How I Celebrated World Breastfeeding Week - The Big Latch On!

This week (August 1-7) is World Breastfeeding Week and one thing that I did to celebrate was to take part in The Big Latch On! On Friday, the 2nd,  I went out to Granola Babies in Costa Mesa, CA (about an hour away). I love the community at Granola Babies and head to the store to shop or take a class whenever I can!

This year's World Breastfeeding Week theme is "Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers". Support for mother's is so important from day one and continues on for as long as mama and baby decide to breastfeed. It has been so meaningful for me to have family and friends that surround me to encourage, support and cheer me on. "The key to best breastfeeding practices is continued day-to-day support for the breastfeeding mother within her home and community."

I was so happy to be able to take part in this years Big Latch On event! I remember this time 3 years ago when I first heard about this event and I was so wistful, because Michael was only 8 months old and our breastfeeding relationship had already come to an end. So, this time, when the event rolled around and Riley was still breastfeeding, I saw this event as a way for me to celebrate our journey. I am thankful that we have worked together to keep nursing. I am thankful every day that Riley is still breastfeeding.

The Big Latch On brought together local mamas, who at 10:30am, all started breastfeeding their little ones for (at least) a minute to help set a record! I was able to get there early and sit, chat and get to know some other mamas and their little ones. Riley and I had so much fun - he was smiling at everyone, playing with other babies and sharing his toys! I really loved being around so many other nursing moms and their babies! 

Just before 10:30am, Giselle (the owner at Granola Babies), did a count down to start nursing. It was so funny to watch all of these babies trying to focus on nursing! There were so many other babies around that they didn't seem to know whether to nurse or watch what the baby next to them was doing! Haha!

This was such a pleasure to be able to attend. It was so relaxing and wonderful to nurse around other mothers who were comfortable feeding their babies in public - it definitely gave me a boost of confidence. My hope is that nursing in public will continue to become more natural and that eventually, no one will even bat an eye when they see a mama feeding her baby.

How have you celebrated World Breastfeeding Week so far? Have you felt supported or encouraged to nurse in public by anyone?