Wonderful Book

I am currently reading a wonderful book called Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood, by Shiela Kippley.

I haven't finished reading it yet, but I am so inspired by it that I have to post about it now!  I have read many books on breastfeeding.  I even teach a breastfeeding class, but this book still had a lot to offer.

I like that it is specific to Catholic mothers.  Kippley touches on Blessed John Paul II's Theology of the Body.  She also discusses how breastfeeding actually teaches a new mother how to care for her child.  This book is full of insight and a must read for any Catholic mother!

Here is a link to buy the book. (I have no financial gain here)

http://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-Catholic-Motherhood-Gods-Plan/dp/1933184043/ref=pd_sim_b2

Birth Choices and Morality

This is a post that I have been considering writing for quite some time.  I just haven't been quite sure of how to tackle it.

I am a birth fanatic....I love to read about birth, watch videos of women giving birth, go to births, birth children of my own...you get the picture.  I even teach classes on how to give birth.

As a Catholic I bring important decisions to prayer, and pray for God's will.  In my prayer about the births of my own children, I began to reflect on the ways in which women give birth and care for their babies.  My conclusions, and where I think God has led me through prayer, is contrary to the main stream (popular) thought of how women are supposed to birth their babies and how they're supposed to care for them.

God made a woman's body to be able to birth a baby.  Even before there were doctors and hospitals, women got pregnant, labored and birthed well enough to populate the earth.  Women and babies have died during childbirth, (we no longer live in the Garden of Eden) but we have discovered ways to monitor them and to prevent some things from going wrong.  But, in the name of technology and in order to try to escape the pain of birthing, we have interfered with God's design.  For example,  the majority of women in the United States chose an epidural for pain relief during labor. There are many hormones that orchestrate the birthing process.  When a woman has an epidural we change the amount and the way these hormones are released in the body.  (www.sarahbuckley.com).  When we interfere with hormones, we interfere with bonding and breastfeeding, and "mothering".  I would go so far as to say that we can interfere with the potential relationship and parenting of that mother and child.  Is it a sin to get an epidural during labor?  I would say no, but perhaps there is a better way. 

(I often hear to argument that you wouldn't have a root canal done without anesthesia, so why would you want to have a baby without an epidural?  These things are so different that they cannot compare.  Birth is a normal body process that involves many normal hormones.  Having a root canal is a remedy for a sick or dying tooth, birth is just the opposite, it is the transition to new life).

The reason the devil is to be greatly feared, is not so much that evil is always obvious, but because he is sneaky, the "father of lies", things often appear good on the outside, but underneath the fruit is rotten.  What if getting an epidural during labor (numbing the pain seems good, right?) is really an attempt to interfere with God's design for mothers, babies, and families?

The next step would be to interfere with Breastfeeding.  It's no secret that most mother's in the United States use formula or use bottles to feed breastmilk to their babies.  Breastfeeding is the way God made a woman's body to be able to care for her child.  It is so much more than just food.  Breastfeeding, is about bonding, parenting, and loving your child.  Again, there are so many intricate hormones that are at play in both the mother's and the baby's body.  Why do we think that we can do it better than the way God made it?  Is it a sin to give your baby a bottle?  No, but perhaps there is a best way (God's way) and an other way that Satan tries to make popular, in order to create yet another division in the family.

It's no secret that our culture is hurting,  Families are hurting.  Families are broken and many children in our country are hurting.  Divorce isn't the only thing that is tearing our families apart, I would dare to go back even farther, to birth.  Satan attacks the unborn in the womb, of course he tries everything he can to tear these precious ones from their parents even at birth and during infancy.



Parenting is difficult, I am learning everyday how to be a better parent, but I do believe that I have given my children the very best start to life that they could get!

Joys of Heaven

"Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her,
all you who love her;
exult, exult with her,
all you who were mourning over her!

Oh, that you  may suck fully
of the milk of her comfort,
that you may nurse with delight
at her abundant breasts!

For thus says the Lord:
Lo, I will spread prosperity over her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.

As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms,
and fondled in her lap;
as a mother comforts her son,
so will I comfort you;
in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.

When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
and your bodies flourish like the grass."

Isaiah 66:10-14

Mary Nursing Baby Jesus

 
I just love images of our Blessed Mother nursing Jesus.  I think it depicts the humanness of Jesus.  It also shows us the awesome gift that Mary had, in being the mother of Jesus.  What an intimate bond to have with the God of the Universe!

Catholic Nursing Mothers League

I just wanted to share this link.  This looks like a great site for any nursing mother.

http://www.catholicbreastfeeding.org/

Baby Jesus Breastfeeding

Baby Jesus Breastfeeding

Breast Pump: Friend or Foe?

There are many breast pumps on the market from simple hand pumps to hospital grade double electric pumps.  For many modern women, the breast pump allows them to return to work while still feeding their baby breast milk.  Personally I have used a breast pump to give milk to each of my 4 babies while I was at work, and I am grateful that I was able to continue breastfeeding longer than my 8 week maternity leave.

But, in talking to women, I am getting the sense that, while the breast pump has allowed many women to continue a breastfeeding relationship with their baby, it has hurt many relationships as well.

Our consumer culture tells us that we need to buy all the baby "gear", in order to be prepared for baby.  Among the essentials is a breast pump.  Even moms that do not plan to return to work after their baby is born, still will get a pump.  It is almost unheard of that a woman would exclusively breastfeed her baby and never give a single bottle.

Breast Pump as Friend:  A double electric pump allows a women to pump both breasts at the same time, and can do so rather quickly.  I was able to breastfeed my babies anywhere from 15-20 months old, while working part time because of my breast pump.

Breast Pump as Foe:  I have encountered more and more women who start pumping during the first month of their baby's life, so that someone else can give the baby a bottle, or so she can have a break, or get some sleep, get some relief from sore nipples etc.  Pumping is not the same as breastfeeding and if a woman's milk supply is not well established, these occasional bottles can lead to a reduced milk supply.
      Babies develop a preference for breast or bottle.  Breastfeeding is work for a baby.  The baby has to use more muscles to get milk from a breast than from a bottle.  In the first month a baby can quickly develop a preference for milk from a bottle (just like in life, the easy way, is not necessarily the better way).  My babies, who have only occasionally had bottles while I was at work, have developed a strong preference for the breast, even at times completely refusing the bottle all together (they would however drink milk from a cup).

I have encountered so many women who started pumping, and then couldn't get the baby to latch onto the breast again.

Here are some suggestions to allow a mother to work, get out of the house from time to time, and not damage the breastfeeding relationship:
1. Don't use bottles (especially in the first month).  Rather, feedings can be given via cup.
  http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=vid-cupfeed
2.Try hand expression, rather than using a pump.  http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/breastfeeding/faq%E2%80%99s-about-milk-supply-and-breastfeeding-challenges/hand-expressing-your-milk
Mother's who need to express milk in the first few days after birth, can express more milk using their hands than a pump.  http://group.bmj.com/group/media/latest-news/manual-breast-milk-expression-better-than-breast-pump-for-poor-feeders

Please, let the breast pump be a tool to assist you in breastfeeding and not to become a crutch!  Happy Breastfeeding!