Breastfeeding: Know Your Rights

Two mothers have stirred up quite the social media storm after being unjustly denied the right to freely nurse their children in public.

Lindsay Jaynes and Deanna Bratter, were informed by airline employees, on two separate occasions, that they would not be able to nurse their children while on the flight without a nursing cover.

Jaynes, mother to a 10-week-old son, tweeted @DeltaAssist prior to her upcoming flight inquiring about their breastfeeding policy. A representative for the company replied, informed Jaynes that she would not be able to breast feed on the flight without a cover.

Bratter was also to 'cover up, ma'am,' by a flight attendant for Frontier Airlines while she was nursing her child to sleep.

Both Jaynes and Bratter immediately asked to see the company's policy manuals, which they found did not state any restrictions on breastfeeding. The mothers then took to social media to voice their outrage over the misinformation, and to demand apologies.

After several hours of other parents chiming in, Delta tweeted an apology to Jaynes.

Delta representative tweets apology

Bratter received a formal written apology in which Lori Junker, Senior Manager of Customer Relations, stated that the company would be 'revisiting current written policies, procedures, and training regarding breastfeeding.'

The mothers are satisfied with the apologies. Bratter stated that she hopes other mothers are aware of their rights as a breastfeeding mother, and  won't shy away from nursing in public for fear of being reprimanded.

Government Urges Graco to Add Infant Seats to Recall

After last month's recall of 3.8 million, Graco has added over 400,000 more seats, due to faulty harness buckles on select toddler and booster seats.

Yet the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration (NHTSA) is still not satisfied with Graco's recall. The NHTSA believes that Graco should add 1.8 million infant seats to the recall, as these infant seats have the same harness buckles that are responsible for the current recall.

The government has given Graco until March 20 to explain this puzzling omission of nearly 2 million Snug Rides, that all use the same buckles as the toddler seats, from the recall. Graco said the child seat buckles got stuck because children dropped food or drinks on them, according to a New York Times article, which they, allegedly, claimed infants don't do in their seats.

Rear-facing infant seats are not being recalled because infants do not get food or drinks on their seats, a Graco spokeswoman, Ashley Mowrey, said in February, according to the New York Times.

However, Graco is now offering to replace the faulty buckles of both toddler and infant seats per the request of the customer, at no charge.

Graco seats included in the recall are 2006 through 2014 Argos 70 Elite, Ready Ride, and Smart Seat with Safety Surround. You can find the full list of recalled seats on Graco's website.

Mommy Match-Making

Motherhood is hard, but finding friends who share in your experience doesn't have to be. 

A new, online service, Mom Meet Mom works as a match-making service for mothers across the nation who are in need of a friend who understands the joyful craziness we call motherhood. 

Started by three moms, Julia High, Meg Gerritson, and Christa Terry, they co-founded the site after realizing that finding other mothers to relate to is hard to come by. Mom Meet Mom serves not only mothers, but also nannies, aunts, grandmas and the likes, who are looking to socialize with similar mothers and children in their area.

“We have created a sophisticated matching algorithm... to help you find local moms with similar interests, schedules, families, and personalities,” says the Mom Meet Mom website.

Mom Meet Mom is perfect for mothers who are looking for like-minded friends, but don't know where to find them. Instead of mustering up the guts to find a friend at the nearest playground, Mom Meet Mom allows each mother to pick and choose who they think would be a perfect fit at the click of a button.

Signing up is easy, all you need is a Facebook profile or an e-mail address. Once you've registered you're able to edit your profile to your liking- and the more you include, the better chance you have of finding a perfect match. 

From religion to dietary preferences, Mom Meet Mom is here to adhere to all your needs in the search for the perfect mama-friend. 

Parents, Be Advised of New LATCH Regulations

If you think you have finally perfected the art of installing a car seat, think again. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has revised it's regulations on how to use the latch system, and these new revisions are something every parent needs to be aware of to keep their child safe. 

The LATCH system has been in effect since 2002 and is used to ease the installation process of a car seat. Rather than using safety-belts to secure the seat, LATCH uses lower anchors and tethers that are found on the seats and the vehicle.

As of February 2014, parents who use the LATCH system will be able to continue doing so only if the combined weight of their child and it's car seat is under 65 pounds. Once the combined weight exceeds this limit, the car seat will have to be attached using the safety-belt system. This switch away from using the lower anchors at the combined 65-pound weight limit is a safety precaution, according to the NHTSA.

According to a survey done by Safe Ride, the average car seat weighs 25 pounds. Some weigh less and others weigh as much as 33 pounds. So, by the time children are at 32 pounds parents will have to make the switch from the simple LATCH system to the standard safety-belt system.

2014 car seat LATCH revisions