Breastfeeding Is Good for Grandmothers, Too!
Janet S. Wilcke
Pleasureville KY USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 20 No. 2, March-April 2003, p. 54
My daughter, Ardith, is
a patient woman. She recently gave birth to her third daughter and,
once again, I am mesmerized by a nursing grandbaby. It's not enough
that Ardie is home schooling her kindergartner and handling her two-year-old's
periodic meltdowns on the living room floor, she also good-naturedly
indulges my "oohing" and "aahing" as I hover over
her shoulder to watch my granddaughter nurse.
Nursing is not only beneficial
to mother and child, but to grandmother as well. One gaze at the nursing
duo and I am transported back 30 years to a time when my daughter was
the breastfeeding baby. My mind plays the "seems like yesterday
trick" and, for a brief moment, my imagination places me in the
rocking chair, baby at my breast. How familiar: that perfect little
mouth rooting at the breast, the eager swallowing sounds that seem to
say, "This is delicious," the dribble of milk at the slack
corners of a sated infant's mouth.
I remember thinking years
ago that life could get no better than those precious moments nursing
my baby. Let me tell you that life is pretty good now watching this
next generation of nursing mother and child!
Judging from past experience,
my hovering will lessen as I grow used to this new grandchild. But for
now, I am so grateful that my daughter welcomes my doting and takes
it in stride. I like to think that gifts come full circle, that all
those tender moments in my rocking chair are reaching through the years
to my daughter and her child and back to me.
Editor's Note: Janet wrote
about her daughter, Ardith, 30 years ago in an article on tandem nursing
that still appears in THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING. She is proud
to say that Ardie is now happily tandem-nursing her own children.
Last updated Tuesday, October 24, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:29:46 UTC 2007.
