Mama's Milk/Mama Me Alimenta

I adore this book. It is so simple yet full of love. Each time my 17mo daughter and I cuddle up to read it she gets excited about all the cute animals in the pictures and then she mimes breastfeeding when I explain they are nursing. It really helps 'normalise' and contextualise the shared mamalian experience of breastfeeding - for both of us :) I highly recommend this book, especially for mamas who are breastfeeding toddlers (in a world where that is getting increasingly rare). You will both enjoy it!

Beautifully illustrated in the style of the cover image of the calico cat, each page features a unique mammal mama with her nurslings. The first page has a human mama nursing her baby in bed, papa sleeping beside them, as the sun dawns through the window. "Cuddle little baby warm and tight, Mama's going to feed you day and night," it reads, with its accompanying Spanish translation. The book names each animal and their young in English and Spanish. Each page contains a short rhyming line or couplet - perfect for any age! Mammals featured are: seal, pig, horse, monkey, elephant, bat, otter, platypus, kangaroo, armadillo, coyote, whale, dolphin, bear, raccoon, hamster, cat, and human. Included are everyday life illustrations of mothers nursing or feeding their babies at the park, a father with his son and their hamsters, a mother wearing her baby in a sling, and a breastfeeding mama snoozing in a chair with her infant. On the last two pages are the thumbnail images from each page with interesting facts about each, such as, "kangaroo milk is pink." The book contains 23 pages of text. I got this book in paperback together with the Nursing Nina Cat for my two-year old nursling on her 2nd birthday, and I am very pleased. She is fascinated with baby animals, especially cats. The combination gift was perfect, as she played with the Nina Cat and kittens while I read to her. She asked me to read it over and over again and thoroughly soaked up the information and pictures of the baby animals. My older daughter (age 8), who was also nursed as a baby, also enjoyed reading this book and learning about the different baby animals. She is learning Spanish. My ten-year old son notes it is a good book to teach small children about breastfeeding in a sweet and interesting way. This book can also be a source of inspiration and affirmation to mothers and fathers who choose to offer this amazing gift of love to their children. Another book that would compliment this combination nicely is, "I Love You As Much," by Laura Krauss Melmed.

I got this book for my son, almost 20 months, to help prepare him to see me nursing his new baby brother (due in a month) -- I had to exclusively pump for my older little guy, so he doesn't have any memory of nursing. The illustrations are just adorable! There are human families (of all ethnicities), as well as animals both familiar (cats, horses) and a little less usual (platypuses, bats). My son loves looking at the pictures and having me name the various animals (or trying to name them himself ... he gets a little confused sometimes, though, and thinks the kangaroos are dogs ...) It's great to see a book that shows breastfeeding as normal and natural. We have a couple of "we're having a new baby" books for my son, and I've been disappointed in how they both show the babies drinking bottles. This is a nice counterpoint.

Mama's Milk depicts a variety of mammals with their young, and has lots of information while maintaining a simple non-preachy narrative. I learned new things (kangaroos make pink milk, baby platypi are called puggles) and the children that have looked at it with me were happy to look at the baby animals. my son is still very tiny, but i look forward to continuing to read this with him and to us enjoying the pictures of happy families nursing. Nursing is a big part of our bonding, and so few books reflect what a beautiful, loving, natural activity it is. example of text, "Cuddle little baby warm and tight Mama's going to feed you day and night [illustration of a human mother nursing in bed]/She'll fatten you up in a sunny pig sty [illustration of cute piglets with happy looking sow] She'll grow you up strong under the morning sky [mare and foal]" it goes on to show all kinds of nursing mamas and babies, from whales to coyotes, elephants, and bats. i just wish i could afford to buy copies for all the nursing moms i know.

I just read this book to my daughter for the first time. I'm honestly feeling really emotional! She chose to hear it in Spanish. The rhythm and phrasing of the Spanish text is just beautiful. It really captures the depth of the connection between mother & child, and of the nursing relationship. I bought this book expecting cute pictures of nursing animals. For me at least, it goes so far beyond that. The English text is not an exact translation (so that both rhyme). If I had to guess, I would say the book was originally written in Spanish and the English edition was adapted from it. The English text is very sweet, but I wouldn't say it captures the same level of depth and nuance. We use English, Spanish, and ASL around the house and for us, this book is perfection.

I bought this book for my nursing toddler, who calls my milk "mama milk," and his brother who's a year older. I like how it shows many different kinds of mammals nursing. I also like how it's bilingual. I'm teaching my little ones Spanish and they are picking up on it quickly. My boys especially like the nursing elephant. It's a simple book and not the highest quality printing or illustrations, but it"s good for showing preschoolers that nursing is natural, and helpful for learning Spanish.

I bought this book to help normalize breastfeeding for my youngest child who will not grow up regularly seeing mama nurse other children. We have several books with Ashley Wolff's wonderful animal illustrations, and this one is no different. She met the challenge of depicting nursing animals (and mamas!) without making them cartoonish or shameful.

My 2 yr old son is absolutely obsessed with my breasts. He was breastfed as a baby. He is constantly trying to reach down my shirt and asks "What are those?" When I am getting ready to shower, he races to the bathroom to try to get a glimpse of me naked. He's grabbed at them and tries to make them jiggle. I know that this is kind of normal behavior for a curious little boy, but it was making me self-conscious. I ordered this book to properly educate him about what breasts are for, i.e. "Mommies have breasts for feeding babies," and to hopefully quell some of the curiosity. We've only read it a few times, but it has actually helped. He doesn't try to grab them as much or reach under my shirt as often (often, being the operative word). I guess boys will be boys. The book is quite tastefully done. I feel like it's a good resource for other moms like me, with curious little boys.

cute little book with nice illustrations

Very cute.

Alles gut

Got for the kids at my nursery. It’s a lovely story, simply told using all the key words you would need to introduce the concept of mums feeding babies to young children

Las mamas alimentan, imágenes de animales mamíferos, entre ellos nosotros. Muy visual y muy bonito. Me encanta, a mi hijo también y se lo enseñe a una amiga suya y también.