We had such a fun event in Austin last night.  The Mothers Milk Bank at
Austin staged a benefit concert at Antone's ('Home of the Blues') a funky
club with a long, illustrious history as a genuine Texas honky tonk.
Delbert McClinton, Marsha Ball,  and Stephen Bruton are well known musicians
in Tx and the region, and Helen Darling (who lives in Austin) and Gary
Nicholson are Nashville song writers who write for a lot of big country
stars.  Anyway, they did a singer-song-writer concert that donated all the
funds to the milk bank.  It was hilarious when they rather tentatively
started some in-between song patter about the cause, and I was really
surprised to hear that almost all of them had exper. with bfg.  Marsha Ball
talked about natural childbirth and nursing her baby in Luling, Tx in the
early 70's when 'nobody did that'.  She got a big laugh when she talked
about having one postpartum nurse who encouraged her by confiding that she'd
nursed 5 kids with one breast, "only not, of course, at the same time."
Gary Nicholson is married to a LLL Leader, and talked about encouraging his
wife to "Just keep on nursing those boys, at least through college.  It
really cuts back on the groceries."  Delbert's wife was connected with LLL,
Helen's baby was in Dr. Rivera's NICU, human milk fed all the way, and
Stephen Bruton confessed that he "...drinks a lot of milk and really likes
breasts!" Major cheering from the crowd at that remark.  I think it is a
healthy and positive thing to make jokes about breastfeeding and for people
to talk about their exper. publically with the humor connected with family
life.  It makes it normal and not taboo. I think it is also really good to
take causes like the milk bank out into the community instead of making it
seem just 'medical' or something only rich people support at fancy galas.
It really tickles me that some of our supporters like to put their fingers
in their mouths and whistle.

Barbara Wilson-Clay BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
http://www.lactnews.com

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