when i'm at work i'm also a mama- either because i know i better wrap up this presentation quick so i can go pump or because when i'm scheduling presentations i now do so in my milky-scented calendar or because i'm trying to end domestic violence so my little zora doesn't have to grow up in a world where 1 in 3 women experience violence by their intimate partner.

i'm also taking it as a sign that motherhood will continue to throw zingers at me, and i better be ready to laugh and keep truckin. just when i thought i had had enough bodily fluids leaked on me, as i was heading to bed last night i went to grab fine just the way it is, the book i'm reading right now, only to discover that the cover was, well, covered with spit up. motherhood is clearly full of surprises, and i'm trying my hardest to be up for the challenge!



Thursday, June 25, 2009

Support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act

Hi all, See below for a very important message from Momsrising.org about the Breastfeeding Promotion Act. As a breastfeeding, working, pumping mama myself I feel quite passionately about this - please take action on this!

Friends,


Did you know that tough economic times may be making it harder for women to breastfeed? According to a recent ABC news story, one of the fall-outs from the recession is that some new mothers are feeling forced to take shorter maternity leaves due to concerns about finances and job stability.

Unfortunately, women who have to cut their maternity leave short often can’t continue to breastfeed their infants because many workplaces don't adequately support breastfeeding. That's a big problem when you consider that 56% of women with infants are now the in the labor force--we need common-sense workplace policies to make sure that moms who want to breastfeed can.

Act now for nursing moms by urging your Members of Congress to support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act!




Monday, June 15, 2009

mourning dove babies!



the eggs hatched! here are some photos of mama feeding the babies.