Mother's milk

Moms Latch On promoting world-wide breastfeeding

Setting the record
Photo by Cheryl Bemis
Sherry Neeley nursing her two year-old daughter Laurel.
Photo by Cheryl Bemis

When a nurse came into my hospital room after I gave birth to my son and then later the same with my daughter, out popped the question, are you bottle feeding or breast feeding? It was a decision every young mother had to ponder back in the day. When I asked my mom for some advice she lead me to my own decision because she came from an era when bottle feeding was the trend. While nursing my son was anything but enjoyable, my daughter on the other hand lasted 18 months and I did get a sense she ended up with fewer infections.

Over the weekend moms across the world simultaneously held their children and did what comes naturally since the beginning of time and in the prcess they set a world-record, bringing more awareness and education about breastfeeding.

Austin moms gathered at the MamaCents consignment sale in north Austin and “Latched On” to help break the previous record.

Janet Jones, the Vice President of Central Texas Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition mentioned that the Austin community is active in supporting all breastfeeding mothers and the Austin Mother’s Milk Bank. She also said that the event was to help “normalize breastfeeding” but isn’t it about the most normal thing anyway?

The long list of benefits of breastfeeding has not changed even 25 years after I had my children and more moms are opting to breastfeed. According to the CDC, breastfeeding initiation increased from 74.6% in 2008 to 76.9% in 2009. This represents the largest annual increase over any previous decade. Breastfeeding at six months increased from 44.3% to 47.2%; breastfeeding at twelve months increased from 23.8% to 25.5%.

The Central Texas Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Austin sponsored the Austin Big Latch On event. More than a dozen lactating moms gathered and breastfed their children in public together. The kids ranging from ages six weeks to two years.

In 2011 five countries participated with more than 8700 moms breastfeeding together world-wide, up from 5700 in 2011.

I did breastfeed my son for a very short time after he was born but my daughter on the other hand lasted 18 months and I did see many health benefits with her. I was a bottle fed kid and I paid my mother back royally by having 24/7 colic for three months straight. Guess she shouldn’t have messed with mother nature!

unspecified

put it on santa's amex

2 wealthy Austin suburbs top list of biggest holiday spenders in U.S.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Cedar Park, Round Rock, and Austin loooove to do up the holidays.

It looks like Santa Claus is going to be competing with residents in Cedar Park to see who brings the most lavish holiday gifts this year.

This festive Austin neighbor ranked No. 23 in WalletHub's annual report of U.S. cities with the biggest holiday budgets in 2024.

Residents in this well-to-do suburb are expected to spend $2,930 on their Christmas gifts this year. That's up $576 from the $2,354 they were ready to shell out in the 2023 ranking — and it bumped them up 21 spots from their previous ranking at No. 44.

The U.S. Census Bureau says that Cedar Park's estimated population of 77,516 had a median household income of $118,903 in 2023. No wonder they have the extra cash to spare.

Cedar Park consistently makes the list of the top U.S. cities with the biggest holiday spenders, and now Round Rock is also climbing up the list, landing at No. 39 this year, up significantly from its previous low ranking of No. 283 in 2023.

The average holiday budget in Round Rock skyrocketed from $1,148 last year to $2,538 this year in an eyewatering $1,390 increase. You gotta spend to stay on top.

The No. 1 city in the U.S. for biggest holiday spenders in 2024 is Newton, Massachusetts, a wealthy suburb right outside of Boston, where the median income measured in 2022 was $176,373. Slots 2 through 5 were all cities in California's Silicon Valley: Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Milpitas.

Meanwhile, Austin proper landed at No. 87 in 2024 with an average holiday budget of $1,905.

Each year, WalletHub calculates the maximum holiday budget for over 550 U.S. cities "to help consumers avoid post-holiday regret," the website says. The study factors in income, age of the population, and other financial indicators such as debt-to-income ratio, monthly-income-to monthly-expenses ratio, and savings-to-monthly-expenses ratio.

Whether an Austinite's holiday budget is under $200 or more than $1,000, it's better to prioritize remaining within that budget instead of racking up the credit card bill, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

"There are plenty of ways to enjoy the holidays and show you care without spending much money, like hosting potlucks or giving handmade gifts," said Lupo.

Other Texas cities that made it into the top 100 are:

No. 7 – Flower Mound ($3,541)
No. 11 – Frisco ($3,412)
No. 13 – The Woodlands ($3,395)
No. 15 – Sugar Land ($3,214)
No. 18 – Allen ($3,070)
No. 25 – League City ($2,897)
No. 32 – Plano ($2,658)
No. 45 – North Richland Hills ($2,484)
No. 52 – McKinney ($2,386)
No. 60 – Pearland ($2,223)
No. 76 – Richardson ($1,980)
No. 81 – Carrollton ($1,932)
No. 92 – Lewisville ($1,848)

austin budgeting cedar park christmas holidays lavish holiday gifts rankings round rock shopping wallethub biggest holiday budgets