she spoke of her difficulties with nursing her first, and how different nursing her second is, and despite what others think, she is tandem nursing. it takes courage to discuss it, much less be an extended nurser in a culture that idolizes body perfection and seemingly discards everything else. a few snippets from the interview...
"BfB: Absolutely, toddlers do get jealous sometimes and tandem nursing (12) is a wonderful transitional tool.
KR: I just want to say, to each his own. I know it’s not for everyone. Some people wonder how I do it and isn’t it exhausting but you have to realize it’s not all the time. My son is mostly busy doing other stuff and it’s more of a comfort thing, but it is really cute when they are nursing together. He just looks at her, and checks her out, and puts his hand on her little feet. It gives him this close-up intimate look at her, and it’s very beautiful to see them to kind of get to know each other. When a child is starting to be independent, to be able to come back to the mother and hold on, they are processing things when they are nursing. The world is a big place for us, imagine what it is for them. For children, it’s a nurturing, cuddly place to come back to that’s safe, where they can process the world that they are in. I see my son processing, and my daughter already; they sit, they look at you, they are safe, they have a moment to breathe, to be nurtured."
and...
"BfB: Believe it or not some companies provide smoking breaks but not pumping breaks, and no place to pump besides a dirty broom closet with an outlet or the bathroom. What do you think of the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, which has been re-introduced into Congress and aims to end this discrimination under the 1964 Civil Rights Amendment?
KR: I’m happy to endorse the Breastfeeding Promotion Act (13) and anything that is associated with this. It’s hard to go back to work and continue nursing. I’ve even heard of people being discriminated against on airplanes. And the thing is, every time we’ve travelled, my son is nursing on take-off and landing, and so his ears don’t hurt. As a result, he’s a lot less fussy, he doesn’t cry like a lot of kids do, and that’s a lot more pleasant for everyone on the airplane.
BfB: That is a great tool and it is so worth sharing. More moms need to hear that because so many moms fear public disapproval (14).
KR: I would love to endorse anything in terms of this . . . in the beginning, I kind of felt alone out there [after sharing about nursing Hermes as a toddler] because all of a sudden everyone in the press was talking about it, good and bad, and I thought, oh my God, what have I said! I didn’t think it was that risqué or odd to talk about it, because it is acceptable to talk about so many things in the world. Just consider what they talk about on the news, or even show on the news!"
