Some thoughts about breastfeeding...

If you are pregnant and want to breastfeed, go to a support group, like La Leche League, and learn all that there is about breastfeeding NOW! If you are a mom, just know, that I'm not upset at you for not breastfeeding, I just want people to let me breastfeed. It's the right choice for me, and many.

As an inexperienced mother, I took great pride in breastfeeding my first born son for 3 1/2 years. I felt a great power and satisfaction in that I am all my son needs to sustain himself the first few months of life. It really became to me a point where I feel confident about being his mother and happy about the options I took.

With this choice of breastfeeding, I run into a whole host of other problems. People who need to constantly offer and give their unsolicited advice. They give you advice about how much to carry your child, about what to feed him, about what to what to what…frankly after a while it all blends in, and nothing makes sense. What does make sense is that this is your child and you are responsible for their nutrition, their clothing, their emotional well being and a whole host of other things that comes with parenting. And what makes it horrible about the advice is that given with all the best intentions of the world, it may be incorrect.

My son was inconsolable. I felt I wasn’t making enough milk. I couldn’t put him down. I reached out to La Leche and someone suggested that I should not drink milk, it could be affecting the baby. At first I said to myself, get rid of milk, that’s probably the only nutritious thing I can eat on a regular basis. Wrong! I thought about my friend was on a diet where she lost tons of weight, by getting rid of exactly that milk. When I began to read and saw that this was actually a good option, I chose to do so but for a different reason. At every chance I get, I think of ways that I can include other foods in my diet that are natural and animal free.

I love natural things. I like things that come from nature. I like things that make me feel good. Breastfeeding is natural and it makes me feel good. For some reason, other people don’t like it. They don’t understand it, they don’t want to see you doing it, they think that it’s inferior and wrong. I have select to not give into other people desires. I read all the information. I pack myself with support from other people that are doing the same thing. I do what I want and what makes sense to me.


I planned a natural birth. I wanted to push, and say no to the epidural. The story changed, at about 34 weeks gestation, I was diagnosed with oligo hydromanus (low amniotic fluid). I was induced for vaginal birth, but after twelve hours of horrifying and painful labor, my son's heart rate began to drop. They suggested that he might be in distress and said that I need a ceasarian section. Shortly after my son was born, and fortunately he only spent seven days in the NICU and continued thriving and growing. Naturally, next time, I prepared for a VBAC!

It doesn’t work all the time! Things are not perfect! You know what! It’s going to have to work. As the good old saying goes, "if there is a will there is a way." It’s going to have to take its toll, happiness, fairness and honesty will demand it's place and that all I want. By the grace of God, I will continue to do what I can to be the best, live each day the best I can, and do what is best for us, for my children and I.


Learning to LOVE
To Nicolas
I was the size of a needle one day
began to nourish myself in your space
working to change your ordinary taste
your guitar body and your tiny waist
to taking up all of your time
to waking you up every night

Yes, Mom, enjoy the moments of sleep
inside I will be very brief,
I will be falling asleep in your arms
outside of your womb, I will charm
to rousing you up every night
to captivating all your time

I had a full set of hair at birth
my tiny person had perfect health
Mommy, I need you to feed me colostrum
comfort me, hold me, build my bones strong
help me combat the bacteria with milk
my little tongue and slobber will speak
to the nipple to formulate the antibodies that kill
those exact germs that can possibly make me ill

Bear in mind, my tiny hands will grab,
catching a grip of your sweet, sensitive heart
when I rolled up into this intimidating world,
at your affectionate breast I radiate and bond,
to waking you up every single night
to taking up all your central time

Making you fall in love with me
with every shrieking goo and ooh and eee
kindhearted smiles, squeals, laughs, chants
Now, seventeen pounds of humanity
to waking you up with a gentle shove
screaming in delight and learning to LOVE


by Boriquita
January 26, 2005

Now for my favorite breastfeeding sites to visit:
Breastfeeding Support & Information

La Leche ...Your local support Breastfeeding group! Tienes la opcion de verlo en Español!

http://www.lactivist.com ... A warehouse of Breastfeeding Information

Dr. Sear's Breast is Best Info

http://www.kellymom.com ... The Extended Breastfeeding Fact Sheet

Breastfeeding and WIC in NJ
They provide pumps and increased food stipends for nursing moms!
http://www.state.nj.us/health/fhs/wic/breastfeedingpromsupp.shtml

Nursing Clothes

Motherwear ... This site sells cool nursing clothes...
Co-Nursingwear ... More nursing clothes
My Nursingwear ...Nursing has never been so beautiful, according to Lori Bailie

The Dangers of Not Breastfeeding

International Baby Food Action Network ... This site talks about how breastfeeding is undermined, and the international code!
You have a choice of Languages here! Puedes leer informacion en esta pagina en Español!

