The miracle of mommy's milk

Mother nature is kind to most new moms, after the birth of their baby a few days later full breastmilk comes in. I'm glad society is supportive of it nowadays. For my own mom, she had the three of us in the late 70's- early 80's and nursing was not the norm...some mothers still did. Mom was even given some med to stop her body from producing milk??? Doctors (hers anyway) said it's better to give the baby a bottle. Also, back then mat leave was 17 weeks..not 50 like it is today. Weird thinking back then....all mammals naturally produce milk for their newborn. Some moms are unable to for medical reasons, and they wish they could. It is good to try, and if you have problems get help from a lactation consultant or another mom that has been there. If you are unable to, you can't feel badly for giving your baby formula. It is still perfectly fine, and society needs to support these moms too.

I have a friend that had a preemie and her baby was too tiny to latch on her, so she pumped with the hospital electric pump for the first few months. Another friend had a painful infection, called mastitis and went on antibiotics, perservered through the pain and didn't enjoy nursing. She did it for the first while because she felt that was the best thing for her baby.

I am lucky, because I really enjoy nursing my babies. The first time Anthony was only 45 mins old and he already knew what to do, more than I did. (the doll in the health unit class didn't help much). When he was 4 days old, I went to the breastfeeding clinic and got a lot of tips from a nurse there. For me the most challenging thing was the long nursing sessions in the beginning..sometimes in the middle of the night for 45 mins (it felt longer). Over time it got much easier, and the baby was quicker and more efficient. My goal was to nurse until he was 6 months old and then see from there. I went with the flow, and he nursed until a week before he turned 1. He was more interested in his sippy cup by then. With my second baby she was a pro also right from the start. Her night feedings lasted only up to 15 mins and then she fell right back to sleep. She was also a jaundice baby, so she was extra sleeping, which might have been the difference. Being a bigger baby at 9lbs 1 oz, she only woke twice in the night the first couple months, then she was sleeping a solid 8 hours most nights. I know I'm very lucky, a lot of babies are much older before they sleep solid that long.

My grandmother nursed all four of her babies and she found it easier than bottles (like myself)...I'm not sure if there is a relation, but she told me that when some of the other moms said "oh, but you're tied down" she said "better this than a fussy baby". I find nursing very relaxing and empowering as a mother.

Now this is something I didn't know about mother's milk, until this past summer when Ava had a horrible goopy eye. I put warm washcloths on it to clean it, and only a few minutes later it would goop up again. I made a Doctor's appointment for her, and he wrote a prescription for drops and even said it probably won't help. Eventually it will clear up, but maybe not until her tears ducts are fully formed (maybe when she's 9 mths old). So, I decided I'll ask a group of moms from an online forum. Guess what a bunch of them said. Breastmilk will clear it right up! I thought great, I'll give it a try, can't hurt. The next morning I only nursed her on one side so I could fill up my other side to squirt lots of milk in her eye. Her goopy eye was almost gone by the end of the day. The next day it was all cleared up.

I told my husband that I wanted to tell the doctor the next time I went in. That way he could tell other new moms if they had the same thing happen. He said, I doubt he would pass your experience along being a medical doctor. I've still told a bunch of people myself and they were amazed. Nothing beats mother nature.