LB Post covers “Community Conversation”

Check out great coverage of our “Community Conversation” by the LB Post! Thanks to writer, Asia Morris, for doing writing such a thoughtful piece. Thanks to the LB Post for supporting breastfeeding in our community!

“Two Activist Moms Introduce Long Beach’s First Organization Dedicated to Breastfeeding Support”

Please make sure to read the article and click “LIKE” on the LB Post site to let them know we appreciate their support and WANT continued breastfeeding news items. And share, share, share! Thanks!

Follow Long Beach Post on their Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter @LongBeachPost

Meet Long Beach Breastfeeds this Saturday 5/2!

     

Please join us this Saturday for our inaugural event – Join the first Long Beach Breastfeed’s COMMUNITY CONVERSATION! Free, families and all are welcome!

See our event page and RSVP HERE

WHEN
Saturday, May 2nd, 2015  //  10:00am-12noon

WHERE
Ninth District Field Office – 6509 Gundry Ave. Long Beach, CA 90805

WHO
YOU! Truly every one in our community who supports breastfeeding in any way, shape, or form is welcome. Everyone can play a role in supporting breastfeeding families.

Come meet us (Maricela & Celine) as we share about the breastfeeding landscape of our city and what inspired us to found Long Beach Breastfeeds. We’ll share LBB’s Mission and Vision, as well as Current Projects.

Come meet some of our community partners, representative from Councilmember Rex Richardson’s office and Porter Gilberg of The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach. Together, we will announce exciting upcoming services we can offer through these dynamic partnerships.

Come hear about our experience at the 10th annual Breastfeeding and Feminism International Conference, held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in March. We are indebted to our community for raising the funds necessary to get us there so we could learn and represent Long Beach. Thank you!

LBB to host “Lactation Lounge” at Green Prize Festival!

Come by and see us at the Green Prize Festival this Saturday 4/25!

11am-7pm at Cesar Chavez Park

NIP in the LBC with us!

We’ll be hosting the Lactation Lounge, of course!
We’ll have some comfy floor seating, a couple regular chairs, and a nursing stool.
We’ll have nursing pillows! And lanolin & coconut oil for nipples, or a quick infant massage.
Bring the whole family! We’ll have toys & coloring pages for siblings.
We’ll have breastfeeding reference books, and a few stickers & buttons to give away.

Meet other breastfeeding families and connect with your community.

NIP in the LBC this Saturday at the Green Prize Festival!

Breastfeeding IS the greenest way to feed a baby, after all 🙂  See you there!

 

*NEW* Flyer up for 5/2 “Community Conversation”

Here it is. Please share widely! Please let us know if you prefer PDF version and we will get it to you ASAP.

And remember to RSVP to this event online HERE. RSVPs are not necessary, but always welcome. Thank you!

First “Community Conversation” with LBB Announced

Please join Long Beach Breastfeeds on Saturday, May 2, 2015 10am-12noon for our first “Community Conversation”! 

Click here to join this event on Facebook! 

WHAT: “Community Conversation” with Long Beach Breastfeeds

WHEN: Saturday, May 2nd 2015 10:00am – 12noon

WHERE: Ninth District Field Office – 6509 Gundry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90805

We are grateful to the office of Councilmember Rex Richardson for allowing us to use this wonderful space!

WHO: You! This free, family-friendly event is for all our community. We welcome anyone who considers themselves part of the breastfeeding community – expectant mothers, breastfeeding folks, families (dads, partners, grandparents, and more), birth workers, lactation professionals, service providers, community advocates, and everyone in between.

The event will be run by Long Beach Breastfeeds co-founders, Celine Malanum and Maricela de Rivera.

Cost: FREE

WHY:  Long Beach Breastfeeds is a new community-based organization and we want to get to know you, and we want you to know us. What better way than to get together for a community conversation?

In March, our co-founders Maricela and Celine, were able to attend the Breastfeeding and Feminism International Conference thanks to funds raised by our wonderful community through a successful GoFundMe campaign. This event is also our opportunity to thank our donors and report back and share about the conference.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN:

• Hello There – We will introduce Long Beach Breastfeeds – our mission, current projects, goals, community partners, and a brief history of ourselves as breastfeeding community advocates.
• Report Back – We will share highlights of our recent trip to Chapel Hill, NC to attend the 10th annual Breastfeeding & Feminism International Conference. We will each briefly discuss which sessions/speakers we found inspiring and interesting, and what key lessons we learned to more effectively serve our Long Beach community. We will have conference materials available for the community to peruse.
• Announcements – We will announce TWO  new free community breastfeeding support groups slated to begin in May/June
• Volunteer Opportunities – We need folks to join our “562 Breastfeeds Crew.” Our signature event, Latch & Link – Breastfeeding Community Fair, is coming up on Saturday August 1, 2015. We welcome volunteers for event committees!

WHAT ELSE: Light snacks will be provided. Coloring pages and crayons available for our younger friends.

