A New Tradition
By Jeanette Lundgren
Worcester, MA USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 19 No. 5, September-October 2002, p. 171
I am the first woman to breastfeed
in my family in three generations. My grandmother's doctor told her
that her milk was no good. When my mother was born she had an allergic
reaction to formula and was fed raw cow's milk from the family cow.
My mother had me in the 1970s and I don't think it even crossed her
mind to breastfeed. I was given formula for the first month, and then
switched to whole cow's milk. It is a very good thing there is no history
of dairy allergies in my family.
When I found out I was pregnant
with Jack, I read everything I could get my hands on. I happened to
pick up THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING and Dr. Sears' The
Baby Book at a secondhand store. Those books really changed my thinking!
After reading about all the benefits of breastfeeding, I decided that
was how I wanted to feed my baby.
My mother was not exactly
supportive of my decision. She told me not to beat myself up if it didn't
work out. She stocked me up with formula "just in case" and
told me, "If you can't feed that baby, I can." I decided that
I needed some support. I found information online about my local LLL
Group and contacted the Group Leader. I started attending meetings while
I was pregnant, building a support network and learning all I could
from the other mothers and their breastfeeding infants.
Jack was born at the end
of October. He latched on beautifully and sucked for over an hour. We
learned a lot about each other those first few months and I was blessed
with a proficient nurser. I knew that I was very lucky!
Even though breastfeeding
was going well, I didn't know how my family would handle me breastfeeding
the baby in front of them. Jack was one month old at Thanksgiving and
two months at Christmas. I figured if I was comfortable breastfeeding
during the holidays, it would put my family at ease as well.
My family has come to accept
how I feed my child. After the holidays, I went to visit my sister at
her new home and my niece greeted me at the door with, "Hi, Auntie.
You can breastfeed Jack anywhere you want to." My brother-in-law
remarked that he had thought it would be uncomfortable for him to see
me nursing my baby, but he found that it really was "no big deal."
I have a wonderful network
of LLL friends and neighbors that I can go to when I need support or
have questions. We've had a couple of challenges along the way and I've
used my "lifeline," my LLL Leader's number, a few times. It
was a huge comfort knowing she was there for me on the other end of
the line!
Jack is now five months old
and we are fast approaching the time for solid foods. I know as our
nursing relationship continues, I will meet resistance and pressure
from my family to wean my baby. My husband and I have decided to wait
until Jack is ready for weaning. I know no matter what that I have a
group of like-minded women who will support me. I have learned so much
from them already.
I absolutely love nursing
my son. There is something incredibly precious about nursing a baby
to sleep in your arms. The first time he looked up at me and smiled
while breastfeeding, I just melted.
Last updated Friday, September 8, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:29:57 UTC 2007.
