The Good: Lactivist do support mothers right to nurse in public. This is sadly something that is needed. Although it is completely natural and necessary at times, some people just don't understand. Women do get dirty looks when nursing in public at times. There have even been cases of women being kicked out of public places for nursing, there was even a case of a woman having water dumped on her and her baby - as well as many other stories that should make you mad. A woman shouldn't have to throw a blanket over her babies head or run of to a smelly gross public restroom to nurse, and lactivist make sure they don't have to.

If you ever get kicked out of a public place for breastfeeding, or are made to feel uncomfortable by staffers, let a lactivist know about it - she'll make sure it doesn't happen there again, possibly with a "nurse-in". As done at an Applebees. Read that story here.

Lactivist also support newly nursing Moms via the web with a ton of websites with links and phone numbers for local lactation consultants if they need a little help or reassurance. It is not always an easy thing to keep up with breastfeeding. Cracked, sore nipples, trouble with latch on, and even breast yeast infections can make you just want to give up. Sometimes just talking about it with someone who understands can help - Lactivist know this and try to help out.

Lactivist are a proud bunch, because they know it takes great determination at times to breastfeed. They encourage other mothers to be proud as well, as they should, and pride is a great motivator to keep at it - however this pride can also turn into a bad, or even ugly thing as seen below.

The Bad: Lactivist are a proud bunch. This holier than thou attitude doesn't look good on anyone. Yes, it is something to be proud of, but flaunting it too much can be tacky, and some lactivist have a tendency to do this.

They fight formula companies tooth and nail - for everything. OK, some things do have merit as with the "Nestle Boycott", but at times it can be too much. Most studies have shown that women who want to breastfeed rarely if ever changed their mind because of receiving free formula at the hospital. I know that I received many packets of free formula throughout my pregnancy, but I still breastfed. But of course, studies show that studies are unreliable.

The Ugly: Again, lactivist are a proud bunch. This can get ugly when they make other new moms feel bad for formula feeding. Sometimes even trying to make them feel like they aren't as good at mothering, or are less of a mother because they didn't choose to breastfeed. This gets ugly because of baby blues and PPD, something many women experience anyway. Common sense would tell you a woman who is already feeling down because of normal baby blues may be pushed even further because of someone telling them they didn't make a loving choice. Or that they must not care as much.

It can get very ugly. Especially on the internet - women telling other women they just don't make the cut as good moms. Of course not all lactivist do this. In fact some lactivist would say someone who does this isn't a lactivist at all. Again it is OK and great to be proud of the fact that you breastfeed. Some women have pride because of not getting the epidural, some because they use cloth diapers - there are all sorts of things you can be proud about as a mother, but in doing so try to make sure you are not pushing others down.

So are Lactivist necessary? Yes, for a few reasons. First because new moms who are breastfeeding need support, lactivist make sure they get that support. It also feels good to be a part of a group - lactivist make for a nice little exclusive group for breastfeeding moms. Also sadly they are needed because of people's ignorance - they make sure woman can feed their baby's wherever they may be when their baby gets hungry.

Breastfeeding is best, we hear this all of the time. I like to think that most people accept this as a fact. The thing to remember as a lactivist as with any activism is don't get too extreme. Of course the loud ones get noticed, but they also get ridiculed and their message can get lost in the shuffle. Encourage woman to breastfeed, inform them, make sure they are getting all of the facts while they are pregnant, and be there for them if they need any advice. But don't give them unwanted advice and please don't make them feel like bad mothers if they ultimately choose to feed their child formula. That does not make them a bad mother, it makes them a mother who made a different choice than you did, and that is OK.

Breastfeeding isn't for wimps. Seriously. Cracked, sore, chapped, red, bleeding, even yeast infected nipples can result. It is best to find out all that you can about breastfeeding before you even start. I recommend starting the research as soon as you find out that you are pregnant. Here are some things I have learned in the first few weeks breastfeeding my baby.

Starting life on the teat. You will want to breastfeed your baby as soon as he or she comes into this world, seriously, the sooner the better. My doctor let me breastfeeding my son as soon as he came out of the womb, and I really do believe this made everything easier for both of us. Surprisingly he learned to latch on right away, but not all do. Don't expect yours to know how to do it right away. You will want to know the tricks to helping your baby out. This is where that research comes in handy. There are many, many techniques out there, even videos on youtube to show you what the "right" kind of latch on looks like.

One thing that you should know is - is shouldn't hurt. If it hurts - your baby is not latched on correctly. The pictures and youtube videos help because they show you what the baby's mouth should look like. The easiest thing to notice is the way the lips are positioned - they should be outwards, not in.

Love your nipples - Don't let doctors or nurses in the hospital give your baby any bottles or pacifiers - make sure they know you don't want your baby to have any artificial nipples. Most hospitals are fine with that unless there is some kind of problem. If the artificial nipple is introduced too early this could cause nipple confusion and your baby will have an even harder time latching on.

If at first you don't succeed try, try again. Practice makes perfect. It could take days, even weeks to get it down right. If you find you are getting frustrated - stop, calm down, relax and try again. Stress makes it harder on you and your baby. Anytime you breastfeed you should be relaxed, if you need to - go to another room, listen to music, whatever it takes.

