At least 3 people a day write and ask me what my views are on breast feeding. It seems to be a major issue causing a great deal of confusion and uncertainty. What surprises me is how for the last 6000 years babies have been born, were nursed, and grew up to be emotionally and physically healthy without anyone telling their mama's how and when to nurse them. But since so many have asked, I thought I would give you my 2 cents worth as well. I covered the same subject on Mail Box Tape #3.
Nursing is instinctual, in the baby and the mother. It is so natural that I never dreamed it could be made into an issue. Let me tell you, cows are different one from the other. That's right COWS. Don’t get upset with me for introducing animals into a high and noble subject like human breast feeding. It is the loss of such knowledge that has caused this controversy in the first place. Beef cows can let their calves nurse all and any time they want, because they don't have much milk. Whereas Jersey calves would die if they nursed any time they wanted, because Jersey cows have too much milk, and so the calves only get the sugar milk. People are very much like cows in respect to nursing. Some are beef stock and some are Jersey. When a cow first delivers, she produces colostrum just as a human does. The newborn baby or calf needs all the colostrum it can get. It is a natural antibiotic for the baby, as well as serving other vital purposes. A cow and a mother only produce colostrum for 5 or 10 days, and then her real milk comes in. When the mother's milk comes in she usually has far more than her baby can use. Thus the baby nurses only part of the breast and never really drains the breast dry. That is a problem. Any mother who has had a baby with colic and diarrhea can attest to this. Just like that Jersey calf, the baby is getting too much “first milk”—not colostrum, that ceased after about 10 days. At each nursing, when a mother's milk first lets down, it is “sugar milk.” It is light blue and clear. As you milk the cow, or the baby nurses the mother, and the breasts begin to empty, the milk gets thicker and creamier. The very last milk left in the breast is cream, full of fat and very filling to the baby. When a baby gets a belly full of creamy milk he will not be hungry for several hours. If the baby gets the thin, clear, light blue, sugar milk he will be hungry in 2 hours and have a tummy ache with diarrhea to follow.
Herein lies wisdom. Use common sense. All down through the ages people raised animals, thus had enough common sense to know how to adjust their nursing problems based on the common knowledge learned from raising animals.
Do you have a colicky baby? Maybe he is getting too much sugar milk and not enough cream. Do you have a baby that is too fat? Maybe you need to increase your milk supply (try lots of water, Blessed Thistle and Brewers yeast) so the baby will not get so much cream. Does your baby wake every 2 hours and need to nurse? Maybe you need to manually expel some of your sugar milk so your baby will not get a “temporary full” but keep nursing to get some thick creamy milk as well. Should you let your baby cry-and-cry at night to train him not to nurse every 2 hours? Think. If the baby nursed 2 hours before and did not get anything but sugar milk, and he is starving, are you making your baby healthy by training him to endure hunger?
The new system of scheduling is designed to help the average mama that doesn't know anything about nursing to get the baby to be so hungry that he drains her dry, which allows the child to get sugar milk and the rich creamy milk as well. This “scheduling” has its good points and its bad points, as does indiscriminant “nursing on demand.”
There is the other side of the controversy— “nursing on demand.” This is more consistent with nature, because the baby knows when it is hungry. It is the way women all down through the ages have nursed. And it has worked for 6000 years. But we are a people who have lost our natural instincts of nursing and child training due to leaving the work God gave Adam. Working in a garden and dealing with animals teaches people a lot of common sense things that are missing in this technological culture. Therefore a young mother who has a new baby and is uncertain, knowing nothing of the natural workings of the body, will grab the baby up every time he fusses, thinking he is hungry. Thus the baby is constantly getting little snacks of sugar milk and has colic most of his first 6 months. It would seem in this new age we live in people have lost contact with the plain facts of life. It is the lack of common sense that causes people to need a plan to live by such as the nursing schedule. I am sure the schedule has been of help to many young mothers by causing them to unknowingly meet the baby’s need for the deeper cream received when the baby is really hungry and drains the breast. Without the schedule these same mothers would be tired, worried, and stressed, while their babies would be having colic or would be constipated because they were put on formula because they “couldn't digest mother's milk.” Yet, I have seen new mothers who followed the schedule to the minute and have skinny babies that scream. I wonder at their lack of natural instinct in following someone's ideas so closely.
