Celebrity mom breastfeeding round-up

As the year comes to an end, I wanted to take a look back at some of the moms in the media who shared their breastfeeding experiences in 2007. I'm thankful these women in the public eye have been open about their efforts and hope they encourage new moms to choose to nurse their own babies.

New to the Club
Everything about Keri Russell, mom to five-month old son, River, is natural and promotes attachment parenting. From wearing her son in a sling, to her commitment to breastfeeding, she's a down-to-earth mom a lot of us can relate to.

Graduating class

• Gwen "nursing gives you superhuman powers" Stefani breastfed son Kingston well after he was a year old. Kudos for Gwen for promoting "extended" breastfeeding. Gwen has said so many positive things about breastfeeding, she's one of my favorite celebrity moms!

• Jennifer Gardner breastfed her daughter Violet for 14 months. I love that she was so committed to nursing Violet,"pumping in the car on the way to the Oscars, and in airplane bathrooms" and how much she treasured their bond.

While acceptance of breastfeeding is gaining momentum, some still wince at the thought of an "older baby" nursing. Thanks to these moms for extolling the virtues of extended breastfeeding.

Lactivist of the year: Maggie Gyllenhal
No one can top Maggie's "so what?"attitude! She turned an paparazzi's intrusive photo into an opportunity! Maybe other moms would have stayed home next time, but not Maggie! The gossip columns were abuzz with her next outing: "boldly" nursing daughter Ramona at a NYC sidewalk cafe! As blogger Stefania Pomponi Butler put it:
"You'd think she had an agenda or something. Like, is she trying to show people that breast feeding is natural and breasts are for feeding babies?"

Dad Power!
Finally, my personal highlight of 2007. Who could not love Will Farrell and his red carpet breast pump moment? Highlighting a breast pump as the evening's "must-have" accessory at the Golden Globes Ceremony shows that dads are a big part of a family's breastfeeding success.

Here's to a healthy 2008 and many MANY more breastfed babies!