If you nurse...

I am always hunting for this, so I'm posting it here. I assume it's ok to repost.

This is from an article titled "What if I want to Wean?" by Diane Wiessinger.

©2000 Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC 136 Ellis Hollow Creek Road Ithaca, NY 14850

Breastfeeding your baby for even a day is the best baby gift you can give. Breastfeeding is almost always the best choice for your baby. If it doesn't seem like the best choice for you right now, these guidelines may help.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR JUST A FEW DAYS, he will have received your colostrum, or early milk. By providing antibodies and the food his brand-new body expects, nursing gives your baby his first - and easiest - "immunization" and helps get his digestive system going smoothly. Breastfeeding is how your baby expects to start, and helps your own body recover from the birth. Given how very much your baby stands to gain, and how little you stand to lose, it just makes good sense to breastfeed for at least a day or two, even if you plan to bottle-feed after that.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR FOUR TO SIX WEEKS, you will have eased him through the most critical part of his infancy. Newborns who are not breastfed are much more likely to get sick or be hospitalized, and have many more digestive problems than breastfed babies. After 4 to 6 weeks, you'll probably have worked through any early nursing concerns, too. Make a serious goal of nursing for a month, call La Leche League or a certified lactation consultant if you have any questions, and you'll be in a better position to decide whether continued breastfeeding is for you.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR 3 OR 4 MONTHS, her digestive system will have matured a great deal, and she will be much better able to tolerate the foreign substances in commercial formulas. If there is a family history of allergies, though, you will greatly reduce her risk by waiting a few more months before adding anything at all to her diet of breastmilk. And giving nothing but your milk for the first four months gives strong protection against ear infections for a whole year.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR 6 MONTHS without adding any other food or drink, she will be much less likely to suffer an allergic reaction to formula or other foods later on; the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until about 6 months to offer solid foods. Nursing for at least 6 months helps ensure better health throughout your baby's first year of life, reduces your little one's risk of ear infections and childhood cancers, and reduces your own risk of breast cancer. And exclusive, frequent breastfeeding during the first 6 months, if your periods have not returned, provides 98% effective contraception.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR 9 MONTHS, you will have seen him through the fastest and most important brain and body development of his life on the food that was designed for him - your milk. Nursing for at least this long will help ensure better performance all through his school years. Weaning may be fairly easy at this age... but then, so is nursing! If you want to avoid weaning this early, be sure you've been available to nurse for comfort as well as just for food.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR A YEAR, you can avoid the expense and bother of formula. Her one-year-old body can probably handle most of the table foods your family enjoys. Many of the health benefits this year of nursing has given your child will last her whole life. She will have a stronger immune system, for instance, and will be much less likely to need orthodontia or speech therapy. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nursing for at least a year, because it helps ensure normal nutrition and health for your baby.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR 18 MONTHS, you will have continued to provide the nutrition, comfort, and illness protection your baby expects, at a time when illness is common in formula-fed babies. Your baby is probably well started on table foods, too. He has had time to form a solid bond with you - a healthy starting point for his growing independence. And he is old enough that you and he can work together on the weaning process, at a pace that he can handle. A former U.S. Surgeon General said, "it is the lucky baby... that nurses to age two."

IF YOUR CHILD WEANS WHEN SHE IS READY, you can feel confident that you have met your baby's physical and emotional needs in a very normal, healthy way. In cultures where there is no pressure to wean, children tend to nurse for at least two years. The World Health Organization and UNICEF strongly encourage breastfeeding through toddlerhood: "Breastmilk is an important source of energy and protein, and helps to protect against disease during the child's second year of life." Our biology seems geared to a weaning age of between 2 1/2 and 7 years, and it just makes sense to build our children's bones from the milk that was designed for them. Your milk provides antibodies and other protective substances for as long as you continue nursing, and families of nursing toddlers often find that their medical bills are lower than their neighbors' for years to come. Research indicates that the longer a child nurses, the higher his intelligence. Mothers who nurse longterm have a still lower risk of developing breast cancer. Children who were nursed longterm tend to be very secure, and are less likely to suck their thumbs or carry a blanket. Nursing can help ease both of you through the tears, tantrums, and tumbles that come with early childhood, and helps ensure that any illnesses are milder and easier to deal with. It's an all-purpose mothering tool you won't want to be without! Don't worry that your child will nurse forever. All children stop on their own, no matter what you do, and there are more nursing toddlers around than you might guess.

WHETHER YOU NURSE FOR A DAY OR FOR SEVERAL YEARS, the decision to nurse your child is one you need never regret. And whenever weaning takes place, remember that it is a big step for both of you. If you choose to wean before your child is ready, be sure to do it gradually, and with love.

One year

Yesterday, my baby girl turned a year old. As I laid down to nurse her to sleep for her nap, it dawned on me that a year ago we nursed for the first time. My teeny tiny little 7lb baby girl is now a boisterous 24lb toddler. She walks, she talks, she eats table food - but one thing has remained the same... she LOVES her mama's milk.

"The Problem with Breastfeeding"

This is an absolutely excellent article about the forces that are at play in the pathetically low breastfeeding rates in the United States. Please read it and give it a thought. If we care about the future and health of our children, we will regulate formula companies, provide paid maternity leave for all mothers and provide the proper support needed for breastfeeding success.

Woo! ABC Nightly News gets it right!

