Thank you, Pamela, for sharing your daughter's situation and how she
is managing to stay with her baby with minimal separation despite
economic challenges. I can see how proud you are!

Our younger daughter is in a similar situation. She separated from her
husband last year when their children were 2yrs and 4yrs old, both
still nursing. He gives her minimal child support, she gets food
stamps, and we pay her rent. She is attempting to make end meet by
offering editing services, mostly to grad students who are writing
their theses. She also offers a *Mother Made Meals* service,
made-from-scratch meals on demand, which are popular as gifts to new
mothers.

She was recently offered a job, out of the blue. The pay was good, but
it would have meant her being separated from her children until 8 at
night several  times a week. We are extremely proud that she decided
her children would benefit more from her presence. And yes, they are
both still nursing :)

norma


Norma Ritter, IBCLC, RLC
Breastfeeding Matters in the Capital Region
www.NormaRitter.com
http://normaritter.blogspot.com/
http://www.communitycradle.org/resourcesandpublications.html

>Date:    Tue, 5 Jan 2010 21:48:13 -0500
From:    Pamela A Hendrix <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Babies and mommy separation

My daughter is exclusively nursing her almost 5 month old daughter.
She is opting to stay home despite it being a financial hardship.  The
good news is she has a background in exercise physiology and is
certified in prenatal, post natal and other forms of fitness.  She is
teaching a HotMama's Boot Camp (there are many moms in it who want to
get back in shape), prenatal exercise (only 2 moms in it) and now she
is teaching some boot camps for all ages and both sexes.  She is only
away from her baby about 5 hours a week.  My grandbaby is only a few
minutes from my daughter, two of the classes she is with her other
grandmother in a room next to her mom's exercise class, one of the
classes the baby is with her during teaching.  During the time she is
"away" from mom she is fine for about 45 min and then she has had it
and is impossible!  Once she sees mommy, her world is perfect again!
I can't imagine the poor moms who have to go back to work and the
babies who have to get "used to it".  It breaks my heart.  My daughter
has difficulty with these few minutes a few times a week her baby has
trouble without her.  They need this little bit of money she makes to
survive so she doesn't have to return to a full time job teaching.
She drives her old car from college and will until it dies.  She cooks
all of their meals, they use cloth diapers, she wears her baby, hangs
with Bradley moms, and she is happy, really happy.  I wish all mothers
could find an alternative way of coping financially.   The economy is
such that most families have no choice but for mom to work in this
country.

Pamela A. Hendrix RNIV, BA, IBCLC, RLC
South Florida
Mimi to Scarlett nearly 5 mo old

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