but after 6 1/2 years of non-stop nursing I am realizing that I am venturing into unchartered territory…

I have never nursed a 2 year old by himself… (or in this case with only his older brother and not a new babe)… both Xavier and Colin were 2 years and 2 months when their brother was born… both of them had experienced the change of my milk in pregnancy and were nursing a bit less at the end because of the belly and the milk…

but this time, there is no belly, no change in milk and  no change in nursing habits… nursing often and for longer periods of time than his brothers at the same age…

and it is not only the nursing that is different, but the fact that he is still the baby of the family. That at 2, he is not becoming a big brother so he doesn’t have any of the “responsibilities” that big brothers have… he still has first dibs on nursing or having his needs met… especially now that his brothers are getting older and can do more things for themselves…

I do want another little one… but I am happy that we are waiting…  I am enjoying having the kids get older and having things get “easier”… there are challenges of course but doing things as a family and getting out the door is getting easier and when the baby that we have now is doing things more for himself I will be ready to have a baby again…

So for now I am enjoying the uncharted territory of the 2 year old whose only role is being little brother and the baby of the family…

The launch was on sunday and It was pretty amazing…

The turnout was more than anyone could have expected… about 150 at the least… and 75% of the authors that shared their stories in the book were there…The editors even had to go back to their office and get more books because they were selling so quickly…

It really feels great to be somewhere surrounded by people with the same views.. and so many of us not only have the same views on birth and breastfeeding but automatically for many parents homeschooling, baby wearing and other ideals follow easily…

Another great thing was to meet Michelle and her two little ones… I hope to meet again!

I feel quite priviliged to be part of the book and part of the community that realized it.

well… it is official…

Simon and I both gave in some texts about our experiences with breastfeeding…

me from the experience of nursing one.. then two.. and then three…

and Simon wrote about his perspective also…

We found out a while ago that they had been accepted but now everything is official and we have been invited to the book launch on Oct 5th…

it will be in book stores after that!

Pretty cool… it’s even on Amazon!

Près du Coeur

no I am not pregnant

but today… just a few days shy of Khéna being 17 months I got my first PPAF… (Post-partum “Aunt-Flo” for those that are not familiar with the lingo)

With the firt two boys I got my PPAF at about 9 months… when they started to walk and nurse less in the day and started eating solids… With Khéna though, he did not slow in nursing at all when he started milestones… he didn’t have those normal periods where he was more wakeful at night either…

But slowly, he has been nursing less and when I got really crampy and irritable at the begining of the week, I knew that it would not be long…

the bloating could also be a reason that the scale showed so much of a difference as today I am now 5 lbs less then I was when I weighed myself on Wednesday…

Though I do and did enjoy the time that I don’t have to go through the monthly rituals… I do have to say that being able to start charting again and knowing what my body is doing makes things a bit easier for me…

Maybe one day I would like to have another child but I don’t think it is the right time at the moment… I want the boys to grow a bit before…

you can’t see the baby anymore…

you call out and he doesn’t come and then you start asking the older kids where he is and are about to get up to look for him only to realize that to get up and look for him you would have to unlatch him and put him down….

I have talked about this a few times already here on my blog…

Why is it that the breastfeeding is always compared to Formula in a way that makes is sound like Formula is the norm and that breastfeeding just better… It makes is sound like yeah sure breastfeeding is great but Formula is good enough… and of course no one is perfect so really why breastfeed?

The problem is… Breastfeeding is the norm… Formula can be dangerous and the choice between breastfeeding and Formula is not a simple choice to make, children die because they are not breastfed, really it should not be a choice at all… we need to make the language reflect that.

Here is a Hathor comic that is a great example…

(oh… and just a disclaimer… I got a few comments and e-mails from some moms who seem to love to hate this blog…Though I do believe that it should not be a choice, I do know that Formula is sometimes that lesser of two evils and that the choice is made for moms. However, that being said, in many or most cases, that is where education of doctors and nurses need to come in because they often have no clue about breastfeeding and often the children that can be hurt by formula the most are being hurt… also milk banks should become more widely spread and availible, so that more children will not suffer the effects of a lack of breastmilk.)

One of the myths I hate because it is so believed….

