A Restful Place

Prince Rupert harbour- a place of quiet rest!!
I feel like using a different colour and font today. My day of rest seems to be now- enjoying a morning of play and fun with my grandson, coffee with my daughter and now, a quiet home. The man and boy are up the ski hill on a gloriously sunny day. I am tidying a bit, but mostly, just reflecting on my week. I visited a new baby girl this morning, encouraging her momma with her breastfeeding. I had a similar experience yesterday and have been pondering. I have a new great niece that is having a mite of trouble with eating as well, so I have been looking for good info once again, to make sure I am stating facts and not opinions. One thing I know, breast is best and anything else is simply artificial. We do not give a second thought to our puppies or kittens, to our horses or cattle- why would we not trust this with our own clever little human babies? I want to let you know some of the information I keep in my heart while I encourage this natural form of feeding. Babies are fearfully and wonderfully made! When scientists have researched how babies develop, they noticed that the nerves form over a 21 month period of time rather than nine months, so they have concluded that babies' gestational period is 21 months long. This being true, you and I know that babies need to be born closer to 8 pounds than 25-30 pounds of 21 months marked by the gestational age. The nerves continue to myelinize over this period of time, protecting the nerve ends and providing a sensory opportunity for babies while they are firmly attached to their mommas. In some cultures, babies are not even put down for 3 months after they are born! With this in mind, I know my own grandson was held as much as possible and given opportunities to lead his own breastfeeding. This seems to have produced a very gentle, secure baby! He listens well, knows limits and boundaries and KNOWS he is loved! There is certainly lots to be said about this, but these are a few thoughts on it. I know we were made to think rationally- and I love to encourage new moms that they have within them all the intuition to do a fantastic job with their new baby- but sometimes reason gets in the way! I have found over and over this week that my encouragement goes a long way to increase a mom's capacity to do a wonderful job- how cool is that? It is not about me, but simply that we all need to hear when we are doing well. With that in mind, off I go to enjoy the quietness of this home, my restful place.

Comments

  1. HollyEliseFebruary 12, 2011 at 3:56 PM

    That is so interesting, about the cultures that don't put the baby down for 3 months! Wow.
    I'm planning to be a baby-wearing mama :) Any recommendations for carriers/slings?

    ReplyDelete

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