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breastfeeding

Only the Best for Mom and Baby

Both mom and baby benefit from breastfeeding. Breast milk contains antibodies that can’t be engineered, and the physical contact helps you bond with your baby. Military women with TRICARE coverage have an additional advantage: they now have access to the seamless services of the Breastfeeding Shop, a top provider of quality breast pumps and supplies for mom and baby with no out-of-pocket expense.

Patty Gatter, the CEO of the Breastfeeding Shop, is passionate about a number of things, among them being a mom, being a business woman, and serving the military community. Her great-grandfather, grandfather, and father-in-law all served, and she sees providing military families with breastfeeding supplies as a personal calling.

“My goal as a mom and breast pump supplier is to not only provide as much as possible for the moms but to educate them on what exactly is available to them via their insurance,” said Gatter. “Many companies just take an order and send whatever they feel is best – without taking the mom’s situation into consideration. I think we all have different needs.”

After receiving in-network approval, to enhance the shopping experience, the Breastfeeding Shop hired additional customer support representatives and launched an app on both Google and Apple.

All Tricare-eligible females who have a “birth event” including pregnancy and childbirth or a legal adoption are eligible for breast pumps and supplies before and after delivery.

A prescription from a Tricare-authorized doctor, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or nurse midwife is all that is needed to allow new and expecting moms access to the services of the Breastfeeding Shop. Click here to the order your breast pump covered 100% through insurance now.

By Elaine Lowry Brye

I am a military mom and I have the grey hair, tear-stained pillows, and overwhelming pride that goes with it.

I know how to say goodbye with a smile and a heavy heart. I have mailed countless care packages, waited for phone calls or texts that don’t come, and sobbed with relief every time I hear they are back on U.S. soil.

I carry a heavy load in that back pack I put on when my first son was inducted into the Naval Academy, back in June of 2001. But he is not my only source of angst; all four of my children have served: one each in the Marines, Navy, Air Force and Army.

This leaves me holding down the homefront from all sides. Afghanistan, Libya, South China Sea-these are not just places on the map. They are some of the places my kids have encountered on their 11 deployments. And now number 12 is looming on the horizon.

What’s a mom to do after saying goodbye so many times? How does she hold herself together?

When the going gets tough she looks for wisdom from her battle buddies- those moms who have walked this difficult tightrope of fear and pride before. As my children’s service multiplied and the war kept on going, I realized we moms needed a service manual of sorts. We needed a guidebook to reassure us that we are not alone, that other moms were on this same journey with us.

“Be Safe, Love Mom: A Military Mom’s Stories of Courage, Comfort, and Surviving Life on the Homefront” is just that. It is support and encouragement through my lens as a mom, military wife and Army brat, and also dozens of other moms who wear the Blue Star (and Gold Star) badge with courage.

We moms are everywhere across this nation, from small towns in Maine to the California coast. We worry in upper Michigan and the southernmost reaches of Texas. We are not clustered around military installations. Many of us had no knowledge of anything military until our kid came home and said, “Mom I am joining the ____.”

In the land of the civilian/military divide, nothing builds a bridge faster than your child following the call to serve. Although we have learned to let go, nothing will ever stop the fierceness of our love or our desire to protect our children, any way we can. Wherever they go, our hearts are with them, in the air, land or sea.

“Love your country, do your duty, and suck it up.” That’s how I was raised, and what I do every day. I am a military mom.