Dear George,

When I read about the nursing mothers feed-in, I yearned to find a baby and lactate again. My children are now nine, twelve, and fifteen, but I would have been right in there with these mothers years ago. I had no idea how much I would love breast-feeding before I bore my children. I did not know how convenient it would become for me, once we got the hang of it, how much better it would be for my children who are healthy as horses, and how much less expensive it is compared to infant formula. The benefits have been proven empirically. I knew little about this, was never zealous about it, but I nursed everywhere, especially my first child Lucy who saw my breast as her very own pacifier. I had her while completing graduate school. Several professors were fine with me bringing her to class, and I nursed her when needed. When I did not feel she was welcome, my husband met me in the Ruffner Hall parking lot right after classes ended.

In the fall of 1989, I took a bus to DC for a pro-choice march. Having worked as a counselor for Dr. Herbie Jones for many years, I was a bit wary of the behavior of the counter-protestors, so I left her with my husband. Sore and swollen on the ride home, she and I were happy to be reunited that evening after twelve hours. No place to pump breast milk easily on the Mall. When I completed my masters' degree, my family urged me to "graduate", something I had forgone when I finished college. Luckily, the day was cool and cloudy, since I wore my infant son in a pack on my chest under my black gown, and he nursed several times during the ceremonies and festivities. Fortunately, I never encountered any discrimination. Sometimes, folks were uncomfortable, primarily my baby brothers, father, and father-in-law, and I respected that, aiming to be as discreet as possible. Folks at Bodo's went out of their way to assure me that public breast-feeding was fine with them, as did the folks at the downtown Roasted Bean. I also frequented the Rising Sun bakery quite a bit. I spent a morning there meeting with a nursing student while Lucy nursed the entire time. I admit, I was just happy to have her quiet and occupied. I purchased some goodies to go, and the person serving me stated nicely, but a bit sarcastically, "The baby sure cannot still be hungry."

Soon after I weaned my youngest, I was eating at Bodo's with my children. My son, then four, was observing another mother nursing a baby. He began asking me technical questions about it, ending with the query ,"Are you still nursing?" I replied that no, his baby sister was no longer nursing. He came back with, "So how come you still got bosoms?"

Thanks,

Mary A. Sullivan (Electronic Mail, June 12, 2004)