Good morning. I just found you through Andrew Gaertner who has you on his favorite writers list. When I saw World Breastfeeding Week I just had to read.
While I think people should care about breastfeeding a lot, most people don't, so I don't get to talk about it very often. I'm late to the party, but...
Mother Nature did a tidy job of making me. She put desire in me, she put a womb in me, and she put milk in me.
Yup, I breastfed my children, for fifteen months each time. The part I liked best was the certainty and the simplicity. When my milk let down, I knew my baby was hungry. I knew there would be enough milk and the perfect nutritional ingredients served at just the right temperature - and my baby would be happy.
It was good for me too. Thanks to breastfeeding, I quickly lost all the weight I'd put on during pregnancy.
I also loved the convenience and the zero price tag. It was just the way love should be; freely given and freely taken (not a transaction, deal or exchange of money with some heartless corporation).
No schedules for me and my wee ones. No need for a clock. No worrying about running out of formula. No emergency trips to the grocery store for bottle supplies. No bottle washing. No plastic sneaking into my baby's food. No need for water, dishwasher, microwave, or stove. No need to be home. No need to listen to a hungry baby cry while I get their food ready. No need to read labels. No gas or constipation for my babies. No upset tummies. No worrying about allergies.
No worries at all. Just simple, easy to follow instructions - milk down, baby eats. My baby's dad raised cattle and used to bring the baby to me at night. Half the time, I was asleep when he fed them (I'd have slapped him if he tried that when I was awake :) ).
Mother Nature is super smart. Breastfed baby poop smells good to Moms and Dads. It does not smell anything at all, like bottle fed baby poop (which reeks). I nursed for three years and we never had one of those episodes that bottle fed babies get - where diarrhea shoots out all over the place, oozes out their little diapers and drips all over the blankets, floor and moms.
Outside the window above my desk, is so much cuteness its unbelievable. You see, Ms. Laughlin, a herd of cows graze there and watching their calves nurse makes me feel all warm and toasty. Their calves are getting big now and don't nurse as often, so their mamas are getting fat. Its the way of life and I love being part of it - all.
Thank you for sending me down memory lane.
