Salt Lake City Based Photographer Timbra Wiist owns/operates Landslide Photography & Photographs the Journey of Motherhood (see bottom of page or sidebar for more info. . .depending on what this blog is choosing to do for the day).

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Breastfeeding Cafe Blog Carnival 2012

This year's blog carnival will be handled in this manner: We are seeking 16 GUEST bloggers for the main site each day a post will be on the Breastfeeding Cafe site, and if you would also like to post on this topic you can post a link to your blog in the comments section of said post. 

Please add this at the top of your post:
 "This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Blog Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Timbra Wiist landslidephotography {at} hotmail {dot} com. Today's post is about _____________. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed in the comments section at www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com The Carnival runs July 16th through the 31st!"

 Blog Carnival Topics:
There are many customs around the world that bond mother and child, none so much as the bond of breastfeeding. In all ages past, breastfeeding has been the norm and we can look to points in history when things changed, even seeing WHY there has been a shift away from breastfeeding, which was never the initial intent. This year's Breastfeeding Cafe theme is “Breastfeeding Time Machine: Age Old Wisdom to feed the future.” We can look to many other cultures and our own, to see the effects of this age old wisdom, and a return to “how things once were.” Our topics will be focused on this theme as it relates to our culture, other cultures around the world with regards to birth practices, baby wearing, nursing in public, weaning ages/stories, our own experience as breastfed (or not) infants/children, what we've learned from mothers before us, what we are teaching those we influence in our lives, how our own wisdom through nursing has changed from one child to the next, how night time parenting effects breastfeeding, and how breastfeeding has helped you to make choices about your family's values surrounding parenting, which could even include decisions about work, school, nutrition, etc. Thank you for participating! I would also LOVE to see some of us talking to our own mothers/grandmothers, older women around us, to get perspective on this “age old wisdom.”

(If you are choosing a topic as a guest blogger, please note * are already taken)

July 16th: Share your birth experience and how you feel it shaped your first breastfeeding experience, or experiences with each child. Talk with your mother or grandmother, and hear other birth stories (share them too). *

July 17th: What was your first nursing in public experience? How did this shape your view of breastfeeding and your breastfeeding relationship with your child? Did your mother or grandmother have the same types of experiences? *

July 18th: Wordless Wednesday Nursing Photos PLEASE be sure to include photos of your grandmothers or mothers nursing, if you have them! *

July 19th: Babywearing is common in many parts of the world and has been for centuries. Do you wear your baby? Why? Have you found it has an effect on your breastfeeding relationship? Did someone else suggest you wear your baby? Did you observe babywearing before becoming a mother? Did your mother or grandmother ever practice baby wearing? *

July 20th: Night Time parenting is a big part of breastfeeding, especially in the early months (and continuing for years sometimes). What does sleep look like in your family? Did you have a similar sleeping arrangement with your own parents? What were your feelings surrounding safety and security at night while growing up? Were there people in your life who encouraged you to choose your sleeping arrangement? *

 July 21st: Weaning is such a personal choice for each family. In many cultures around the world, children are allowed to choose the time of their weaning, which can be up to 7 or 8 years old. Did you nurse into toddler or childhood yourself? If weaning has or is taking place with your child, what does it look like? Did you expect this? *

July 22nd: Were you breastfed as a child? What about your mother?  What obstacles did your mother/grandmother face? What was the public opinions? Family opinion? Factors for not breastfeeding, if this was the case? What was the medical opinion at the time? How long was “normal?” Did your mother or grandmother influence you to breastfeed your own child/ren

July 23rd: Wisdom may be passed down to us from prior generations or just from friends who have already been there. Did you receive any “sage” wisdom from a mother in your life, prior to becoming one yourself? Not all people are so bold as to share their wisdom, what INFLUENCES in your life lead to your decision to breastfeed your child/ren? Was breastfeeding something you saw in your family? What were your feelings about breastfeeding before nursing your own babies? *

July 24th: Male perspective day: Talk with (or ask him as a guest blogger) your partner, your father (or ask your mother what your father thought), or another man who has experience with observing breastfeeding (at close range) and get his perspective on social pressures, wisdom, feelings about breastfeeding before becoming a father, what he's learned, importance of breastfeeding for his family, etc. *

July 25th: Wordless Wednesday Baby Wearing *

July 26th: We all knew EXACTLY what type of mother we'd be before we became one, right? How has becoming a mother changed your views of motherhood? Have you made different decisions about your family values? About duration of your nursing relationship? Your sleeping situation? School? Work? Nutrition? *

July 27th: We all know someone who feels like no one ever “warned” them what life would be like during pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, early weeks of sleeplessness, toddlerhood, etc. What parenting and breastfeeding wisdom have you shared? *

July 28th: Why is breastfeeding Important to YOU and your family?

July 29th: Have you nursed in special circumstances? Did you feel supported or like you were paving your own path? If your circumstance included a lot of medical procedures and staff, did you get interesting, strange or just BAD advice from medical staff? Family members? Or did you have support? Where would you encourage moms to go if they were in a similar situation?

July 30th: If you have more than one child, how have you become wiser :)? How did your first nursing experience shape your thoughts, ideas, plans, views, etc for your future nursing experiences? *

July 31st: Prior Generation Day: interview someone, or ask someone to guest blog on your own blog today, who breastfed a child in a generation prior to yours and share their story (you can change names to protect the innocent). Find out about the medical opinions, cultural opinion, family opinion, social views of the time and especially how THAT mother felt about breastfeeding her baby! *

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