We’re continuing our celebration of World Breastfeeding Week 2019 The theme for this year is “Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding.” Thanks to Lovelace Health System for sponsoring this World Breastfeeding Week Editorial Series.
My best friend had a baby three months before I got pregnant. Her baby had trouble nursing, so she ended up pumping a lot. She informed me on one of her visits that her husband had tried some of the breastmilk. I smiled and nodded, trying to conceal my true feelings of revulsion.
As I processed this later, I tried to figure out why this was so off-putting. I realized, it shouldn’t be. After all, babies drink it. Why should it seem strange for an adult to? If anything, it should make more sense than drinking animal milk.
A year later I gave birth to our son and began my own breastfeeding journey.
The majority of my breastfeeding knowledge came from a magazine I randomly picked up in the doctor’s office. The article averred that breastmilk was the best thing for baby; among other benefits, it was free; and any mother was able to produce enough milk for her own child. I would find out this last one did not seem to be true. I had many friends who struggled with quantity, and I would too further down the line.
A couple months in I started pumping some, so my husband could take feedings. This gave me longer stretches of sleep. We also found it handy to give our son a bottle when we were out and about rather than trying to nurse in public.
I decided to try some of my milk after one of these sessions. It was warm and sweet, and at first. It tasted so different I wasn’t sure what to make of it. But the second time I tried it, I was expecting this, and I began to like it. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and the taste was really delicious. It no longer seemed strange to me, rather, I was proud that my body had produced such a wonderful liquid.
My baby had a tear duct that was constantly leaking from the corner of his eye. Crusties would dry on his face and I had to clean it every morning. I thought it would clear up on it’s own, but month after month went by with no difference. Finally, I took to google to try and find some remedies. To my surprise, the first suggestion that popped up was to bathe his eyes with breastmilk. My first reaction was negation. I thought the milk would sting his eye. But as I continued to read the article, it explained the author’s reasoning: breastmilk was an extremely gentle substance that would not hurt babies eyes. And at the same time, it contained natural antibodies which should help the problem clear up.
I finally decided to try it. So I took a cotton ball and some freshly pumped milk and bathed the corner of the baby’s eye. I bathed it again before bed. By the time half a day had passed, I was already seeing a difference, and by the next morning the problem had cleared up completely. I was amazed, and immediately took to the internet to read more about breastmilk.
I began to see how little I knew about this amazing substance.
I read about the antiseptic properties it contains, how it changes when the baby is sick, how, when the baby latches on, the saliva on the mother’s nipple causes the antibodies to change depending on the particular illness! It is sometimes used to treat cancer patients because it is so nutritious, yet gentle on the stomach. I even bathed my own eyes in breastmilk when allergy season rolled around and I was dealing with itchy, scratchy eyeballs. I have never felt anything so incredibly soothing in my life.
It seemed like I was continually finding out some new amazing fact about breastmilk.
We took our baby to the doctor for one of his checkups, and I expressed concern because he hadn’t pooped in a few days. The doctor immediately reassured us. Babies who are exclusively breastfed, she told us, could sometimes go as much as ten days without pooping, because they didn’t produce much waste due to how efficient breastmilk is. Sure enough, there were several times when our baby went a full week between poops, but he was happy and healthy and thriving.
How extraordinary, I thought. No food we could develop is so efficient, but this wonderful liquid that came from my body is so wonderful it caused almost no waste when babies exclusively eat it!
In time, my baby’s voracious appetite outweighed my ability to keep up, so we began supplementing with formula and adding rice cereal to his bottles so he would be fuller. But I kept producing breastmilk all the way up through fourteen months, and I was very happy I was able to go that long.
A month after I had David, my best friend got pregnant again with their second child. She had the happy opposite of my problem. She produced more than enough milk, and she was able to donate the extra to a friend of ours who was struggling with production. There were a few times when she pumped some extra milk and made a special treat to share with us: she steamed it and made London Fogs.
Yes, you read that right, Breastmilk London Fogs. The sweetness of the breastmilk mixed perfectly with the spices of the earl grey tea is one of the most delicious drinks I have ever had the privilege of tasting.
Most people make a face when I share this with them. When I talk about how good breastmilk is, most people say, “I’ll pass, thanks.” I don’t blame them. I felt the same way, at first. But since then my knowledge and experience has increased, and now I am very passionate about breastmilk, and can’t say enough about this amazing, incredible liquid. If you ever have a chance to try it, do! It’s an amazing experience.
