Farmington Hills Mom Latches On to Advocacy

Katie Rusak has breast fed each of her daughters for at least a year. She has even donated gallons of breast milk to children other than her own.

But she's never really considered herself an advocate, until now. Rusak is setting up a Farmington location for The Big Latch On, an awareness event held during World Breastfeeding Week Aug. 1-6. At 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6, she and other nursing moms will breastfeed for at least one minute, joining thousands of other moms all over the world in an attempt to set a Guinness World Book record.

"The event is organized by the International La Leche League," Rusak said. "I went on the website and saw there were locations in Madison Heights and Royal Oak. I was going to go to Sterling Heights, but with two kids, I thought it would be more convenient to have one right here."

So far, the group, which will meet at in downtown Farmington, includes Rusak, her sister-in-law and a few members of the Farmington Area Moms Club.

"I never had the opportunity to participate in a 'nurse-in'," she said of advocacy events held to encourage awareness and acceptance of breastfeeding. "I'm excited to have the opportunity to do something as more of an advocate."

Rusak knows breastfeeding doesn't work for everyone. And she said this isn't about putting down moms who rely on formula. "I feel very, very, very blessed that it's worked out for me," she said, adding both of her babies were also given formula early on.

While nursing her daughter Allie, now 2 1/2, went well, Rusak did experience some pain with nursing Tessa, who will be a year old next week. Still, she said, "For me, I've enjoyed breastfeeding. I know it's not an easy experience for all women. The best thing for me is knowing I'm giving my children the best possible nutrition they can have."

The one thing breastfeeding did not do was help her lose weight after having her babies.

"My body is very sensitive to diet, in terms of my milk supply," she said, "so I've had to back off the dieting until after I'm done."

Rusak has not nursed much in public, but not because she's embarrassed or ashamed. She found as her daughters got older, they were more easily distracted. Also, she said, "I'm not very skilled at nursing without a pillow or back support."

has a family rest room with a couch, and she has also ducked into a special nursing room at Babies R Us. Having those kinds of spaces, she hopes, may lead women to breastfeed their babies and to do so longer. 

That's also one of the goals behind Saturday's event.

"I'd like to think that by talking about it, we'll encourage other people to do it," she said.

The Farmington event has a Facebook page, where moms can RSVP for The Big Latch On. In addition to nursing moms, volunteer witnesses are needed to make the official count. For information about the worldwide event, visit biglatchon.org