My daughter was born nine weeks premature and
has been in perfect health from the start thanks to mother's milk.
I
pumped milk and gave it to her every three hours. Twelve days after
birth, weighing only three pounds, 11 ounces, she was ready to come
home, as healthy as any newborn.
At two months, I finally got the courage to ditch the pump and bottles
and exclusively nurse from the breast. We've been going strong ever
since. She is a very healthy, 15-month-old breastfeeding toddler, way
ahead of both her due date buds and her birth peers!
She has never ever been sick, (OK, she had the sniffles once, but that's
it!). No flu, no ear infections, no fever, nothing. No trips to see
any docs others than to her very well baby check-ups!
Every baby should be breastfed! I keep reading how breastmilk is not
nutritionally adequate for babies over a year old and I was really
considering weaning. I had been discouraging her when she wined for
"boo boos," and for a few days she quit asking altogether.
I
offered it only once a day, knowing I didn't want to "dry
up" entirely, since this is a time in our lives we can never get
back.
When I read the World Health Organization's recommendations to keep
going for two years and longer, I decided to continue.
My toddler certainly has no objections, and went right back to asking
as usual. Even if it doesn't provide her with much nutrition (and I'm
not convinced it doesn't) it does provide insurance against illness.
That's enough reason. Of course, the experience in itself is
priceless and worth hanging on to.
I've seen the wonder of breastmilk's benefits first hand. No
mother, no matter how determined she is to emotionally detach herself
from her baby, can avoid the closeness that comes with nursing.
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