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Baby Gaga Breast Milk Ice Cream
The latest update in the Baby Gaga breast milk ice cream saga is that the members of the Westminster Council – who pulled the product over health concerns – have sided with Icecreamists owner Matt O’Connor, agreeing that the product is safe for human consumption.
Victoria Hiley – the donor whose milk was used in the initial batch of Baby Gaga – calls the ice cream “beautiful and repellent,” owing to the fact that breast milk is “only for babies and yet so is the milk of cows.” That’s precisely the problem Lady Gaga seems to have with the sweet treat. Hiley says, “We’ve become estranged from our own mammalhood and recoil from breast milk while we drink cows’ milk without a thought.” Continue reading »
The “Upper Breast Side” is an unusual boutique. A haven for nursing mothers, it offers everything from nursing dresses, blouses and tank tops to a wide range of breast pumps. It’s more than a boutique, though.
According to the owner, The Upper Breast Side is a community center where women can learn about breast feeding and get support through the hard parts of nursing a baby. They can also buy a $145 rhinestone-studded nursing bra, should they happen to need one.
This is a point of contention between the small shop and the condo board that runs the building. After the boutique was fined $250 for leaving the door ajar, they filed a human rights complaint, alleging that pregnant customers and new moms couldn’t open the heavy brass contraption. So far, their claim has been backed up. The condo board responded by saying the business shouldn’t be there at all, because the residential zoning allows for doctor’s offices and community facilities, but not retail stores.
Why did people buy Baby Gaga breastmilk ice cream?
You’d think we’re having some kind of food shortage among industrialized nations, what with all the delicious breast milk offerings that seem to abound.
Some time ago, fancy New York chef Daniel Angerer made cheese out of his wife’s leftover breast milk. More recently, a London ice-cream shop hawked “Baby Gaga,” a delicious frozen dairy treat made from, among other ingredients, breast milk.
Do non-nurslings really need human milk to round out their daily nutritional needs. Are there adults who actually enjoy the cool sweetness of frozen num-nums on a cone?
Why, when, as a nation, we’re actually sort of skeeved out about breastfeeding, do we seem to be fascinated with consuming the stuff (and by “we” I mean “not me”)? Continue reading »
Hi! I'm made of breast milk! Mmmm...
A London ice cream parlor called The Icecreamists is selling a frozen treat they call the “Baby Gaga.” It’s ice cream made from breast milk. When I heard about this new flavor, I threw up in my mouth a little bit.
It’s reported that Baby Gaga costs $23, but I don’t know if that’s for a pint, a cone or a gallon. The flavor is made by blending breast milk “with Madagascan vanilla pods and lemon zest.” Initially, only one mom was donating breast milk to The Icecreamists, but the shop just signed on 15 new suppliers. Continue reading »
Government solicits comments on new pumping law
Since March 2010, women have been entitled to reasonable break times and a private place to pump milk. They don’t have to be compensated for the breaks, which last up to 20 minutes every four hours. But at least you’re no longer at risk of losing your job if you take time out to pump milk for your baby.
Now the government wants to know how all that milk pumping is going. The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a “request for information” from working moms and their employers to tell them all about pumping breastmilk on the job. The request was a step towards offering employers and employees more guidance about on-the-job pumping.
Breastfeeding is best for babies.
Meredith just reported on a British study that says breastmilk may not be enough nutrition for babies.
While that study is grabbing headlines, it can’t change history. Humans evolved to nourish their young from the breast. Breastmilk is the perfect food for babies. People were nourished on it for millenia before there was a baby formula industry, and they will be nourished on it in the future when the idea that breastmilk is somehow not right for babes is as antiquated and perverse a notion as using leeches to suck bad blood from the sick.
The real argument of the study isn’t that breastmilk itself is somehow insufficient, but that supplementation with solids should ideally begin at around four months instead of six. They claim waiting to introduce solids leads to a higher incidence of food allergies, iron deficiency and not liking vegetables.
I am not even joking.
Donor milk for babies is hard to come by.
Breast is best. We all know this. Our doctors tell us, we see ads on the subway to remind us. Babies thrive on breastmilk.
Not everyone can breastfeed, though. Adoptive parents, couples parents who rely on a surrogate, and many moms whose health prevents them from breastfeeding their babies all need other options. For most of these parents, formula is the only alternative. And for most babies, it’s a perfectly good one.
For some babies, though, formula can cause digestive problems. Neil Patrick Harris’ new daughter is one of these babes. He and his partner, David Burtka, have infant twins. Their daughter struggled with formula, but finding donor breastmilk for her has been a challenge.
So many women have an oversupply of milk. It’s amazing that even those with the most resources have a challenging time getting donor milk for their babies.
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