Homemade Milk

My mother nursed the first seven of us.  It never occurred to me to do anything else.  I nursed all of my children exclusively up to six months, then supplemented with formula when it was time for solids and weaned slowly.  I'm still nursing a nearly 9 month old Maria, but mostly for comfort and not so much nourishment anymore. 

I'm surprised at all the hooplah surrounding the decision to nurse or not to nurse.  I will admit that I felt a little sad when I passed a room at the hospital--while there postpartum with Maria--and saw a formula bottle sitting on a tray just inside the door.  That means mom didn't try, even.  I'm not judging her!  I don't know what her story is . . . she may have tried five times before unsuccessfully and decided to avoid the stress this time.  She may be a full time student or worker who doesn't want to pump . . . and who can blame her?  For all I know, it was a bottle given to a mother who was adopting a recently born baby.  That said, I still felt a little sad for that baby; I couldn't help it. 

My response to seeing that bottle surprised ME.  So what made me feel that way?  Initially, I made the decision to nurse my babies because I knew no other way.  Now, after nursing five babies, I would strongly encourage mothers to do it.  I love the cuddling, the bonding, the way that my baby will quit crying if offered the chance to nurse.  It's so portable, people.  It goes, heated, everywhere that mom goes.  It is my perception that it is so much easier than bottle feeding.  It does lay all of the feeding responsibility on mom, but that time goes so quickly; it is not a burden.  It does restrict the medications mom can take, but there are almost always alternatives.

You know what's the best thing about nursing?  It forced me to sit down and cuddle my baby often.  We were created for this.  Our bodies release oxytocin, a bonding hormone, while nursing.  I go in to nurse Maria every night at midnight before I go to bed.  Why?  She doesn't need to be nursed.  I miss her after five hours.  This is the only way I can go in and cuddle her without waking her up too much.  Plus it makes me sleepy.

I think all babies deserve homemade milk, if Mama can make it. 

What's your favorite part, if you breastfed?

For Nursing Moms

My friend Jessica read Kate Wicker's comment on an earlier post and asked about the article that Kate mentioned. I read an article that she wrote for InsideCatholic.com, visited her blog, and commented on it. She returned the favor. For those of you who haven't yet seen Kate Wicker's blog, that is a link. The article that she wrote is titled Why I Nurse at the Mall and at Mass. There were over 150 comments. I was surprised how many people were vehemently opposed to women nursing their babies during mass. Most comments were supportive, assuming that a nursing mother is going to be discreet. If you are interested in the article and its comments, click on the link when you have a good block of time to read. The article is short but the comments take awhile to get through.

I was surprised at the emotion that it brought up in me. I nursed discreetly during mass for several reasons: it was difficult to get out and walk ALL the way to the back of church without disrupting others, the baby was quiet and would fall asleep, and the cry room was usually full of people who were late for mass or unwilling to sit in the sanctuary (sigh). I also didn't think that I should miss the greater part of a mass every Sunday for the six or seven months that a child was nursing. Never did it occur to me that others might be shooting daggers into the back of my head...if they even knew that I was nursing to begin with! That's enough said, I think.

I enjoy checking the blogs of other Catholic Moms. Reading the stories of their daily lives gives me encouragement similar to the comfort I receive from sitting with a friend over coffee and hearing about their trials and triumphs. We are all in the same boat. Some days, the boat sails. Some days, you wear your arms out rowing. Yes, other moms have to deal with spitting, hitting, potty talk, and dirty diapers. Other moms also witness the joy of their child's first steps, first words, and their early grasp of reading, praying, and playing. Soon, I will rejoin Catholic Moms Online and display their blogroll in my sidebar. You may enjoy looking through those blogs. I do!