The next BIG controversy that seems to have hit the normal “Back to Basics Homeschooling Family” is the issue concerning the family bed. This is also an issue where good common sense should rule the day. All my children were born in cool weather. Every night the temperature in the house would drop from cool to cold as the wood burning stove ran its course. My newborns wore tiny cotton hats to help hold their body heat, and they slept close to me in our king size bed. I never got up at night to nurse. I never even knew when the baby nursed. By the time the baby was walking and playing with the other children they were moved to their sibling’s bed (usually 3 to a bed). They would toddle in every morning to nurse before I got out of bed, or an older sibling would bring them and crawl in to join the crowd. It was a sweet time of cuddling with mama and daddy. If they found our door locked, they knew to wait their turn.
Even if I had lived in a house where the temperature never wavered from a comfortable 70 degrees, still I would have kept my baby in bed with me. It was never a consideration to put them in another room. After my kids were grown and I heard of the controversy over this issue, I went to the older ladies of our community, who each have 8 or 10 children, and asked them their opinion on the matter of nursing and having the baby sleep with you. Most gave me blank looks like they could not figure out what was wrong with me to ask such a silly question.
They all kept their babies in the bed (or within touching distance) until they are around walking age. They all nursed as often as the baby needed to nurse, but made sure the baby was not just taking snacks but emptying the breast so he would not be hungry for several hours. Most all the mothers have had a baby every 2 to 3 years, but seldom any closer. Heavy nursing has been the traditional means of birth control all down through the ages, allowing time between the pregnancies for the mother's body to get back in good shape to carry another healthy child. Most of the scheduled nursing ladies I have heard from say they began their monthly cycle soon after the baby was born, often getting pregnant by the time their newborn is 6 or 8 months old, thus, due to fatigue, were forced to stop nursing the first infant. Medical scientists have discovered that babies nursed for up to 2 years have a larger brain than babies fed formula. Women of Biblical times nursed their children until they were 5 years old. Remember the story of Samuel. Just for the record, I quit at 2-years-old.
So here you have a few facts and my 2 cents worth of common sense. Use it to make a decision that best suits you, your baby, and the life style your husband has chosen for your family.
Learn all you can from all points of view and then throw it all out and do what works best for you. Relax. Don’t chose sides and fight it out. It is not Bible doctrine. In departing from someone’s system you need not feel guilt or pride. The cows, goats, horses, and even rabbits have been doing it right all along and, if they could they would laugh that we “intelligent humans” ever bothered to discuss it.
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I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 4
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Debbi,
thank you for your article,very reasuring.
my son is aproaching his 1st birthday and i am still breastfeeding,i have been having some gallbladder( i think ) issues and heard that berberine can be helpful but ids not recomended for a nursing mom ,as i would like to continue nursing can you reccomend any herbs that would be safe to try?my symptoms have included spasming belching frequntly,pressure,though i can describe all this as relatively mild and not painful just uncomfertable ....thanks much!!!---noel
Debbi,
thank you for your article,very reasuring.
my son is aproaching his 1st birthday and i am still breastfeeding,i have been having some gallbladder( i think ) issues and heard that berberine can be helpful but ids not recomended for a nursing mom ,as i would like to continue nursing can you reccomend any herbs that would be safe to try?my symptoms have included spasming belching frequntly,pressure,though i can describe all this as relatively mild and not painful just uncomfertable ....thanks much!!!---noel
Hi Debi,
I greet you from the summerly Cape Town in South Africa! I am a German who lives here with her South African husband and 20-months old daughter Zoe. I love your article about breastfeeding! I am so happy I became a mother in Africa, because all these wonderful black mammas know how to use common sense with their babies, whereas in my culture people tend to deal with the matter too technically. I'm afraid many people create more stress for themselves and don't experience what a joy it is to nurse a baby for a long time. I have nursed my daughter in many places - on the beach, in church, in the shade of trees, in airplanes etc. She still sleeps in our bed, and both my husband and I enjoy the great bond that creates. Children are only small such a short time! And keeping the baby in your bed really doesn't have to interfere with your 'marital bliss', just be creative. Love to all the dedicated moms out there! *steffi*
Hi Debi,
I greet you from the summerly Cape Town in South Africa! I am a German who lives here with her South African husband and 20-months old daughter Zoe. I love your article about breastfeeding! I am so happy I became a mother in Africa, because all these wonderful black mammas know how to use common sense with their babies, whereas in my culture people tend to deal with the matter too technically. I'm afraid many people create more stress for themselves and don't experience what a joy it is to nurse a baby for a long time. I have nursed my daughter in many places - on the beach, in church, in the shade of trees, in airplanes etc. She still sleeps in our bed, and both my husband and I enjoy the great bond that creates. Children are only small such a short time! And keeping the baby in your bed really doesn't have to interfere with your 'marital bliss', just be creative. Love to all the dedicated moms out there! *steffi*
I completely agree with you I do have a question though. I have nursed my children exclusively and on demand yet I still become fertile VERY quickly. Starting by 6 weeks every time. I had one then when she was 7 mo got pregnant again and when she was just 4 mo got pregnant again. I adore them all and am doing well though but I guess I just don't understand why I would be starting so quickly. I even pumped in addition to breastfeeding with my last who is now 8 wks so I could give the extra to my 15mo old since I was not able to continue nursing her after I was about 5 mo pregnant. Yet I still started. We would love to have more children and I am at peace as to when that may be but I really would like to continue breastfeeding my baby and am not sure I will be able to do so if I became pregnant again. Do you have any suggestions or what I could do differently?
