Besides "Breast is Best?"
Jul 06 '00
There was never a question about whether or not I would nurse my child. My mother did it. My grandmother did not. My husbands mother did not. They, my mother-in-law and my grandmother, were putting pablam (cereal) in their children's bottles at less than three weeks old.
My mother nursed all of her children for at least 6 months, but not too much longer. I took to it right away. my baby took to it right away. At 19 months, she is still going strong. I was never modest, and so my daughter has really tested that. She does not like anything covering my breast when she is nursing, so no matter how hard I try, I can never keep it covered. I do not nurse in dressing rooms or bathroom stalls. I would not eat my lunch in either, I do not expect my child to. I have had dirty looks and I have had words of encouragement. My most favorite experience was when I was visiting a Waldorf school and I started nursing my daughter. A little boy came over and started to look at the baby. Then he started to play with her shoes. The mother did not stop him, did not pull him away. Instead, she sat down and talked to me. Not once was she uncomfortable, and not once was I. Instead, this is how I felt it should be.
I understand that for some people, it is not possible. I still hold to at least trying it, and doing so for at least a couple of days. Those first few days of colostrum are so vital. I find it fascinating that women who are adopting have succeeded, with much work, in lactating. I also find it fascinating that there has been documentation of at least one man (other than during puberty) lactating.
I took to nursing, it was natural to me, but it wasn't always easy. At two weeks, no matter how correctly I held her, my nipples were so sore I was in tears. I would alternate between nursing her and putting poultices of comfry and vitamin E on my breasts. It lasted a week and I have been fine ever since. I hope I am as lucky with the next child.
Breastmilk is nourishing, it benefits the mother and the child. There have been studies of a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women who nurse. In the beginning, the weight just pours off.
I really liked that I did not have to get up in the middle of the night to make bottles. I didn't have to pack anything extra to feed my child. She was fed on breast milk alone for 8 months, and by no means was she starving. I learned to feed her in her carseat, so on long trips, we didn't have to stop as frequently.
I love the time I spend with my daughter. I love being able to look at her knowing that I am nourishing her. I was in complete amazement that my child not only survived, but thrived on the milk coming from me for eight months alone. I carried her, I nourished her in my womb. Now I was doing it still.
I love when she looks up and smiles at me, my nipple between her teeth. Yes, she has bitten me, but she got over that quickly. Honestly, when she was teething, and it was her gums on me, it was worse than when she had a pretty full set of teeth, and it was not a frequent action.
If you were to take two different children with two different mothers, both nursing, you would find, with some examination that the mothers' milk was different. One child needs more potassium than the other, so...that mother's milk has more potassium in it than the others. I find this fascinating as well. Women are equipped to provide the perfect food for their child.
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Epinions.com ID:
althaea
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Location: Orange County, NY
Reviews written: 125
Trusted by: 62 members
About Me:
Musician, Poet, Mother, and Wife, I remain teachable and willing.
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