Conference highlights: * Hearing Chris Mulford and Dr. Wah Wong (worked with UNICEF since the 1950's, has focused on Baby Friendly all over the globe) sing breastfeeding songs. And I thought I was probably the only one silly enough to sing as a part of a presentation to fellow professionals, just like going to a LLL meeting, learning that other people do/have done the same as you is so wonderful. * The emphasis on BFHI and the Ten Steps was FANTASTIC!!! Last time I made it to ILCA was in 1997, I and my colleague arrived at the conference just days after learning that our facilities were #s10 and 11 in the US to receive the BFHI designation, and we were disappointed to hear so little about Baby Friendly that year. Well, ILCA 2000 more than made up for that. Hearing Randa Saadeh from UNICEF, Dr Wong, and the folks from Boston who just got their BFHI designation (sorry, I can't recall names, and my syllabus is in my luggage which hasn't made it home yet) made me realize that ILCA is really behind the Ten Steps, that people in the US are beginning to get that Baby Friendly CAN BE DONE in the US, that it's a standard of care, not an award, and that just like we've all learned with breastfeeding in general, the Ten Steps aren't really an optimal or exceptional way of doing things. Following the Ten Steps is the NORMAL way to take care of moms and babies. YAYYY!!! * Experiencing the palpable excitement of all the people who gathered in preparation to go to Capitol Hill and personally lobby their congresspersons in support of Rep. Maloney's breastfeeding bills. * Hearing Chris Mulford speak about her work at last year's ILO convention in Geneva, working with an international group on the rights of employed moms all over the world to breastfeed or express their milk on the job, and to have adequate maternity leave. This work is fundamental to everything we do to support moms and families! Go Chris!! * Seeing how diverse we are as a group! I loved noticing that there were two tables for Spanish speakers at lunch one day. * Dr. Nancy Wight's talk on Hypoglycemia in the Neonate had lots of new info, a must- find- out for anyone working in a hospital setting. * Finding a new, lighter weight, more compact version of the (non-electric) pedal pump in the exhibit hall. I've recommended the pedal pump for years, and the moms who've tried it have been very happy. IT's probably the best value in a double pump you will find, but the old one was fairly heavy and bulky, new one is a big improvement. Think about this for your moms who don't have a place to plug in a pump at work. * Meeting Lucy, Rayza, and Ana from NYC, and Lorraine and Linda from Birmingham, and brushing up on my long-lost Southern accent. Thanks to everyone for making it such a great conference... we are a warm and wonderful group of people. I stayed over til Monday AM, and the hotel felt like a completely different place after the ILCA exodus Sunday. Love to all-- Martha Johnson RN IBCLC Eugene OR *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html