I completely agree with you I do have a question though. I have nursed my children exclusively and on demand yet I still become fertile VERY quickly. Starting by 6 weeks every time. I had one then when she was 7 mo got pregnant again and when she was just 4 mo got pregnant again. I adore them all and am doing well though but I guess I just don't understand why I would be starting so quickly. I even pumped in addition to breastfeeding with my last who is now 8 wks so I could give the extra to my 15mo old since I was not able to continue nursing her after I was about 5 mo pregnant. Yet I still started. We would love to have more children and I am at peace as to when that may be but I really would like to continue breastfeeding my baby and am not sure I will be able to do so if I became pregnant again. Do you have any suggestions or what I could do differently?
Great to read some good advice: just as I always believed: in biblical times extended breastfeeding was the norm, and having the bay near or in the bed with you is NORMAL and what's actaully been done for millenium. Safe co sleeping guidleines are all over the internet. Evidenced based information is the key, and also to underline that breastfeeding is more than about feeding a baby: it's about the psychological and emotional growth and benefits baby's get from cuddling their mother and their mother cuddling them: skin to skin - you can see a bay thrive snuggled into mummy's breast....
googel
The Australian Breastfeeding Association for some outstanding evidenced information about breastfeeding and all baby information
Great to read some good advice: just as I always believed: in biblical times extended breastfeeding was the norm, and having the bay near or in the bed with you is NORMAL and what's actaully been done for millenium. Safe co sleeping guidleines are all over the internet. Evidenced based information is the key, and also to underline that breastfeeding is more than about feeding a baby: it's about the psychological and emotional growth and benefits baby's get from cuddling their mother and their mother cuddling them: skin to skin - you can see a bay thrive snuggled into mummy's breast....
googel
The Australian Breastfeeding Association for some outstanding evidenced information about breastfeeding and all baby information
Thanks for encouraging breastfeeding. While I think the author is trying to say, use common sense is breastfeeding, I think a lot of mothers might be confused and think that by feeding less often that their babies will get more "cream" (i.e. hind) milk. Research has shown this is not true. Evidence suggests that babies who "snack" (feed frequently) actually get milk with a higher fat content. If you really want your baby to get more "hind milk" (i.e. milk with a high fat content) then doing breast compressions (squeezing the breast) when a baby is almost finished with a side can help a great deal. God designed things so that the often hungry baby gets this extra boast of high-calorie milk and will eventually fill himself up and get a good sleep in :).
Actually, Feeding your baby less often will result in him getting more "sugar milk", actually and will just cause him to be even hungrier. What I am saying, is within reason, feed your baby when he is hungry. There is a natural built in supply and demand cycle that when not tampered with, will work out and the baby will end up spacing out his feedings pretty much automatically (once he gets a month old or so).
And not all babies suffer from eating lots of the "sugar milk". It's still perfect nutrition and if your baby is growing fine, then don't worry. My baby either wants to nurse every two hours (or a bit less) or I pick him up and nurse him. The plus of that is he only feeds about 10 minutes or so. I don't find that bothersome and everyone's happy. Also, more frequent daytime feeding means your baby gets more calories during the day and can sleep longer at night. Bottom line - do what works. Most of the time what comes natural, with a little parental steering, is what works when it comes to breastfeeding.
Also, the color of your milk has little to do with the fat content: what you eat actually is what changes the color (from bluish to yellowish, etc.). It is true that higher fat milk is thicker and creamier looking (and more opaque), but the color is not of anything. Don't worry about the color of your milk! Just keep breastfeeding.