Please join this event on our Long Beach Breastfeeds  Facebook page!

RSVP not necessary but always appreciated.

Celine (L) and Maricela (R) and their daughters on the North Carolina-bound plane to the Breastfeeding and Feminism Conference in March 2015.

Maricela during opening remarks of conference.

DRUMROLL…. St.Mary Medical Center is Long Beach’s first Baby-Friendly Hospital!

CONGRATULATIONS are in order!

St.Mary Medical Center (Dignity Health) has received word back from their audit – they passed! They are now a designated BABY-FRIENDLY HOSPITAL! We couldn’t be more proud of them. Our friends in the lactation and L&D departments have worked very hard and their dedication to putting breastfeeding first is paying off.

St.Mary Medical Center (SMMC) was our gracious host for the “Share the Love” Milk Drive we organized on February 14, 2014. Together, we were able to gather over 2,000 ounces of donated breast milk for Mothers’ Milk Bank of San Jose – and they have over 9 new donors! All that milk going to preterm and critically ill NICU babies all over our state. “Mothers helping mothers nourish our neediest”  — indeed, SMMC proved their dedication to supporting our local breastfeeding community that day!

Share the Love milk drive: Celine Malanum (co-founder, Long Beach Breastfeeds), Pauline Sakamoto (executive director, Mothers’ Milk Bank, president HMBANA), Stacie Amarantos (Director of Maternal/Child Health, SMMC), Christine Gibson (advisor, Long Beach Breastfeeds).

Special high-fives and hugs to Stacie Amarantos and Theresa Brown, our dear friends at SMMC. Your hard work and big hearts are to be celebrated!

Learn more about the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative HERE

Learn more about the certifying body of the BFHI, Baby Friendly USA HERE

Hooray for St.Mary’s – hooray for breastfeeding mothers, babies, and families – hooray for Long Beach! We are well on our way to becoming the most breastfeeding-friendly city around!

*** STAY TUNED… we hope to honor SMMC at Long Beach’s annual breastfeeding community fair LATCH & LINK coming up on Saturday, 8/1/15 – save the date! ***

Long Beach Breastfeeds inaugural event!

Vivan las mujeres and viva Long Beach Breastfeeds!

We had a great time today at the ¡VIVAN LAS MUJERES! Festival at the Museum of Latin American Art.

We have to say a big, love-filled THANK YOU to all our wonderful volunteers: Nicole, Melissa, Di, Chantal, and strong-man Mark. And bumps to our sister of BabywearingLB, and table neighbors: Amanda, Micah, Sheila, Liz, and Rocio. Love this community.

We got to roll out our banner and business cards, courtesy of wonderful local mama & artist, Melissa H. – thanks sister!

We got to meet members of our community, talk about breastfeeding, and make those personal connections that are so key. We feasted our eyes on art, and on the inspiring sounds & movements of Tropicaleiza Dance Company – these strong, powerful bateria musicians and dancers had us hooked! We couldn’t take our eyes off them and we couldn’t help but move our bodies. Ain’t too good for a food truck – we ate some crazy good Crispy Cuban. And we connected with our community!!!

— BabywearingLB (our dear friends & comadres – breastfeeding & babywearing go hand-in-hand!)
— Bayfront Youth & Family Services

— Sewing Rebellion

— The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach

— Long Beach Junior Roller Derby

— Mujeres de Maiz

— Junior League of Long Beach

       

Every journey begins with one step. This was an important one for Long Beach Breastfeeds. Here we go!!!

Long Beach Breastfeeds at ¡VIVAN LAS MUJERES! Festival at MoLAA

Come see us at the Long Beach Breastfeeds table Sunday 3/15 11am-4pm at Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA)! Admission is free for all. Located at 628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802.

These is art, music, food, culture, communication, and community! Bring the whole family and make sure to bring water and a hat. It’s going to be warm!

Drop by, talk shop, swap info, and celebrate breastfeeding – one of our greatest powers as WOMEN!

http://www.molaa.org/vivanlasmujeresfestival2015.aspx

Contact Us

Hello community! We’d love to hear from you. Please contact us:

celine@longbeachbreastfeeds.org

maricela@longbeachbreastfeeds.org

Spring 2015 Long Beach Breastfeeding Resource Directory is HERE

Sorry for the delay, community! We are happy to announce the newest edition of our city’s first breastfeeding-centric directory is up. Please find it as a downloadable PDF here:

Long Beach Breastfeeding Resource Directory SPR15

We’ve updated listings, as well as added a few sections: Local Breastfeeding Events, and Breastfeeding-Related Laws in California. We expanded the “Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) – Private Practice, Home and Hospital Visits” to include CLCs – certified lactation counselors.

Please note this is a FREE document. Feel free to download and print, copy, send, post, and otherwise share. But, please, keep it free. It’s a community service effort.

We try our very best to ensure all information is correct. Please let us know if you find an error. Thank you!