Babies and Conferences

Hi,

At Australian Breastfeeding Conferences children will always be welcome.  We 
run conferences for our volunteers and conferences for health professionals. 
For the past 10 years I have organised our health professionals conferences 
and have always attended with my own children - often a baby in a sling and 
an older sibling to help care for mum and baby.  They love a bit of special 
time away with mum (even if she is a little demented with organising the 
thing)  I always find, too, the supportive and welcoming arms of other 
breastfeeding counsellors who will doula me and my child for a while.
It saddens me though, that at every conference I recieve complaints from 
people about the noise of babies (and it usually is just the quite noise of 
young babies - we usually have a place where mothers and noisier babies and 
toddlers to watch the proceedings from outside the room)
One reason I love taking my children to conferences is that I love them 
being around the sort of people breastfeeding counsellors are - wise, 
knowledgeable and giving.  You don't see enough of that these days.  Most of 
the time I have been breastfeeding, and needed to take the baby.  Also, just 
needed to "share out the child minding duties"- 4 children is a lot to 
organise sleepovers for.
Funny/embarrassing story, though.....Once I took my 3rd baby, Cassie, to a 
conference when she was about 6 weeks old.  She was what is known as a 
"happy spewer".  To keep her quiet I fed her and fed her and fed her and fed 
her.  And when she could feed no more I put her up over my shoulder.  There 
was one man in the auditorium, and he was wearing a dark suit and sitting 
right behind me.  He was drenched in babyspew.  I remember he seemsed quite 
nice about it as I offered nappies to mop himself up - but I was mortified 
and had to leave.  I still haven't really got over that.
Barb Glare
Australia
Breastfeeding Support: Everyone Wins online
http://www.lrc.asn.au/2009seminars/index.php 

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