Thanks for encouraging breastfeeding. While I think the author is trying to say, use common sense is breastfeeding, I think a lot of mothers might be confused and think that by feeding less often that their babies will get more "cream" (i.e. hind) milk. Research has shown this is not true. Evidence suggests that babies who "snack" (feed frequently) actually get milk with a higher fat content. If you really want your baby to get more "hind milk" (i.e. milk with a high fat content) then doing breast compressions (squeezing the breast) when a baby is almost finished with a side can help a great deal. God designed things so that the often hungry baby gets this extra boast of high-calorie milk and will eventually fill himself up and get a good sleep in :).
Actually, Feeding your baby less often will result in him getting more "sugar milk", actually and will just cause him to be even hungrier. What I am saying, is within reason, feed your baby when he is hungry. There is a natural built in supply and demand cycle that when not tampered with, will work out and the baby will end up spacing out his feedings pretty much automatically (once he gets a month old or so).
And not all babies suffer from eating lots of the "sugar milk". It's still perfect nutrition and if your baby is growing fine, then don't worry. My baby either wants to nurse every two hours (or a bit less) or I pick him up and nurse him. The plus of that is he only feeds about 10 minutes or so. I don't find that bothersome and everyone's happy. Also, more frequent daytime feeding means your baby gets more calories during the day and can sleep longer at night. Bottom line - do what works. Most of the time what comes natural, with a little parental steering, is what works when it comes to breastfeeding.
Also, the color of your milk has little to do with the fat content: what you eat actually is what changes the color (from bluish to yellowish, etc.). It is true that higher fat milk is thicker and creamier looking (and more opaque), but the color is not of anything. Don't worry about the color of your milk! Just keep breastfeeding.
Hello Moms who have read this article and think if they nurse their baby often they will only get "little snacks of sugar milk and have colic most of his first 6 months" That is completely false and the exact opposite is true. Please seek the help of a TRAINED breastfeeding consultant or counselor. The cream and sugar milk idea is not accurate and a baby who is nursed early and often based on their own God-given schedules will be happier, healthier, and more independant. There are wonderful breastfeeding resources available to women so be sure to not rely on one source to heavily. If you want to milk a cow, go to a farm, if you want to learn how to breastfeed, seek out a breastfeeding expert. Thanks!!
Hello Moms who have read this article and think if they nurse their baby often they will only get "little snacks of sugar milk and have colic most of his first 6 months" That is completely false and the exact opposite is true. Please seek the help of a TRAINED breastfeeding consultant or counselor. The cream and sugar milk idea is not accurate and a baby who is nursed early and often based on their own God-given schedules will be happier, healthier, and more independant. There are wonderful breastfeeding resources available to women so be sure to not rely on one source to heavily. If you want to milk a cow, go to a farm, if you want to learn how to breastfeed, seek out a breastfeeding expert. Thanks!!
I enjoyed your article. However, I am a women that has been brought up in scheduling vs demand feeding society. I have tried both. I dont know when my baby is hungary as he does not seem to cry for hunger. He does not want to empty my breast when I nurse. Can I train him to do this? He is not gaining weight very well but is alert and happy much of the time. Please help. Thank you.
I enjoyed your article. However, I am a women that has been brought up in scheduling vs demand feeding society. I have tried both. I dont know when my baby is hungary as he does not seem to cry for hunger. He does not want to empty my breast when I nurse. Can I train him to do this? He is not gaining weight very well but is alert and happy much of the time. Please help. Thank you.
Having worked with thousands of mothers over the years, I know that every mother is different, every set of breasts is different. Hindmilk, foremilk composition is unique to every mother. If you have a smaller storage capacity, do breast compressions, squeeze the breast while baby nurses. If you have larger capacity, naturally the feeds may be spaced out further. Baby will let you know. Get help from an Lactation Consultant and keep that little warm bundle close all the time. Night feeds and frequent feeding are critical to maintaining infertility.
Having worked with thousands of mothers over the years, I know that every mother is different, every set of breasts is different. Hindmilk, foremilk composition is unique to every mother. If you have a smaller storage capacity, do breast compressions, squeeze the breast while baby nurses. If you have larger capacity, naturally the feeds may be spaced out further. Baby will let you know. Get help from an Lactation Consultant and keep that little warm bundle close all the time. Night feeds and frequent feeding are critical to maintaining infertility.
Debbie
You are so wonderful. I totally agree with you. I have a question. What do you think of "Baby wise" by Garry Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. They are amazing Christians and they are amazing books:) I was just wondering what your opinion was.
Debbie
You are so wonderful. I totally agree with you. I have a question. What do you think of "Baby wise" by Garry Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. They are amazing Christians and they are amazing books:) I was just wondering what your opinion was.
