Natasha Chiam

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Mothering Through Breastfeeding-as Mother Nature intended.

Natasha Chiam

Welcome to The Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival! This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today's post is about mothering through breastfeeding. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!

"I learned the joy of mothering through breastfeeding."
- Pamela Pilch, retired LLL leader, Virginia.

I found an article on breastfeeding written by Pamela on the web and when I read this sentence it was like she had summed up my mothering experience in eight words.  Not that all of mothering is about breastfeeding, trust me I know that, but the parts that make me really FEEL like a mother, like this is what I was made for and how Mother Nature intended it to be, that is what breastfeeding has done for me.

I did not have intervention free pregnancies and births. I had more ultrasounds and BPPs (biophysical profiles) of both of my kids in utero than probably 30 moms put together. My son's first few weeks of life involved so many beeping machines and tubes and wires that the quiet of being at home with him in those first few days seemed somehow foreign to us.  I was induced for both of my births (with the cervedil insert and no IV pitocin-thank God!!) and had my water broken with my daughter.  I dreamt about having an all natural, at-home birth with a midwife and a doula, but alas, that was just not going to happen. High risk pregnancies + physician husband = hospital birth.  I will say that I had an absolutely amazing obstetrician, although she did miss both my births by about 6 minutes, because she was finishing up a c-section (seriously-exact same thing, both times!)  My point is that I did not necessarily birth my babies as Mother Nature intended.

Breastfeeding is and was my way to do what I was made to do as a mother.  Feed my babies.  Keep them alive and safe and well.  I had an incredible life moment last year that I really don't talk about that much, I have kept it for me, but I will share it with you now.

My family and I were vacationing in Maui in February of 2009.  My husband was at a medical conference and so my parents and I took the kids (2 years old and 4 months old) on a whale watching tour.  It was awesome!  We saw so many whales, full breeches, two males fighting over a female and I think my son had the most fun of anyone on the boat trying to spot the tell-tale spout of a nearby whale.  And then it happened.  I had to nurse my daughter about half way through the tour and at that very same moment we came upon a mama humpback whale and her month old calf kind of just floating close to the surface of the ocean.  Our guide told us that they do this when the mama whale is NURSING her baby.  I know it sounds silly, but I started to cry, there I was nursing my baby and not 50 feet away in the ocean was one of the biggest mammals on earth doing the exact same thing!

Motherhood is a powerful thing, it connects us to each other, to our world, to nature and most importantly to our children.  What I have learned through breasfeeding is that mothering is much easier when we work with nature rather than against her.

Here are more posts by the Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival participants! Check back because more will be added throughout the day.