As I birth my blog today, this newborn baby blog, and send it out to the world I thought it would be cunning to speak of the most basic of all victuals: Breast Milk!
It was my sister who expressed the desire to become a wet nurse as the ideal job. Her primary objective was to maintain her cleavage- The landscape of my sisters chest is home to a pair of very small protuberates. Not mounds, not hills and never mountains! Not much of an incline at all really, so when she became pregnant and exploded into an A cup she was thrilled and delighted. This size was not hers to keep though and so the idea of mammary maintenance via wet nursing was pondered there for a while....
Both of us, and my sister-in-law, were world class nursers and would often expound on the nature of this essential, nurturing act. We breast fed our babies for 20 months or so and would have kept it up a while longer if the children had not all weaned them selves-even as we hopefully offered a tit here and there. After 2 years though it's time to call it quits! The sight of a large three year old imbibing at his mothers chest, while standing, is off putting to say the least.
Breast milk, while starting out as a thin watery insipid brew, will with time transform into a thick creamy intoxicating baby feast. I swear my son would get drunk on it. At 14 months and plenty of time for a let down of refined and rich sustenance to form, he'd suck away until his little jaw would slowly stop working then he'd just lull there in a stupor with his mouth full of boob. Finally he'd let it loose with a slight sucking pop and lay there in my arms, eyes glazed, for all the world like a drunken lord and grin up at me in blurry love.
It's not a simple thing nursing or is it something that comes naturally for all of us. I never went to any birthing classes but I read a fair amount and never ran across any accounts of the difficulties for many new mothers. My son would not take the tit for three months and if it wasn't for the nurse in the hospital where he was born he might never have been breast fed: "Child you take this here rubber thing and stick it onto your nipple there so that sweet boy can get his mommies blessing! He gonna get the idea down the line, don you be worryin 'bout that!" So I kept it up and one day that I'll never forget he latched on like a pro and I threw that rubber nipple extender away with relief.
My daughter was as different as it can get: A few hours old and she suckled away like the only wee wrinkled piglet. The other anticipation I had of her being the same as her brother was one I hoped for but, again, it was not the same at all: When my son would nurse he would look up at me and raise up his little hand to gently stroke and pat my chest. He'd look at me with contentment and bliss while he touched my chin with his warm soft fingers. I looked forward with pleasure to the time when she was as old as my son had been with his sweet demonstratives. Well she looked up at me alright but with a devilish gleam in her green eyes and, while giving me a cheesy grin around my nipple in her mouth, she would raise her little fist and give me a quick sock! She was highly amused by this and for awhile there I had a line of small bruises running along my bosom.
As for the well documented benefits of breast milk over formula all I can say is my children had very few baby maladies, they never sucked their thumbs and never felt the need for pacifiers or bottles.
Of course, some where along the way, you taste it. It's sweet but warm and I wouldn't want to have a glass of it with my chocolate cake. It's pretty obvious though, babies know a good thing when they slurp it.
It was my sister who expressed the desire to become a wet nurse as the ideal job. Her primary objective was to maintain her cleavage- The landscape of my sisters chest is home to a pair of very small protuberates. Not mounds, not hills and never mountains! Not much of an incline at all really, so when she became pregnant and exploded into an A cup she was thrilled and delighted. This size was not hers to keep though and so the idea of mammary maintenance via wet nursing was pondered there for a while....
Both of us, and my sister-in-law, were world class nursers and would often expound on the nature of this essential, nurturing act. We breast fed our babies for 20 months or so and would have kept it up a while longer if the children had not all weaned them selves-even as we hopefully offered a tit here and there. After 2 years though it's time to call it quits! The sight of a large three year old imbibing at his mothers chest, while standing, is off putting to say the least.
Breast milk, while starting out as a thin watery insipid brew, will with time transform into a thick creamy intoxicating baby feast. I swear my son would get drunk on it. At 14 months and plenty of time for a let down of refined and rich sustenance to form, he'd suck away until his little jaw would slowly stop working then he'd just lull there in a stupor with his mouth full of boob. Finally he'd let it loose with a slight sucking pop and lay there in my arms, eyes glazed, for all the world like a drunken lord and grin up at me in blurry love.
It's not a simple thing nursing or is it something that comes naturally for all of us. I never went to any birthing classes but I read a fair amount and never ran across any accounts of the difficulties for many new mothers. My son would not take the tit for three months and if it wasn't for the nurse in the hospital where he was born he might never have been breast fed: "Child you take this here rubber thing and stick it onto your nipple there so that sweet boy can get his mommies blessing! He gonna get the idea down the line, don you be worryin 'bout that!" So I kept it up and one day that I'll never forget he latched on like a pro and I threw that rubber nipple extender away with relief.
My daughter was as different as it can get: A few hours old and she suckled away like the only wee wrinkled piglet. The other anticipation I had of her being the same as her brother was one I hoped for but, again, it was not the same at all: When my son would nurse he would look up at me and raise up his little hand to gently stroke and pat my chest. He'd look at me with contentment and bliss while he touched my chin with his warm soft fingers. I looked forward with pleasure to the time when she was as old as my son had been with his sweet demonstratives. Well she looked up at me alright but with a devilish gleam in her green eyes and, while giving me a cheesy grin around my nipple in her mouth, she would raise her little fist and give me a quick sock! She was highly amused by this and for awhile there I had a line of small bruises running along my bosom.
As for the well documented benefits of breast milk over formula all I can say is my children had very few baby maladies, they never sucked their thumbs and never felt the need for pacifiers or bottles.
Of course, some where along the way, you taste it. It's sweet but warm and I wouldn't want to have a glass of it with my chocolate cake. It's pretty obvious though, babies know a good thing when they slurp it.
1 comment:
Hey, congrats on your blog! It's rich...and nourishing, too! Now, if I can just find somebody who's lactating...
Post a Comment