Help Create a Nursing Room

I received this the other day and thought readers would appreciate the chance to respond. Please e-mail Chris directly and/or leave your responses in the comments section.

Hi,

I’m sorry to intrude on your blog, I found it when I did a search through Google on “Mothering Rooms.”
I would greatly appreciate your help and opinion.
I would like to put a Mothering Room in my store.
I would like your assistance in designing it.
If you have the time, I would be very thankful if you could answer the following questions.
Also, please provide any additional details you feel would be helpful.
Please feel free to send this message to anyone you feel would like to share their opinions.

If you could, would you please e-mail your response to:

bjorkperson at yahoo.com

1. What should be in a mothering room?
You could check-off all that apply and/or tell me how important each item is.
Also, please feel free to include anything I may have forgotten.

A rocking chair?
Other type of chair?
Sanitary wipes?
Carpeted floor?
Music?
A changing station?
A play area for siblings?
A place to lie down?
Electrical outlet?
Magazines?
TV?

2. Where should the mothering room be?
Not in, but near a bathroom, or with a bathroom attached?

3. What should the room be called?
Mothering Room
Nursing Room

4. Anything else you’d like to add? Please feel free.

Thanks a lot for your time and input

Christopher Bjork

From The Inbox

I received an e-mail from Cayden Creations, home of the Peek-a-Boo B Nursing Cover. For those of you who prefer to use a cover when nursing in public, here is an opportunity to shop and contribute to a good cause. A portion of the proceeds from online sales during the month of August will go toward La Leche League USA. A $2.00 donation will be made from each of the first 50 Peek-a-Boo B Nursing Covers sold online in August. Beyond the first 50, a $4.00 donation will be made.

Celebrity Baby Blog Breastfeeding Gallery

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, Celebrity Baby Blog has created a gallery of photos of the readers breastfeeding their babies. Take a minute to admire some of these beautiful photos of nursing mothers.

Pottery Barn Kids

I’m hearing good things about nursing rooms at Pottery Barn Kids. Tell me about your local PBK?  Have you used the room?  Is it clean?  Comfortable?  Leave a comment or send me an e-mail at nursingmom@gmail.com.

Pumping Moms Need Nursing Rooms, Too

For those of you out there who pump, whether exclusively, or occasionally, please let me know which nursing rooms/mothers’ lounges you’ve found on your travels. I know at least one of our airport listings had a room available with outlets and privacy. Send me your places to pump on the go, and I’ll list them here.

For some good reading about the trials and tribulations of a pumping mom, check out Pump Mom, a new blog.

Welcome, Parent Hacks Readers!

To all of you who've found your way over via Parent Hacks, hello! I'm working my way through your e-mails now. My time on the computer is limited to naptime, so bear with me.

Some interesting points have been raised as to what exactly constitutes a nursing room. Some are formally labeled as such and others seem to become nursing rooms by default (i.e. the many lounges attached to restrooms). This is where specific details come in handy. For example, is the site you're sending in a family bathroom where moms and dads alike may wander in and out while you're nursing, or is it more private, with room for one nursing couple at a time? Do you have to walk through the women's bathroom to get there, or is it more open? Everyone has a different comfort level, so details like these can be helpful to any mother planning an outing.

This site will become what we make it. The more information you can send the better. I'll keep working on organization and format as best I can.

Thanks!

Nordstrom

I'm hearing great things about the women's lounges/mothers' rooms at Nordstrom stores all over the country. I'll keep listing them individually as they come in, but if you don't see your local store posted yet, don't assume you're out of luck. Check it out for us and report back and we'll add it to the list.

Details

This site is in its infancy, so we'll be working things out as we go along. When you send your e-mail, include as many specific details as possible. Where is the room inside the store? Is there room for more than one mother and child? Finally, let me know if you want your name credited to the information, or if you prefer to remain anonymous.

When you read the posts, keep an eye out for errors. If I post that the store is on West Avenue when it's actually on East Avenue, please let me know!

What’s This All About?

I firmly believe that every mother has the right to nurse her child wherever she sees fit, be it a bench in the mall or at the coffee shop down the street. That said, sometimes you just want a quiet place to feed your baby. Maybe you're newly postpartum and still working on the mechanics of nursing. Maybe you have a distractible six-month-old who pops off at the slightest noise. Maybe you just prefer to nurse in private. For times like these, a nursing room is a wonderful place.

This blog will list nursing rooms, their locations and descriptions. Are the chairs comfy? Is it air conditioned? Is there a changing table? You get the idea. Send your local nursing rooms to me at nursingmom@gmail.com and I will post them here.

Thanks.