“I don’t want to breastfeed because I don’t want my breasts to sag”

“My breasts were down to my knees because of breastfeeding”

It has always been a myth, breastfeeding does NOT cause sagging, but so many insist that it is true…

maybe now they will listen…

ScienceDaily (Nov. 5, 2007) — Nursing mothers needn’t worry. A new study shows that breastfeeding does not increase breast sagging. University of Kentucky plastic surgeon Dr. Brian Rinker and his colleagues conducted the study with patients at UK HealthCare Cosmetic Surgery Associates. The study found that breastfeeding does not adversely affect breast shape.

….

The results showed no difference in the degree of breast ptosis (TOE-sis)– the medical term for sagging of the breast–for those women who breastfed and those who didn’t. However, researchers found that several other factors did affect breast sagging, including age, the number of pregnancies, and whether the patient smoked.

Link 

I just got this message in my inbox…

I know you are anti-formula. What about special circumstances?? Premmies??

Preemie Twins?? Just wondering what your thoughts on this are?

What are my thoughts? Hmmm….

First, I think that this is a good read… so that what I say does not look like it was pulled out of thin air or that I am “anti-formula”…

These are a few paragraphs in the main publication on Infant feeding put out by the World Health Organization. (WHO)

Promoting appropriate feeding for infants and
young children
10. Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health.

Exercising other feeding options
18. The vast majority of mothers can and should breastfeed, just as the vast majority of infants can and should be breastfed. Only under exceptional circumstances can a mother’s milk be considered unsuitable
for her infant. For those few health situations where infants cannot, or should not, be breastfed, the choice of the best alternative – expressed breast milk from an infant’s own mother, breast milk from a healthy wet-nurse or a human-milk bank, or a breast-milk substitute fed with a cup, which is a safer method than a feeding bottle and teat – depends on individual circumstances.
19. For infants who do not receive breast milk, feeding with a suitable breast-milk substitute – for example an infant formula prepared in accordance with applicable Codex Alimentarius standards, or a home-prepared formula with micronutrient supplements – should be demonstrated only by health workers, or other community workers if necessary, and only to the mothers and other family members who need to use it; and the information given should include adequate instructions for appropriate preparation and the health hazards of inappropriate preparation and use. Infants who are not breastfed, for whatever reason, should receive special attention from the health and social welfare system since they constitute a risk group.

From another text….

Is Breastfeeding Important for My Premature Baby?
The milk produced by the mother of a pre-term infant is higher in protein and other nutrients than the milk produced by the mother of a term infant. Human milk also contains lipase, an enzyme that allows the baby to digest fat more efficiently. Your breastfed preemie is less likely to develop infections that are common to babies fed breastmilk substitutes. He will be protected by the immunities in your milk while his own immature immune system is developing.

So… My answer…

In my opinion, A baby born premature should be fed breastmilk with no exception. As the WHO explains, even for Full term children Formula is the FIFTH feeding method recommended and because Formula is being fed, those children become part of a risk group.

A premature infant needs the nutrition, fat, enzymes that breastmilk alone can provide. Premature babies that are fed breastmilk and less likely to develop infections and are protected by the immunities in human milk.

Does my opinion or that of the WHO or LLL mean that we are anti-formula?

I guess to some it does… but really, I do not think so…

Breastmilk and breastfeeding are the norm. There is nothing that equals it.

Formula is inferior. It causes illnesses, it causes children to die, but it is also there for a reason.

There are 1% of women that can not breastfeed physically. There are others that need to take medications that are not compatible with breastfeeding. (there are not many meds that are incompatible, most are OK, but there are some that are not). There are other extreme “special circumstances” also and because milk banks are not availible to all and are still quite rare, as are wet-nurses, Formula is a breastmilk substitute that may be needed.

When breastfeeding in all its forms can not happen it is preferable to give Formula over nothing. But, it doesn’t make it equal nor do not believe that it should be a choice.

Because Formula use brings risks and Infants fed Formula are part of a risk group, I think that the logical step should be that Formula should be availible by prescription. It would be there for those “special circumstances” but it would not be availible otherwise.

I think the main problem is not mom’s that choose to breastfeed, doctors that are badly informed etc…  but it is the Formula companies….  they are the ones that see money instead of lives. Formula companies should have to conform to “WHO code” and not be allowed to market to the public, nor give samples, gifts, products etc that promote breastmilk substitutes, but they don’t and they don’t care.  I am “Anti-Formula” in that sense.

So… Those are a few of my thoughts…

Here are some more good reads…

HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF DIRECT ADVERTISING OF INFANT FORMULA (WHO)
Infant Feeding in Emergencies  (WHO)
Formula for Disaster
Breastfeeding Premature Infants