Breast is Best?

If you want my opinion on this topic, let me tell you that I'm a working mom who has nursed three kids past a year, two who never used up the free formula from the hospital--one of whom is still nursing at 25 months. Of course I think breast is best, and I can't for the life of me figure out why some moms go into the hospital having decided to bottle feed their babies from day one. I have so enjoyed nursing mine that I feel as sorry for the moms as for the babies. By the time number three arrived I had pretty much decided that the baby was going to eat where she wanted when she wanted and if other people had a problem with it--it was their problem not mine.

All that being said, I'm leery of the move to guilt moms into breastfeeding. Educate them yes, but while breast is best when all things are equal, things are rarely equal. Sometimes milk production is low (perhaps because of a problem with mom, or perhaps because of problems with the baby's suck--which is what I think happened with my son)and mom doesn't need someone trying to tell her she's a failre when she feeds her baby. Much as some online would like to portray working moms as self-centered materialistic hedonists who care more for their BMW's and fancy vacations than for their children, most working moms I know are working to pay house notes on moderate houses, grocery bills and to provide health insurance for their families. I'm fortunate to have a job and work enviornment conduceive to breastfeeding, but for many workers an office with a door that locks, or the ability to get away for 15 minutes in the morning and afternoon are nothing but a dream. I say let your baby enjoy the mom he or she has; don't make both of you miserable because you can't be the mom someone else thinks you should be.

Declare a Fast

In the Old Testament people saw misfortune as a sign of God's displeasure. Some people see that even today. Others, like me, see it as a result of original sin, but not necessarily as God being displeased about anything in particular. However, I do believe that prayers can either keep misfortune away or help us through it. As noted elsewhere on this blog, a major misfortune in this area has been Hurricane Katrina. Well, as everyone on the Gulf Coast knows, hurricane season started again today. We all know that bad storms aren't likely until later in the summer but with all the FEMA trailers and debris about, even "small' hurricanes sound scary--and the forecasters are saying we are the city most likely to get hit this year. With all this in mind Archbishop Hughes has declared a fast this Friday. He has asked that we follow the fasting and abstinence rules for Ash Wed/Good Friday and pray for safety from storms this year. Want to join us?

Is it ok to take when nursing?

I have spent the last two years as a nursing mom, and the first words out of my mouth when the doctor said she was going to prescribe medication for me have been "Remember, I'm nursing the baby". Still, its nice to know there is an on-line reference on which to check drugs to see if they are safe for nursing moms:

http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT

Mothers' Day Musing

Mother's Day has never been a real big deal in our family. The kids give me a card, my husband gives me a gift card and then it is Sunday as normal. There have been a few abnormal Mothers' Days. In 1992 I was sitting in the 9:00 a.m. mass when I started to have contractions. Not really understanding exactly what they were, since they didn't really hurt, but not wanting to have anything embarrassing happen, I told my husband that we were leaving. An couple of hours later we went to the hospital. At 10:30 that night, an emergency c-section was performed, making me a mother--on Mothers' Day. Another that stands out was two years ago. My baby was born Thursday afternoon, and we came home Saturday afternoon. Mothers' Day I felt fine and was scheduled to lector, so we went to mass. Our parish has a tradition of giving flowers to a selection of moms on Mothers' Day, usually including the oldest mom, the mom with the most kids and the mom with the newest baby. Guess who got a flower that year? Everyone was amazed that I was at mass so soon, but frankly I felt better that day than I had a week before. Today was another memorable Mothers' Day, but for a much sadder reason. It was my first Mothers' Day without my mom. She died the Thursday after Ash Wednesday. Most of the time I can say it was a blessing when death finally came, but there are times when I miss her so much. I was crying in church today when I thought of her celebrating Mothers' Day in heaven.