Nursing is Normal

It is good to be back on the blog! We’ve been out of town visiting the inlaws for the week, and our first night there, a rippin’ storm knocked their power (and therefore internet connection) out for days. But, now I am home sweet home, and I can post again.

The night before we left, I had the chance to check out a super secret sneak peek of the Nursing is Normal photo exhibit on display at Happy Bambino. Ok, maybe it wasn’t super secret, but it was a sneak peek for the larger show that will open at the Goodman Community Center for the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art twice annual Gallery Night on October 2.

And let me just say, it will be worth your time to check out. For one, anyone who appreciates good photography will enjoy the collection. Photographer and co-owner of Happy Bambino Lea Wolf artfully captured tender moments between Madison mamas and their little nurslings breastfeeding in locations all around town. And for two? The NIN project is too cool not to get a shout out here.

The NIN project was created with the understanding that "the more often something is seen, the more accepted it becomes," explains NIN founder Kathy O'Brien. After reading about the NIN project, Happy Bambino co-owners Lea Wolf and Alison Dodge decided to start a Madison chapter.

The entire project is done on a volunteer basis, meaning no money is exchanged for the photo sessions, the time spent taking and processing photos, the cost of printing and displaying the collection, nor the promotion costs for the display, which will hopefully be traveling around Madison following it's opening on Gallery Night. Lea and Alison are passionate supporters of breastfeeding and of families in general, and they are generously giving of their time, talent, and resources to bring this project to Madison.

I know here in progressive Madison it may go without saying that mothers are free to nurse their babies wherever they are when hunger or the need for soothing arises. But the reality is that around the country, many women do not have the support they need to breastfeed, let alone in public.

While not every mother is able to breastfeed and should never be made to feel judged or inferior for feeding her baby formula, I believe that as a society, we should be educating both children and adults about the myriad benefits of breastfeeding and encouraging women to give breastfeeding a shot. The more mainstream breastfeeding becomes, the easier it will be for new mothers to try it. The NIN project has the potential to ease the public into becoming more comfortable with public breastfeeding, and it may be a powerful voice in making the statement that nursing is, indeed, normal.

As a mother who has nursed her babies at home, at school, on the bus, at the park, in the mall, at church, in a restaurant, at the library, and possibly in your home; I am honored to have been invited to the sneak peek of Madison’s NIN exhibit and to have the opportunity to share it with you here on my blog.

For anyone worried that the exhibit will just be photos of a bunch of exhibitionists, I can assure you that the collection is tasteful even to the most modest of viewers. (No skin flick or nipple extravaganza here, sorry folks.)The exhibit is photographic art, and the images Lea has captured are heartwarming.

I hope that if you are in Madison for the MMoCA Gallery Night on October 2, you will check out the full exhibit at the Goodman Community Center. And if the promotion of breastfeeding education is important to you, spread the word.

Photo* by Lea Wolf

Nursing is Normal photo exhibit
Friday, October 2, 2009 at the Goodman Community Center

*edited to add: this photo is not of me and is used by permission from Lea Wolf.