Big Latch On!

I just participated in the Big Latch On PDX at Milagros Boutique. The mommas there (and at all of the other hosting venues around Portland this morning) were trying to break the world record for most women breastfeeding simultaneously. All the participating mommas latched their nurslings on at exactly 10:30AM for one minute, and everyone who was latched on during that minute got counted toward the total for all of the venues. There were 79 at our location, and I'm looking forward to hearing what the grand total was!

It was such a fun time, being in a room packed full of women nursing. It was fun to see how many of the parents were babywearing! I enjoy seeing all the different types of baby slings and structured carriers—they're all so beautiful! I also loved seeing all the different ages and stages of development that were represented in the nurslings. My favorite child to watch was a little girl (probably 3 years old) who understood what we were doing there, helped count down to the minute for the latch on, and then held up her card to be counted when it was over and the event organizers came around to collect them.

Seeing this little girl got me thinking a lot about child-led weaning, but that will have to be a post for another day! I'll just say, I'm so glad that momma and her daughter showed up for the Latch On. In a country where extended/full-term nursing is the exception rather than the rule (and often then, only done in private) it was wonderful to see this breastfeeding dyad.