the evolution of breastfeeding

when i had my daughter 2.5 years ago, i knew that i was going to breastfeed her.  there was no alternative in my mind and i never for one second considered that it might not work out. 

i was lucky.  india latched on like a professional within minutes and was breastfed until she was 18 months old.  i didnt really realize at the time that i was being political in any way; i was just feeding my baby.

i remember feeling slightly uncomfortable as i tried to feed her in a crowded waiting room, or feeding her in the car in a parking lot trying to make sure i was sufficiently covered up.  as india aged i felt even more self conscious and of course, i was faced with questions from family and friends about when i was going to stop breastfeeding my child.

we went on vacation when india was 13 months old to a colombian island in the caribbean and suddenly women everywhere on the island were smiling and nodding whenever i breastfed my daughter publicly.  these subtle approvals were warm and comforting and most importantly they reassured me that i was was doing a GOOD THING for my child. i went on to breastfeed her until she self weaned and i felt good about my accomplishments.

now that i have a son, i am much more confident when breastfeeding and i don't care where i am or who is in the room.  when my child needs to eat, i happily feed him.  i'm less concerned about covering up and making sure nothing is showing.  and you know what?  no one seems to mind one bit. 

so while i realize that what i'm doing is considered political - more importantly, it's just a human act of love.  and since my 4 month old weighs 19 pounds, it seems to be working out perfectly.  :)

extended breastfeeding?

this is an old post from a blog i wrote for a while in 2005... i ended up breastfeeding my daughter until she was 18 months and she self weaned. i hope to make it to 2 with my son.

on the eve of some good friends having a beautiful baby boy, i was thinking about the term "extended breastfeeding" and how innacurate the term actually is. extended breastfeeding, in north american terms, mean breastfeeding past one year of age. however the World Health Organization recommends babies be breastfed up to two years of age.

As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively
breastfed1 for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health.2 Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond.

therefore, should the term "extended breastfeeding" not be applied until a baby is older than 2?

nothing is more sad than the lack of education and support in north america regarding just how vital breastfeeding is for babies. women who can't breastfeed shouldn't be made to feel bad, there shouldn't be guilt in bottlefeeding but there should be way women doing it. that might seem like a contradictory statement but in my opinion if everyone made a honest effort to breastfeed their children, then the few who couldn't would not feel bad about it and no one would question their situation. as it is now, i constantly hear about women whose breastfeeding attempts were sabotaged by nurses, jealous husbands, mothers and other relatives. and in the end the baby is the one getting the raw deal.

my daughter will be one on february 1st and i DO NOT consider myself to be extended breastfeeding. i consider myself to be taking care of my child's natural needs. our nursing sessions are something sacred in this family and i'm lucky to have a husband that comes from a country where breastfeeding until 2 or 3 is the norm...just for a refresher, here's a great article on the benefits of breastfeeding.

links on the benefits of "extended breastfeeding"

http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBextended.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html

http://www.gentleparenting.com/ebf_faq.html

the birth of kalden

the midwives said i was due on march 3rd while i insisted my due date was the 1st. i guess they won this one. ;)

on the 2nd, i woke and and went to my parents house not realizing that my water had broken and was slowly leaking. by around 11am i figured out what was going on and so i called the midwives. they were at the hospital so they told me to come in and get checked. this was my first visit to the L & D ward and i felt uncomfortable and edgy as soon as we arrived.

the midwives checked me out and said indeed, my water was leaking. I had an NST and everything was fine. now the "clock" was ticking on when this baby had to arrive... 24 hours "they" say. so off we went, to walk and walk and walk and get labour started. contractions started and were painful but they were totally irregular. that night they started up but disappeared by morning.

our midwife met us at home in the morning to check out what was happening and she said i was about 4cm but that kalden wasn't low enough to progess any further. 24 hours had come and gone but i wasn't about to give up and go for a hospital birth and induction. so we went and bought the dreaded castor oil.

it was disgusting and did nothing. i had contractions if i was walking and they were crippling but if i stayed still - they stopped. it was infuriating!

at that point the midwife said we had to meet at the hospital to discuss our options. i was devastated and in tears. the thought of having my baby in a hospital terrified me. we got in the car around 4:30 and on the way to the hospital, the contraction started. they were 5 minutes apart and 30-45 seconds long. we had another NST, the contractions were strong and my midwife told us that we couldn't be "forced" to stay in the hospital but that the doctors were HIGHLY recommending that we start an induction.

we left the hospital as fast as we could and on the way home my husband joked that i'm the only person who goes into labour IN the hospital and runs home as fast as i can!

we stopped at my parents house to see our 2 year old daughter and then i requested a hamburger. i wolfed it down and realized that the pain was getting intense. we went home and laid down to sleep. i had the amazing ability to fall asleep between contractions even though they were less than 4 minutes apart!

we both woke up and my husband pointed out that we should probably call the midwives. by the time they arrived, i was in excruciating pain from contstant waves of contractions. it was much more intense than it was with my daughter. i laboured on the toilet for a few minutes and then got into bed and laid on my side.

in transition, i tried to cancel the whole thing and told everyone i was giving up. lol.... then i realized that i needed to push. the midwives agreed and i closed my eyes and was so focussed on pushing that i didn't even realize when kalden was born. suddenly my midwife said "open your eyes" and when i did my son was on my belly.

it was 6:55pm - less than 2.5 hours from start to finish. my beautiful baby boy.