Welcome, Carnival of Breastfeeding readers!

The Gift of Life: Breastfeeding During A Time of War

I was born in the late 1970's in Cambodia.  At that time, the country was being ravaged by revolution and genocide.  My parents, like others at the time, were sent to a labor camp and endured starvation and malnutrition.  When my mother gave birth to me, she speaks of only having a ration of  rice porridge to eat daily during designated meal times -- grains of rice cooked in hot water.  My father risked his life to poach fish from the nearby river to feed us.  The war ended soon after my birth and my parents fled to a refugee camp.  However, the people overseeing the camp eventually led truckloads of refugees, including my parents and me, into a desolate mountain where many people died from landmines roaming the mountainside in search of food, water, and help.

I survived as an infant through such hardship because my mother breastfed me.  In a time where an estimated 20% of the population died, I survived even when food was scarce and doctors and medicine could not be found.  Breastfeeding sustained my life and my health so that I can have an opportunity to give birth to and experience the daily joy of breastfeeding my own 6-month-old son.

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Check out these posts on this month's theme (updated throughout the day):

Breastfeeding Moms Unite! - The Gift  That Keeps On Giving

Elita @ Blactating - The Gift of Confidence

The Milk Momma - Breastfeeding: My Baby's Gift to Me

Momma's Angel - The 12 Gifts of Breastfeeding

Christina at Massachusetts Friends of Midwives - The Intangible Gifts of Breastfeeding

Tanya Lieberman - A Gift I Never Expected 

Rockstar baby

I found this article over the weekend.

It made me dream

if only our family could get away

as they did.

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We've been having difficulty with nap time.

I'm utterly exhausted this week.

Eating

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We're starting solids this week officially.

Although he has already eaten bananas, papayas, and a spoonful of cream of corn while his grandparents were visiting before Thanksgiving.

Fajitas

Last night,

Dinner wasn't ready.

I held baby,

Hubby finished the preparation.

We ate

The meal was absolutely delicious!

(New recipe: a little coat of oil in a hot pan.  Add thinly sliced onions with a clove of minced garlic.  When onions half cooked, add sliced mushrooms with julienne jalapenos (seeds removed).  Season with S&P as desire.  Finish with a handful of cilantro before removing pan.  Serve with warm tortillas, shredded cheddar cheese, re-fried beans, home-made salsa.)

* image from here.

Goal Setting

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After giving birth to Luke, I had a difficult time getting him to take the breast.  Essentially, he did not receive a feeding until nearly 18 hrs after birth.  I was so anxious because my goal was to breastfed him for at least six months.  I kept trying to get him interested in latching at the breast, but all he wanted to do was cry and turn away.  I refused to have him supplemented.  Finally, on the second day, he latched!  It was an amazing joy to see my son feeding from my breasts.  However, our difficulty did not stop there.  Although he was latching most of the time, we were having problems with trying to position him so that his latch was deep enough.  I started experiencing a lot of pain as he was feeding.  The pain persisted even though I asked all the nurses to evaluate his latch and they all told me that it looked great and that breastfeeding was "supposed to hurt at first."  The pain was unbearable at times to the point where I had to clench my teeth and point my toes during some sessions.  My nipples were cracked and blistered by the end of the second day.

However, I persisted.   Each session, I would attempt to evaluate his latch to ensure that I would get the deepest latch possible.  I also worked on different nursing positions because I began to experience terrible back and shoulder pain from constantly being hunched over  as I was nursing my son.

There was also the issue of my over supply and fast milk ejection reflex.  I was so desperate to breastfeed my son but one incident almost made me give up.  It was during the time he was experiencing his 2 - 3 weeks growth spurt.  He was literally on the breast all day long and he kept crying!  I was sure that I somehow had caused my milk supply to diminish from not drinking enough water or from forgetting to alternate to the other breast at each subsequent feeding.  Of course, now I know better.

I did relent to supplement him once.  But after that, knowing the joy I experienced as I was breastfeeding my son, I knew that I would do everything in my power to ensure that my son never received another bottle if I could help it.

And as of this week, I have met my goal of breastfeeding him for six months.  And since we've made it this far, I'm extending the time-frame of our breastfeeding relationship to one-year!

Up

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Luke in his first sitting up picture
Well, more leaning forward than anything.

* 365 project idea inspired by Georgia.  The idea became my blog inspiration.  So thanks Georgia!