After many media snafus in the coverage of the Ban the Bags success in NYC, finally, someone got it right! Click here to see the story played again. Finally, fair and reasonable coverage with accurate information (and several babies NIP). It's too bad though that the spokesperson who pointed out that some moms "have" to formula feed to return to work and shouldn't be made to feel guilty couldn't have pointed out instead that if the US had reasonable maternity leave laws (6 months-1 year), then the vast majority of women would be able to breastfeed their babies and the need for formula would be drastically reduced.

I mean, obviously - breastfeeding Moms are like the Gestapo (sigh)

This article by Andrea Peyser was published in the NY Post. It is a sad little rant about NYC hospitals success at "Banning the Bags". Her rabid misinformation made me just angry enough to write a letter, which I will post below...

Dear Andrea,

I was so sad to read your editorial in the NY Post on the "banning" of free formula samples in NYC hospitals. After reading your article, two things seemed clear to me: 1) you seem very misinformed on the intent of the Ban the Bags campaign; and 2) you seem misinformed about breastfeeding period.

It has been well documented that breastfeeding is the natural, normal way to feed an infant/toddler. Breastfeeding is protective against many diseases and gives an infant a foundation for a healthy life. Formula feeding is inferior. There is no debate about this. The campaign to Ban the Bags is founded on the fact that women who have formula pushed upon them are much more likely to fail at breastfeeding. Ban the Bags does not prevent a mother who is set on formula feeding from doing so. Mothers may still ask for a formula sample bag if they so choose. However, formula sample bags are no longer FORCED upon mothers who do not want/need them. And instead, these mothers are provided with helpful information and support in breastfeeding their infants.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what about this campaign is so offensive that you would choose to equate breastfeeding advocates with the Nazis, a group of people who killed millions of innocent people out of pure hatred. To the contrary, breastfeeding SAVES LIVES. It is just that simple. This analogy is inappropriate and disrespectful in so many ways.

In your article, there are several statements that seem poorly researched and or misinformed. You cite that a friend of yours, a shrink, suggests that some of this data may be "made up". I'll be happy to pass along a list of peer reviewed studies demonstrating the benefits of breastfeeding to you or your shrink friend. I do not believe that shrinks are considered to be among the foremost experts on infant nutrition. Next you quote the chief of obstetrics, who notes that the idea of the Ban the Bags campaign is to help educate women on breastfeeding. This is, indeed one of the goals of this campaign. Women in hospitals should be provided with information on how to give their babies the right start in life. A hospital is about marketing health, not products. If a mother chooses insted to formula feed, she may simply ask for a formula bag or go to her local market and buy a can of infant formula. Ban the Bags is not trying to make formula illegal, it is again, simply trying to help women get off on the right foot with breastfeeding. Your next statement that "renegade docs making stuff up is exactly what may be happening" again seems unresearched to me. This goes back to the studies on breastfeeding. It seems like you are relying on some hearsay from a few easily accessible sources, rather than referring to some of the highly respected peer-reviewed studies currently available on this subject. And finally, your last comment about "killing ourselves" is simply confusing to me. This is another place where some research would help you build a stronger article - breastfeeding actually helps to reduce the indicidence of post-partum depression, and releases hormones that help new mothers to feel more relaxed.

As a reader, this type of seemingly unresearched editorial makes me question the integrity of the paper that it is published in. I would love to see a future article from you that offers an apology for equating pro-breastfeeding mothers with the Nazis - an analogy that is simply inappropriate and that many of us take GREAT offense to.

Sincerely,
Theresa
A mother who has been breastfeeding her daughter for 10 months, and hopes to continue to do so for much time to come.

Semi-crunchy recipes from a semi-crunchy mama.

My new fun quick cooking obsession is granola. Go figure.

Anyways, as everyone knows, aside from being tasty, oats are great for boosting milk supply. And a yummy way to eat oats is in granola!

Here are two recipes that I really like!

2tbsp butter
1/3 cup organic smooth almond butter
1/3 cup local honey
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups organic rolled oats
1 cup organic dried berries

Melt butter and almond butter together in a pan until mixed. Add honey, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Add rolled oats and stir thoroughly. Add berries. Transfer mixture to baking sheet and bake at 375 for 12-20 minutes, turning once, until lightly browned. Store in air-tight container (or eat straight off baking sheet).

Slight variation... follow same mixing directions, for the most part.
2tbsp butter
1/3 cup organic smooth cashew butter
1/3 cup local honey
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups organic rolled oats
1 cup 60% cocoa chocolate chips (don't add until after mixture has baked and cooled)

Where have I been...?

Ok, I've been doing a crappy job of keeping up with my blog. Boo on me. Since the end of April we have been to Fort Lauderdale, FL, Albemarle, NC, Fleetwood, PA, Pittsburgh, PA and all the states in between that it takes to drive there. Oh yeah, and with a 7 month-old in tow. Crazyness.

To make things even more exciting, Hannah has been crawling since 6 months and is now pulling-up and cruising on EVERYTHING. She now requires constant supervision (not that she required much less before). Her newfound mobility makes anything other than wearing her around or following closely behind her virtually impossible.

For my first mother's day with a baby in the world, Hannah and Matt got me a Beco in the pink paisley pattern. It finally came today and I wore it at the grocery store. LOVE IT! Hannah is a not-so-small 21lbs and I wore her around for at least an hour with no fatigue. Can't wait to use it for a walk tonight!

Next week we continue our adventures to head off to Dallas to visit my mom and some of my childhood friends! Fun times...