It has been years since I read any of the Ezzo
It has been years since I read any of the Ezzo
This message is to Carrie. You would like to know more about how to space your children out, naturally so you can breast feed.
Copy and paste the address below very helpful information on what to do.
http://www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/1421/43/
This message is to Carrie. You would like to know more about how to space your children out, naturally so you can breast feed.
Copy and paste the address below very helpful information on what to do.
http://www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/1421/43/
The "sugar milk" is the first milk your baby drinks when it is born...your "creamy milk" is the milk from then on and until you quit breast feeding LOL....Please learn a little more about breast milk after reading this article
I personally did a lot of co sleeping but you SHOULD write about the risks before advising this. I have seen people roll over and kill their baby...guess what they have to serve time in jail!
The "sugar milk" is the first milk your baby drinks when it is born...your "creamy milk" is the milk from then on and until you quit breast feeding LOL....Please learn a little more about breast milk after reading this article
I personally did a lot of co sleeping but you SHOULD write about the risks before advising this. I have seen people roll over and kill their baby...guess what they have to serve time in jail!
I think the term everyone is having problems with is foremilk (sweet milk) and hindemilk (fatty milk), and this is always the case with breast milk, and there is a actual possibility of an imbalance. And yes lactation consultants do agree on this. Its all about making sure you breastfeed long enough on each breast (or one breast per session) to get to the hindmilk. My son is 18 months old and still breastfeeding. It is very hard to want to be more free with the breastfeeding, but you know logically "Hey..he's getting three meals a day and snacks and water throughout. How much milk could he possibly need at this age?". He will also turn down any cows milk. I think if I stuck to some sort of schedule I would have been much better off than where I am at now, which is basically at the mercy of my son who now not only sees my breast as nourishment but as comfort as well. Unfortunately now he uses me as a pacifier I feel more than half of the time, has to be nursed to sleep, and still does not sleep through the night! My point is there should be a happy medium which I have totally missed in my breastfeeding experience because I continued "feeding in demand" much longer than I should of and now I am stuck and exasperated.
I think the term everyone is having problems with is foremilk (sweet milk) and hindemilk (fatty milk), and this is always the case with breast milk, and there is a actual possibility of an imbalance. And yes lactation consultants do agree on this. Its all about making sure you breastfeed long enough on each breast (or one breast per session) to get to the hindmilk. My son is 18 months old and still breastfeeding. It is very hard to want to be more free with the breastfeeding, but you know logically "Hey..he's getting three meals a day and snacks and water throughout. How much milk could he possibly need at this age?". He will also turn down any cows milk. I think if I stuck to some sort of schedule I would have been much better off than where I am at now, which is basically at the mercy of my son who now not only sees my breast as nourishment but as comfort as well. Unfortunately now he uses me as a pacifier I feel more than half of the time, has to be nursed to sleep, and still does not sleep through the night! My point is there should be a happy medium which I have totally missed in my breastfeeding experience because I continued "feeding in demand" much longer than I should of and now I am stuck and exasperated.
Dear Mrs. Pearl,
I am six weeks pregnant with our first child and have been reading your articles about training babies. My mom never breastfed so I dont know much about it and I am wanting to breastfeed and my husband wants me to as well. I just had a question about what you ment by not knowing when your baby nursed during the night? Did you have the baby positioned where she could just begin nursing on her own? Also I am confused about how to make sure the baby is emptying the breast in order to get the cream milk as well. Thank you so much for all your books and teachings. My mother in law got me Created to Be His Help Meet for a bridal shower gift ( my husband and i just got married October 16) and I am on the last chapter of the book. It has helped me so much already.
God Bless!
Whew... this article was helpful...and frustrating when I read it years ago after I had my first child. This article made it seem so easy to nurse... and I was the simpleton who couldn't do it right. I did not produce enough milk for my son and I tried every holistic remedy I could. I was a healthy strong farm girl and I felt so bad that I didn't produce enough milk (it wasn't a lack of completely draining- he got everything and there was nothing left). His cheeks were sinking in and he was ALWAYS hungry and looking so thin. After he was about a month old, I finally broke down and started supplementing. I felt like such a failure. Our cows were dairy and produced plenty of milk and their calves didn't even look at grass to eat before they were a couple of months old. After about year, a neighbor turned his longhorn meat cows out on the property beside ours. There was a calf who was born and within the same week was grazing in the pasture. I felt so much better. The longhorn calf was healthy and content, and so was my baby. I watched the animals... just like you said. 🙂