agree with this. Should they be accommodated close by under the care of a trusted aid so the Mother can nurse. Sure. But crying newborns on the Senate floor? Really? Ummm, NO Sorry...

What with Turtle-Boy, Lindsey Graham and the rest of them already behaving like children I doubt a new-born will hardly be noticed. Plus, having new-born constituent present might remind the Senate of just exactly who they should be working for.

Toast

Common sense needs to win out occasionally. We can accommodate new parents without disrupting EVERYTHING.

But this will be about breastfeeding, and therefore, about what crusty, repressed, Old White Men think breasts are for (not that, in case you haven't been paying attention).

including cameras clicking away, lights, etc.

And usually nursing infants aren't crying - they can't cry and nurse at the same time. Old white men will adjust to the idea of being in the presence of a baby while getting things done.

I assume they would prefer that she pump while on the Senate floor?

continues to send to Congress.

I would add that your point about bright lights, clicking cameras, and general commotion argues even further why infants and children have no business on the floor of the Senate--for THEIR sake. That's hardly a soothing environment for THEM.

What kind of process is it?

It's not like there are going to ever be a gaggle of infants on the floor at once.

I've been in board meetings with a nursing mother, and it was a small conference room.

It didn't take long and the nanny took the baby shortly thereafter.

The Senate floor is HUGE.

WE pay these Senators/Congressmen to do the people's business. Accommodating does not mean letting OUR BUSINESS stop when a nursing/infant room can/SHOULD be accommodated just off the Senate floor

A baby can't nurse and cry at the same time.

As I said - once the nursing is done, the baby can be taken back to the office....

Again - do you think that the Senate would prefer she pump on the Senate floor?

And babies don't suddenly stop nursing so they can cry instead. They gradually take fewer and fewer sucks till they fall asleep.

Any "accomodation" that requires them to leave the floor, isn't an accomodation.

Is that clearer?

for the few minutes needed to vote and then return to the child or have an expresssed breast milk bottle available

Again.... anything that would take her from the Senate floor is not an "accomodation."

How long do you think it takes to nurse an infant?

There is no pleasant, quiet, dimly lit little room off the Senate floor. Even the Senate cloakroom is subject to the same sexist rules. All they're offering her is a stinky bathroom.

out of nothing and give her a private nursing room by the time she has the baby.

And she doesn't need one anyway. Nursing babies are highly portable. That's one of the great advantages of breastfeeding.

the immediate demand. What is BEST FOR THE CHILD.

In fact, those droning voices would put even a non-nursing baby to sleep.

and having her child nearby in a safe accessible environment is the way it should work for both. Accommodation involves some compromise, but it should have as its premise and priority, the BEST course for the child, first and then the Mother.

Funny how I seem more concerned about that infant than many here including those promoting their own unearned self-sanctimony

is good or safe for her own infant.

She works in the Senate - why do you think you know more than she does about how "safe" it is?

Like those that claim Tammy Duckworth has no clue as to what is and isn't good for her own infant?

Then switch gears and say that it's not about the infant, but the feelings rest of the Senate that's being talked about here...

Nursing isn't the same as going to the bathroom, and the baby isn't a womans' bladder.

That’s what the Cloakroom is. There’s one for each party on each side of the floor. It’s literally only as far away and pushing a door and you’re on the floor to register your vote with the Clerk and back you go.

There’s also a Senator’s lounge behind the lobby (it’s behind the wall the rostrum is on).

There are plenty of places for anyone to go. The Senate has assigned seating. I can’t imagine a time or place where anyone is forced to sit in their seat much less with an infant for an extended period of time. That’s just not how the Senate works.

Do you know how long it takes to nurse an infant?

I believe that excuse about why women just can't be happy with what they have was also given when the women in the Senate asked for another bathroom, when there was already one with two stalls closeby, geeze...

I also have three children. I fully understand the needs of infants.

I don’t fault or discount her desire for Floor accommodations, I just know that there is rarely ever a time or need for them to actually sit and stay on the Senate Floor. If she wants to make accommodations for that rare time, then I support her.

Considering also that one needs to be 30 to be a Senator, the likelyhood of it being turned into a nursery - as many here seem to be afraid of - is highly unlikely.

already said the only place she could go under the rules was in the bathroom. He specifically excluded the cloak room. But you can't vote from the cloak room or the bathroom -- which is a disgusting place to nurse -- and that is the point.

time for a change

I can not believe some of the comments opposing the idea...



And I am a 74 year old guy, who has never personally nursed a baby, if it even matters...

This quote particularly from someone who thinks that any woman who would bring a child onto the Senate floor is a bad parent:

I'm on to the next thread..

and their needs, even here on DU.

Damn women for having babies, what are they thinking!

A nursing mother would not have to leave the floor to nurse.

Yes, they are also talking about accomodating a parent who is bottle feeding as part of a greater movement in the workplace.

You didn't seem to know that babies who are nursing don't cry.

a need only the parent can provide for, like nursing.

of nursing on the Senate floor for a long time. Kristin Gillibrand did, too. And no accommodation was ever made for her. When she had a nursing baby, she had to literally stick her head through the door to vote.

I've already addressed is bullshit..

I find your tactics no longer worth my time.

And there is no reason related to the baby's comfort that Duckworth can't carry the child to her seat on the Senate floor.

The only people with some discomfort might be some old fogies in the area.

And voting takes minutes the baby can wait.

And if a vote is going on after she starts to nurse?

there will be a "nursing room" created just off the Senate floor.

Also, leaving the Senate floor disqualifies you from any votes during that period.