Not Milk ... An index of tons of websites...Why you should not drink or feed your baby cow's milk!

Milk Sucks ... More info about the danger's of cow's milk!

En Español

Propiedades de La Leche Materna

Why I became vegan?

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food (Genesis 1:29).

MILK IS NOT WHAT WE THINK IT IS!

They suffer each time that we sip a glass of milk! Imagine being pregnant for nine months with twins, then all of sudden you go into labor, the minute your baby girl and baby boy is born, they are pulled away from you and you never see them again. The separation anxiety begins, and a pump is placed over your breasts, to milk you like a machine, the engorgement begins, your nipples are sore and you start to get lumps. You get mastitis, and you are in pain. You are fed antibiotics, and your nipples crack and bleed. After a few weeks of a horrifying life, your baby boy is slaughtered never to see life again, and he died a scary death. Your baby girl is fed some other woman's colostrums, and she's expected to live a similar life to you now, expected to provide milk like a machine. And someday she will be artificially inseminated for the process, and fed growth hormones so she can do it as soon as her first menstruation comes. Your infected body fluid, with blood, several different antibiotics, pus filled milk is fed to other species. Your breastfeeding through machines, you are extra hungry, you eat what they throw on the floor for you each day. You live where other women are bleeding and milking just like you. All in close quarters, all eating excrement, and left overs. Something similar to this is what happens in corporate owned factories. Cows suffer anxiety from being separated from their calves. The picture is nasty, but if you consume any milk from a cow, or meat from any animal, that is what you are consuming. Anxiety, fear and death, pus, hormones and antibiotics.

¡LA LECHE NO ES LO QUE PENSAMOS QUE ES!

¡Sufren cada vez que nosotros bebemos un vaso de leche! Imagínese estar embarazada por nueve meses con gemelos, de repente ya es hora de que nazcan. El minuto que su hembra y barón nace, los llevan lejos de usted y nunca los vuelve a ver. La ansiedad de la separación comienza, y una máquina se coloca sobre tus pechos, para ordeñarle, la inchazón comienza, sus senos están doloridos y usted comienza a tener sequedad. Usted adquiere mastitis, y usted está en dolor. Los antibióticos son parte de tu comida. Matan a su bebé baron después de sufrir por semanas y nunca ve vida otra vez, y él murió una muerte asustado. Alimentan a su muchacha el colostro de alguna otra mujer, y ella se espera que viva una vida similar a la que usted sabe, esperando proporcionar la leche como una máquina. Y la inseminarán algún día artificial para el proceso, y le dan hormonas del crecimiento para así que ella puede hacerlo tan pronto como venga su primer menstruación. Su fluído corporal infectado, con sangre, varios diversos antibióticos, leche llenada pus se alimenta a otros especies. En su amantamiento, usted tiene hambre extraordinariamente, usted come lo que él lanza en el piso para usted cada día, donde la otra mujer está sangrando, y ordeñan justo como usted. Todos en cuartos cercanos, todos los excrementos de comer, y las sobras. Algo
similar a esto es qué sucede en fábricas corporativas. Las vacas sufren ansiedad de la separación de su bebes. El recuento es repugnante, pero si usted consume alguna leche de una vaca, o carne de animal, eso es lo que usted está consumiendo. Ansiedad, miedo y muerte, pus, hormonas y antibióticos.

There are many vegan websites. Be analytical, search for the truth. I have yet to figure out which is the best, but there is plenty of information in all. Best of all most of the information is free!

Veg Source, this is the VegSource website, tons of great links
vegweb.com,, Great recipe website!
blackvegetarians.org, A Black Vegetarians Website!
PETA.com, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
PCRM.org, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine(PCRM)
Animal Liberation Front.com Philosophy, Religion, History!
http://www.drmcdougall.com Dr. McDougall Newsletter
About Famous Veggies
vegancooking.com,Cooking Spot!
Vegan Outreach.org, for the activists!
Vegan Porn, am I for real?

