I have been well aware of just how healthy breastfeeding is for my son, and how through my breastmilk I pass on immunities and antibodies. But what I have really wanted to find out is the nitty gritty of how all of this works. Exactly what and how it all goes "down" so to speak. Well, my dear breastfeeding blogger friend Sara at Custom-Made Milk makes it all clear or "milky" if you will...ha ha!
"When your child is first born, they are born with a gut that is fully open. Things pass freely through the gut to the bloodstream. This is why human breast milk is so important for human babies. Because it contains far fewer allergens than soy or milk-based formula, and because with an elimination diet it contains just as few allergens as hypoallergenic formula."
"Interestingly enough, as your nursling matures, the antibodies in the milk become MORE concentrated instead of less concentrated. Antibodies continue to pass through to the child after 6 months. They also drastically reduce the number of pathogens in the child’s digestive tract, sinuses, middle ear, etc."
The information she gives here, plus the information I get from Le Leche League etc. Is so very, very encouraging to me, encouraging for the good health I am passing to my little bunny, but also encouraging to breastfeed my "nursling" as long as he wants to, and allow him decide when he is ready to wean. For now though, I remain here in my 4 month old baby bliss, lovingly nursing my tiny miracle.
7 comments:
I can't tell you how much I miss nursing a little one! Gwen has been so healthy! I think it's because she was breastfed AND a vegetarian! Double bonus!! :)
Mookies rock. This was Dan's word for breast milk - Mookies - Meg inherited it and it was one of her first words. They stopped at 11 mos and 22 mos respectively. I say THEY stopped, because in both instances it was their choice. Dan preferred his cup very early on. Meg preferred the breast and then one day just looked up at me with this funny look, and I thought "This is it. She's not going to nurse again". And I cried, and she never tried to nurse again.
I don't care about their IQ. I am not even that wrapped up in the health benefits. It was the contact, skin to skin, eye to eye. We were a bonded nursing pair. Nothing is like that. Nothing.
My two year old nursling has never been to the doctor for a sick visit. Every time he feels puny he picks up nursing sessions. Every time I feel sick he tends to want to nurse more. I'm pretty convinced that he is building up his immunity.
I can't imagine having the same relationship with my son without nursing him these first few years.
I hope to someday be a nursing mother. How great it must be to provide nourishment and comfort to your precious baby.
Your pictures are also so beautiful, it's hard to imagine anyone thinking a baby breastfeeding is anything but natural.
Hi,
I've been following your story for a while, mostly lurking, but I wanted to leave a comment on this post because I'm an advocate of nursing and I'm constantly looking for new information about the subject to pass along to family and friends. The post about the benefits of nursing was a fantastic read, one which I forwarded to everyone on my email list, and I look forward to reading more posts from custom made milk. So thank you for the link. I'll have to make a point to click on more links that are posted on your blog.
Thanks Again,
Katie
P.S. your little one's are beautiful.
I can't wait to hear about your show!
Hi there, I have stumbled upon your blog via another babylost mama (I am also one). What a beautiful, beautiful photo of you feeding your baby. I breastfed my daughter Minnie for 2 years, 4 months and 6 days... I loved it and she loved it. At 3, she still rests her head on my breast and pretends to feed if she is tired or sad.
One of the saddest things for me was that I couldn't fed Alice when she was born and died (she was born at 20 weeks and died a short time after). All those wonderful times we have missed out on.
He is gorgeous.
x
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