Story #1: Granddaughter Carrie is 6. Passed my "summer challenge" by
swimming unaided across the shallow end of the pool, and claimed her reward:
a new doll. So off we go to the toy store (stupidly at 5 pm when we all were
hungry) with its rows and rows of dolls. I vetoed the Barbie Mermaid since
she already has 875 Barbies (I think) and I haven't the faintest idea of how
to "do" Barbie. Everyone's getting crabby by now. Carrie narrows down the
choices to two baby dolls, each with several bottles. Granny (me) says NO
BOTTLES. The plaintive wail, "But why not???"  Answer: YOU were not
bottlefed. Your MOTHER was not bottlefed. And you are NOT going to buy a
bottlefeeding doll with MY MONEY! Period. End of discussion. Carrie
eventually settles on a doll with a pink stroller (which I didn't use
either, but that's another discussion) and we all leave the toy store
content, with my wallet considerably lighter, but without compromising my
standards for toys. Moral of the story: Never try to negotiate with a hungry
6-year old. Establish the rules before you walk into the store, which should
only be done on a full stomach and full wallet.

Story #2: Last Sunday night, 9 pm emergency trip at to the mega-store that
sells everything from paint to potatoes, to buy brake cleaner for my son
Carl's car which is up on jacks in the garage in the middle of a repair. I'm
wearing a breastfeeding T-shirt (as usual) with an old jacket and jeans.
Nice young man helps us find the right product, then spots my shirt. He
says, "Did you breastfeed? Me: Yes, and I now help mothers who are
breastfeeding. He: Does it hurt? Me: No, it's not supposed to - and if it
does, we can fix the problem. Breastfeeding is as comfortable and pleasant
as a kiss, which is why moms and babies like it so much. His eyes open wide.
I asked if he was a dad or knew someone who was breastfeeding, and he said
No, but his Marriage and Family teacher (high school) had talked about
breastfeeding that day. He seemed amazed that it didn't hurt. I told him I
teach nurses and others how to help moms so that it doesn't hurt to
breastfeed. He knew that BF was really good for babies, just worried for the
mothers. Moral of the story: You never know when advertising for
breastfeeding will pay off - selling our "cause" works even on a Sunday
night at 9 pm in the auto parts department!

I like this thread of sharing good news!

Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre
Dayton, OH USA
http://www.bflrc.com