Milkin' It

If you've never breastfed a baby before, be forewarned: this post may be a little more information than you care to read. But statistics show that breastfeeding mother/baby duos are on the rise again - 70% of mothers start breastfeeding immediately after birth - Hooray! And I know quite a few breastfeeding mommies that read my blog and will appreciate the boost of encouragement and pat on the back. You can also check out my post from last summer: http://arae-ashley.blogspot.com/2008/08/ode-to-breastfeeding.html

The women in our country have made great strides in breastfeeding support since the early 1980's. Before that, formula was pretty much the only "accepted" means of feeding our babies since it was first introduced. Now, it is not only legal to nurse your baby in public in the state of Ohio (as well as 42 other states), but many states also have protected rights to breastfeeding in the workforce. Additionally, extended nursing (nursing beyond infancy) is on the rise and information on it's continued benefits are more and more publically accepted. For example, immunities in breastmilk become more concentrated as the child matures and the longer a woman breastfeeds, the lower her risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

In my job, I work with breastfeeding mothers on a daily basis. One of the biggest issues our new mothers (or mothers-to-be) face is a lack of support. If no one you know has ever breastfed or it's not the "norm" in your circle of family and friends, you are much less likely to view it as something you CAN do with confidence. Rather, most women tell me they are "going to try", which demonstrates a lack of trust in their body's abillity. Almost ALL women are able to breastfeed! And with a little knowledge and support, they can continue to provide the benefits offered by that "gold standard" - breastmilk! I love that part of my job - providing breastfeeding support and seeing the babies flourish from that wonderful bond.

In my personal life, I am lucky to be surrounded by breastfeeding support from family and friends. My mom breastfed all four of her children; many of my friends, cousins, aunts and co-workers breastfed their children; my aunt was a lactation specialist; and now my sister (the amazing woman that she is) is breastfeeding her 7 1/2 month old twin daughters like it's a piece of cake. (I've been meaning to write a post about my sister and what a wonderful job she's done jumping right into parenthood with TWO children and never once seeming overwhelmed. She's pretty incredible and I'm so proud of her!)

Strong and capable women surround me! I also feel blessed that my co-workers have been so supportive of my desire to breastfeed and my need to pump routinely during the day. I have access to a hospital grade pump at work and 15 minute breaks 3 times per day to pump the milk that Sophia takes for the following day while I'm away.

I haven't been without a few bumps in the road, but overall my experiences with both children have been wonderful. They are VERY different in their nursing mannerisms! Will was long and leisurely with nursing. As a newborn he nursed 8-10 times per day for 30 minutes at a time - nursing consumed my day! And even after 6 months, he still took his sweet time with all 4 of his daily feedings, twirling my hair with his fingers (he still loves to play with my hair) and often dozing off. After his first birthday we continued with one morning nursing until about 14 months when we mutually decided to stop... and I got pregnant. Sophia, on the other hand is fast and feisty. She almost never takes more than 10 minutes and she's usually always wiggly and grabby. I have to hold her hand and look at her (no reading books or watching TV!) or she's immediately distracted. Having a quick nurser was super helpful when she was a newborn, considering she wasn't my only child. An average newborn day for her consisted of 7-9 feedings (about 8-10 minutes each). Now she's down to 4-5 feedings and we're almost always secluded in her room to keep the environment quiet so she can focus. :)

My goal with both children has always been at least the first year and "then we'll just see". The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding "for as long as is mutually desired". This time around, I still plan to stop pumping at work after Sophie's first birthday, but I'm open to morning and evening nursing as long as she would like.

Since I started pumping awhile before my return to work last July and continued pumping more than my daughter was taking, I have quite a freezer load of excess milk. At first I was reserving it for any potential need my sister might have for her babies upon return to work, as I was more than happy to share. However, Casey is a freak of nature and has a milk supply sufficient for quads - LOL. And I am still pumping plenty of fresh milk for Sophie so that I shouldn't need to use frozen for her either.

So herein lies my open (and unabashed) confession: Will has been drinking breastmilk (from a cup, of course) since the beginning of November. (Let the scorning begin!) After his bout with roseola and subsequent febrile seizure, our pediatrician told me that Sophie would not likely contract it because I was breastfeeding and supplying her with my own antibodies against roseola. I remember after she told me that, I immediately thought "Well shoot! If I'd have known that I could have prevented it with Will, I would have been giving HIM breastmilk too!" The more I thought about it, I wondered why this had never occurred to me before. I MAKE MILK! Duh. And it's loaded with immunities and designed for humans! Duh. Why in the world shouldn't BOTH my children benefit from this temporary health shield? I spoke to a lactation consultant about it and she said that any amount of breastmilk Will consumes will be beneficial to his health. I wasn't sure how he'd respond or if he would even be accepting of it, so I didn't have any expectations when I offerred him a cup of excess fresh milk (cold) that I'd pumped that day. He drank it without even a curious look. So I continued with that for awhile and then decided to try using some frozen, thawed milk. There IS a potential for flavor change with frozen milk so, again, I had no expectations of his response. And still, he drank it. So currently he drinks on average between 4-15oz of fresh or frozen milk each day. Usually just with dinner and more on weekends. Will has never been a big drinker ever since he turned one, but since starting breastmilk again, he has actually increased his fluid intake and started asking for something to drink more often. Maybe the taste is just familiar to him...

Cringe if you must, but first think about this: cows walk around in their own manure, are covered in flies, eat a diet that may or may not consist of excess hormones, and create a milk that must then be handled and treated by all sorts of machines and processes before we purchase it in the store. I, on the other hand, shower every day, eat a pretty healthy diet, and make a milk that God designed for MY babies (with no stipulations on their age) and without any special treatment. Which is more weird? (I'm certainly not trying to suggest that cow's milk is unsafe or unhealthy, and I DO still drink it. But it IS designed for animals. And we have to process it to fit the health standards that we desire. Unlike breastmilk.)

The bottom line: I NEVER want to witness my child having a seizure (EVER!) because of an invisible virus that I could potentially have helped prevent him from contracting simply by offerring him a milk of which I currently have an abundance. Roseola strikes most commonly in spring and fall, so he will continue to get breastmilk at least through the spring time. I don't like jinxing my luck, but my children have been surrounded by sick kids many times over the last few months and have yet to get anything more than a runny nose. Sophie will be nine months tomorrow and she has never had a fever, ear infection, or other illness. I certainly don't think breastmilk prevents children from ever getting sick, but it most definitely helps. And it's simply one more measure of prevention I'm stacking up in my kids' favor. If nothing else, it's FREE! It's already there and I worked hard to make it - I'm certainly not going to waste it.

So to all you breastfeeding moms out there - KUDOS! You're doing a great job and giving your baby an amazing gift. Keep up the support to other moms and let's continue to watch those statistics grow!

For more information on breastfeeding, check out: http://www.kellymom.com/