Let down is when your milk starts coming out - this can only happen if you are relaxed.

Oh the pain. One thing that can hurt, and make things even more frustrating - is when your milk "comes in" this usually happens a few days after your baby is born (before your milk comes in, you produce colostrums, perfect for "just borns" so don't worry) When your milk comes in your breasts will get big and hard - makes them kind of look like fake boobs. And sure by some standards they may look fantastic (you may even want to take a picture of the beauties) they won't feel fantastic.

Those hard boobies hurt! Heat helps - but it also makes your milk drain out - and you don't want too much to get out, really. Right now your breasts are figuring out how much your baby needs, so only express milk until your breasts feel comfortable again, unless you want this problem to persist.

The hard boobies also make it hard for your baby to latch on. Right before feeding your baby is usually the best time to express some; because once you do your breasts will get a little softer making it easier on you and your baby during nursing time.

Cream those nips - Lansinoh nipple cream is a MUST HAVE for breastfeeding moms. This not only treats cracked, chapped nipples - it also prevents this problem, so you will want to use it a lot. The best part is - it is safe for baby, so there is no need to clean it off after every mealtime for baby.

Boobie pads - The other must haves are breast pads - because you will leak a lot at first. When your baby cried, when you wake up, roll over in your sleep; take a shower, sometimes even when your baby looks at you funny. I recommend going with the Lansinoh brand for these as well. Johnson and Johnson's brand isn't bad, but they are a bit big and bulky, and if you wear a thin shirt they are quite obvious. BUT - let you nipples breath!! You want to let them dry out from time to time. If you can walk around with your top off for a while after your nightly shower at least. More air time is better though.

If your baby has Thrush - get it treated right away - your baby can pass this onto you in the form of a nasty nipple yeast infection. If you both get infected you both need to get treated together, right away, if only one gets treated you will keep passing it back and forth.

The main thing is - don't give up too easily - remember it will get easier. After a few weeks or so, you will get into a nice routine, and it will be no big deal. Remember all of the health benefits of your milk when you get frustrated. Think of all of the good you are doing for baby.

Evenflo Comfort Select Electric Breast Pump

I knew throughout my pregnancy that I wanted to breastfeed my baby. I also knew because of much reading on the internet and through my many books that it might be a little hard, even frustrating at first. So, I wanted to get a breast pump early, just in case. I knew I wanted an electric pump after reading many horror stories about manual pumps so I did a little more online research.

I soon found out that electric pump almost always cost more that $100.00, and even though I was sure I wanted to breastfeed I wasn't too keen on spending that much from the get go. Soon, I found a reasonably priced one the Evenflo comfort select pump. This pump has the great price of around $40.00, it can even be found at your local walgreens at that price, and that is actually where I found mine.

Now that I have had my baby boy (Oct. 16th) I have gotten to actually use my breast pump. I was breastfeeding (no pumping) exclusively for the first couple of weeks - until I got a nasty yeast infection on my nipples - and he got thrush. It hurt way too much to feed him at the breast all of the time, so I tried out the pump.

This pump is a single pump, meaning you can only pump one breast at a time - though there is a double version available at a higher price. This means it can take a while to get what you need. For me, it usually takes about 10 minutes per breast and I get about 2oz on each pumping every two hours, if I wait longer I can get about 6oz total.

This pump also has automatic cycling to simulate baby's sucking. This automatic thing isn't so great as it is better to have control of the rate at which it does this. I find it is too slow. You can control the amount of suction, which is nice, and the highest setting is the highest I could take I believe so it is very good.

The pump horn comes with a silicone cushion insert for your comfort, but I found it just made the process longer. Also after washing the insert a few times, I found it didn't want to even stay on the horn while pumping. Now I don't even use it, and it isn't that uncomfortable without it anyway. As far as comfort goes I think any pump would be just a bit uncomfortable, I mean who really wants to sit there and pump their breast for up to a half an hour.

The pump comes with the AC adapter and can also work on 3 AA batteries. I have used it with batteries and found it lasted a lot longer than I expected - about 5 pumping sessions. The cord for the AC is pretty long, but not long enough for really moving around from the spot you start pumping at - so you will want to have a nice little spot set up for pumping which is close to an outlet.

As far as noise goes - this one is loud. I can't hear the TV without turning it way up - and I find myself asking my husband "What did you say?" over and over again when using it. It is very easy to clean though with only 3 parts including the bottle. Only one part is small - and I mean small - it has went down our garbage disposal once and we had to get the flashlight out to get it back.

It also comes with a nice little bag to store it in - but I find it hard to get all of the parts in the bag. You have to put them in there just right for them to fit. But if you can master this - it is very discreet.

Overall I am happy with this pump. I pump at least 3 bottles a day, and it can keep up with me. But because I am pumping so much now, I have a new double electric pump on the way. I did it - I invested over $150.00 in a "good pump". So although this pump gets it done - it does take some precious time to do it, time that a new mom just doesn't have. I plan on keeping it around in case my new one ever breaks down or has any problems. So it will remain as my back up pump.

I would recommend it for women who pump occasionally, but definitely not for a mom who pumps exclusively. The reasonable price tag makes it a good choice for any breastfeeding mom who thinks she may need a pump around for occasional use.