This is good for now, Enjoy!



A day like today, I was reading the pages of the Internet, looking
for information in nursing. Then I found myself with a very informative
page on the cow's milk and how it is inappropriate for our diet.
Who do you know is allergic to the penicillin? I know my mother, and she explained to me once how her hand was swollen, and how she must avoid this pill. What would you think if you knew that the food you eat is injected with penicillin. Now you are eating parts of penicillin, the same pill that you are trying to avoid. Your body is not a healthy one, and although you try to be in diets, none work. They do not work because you are eating these same meats and milk, which put to you in that situation. Read the pages of the Internet that speak about how a vegan diet can heal you. It helps you with the diabetes, you avoid cancer, you lose weight, and gain tons of energy. I feel with energy these days. I have always had problems with low hemoglobin, and it does make me weak. I have not felt that weakness in years!

Un día como hoy, estaba leyendo yo las páginas del Internet, buscando información en amamantar. Entonces me encontré con una pagina muy informativa sobre la leche de vaca y como es inapropiada para nuestra dieta. ¿Cuanto de ustedes conocen a alguien que es alérgico a la penicilina? Yo conozco a mi mama, me explico como una vez a ella se le hinchó la mano, y tiene que evitar esta pastilla. Que pensarías si sabrías que a la comida que tu comes le inyectan eso mismo, penicilina. Ahora estas comiendo rasgos de una pastilla que siempre estas tratando de evitar. Tu cuerpo no esta sano, y aunque tratas de estar en dietas, ninguna funciona. No funcionas si estas comiendo carnes y leches, por que eso fue lo mismo que te puso en esa situación. Lee las paginas del Internet que hablan sobre como la dieta vegana te puede sanar. Te ayuda con la diabetes, evitas el cáncer, pierdes peso, y ganas mucha energía. Yo me siento con más energía en estos días. Siempre he tenido problemas con la hemoglobina, y me hace débil. ¡No he sentido esa debilidad en años!

Infant Formula contaminated!

After first saying that they could not determine a threshold for the safe amount of certain toxic chemicals in infant formula, Food and Drug Administration officials said Friday that trace amounts are safe.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/28/infant.formula.melamine/index.html

Breastfeeding is Bestfeeding!

According to the birth plan, I had my son placed skin to skin to me at birth. Breastfeeding started a couple of hours after Victor was born, and continues today with full strength. For the past few weeks, we have been giving Victor a bottle, as he needs to learn how to use one because the fact is that he will be getting one when I happily return back to work.

I remember Nicolas struggled sucking on the bottle at first, after 6 weeks of breastfeeding at about 11 weeks old, I decided to try to give him a bottle again, and start pumping. At that time I realized that I didn't have enough in the freezer milk to go back to work anyway.

A learning experience it was, I know now what to avoid.

Nicolas had the bottle first, and he had them because the NICU wanted to know, how much he was eating. Nicolas arrived home, and I was still pumping and feeding, I didn't know what over pumping would do to me, or not pumping enough out, and I had mastitis. This is how I became a vegan, when I learn that cows get mastitis as well, yuck. My sister badly advised me that since I had a fever that I would need to stop nursing. My mother corrected my sister and said, no keep breastfeeding that child. I decided to do some searches, and I learned that goat and cows get antibiotics when this happens, and they give us that MILK. I'm drinking antibiotics, pesticides, in that WHITE stuff, the call the perfect food.

What I didn't realize was that it was best to just put Nicolas at the breast. That would avoid all supply issues. However, Nicolas was very sleepy, and he would fall asleep while eating, and get really angry when I put him down. After five weeks of trial and tribulations with Nicolas at the breast, I got in touch with La Leche League. I got some good advice, and breastfed Nicolas for 3 1/2 years.

Victor never fell asleep at the breast like his brother. That makes a huge difference in a full term and pre-term baby. This time around I have a freezer stash of about 60 ozs, and still growing. No experimental formula for this baby, only the best.

I read while breastfeeding Victor, Hirkani's Daughters by J.Hicks, and the Milk Memos by Cate Colburn-Smith and Andrea Serrette. La Leche League has these books at their Library. In addition, I recommend, Nursing Mother, Working Mother by Gail Pryor, I read this one when Nico was three months old, a little too late, but inspirational at best.