breastfeeding

We're excited to bring you a new post from mother and actress Tori Spelling and her ediTORIal by Tori Spelling blog. This week, Tori debunks five new mommy myths.

As a momista-of-four, there were still things that surprised me about each pregnancy and each new babe. There’s just so much to learn as a new mom. Even if you were one of those moms who read What to Expect When You’re Expecting cover to cover three times, chances are that you still fed into a few misconceptions and old wives' tales. So today I’m debunking a few of the biggest myths that new mamas encounter. Check them out and let me know which ones you used to believe . . .

Related: Tori's mother of the year award

Myth No. 1: You can predict the sex of the baby (without your doctor).
Each time that I was preggers, I had people tell me that if I was carrying low the baby was going to be a boy and that if I was carrying high it was a girl. Well, according to WhatToExpect.com, the height of your bump has nothing to do with the baby’s gender. Dying to find out the baby’s sex? It’s called an ultrasound! Otherwise, just sit tight and enjoy the guessing game. There are so few surprises in life.

Myth No. 2: You can determine the sex of the baby with sexual positions.
Lots of new mamas believe that not only can they predict their baby’s sex, but that they can take certain steps during conception to determine it. Well, I hate to break it to you, ladies, but according to Parents.com, the missionary position is not going to guarantee a girl and doggy style is not going to make your little one a boy. But I can promise you one thing — boy or girl, this little one is still going to be the light of your life.

Keep reading for three more myths and why they're nothing more than myths.

Nursing moms have a new reason to celebrate. In a surprising about-face, Walmart has gone from refusing to print a photo of mom Kayla Andre breastfeeding, to allowing her to host a nurse-in demonstration in its Alberta, Canada, store.

Earlier in May, Andre's husband headed to Walmart to print out a photo of his wife nursing their young son as a Mother's Day gift. To his chagrin, the store refused to print the breastfeeding image, saying it violated the mass chain's anti-nudity policy, the Huffington Post reports.

Andre was shocked and protested to local media that the image should have been printed, saying it's a natural occurrence — despite debates over breastfeeding in public. So she organized a "nurse-in" to be held in the store, to protest the store's decision in shaming her for breastfeeding.

Walmart quickly recognized the flaw in its action, however. It apologized and clarified the store's policy for employees so that they would know breastfeeding photos are acceptable. So Andre quickly turned her protests into praise, and re-dubbed her nurse-in as "a celebration of the fact that Walmart recognized its mistake."

Andre applauded the store for being "a reasonable company who listens to their customers," and noted the chain offered gift certificates for photo printing to nurse-in participants. "They have clarified their policy, and that is something to celebrate!" she says.

Would you protest or participate in a breastfeeding event at Walmart?

Traveling while breastfeeding doesn't have be an impossible combination. Though nursing while flying may be a bit tricky, mamas who must travel without their tots don't have to worry about lugging a pump with them when traveling to Chicago anymore. In what appears to be the first program of its kind, Hard Rock Hotel Chicago and Medela launched the Nursing Mothers Amenity Program yesterday. For $30, participants in the program will receive a hospital-grade Symphony breastpump and a breastfeeding Accessory Starter Set, which includes Medela's Micro Steam Bags, Quick Clean Wipes, Pump and Save Bags, and disposable bra pads when they check into the hotel. The program also provides nursing moms with in-room refrigerators, microwaves, ice packs, cooler bags for transporting the milk, and staff trained to support nursing moms with services like FedExing milk back home.

Nursing moms isn't necessarily the first thing I thought of when I heard Hard Rock Hotel — images of Michael Jackson's leather jackets and autographed guitars were the first thing that came to mind — but it may be time to switch up my thinking. The Nursing Mothers Amenity Program, which will donate the proceeds of the fee to benefit local families with children in Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago through The Jackson Chance Foundation, may be the nursing working mom's new best friend! What do you think?

Have you ever had to pump on an airplane or carry breast-pumping paraphernalia through security? While moms have the right to do both and are even supposed to be provided with privacy when they pump on an airplane, it looks like some airline and TSA personnel are unaware — or not on board.

In one recent violation of regulations, an American Airlines flight attendant monitored mom Dawnella Brahos throughout her flight to prevent her from using the breast pump she was carrying. In another, a TSA worker in Hawaii told mom Amy Strand that she couldn't bring the cooler that came with her pump through security unless she was also carrying breast milk. In order to keep the cooler, which is expensive to replace, Strand resorted to pumping in the airport bathroom, in public.

Although both American Airlines and the TSA have apologized, Christian Science Monitor reporter David Clark Scott advises breastfeeding moms who are traveling to know their rights: "Moms and Dads," he writes, "bookmark the TSA page, and carry it with you on your phone. Just in case."

Nursing older children is a very touchy subject, even among moms who breastfeed their infants. But one thing's for sure: moms who do it, either in public or in private, are passionate about it. As Circle of Moms member Cynthia A. explains, "Extended nursing is not for everyone, but those of us who have nursed for longer than six months or a year have our reasons both for ourselves and for the physical and emotional health of our children."

Truth is, you might be surprised to find out how many "closet nursers" there are in your neighborhood, church, or preschool. Here's a look at the extended breastfeeding issue from three perspectives: physical, emotional, and societal.

Keep reading to see why some moms breastfeed longer.

"I have to get my baby to take a bottle but he won’t," says mom Sarah C. in a panic. She's worried about her upcoming six-hour work shift next week. "I've tried expressing my milk, tried formula and different bottles, but he just hates it," she says of her 15-week-old son. Shakira too, would like to give herself an occasional break from breastfeeding, but her daughter won’t take a bottle, whether it’s filled with breast milk or formula. "I breastfeed my daughter every day, all day, but I would like and really need for her to take a bottle." If you, too, like Sarah and Shakira, feel like a prisoner because your baby refuses a bottle, the following six tips from other moms may help your situation.

Click to see the tricks moms have tried that worked!